Thanks to the usual people: Kelly for her friendship and initial posting muscle, Frass for being a fan and friend extraordinaire, ABC for making me write this fic and then offering wonderful encouragement every step of the way, Sal for always taking the time to make my story better even when there isn’t any time, and last but not least, thank you to Gina for coming up with the challenge idea in the first place…and yes, my teeth are clenched as I type this.

-Bobbi Manuel

Id Pro Quo

Chapter One

Faith was having a blast, maybe the best time of her life. She emerged from the dilapidated house and grinned over at her fighting partner. Buffy was looking right back, smiling just as big.

“Goddamn B, did we just kick ass or what?”

“I’d say ass was kicked on a level of total ass kickiness.”

“That’ll teach the fuckers, even though they’re dead.”

Buffy put her stake back in her jacket pocket:

“Death…it’s the ultimate teacher.”

They gave each other a high five and began walking.

“So how’s it feel to be back in Cali, B?”

“Right now it feels pretty good. Before and probably after, it’s kind of mixed.”

“Yeah, feels like that for me, so I can imagine how it’s hangin’ with you.”

The smile Buffy gave her was wistful:

“It’s good to be home though.”

They walked on in silence, the kind that only the best of friends could comfortably share. And as crazy as it sometimes seemed to outsiders and insiders alike, Buffy and Faith were exactly that: the best of friends.

After the fall of Sunnydale, they had finally figured out a way to co-exist that eventually led them to a total reconciliation. It had taken a lot of work by both girls, there’d been numerous fights and many moments where it had all seemed nothing but hopeless, but it turned out that neither of them were willing to let it go. Not this time.

The bottom line was simple: they liked each other, they always had, and it still felt as if they were meant to be fighting side by side. So they stuck it out and for once the stars aligned, or were “shoved into place” as Faith later claimed, and the Slayers refused to give up. A vicious argument would occur obviously signaling the end of their relationship, but an hour or two later, someone would knock on someone’s door and the welcoming smile they received would ensure that their struggle towards friendship would continue.

Now almost four years down the road, Buffy and Faith were friends. Good friends, tight friends, the kind of friends who knew they could rely on each other for anything. Looking back at what they did to each other when they first met, it seemed as if it had happened to two other people. It had nothing to do with them, was nowhere near the easy, comfortable friendship they now had, and it was rare when their past ever even crossed their minds.

Faith flung her arm around Buffy’s shoulders as they walked through the cemetery:

“Okay B, we gonna hit the town now?”

“I don’t know, should we?”

“‘Should’ we? Fuckin’ right we should! We just kicked all kindsa ass, got our job done with three days to spare. This is a vacation now, baby, and we’re gonna live it right the fuck up!”

Buffy’s smile lost any sadness it had been holding as she looked at Faith:

“Do you think Giles will let us?”

“And how’s he gonna stop us? Red’s outta touch for like six more days, he gonna scold us home?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate the power of the ‘Watcher Guilt Trip’. Those things have been known to kill.”

“Yeah, maybe when ya nail one Slayer with’em, but not when ya aim it at the two ‘Original, Accept no Substitute’ ones. Baby, they ain’t invented the thing that can take us.”

Buffy began laughing:

“That’s totally true.”

“‘Sides, why shouldn’t we get some time off?”

“Well, we did just save the world again, and all ahead of schedule…Okay F, I’m in!”

“That’s my girl! C’mon, I know just the place. Seen it when we were walkin’ here.”

Twenty minutes later and they were having a blast: dancing, laughing, fending off potential suitors, and drinking themselves silly. Buffy only ever drank fruity drinks or beer and tonight the beers were two for one, so she was all over that. Faith had her Jack Daniels flying and neither Slayer could imagine how they could possibly be having a better time.

They eventually had their fill, and a few other people’s too, and they made their way back to their hotel sweaty, drunk, and happy.

Faith was determined to call Giles and tell him he couldn’t stop them from having a vacation, so the two of them sat side by side on Faith’s bed as they called him.

“Hello, Giles here.”

“This is G-man, Faith.”

“Ah yes, I recognize your voice, Faith. Is something…”

Buffy leaned in even closer and reached for the phone:

“Faith, let me talk.”

Faith pushed her away:

“Watcher, this is a Slayer strike. Consider us strucked…stroked…striked!”

“…Faith, are you perchance intoxicated?”

“No, per Jack Daniels. Point’s this: we’re not reportin’ for duty.”

“Faith, let me talk to him.”

Once more Buffy reached for the phone only to be pushed back again:

“I see. May I please speak with Buffy?”

“Why ya wanna talk to her?”

“Because you’re a bit difficult to…”

Buffy made a frantic grab for the phone:

“Help Giles, I’m being held costume!”

“That’s hostume, you nut!”

They both began giggling until they started coughing. Once that crisis passed, Giles attempted to garner someone’s, anyone’s, attention:

“Faith…Buffy, are you there?”

“Yeah G-man, whaddya need?”

“I need to know what happened to the nest of…”

They high fived again as they sat side by side, but Buffy missed Faith’s hand and hit her hard on the cheek. She crashed to the floor, but not before Buffy was able to wrest the phone from her grasp as she fell.

“My turn, F! Hi, Giles.”

“Buffy, might I get a report with a tad more coherence?”

“Why do you think I was trying to get her to let me talk?”

“I can’t say I’m entirely clear as to what…”

Her voice came out in a whisper:

“Giles…Faith is drunk. She’s sprawled out on the floor as we speak.”

Faith got to her feet:

“Only ‘cause you’re so hammered you can’t do a fuckin’ high five!”

“Buffy…”

“Hold on, Giles. Faith’s going to kill me.”

There was the sound of a scuffle, then more giggling.

“Buffy…Buffy……Buffy!”

“I’m here!”

“So I gather you won the battle?”

“No, she fuckin’ didn’t!”

“Hello, Faith.”

“I did win, Giles, but then we comprised!”

“Yeah, we’re sharin’ the phone, G-man. We com…comp…compromated.”

Giles sighed with exasperation:

“Are you in your hotel room?”

“Yep, Faith is too.”

“Jesus B, how drunk are you? He’s askin’ about me. I’m in my room, Giles.”

Giles spoke slowly, enunciating each of his words carefully:

“All right, you are both to stay in your room until tomorrow morning. Under no circumstances are you to leave, not for any reason.”

“You’re not our boss, Giles!”

“Yes Buffy, as your Watcher I am indeed your ‘boss’, and I am ordering you…”

“Yeah? Well watch this then!”

He heard a rustling sound, then Buffy’s unrestrained laughter.

“Girls…”

“Faith, pull up your pants! Don’t look, Giles. She’s mooning you and I don’t want you to see because you don’t deserve that…most of the time.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Faith began howling.

“What in the world is…”

“Full moon, baby! Werewolf here.”

The Slayers began laughing again and Giles sat as patiently as he could, waiting them out. It was Buffy who finally came back to the phone:

“Giles, what did you call us for? I need to go, there’s a werewolf in my…Ow! HAHAHA! Stop biting!”

“I didn’t ca…Oh for God’s sake, I was wondering how your mission was progressing.”

“Faith, stop, I’m reporting on our mission! Okay, well, let’s see…Hey, we killed them all tonight. They’re dead as doorknobs!”

“Yeah, fuckers are toast and we’re not comin’ home ‘til our time’s up!”

Giles sought confirmation:

“Are you saying the Stravain demons are…”

“D-E-D. What are you, goin’ stupid?”

“Ooh, Giles, I forgot to ask: we’re calling to tell you that we’re not coming home until this assignment’s over and we don’t care what you say!”

“Yeah, G-man, we don’t care what you say!”

“Girls, of course you can stay. You both certainly deserve some time off.”

Buffy’s voice increased to an uncomfortable level, forcing Giles to shift the phone away from his ear:

“So we can stay?! Thanks, Giles!”

“Yeah G-Man, thanks! Wasn’t sure you was gonna let us.”

“You’re quite welcome, but please promise me that both of you will stay in your room.”

“Knew there had to be a catch! Listen pal, there’s no way me and B are stayin’ in this room for three fucking days!”

