Chapter 17: Retail Therapy--Slayer Style
Faith tried not to snicker as she watched Buffy's face light up. It was amazing what just being in a mall could do to change the blonde's mood. It had always been a source of amusement for Faith. She crossed her arms over her chest and followed her into the store she'd made a beeline for.
She silently watched Buffy go from rack to rack. She didn't quite get what was so fun about shopping for clothes. Now, shopping for weapons? That she could totally get behind and even happily participate. The only reason she'd even suggested this was to cheer the blonde up.
Earlier they'd finally finished packing her belongings after two days of sorting through it and talking about some of the memories the items held. She'd learned more about Buffy's relationship with Satsu than she'd ever had a desire to. Of course, she wouldn't change it since gradually it had changed to where Buffy actually smiled and laughed during the stories instead of bursting into tears. That alone had made it worth it.
Buffy glanced up from the lacey blue shirt she was looking at to see the slightly bored expression her companion was sporting. She smirked and put the shirt back on the rack. Then she turned to face Faith fully and put her hands on her hips.
"Are you going to just stand there or help me find something to go slaying in tonight?"
Now that had her interest. She hadn't gone slaying since before she'd gone on that last mission, and it had been even longer since Buffy had been her Slaying partner. Faith put her hands in her pockets and shrugged.
"Sure, I'll help. Gotta tell me what you're lookin' for first."
"Something sexy but serviceable," Buffy answered, all ready turning her gaze back to the shirts on the rack.
Faith paused and looked at her. She scratched absently at her ear and narrowed her eyes. She just knew she'd regret asking, but she couldn't hold it in.
"Why not just wear one of the hundreds of outfits now crowding the guestroom closet?"
"Do you seriously need me to answer that?"
"Well, yeah," Faith drawled. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."
"None of them appealed to me," She shrugged, lifting a top to inspect it.
The brunette blew out a breath and muttered, "I'm startin' to understand why ya got so many clothes that I nearly broke my back carryin' the boxes into the house."
"You're exaggerating," Buffy said dryly.
"No I'm not," Faith snickered, curiously tilting her head to look at the shirt Buffy held.
Buffy held it up in front of her for Faith to see. "What do you think?"
Faith blinked, her mind going straight in the gutter. The hunter green top was short, stopping somewhere around the belly button. It had a low riding neckline and was strapless. She cleared her throat and shook her head, forcing her gaze back to Buffy's.
"B, you're askin' for trouble if ya wear that out on patrol."
Chuckling quietly at the dazed expression still clouding the brunette's face, she asked, "How so?"
Faith narrowed her eyes and pointed at Buffy's chest. "One wrong move and the girls are gonna be poppin' right the fuck out."
Buffy turned the shirt around and tilted her head, considering it. Then she blinked and put it back on the rack, snickering.
"You may have a point."
"'Course I do."
Buffy jerked her head towards the next rack as she said, "Let's keep looking. Then we can go check out that hunting goods store we passed."
"Fuck yeah," Faith said excitedly. "That's more like it."
"Check this one out, B," Faith muttered, leaning closer to the display case.
The blonde set aside the jacket she was looking at and crossed the store to where Faith stood. She wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders and propped the other on the display case as she leaned over it. She tilted her head and studied the bone-handled bowie knife curiously before bringing her gaze back up to meet Faith's at close range.
"Cool ain't it?" Faith mumbled, distracted by their close proximity.
"Uh-huh," She answered, her eyes dropping to Faith's full lips.
Faith's tongue darted out to lick the cleft in her bottom lip. Unconsciously leaning closer, she darted her own gaze from Buffy's mouth back to her eyes. A cough pulled them back to reality and they slowly pulled apart. Things like that had happened often enough lately that they'd gotten to where they didn't jerk away any more.
"Can I help you ladies?" A deep voice asked.
Faith looked away from Buffy and glanced at the aging shopkeeper. She nodded and gestured at the knife they'd been looking at before.
