Faith stayed in LA for three days, sleeping—barely—on Wesley's couch and going out slaying at night, trying and failing to keep her mind off what had happened and her emotions in check. She'd called Giles the morning after she killed Angel to tell him it went down without a single problem. Even he was surprised at the lack of a fight between them and he didn't say much more other than he was relieved they wouldn't have to worry about it any longer. He informed her then that Buffy and Dawn had packed up and left for Italy and that they had taken Andrew with them. When she'd finally fallen asleep on the worn couch, she dreamt of Buffy and let go of the hope that it was a shared dream with her the instant she woke up.

She felt like a zombie when she boarded the plane early Friday morning and when the plane landed, that emptiness filled her even more the second she stepped off the plane. Xander was waiting for her and as soon as she spotted him they headed straight out to the parking lot, Xander asking her a dozen questions along the way. Questions she wasn't ready to answer, nor did she want to right then. He seemed to get it by the time they reached the van and she slung her bag into the back seat as she climbed into the passenger side.

"Got a case of beer at the house if you want to come by," Xander said as he slid the key into the ignition but didn't start it yet.

"Sounds good."

"You know that's the first thing you've said to me since you got off the plane."

"Don't got much to say right now, Xand."

"Dawn told me to tell you that she's going to make sure Buffy comes back with her and Andrew."

"How'd Andrew end up taggin' along with 'em?"

"Dawnie talked him into it," Xander shrugged, finally starting the engine and proceeding to back out of the parking space. "She thought it'd be a good idea. Why, I really don't know."

Faith let out a short laugh as she propped her feet up on the dashboard and rolled down the window. The flight had been long and although she'd been lost in her own thoughts, in a daze, the annoying kids that sat behind her had made it exhausting.

"Kennedy left these in here last night," Xander said as he retrieved a pack of cigarettes from the back seat and offered it to her. She nodded a thank you as she took one out and used the lighter she always kept in her pocket to light it. "Giles had us moving most of the books over to the apartment building. Headquarters we're gonna call it for now."

"Cool."

"The basement there is huge, bigger than we originally thought once we knocked out a few walls. A couple guys I've been working with lately are helping us get it set up as a proper training room. If Kennedy is getting excited about it, I know you will be too."

Faith just nodded, leaning her head back against the seat as she took a drag from the cigarette and stared out the open window. Xander told her about a few more girls that had shown up there, having been sent from various parts of the world by the handful of Watchers Giles had going around looking for them and 'recruiting' them. Most of them were young, under sixteen, but there were a couple that were nearly twenty years old. Xander told her how there were younger girls out there, some as young as five, but they'd wait to train them until they were at least sixteen years old. She didn't want to put her two cents in, telling him that she'd been training with her Watcher for a year before she was called. She also didn't bother to bring up the fact that Satsu, Carmen, and Amber had been training most of their lives. Just like her, Xander seemed a little lost and a little empty inside.

He didn't talk about anything else, including Buffy, during the whole ride to the house. Faith jumped out of the van as soon as it came to a stop in the driveway and she could immediately hear Kennedy and the others talking in the back yard. She went inside first, however, dropping her bag at the foot of the stairs and heading straight for the fridge in the kitchen. She downed half a beer in one go before turning around to find Willow standing right behind her.

"Jesus, Red. Any way we can make you wear a bell?"

"Nice to see you're back in one piece," Willow replied rather coldly as Faith walked around her and headed for the back door. "I'll take it you don't want to talk about what happened in LA?"

"No. Ya want some sorta prize or somethin' for gettin' it right?"

"An actual body would be nice."

Faith chuckled under her breath as she opened the back door and stepped outside. Kennedy and Satsu were lounging under the tree, engaged in what looked to be a rather private conversation between the two of them. Xander was standing by the remains of the gazebo he'd built before, now completely smashed to the ground.

"What happened?" Faith asked as she walked over to him.

"Demon. Buffy threw it at it. Followed her the other night. Here I thought I was the only one to attract the demons."

"Damn," Faith smirked as she watched Xander take a kick at a piece of wood before letting out a heavy sigh. "Look on the bright side. Wood for a bonfire."

"Definitely looking on the bright side of things here, aren't you?"

"Gotta try to at least. You gonna try to fix it up?"

"Why bother?" Xander asked as he let out a discouraged groan. "Heard you ran into Willow inside."

"Yeah. We need to make her wear a bell," Faith chuckled. "Snuck up behind me. Too bad these Slayer senses don't pick up on the non-corporeal types."

"She's been having a lot of fun the last couple of days just popping up. Almost gave Giles a heart attack yesterday morning. And she's been talking to Jackie a lot, too."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Talking about all these things we've been trying to do around here lately, you know with the house and with Headquarters, with the younger Slayers coming in. Jackie thinks we might be a little in over our heads, and I'd say your mother is a wise woman, Faith. I've got to agree with her about the in over our heads thing."

"Eh. We might be, but we'll get through it."

Xander grinned before he clinked the bottle of beer in his hand against hers. They joined Kennedy and Satsu on the blanket spread out under the tree and Faith couldn't help but almost expect Buffy to come out and join them any minute now. Kennedy flashed her a sympathetic smile almost as if she knew that Faith's heart was aching for Buffy. She tried to shake it off, not feeling entirely comfortable wearing her emotions so clearly for everyone to see.

Faith stayed out there long enough to finish her beer before she went back inside, grabbing her pack and heading straight for the apartment. The hot summer sun made the short walk unbearable and as soon as she was inside her apartment, she felt the tears spring to her eyes. It wasn't just her apartment, it had been hers and Buffy's even for the short time they'd been there. She walked to the bedroom, expecting the mountains of clothes—Buffy's clothes—to still be there, but it was nearly empty, the closet door still wide open. Faith kicked her bag across the room, it hitting the far wall with a loud thump as she walked over to the bed and sat down heavily.

The next couple of days were going to weigh heavily on her, she knew, and with one last sigh she gave up and let the tears fall. She laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling miserably, blinking through the tears as the last few sleepless nights began to hit her.

 

---

 

The look in Angel's eyes the moment the arrow had pierced through his heart had haunted her every single night since it had happened. It made her wake up in a cold sweat, reaching through the darkness towards the empty side of the bed, half expecting Buffy to be there to hold her. It was in those moments that the tears started to fall and she found herself getting out of bed to go next door. If she was lucky she'd find Kennedy awake and would sit out on the balcony with her until the sun rose and the alcohol they'd drunk had numbed her completely.

Tonight, however, was different. Tonight she knew it'd been exactly three weeks since she'd come back to Cleveland, one whole week past Buffy's promise to come back in two weeks. She had patrol with Perry and Marshall and a few of the younger Slayers, but her mind was solely on Buffy. She was seriously thinking of hopping on a plane as soon as they were finished with patrol and flying to Italy to find Buffy and bring her home. Marshall took her aside on the second sweep through the cemetery and made her sit down on the bench at the side of the path.

"What's going on with you tonight, Lehane?"

"Nothin's goin' on with me tonight."

"You've been distracted and careless since we got here. Tell me straight up what's going on with you," Marshall said and she shrugged it off, trying not to show just how upset she really was. "It's your girl being gone, isn't it?"

Faith nodded and fought off the tears by pulling out her pack of smokes and quickly lighting one. Marshall sat down next to her and let out a sigh as he shook his head. "What?" Faith asked as she turned to him. "So I fuckin' miss Buffy, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is the fact that even I know she was supposed to be back a week ago."

"So?"

"So," Marshall sighed as he casually put his arm around her shoulders. "What are you waiting for, Lehane? Go get your girl and bring her back home."

"That's seriously freaky," Faith said with a short laugh. "Was just thinkin' of hopping on a plane soon as we're done here."

"What'll you do when you find her?"

"Bring her home."

"What if it's not that simple?"

Faith shrugged, taking a long drag of her cigarette before she turned to look at him. "Then I dunno, man. I'll figure it out."

"I hope so. Come on, forget patrol," Marshall said as he stood up. "I'll drive you to the airport right now and get you on the first flight to Italy. You even know where in Italy they are?"

"Xander said they're stayin' in some small town few hours away from Milan. Dunno. Just know if I can get over there I'll find her one way or another."

"You won't need to go to Italy," Dawn said as she walked up behind them. "Buffy isn't in Italy anymore."

"Dawnie?" Faith said as she jumped up from the bench. "When did you get back?"

"An hour ago," she replied, looking and sounding absolutely exhausted.

"Is Buffy back too?" Faith asked, trying not to get her hopes up too much. "Dawn? Where is she?"

"At your apartment waiting for you."

"Marshall, tell the others I ducked out early," Faith said as she flicked her cigarette to the ground. He gave a nod and she wasted not a second more before running out of the cemetery and all the way back to the apartment.

Every part of her was so relieved she wouldn't have to trek all the way to Italy to find Buffy and bring her back home, but something felt a little off. She tried to shake it off as she ran up the stairs to the fifth floor and that ever familiar buzz she felt around Buffy hit her hard. As she approached the apartment door she took a few deep breaths, steadying herself, before finally walking in. There were suitcases piled up by the door, but as she looked around she didn't see Buffy anywhere. She felt her, though, and walked on into the bedroom to find her sitting on the floor by the closet taking out shoes from the dozens of boxes that lay scattered around her.

"Is this why ya stayed in Italy for an extra week, B?"

"No," she laughed as she got up from the floor and nearly jumped into Faith's arms. "Okay, yes. But it was so hard to resist!"

Faith chuckled as she held onto her for a good couple of minutes, just wanting to hold her in her arms as if she'd forgotten what it felt like to do just that. She felt like an idiot for spending the last three weeks moping around and letting it get to her head the way it had. She'd really believed Buffy wasn't coming back, especially after all the things Buffy had said to her before. A part of her wanted to call Buffy on the mind fuck she'd put her through, but she couldn't—not now that Buffy was softly kissing her neck and throwing her for a loop and a half. She had to stop her, she knew she did, but her body wasn't listening to her brain as Buffy leaned in and planted a soft, tender kiss on her lips.

"I'm so sorry about everything I said before I left and I am so sorry I never called you while we were there."