“Not for…Faith, just until I speak to you again tomorrow morning.”

Buffy answered first:

“I promise.”

“Fuck, what an ass kisser, you are!”

“I am not!

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Yeah, whatever, B.”

“Don’t worry, Giles, I’ll keep Faith here.”

His voice sounded resigned to the insanity of the call:

“Yes, I’m sure you will, Buffy.”

“No she won’t! Gonna be me doin’ the keeping. You stay in the room, B.”

Their voices drifted away from the phone again:

“You’re not the…the……the something of me, F!”

“The Watcher of you, dumb ass.”

“Dumb ass? Well I ‘m in charge of you, so there, stupid butt!”

“Right, B. You can’t even sit up straight.”

“Because you’re leaning all over me!”

“Girls…Girls!”

“What?!”

Yelled loudly enough into the phone by both voices to make him wince:

“Please just stay in your room and check in first thing tomorrow. I’ll expect a full report then.”

“Yeah, and we’ll also tell ya what went down here tonight.”

“I’m telling him now! Giles, it was two for one beers all night long!”

“Yeah, and the JDs were one for one, too!”

Buffy’s voice became even more excited:

“Our drinks were like the Three Musketeers!”

“Oh man, I fuckin’ love Robin Hood, even though the guy playin’ him’s kinda sissy.”

“He sort of is, but I really love Batman.”

“Me too! Great show with that kick ass song and cartoon at the start…Hey, who ya callin’?

“Me? No one, why?”

Giles hung up, feeling his own hangover starting even though he hadn’t had a drop to drink. He couldn’t help smiling though.

****

The next day the Slayers awoke slowly, somewhat hung over as their bodies fought to return all systems back to normal. They showered, ate a bigger than usual breakfast, and then feeling much more human than they had a right to, they reported in properly to Giles.

He was happy with the good news that the latest threat had been eliminated so thoroughly, and he granted them a well-deserved one week vacation without hesitation.

“Really, Giles?”

“Yes, ‘really’, Buffy. I fail to understand why the two of you act as if I’m some sort of ogre who never lets you have any time to yourselves.”

“‘Cause that describes you to a T, G-man. It’s about time your stingy ass…”

Buffy pushed her away from the phone:

“We really appreciate it, Giles.”

“You are most welcome, your irritating cohort however…”

“She appreciates it too, and don’t worry. We won’t spend too much while…”

“Damn B, what’s that?”

“Faith…”

“Buffy? Buffy, is something amiss?”

“No, Faith’s just kidding around about…”

“It’s the company card, Watcher, and that bitch is smokin’!”

Giles didn’t sound at all amused:

“Yes, my, how very witty. I can always rescind the offer and…”

“No! No rescinding is necessary. We’ll be good.”

“Very well then, and please, no more drunken calls.”

“Slayer’s honor. Thanks again!”

“It’s more than earned, the two of you have been doing exemplary work. Have a lovely time.”

Buffy hung up and glared at Faith with pretend irritation:

“Way to go, funny girl. You almost blew our vacation before it got going.”

“Oh yeah, right. He’s got a great sense of humor under alla that tweed and your his girl. No way’s he gonna pull the rug out from under.”

“You know he loves you too. He lets you say all kinds of stuff to him, and if I tried to get away with any of that…”

Faith laughed:

“B, B, take a good look, baby. A bod like this earns me all kindsa leeway. Giles might be old, but he’s not…”

Buffy’s hands flew to her ears:

“Stop! Do not finish that sentence!”

“Oh c’mon B, told ya the guy was hot when I first met him and not a damn thing’s changed ‘cept…”

“Unless you’re trying to make me hurl right here, stop! You’re talking about Giles, my Giles!”

Faith nodded seriously:

“Yeah, you’re right, B. So tell me: just how good’s ‘your’ Giles in the sack?”

“Faith!!!”

They ended up at the pool. The hotel was on a strip of shops and a quick perusal of a couple of nearby stores netted them two bathing suits and all of the other required pool necessities. It didn’t take long before they were ensconced on two lounge chairs, sipping lemonade next to a colorful umbrella.

“Damn, now this is livin’, yeah, B?”

“Yep, definitely a shiny new improvement on our normal living.”

“Could stay here a year and never wanna…”

“Excuse me?”

The Slayers looked up to see a beautiful young woman standing in front of them holding a book, a towel, and a can of Coke.

“Could I sit with you guys for a while? That jerk over there keeps bothering me.”

They all looked across the expanse of blue water to see a young Adonis staring over at them, and Buffy whistled softly:

“Are you sure? He’s gorgeous.”

The girl smiled:

“Yes, he is, but he can’t seem to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Faith sat up a little straighter:

“He bein’ an asshole, ‘cause…”

“Not really. He just won’t accept that I’m gay, so I figured there was safety in numbers.”

Buffy laughed:

“Gay numbers or girl numbers?”

“Either one works for me. I’m Donna, by the way.”

“I’m Buffy, she’s Faith.”

“Hi. So do you guys mind?”

“Nope, we’re on vacation and livin’ large.”

Buffy smiled and gestured at the empty chair beside her:

“You can hide out here until Mr. Hunky goes away.”

“Hey B, why don’t you go for him? Do ya good to get your rocks off while we’re…”

“Faith!”

Buffy turned red as she looked at Donna:

“Sorry, Faith’s kind of got a mouth that…”

Donna was all smiles and all eyes for the darker girl:

“I like her mouth.”

She dragged the empty chair over and squeezed in between the Slayers, and that was the start of a four hour flirt fest that had Buffy decidedly on the grumpy side.

It wasn’t just that Donna was so open about having the hots for Faith, it was that she was so open about having the hots for Faith. She didn’t even care that Buffy was sitting right there as she made her play, and made it repeatedly. She just carried on as if Buffy’s presence didn’t matter in the slightest.

Faith was obviously enjoying herself, giving back just as good as she got, and Buffy quickly found herself the odd woman out. She realized that was mostly her own fault, Faith had tried to include her, but Buffy had steadfastly resisted. She didn’t like Donna, didn’t like that she’d lied her way into sitting with them, didn’t like her braying horse laugh, and she didn’t like how she was carrying “Crime and Punishment” around with her like she was reading it. Dostoevsky was so not poolside reading, everybody knew that.

As the afternoon rolled its way toward the evening, Buffy was surprised when Faith stretched and said:

“Guess we oughta be headin’ in.”

“My room or yours?”

Faith’s laugh was soft and completely sexy:

“Donna, baby, c’mon now. Much as I’d like to, me and B got other plans.”

Buffy looked at Donna over her sunglasses and saw that she was pouting. The sight did nothing but disgust Buffy, amateurs always did. If someone were going to pout, Buffy felt the least they could do was do it well, and Donna was a far cry from that. Buffy wanted to smack her for her incompetence.

“Hey, no pouting. Maybe another night.”

“Okay, but I’m going to be all lonely in room 827.”

Faith got to her feet and helped Donna up. She instantly leaned into Faith, draping both of her arms over her shoulders:

“Come by later if you change your mind.”

Then with a soft peck on the cheek, she left, a disappointed look on her face as she nodded goodbye to Buffy.

“Ready to head in, B?”

“What plans?”

“Huh?”

Buffy stood, gathering her belongings:

“You told her we had plans.”

Faith scooped up her own stuff, then leaned across and grabbed Buffy’s stack of magazines for her before she answered:

“We do. “

“We do?”

Well, yeah. Nothin’ specific, but hey, we’re on vacation together. Not gonna hang with some hot chick when I got you to tear it up with.”

“Oh, I see. So I’m not hot then?”

Faith headed for the back elevator that was reserved for staff only:

“B, you’re ‘B’. Not gonna get any hotter. ‘Sides, didn’t see ya runnin’ off with the stud who couldn’t keep his eyes off ya.”

“Who?”

They got in the elevator after a crowd of employees poured out, two of them greeting Faith by name.

“Don’t play dumb, Blondie. Donna’s boy was creamin’ his trunks every time he looked your way.”

“Okay, way too much information. Besides, I’m not here to have a one night stand, I’m planning to relax and enjoy myself. Your company’s just fine with me.”