"Yeah, I'd like a closer look at that knife."
"All right," He said, flicking his gaze over her hands that were resting on the glass top with a smirk. "Guess I don't have to ask if you know how to handle one."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Buffy asked, frowning.
Faith shook her head and rubbed her thumb over the calluses on her hand. She turned one hand over and held it up for Buffy to see. Slight calluses could be seen on the base of her palm, along the side of her thumb, and in other key areas as well.
"He wasn't bein' an asshole, B. He's probably worked in stores like this long enough to realize what these come from."
"Oh," She muttered, slightly embarrassed at her own defensiveness.
The shopkeeper unlocked the display case and brought out the bowie knife. He set the box on top of the case and watched as Faith lifted the knife out of the velvet lining. She wrapped her hand around the chilled, rough bone handle and brought it close for inspection. Then she lifted her gaze to meet his inquiringly.
"What type of bone was the handle carved from?"
He smirked. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try us," Buffy countered. "I bet we'll surprise you."
His gaze took in the expert way Faith spun the knife in her hand and the comfort at which she held it with. Then he nodded, conceding her point.
"My son used to work for the military," He said quietly, leaning closer so that no one else could overhear. "Since he was discharged, he's gone out every night around midnight. Every once in a while he'll bring back strange looking stuff."
Faith stiffened and asked warily, "Stuff like what?"
He shrugged. "Just odds and ends like the pile of wide, curved bones he brought back a couple of months ago. He occasionally comes in looking kind of banged up too."
"The military unit he worked for wasn't called the Initiative was it?" Buffy asked in a cold tone.
"I couldn't tell you," The man answered apologetically. "He said it was classified when I asked, so I dropped it."
Faith nodded, settling the knife back into the box. She wrapped her arm around Buffy's back and gently massaged the tensed muscles as she turned them back towards the rest of the stores. She led them away from the counter.
"We're gonna finish lookin' 'round, but I want three of those knives."
"All right, I'll pull a few out of the storeroom," The man called, watching them as they walked off.
Buffy stopped them when they were out of earshot and looked at Faith questioningly. "Why did you ask for so many?"
Faith smirked and explained, "One for me, one for you, and one for Red's geeks."
"Who said I wanted one?" Buffy asked teasingly as she inspected a crossbow hanging from a hook on the wall.
"I know that glint in your eyes well enough by now, B."
"True," Buffy muttered, scrunching her forehead up in concentration as she tried to make sense of the letters on the crossbow.
"Don't bother, B," Faith said, chuckling. "It ain't in English."
"How do you know?" Buffy asked, pouting as she moved to the next item that had caught her attention.
She shrugged. "Most of the stuff in this store ain't from here. I think a lot of it's German and Russian. A few of the companies might be Mexican, too."
"I didn't realize you'd been in here before," Buffy murmured, slipping her hand into Faith's back pocket absently.
"I haven't. I just noticed it," Faith rasped, darting a questioning glance at the blonde.
She doesn't even realize she did that, Faith mused and shook her head at the distracted look on the blonde's face. I ain't gonna be the one to tell her. If she wants to play with my ass, then she can go right ahead.
"Remind me to call my real-estate agent tomorrow," Buffy muttered, flexing her hands.
A low groan caught her attention and she blushed, closing her eyes as she realized what had caused Faith to make that sound. She tried to figure out a way to move her hand without calling attention to it, but she couldn't quite concentrate. The feel of the firm muscles clenched beneath her hand had her mind sliding into X-rated imagery.
"What did I say that made ya think about your agent?" Faith asked, trying to help the blonde get back on track.
"She's from Mexico," Buffy answered gratefully as her thoughts regained a little clarity.
"Gonna have her start lookin' for buyers for the house?" Faith asked, gently reaching back to remove the blonde's hand from her pocket.
It wasn't that she didn't want it there. It was just distracting and a little too arousing when they were supposed to be doing the friendship thing. She entwined their fingers and gently bumped hips with the blonde.