"B," she sighed as she dropped her arms from around her and sat down on the edge of the bed. "You needed to get outta here for awhile, I totally get that. Shoulda just said you needed a vacation instead of feeding me all that shit that...that really fucked with my head."

"I'm sorry," Buffy frowned as she sat down next to her. "God, Faith. With everything we've been through in the last couple of months, I just overreacted and yeah, I said a lot of stuff to you I probably shouldn't have said. I didn't want to fuck with your head. Honestly I didn't."

"I know."

"Angel being gone...it feels a little empty."

"And ya filled that emptiness with shoes?" Faith asked, chuckling softly when Buffy just rolled her eyes at her. "It feels a little empty for me too, B."

"I keep wishing that it could have been different. That we could have somehow fixed him, you know?" Buffy said, her voice filling with emotion as she reached for Faith's hand, intertwining their fingers as the first few tears began to fall. "Even how I felt when you left to...to kill him, I knew it was the right thing to do. I should've been there with you, Faith. Took me three weeks, but I realize that now."

"Don't wanna sound all needy 'n shit, but when I got back I really needed ya here, B. Y'know I was thinkin' tonight of seriously hopping on a plane and flying out to Italy to drag your ass back home."

"What, would you have slung me over your shoulder and carried me on the plane if I refused?"

"Nah," Faith smirked as she gently squeezed her hand. "You wouldn't have refused, B."

"You're right, I wouldn't have. I missed you so much, Faith. It took me being apart from you for three weeks to realize just how much you mean to me."

"And how much is that?"

"You are my world now," Buffy whispered softly as she moved to straddle Faith's legs, her hands gently cupping the brunette's face as she stared down into her eyes. "I'm more in love with you than I thought I was before I left. I was pretty upset over Angel. Okay, I was really upset over Angel once I found out you'd faced him and killed him without much of a fight."

"I think even as Angelus he wanted it to happen, B. Wouldn't have been so fuckin' easy if it was any other way."

"I know. I know that now. God, I'm so sorry I said all those things to you. I thought if I left you'd move on, find someone else. I didn't mean it when I told you I wasn't coming back. When I said that I was...I was being so stubborn and selfish, but I—"

"Ain't nobody else for me," Faith said softly, smiling as Buffy leaned in for a very soft kiss. "And in case ya don't know this already, I love ya even if you are stubborn and selfish at times."

Faith wanted to ask her if she was dreaming all of this, if she'd been knocked on the head during patrol and had blacked out at one point or another. It felt real and it didn't and she hoped to hell this wasn't all a dream or she'd be really, really pissed off. She knew if she didn't love Buffy as much as she did, she wouldn't take her apology so easily and act as if everything that had happened wasn't such a big deal. In a way it wasn't, it just proved to her that Buffy had been confused before, confused about her feelings for Angel, for her, and that she'd been feeling god knows what else that made her say the things she did that had nearly ripped Faith's heart out of her chest.

"So, we're good now?" Faith asked softly, her fingers running over Buffy's smooth and very tanned legs, stopping at the hem of her shorts. "You ain't gonna leave like that again without me, are ya?"

"I won't leave like that again. I promise. Dawn and Andrew kept telling me how stupid it was to run away like that instead of being here with you."

"They speak nothing but the truth," Faith smirked, now struggling to control her libido as she felt Buffy's smooth skin under her fingertips. "We been through a lot of shit together, that was one more thing we had to get through. And before ya ask, B, no I didn't see anyone else while you were gone."

"I wasn't going to ask you that since I just knew you hadn't."

"Ya really trust me now, huh?"

"Of course I do, Faith. Every day you'd shown me a side of yourself you never bothered to show me before and every day you gave me a reason to completely trust you. I don't ever want that to change."

"Ain't gonna change, B. God, would ya listen to me? Sound like I'm pussy whipped here and if I didn't know any better I'd think ya were some crazy chick playin' head games with me."

Buffy laughed and shook her head, smiling as she ran her fingers gently through Faith's tousled hair. "Definitely not crazy, Faith. Sometimes I get a little unsure about things in my life and the thing with Angel kind of threw me for a pretty messy loop."

"Just like the ones you been throwing me for since the night ya first kissed me, huh?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't you be out on patrol right now?"

"Fuck patrol," Faith said under her breath as she pulled Buffy in for a kiss, stopping short just as their lips met. "I ain't seen ya in three weeks, ya really think I'm gonna be out there when I could be right here right now with you?"

Buffy thought for a moment, pouting slightly, and let out a small laugh as Faith leaned in and captured her bottom lip between her teeth. She sighed into the kiss, pulling Buffy impossibly closer to her as she deepened the kiss, easily finding herself lost within the warm confines of her lips and tongue. She pulled away slightly, kissing the pout that slipped out when she did, and she stared into Buffy's eyes, wondering how it was so possible just to suddenly forget the last three weeks of being apart.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You," Faith replied with a smile. "Fuck, B...sometimes I just...I dunno, with you I just forget about everything else and even now, just kissing you, it doesn't feel like you've been gone and yet it does at the same time. Does that even make any sense?"

"Perfect sense, because I'm feeling that way too right now."

They looked over at the bedroom door as Willow cleared her throat. "Isn't that so sweet?" She laughed as she shook her head at the two of them. "Sure didn't take you long to get over here, Faith."

"No," Faith smirked as she let Buffy get up from her lap. "What are you doin' here, Red?"

"Red?" Buffy asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Forget it. What are you doing here?"

"Seems like nobody told me you were back home."

"Seriously need to make her wear a fuckin' bell," Faith muttered under her breath. She watched as Buffy walked over to sit back down near the stack of shoe boxes, continuing her interrupted task of removing the shoes from their boxes and placing them on the closet floor. "Seriously, B. How many fuckin' shoes did you buy?"

"I bet that's not even half of what she bought," Willow said with a laugh as she stood at the end of the bed. "Am I right, Buffy?"

Buffy's face flushed red a little and shrugged as she continued pulling the shoes from the boxes. Faith rolled her eyes, leaned back on her elbows, and watched Buffy. She turned to Willow, wanting to ask her to leave, but she didn't. As soon as Buffy finished up, she stood up and smirked at Faith who just laid there with an eyebrow raised, mildly amused.

"Will? Can we talk in the morning?" Buffy asked as she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

"You and Faith and some much needed alone time, huh?" Willow asked, smirking as she shook her head. "I get it. I just wanted to come see if you were back with my own two eyes. You know the younger girls and the way gossip just flutters through them. Don't know what to believe sometimes."

"Right."

"I'd give you a hug, but..." Willow laughed dryly. "Yeah. I'll come by in the morning. We'll talk and catch up then. I want to hear all about Italy and you better be prepared to tell me absolutely everything missy."

Faith laughed as she watched Willow leave, then reached out for Buffy and pulled her down on top of her. "Damn, 'bout fucking time. You're gonna hafta talk to her about just appearing in here outta nowhere, B."

Buffy nodded her head as Faith reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears before pulling her down for a deep, passionate kiss. She wanted to flip Buffy over, rip off her clothes and make love to her all night long, but she held herself back, getting lost in the kiss and in the feel of Buffy's body nearly flush against her own. It was no longer hard to push her libido aside, she'd done it plenty of times in the last three weeks, but as the kiss grew more intense and their hands began to wander, she felt that burning heat growing in the pit of her stomach and flooding to her core.

"Faith," Buffy sighed out as she broke away from the kiss, "you're buzzing."

"Fuck," she groaned as she reached for her cell in her pocket and checked to see who was calling. "It's only Perry."

Faith tossed the phone to the floor after she'd turned it off and pulled Buffy back in towards her. She had to blink a couple of times only to make sure she wasn't dreaming that Buffy really was back. She laughed as she started thinking about everything, about Angel, about the things Buffy had said to her that nearly broke her heart. But she thought more about Angel and the confrontation they had before she aimed the crossbow at him and pulled the trigger. She'd had so many dreams of that moment in the last three weeks and every time it went down differently. Sometimes there was a fight she barely could walk away from, other times it was easy just like it really had been.

"What are you thinking about?" Buffy asked as she stared down into Faith's eyes.

"Angel."

"Oh."

"It was too easy, Buffy."

"What did you expect then? Some epic fight to go down between you two?"

"I dunno."

"What happened?" Buffy asked as she moved to lay next to Faith instead of on top of her. "Tell me what happened, Faith."

"He found me. I was out walking around and I saw him. Followed him. We traded a few words, then it was over."

"How did you..."

"Crossbow."

"Your weapon of choice," Buffy said flatly. "How come he didn't fight?"

"Beats me," she shrugged as she stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "He thought you were the one coming to kill him. Maybe he woulda fought if you'd been there instead of me. Guess we'll never know now, will we?"

"Guess not. I half expected you to come back, telling me you couldn't do it, that you couldn't kill him or that you couldn't find him. You're right. Angel did want this. He wouldn't have made it so easy to put Angelus in front of you and let you take him out."

"He wasn't..."

"He wasn't what?"

"He wasn't Angelus when I killed him, B."

"You told me already."

Faith sighed as Buffy ran her fingers over her stomach, playing with the hem of her shirt and tickling the skin that was exposed near it. she just wanted to forget everything that had happened, she wanted to push it out of her mind and focus on the woman she loved that lay there next to her. It was hard, though, and in the last three weeks she'd gone through heartbreak and despair for nothing, really. Most of the last three weeks, if not longer, had felt like a dream to her and even now, she wasn't so sure if she was dreaming or if this really was real. It was almost how she'd felt when she was told that Jackie was her mother, but not quite the same.

"At least he's not going to be around to try to come between us."

"Yeah," Faith shrugged as she turned to look at her. "Sure makes ya wonder how many lines of bullshit he fed us that whole time."

"It doesn't matter anymore, Faith. It's over and we're here together now. If there's one other thing I realized while I was gone, it was how stupid I was to leave like that."

"B, I get it. You feel like ya fucked up by leavin' cos of what I had to do. I'm over it."

"How over it?"

"Enough to want to spend the rest of the night right here with you, preferably naked and makin' ya scream my name 'til your throat's raw and ya beg me to stop."