“So cool, we’re on the same page. Head Slayer’s gonna hang with the better one.”

They exited the elevator and headed down the hall to their room, their eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness of being inside with their sunglasses on.

“I believe that person’s one in the same. But seriously, Faith…I don’t want to stop you from you know….”

“Scratchin’ an itch? Nah, no big. Just wanna hang with my girl, it’s all good.”

Buffy smiled as she fumbled the key card into the slot, nearly dropping the items precariously perched in her arms. Faith stood behind her, her arms encircling Buffy’s as she helped steady her hand and reinforce her arm strength.

She dipped her head down slightly, her breath breezing along Buffy’s neck and bare shoulder:

“Plus B, nobody smells like you. Been outside sweatin’ all day and ya still smell all Buffy.”

They stumbled in through the open door and pulled apart.

“Well as sweet and disturbing as that is, I’m showering first.”

“Whatever, Princess. But gotta tell ya, you bottle that scent and your slayin’ days are over.”

Buffy laughed and blew Faith a kiss as she disappeared into the bathroom.

An hour later and they were clean, dressed and ready for fun. They ate at a nice restaurant off the main strip, then made their way to a few places that looked promising. Nothing struck their fancy until they found themselves back outside the place they’d visited the night before.

“Whaddya think, B?”

“Well, the beers are still two for one.”

“Yeah, and the same kick ass band’s back.”

“Let’s do it, but no way am I drinking as much tonight.”

“I hear ya. Come on!”

They linked arms and headed in for a night of Slayer style fun, all footloose and fancy free. By the time they left a few hours later, they were once again sweaty, tired, and happy, but this time leaning more towards tipsy than flat-out plastered.

“Fuck me, I love that joint!”

“Me too! Beer good.”

They made their way back to their hotel, enjoying the noise and commotion taking place around them. They got back to their hotel in just a few short minutes and Faith tipped her head back as the night breeze lifted her hair lightly.

“Hey B, wanna hang at the pool a while? Night air feels good to me.”

“Buffy likes air too.”

She began peeling off her top.

“Whoa! Damn, B, how drunk are ya? Can’t just take your clothes off. Tell ya what, you sit here and I’ll run up and grab our suits. You can change in the bathroom over there, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, be right back.”

Buffy sat happily on the edge of the pool, twirling her legs and watching the water moving into shapes as it splashed around softly.

“Hi, Buffy.”

Buffy looked up:

“Hi.”

“So where’s Faith?”

“Faith?”

“Yeah, the girl whose hip you’re permanently attached to.”

“Faith not here.”

Donna looked at her like she was crazy:

“Boy Einstein, you must be really drunk.”

Buffy stood up, several inches shorter than Donna.

“No Ein-stein. Buffy.”

“Whatever. Tell Faith…”

Buffy leaned in and began sniffing loudly:

“Smell Faith.”

Donna stepped back:

“Ooh, gross. What kind of freak are you?”

“Only Faith smell like Faith…and Buffy.”

Donna looked around nervously, seeing she was alone with a weirdo:

“I’m going to go now.”

Buffy moved quickly, cutting off her escape:

“You dirty.”

And with that statement, Buffy shoved her hard into the pool.

“No more Faith. Stay away.”

Buffy stalked off, following Faith’s path to the elevator. She stood there looking at the up and down arrows, then with a puzzled look, she slammed the heel of her hand against both. Before she could do anything else, the doors opened to reveal Faith wearing a robe over her bathing suit.

“Change your mind, B?”

“Pool not good. Just want bed.”

“Yeah, probably best if you slept it off.”

When they got to their room, Buffy stood waiting. She was blocking the door as she looked off down the hallway and Faith tried to nudge her aside. When Buffy didn’t move, Faith handed her the key card.

Buffy smiled big, then held the key up to eye level. She sniffed at it, then dropped it to the floor without even watching it fall. Her attention was already on the potted plant next to their door.

“Damn B, thought you only had a few tonight. Musta lost track.”

Faith bent down and retrieved the key. Buffy still didn’t move and finally Faith shoved her out of the way:

“Move it, baby. Let a real Slayer show ya how it’s done!”

Buffy laughed, then clapped when Faith inserted the key card and the door swung open:

“Faith good!”

“Yeah, that’s what they all say.”

They got ready for bed in a near silence, except for the frustrated sounds Buffy kept making as she struggled to pull off her clothes. Faith helped her get undressed down to her underwear, then she headed back to her own bed.

“Far as I go. Either figure it out or sleep in’em.”

She got into her own bed, turned off her light and rolled so that her back was facing Buffy. The Slayer stood there looking confused, but then managed to slide out of her panties. Her bra was another story and she ended up ripping it off before getting into her own bed.

She tried, but the lamp was too much for her to handle. After fumbling around for a minute, she began growling under her breath and Faith finally rolled over:

“Christ, just lay down, B.”

Faith snapped off the light and settled back in:

“No drinking for you tomorrow.”

“Yes! Buffy like beer!”

“Yeah, but beer not likin’ Buffy. We’ll talk it over tomorrow. Night, B.”

“Night, F.”

Faith fell asleep quickly as Buffy lay staring in the darkness.

“It night.”

Chapter Two

Faith woke slowly in a pleasurably warm haze. She moaned in delight, struggling to rouse herself to see what was going on.

“Jesus!”

She scooted up the bed in shock, her eyes not quite understanding what they were looking at.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Buffy reached up and pulled Faith back down to her:

“Buffy want Faith.”

“Yeah, well Faith wants to be asked.”

She squirmed away again and Buffy’s eyes narrowed.

“B, if this is some kinda joke, it’s really crossin’ a line. I mean…”

Buffy hauled Faith back into place, then covered her with her own body:

“Faith talk too much.”

And then she kissed her, ramming her tongue into Faith’s mouth. Faith began choking and gasping as she turned her head and leaned back into her pillow as far as she could go:

“What the fucking hell are you fucking doing?!”

She scrambled out from under Buffy and stood, quickly grabbing an oversized t-shirt from the chair and slipping it on.

“B, did you hit your head or somethin’? Maybe I oughta call…”

Before Faith even knew what was happening, her shirt was torn off and she was back on the bed.

“No move. Buffy want Faith.”

Despite the craziness of the situation, those words ripped right down the center of Faith’s body and she felt herself growing wet…wetter.

“B, what the hell! You can’t…”

Buffy was nuzzling into Faith’s neck:

“Mmm…Faith smell good.”

The goose bumps that popped up on Faith were the size of mountains, and the tremor that shook through her was Richter Scale worthy.

“Buffy…”

“Faith taste good too.”

She could feel Buffy’s tongue swiping along her neck and Faith knew she had to stop her. And she was going to stop her…in just……a second. Yep, she was absolutely going to be stopping her……

“B, stop.”

“Buffy want, Buffy take.”

“Yeah, well if this was caveman days, you’d be all set. As it is…”

Buffy lifted up her head and looked at Faith:

“Faith not want Buffy?”

She said it with such confusion, Faith tried to explain as honestly as she could:

“B, that’s not it. Course I want you, I’ve always wanted….What the hell am I saying? What the hell are you saying?!”

She wriggled loose and stood up, walking away from the bed to stand by the door. She was breathing hard and shaking her head in disbelief:

“What the fuck is this?”

“Faith mad at Buffy?”

She looked so sad sitting on the edge of the bed, Faith relented and walked back over to her. She crouched down in front of Buffy, taking her hands lightly in her own:

“B, I’m not mad at you. It’s just…well, we don’t have this between us, you know?”

Buffy was clearly not happy to hear that:

“Faith lie! Faith mine! Buffy with Faith.”

“That’d be nice, but you got some wires crossed here and…”

Buffy’s pulled her up, spinning and slamming Faith down hard onto the mattress:

“Faith bad! Kiss Buffy!”

Faith had no clue what was going on, but she did know she wanted Buffy. True, maybe the situation wasn’t ideal, but at the moment it was pretty hard to think why that really mattered beyond “because it’s wrong”. But it was wrong, Faith knew that and she couldn’t just take advantage of Buffy. She had to be bigger than that, tougher than that.