"That and I want to ask her to start looking into apartments for me," Buffy answered, pausing to run her free hand over a velvety soft deerskin rug. "I can't stay at Dawn's forever. We'd end up killing each other."
"Sure you could," Faith muttered, feeling her chest tighten in disappointment.
She internally rolled her eyes at herself. She'd known it would happen eventually. She'd just really enjoyed the past couple of weeks. The time they'd spent together had been priceless and she'd love to have more.
"It'll probably take her a good while to find a place," Buffy said, smiling at the thought.
"Soundin' a little too happy about that, B," Faith teased.
Buffy paused to look over at Faith with a sarcastic expression plastered on her face. She wasn't even going to dignify that with a response. They both knew the reason for it, even if they weren't saying it aloud. She shook her head at the wink Faith gave her.
Chapter 18: Welcome Back
"Come on, let's motorvate, B," Faith grumbled over the chime of the door ajar alarm. "The guys should all ready be here."
"Just let me finish checking my make-up," Buffy muttered, looking in the visor mirror of Faith's rental car.
Faith dropped her head back against the headrest and sighed. She rolled her head to the side and absently studied the blonde in the dim overhead light. It was amazing the difference a month had made. She'd made major progress in regaining her confidence and strength. Faith was proud to have been part of the solution to Buffy's problems for once.
Over the course of the past month, she'd been at the blonde's side almost constantly. They'd gone Slaying together, went to movies, stayed in to watch TV, and even gone shopping a few more times. It had been an interesting experience. She smirked.
Been frustratin' as Hell, too, Faith mused. She enjoyed their closeness, reveled in it even, but she was a hot blooded Slayer. There was only so much contact she could take before her body demanded more. The only consolation she had was that she wasn't the only one suffering.
She glanced at the club they were parked in front of and shook her head. She didn't know what they were thinking when they'd agreed to come here. They'd both stayed well away from this type of atmosphere since the night they'd gotten drunk. It hadn't been a conscious decision; it was just how it had gone.
It was one of our better decisions, 'cause God knows the last thing we need is our judgment impaired, Faith thought with a soft snort. We do just fine on our own.
"You ready to go?" Buffy asked, flipping the visor up and reaching for the door handle.
"'Bout fuckin' time," Faith muttered, pushing her door open the rest of the way.
"Oh bite me," The blonde replied, smirking slightly as she moved around to Faith's side.
"Don't tempt me," She replied, crossing the parking lot to the front door of the club.
She bypassed the line, ignoring the shouts of protest from the people waiting to get in. Willow had made reservations to get them in as VIP, so there was no way she was waiting in line. The rest of those people could kiss her ass if they had a problem with it. She pulled the pass from her pocket as she noticed the massive doorman stiffening at their approach.
"You have to go to the end of the line, ladies."
"We got passes that say differently," Faith rasped, holding up the silver plastic card.
"Let me see some ID and both of your Club Avalon VIP Visas," He replied, holding out a hand for the items.
The brunette turned and took the cards Buffy was holding out and then handed them to the doorman along with her own. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched as he swiped first the VIP cards and then their IDs. Seconds later the pager on his belt beeped and he nodded, returning the items to them.
"Sorry about that, ladies. We have to be careful," He said apologetically as he punched in a code on the system by the door.
The doors slid open and Faith turned to flip off the people waiting in line as she walked backwards into the club. She laughed as the doors closed behind them on the loudly voiced complaints from the crowd. She winked at Buffy and handed her back her cards. She ignored the rolled eyes she received and slid her own cards into her back pocket.
"Come on, let's find the gang before you get us into trouble," Buffy muttered, slipping the cards into her pocket.
"Red said this place was split into two sections, the coffee shop and the club, right?"
"Yeah, but did she say which part they'd be waiting in?"
"Excuse me, ladies? May I help you?"
They both turned at the sound of the voice and found a raised dais just a few feet to their right. A woman in a black and white tux stood behind a podium, a polite smile creasing her lightly glossed pink lips. They shared a look and stepped closer.