Buffy bit her lip as Faith rolled them over and stared down at her. "I think..." Buffy sighed as she smiled up at her. "I think that's the best way to spend any night, Faith."

"This is why you're my girl, B. Turned ya into a little sex fiend over the last little while. Unless," she laughed as she kissed her lightly, "ya always been like this and I just brought ya outta your shell."

"I've always been like this I think," Buffy replied softly, smiling right back at Faith as she slipped her hands under her shirt and raked her nails down her back. "It's just better with you. I think it's because I'm in love with you, Faith. Sometimes I'm so in love with you that it's hard to believe I am and it's hard to believe that we have this...this great relationship..."

"Not to mention a great sex life," Faith said pointedly, grinning with pride when Buffy nodded her head in agreement. She laughed when she realized how easy it was to go from thinking about Angel, about the last three weeks, about how she thought she'd lost Buffy for good, to thinking of ripping off her clothes and making love to her, fucking her, all night long.

"I want to make it up to you."

"Make what up to me, B? You being gone for three weeks?" Faith asked, and Buffy only nodded in reply, looking a little shameful at that. "Only thing you can do is kiss me, B. That'll be a nice start to the whole making up thing ya wanna do."

"And then?"

"And then," Faith said slowly as she moved to one side and trailed her fingers to the hem of Buffy's shirt, "you can stop thinking about the past and focus on one thing right here and now."

"What's that?"

"This," Faith said as she slipped her hand under Buffy's shirt and ran it up to cup her breast through the soft lace bra. She could feel the nipple harden as her thumb brushed over it and she could only smirk as Buffy closed her eyes and tried not to let out the moan she knew was coming. She moved her hand from her breast and back down her taut stomach, whispering the words against her lips as she fumbled with the button on her shorts, "and this too."

Buffy pulled her down for a deep kiss as Faith slipped her hand into the blonde's shorts and under the waistband of her panties, her fingers teasing the skin as Buffy tried to raise her hips, to encourage her to keep going without teasing her. Buffy was already wet for her, which was no surprise to either of them, and Faith deftly slipped her middle finger over Buffy's clit and moaned into her mouth as Buffy's hips jerked up at the touch. It wouldn't take much to get her to come and Faith knew that one touch from Buffy would send her tumbling over the edge herself. Since they'd been together, they'd never gone more than a day without sex and three weeks was just too long for both of them.

Buffy was tugging at her clothes, trying to get them off, but Faith wasn't having any of it, at least not just yet. They had the whole rest of the night for themselves and the last thing Faith wanted to do was rush things between them. It was a far cry from her former self, hard and fast, get some get gone, and she wouldn't have it any other way or with anyone else. She mentally had her fingers crossed and tried to keep her mind focused on the feel of Buffy's pussy as her fingers slid between her folds and dipped teasingly into her hot, wet hole. The heat was scorching and it filled her in ways she never thought possible. If she was addicted to anything now, it was to Buffy and the way she could make her come within minutes if she didn't tease her.

"Clothes...off..." Buffy groaned as she broke away from the kiss, gasping as Faith shook her head no and plunged a finger deep inside of her.

"Later," Faith whispered, her lips trailing over Buffy's as she gasped again. "Right now I just need to be inside of you. I need to make you feel the way I know you needed to feel for the last three weeks."

"Fuck..."

"I need to make you know that you belong to me and I plan to spend the entire night doing just that."

"Faith..."

"I'm gonna fuck you so good ya won't be able to move, much less walk. That's how you'll know you are mine. That's how you'll know that the last three weeks I've done nothing but think of you and dream of you."

Buffy moaned softly as Faith's lips met hers in a crushing kiss. The last three weeks were about to come crashing down on both of them and Faith was trying to keep some control over her raging libido even though the urge to truly mark Buffy as her own was almost too strong. Buffy was squirming beneath her as her fingers pumped in and out of her at a blinding pace. She could almost feel Buffy's eyes roll back as she deepened the kiss even more, never stopping, not even for a second, until Buffy clutched at her back as her orgasm almost literally ripped through her.

Faith tried to move, but Buffy was holding on to her so tightly that she couldn't just yet. She wiggled her fingers still buried inside of Buffy's pussy and chuckled softly as Buffy then pushed her off roughly. Faith just laid there on her side just staring over at Buffy, watching as her flushed face turned back to normal and she had a look of complete contentment on her face. After a couple minutes passed and Buffy didn't say a word or even open her eyes, Faith knew she'd fallen asleep. Normally it'd bother her, but right now it didn't and she wasn't so sure why.

She stayed there for a little while just watching Buffy sleep, her eyes memorizing every inch of her anew even though she'd never forget even the smallest detail no matter how long they'd spent apart. When she heard the soft snores she slipped off the bed and out of the bedroom, taking one last long look at Buffy before she flipped off the light and quietly closed the door behind her. The last three weeks had been emotionally and physically draining and even though she'd hoped for more tonight, it felt like enough. For now.

Faith took in a few deep breaths before she headed for the fridge and grabbed a cold beer off the top shelf. As she took her beer out onto the balcony with her and sat down on the plastic chair she could faintly hear Kennedy and Satsu in the apartment next door. The sounds of the city also drifted on the breeze, and although it was the middle of the night they were calming to her. She'd never survive in a small, middle of nowhere town. The quietness would literally kill her slowly and surely.

"Busy?" Willow asked, nearly making Faith jump from the chair. "No? Mind if I join you for awhile?"

"I'd say take a seat, but I don't think ya need to sit or whatever," Faith shrugged, trying to shake it off. "And I was fuckin' serious about you wearin' a bell or somethin', Red."

"Sorry," she muttered under her breath. "I heard you come out. I thought you and Buffy would've been in there all night."

"So did I."

"Everything okay between you two?"

"Yeah. Guess so. Thought it woulda been worse considerin' why she left and everything."

Willow nodded and looked out over the city, at least what they could see. Faith echoed her sigh as she cracked open her beer and downed nearly half the bottle in one go. As much as she wanted to be left alone, she kind of felt bad for Willow. Having died and come back the way she was and have her whole life changed couldn't be easy to deal with. In the few talks they'd had, random bursts of words that barely passed for conversation, Faith had nonetheless learned that Willow would rather be anywhere but there and as she was. She'd felt like that most of her life until things started changing between her and Buffy.

She tried to clear her mind of everything that had unfolded over the last couple of weeks. She tried not to think of Angel and how things went down, how easy it was. She tried not to think about how Buffy had left. None of it seemed to matter now. Buffy was back and she seemed like she was back to her normal self, at least her normal self that she'd been in the time they'd been together. She tried not to think of all the overpowering emotions she'd been feeling since they'd all arrived in Cleveland, but it was hard—especially when every breath she took, she felt everything.

She closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift out as sirens could be heard a short distance away. She thought of what Buffy said to her before, about her being her world now. She felt exactly the same way and she wondered if she always had. Honestly, though? She already knew the answer to that. It was yes, she always had.

Saturday mornings had become the only time Faith was able to use the training room alone. Bright and early, an hour before the sun rose, she found herself down there punching the bag in time to the driving hard rock music that blared over the sound system Xander had installed. Punch, punch, jab, kick and repeat. She found herself so lost in her rhythm she hadn't even heard Buffy come in the training room. She did feel the small hairs on the back of her neck stand up slightly as Buffy actually approached her, though, and she punched the bag one last time before she spun around and wrapped her arms around her.

"Morning," Buffy laughed as Faith leaned in for a kiss only to find herself being pushed away. "You're all sweaty, Faith."

"Ya never complained about that before."

"No," she laughed again as she watched Faith pick up the water bottle off the floor and down the contents in one go. "I never complained before because we were getting all sweaty together."

"Well, don't let me stop ya," Faith chuckled as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"I am so not in the mood to train right now and besides," Buffy said as she walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her, no longer seeming to care how sweaty Faith was. "I was wondering where you went off to so early this morning. I thought I felt you get out of bed."

"Always come down here this early."

"Do you?"

"Only time I get the room to myself without those annoying brats around."

"They all can't be that bad."

"Oh yeah?" Faith asked as she raised an eyebrow at that. "You ain't been around in the last three weeks, B. Spend two hours with 'em in here and you'll wanna pull your hair out."

"I completely agree," Kennedy said as she walked into the training room with Satsu close behind her. "They are all fucking annoying. I wonder if we can ask Giles for some time off and let him and the other Watchers deal with training them."

"Not gonna happen, Ken," Faith said with a smirk as Buffy dropped her arms from around her and went to sit on the bench along the wall. "You know he's all 'train the girls, patrol according to the schedule and behave yourselves' these days."

"I miss having an actual social life!" Kennedy whined as she and Satsu sat down on the mats and began stretching out. "Don't you miss it, Faith?"

"Got enough of a social life with B and you guys to keep me satisfied. Besides, it's Saturday night. None of us has to be out on patrol tonight. You know what that means."

"What does it mean?" Buffy asked as Faith sat on the bench next to her.

"Goin' out dancing, of course."

"But of course," Buffy laughed as she grabbed onto Faith's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Gives me a reason to wear one of my new pairs of shoes."

"Of course it does, but it ain't like ya need a place to go to wear 'em."

"This is very true."

Kennedy laughed at Buffy, who then shot the younger slayer a look that made Faith chuckle under her breath. She missed this, just being around Buffy and Kennedy, even being around Satsu and acting like they were nothing but a bunch of normal twenty-somethings just hanging out on a Saturday morning. Faith couldn't take her eyes off of Buffy and it seemed like Buffy couldn't stop looking at her either. Her body was aching to continue with training, though, since she hadn't had enough of it that morning and she hated denying her body a full-fledged workout. After sharing a brief kiss with Buffy, she joined Satsu and Kennedy on the mats and began to stretch out, feeling her muscles burn in appreciation.