She thought quickly and decided she should kiss her, maybe then Buffy would calm down. She was getting more and more agitated, but Faith was hoping if she gave her a little something she wanted, Buffy would be easier to reason with. Then Faith could call Giles and get some help for the crazy situation they were suddenly in.

She tentatively let their lips meet, but that didn’t last for even a second, and it wasn’t just Buffy who couldn’t resist. Faith felt herself spark and ignite, and then Buffy growled and pinned Faith’s hands down on either side of her head. Her tongue plunged in and her body pushed down hard, making it clear just who was in control.

After a minute she pulled back:

“Faith mine. Buffy take Faith.”

“B...you must be under a spell, okay? Now I don’t wanna get rough, so just let go and…”

Buffy smiled and it was nothing but sexy and dangerous:

“Buffy like rough.”

Faith felt every hair on her body stand up as every cell leapt to attention, and she knew she was in trouble.

She had always wanted Buffy, always, but over the years she’d learned to accept that they were only ever going to be friends. She was careful, never allowing Buffy to see how she truly felt about her because she valued their friendship more than anything else in the world. It was precious, and Faith had promised herself that if she ever got it back, she would never do anything again that could put it at risk.

She’d been given a second chance with Buffy, and Faith had gratefully taken it and run with it. She’d sealed off the part of herself that wanted Buffy every minute of every day, and she had never given Buffy the slightest indication about how she felt. It was hard, it was painful, but the reward had been well worth it.

Faith couldn’t let this happen.

“Last chance, B. Let go of me or we’re gonna throw down.”

“Mmm…Buffy like go down.”

She nipped hard at Faith’s neck and Faith whimpered, her resistance disappearing all too swiftly. She knew it was now or never and she used her full Slayer strength to throw Buffy off of her…except Buffy didn’t budge.

“What the…?!”

She struggled again, doing everything she could to pull her hands free, but Buffy kept them pinned with seemingly little effort.

“Buffy say stay. You stay!”

“How the hell are you so much stron…Oh, God!”

Buffy’s mouth surrounded her nipple, sucking and biting as her tongue twirled around. When Faith moaned, Buffy switched to her other breast, going back and forth until she had Faith moaning nearly nonstop. She smiled as she dragged her tongue back up Faith’s body, stopping her journey only when they were face to face:

“Faith like Buffy. Buffy make Faith dance.”

“B, we can’t. This isn’t…”

Buffy ignored her, and it wasn’t long before she did exactly what she said she’d do. Her mouth worked its magic, and Faith began squirming and jumping and quivering. The instant Buffy let go of her hands, Faith tried to push her away, but Buffy never moved except to slide down even further between Faith’s legs.

Faith felt like she was on fire, her mind cloudy with ecstasy as Buffy’s tongue slid into her. Faith groaned, pushing her hips up to meet her and Buffy’s hands grabbed her thighs and spread them further apart. It wasn’t enough, not for either of them and Buffy quickly flung Faith’s legs over her shoulders.

Her strong hands went to Faith’s hips, jerking her closer and holding her in place no matter how much Faith tried to move. She could barely stand it and after just a couple of minutes she came with a throaty yell, only to feel Buffy increasing her efforts. It was almost painful and Faith tried to ease back, but Buffy wouldn’t let her shift an inch.

She incredibly picked up the pace, her tongue thrusting and licking wildly, and it wasn’t long before Faith was coming again. It felt like dying it was so intense, and Faith had never been so completely out of control. Her mind and body were being taken by Buffy to an unknown destination, and Faith couldn’t have stopped her if she’d tried.

She thought she must have blacked out for a few seconds, but she had very little time to consider that mind blowing possibility because Buffy wasn’t done with her. The Slayer was busy driving three fingers into her as she sucked roughly on Faith’s clit.

“Oh fuck, B…I can’t now…Gotta stop…I can’t…Oh shit…Fuck!...Oh God, B…don’t stop.”

“Buffy no stop. Buffy make Faith go!”

And then Buffy’s fingers curled and she hit the right spot. Faith half sat up screaming, pleading, babbling and Buffy smiled as she increased her thrusts.

“Faith mine. Do what Buffy say. Go, Faith…Now!”

And she did.

Her orgasm nearly blew her apart, she’d never come anywhere close to feeling what Buffy was making her feel. Everything exploded. She shattered into a million pieces as she fell back on the bed, vaguely aware that Buffy was now rubbing sensuously along her body, but unable to fully process the information.

By the time Faith could open and uncross her eyes, she was once again trying to comprehend what she was looking at. Buffy was on her knees above her, and the look of lust on her face had Faith’s motor revving up again…just like that.

“Faith feel good. Make Buffy feel good.”

“…B, I’m not…”

Buffy sat down, effectively silencing whatever Faith had been about to say. She began swaying almost leisurely back and forth along Faith’s mouth as she played with her own breasts:

“Faith make Buffy smile.”

Faith couldn’t help it, she was only human and what she’d always wanted was right there. Her mouth was unbelievably in a place she’d never expected it to be, but it was there, and for once she wasn’t dreaming. There was no way she could resist, there was nothing else she could do.

Buffy grunted above her, rocking slowly, then faster and faster as her orgasm approached. When it hit her Buffy pushed down, emitting a loud guttural roar and then a satisfied rumbling noise, almost like a purr.

She stayed where she was for a minute, resisting Faith’s attempts to move her and finally growling low in her throat when Faith didn’t seem to take the hint. When she was ready, she slid off slowly, stopping only when her head reached Faith’s breast. She licked gently, then bit down hard enough to hurt.

Faith jumped and yelped, but Buffy was already kissing the spot soothingly:

“Faith good. Faith mine.”

Buffy’s arm slid around Faith as she laid her head down on her chest. She hooked her leg over Faith’s and snuggled in.

“Buffy happy. We sleep now.”

Buffy nodded off in moments, her breath blowing out onto Faith’s breast and making her quiver slightly with every exhale. She lay there wide awake, shocked that the events that had just gone down had just gone down…and boy oh boy, had they ever gone down.

She’d just had the best sex of her life, all complete with the most intense orgasms she’d ever had and all with the only person she’d ever loved. Her dream had come true…and boy oh boy, had it ever come true. Buffy had been everything she’d ever imagined she would be and then some, and Faith could feel herself drifting off into the warm, relaxed sleep of the truly satisfied.

Her eyes shot open. What the hell was she doing? None of what had just happened was right, none of it was okay. Buffy was most definitely not her normal self, that had been made crystal clear by the fact that they’d just had lesbian sex. And not just “had”, Buffy had demanded lesbian sex, and the one thing Faith knew for sure was that Buffy Summers didn’t have a gay bone in her body.

She reached over to grab her phone off the nightstand, being careful not to jar Buffy awake. She just managed to snag it, almost dropping it but using her Slayer strength to hang on. She let her arm dangle off the side of the bed, trying to keep the noise down as she hit “On”, then the speed dial button that would bring her Giles.

Faith glanced down at Buffy, but she still hadn’t stirred. She was drooling slightly and just short of snoring, and despite everything, Faith found herself wishing they could stay right where they were forever. Buffy was beautiful and she fit just right up against Faith.

Giles answered on the second ring:

“Slayers Is Us!”

“Dawnie, put G-man on.”

“Hi, Faith! So what are you guys doing? It’s raining here, I’ll bet it’s…”

“Squirt, got a sitch, so put…”

“Have you guys bought me any…”

“Fuckin’ gimme Giles!”

She said it too loudly and Buffy moved. A soft growl, almost like a warning, blew out from between her lips.

“God, what is your problem?! Giles, it’s Faith and she’s being a big bitch.”

He was on the line in just a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to Faith as Buffy cuddled in even closer, her grip tightening before she fully nodded off again.

“Hello, Faith. I didn’t expect to hear from…”

“Got a huge problem.”

“In regards to what exactly?”

“B.”

“Buffy’s the problem or she has a…”

“G-man, B’s like prehistoric or somethin’.”

Giles laughed:

“Faith, might I ask that you speak up? It’s quite hard to hear you and it sounded very much like you said Buffy…”

“It’s hard to hear ‘cause I gotta whisper and that is what I said.”

