Buffy didn't stop to knock before barging through the front door, knowing full well that Giles rarely bothered to keep it locked; a detail which would have been a little more worrying were it not for the fact that vampires needed a more formal invitation. She'd hung around her empty house for a fairly dull couple of hours, wondering where Faith had gotten to, before she'd given up and decided to check in with Giles first.
"Hey Gi-" she started before her eyes landed on Faith sat at a table. A table filled with books. And Faith appeared to be reading them. "Woah, check out the research girl," she said, the surprise in her voice very much real. "OK, Giles, fess up – where'd you put the real one?" she asked as she spied Giles across the living room. Coming to a stop behind Faith, she peered curiously at the book placed on the table in front of her. Seeing nothing but a wall of text, she gave the girl a couple of pokes in the back of the shoulder. "Huh. Feels authentic."
"Hilarious," Faith returned flatly, her head staying in place as she awkwardly swatted behind at Buffy's hand.
"Find anything?"
She regretted asking the moment Faith slammed the book shut. "No. I pretty much suck at this."
"There's a lot to get through, Faith," Giles offered diplomatically as he turned from the bookcase to face them. "Research often takes a great deal of time, especially when we don't have much to work with."
"Whatever. This is bull," Faith huffed before her eyes flicked to Giles. "Sorry. I'm just saying I'm better at the action stuff is all," she finished somewhat softer.
"I understand. Buffy too has always-" He caught sight of Buffy's raised eyebrow. "-been, err, slanted more toward the – the very important fighting aspect of the role." He cleared his throat nervously, looking at her as if to check whether he'd saved himself in the nick of time.
He hadn't. "Gee, Giles, now I'm really glad I spent so many precious mornings getting up at the crack of dawn to come help you research."
"I-I-I..." He paused, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Wait a minute. I don't recall that ever happening."
Buffy had to force her jaw to drop. "How can you even say that?" she asked, calling upon what little acting skills she possessed to try and sound hard done by.
Giles sat down on the sofa, dropping the book in his hand onto the coffee table. He leant back and crossed his arms. "Name one," he said simply.
"Well there were lots of times. Like the one where... or when... ooh! How about that time I found the mystical thingamabob to stop the invasion of the... evil... things," she managed, frowning at herself even as she finished.
"Ah yes, how I could I ever forget the mystical thingamabob," he returned dryly.
"Fine, fine, I can see where I'm not wanted. Come on, Faith, let's just go and mindlessly kill some creatures of the night." She bent over, bringing her mouth close to Faith's ear. "Before he makes us both stay and read," she whispered loud enough to ensure Giles could still hear, though he didn't rise to the bait.
"Don't have to ask me twice," Faith said, instantly shooting to her feet.
"Buffy," Giles called out before the two of them could quickly vanish through the door. "On a more serious note, please be careful. Both of you. Whatever it is, that thing could still be lurking out there somewhere."
"Oh I really hope so."
----------
"Do you think scolding someone before you go to their party could be seen as a bad omen?" Buffy asked. "Well, it's more of a drink with other people than a party," she amended. "And hopefully the drink will actually get drunk. Like drinks are supposed to."
Faith's head bobbed to and fro as she scanned over the rows of gravestones ahead of them, seemingly paying Buffy no attention whatsoever.
"Faith?" Buffy asked loudly, trying to get her attention.
"Yeah?" Faith said plainly, still not bothering to look her way.
"I'm sorry, am I boring you?"
"Don't think I'm the one who needs to worry about that," Faith muttered under her breath, but it didn't go unnoticed by Buffy's focused senses.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, already knowing full well what Faith was implying.
"Nothing."
"You haven't even met him," Buffy said defensively. "He seems like a nice guy."
Faith's shrug showed her continuing lack of interest. "I'm sure he's great. A real pillar of excitement."
"I've had excitement. And in case you've forgotten, that didn't turn out so well," Buffy shot back, beginning to feel more than a little peeved with Faith's sudden case of bad attitude.