She barely even noticed that Buffy had left and come back wearing her sweats and one of her tank tops. It wasn't until Satsu and Kennedy began sparring that Buffy suddenly pulled her to the far side of the mats and teasingly threw a lazy punch her way. She saw the sparkle in Buffy's eyes and that was all she needed to start what she knew would be a long hour of sparring together. She just hoped it wouldn't get out of hand since they weren't exactly alone and the younger Slayers would be coming in to start their morning training soon. After a few kicks and punches were exchanged, and blocked, Buffy had her pinned to the mats, her lips mere inches from her own.

"Damn, B. Thought you bein' away for three weeks woulda made ya soft."

"Never," she whispered before stealing a kiss. "I will never go soft."

"Unless I do this," Faith responded as she pulled her down for a deep, scorching kiss, no longer caring that Satsu and Kennedy had stopped sparring and were watching them. Buffy moaned softly and Faith used that moment to flip her over. "See, ya went soft."

"Bitch."

"I may be a bitch, but I'm your bitch."

"Never forget it."

"Aren't they just so sweet?" Kennedy said aloud, her voice just dripping with sarcasm. "Seriously, you two are just...you are so sweet and cute it makes me want to puke."

"Jealous?" Faith asked as she got up from Buffy and helped her to her feet. "I can recall a few times I've walked in here and you and Satsu are on the mats fucking like lust bunnies."

Satsu blushed a deep red and Kennedy just smirked proudly. Buffy only smacked Faith across the arm hard for bringing it up without a care in the world and she looked over at Kennedy, flashing an equally smug grin her way. Faith eyed Buffy up and down, wanting nothing more than to continue their sparring session, but as a few of the younger girls started to come into the training room she knew that going all out with Buffy was out of the question now.

For an hour they sparred together, holding themselves back and showing some of the younger girls a few moves that would come in handy if they found themselves cornered by a few vampires. By the time the training room was packed, Buffy was done with training and she kept looking at Faith, trying to urge her to come back up to the apartment with her. They managed to slip out of there as Giles, Bryce, and two other Watchers came in to check on the girls and start with their daily training schedule. Kennedy and Satsu weren't that far behind them and they all laughed as they ran up the stairs, dodging a few of the girls who were late for training and trying to run down the stairs without falling.

"What time ya wanna head out later?" Faith asked Kennedy as they headed down the hallway together, Buffy and Satsu trailing a little bit behind them. "I was thinkin' nine would be good, give us plenty of time to get into the club and dance for a couple hours."

"Nine is good."

"Do ya know if Xander and Dawn are gonna come with?"

"No clue. They've been spending a lot of time alone these days," Kennedy said quietly and she looked back at Buffy for a second. "You know what a horn dog Xander is. He missed Dawn like crazy the last couple of weeks so I imagine he's going to want to do nothing but spend a few days locked in a bedroom with her."

"Can't blame him. All I wanna do with B too."

They both laughed and went into their apartments. Buffy followed Faith about half a minute later with a look in her eyes that showed she was clearly pissed. Faith didn't ask her what was wrong as she stripped out of her sweaty clothes on the way to the bathroom. She half-expected Buffy to be right there behind her, but she went right for the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Faith sighed out as she turned on the water in the shower and waited for it to heat up before stepping in.

Buffy had been in a weird mood since the night before and rather than question it, Faith knew she had to just let that mood of Buffy's run its course without her making it any worse by saying something to her about it. She had a quick shower, grabbed her robe, and slipped it on as she walked out of the bathroom. Buffy was no longer in the bedroom now and she saw her standing at the stove cooking scrambled eggs with the radio on. She was humming along to the song playing and Faith smiled as she stepped up behind her and wrapped her arms around her.

"Hungry?" Buffy asked as she turned her head a little to look at her.

"I'm always hungry, B."

"Just thought I'd ask."

"Hmm," Faith murmured as she trailed her lips over the side of her neck and up to her ear. "Smells fucking delicious, babe."

"It's just scrambled eggs."

"I know," Faith laughed as she slipped her hands under the hem of Buffy's shirt and smoothed her palms over her stomach. "You are talking to the chick that can't even make scrambled eggs without burning them or herself."

"You can cook, you're just impatient sometimes."

Faith laughed as she waited for Buffy to put the eggs on two plates and turn off the stove before she spun her around and captured her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. Even though she was completely starved, and the rumbling in her stomach was evidence of that, she needed Buffy. She needed to kiss her, to touch her, to lick her, to feel her flush against her. Three weeks was far too long and the night before hadn't been enough to satisfy that itch she'd felt growing in the three weeks Buffy had been gone. Before she could start to pull Buffy away from the stove, Buffy broke away from the kiss and shook her head no.

"I'm hungry," she said pointedly before running her hands over Faith's stomach as it rumbled again. "And I know you are too, so let's just eat, okay?"

"Fine," Faith muttered under her breath, pouting as Buffy turned to grab both plates and a couple forks and headed over to the table. "Soon as we finish eating..."

"You want to eat me?" Buffy quipped, and Faith smirked as she ran her tongue over her lips sensually, eliciting a small moan from Buffy in response. "I missed this."

"This?" Faith asked as she sat down at the table and shoved a few forkfuls of eggs into her mouth.

"Just being...us. I missed it."

"Keep that in mind next time ya wanna get gone for a little while."

Buffy nodded slowly, her eyes falling to her plate as she sighed heavily. "You know I needed to get away for a little while after what you had to do to Angel."

"I know, B. Was just making a point."

"I miss him."

"I do too."

"I kept having these dreams while I was in Italy," she said softly, still keeping her eyes on her plate as she pushed her food around. "I kept dreaming that everything was okay. That he never...and that you never had to...and then I'd wake up and I'd know that it isn't a dream, that it really happened and that I'll never see him again. I keep thinking that I should've known something was off about him. I should've seen it, Faith, and I didn't."

"B, don't be so fuckin' hard on yourself. None of us saw it."

Faith saw the few tears slide down her cheeks and she resisted that urge to reach out and wipe them away for her. She ate the rest of her scrambled eggs, only looking up at Buffy every time she heard her sniffle as she tried to stop the tears. She knew she had to let Buffy let it out without interfering, but it broke her heart to see Buffy like this and all she wanted to do was make it better somehow. She finished off her plateful of eggs and sat back, sighing in contentment that her stomach as now pretty much full and satisfied.

She waited for Buffy to finish before clearing the table and putting the dishes in the sink. She kept looking back over at Buffy as she filled the sink with warm, soapy water and she saw that Buffy had a distant look in her eyes as she just stared blankly ahead. She knew exactly how she felt when it came to Angel; she'd felt the same way in the last three weeks herself. It was like a hole, a void that couldn't be filled. Angel had been her salvation, he'd been the one who set her on her path to redemption and there'd been moments when she thought she'd fall off that path now that he was gone, that without him she'd lose all hope of ever fully redeeming herself.

Everything would get back to normal, but one thing she knew for certain these days was that it would take time. The only thing she didn't know was how much time it would actually take for not just her, but for Buffy to get over and accept that Angel was truly gone now. It did cut her a little deep to know that Buffy was falling apart because of him, especially now that they were together, but she always knew how Buffy felt about Angel. That was her first real love, a love that was deep, and it was a type of love that wouldn't go away easily or quickly, and most certainly not in these few short weeks since his final death.

Faith knew how Buffy felt about her; she knew that Buffy loved her. It was something she just didn't question anymore. She could feel it and see it every time they just looked at each other, but that pain from Angel being gone was there now too. It tore her up inside knowing that even with a lot of time to heal, that pain would never quite go away. It'd always be there because she had been the one that killed Angel. If it had been anyone else, she knew it wouldn't be quite that way whenever Buffy looked at her.

"Hey," Faith said softly as she walked over to Buffy before leaning down to kiss the top of her head gently. "You okay, babe?"

"Tired."

"You wanna go back to bed for a little while?"

"No," she sighed as she shook her head. "I just...I don't even know anymore."

Faith pulled her up from the chair and wrapped her arms around her. "B, it's okay. I know how you feel right now. Don't forget I can feel everything you feel."

"Still?"

"Crazy, ain't it?" Faith laughed as she shook her head and lifted her hands to wipe away the tears that started to fall from Buffy's eyes. "Tell me how I can make it better, B. Fuckin' can't stand to see ya like this."

Buffy said nothing as she pulled Faith in for a kiss. It was soft and tender at first until she plunged her tongue into Faith's mouth and began to walk her backwards towards the bedroom. Faith could tell from the intensity of the kiss that Buffy was trying to push all her other feelings and thoughts down so she'd forget about everything. Faith could feel her whole body react to the intensity of the kiss and to the feel of Buffy's hands roaming furiously over her body as they made their way to the bedroom.

The instant Buffy had the belt to her robe untied, Faith shrugged it off and began tugging at Buffy's clothes, determined to get her naked as fast as she could. Buffy kept pushing her hands away and she broke away from the kiss with a growl and nearly ripped her shirt off. When their lips met again, it was almost bruising and Buffy grabbed her wrists and held them away from her as she forced Faith down on the bed. She pulled back from the kiss as she raked her nails down across Faith's breasts and stomach, leaving light scratch marks in their wake. She stood at the foot of the bed and slid out of her shorts with a sly smile across her lips.

"Damn, you're fuckin' sexy, B."

Buffy laughed softly, running her hands over her body as she stepped out of her shorts and kicked them off to the side. She unclasped her bra and slid it off slowly and Faith couldn't help but lick over her lips hungrily as she watched her. She stood before her in only her white panties, ones that barely covered anything at all. Faith blinked a few times as she waited for Buffy to shed her panties and join her in bed, watching intently as the blonde slayer ever so slowly ran her hands down her stomach before hooking her thumbs along the top of her panties and beginning to pull them down.

"I think you're drooling," Buffy smirked as she reached out and wiped the corners of Faith's mouth.

"Can't blame me when I got a fuckin' goddess standing in front of me lookin' sexy as fuck."

Faith pulled Buffy down for a kiss, but let her stay standing at the foot of the bed in front of her. She ran the tip of her tongue down across her breasts slowly, looking up to see Buffy's eyes slide shut as her lips wrapped around a semi-hard nipple. She licked and nipped her way down her stomach, grabbing onto her hips and spinning her around so she was lying down on the bed before she reached her bellybutton. She let Buffy move up the bed a little before she began to kiss up the inside of her left thigh as she spread her legs open slowly. Her mouth was already watering by the time she reached her pussy and took a tentative lick, trying not to smirk as Buffy raised her hips and bit back a moan.