“Buffy is ‘prehistoric’?”

“Yeah, all ‘Buffy want, Buffy take’.”

There was silence on the line and Faith wasn’t in the mood to wait:

“Hey, help needed.”

“What? Oh yes, of course. How did this happen?”

“How the fuck do I know? We went out again to the same place and when we got home she was all ‘Cave B’ on me.”

“She was drinking again?”

“Yeah, beer was still two for one.”

“Oh, good Lord! Hold the line, please.”

Faith held the line on her cordless cell phone for all she was worth, and Giles was back in just a few minutes that felt even more like an eternity.

“Faith?”

“Whaddya got?”

“I’ve got an answer.”

“Can sure use one.”

“This has happened to Buffy before, when you were…in hospital.”

“Ya mean, all coma-ed up? Okay, so what’s the deal?”

“The beer is a special blend designed to garner this reaction. The higher the quantity consumed, the more the victim craves it.”

“And what’s the point of that? Why make somebody a cave guy?”

She could hear pages turning as he spoke:

“Last time it was petty revenge for some perceived slight…Did you happen to notice anyone else acting strangely?”

“No, people seemed pretty normal. I mean, most guys are already kinda cavemen when I’m around, ya know?”

“Yes, well it’s entirely likely that rather than an orchestrated plot, this is a Buffy-centric problem derived from some molecular pattern that has reasserted itself due to the inherent...”

Faith looked at the phone in irritation:

“Yeah, and squarvous tangfo to you. What the fuck are you sayin’?”

“Sorry. What I’m saying is it’s entirely possible that the beer is only slightly tainted and due to Buffy’s prior experience, she alone is being affected. Or perhaps drinking even regular beer somehow triggered this reaction in her…some sort of chemical response that activates some latent….”

“Yeah, but not like this is the first beer she’s had since then.”

“True, but doesn’t she normally limit herself to just an occasional beer or two?”

“Oh fuck, and she’s been knockin’em back both nights.”

“Here, Giles.”

Faith heard Dawn’s voice, then the shuffling of papers again.

“One moment, Faith. Dawn’s printed out some information from the computer.”

Buffy’s drooling and snoring had stopped and Faith froze, whispering even lower:

“Gotta hurry.”

“Got it! All right, the effects should wear off in a day or two if she doesn’t drink any more. She’ll be stronger than you Faith, so don’t try to physically outmaneuver her.”

“Already learned that one.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of useful information for you. Let’s see…no upsetting her, no exchanging bodily fluids. Perhaps trying to get her to ingest some food and water would help to sober her up, and as I recall, she greatly enjoyed watching television.”

“Got us a problem.”

“Hmm?”

Faith wished there was some way to avoid telling him, but there wasn’t.

“Uh…G-man.”

“Yes, Faith?”

“We uh…Me and B…We…um…B and me kinda…Ya know?”

“No Dawn, that shelf over there. I’m sorry, Faith. You were saying?”

“Me and B mighta exchanged some bodily fluids…like three times.”

It didn’t seem to register:

“Well whilst not ideal, I don’t believe having a sip of her drink would constitute…”

“Not that way, the other way.”

“The ‘other’ way? Dawn, could you please pass me the blue one?”

“Yeah, the ‘other’ other way.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow what you’re…”

“We fucked, okay?!”

She almost yelled it and the silence her pronouncement created rang loudly down the line.

“You’re saying…Buffy and you…You’re saying that you girls…Oh, bloody hell.”

“Right, and when B wakes up she’s probably gonna wanna go again.”

He recovered nicely, but Faith could hear Dawn going nuts in the background:

“Buffy and Faith slept together?! Biblically?! Did they, Giles?! Did they?!”

“Yes they did, Dawn. Now would you please focus on the matter at hand and stop this puerile fascination with your sister’s sex life?”

“Fine, okay, but my puerility is gonna go nuts later.”

When he turned his attention back to Faith he was all business:

“Faith, it’s imperative that you not…do that with Buffy again. It’s hard to be certain, but it seems more than likely that the effects will be transferred between you.”

“You mean…”

“Yes, you would revert as well. The unique Slayerness the two of you share will surely come into play. I also suspect that if you continue to…be intimate, you will strengthen the effects which could cause this unfortunate situation to last days longer than it need do.”

“Yeah, I hear ya, but I can’t exactly…She’s way stronger than me and she doesn’t really take ‘no’ for an answer.”

His voice was louder than it had been for the entire call:

“She hasn’t hurt you, has she?!”

“No, it’s not like that. She’s still B, and…Look, I know it’s wrong in this sitch, but B doesn’t give a damn. She just wants what she wants and she ends up takin’ it.”

“Yes, that would make sense. Her id is in control and she’s only focused on the most basic of needs. I’ll gather an extraction team and we’ll be in the air within the hour. Do whatever it takes to keep her in your room until we arrive.”

“Better bring the best we got and triple up on the tranq darts. By the time you get here, we’re both gonna be doin’ ‘A Million Years B.C.’ and regular Slayer strength shit ain’t gonna cut it.”

“Understood. Try not to panic. We’ll get you both back home, keep you separated and the affects should wear off in a few days.”

“Well here’s hoping ‘cause…”

“What Faith do?”

Buffy had lifted her head, her hazel eyes narrowing as she stared at Faith.

“Just chattin’ on the phone, B. See?”

“B no like.”

“Okay, so I’ll hang up then.”

Buffy snatched the phone away and threw it against the wall. It literally exploded into fragments on impact.

“Buffy say Faith sleep. Faith awake and talk. Bad Faith.”

“Yeah, sorry. Won’t happen again, okay?”

“No. No okay. Faith do what Buffy say.”

Faith rolled over onto her side, trying to ease slowly from the bed while her eyes searched for a weapon.

“Yeah, B’s the big boss for sure, but I figured…”

Buffy growled and pulled Faith back to the center of the bed before flipping her over onto her stomach. Faith’s right cheek was pressed flat to the mattress as Buffy pushed down hard.

“Faith talk. Make Buffy mad.”

“Sorry.”

“Faith no sorry. Faith scared.”

And Faith was scared, but not for herself. The strength and speed that Buffy had just displayed were terrifying, and Faith had no idea how she was going to keep her in their room if Buffy wanted to leave.

“B, listen…”

Buffy was lying completely on top of her:

“No talk! Buffy mad.”

She kissed Faith’s cheek, nuzzling and licking her as she did.

“Faith taste good…smell good. But Faith bad.”

“Not really. I mean…OW!”

Buffy had sat up quickly, straddling Faith as she pulled her arms up high behind her back:

“Why Faith talk?”

“’Cause I fuckin’ feel like talk…Shit!”

“Buffy say no! Do what Buffy say.”

Faith nodded, staying silent and eventually Buffy let go of her arms. She seemed happy with Faith’s compliance:

“Good Faith. Do what Buffy say…good come.”

Buffy lay back down and began kissing along Faith’s shoulders:

“Mmm…Faith strong.”

“Yeah.”

“Buffy more strong.”

She delivered her assessment with a sharp bite to Faith’s shoulder.

“Jesus…Yeah, B’s strongest.”

She could hear the happiness in Buffy’s voice:

“But Faith strong. Faith soft. Feel good.”

“That’s good.”

Buffy began kissing her way down Faith’s back, sliding her own body against her as she went. Faith was trying her best to stay unaffected, but in less than a minute Buffy had her trembling and moaning.

“Buffy want Faith. Buffy take Faith.”

“B, maybe…maybe we oughta…”

Buffy kissed along her ass:

“Faith want Buffy. All wet.”

Faith’s moaning got louder as Buffy’s fingers explored:

“Yeah…Faith definitely fucked.”

“Buffy fuck Faith. Faith mine.”

Buffy hooked her arms under Faith’s thighs, lifting her slightly as her tongue got busy.

“Oh shit, B!”

Buffy lifted her head for just a moment:

“Faith good. Buffy make more good.”

“Can…can get behind that.”

“No! Buffy behind. You stay.”

And Faith did.

CHAPTER THREE

Faith awoke alone and disoriented in the large bed. She panicked, swiveling her head around trying to spot Buffy.