"And so now you're settling for plain and simple?"
"Well maybe that's what I need right now. A nice, normal relationship with a nice, normal guy."
"Yeah? Sounds thrilling."
"Well I was going to ask Balthazar out so we could raise some hell, but oh yeah, kinda killed him already." Despite the joke, her voice had picked up a biting edge as her irritation grew to a new level, though that proved enough to get Faith to finally look her way, her eyebrows softening as she regarded Buffy.
"All I'm saying is someone like that will never get you. Slaying's the biggest part of your life, B. It's who you are, and you can't even tell him about it. How's that ever going to work out?"
"First of all, it's a drink, not a marriage proposal. And secondly, there's more to me than just being the – a Slayer, Faith."
"No doubt," Faith replied, and Buffy was thankful her hiccup had been either overlooked or ignored. "But you can't deny it's made you the way you are. We've both been through it girlfriend, and it's changed us. The hunt. The thrill of the battle. The kill. It's what makes us tick."
"Maybe for you."
"Is that right?" Faith asked. She stopped walking and offered up her full attention, a sceptical look on her face. She made a show of pointedly looking around before re-focusing on Buffy. "Then you wanna let me know what you're doing out here? You know I can handle a couple of vamps by myself, so why aren't you sat at home bookworming it up or whatever?"
Buffy reflected on that for just a moment. To some extent it had become a force of habit, and as of late the company hadn't exactly made it a chore. She knew she'd be lying if she said there wasn't at least some part of her that needed to be there though. A part of her that could only be sated when she patrolled, and a part of her that found it difficult to sleep if that patrol turned up empty. Perhaps more to the point, she very much doubted that she could convince Faith otherwise. "OK, so maybe you're not totally wrong," she conceded quietly, her gaze dipping for just a second.
"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of, B. We were built for this, remember?" Faith said, the energy in her voice mirrored by animated hands that motioned between herself and Buffy. "Hell, we were born for this. The chosen two, kicking ass until the end of days."
Faith offered her a large grin and, with the verbal scuffle instantly forgotten, Buffy couldn't keep herself from smiling back as she let her gaze wander. It didn't take a particularly keen eye to spot the impending danger. "Well I don't know about the end of days, but we've got company right now." Buffy casually drew a stake from the inside of her jacket pocket and Faith quickly followed suit, but the duo stayed in place as they let the line of vampires approach.
The female on one end of the row took a single step forward to put itself slightly in front of the rest of them. With shaggy, jet black hair that hung messily past its shoulders, an equally dark satin corset, and a matching ruffled mini skirt, the nose ring was nothing more than the cherry on the clichéd goth-rock cake. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
The rest of the group looked equally cheerful, and Buffy couldn't keep her amusement hidden away. "The Adams Family?" she suggested. "You've kind of got the whole Morticia vibe going there." She shrugged casually. "You know, if Morticia was a giant skank."
The vampire let out an angry growl as its face morphed, its bright yellow eyes shining ominously through the surrounding black. "Bet you didn't expect that," it hissed.
"Wait, what?" Buffy asked, her thoughts faltering as her eyebrows fully rose. "You... do know who we are, right?"
"I'm thinking dinner," the tall, broad male stood just off-centre called out before its tongue ran eagerly over bared fangs. A long, silver chain hung around its thick neck, coming down almost to the bottom of a black t-shirt that simply declared 'HIM' in large, white letters.
Buffy glanced at Faith before looking back across the row of vampires. "Really?" she asked incredulously. "Pointy wooden objects not giving anything away?" Still there was no visible reaction from the vampires. "Are you lot new to this whole undead thing? I hope so, because otherwise I'm telling you, I'm going to be majorly insulted."
"It has been kind of dead recently, B," Faith joined in. "Maybe we need to give the vamps of Sunnydale a little reminder that the Slayers are still running this Hellmouth."