Faith was in no mood to take things slow, and from the way Buffy was squirming as she blew warm air over her already soaking pussy, she knew she wasn't in any position to complain about her almost literally diving in face first. Oh, what she wouldn't give to hear Buffy tell her to lick her cunt. Faith never had worked up the courage to try dirty talk in bed with Buffy, though. It was what she used to do with those nameless people she randomly slept with and she wanted to keep that part of her life as far behind her as she could. Still, there were times like this that she surely did miss it.

She was teasing Buffy with every small lick, with every slight flick of her clit she made with either her tongue or her fingers, and she was loving every reaction she was getting from her. From the whimpering moans to the gasps and the silent pleading to stop teasing her, it turned her on to no end and the ache between her legs grew with every rapid beat of her heart. Buffy gripped onto her head, her fingers intertwining in her hair and she pulled her in closer, clearly unable to take the teasing Faith was unleashing on her for much longer.

She missed this—she missed the slight aggressiveness Buffy showed at times and she missed the way Buffy tasted, the way her body would react to every kiss and every touch. She missed Buffy, all of her, and she hadn't had enough time the night before to show her just how much she did. Not being one to deny her woman pleasure she was obviously seeking out, she spread her folds with her fingers and latched her lips around her clit and sucked hard. She shifted slightly to get a little more comfortable and when she couldn't, she pulled Buffy down to the edge of the bed as she knelt on the floor and draped Buffy's legs over her shoulders.

Buffy was moaning almost constantly as Faith slid a finger deep inside of her and rubbed against her g-spot, sucking and licking at her clit at a pace she knew would have Buffy coming in minutes. She didn't plan to stop after she came either. She planned to keep going until her jaw and tongue were too sore to continue, or at least until Buffy physically forced her to stop.

"Fuck, B...never can get over how fuckin' delicious ya taste," she moaned softly before she slid her finger out and quickly replaced it with her tongue.

"Faith..." Buffy gasped as she spread her legs wider, sliding them off of Faith's shoulders and allowing her more room to plunge her tongue in deeper. "Oh god, Faith..."

Faith's lips and chin were covered in Buffy's secretions as she continued to fuck her with her tongue. She moved her thumb over her clit, rubbing fast circles over it as she felt Buffy's pussy pull her tongue in as the first waves of her orgasm began to wash over her. She pulled her tongue out and sucked at her hole as she came hard and fast and she swore she felt herself have a tiny ripple of her own orgasm as she sucked Buffy dry. She gave her a minute, barely, to recover before she plunged her tongue back inside her hole, feeling her quiver and tense up as she continued to fuck her with her tongue.

Buffy was pulling on her hair and she pulled back, gasping for breath as she looked up at her. the only thoughts that ran through her mind was how sexy she thought Buffy looked in her post-orgasm glow with her body covered in a light sheen of sweat and her lips parted slightly as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Baby," Buffy breathed out as her eyes slid shut. "Come here."

Faith groaned softly and placed a light kiss over her clit before crawling up over her body and planting an equally light kiss upon her lips. "Had enough already, B?"

"No I..."

"Mm?"

"I think..." she gasped out as Faith gently cupped her pussy and teased her hole with her middle finger. "I think it's my turn."

"We take turns now, B?" Faith asked, grinning as she raised an eyebrow at her. "Just waitin' for ya to get all dom on me again, babe."

"Oh you like it when I do, don't you?"

"Fuck yeah I do," she laughed as Buffy rolled her eyes and didn't make a move. "What, not feelin' up to it today, B?"

"Of course I am..."

"But?"

"But I...jesus, Faith. You don't realize what you do to me when you..."

"Lick ya? Fuck ya with my tongue?"

"Yes..." Buffy trailed off, stifling a moan as Faith slid a solitary finger inside of her, still teasing her.

She tucked Faith's damp hair behind her ears before pulling her in for a deep kiss, raising her hips in time to the finger slowly fucking her. Faith was waiting for her to touch her, to make her come too. Her orgasm just bubbling just under the surface, aching to spill over and come out hard and fast, just like always, but Buffy was holding herself back, focused only on the pleasure she was receiving and nothing else. Faith didn't want to have to beg her to touch her; she knew she would once she came down from her high.

She groaned softly against Buffy's lips as the blonde trailed her nails down her back roughly. Buffy slid her thigh in between Faith's legs and pulled her down, eliciting a moan from both of them as Faith plunged a second finger inside her. Buffy could hardly keep herself under control, her hips rising and falling with every movement of Faith's fingers. The friction from Buffy's strong thigh firmly pressing and sliding against her pussy was almost enough to get her off and she could feel the tension and frustration building inside of her. It caused her to slide a third finger inside of Buffy.

"Oh fuck," Buffy cried out as she pulled back from her lips. She moved a hand between them and deftly slid a finger over Faith's wet slit before easily sliding a finger inside of her. "Harder."

"Harder?" Faith questioned, feeling a little dazed by the intensity she was feeling coming off of Buffy. "Are ya sure, babe?"

Buffy just pulled her down for a hard kiss, their tongues dancing furiously as they fucked each other hard and fast. Faith knew she'd be sore if she kept it up, but she quickly pushed that thought to the back of her mind as Buffy slid a second and then a third finger deep inside of her, filling her and making her shudder in pure ecstasy. She rode her hand, her hips bucking wildly as she struggled to keep up with the pace Buffy was setting between them.

Faith parted from the kiss, her lips still brushing against Buffy's as she gasped out for breath, feeling her orgasm begin to flood through her entire body. Buffy was holding hers back, waiting so they could come together just as she usually tried to do. Tried and failed. It's not as if Faith ever cared or thought it mattered even if it was that much more intense for them to come together. She growled when she heard someone knock on the door and then kissed Buffy to keep her from yelling out at whoever was there.

"Why can't we ever be left alone?" Buffy whispered in annoyance as she pulled back from the kiss.

"Beats me, B. Nobody seems to know the meaning of privacy around here."

"I kind of wish that we were still in that place. At least there we could be together and Jackie was pretty considerate about leaving us alone."

"I kinda wish we were too sometimes. Everything seemed so much fuckin' simpler there. We come back and everything is all fucked up and why the hell are we even talkin' about this now?"

Faith kissed her yet again, trying to push back their short talk and just get back to feeling where she'd been mere minutes before. It wasn't very often that Buffy would start talking right before they both came and she hated it when she did since it seemed harder to get back to that point. Faith fucked her fingers harder in and out of Buffy, feeling her do the same right back until it bordered that fine line between pain and pleasure.

Faith could barely hold herself over Buffy as her arm began to shake. She moved to lie next to her, not once slowing her fingers and not even breaking away from their kiss. Buffy seemed to take that as her cue to be on top and she was instantly hovering over Faith, fucking her harder and deeper, grinding the palm of her hand into her clit with every other hard thrust of her fingers. She could only faintly hear voices out in the hallway as the knocking on the door resumed, but she let them fade away just like everything else as she broke away from the kiss and stared deeply into Buffy's eyes.

"Close, babe?" Faith asked softly, gasping as her orgasm began to take flight deep inside of her. "I'm so close, B."

"Mm, me too, baby."

Faith slowed her thrusts, burying her fingers inside of her and stroked Buffy's g-spot, watching as he eyes rolled back and she let out a rather feral moan as she let herself go. She reluctantly took her fingers out and pulled Buffy's hand away. She ran her hands down Buffy's back as she settled between her legs and they rode out their orgasm, every roll of their hips grinding their pussies into each other's and drawing out a rather intense orgasm.

Faith kept her arms wrapped around Buffy, needing to feel her flush against her, needing to feel her heart beating almost in time with her own, needing just to hold her, ride out what felt like the most intense orgasm she'd had since before Buffy had taken off for three long, lonely weeks. She felt like she was floating in a daze and she'd nearly forgotten there was someone at the door until the knocking became louder and clearer than it had been before.

"Fuckin' ignore 'em, B. They'll go away," she groaned as she held onto Buffy to keep her from getting up.

"It could be important, Faith."

"So? Don't think anything is more important to me right now than bein' right here with you."

Buffy sighed, sliding down Faith's body a little bit and laying her head down on her chest as she played with the ends of her still-damp hair. Every breath she took danced across Faith's skin, over her breasts and over the semi-hard nipple that was just aching for attention. She was very aware of every inch of her body and every inch of her body just wanted to be devoured and worshipped by Buffy. Nobody had ever been able to touch her quite the way Buffy did and nobody had ever made her feel the way Buffy did either. She had to wonder if it was because they were in love with each other, truly and deeply in love, or if it was because it was Buffy that she was with that made her feel that way.

"Faith? Buffy? I know you're in there!" Xander yelled out as the knocking on the door turned into pounding. "Don't make me use my spare key!"

"He has a key?" Buffy asked as she lifted her head to look at Faith. "Since when does he have a key?"

"It's a master key. Opens every door in this place. I got one too."

"Oh. Why do I get the feeling I missed way too much being away for three weeks?"

"Cos ya did?"

Faith didn't mean for it to come out sounding so bitter, but with Xander interrupting their alone time she couldn't help it. Before Buffy could say anything back she pulled her in for another kiss, hoping if they didn't answer that Xander would leave them alone and whatever he wanted them so urgently for could wait just a little while longer. A whole day longer. When Buffy ended the kiss far too soon for her liking and got off the bed, she groaned as she leaned up on her elbows to watch as the blonde grabbed some clean clothes and quickly got dressed.

"Y'know, the whole point of us being here was to have our time together," Faith muttered under her breath. "Everything went and fucking changed on us."

"So what do you want to do about that, Faith?"

"Who knows," she shrugged. "Could always go back to the house or find another place nearby."

"You really want to do that?"

"Course I do, B. I wanna be with you, I wanna have our time together without anyone fuckin' interrupting us. I know you want it too, B. This is never gonna end as long as we're here."

"We're needed here."

"Wish ya woulda figured that out before ya took off for three fuckin' weeks."