“B?”

She could hear grunting coming from the sitting room in the suite and she hopped up, grabbing the robe she’d had on earlier. She slipped into it as she headed out to see what was going on, hoping the damage wouldn’t be too bad.

Buffy was sitting on the floor, surrounded by tiny bottles and packages of snacks. She smiled up at Faith around a mouthful of something crunchy:

“Faith! Food!

Buffy proudly held out a miniature ninety dollar bag of mixed nuts:

“You eat.”

Faith approached her slowly as she looked over at the mini-bar. Its sides were bashed in and the door was lying across the room up against the wall. Buffy was eating what looked to be orange crackers with peanut butter, although there was a lot of peanut butter around her mouth and it appeared she was also eating some of the plastic wrapper.

“B, you hungry?”

“Buffy eat. Here.”

Again she held out the two hundred dollar bag of nuts.

Buffy’s smile was huge as Faith took them.

“Thanks B, but I’m going to order some real food, okay?”

“This food.”

“Yeah, but it’s junk food.”

Buffy’s brow furrowed in confusion:

“Junk…food?”

“Yeah, uh…like eatin’ squirrel when you could have a bear.”

Buffy laughed, spraying bits of crackers onto the carpet and almost choking as she kept giggling.

“Faith stupid. No eat bear.”

She picked up a bottle and studied it before tipping it up to her mouth. When the water failed to come out, Buffy tried biting off the lid. Next she tried chewing her way through the soft plastic and when nothing happened, she angrily grabbed the bottle with both hands and pulled it apart.

She looked sad as the liquid splashed to the floor:

“Buffy want water.”

Faith bent down and grabbed another bottle, unscrewing the cap as she handed it to her:

“Just gotta take the lid off and…”

Buffy tipped the bottle up, spilling an equal amount down her chest as she gulped at the water greedily.

When she was done, she turned the empty container upside down and peered into it:

“No more.”

Faith opened a fresh one and gave it to her before she began walking over to the phone:

“Here ya go, B. Now I’m gonna call room ser…”

“No!”

Buffy was on her feet and Faith stopped in her tracks. Buffy thrust the new bottle out:

“Faith take.”

“Oh, ya want me to have the water? Thanks, B.”

Buffy smiled and buried her face in Faith’s shoulder. She made a soft purring noise and Faith wrapped her free arm around her as Buffy snuggled in closer, her own arms wrapping lightly around Faith’s lower back. It was sweet and it brought a smile to Faith’s face as she tilted her head back to drain the water.

She almost choked when she felt Buffy’s hand sliding between her legs.

“Faith feel good?”

“Yeah, Faith feelin’ on top of the world.”

That answer seemed to confuse Buffy:

“…Faith feel good?”

“Yeah B, Faith feels real good.”

“Buffy need food.”

Faith peeled herself away:

“That’s what I was gonna say before. I’m gonna call room service and get us some real grub.”

“No eat grubs!!!”

“What? Oh yeah, right. No grub eating allowed. Just good food like steak and sandwiches and fries and milk.”

“Where food? Buffy get.”

Faith picked up the phone:

“We’ll get it with this.”

Buffy looked confused and then she laughed:

“That no good.”

She lifted the large couch and broke off one of the legs:

“Buffy get food.”

“B, no. I just need to call, okay?”

Buffy cocked her head to the side as she looked at Faith:

“Call?”

Faith rubbed her hand over her face in frustration:

“Just trust me, would ya? Can get us a lot of food in just a few.”

“…Buffy trust Faith.”

Faith grinned big:

“That’s my girl!”

Buffy nodded seriously:

“Faith mine.”

Faith turned around and picked up the phone…and then just stood there. She felt weird, and for a long minute she couldn’t remember what she was doing or why. She concentrated, but even when it came back to her, she had trouble figuring out what number she needed for room service.

It was happening and it was happening all too quickly.

“Oh, fuck me.”

Buffy was next to her in an instant:

“Faith need Buffy?”

“What? No, Faith fine…I mean, I’m fine.”

Buffy looked unsure, but said nothing as Faith dialed the number and stood waiting impatiently. Time was growing short and she needed to get things done before it ran out completely, but the hotel staff clearly didn’t share her urgency. It took nine rings before they answered:

“Room service.”

“Yeah hey, I need to…Uh, B?”

Buffy had been sniffing heavily and she suddenly moved closer. She circled Faith as best she could, growling at the phone cord that stopped her progress. Her eyes went to Faith’s face and her expression grew concerned.

“What wrong?”

Faith put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone:

“I’m good, B.”

She smiled, but Buffy wasn’t buying it. Her face became almost angry and she grabbed Faith by the front of her robe:

“Faith scared.”

Faith tried to step back, but Buffy wasn’t letting her move.

“I’m fine, B.”

“Faith lie!”

The room service guy was obviously tired of waiting:

“Hey, you gonna order or not?”

“Faith say wait! I mean, can ya hold a sec?”

She covered the receiver again and looked at Buffy:

“Faith good. Just want food.”

Buffy pulled her down into a kiss and when she let Faith straighten back up, her eyes were still concerned:

“Buffy get food?”

“No, Faith get. Trust Faith...I mean, trust me.”

Buffy smiled:

“Faith good.”

Faith smiled back at her sincerely:

“B good too.”

With the matter seemingly settled, Faith spoke into the phone again:

“Need food!...Sorry, just mean we got a big order.”

“Yeah okay, lady, would you get to it? We’ve got other people on hold.”

“We need four…Whoa!”

Buffy had pulled Faith’s robe down from the back and the belt had come undone. The only reason the robe wasn’t on the floor was because it was hung up on the hand Faith was using to hold the phone to her ear. She tried to grab onto the other side of the robe with her free hand to pull it back around herself, but Buffy had other ideas.

Her arms encircled Faith’s waist from behind and the twin spots of molten heat pressing against the bare skin of her back had Faith completely losing her train of thought. Buffy leaned in even closer, her nipples rubbing against Faith as her mouth kissed lightly all along her shoulders and upper back, stopping to caress just under her shoulder blade.

“B…B, hang on.”

“Buffy want Faith.”

“Yeah, I know, but…I…uh…food, B.”

Buffy’s lips paused:

“Food?”

“Right, so stop and be quiet.”

Buffy giggled:

“B quiet.”

Faith would have had trouble placing the order at any time with Buffy pressed up against her, but at the moment it was just about impossible to focus and make any kind of sense. Although Buffy had stopped the tormenting kisses…for the most part…she hadn’t moved back an inch and by the time Faith finished placing the order, the employee wasn’t convinced it was all on the up and up:

“Look lady, if this is some kinda prank…”

“It’s not a prank.”

“Well, you’re only supposed to have two people staying in your room and you just ordered enough food for…”

Faith’s irritation rose to the surface:

“Faith want food! Bring food!”

There was a long silence before he responded:

“Your bill’s like a million bucks.”

“Faith want……It’s goin’ on a card, alright, so save the lect…save the…Just shut up and bring the fuckin’ food.”

He clearly wasn’t happy with her attitude:

“Fine. It’ll be there in an hour.”

“Get it here in twenty and it’s worth five hundred.”

“Dollars?! A five hundred dollar tip?!”

“That’s the deal, Einstein.”

Buffy lifted her head from Faith’s back:

“No! No Ein-stein! Bad girl!”

Faith had no idea what Buffy was screaming about, but she tried to pacify her:

“No bad girl here, B.”

“Buffy no like!”

“Me neither, so no bad girl here.”

Buffy laid a kiss on her back, then nipped a little too hard:

“Ein-stein dirty. No Faith!”

Buffy tightened her arms around her and laid her head down again. Faith waited a beat, then turned her attention back to the phone:

“So, we got a deal?”

“Yes, ma’am! Thank you for your order!”

Then he was gone and Faith rolled her eyes:

“Asshole.”

She hung up the phone way too hard, cracking it as she returned it to the cradle.

Buffy moved fast, roughly shoving Faith’s robe to the floor and then wrapping her up tight in her embrace. She nuzzled against Faith’s skin:

“Mmm…Faith smell good. Like Buffy.”