"Yeah, we're meetin' some friends here. Can ya tell us where they are or somethin'?"
"What were your passes registered under?" She asked, glancing down at the silver PalmPilot Handheld in her hand.
"Re—Willow Rosenberg," Faith replied, stumbling over the redhead's name.
She spun the stylus in her fingers and then touched it to the screen several times. Then she glanced up and gave them a slight smirk.
"They're waiting for you inside the club. Ms. Rosenberg left instructions for you."
Buffy gave her a wary look. "I'm not so sure I want to know, but go ahead and tell us. Be warned, I may end up killing my best friend depending on what she said."
"She simply said for the two of you to stay away from the bar since they weren't in the mood to see lust-bunnies tonight," She relayed the message, trying not to laugh.
"Which way do we go to get in?" Faith asked, gently rubbing the mortified blonde's back between her shoulder blades.
"Those doors right there," The woman replied, leaning over the podium to point to the back of the coffee shop where another set of steel double doors waited.
"Thanks," The blonde muttered gently shoving Faith ahead of her.
She followed behind her, trying to get the heat in her face to recede. She couldn't be too upset with her friend, since she was very aware that it was a genuine concern. Her gaze dropped to the leather-clad ass and hips swaying in front of her. Then she sucked in a breath and forced her attention to move ahead to where the doors were.
The two Slayers were only a couple inches from the doors when they slid open. Loud, sensuous rock music greeted them and they entered the multi-colored strobe-lit club. The doors slid shut behind them and Buffy hooked a finger through Faith's belt loop. Faith reached back and grabbed the blonde's free hand as they dodged a few of the more enthusiastic dancers.
The brunette briefly closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she smirked as she reopened them and followed the Slayer bond to where Kennedy was. They were led to the back of the club where a seating area had been set up. Several overstuffed sofas lined the back wall, with a few recliners set up in a half-circle in front of each and coffee tables in the middle of each half-circle.
The younger Slayer was sitting on one end of the sofa at the left end of the room with the rest of their group spread out in their area. Dawn was seated in one of the three chairs, while Willow sat next to Kennedy with Xander on the other side holding hands with Renee. Kennedy glanced up as she felt their approach and gave them a nod.
"They're here," Kennedy said, bringing them to the attention of the rest of the group.
"Hey, guys," Willow called out as they reached them.
"Hey," Faith muttered, lowering herself into one of the recliners.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Buffy asked, tugging on her belt loop.
Faith sighed and paused with her hands on the chair arms. "Sittin' down, what does it look like? You had me runnin' around the mall all fuckin' day, B."
"You poor baby," Buffy murmured. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"
Faith narrowed her eyes and straightened, leaning her face closer to the blonde's. "Nah, but there is somethin' ya can kiss," She said sweetly, smiling so her dimples showed.
"Maybe later," Buffy laughed. "But first, you're getting me a drink and then dancing with me."
Their friends watched in amusement as the brunette just shook her head and stomped off, muttering under her breath. Then they looked back at Buffy to see her take the seat Faith had been about to settle in. In unison, they rolled their eyes and reached for their drinks on the coffee table. It was going to be yet another interesting night.
"So how do you feel about going back to work Monday?" Xander asked, his voice breaking up the silence that had settled on the group.
Buffy smiled slightly. As much as she'd enjoyed the last few weeks, and she had, all good things must come to an end. The vacation time Giles had given her was officially over. That was the reason for their outing tonight actually—the gang had wanted to give her a night out in honor of her return to work.
"I'm caught between looking forward to it and dreading it, honestly," She replied with a wry smile. "Once I got everything settled all there was left to do was bum around, and I never thought I'd say it, but that gets old after a while."
"I totally get that," Renee said, leaning into Xander's side. "That's how I felt before I learned about the whole Slayer gig. I was bumming around after college and it was starting to get really boring."