"Can we not do this right now?" Buffy asked, her voice trembling as Faith got out of bed and quickly threw on some clothes, skipping a bra and panties since she just couldn't be bothered. "I really don't like fighting and arguing with you, Faith."

"Like I do?"

"It's not supposed to be like this," Buffy sighed. "We just..."

"I know," Faith said as she stopped her from walking out of the bedroom. "I'm sorry."

"I tried to get us back to the way it was before...before...and it's not that easy," she said quietly as she took in a few deep breaths and quickly wiped away the tears that began to fall. "It's still going to take some time for us to get back there, Faith."

"I know that, B. Don't worry about it. We'll get there."

"Will we?"

"Sure," she said with a smile that surprisingly didn't feel forced despite the situation they now found themselves in. "Look at all the shit we got over, together and on our own. This is nothing compared to the shit we've been through in the past."

Faith could hardly believe the stuff coming out of her mouth and yet she meant every last word of it. Buffy just smiled sweetly at her and pulled her in for a deep kiss that made her weak in the knees. It made her forget far too easily about the words they'd just exchanged and it made her drown out the sound of Xander still pounding on the door. She pulled back when she heard the key slide into the lock and they both rolled their eyes before walking out of the bedroom just as Xander was letting himself inside.

"Where's the fuckin' fire?" Faith asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Urgent meeting."

"We take weekends off, Xand."

"Not when there are problems with a few of the girls," he replied as he motioned for them both to follow him. "Oh and sorry for...you know, bothering you two."

"Better be fuckin' sorry," Faith muttered under her breath as they walked out of the apartment and followed him down the hallway towards the stairs. "So what's the big problem with the girls? They fightin' again?"

Xander nodded as they walked down the first few flights of stairs. She knew he wouldn't explain since it wasn't up to him to do just that. They didn't say anything else as they walked down to where Giles' office was and found themselves in the middle of a rather heated fight between Carmen and one of the younger girls, Jessie. Faith pulled Carmen away from her and shoved her halfway across the room. It hadn't been the first time the two of them had gotten into it. They were both short fuses who did not get along what so ever and she was getting tired of playing referee when it came to them.

Giles cleared his throat and pointed to the couch along the one wall. Jessie reluctantly sat down and Faith made sure Carmen sat on the other end before she placed herself in between them. Buffy and Xander just stood by the doorway watching as the little scene unfolded before them.

"What's the big fuckin' problem this time?" Faith asked as she looked at Carmen then over at Jessie. "I thought you two were gonna grow the fuck up and leave each other alone?"

"She started it," Jessie said under her breath. "It isn't my fault she's a stupid bitch!"

"We were sparring," Carmen said calmly. "I didn't start anything. She is the one who threw that punch that nearly knocked me out! I was only retaliating in self-defence."

"Girls," Giles said sternly as he stood in front of them and motioned for Faith to move from the couch. "I do not know what is going on between you two."

"I hate her," they both responded at the same time and it caused Faith to burst out laughing as she joined Buffy by the door.

"You know the rules here. You both know that you cannot be fighting amongst yourselves when you should be training. If you cannot focus on your training you'll put your lives and anyone else that is around you in danger when you are out on patrol. I cannot stress how important it is for the two of you to set your differences aside."

"This is gettin' old, ain't it, Giles?" Faith asked as she leaned against the doorframe. He shot her a glare that warned her to keep her mouth shut and to let him deal for the time being. "Sorry."

"Why are we even here?" Buffy asked her softly as Giles talked to both of the girls quietly. "Are we here in case they decide to try to kill each other?"

"Yeah," Faith nodded as she casually slipped her arm around Buffy's waist and pulled her in close to her side. "That and I bet Giles is gonna want to talk to us after about how to deal with 'em. I swear Carmen has been nothin' but a pain in all our asses since she got here."

"She has," Xander said under his breath and he and Faith both chuckled softly. "You know who those two remind me of?"

"Us?" Faith asked as she leaned in and kissed Buffy lightly on the cheek. "Definitely reminds you of us way back when, huh?"

Buffy raised an eyebrow in slight amusement as Jessie and Carmen kept shooting each other death glares while Giles continued to try to talk them down. She was barely paying any attention when Giles turned to them. She knew he was asking them for a favour, most likely to keep an eye on the two girls to make sure they really didn't try to kill each other, but she was too engrossed in watching Buffy and her reaction to the whole situation they were being put in the middle of. Buffy really had missed a lot in the last three weeks and it'd take a little while for her to get used to the way things really were around there.

"Faith? Did you hear a word I said?" Giles asked tiredly, letting out a pained sigh as he took in Faith's guilty look. "I want you and Buffy to take those two out on patrol tonight and yes," he said as he held up his hand before Faith could protest, "I know you have requested weekends off, but this situation needs to be dealt with."

She let out a dejected sigh, knowing their night out was definitely out of the picture now. She shook her head as she dropped her arm around from Buffy and tried not to show her disappointment and anger that they would have to deal with Jessie and Carmen instead of living what could resemble a semi-normal life that night. It was just the way things were right now. She really hoped they wouldn't always be that way, now more than ever.

Faith walked behind Buffy, taking one long drag after another from her third—possibly fourth—cigarette since they headed out on patrol. Jessie was walking next to her, acting like the spoiled brat Faith had come to know her as. Carmen was ahead of them by a good ten feet, twirling her stake without a single care in the world. It was going to be a long night and Faith wanted to be anywhere but there. She knew Buffy did too, she could feel it coming off her in waves.

They were supposed to monitor Carmen and Jessie, make sure they worked as a team on patrol instead of trying to kill each other, but so far things weren't going as planned. It was aggravating Faith and she wanted nothing more than to set the two of them straight in her own way. Her way being leaving them alone to fight each other and put themselves at risk with all the things that went bump in the night that were just lurking in the shadows, waiting for their moment to come out and play.

"It's going to be a slow night," Buffy said quietly as she hung back and let Faith catch up with her.

"Thinkin' we should leave them two alone for a little while."

"Are you crazy?"

"Probably," Faith chuckled as she flicked her cigarette to the ground. "They're gonna hafta learn to cut the shit and play nice sooner or later, right?"

"Preferably without trying to kill each other first," Buffy replied quietly, slipping an arm around Faith's waist as they both leaned up against a tree at the side of the pathway. "Even we weren't as bad as they are with each other."

"No, but then again we never had the chance to get like that."

Faith sounded rather bitter and she didn't want to get into this with Buffy now. They wanted to leave their past behind and move on as best as they could and she was fully determined to do just that. She just wanted to stay happy with Buffy, to stay in love, to keep from drifting apart. Three weeks without Buffy had been torture on her mind, on her soul, and her heart and she never again wanted to have to go through feeling that again for as long as she could help it.

"Everything feels different," Buffy whispered as she leaned into Faith, both watching as Carmen and Jessie exchange a look before walking off in separate directions. "Not with you, but everything here feels different now, Faith."

"It is different now, B. Been that way since ya left."

"I keep thinking about Angel. I keep thinking about what you've told me about facing him, about how easy it was for you to take him out."

"Like I said, I'm thinkin' he wanted it to be that easy, B. Thinkin' that the way things were headed for him, he decided he was fuckin' done. Wanted out."

"I'm going to miss him like crazy. I already do."

"I know," she sighed as she leaned over and kissed the side of Buffy's head gently. "I'm gonna miss him like crazy too, B. Wherever he is now, he's in a better place."

"Is he?"

"Could be? Who knows? Now's probably not a good time to talk about this shit, B."

"It'll never be a good time," Buffy groaned softly. They stepped away from each other as they both spotted a small group of vampires making their way towards them. "Just when I thought it'd be a slow night tonight."

"Newbies," Faith said quietly as she pulled her stake out from the back of her jeans. "Easy as cake."

"They should be fighting them, not us," Buffy said angrily as the taller of the vampires charged at her. "I am so requesting a temporary retirement soon."

Faith laughed as she took on two vampires with ease. A few kicks, a few jabs, and she staked them quickly, not in the mood to mess around. She stepped back and watched as Buffy kicked the vampire facing her square in the jaw just as Carmen and Jessie ran over to help out. It was just a few seconds before ten vampires had them surrounded. Faith's heart was beating quickly, her whole body charged up with adrenaline and she couldn't wait to get through them all, one by one.

Ten against four Slayers, two of which had super-strength. To anyone else it wouldn't seem like an easy fight, but Faith knew it would be. She didn't even have to try. Neither did Buffy, but she could see that Buffy was actually having fun toying with the vampires that dared think they could take her. Jessie and Carmen held their own, which wasn't surprising to Faith in the least. She knew they were trained well and that they could defend themselves if they found themselves cornered. The last three weeks of training was showing and she tried not to look too impressed and proud of them as the two of them staked the last two vampires standing.

"See what happens when you two put your differences aside?" Faith asked, her tone mocking and full of sarcasm as she watched Jessie and Carmen shoot each other a look. "And damn, girls, if looks could kill you'd both be dead right about now."

"Whatever," Carmen nearly growled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Just because she looked out for my back doesn't mean we're cool now."

"No, it doesn't," Faith replied as she moved to step in between them, feeling that they both were about to take a charge at one another. "But it's somethin' to work from. Fuckin' stupid to be fighting and hatin' on each other the way you two been. I'll tell ya that in the end, it's definitely not worth it."

"They need to figure that out for themselves," Buffy interjected as she reached for Faith's hand and pulled her away from the two of them. "Come on, we don't have time for this. We have to check the rest of the cemetery and move to the next. I really don't want to spend my Saturday night babysitting."

"Then don't. Leave," Carmen snapped. "I can check the other cemetery and Jessie can stay here. As long as she stays out of my way..."

"Sorry, 'fraid it doesn't work that way," Faith said firmly, the authority in her tone scaring her a little, but she didn't let it be shown. "Ya heard what Giles said—this sitch has to be dealt with and us leavin' you two alone isn't gonna deal with it."

"We can't force them to get along," Buffy whispered to her once Carmen and Jessie walked off.