Buffy could almost see the light bulb switch on behind Morticia's eyes. "The slayers," it hissed, its tongue slipping out of its mouth, though Buffy was once again a little taken aback when its grin grew rather than shrank. Things really must have been quiet recently, she realized. "All two of you. And seven of us." It turned to look across the rest of the group, and as it began a high-pitched laugh-stroke-shriek the others quickly followed suit, their combined laughter failing to meld in any way, shape or form.
Buffy waited patiently for their almost painful chorus to die down before shrugging nonchalantly and turning to share a look with Faith. "Good for us," she said brightly.
Faith cocked her head. "Bad for them."
Their eyes remained locked on each other, and Buffy's heartbeat quickened, her fingers tightening around the stake as she prepared for battle. It really had been a while since they'd gotten the chance for a real fight, and Buffy's back arched ever so slightly inward as anticipation tingled down her spine. Then, without warning, and with no need for a signal, they turned as one and shot forward, the lightning-fast, perfectly synchronised attack leaving behind two piles of dust before the rest of the vampires had even registered the fight had begun.
From there the vampires quickly split into two groups, cautiously circling around to either side of the Slayers. Standing with her back pressed to Faith's, Buffy faced off against Morticia and two others, leaving the other Slayer with the large brute plus one more.
"Bet I can take mine out first," Faith challenged.
Buffy felt the grin spread over her face. "You're on." She didn't wait for a signal from Faith; after all, she had a one vampire handicap to account for. Dashing forward, she sent Morticia reeling back with a flying kick to the chest, and on another night the resulting cracking sound might have been enough to make Buffy wince. But not tonight.
Unfortunately the move hadn't left her with the greatest of positioning, and she found herself stood with a vampire to either side. Sensing the punch coming, she turned to successfully block the shot from the first, only to receive a jab to the spine of her back from the other.
She made her disapproval known by spinning around, the back of her taut, outstretched forearm catching the attacker in the side of its head. The momentum spun it to the side, and a quick flick of her foot into the back of its ankles sent it flailing awkwardly to the floor. The other vampire dived onto her back and wrapped its lanky arms around her neck. The sneak attack did it little good, and she easily took hold of it, grabbing a handful of scrunched up hair and getting a high-pitched squeal as she sharply pulled forward. It landed on top of the other downed vampire and Buffy's stake moved down in two quick, successive jabs, each one sending a layer of dust exploding outward.
What should have been a quick glance to check on Faith turned into something more as Buffy found herself unable to look away, watching with an impressed amusement as the girl sat atop the shoulders of the largest vampire – the other apparently no longer in the land of the undead. The vampire bent and bucked in all directions as it tried to dislodge its attacker, but Faith had its chain wrapped tightly around its neck, her dangling legs drumming against its chest as she rode it like an animal. Faith caught her look, and her smile dimmed, one hand leaving the chain as she pointed at Buffy. "B, look out!"
Buffy hadn't forgotten about the final vampire, but distracted by Faith's antics she hadn't heard it get so close either. As she turned, she automatically brought her hands up to defend herself, but Morticia had another idea in mind, and the front of its knee-high boot ploughed straight into Buffy's shin. The pain that shot through her leg suggested the boot was of the steel toe variety, and having been caught off guard already she then made the mistake of bending to comfort her leg. That did little more than leave the vampire with another opening, and its solid uppercut landed right under her chin.
Knocked back hard, she gave up a couple of yards before managing to steady herself. The earlier smile hadn't budged from her face. "OK, so you've got a few moves," she admitted, not in the least bit concerned. "That's good. Honestly, I'd have been disappointed if I didn't have to work for this."
As they locked horns again, Buffy rocked the vampire back and forth, a relentless series of alternating fists offering it little opportunity to respond or retreat. Every time it did manage to throw a punch of its own, Buffy was equal to it, ducking or dodging out of the way without breaking her rhythm. Perhaps in a move of desperation, it puts its heavy boots to good use again, this time stomping straight down on Buffy's foot. The shoe proved durable enough to keep her toes in one piece, but Buffy glanced down to find a large wrinkled contour now etched in the top of the material. "Do you have any idea how many weeks of allowance these things cost me?" she accused it, her wide, unblinking eyes glaring at the creature with venom.