Faith smiled and leaned back into her:

“Faith like Buffy smell…I mean, I…I like uh…I like the smell of…um…Shit!”

“No! Shit bad! Bad smell!”

Buffy let go of her and picked up her club. She smashed the couch leg against the lamp, and as it shattered, Faith wanted to cheer her on. She felt like clapping and jumping up and down, but she struggled to control herself.

Buffy however, showed no such restraint. She swung her club down onto the coffee table and laughed happily when it broke in two:

“Buffy fun.”

“Yeah, freakin’ laugh riot.”

Faith knew she didn’t have much longer. It was getting harder and harder to think, but she was determined to hang on until they got their order. Her plan was to lock them in the room with plenty of food and drink to keep them satisfied until the cavalry finally showed up. Hopefully they’d be so preoccupied with eating and fucking, they’d be easy to capture.

Faith grabbed the TV remote and it took a lot longer to figure out how to operate it than it should have. When she finally got the set turned on, Buffy jumped back, then approached the screen slowly:

“…Tiny people.”

She turned to Faith with an excited look on her face:

“Tiny people!”

“Yeah, B, tiny people.”

She pulled a chair over and as Buffy stood fascinated, Faith sat her down.

“B watch tiny people.”

Buffy nodded, and Faith left her there and headed into the bedroom to get dressed as quickly as she could. It was a bit of a challenge, she tried to put her head through the arm hole of her shirt…twice, but she eventually managed to get her clothes on properly.

She closed the curtains to the balcony as tightly as she could. Even though they were on the sixth floor and it wasn’t a likely exit, Faith was hoping that both of them would just forget it was there. She didn’t want either of them getting any crazy ideas, a six floor drop wasn’t doable for a Slayer. Not even a Neanderthal one.

Satisfied that she had everything covered, she grabbed a pair of sweats and a t-shirt for Buffy. Although it seemed highly unlikely either of them would still be dressed by the time the extraction team showed up, Faith decided it wouldn’t hurt to try and make it happen. The whole situation was embarrassing enough, and although she didn’t much care about showing off her assets to anybody who cared to look, she knew Buffy would absolutely hate it.

She headed back out into the sitting area and then became totally transfixed by the colorful images flashing across the…window in the…magic box. No, it wasn’t a window…It was a TV set, not a magic box.

“Christ, this is so fucked up.”

She picked up the clothes from where she’d dropped them while in her TV trance, and headed over to Buffy.

“Okay B, I need to put these on you.”

Buffy never even so much as glanced her way.

“B, we need to get these clothes on…”

“Tiny people fun!”

“Yeah, way better than regular size, for sure. Can ya hold your arms over your head? B…B…Buffy!”

Buffy jumped slightly, snatching up her club and growling low in her throat as she looked at Faith:

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya. Just wondered …Can you do this?”

Faith lifted her own arms over her head and after a slight hesitation, Buffy did the same.

“Perfect! Stay just like that!”

Faith removed the club from Buffy’s hand with a bit of a struggle and leaned it against the chair. She concentrated as hard as she could and got the shirt on perfectly in her first attempt. Buffy didn’t looked thrilled to be wearing clothes, but Faith distracted her:

“Look at the tiny people, B.”

Buffy grinned as her head instantly swiveled to stare at the TV. Faith bent down in front of her and put Buffy’s feet in through the leg holes of the sweats. She was pretty proud of herself, it hadn’t been that hard after all.

She walked over to the door to unlock it and glanced back to admire her handiwork. Buffy’s sweats were still pooled around her ankles and Faith realized she’d forgotten to pull them up.

“And I’m the brains? We are so screwed.”

She went back over and pulled Buffy’s pants up as far as she could. She asked Buffy to stand, but the only response she received was a burst of laughter. Buffy’s attention was riveted to the…magic box as the tiny man punched another tiny man.

“Tiny man mad!”

That jarred Faith out of her daze…She was supposed to be getting Buffy dressed.

“B, can ya stand up?”

“No, tiny man! Run!”

Two other men had entered the fight and Buffy had apparently picked sides.

“Too much men. Run!”

She leapt to her feet when he seemed to follow her instructions and Faith wasted no time in pulling the sweats up to her waist. She tightened the drawstring, running her fingers between the waistband and Buffy’s soft hot skin to make sure…to make sure…

“What Faith do?”

Faith had no idea what she was doing. Her mind had lost its ability to think and all she knew was that the skin under her fingers was warm and... She began sliding her hand down further and Buffy sighed, placing her hands on Faith’s arms as she let her explore.

A growling noise rumbled from down low in Faith’s throat and she wrapped her other arm around Buffy’s waist to hold her where she was. Her mouth went to Buffy’s stomach and she gently licked and kissed as she inhaled the best scent she’d ever smelled. Then the growling was back and Faith…

She pulled clear and stepped back quickly, leaving Buffy to look at her with confusion:

“Where Faith go?”

“Sorry B, food’s gonna be here in a sec, so no…”

“Want Faith.”

“Yeah, I know. Got carried away and…”

Buffy took a step towards her:

“Want Faith now.”

Faith wanted her now too, and she could feel her mind drifting...

“Food, B.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed and she smiled. Faith gulped audibly as she began backing away.

“B…don’t ya wanna eat first?”

There was no answer, but the look on Buffy’s face said more than enough as she began stalking Faith across the room. Faith licked her lips nervously and Buffy’s eyes followed the path her tongue took as she advanced on her prey.

“Buffy take Faith.”

When Faith felt her back bang up against a wall, she resorted to her last resort:

“Look B, tiny man!”

Buffy whirled around to look at the TV and Faith quickly moved away. Buffy stood mesmerized and then drifted back to the screen, clapping delightedly as some woman spray cleaned the mildew from her shower walls.

It wasn’t long before a discreet knock sounded at the door. She glanced at Buffy and saw that she was totally enamored by the “tiny man” as he climbed over a fence and began picking a lock. With Buffy otherwise occupied, Faith strode over to the door to finish her hunt for food, feeling pretty good about her plan and her skills.

She stood there smiling and then the knock came again. She pounded an answering knock, then realized she actually had to open the door.

“Concentrate, dumbass.”

The locks proved to be a bit of a challenge, but she was able to get them undone in a reasonable time. She swung the door open and two young men stood there with three carts loaded down with food and drink.

“Bring it in.”

They did and one of them handed Faith the bill. She took the pen and signed her name in a shaky, illegible scrawl.

“Uh, ma’am? We got it here in fourteen minutes.”

“Yeah, so?”

“We were told you said…”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

She tried to write “$500.00” on the tip line, but she couldn’t figure out how to form the numbers. After struggling for a few awkward moments, she handed the pen back to the boy:

“Got a bum hand, ya mind?”

He eagerly wrote it in and she scribbled what were supposed to be her initials by it.

They were all smiles as they turned to go, but before they could leave, Faith asked them to do her a favor. It took forever to get across what she meant because she couldn’t remember what it was called, but right when she was on the verge of punching a hole in the wall, one of the boys got what she’d been trying to say:

“I’m sorry, ma’am, we don’t know what you’re…”

“Nobody comes in!”

“Oh, the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign! Sure, it’s right here.”

He reached around the door on her side and took the sign, inserting it into the card key slot.

“There you, go. Have a nice night!”

They both waved at her as she closed the door and triple locked it behind them. She was hoping neither she nor Buffy would be able to figure out how to get out that way. It would make it a little tougher for Giles and the rescue party to get in quietly, but that was going to be the least of their worries.

Two strong as shit, devolved Slayers could cause endless amounts of problems, and Faith could only hope that Giles had taken her warning about Buffy’s enhanced strength seriously. It was a huge mess and if the situation wasn’t handled just right, they were going to be pretty tough to capture. Someone could get hurt and nobody wanted that.

Faith looked over at Buffy to see that she’d edged closer to the screen. She was smiling and laughing and then she pounded on the arm of her chair. The tiny man was kissing a girl and Buffy was nodding in total agreement with his actions.