"No we can't, but we can try to help 'em get there," Faith replied, smirking as she pulled Buffy in close to her. "I'm just tired of their fuckin' attitude problems, B. They're hot for each other and once they realize that..."

"God," Buffy laughed as she laced her fingers through Faith's hair and pulled her in as if she was going to kiss her, stopping short just a hairsbreadth away. "You might be right. Attraction can be fatal at times, especially when you don't want to feel the way you do."

"Somethin' ya know first hand, huh?"

"Maybe."

Faith laughed and planted a soft kiss on her lips, lingering for a moment before pulling away slowly. She always found Buffy to be more beautiful than ever under the soft light of a half moon in the middle of a cemetery. There was just something about the atmosphere that made something in her shine. She couldn't even imagine what it'd be like if they were two completely normal human beings. She knew if they were, they'd never be together, they would've never even met. Two different people from two very different walks of life. It really got her thinking too about all the what ifs and she hated when she started thinking that way. All she wanted was to live in the now, to live in each moment as it came and went.

"Wanna ditch 'em?" Faith asked softly as she closed her eyes, concentrating only on the feel of Buffy's fingers gently stroking the nape of her neck.

"First you don't want to and now you do?"

"Only got one thing on my mind now."

"You always have that on your mind," Buffy laughed as she shook her head. "If it were up to you, it's all we'd ever do."

"Technically it really is all we ever do."

"Technically."

"Let's just get patrol over with," Faith said after a moment, reluctantly forcing herself to drop her arms from around Buffy and step back. "If it ain't too late by the time we finish, we're goin' out like we planned to. I need to just fuckin' dance and lose myself in the music for a couple hours."

Buffy nodded in agreement as they started walking down the path, trying to catch up with Carmen and Jessie who were now in the middle of a rather heated argument. Just what they were arguing about, Faith didn't know nor did she care as she pulled Jessie away from Carmen before she could throw a punch her way. It was going to be one hell of a long patrol. With the way things were going, Faith knew that by the time patrol did finish it'd be too late to hit up a club and dance for a couple of hours. That alone was making her angry and she could only hold it back so much before she'd retaliate and let the two of them know that it was time to grow the fuck up and get over their differences, whatever their differences were.

She calmed down only when she looked over at Buffy and found herself feeling at ease with the smile Buffy flashed at her. Over and over in her head, she thought of one thing: How happy she was that Buffy had come back and that they were getting back to the way things had been before. And the scariest thought ran through her mind as the four of them began walking through the cemetery together in silence. She thought of how she'd love nothing more than to marry Buffy, to make their relationship solid and real, even more so than it already was.

It scared her because she'd never imagined having thoughts of marriage before, not even with Buffy, and now it was all that she wanted. She wasn't sure if it was what Buffy wanted either, but she had a feeling she might just feel the same way. If not now, eventually.

 

---

 

"Morning," Kennedy muttered groggily as she opened the door and let Faith inside. "Before you say anything, let me ask you what the hell you are doing awake so goddamn early?"

"Haven't slept."

"Makes sense," she replied with a short laugh. "Coffee?"

"Already had a pot, could use some more."

"Satsu is still sleeping," Kennedy said as they made their way to the kitchen. "Had a long night."

"Fuckin' all night will do that to ya," Faith chuckled as she leaned against the counter and watched as Kennedy sleepily made her way to the coffeepot that was nearly finished brewing. "Things are going pretty good between you two, huh?"

"Better than it ever was with Will. Don't get me wrong," she said as she poured them each a cup of coffee, "Will was great, but I fell in love with her way too fast. We weren't right for each other. I didn't even realize that until Satsu came here."

"I got somethin' I need to talk to ya about," Faith said as she took her mug off the counter and followed Kennedy out onto the balcony.

"What's up?"

"It's kinda huge."

"How huge?"

"Marriage huge."

Kennedy's jaw dropped open and her eyes went wide as she sat down on the plastic chair slowly. "Marriage? You want to ask Buffy to marry you?"

"Yeah. Crazy, ain't it?"

"A little, yeah."

"I dunno where this whole idea came from, all I know is I want this with her."

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that she just left for three weeks?"

Faith shrugged as she took a tentative sip of her hot coffee. "Maybe. I dunno, Ken. I'm in love with her, I'm happier than I've ever been in my life and I just...I want everything I never thought I'd want before and I want it with her."

"And let me guess," Kennedy smirked as she leaned back in the chair and stared up at Faith. "You are gonna ask me to be your best man, huh?"

"Of course. Who else would I ask?"

"Xander?"

"He and I aren't close like we are and you being my best man is a no brainer," Faith replied and she shuddered as she realized how real her thoughts of marrying Buffy were becoming. "I don't even know if she'll say yes."

"Of course she will. She'd be crazy not to! She loves you, Faith. It might be pretty quick between you two but you got all this loaded history with each other."

"Right," she sighed as she lowered her eyes to her mug. "It is too quick, ain't it? I should wait a few months, shouldn't I?"

"Asking the wrong girl, Faith. I've never been close to ever feeling that way with anyone I've been with. All I know is," Kennedy said, pausing as she took a deep breath and stifled a yawn, "if it feels right, then do it. Ask her. The worst that could happen is her saying no and you and I both know she won't say no."

"This is kinda crazy," Faith said softly, laughing as she looked out at the cloudless sky. "Three months ago we weren't even together and now I want to ask her to marry me, spend the rest of our lives together. But it does feel right, Ken. That's the crazy part. It feels so goddamn right."

"What's going on?" Satsu asked as she walked out onto the balcony with a cup of coffee and sat down in the chair next to Kennedy. "What the hell are you doing here so early, Faith?"

"She's going to ask Buffy to marry her," Kennedy said excitedly. "Isn't that great?"

"Wow, so soon?"

"Yeah," Faith nodded. "I really am crazy and it really is too soon, ain't it?"

"No," Kennedy said before Satsu could put in her two-cents. "I told you, if it feels right, do it. Ask her. And as your future best man, I plan to throw you one hell of a bachelorette party!"

"Are you going to buy her a ring?" Satsu asked. "Or have you already bought her one?"

"Was thinkin' of taking the non-traditional route, do somethin' different, but Buffy is this girly chick so maybe a ring might be the right way to go. Somethin' simple, ya know?" Faith said. She shrugged, trying to push down the nerves she didn't think she'd ever have. "Shit, I can't believe this. This whole thing just kinda hit me outta nowhere and it's all I been thinkin' about since last night."

Satsu laughed as she shook her head. "You've got it bad for Buffy. I think it's sweet, though. Kenny, you think we'll ever have what they have?"

"We'll have something close to what they have," she smiled and they shared a light kiss. "But nobody can touch what Buffy and Faith have. It's deeper than true love. They are each other's halves and it only took them what, five years to figure that out?"

"Somethin' like that," Faith laughed. "I'd appreciate it if you two kept this on the down-low for a couple days. Gonna figure out how and when to ask her. Wanna do it right."

"Nobody will hear about this," Kennedy promised and she stood up and hugged Faith tight. "Just tell me everything once it happens. I want to know every last detail...unless you two end up fucking afterwards. Don't really want too many details on that."

Faith felt like she was stuck in some kind of a dream as Kennedy and Satsu started talking about her and Buffy getting married, about how they could keep it fairly low-key and just have those be there that are closest to them. Faith could barely get a word in between the two of them and by the time all was said and done, the younger lovebirds practically had it all planned out for them. It was scary, just a little, but she was also excited. She almost couldn't wait to find a ring for Buffy and ask her to marry her. It was just Buffy's reaction she was worried about. She knew that Buffy was in love with her, but what she didn't know was if Buffy loved her enough to want to marry her one day. One day being soon since the life of a Slayer was never really long at all.

She went back to her apartment after she had a second cup of coffee with Kennedy and Satsu. Buffy was awake and in the kitchen with Dawn when she walked through the door. She ignored Dawn and walked right up to Buffy and wrapped her arms around her, smiling like a fool as she leaned in for a kiss. Buffy laughed softly before their lips met and she kissed her long and deep, not caring that Dawn was sitting right there and trying not to watch them.

"Morning," Buffy whispered once the kiss ended between them. "I was wondering where you went off to."

"Was over talking to Ken and Satsu."

"I figured," she smiled as she made no move to unwrap herself from Faith's tight embrace. "Are you hungry?"

"When am I not?"

Buffy laughed as she leaned in for another kiss, keeping it short and sweet before she pulled away. Faith just watched as Buffy pulled out the pancake mix and busied herself trying to get breakfast started. With the frame of mind she was in this morning, just watching Buffy made her whole body tingle in anticipation of a lifetime of chill mornings together. She couldn't even wipe the goofy grin off her face as she watched Buffy. She still ignored Dawn and that look she was giving both of them, a look that was borderline annoyed yet happy for them at the same time. Happy that they'd found the happiness one could only wish for between the two of them.

Faith wondered if it was the lack of sleep that was making her act this way, more so than what she was becoming used to. Talking to Kennedy and Satsu about wanting to marry Buffy had made it completely real—scary, too, but very real—and now it was all she could think about. She wished that Dawn wasn't there so she could tell Buffy to forget about breakfast and whisk her away into the bedroom. The urge to have a cigarette made her whole body shake and she slipped out to the balcony without a word and quickly lit the last cigarette in the pack.

She wondered what Angel would think about where her and Buffy's relationship was headed. She knew how he felt before, but Angelus was influencing him so she wasn't sure what he really did think about the two of them being together. She tried not to think about Angel, though—as hard as it was—because thinking of him brought back those fresh memories of what she had to do. It shot through her heart like an arrow or a stake and it was pain she'd rather not deal with. She had a lot of other things on her mind and she didn't need thoughts of Angel derailing her and pulling her into a depressive, closed off mood.

"Did you want to be alone?" Dawn asked as she opened the door.

"Nah, just came out for a smoke," Faith replied as she leaned against the railing and took another drag of her cigarette. "What's up, Dawnie?"

"You okay?"

"Course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

"You're acting weird, Faith."

"Am I?"

"Yeah," Dawn laughed as she sat down in the chair closest to the door. "You and Buffy are doing okay, right?"

"Sure."