"They look pretty cheap to me," the vampire returned, tossing its head back to send its loose hair behind its shoulders.
"Oh you did not just go there. I'll have you know this is real leather. And you see this right here?" Buffy asked, pointing to the toe of her shoe. The vampire's gaze followed her finger, and Buffy flung her leg up, her toe catching it square on the chin, and that time the vampire was the one to stagger back. "They may not be steel-capped, but put a little oomph behind it and they'll still get the job down."
The vampire lunged forward with a feral scream, fangs bared. Long nails at the end of clawed fingers swiped toward her face, but Buffy reacted quickly to deflect each swing before it could connect, and after fending off the barrage she retaliated by bringing a high-arcing axe kick down on its shoulder. Already forced to its knees, the vampire couldn't escape the follow-up roundhouse kick from connecting with the side of its head, and it dropped flat on its stomach with a groan.
Buffy stepped closer only to have her legs pulled out from under her. With both of them down on the floor, the vampire pounced from its prone position to land on top of her, but Buffy used the momentum to roll through, coming out on top and pinning it to the ground. With a satisfied smile firmly placed on her face, she brought the stake down and wedged it through the vampire's heart.
She stood and turned to find Faith trading blows with the largest of the vampires, each of them stubbornly refusing to be moved an inch as fists swung into their faces. "Faith," Buffy called out before running straight at the pair. Faith jumped back as the vampire swung out, and she quickly rotated to her side, holding her hands down to form a small perch. Buffy stepped up, and with the additional boost from Faith she sprung high into the air. Her legs wrapped around the neck of the brute, her ankles locking together behind its head.
As Faith aimed a volley of kicks across its chest, Buffy kept her thighs pressed hard against its head, waiting for Faith's attacks to send it off balance before throwing herself backward. Despite its size advantage, it flipped straight over her, landing flat on its back with a grunt. Buffy quickly jumped to her feet, spinning in time to watch Faith send it to the next world.
Faith held up her palm and Buffy met her high five with an energetic slap that would have stung the hand of any ordinary human. "Damn, we're good," Faith said as she stretched back her shoulders. "So, you still gonna try telling me you could live without this?"
Buffy was already down on the floor trying her best to resuscitate the top of her damaged shoe. Her eyes rolled up to look at Faith's knowing grin, and while she wouldn't give Faith the satisfaction of hearing her admission, she wasn't about to deny it either. The energy still buzzed through her, electrifying the blood that pushed through her body. Her heart continued to pound, but not from fear or fatigue, but from need. From desire. Deciding her rescue mission was a lost cause, she slowy rose back up, Faith's eyes tracking her own as she did. The smile on Buffy's face grew wider still. It was late, she had class in the morning, and she already knew what the answer would be, but that didn't stop her from asking anyway. "Want to hit another one?"
Faith's enthused reply came without hesitation. "Hell yeah."
----------
"Yeah, but did you see his neck? That thing was a freaking tree trunk. He's gotta be worth at least two and a half," Faith insisted, her words coming out fast and full of energy. She walked backward, several steps ahead of Buffy, her eyes fixed on the other girl as she eagerly made her case.
"Oh he so was not," Buffy countered, shaking her head in disagreement. "One and three quarters. Tops. And besides, I helped with him, so I get half the points either way. Which means I still win," she finished in a sing-song voice.
"No way," Faith threw back instantly. "I totally had him where I wanted him."
They'd already hit two more cemeteries, and while each of them had been quieter than the first they'd still dusted another couple of vamps each. As they made their way through number four, Buffy was once more playfully digging for an admission that she had won their impromptu competition. Despite the multiple attempts, Faith still refused to give it, though mostly on the grounds that Buffy's continued insistence proved far too entertaining.