Buffy nodded and her expression fell slightly. "But I have to admit I'm going to miss having so much time with Faith. I've really enjoyed getting to know her better."
"Aw, gee, B. I've enjoyed it too," Faith said with a sarcastic edge as she leaned over the back of the chair to hand the blonde her drink.
The blonde looked up at her and Faith winked. Then she took a sip of her own drink and paused to lean her chin on the blonde's head.
"Wanna tell me why you stole my seat?"
Buffy shook her head and sipped from her drink, blinking in surprise as the taste hit her tongue. She pulled away from Faith and looked up at her.
"This is plain Coke. Why?"
"'Cause the last thing we need is alcohol."
"True," Buffy muttered, ignoring the smirk Kennedy was giving them.
"Glad we're agreed," She murmured, wrapping an arm across Buffy's upper chest.
"Drink up so we can hit the dance floor."
Half an hour later, Buffy was regretting her decision. There was only so much she could take. She didn't even know how Faith was managing to contain herself with the way their hands kept straying. Then again, it seemed to her that the younger Slayer wasn't really trying to.
The brunette's hips writhed against her ass and the arm around her waist kept Buffy in place as her other hand strayed to caress anything within her reach. She had little choice but to stay and dance, which was the only reason her arm was reaching back to wrap around Faith's neck. Or at least that was what she was telling herself.
The leg between hers that was rhythmically grinding against her center pressed harder with each beat of the drums in the song playing. Their breathing was as out of control as their heartbeats were. The heat they were generating in each other was solely to blame for the sweat drenching both women, even with the crowd surrounding them.
Their hearts weren't the only things pounding. Buffy whimpered softly as the seam of her tight jeans rubbed against her aching clit. Faith's thigh pushed harder against her and she gasped, feeling her pussy convulse. Her nails dug into Faith's nape reflexively, drawing a hiss of pleasure from the brunette.
Their friends had been watching the show with a mixture of alarm and amusement. They'd seen it plenty of times, but this time it seemed a little too... serious. The energy coming off them had Kennedy and Renee's Slayer senses going crazy. It wasn't until they noticed things heading into dangerous territory that Willow decided to intervene.
Faith's hand cupped her through her jeans and Buffy's mouth fell open. Her hips jerked reflexively against the strong, confident touch. Her mind was telling her to put a stop to this but her body refused to listen. Just as her body was starting to win out, the two women were gently guided apart by an unseen force.
Faith blinked the haze of lust away and felt her stomach drop as reality set in. Oh fuck. She chanced a glance at Buffy and released a groan. That was too fuckin' close.
"What the fuck, Red?" She ran a hand through her hair as she tried to steady her breathing.
"Hands were in naughty places," Willow muttered, grabbing Buffy's arm and pulling her in the opposite direction of the brunette.
"W—where are we going?" Buffy stammered in confusion, trying to comprehend what was happening since her brain hadn't quite caught up.
"I'm putting you in timeout until you calm down. Don't even think about following us, Faith," She called back, chuckling as she heard both Slayers muttering indistinctly.
She kept tugging the reluctant blonde until they reached the bathroom. She pushed the door open and Buffy followed her inside. She checked to make sure it was empty and then turned to face her friend. Noticing Buffy's flushed features and dilated pupils, she smirked and retrieved a handful of paper towels from the dispenser.
She quickly wet them at the sink and then approached her friend, holding the paper towels out to her. Not getting a reaction, she rolled her eyes and moved Buffy's hair away from her neck so she could place the wet paper against her neck. The blonde flinched at first and then let out a shuddering breath, groaning in relief at the chill.
"What's the problem, Buff?" Willow asked, concerned. "You two have always been intense, but this was a little much for even the two of you."
Buffy took over holding the paper towels against her skin and moved to lean against the row of sinks. She blew out a harsh breath and gave the redhead a sardonic look.
"The problem?" She asked hoarsely, her eyebrows lifting expressively. "The problem is that we've found a new way to torture each other."