"I thought that her being gone for three weeks might have changed things between you two."

"Nah," Faith shrugged. "I mean I missed her and all, but you know, she had to do what she had to do. Who was I to stop her?"

"She wouldn't shut up about you the whole time we were there," Dawn laughed as she shook her head. "I think I know you more than you think I do because of Buffy."

"So my badass rep is destroyed, huh?" Faith asked, winking as Dawn just laughed again.

"Destroyed completely, but don't worry, the secrets are all safe with me."

"Secrets?"

"Oh, you know, just little things like how sweet you really are with Buffy. She kept saying how she didn't understand why it took you two so long to have what you have now," Dawn said, pausing thoughtfully before continuing. "Things like that take time. You two had things to work out on your own before you could be together. You know something, Faith?"

"What?"

"I really thought you two would've hooked up that first night after we left Sunnydale. But with Robin dying and everything, it just wasn't meant to happen right then."

Faith nodded and took another long drag of her cigarette. She hadn't talked or even thought about Robin in quite some time and despite never having deep feelings for him, just thinking about him now kind of tore her apart inside. He'd given her hope and in a way he'd broken down her walls, allowing Buffy in once Buffy was ready to try. She knew Buffy enough to know that she wasn't one to emotionally connect with just anyone. She wasn't either and it made her laugh just a little to realize in another way just how similar they really were.

"Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer or anything," Dawn said after a moment, and Faith just shrugged and waited for her to continue. Dawn looked back inside to make sure Buffy wasn't near to hear before she leaned towards Faith. "Are you two going to, you know, ever get married or anything?"

"Maybe," Faith said, hiding her surprise. "Been thinkin' of asking her."

"Seriously?" Dawn asked, her voice squealing from being so excited. "Are you serious, Faith?"

"Yeah."

"And you aren't freaking out about it?"

"No," she replied, and shrugged again. "Maybe a little. God, I can't believe I'm talking to you about this."

"I can't believe it either. Keep thinking you've done a body swap with another Faith or something," Dawn chuckled as Faith crushed her cigarette out in the ashtray and sat down on the chair next to her. "You haven't even mentioned anything about this to Buffy, have you?"

"No. Ken and Satsu know, though."

"They do?"

"Yeah," Faith said as she let out a sigh. "Kinda dangerous for me to be awake all night and thinkin' about this kinda shit."

"This is just...wow..." Dawn said softly as she shook her head in slight amazement. "Almost completely unexpected."

"I know."

They both laughed and Faith relaxed as best as she could when she heard Buffy coming towards the door. It didn't surprise her at all to find that Willow was right there with her. Willow always seemed to be right there. it made her feel a little paranoid that maybe she'd been listening in earlier when she'd been at Kennedy's without her even knowing it. If Willow did know anything, she didn't show it and Faith let those paranoid thoughts drop as she grabbed on to Buffy and pulled her down onto her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw a rather dreamy look in Dawn's eyes before she got up and talked Willow into coming with her, giving the two of them some much appreciated time alone.

"What were you two talking about?" Buffy asked softly as she ran her fingers lightly over Faith's jaw before tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Nothin' interesting, B."

"You are such a bad liar."

"I know," Faith smirked. "It's nothin', B. Really."

Buffy could only glare at her and she knew Buffy didn't believe her. She was a bad liar; at least she was now when it came to Buffy. After all the time they'd spent together it was almost as if Buffy could sniff out those lies or the lack of truth right away. It wasn't that she wanted to lie to her; she just needed a bit of time to figure out a way to ask Buffy to marry her without dropping any kind of hints along the way. It was crazy to her too because before Willow had died, marriage had been the very last thought on her mind. At the time she'd thought she was so far away from feeling that way. Everything had turned itself around on her in an instant.

She almost started to panic with the thoughts running rampant through her mind, but she calmed herself down and breathed in and out slowly, focusing only on getting completely lost in Buffy's eyes. It seemed to work until Buffy slapped her across the arm and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What the hell, B?"

"Did you hear a word I just said?"

"You were talking?"

"I asked you if you wanted to go out today."

"And do what?"

"I don't know, just go out. We never just go out."

"You're gonna say the 'S' word, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"There's only one 'S' word I wanna hear right now," Faith chuckled as she wiggled her eyebrows and leaned in for a kiss only to be denied. "What? What'd I say?"

"Always about sex, Faith."

"Always," she smirked, then flinched when Buffy moved her hand as if she was going to slap her arm again. "Oh come on, like you don't think about it all the time too, B."

"Are you going to go on some speech about how it's been three weeks and that we've got a lot of making up to do?"

"Damn right we got a lot of making up to do. Got a lot of fuckin' to do too."

Buffy rolled her eyes, but Faith caught her trying to hide the smirk that slipped out. Despite the heat that was rapidly becoming nearly unbearable, Faith held Buffy close to her and rested her chin upon her shoulder. Buffy squirmed around a little on her lap until Faith let go of her and found herself being pulled to her feet instantly.

"What gives?"

"Go get into some clean clothes and meet me downstairs in ten minutes," Buffy said sternly, still trying to keep the smirk off her face. "And no, we aren't spending the day shopping. Maybe for some food for later but..."

"Food shopping I can do," Faith chuckled as she let Buffy push her inside and towards the bedroom. "Come on, B. Don't rush me."

"We're wasting the day away doing nothing."

"Ain't never heard ya complain about that before."

"Maybe things have changed," Buffy said pointedly as she pushed Faith the last little bit of the way into the bedroom. Faith grabbed on to her and pulled her into the bedroom with her, instantly backing her up against the wall. "Faith...not now."

Faith didn't say anything as she leaned in close, her lips barely brushing against Buffy's as she took in a deep breath. If Buffy really didn't want to she'd have pushed her away, yet she succumbed to her advances just as she always did. Buffy was powerless when it came to Faith, and Faith knew she couldn't make a habit out of taking advantage of Buffy's weakness, though sometimes it was damn close. She didn't want their relationship to turn into something like that.

"Sure ya don't wanna just stay here, B?"

"I'm sure."

"As sure as I am that I can convince ya otherwise?" Faith asked as she popped the button on her jean shorts and teasingly ran her fingers over Buffy's stomach, watching her suck in a deep breath as she waited for Faith's fingers to dip under the waistband of her panties.

She used her own legs to nudge Buffy's apart a little more as she slipped her hand inside her panties, teasing her as she refused to go lower. Buffy gripped onto her arm tightly as she slid her eyes shut. Faith knew that maybe she really was using Buffy's weakness to her own advantage, but from the way things were going and from how wet she felt Buffy was for her as she dipped her fingers lower, teasing her clit for a half a second, she knew Buffy wanted it as much as she did.

"Maybe..." Buffy breathed out as Faith teased her hole as she stared intensely at Buffy, wishing she'd open her eyes. "Maybe we can put off going out until later."

"Damn right we can put it off 'til later."

"Faith, if we had it your way, we'd never leave the bedroom," Buffy laughed as she opened her eyes and looked at her. "And sometimes that's not an entirely bad thing either."

"Knew you'd see it my way, B."

"But..." Buffy trailed off as she reluctantly pulled Faith's hand out of her panties and intertwined their fingers together. "But I want to go out today, Faith."

"Fine, baby, we'll go out," she muttered under her breath as she took a step back, letting go of Buffy's hand and watching her as she buttoned up her shorts. "You still ain't gonna tell me where we're goin', are ya?"

"Nope."

Faith let out an almost whining groan that made her sound about five years old. It just made Buffy laugh as she slipped out of the bedroom, sending one last glare back at Faith that told her she meant what she'd said before. She groaned again and changed into clean clothes. She took her time getting ready and met Buffy downstairs twenty minutes later. She didn't need to ask, she knew what that look in Buffy's eyes was. There was a surprise and Buffy knew that she would absolutely love it. She did have her doubts—it was Buffy after all and there were just some things she wasn't sure how to take when it came to her.

Buffy didn't say a word to her as she took her hand and led her outside. They walked around to the parking lot, Buffy handing Faith a set of keys as they reached an Escalade that appeared to be Perry's. Or at least its twin. She raised an eyebrow but took the keys anyway and they got into the SUV.

"I borrowed it from Perry," Buffy said as soon as they had closed the doors. "He told me I couldn't drive it."

"Found out what a horrible driver you are, huh?"

"That and I don't have a license."

"And I do?"

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. What'd you think, B? That somehow I managed to get my license while I was in prison?"

"I just thought...never mind."

"B, I do have a license," Faith chuckled softly. "I just have to renew it. Might be able to get away with not getting pulled over today, though, depending on where you're planning to go. And since I'm driving, you do kinda need to tell me that."

"Can't I just tell you when to turn?"

Faith laughed again before starting the vehicle and driving out of the parking lot. She turned whenever Buffy told her to turn until they found they were lost in a part of the city where neither of them had ever been before. Faith, being as stubborn as she was, refused to ask for directions and after a very frustrating hour of driving in circles, she found her way back to the roads she knew better than the back of her hand. She needed a cigarette but reached for Buffy's hand instead, ignoring the craving that made her skin feel as if it were crawling and gnawing at her.

It was over three hours before Faith pulled into a small dirt parking lot by the lake. It was completely deserted despite it being the middle of summer. They got out and Faith walked down the sand towards the water and looked out at the boats that lined the horizon. Buffy joined her a few minutes later with a blanket and a picnic basket.

"So this was what you planned for today, B? A picnic?"

"Yeah," Buffy smiled over at her as she spread the blanket over the sand and sat down. "Its okay, isn't it?"

"Fuck yeah it is," Faith said as she joined her on the blanket and kicked off her shoes. The trees near them provided just enough shade to make the hot day bearable. "Shoulda just told me ya planned a picnic, B."

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Faith smiled at her and was mentally kicking herself for not making this day just that much better by having a ring and a speech prepared to ask Buffy to marry her. It seemed like a perfect place and time to do just that. She leaned over for a lingering kiss before she grabbed the picnic basket to check out the food Buffy had brought along. Buffy swatted her hands away from the food and pulled her in for another kiss. It was definitely a great surprise. She knew she couldn't be happier than she was right then.