"Say it," Buffy prodded again, switching to a new tactic that involved widened doe eyes and small, pouting lips.
"That's not gonna work," Faith warned, trying her best to ignore Buffy's soft, expecting features without giving in or looking away. She managed to hold out for several long seconds before Buffy's pout morphed away as her lips grew outward. "Now what are you grinning at?" Faith asked, finding herself amused by the seemingly endless stack of pep Buffy had on display.
"Nothing."
"Just got some kind of uncontrollable mouth spasm issues going on then?" she teased, smirking a little at the blonde oddity.
"I just like seeing you this way."
"You mean kicking vampire ass? Because I'm at this seven nights a week, and viewers are always welcome. Ask real nice and maybe I'll even knock you up a home video."
"Happy," Buffy stated simply.
Faith didn't have an immediate response for that, sarcastic or otherwise, and as her thoughts were funnelled to coming up with one she had to bring herself to a halt before she ended up tripping over something. After closing the gap Buffy did the same, her wide grin retracting some way. "You think I'm usually not?" Faith asked cautiously, buying herself a little extra thinking time. She had no desire to lock Buffy out for a second night in a row, but given that the girl already had plans for a date with some guy, she doubted that the one thing she desperately wanted to say would earn her the reaction she craved even more.
Even Buffy's shrug seemed unsure of itself. "Sometimes."
"I'm fine, B. Really." Faith knew that wouldn't be enough to close the discussion. She'd seen Buffy's perseverance first hand when she'd been dragged back from way over the edge, only this time she doubted it would work in her favour.
"You didn't seem fine when you told me to leave last night. And I'm sorry, but I can't help but think either something's wrong with you... or there's something wrong with us?"
"No," Faith said firmly, wanting to quell the unease that had slipped into Buffy's voice. They'd become close friends, and she valued that more than anything else in her life, past or present. She knew that friendship would have to be enough for her, and given time maybe she could learn to live with that, but sometimes the things Buffy said and did, the way she seemed to care so much, it only fed her desire for something more.
Maybe that's just what friends did, she'd tell herself, never having had any real frame of reference. She already knew how compassionate Buffy could be, suspecting that was one of the reasons she and just about everyone else could be drawn to the girl so easily. None of that reasoning made it any less painful though, and the fact that being around Buffy could make her feel so good and yet so hopeless at the same time could sometimes be too much to handle. Even right then, just being stood so agonisingly close, it took a ten foot tall stack of self restraint not to let her lips close the gap completely.
"Are you sure? Because I'd understand if you didn't feel comfortable around me after what happened."
"B, I know the difference between the real you and some whacked-out version," Faith assured her.
"But you don't want to tell me what's wrong?"
I do, Faith thought to herself; I really, really do. Instead she stayed quiet, unsure of what she could possibly say to ease Buffy's worries. Unable to keep her eyes on Buffy's tender face, she turned her head, pretending to find something of interest amongst the otherwise empty rows of gravestones.
"I'd never force you to tell me things you're not ready to," Buffy offered gently after Faith didn't respond for some time. "I just want to make sure you know that if there is something going on, if there's ever anything wrong, or if there's ever something you need, that I'll be right here."
"Might get a little cold out here after a while, B," Faith said, trying to distance herself from the situation with an injection of humour that she herself couldn't even appreciate.
"You know what I mean," Buffy persisted through a small smile.
And that was the problem in a nutshell, Faith realized. Buffy never seemed ready to give up on her, and that gave her hope, making it ever-increasingly difficult to lock her feelings away. Sure, she could just blurt it all out. Get it out there and hope for the best. But the worst case scenario? She could lose the only thing that mattered, and that was not a risk she could bring herself to take. Maybe she'd always be a coward when it came to Buffy, but at least that way she'd still have something.
In the end she simply nodded in silence and offered Buffy as much of a smile as she could pull together, all the while secretly clinging on to the rest of her emotions.