Faith unscrewed all of the lids from the water bottles then lined the bottles carefully on a large circular table. She uncovered the plates of food, opened all of the assorted bags of goodies, and then satisfied with her work, Faith dragged another chair up next to Buffy’s. She pushed one of the carts alongside, sat down, and then hoped for the best.

She handed Buffy a plate with a thick cheeseburger and a bunch of fries on it.

“Food, B.”

The tantalizing smell was right next to her and it forced Buffy to turn her head from the television. She smiled and snatched the burger off the plate with one hand and a fistful of fries with the other.

“Faith get food.”

“Yep, there’s a shitload more over there, water too.”

Buffy looked where Faith pointed and nodded. She then took a huge bite of her cheeseburger and leaned her head into Faith’s shoulder:

“Faith good”.

At least that’s what Faith thought she said. It was hard to tell since her mouth was full of unchewed fries and burger.

They ate in a comfortable silence, watching the tiny man living his life while they consumed almost an entire cart’s worth of food and water. By the time they were sated, the cart was piled precariously high with empty plates and bottles and Faith shoved it away from them. It clanged against the broken coffee table and tipped slightly, causing some of the debris to hit the carpet.

Buffy laughed, so did Faith, and then Buffy climbed onto her lap.

“Food good…Faith good.”

“B good…I mean, you good, B.”

Buffy was nuzzling into her neck, placing tiny little kisses and bites wherever she went.

“Buffy want Faith.”

“We maybe…Don’t think we…I no do…B…”

Faith couldn’t remember what she’d been trying to say and she pulled Buffy’s head up by her hair:

“Faith want Buffy.”

Buffy smiled, then yanked Faith’s head back too:

“Faith rough.”

Faith’s grin was dangerous looking:

“Buffy like.”

She stood, flinging Buffy over her shoulder and then looked around confused. She’d been planning to throw Buffy down onto the floor and just take her there, but something in the recesses of her brain told her there was someplace better that was available to them.

Faith tried to remember, but it was hard with Buffy’s hands sliding under her sweatpants and squeezing her butt. Her nails glided along her ass and Faith jumped with a strange little squeal. She swatted Buffy hard on her butt, but Buffy just laughed and didn’t stop what she was doing. She soon had Faith swaying in place and moaning in rhythm.

After a couple of minutes, Faith’s half opened eyes spotted the partially closed door and she knew where to take Buffy. She headed there, almost falling because her sweatpants were puddled at her feet. She tried taking baby steps, she tried hopping, but nothing seemed to work.

She was certain if she concentrated she could solve this new problem, but Buffy wasn’t letting up for a second. In fact, she was accelerating her actions, actually crawling further down Faith’s back to allow her access to new and sensitive places.

“B stop now.”

Buffy laughed:

“No.”

Once again Buffy got smacked, but her only response was to pull Faith’s shirt up and drag her tongue along the small of her back. It wasn’t long before there was a ripping sound and Faith felt Buffy’s mouth roaming all over her skin as her shirt gave way.

Faith growled again, then tried to escape from the pants that were cuffed around her ankles. As Buffy’s nails scored lightly from her ass up to her back and down again, Faith let out a frustrated whimper. Then it came to her.

She stood on the excess material with her other foot, holding it to the floor as she jerked her leg straight up, and suddenly she was free. She smacked Buffy’s butt triumphantly and headed for the bed, her sweatpants dragging behind her with one foot still being held prisoner.

Faith tossed Buffy down on the bed and pounced on her. Buffy squealed and tried to escape, but Faith moved too fast. She pinned Buffy’s hands with her own, then delivered a forceful kiss. Buffy bit at her lips, but it was a bite designed to tease not hurt, and in seconds her tongue met Faith’s.

Faith let go of Buffy’s hands to hold her head as the kiss intensified, and Buffy’s arms wrapped around her pulling her in closer.

“Mmm…Faith taste good…like food.”

They both began giggling and Faith buried her head in Buffy’s neck as they laughed.

“B like meat.”

That started the laughter again and it only ended when Buffy ripped Faith’s shirt all the way off, leaving Faith totally naked, except for the sweatpants still wrapped around her left ankle. Buffy looked at her, her hands trailing lightly up and down the body hovering above her:

“Faith pretty.”

“Faith know.”

They both smiled and then Buffy pulled her head down to kiss her. When they broke apart, Buffy looked her in the eye:

“Faith mine.”

Faith nodded happily as she answered:

“Buffy have Faith.”

“Take Buffy now.”

Faith needed no further encouragement. She ran her hands over Buffy’s breasts, liking how the little bumps appeared under the T-shirt material. She swirled her fingers gently over and around them, watching with fascination as they became more prominent and hard.

“Faith like this.”

Buffy didn’t answer, her moans of agreement her only response. Faith bent her head and sucked on one, then the other, her actions causing Buffy to squirm.

“Faith…”

Faith liked how Buffy said her name, how she held on tight, and how the little points of pleasure made themselves known even under cover. What Faith didn’t like was the taste of cotton, she wanted to taste Buffy.

She tore Buffy’s shirt from her and her mouth engulfed a nipple in one motion. Buffy arched up to meet her, her fingers entwined in Faith’s hair as she tried to keep her right where she was. Faith’s hand pinched Buffy’s other nipple softly, then harder until Buffy cried out.

Faith slid down her body, kissing the warm skin until she reached the barrier of Buffy’s sweatpants. She tried to rip them off, but they didn’t tear as easily as Buffy’s shirt had. She gripped them firmly as she prepared to use a little more force, but as she did they slid further down Buffy’s body and Faith just kept dragging them along.

When she got the pants down to Buffy’s feet, she considered leaving them around her left ankle, but she pulled too hard and they came all the way off. Faith tossed them aside, then reached for her own. She nearly fell off the bed as she awkwardly bent her leg up and tugged, but Buffy quickly grabbed onto her arm, steadying her.

Faith grinned as she flung the pants aside and pushed Buffy back down, running her hands all over Buffy’s naked body:

“Faith like.”

“Buffy too.”

As Faith’s head drifted downward slowly to rest between Buffy’s legs, her trademark smirk appeared:

“Five by...It five...”

Buffy looked confused:

“What Faith say?”

She shrugged, her wicked grin back in place:

“Fuck B.”

****

The next several hours passed in a haze of food and sex. The room looked like an explosion had taken place in it, and in some ways that was an accurate assessment.

Both Slayers were quiet now, resting although not asleep. They were sprawled on the bed and each other somewhat precariously as the mattress was partially angled off the box spring and trying to make its escape to the floor. Faith was lying on her back with Buffy resting on top of her, her face smushed between Faith’s breasts.

Their breathing was slow and even, contradicting everything that had gone on in the last few hours. They’d had sex in every part of the room on every available surface and when they’d needed to take a break, they’d eaten, watched tiny people, and drawn on the walls. When the fire had built back up between them, they’d happily gone at it again and again…again.

Now they rested, content and happy, safe and warm…Faith’s head lifted and Buffy stirred. Sleep was ready to claim her, but she fought it off as she sensed the change in her partner’s mood. Her body came alert and her head turned towards the danger.

The noise was soft and sneaky, and both Slayers didn’t like it. They rose as one, each grasping their couch leg clubs as they padded silently into the other room and dropped into a crouch. They stood a ways apart, instinctively knowing not to present a single target. Their eyes were riveted on the door that led to somewhere else and they tensed for a battle.

A weird noise came to their ears, then a burning smell, and both became nervous.

“Fire, B?”

“Fire bad!”

A roundish object fell from the door, landing on the carpet and Faith moved forward excitedly. It looked like it would be a good weapon, heavy, solid, and small enough to throw from a distance. She started for it, but Buffy’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“No.”

“Good thing!”

“No, bad. Stay.”

Faith looked longingly at the doorknob, then nodded. Buffy was right, she should wait even though she was sure she could run up, grab the shiny rock and be back before anything bad happened. But she would wait, it was smarter and safer.

In just a matter of seconds the door flew open, and the Slayers prepared to leap into action. They stopped when they saw who the intruders were.

“Giles.”

The Watcher smiled, his voice soft and calm, his body language as innocuous and non-threatening as he could make it:

“Buffy, Faith.”

Xander’s eye was almost bulging out of its socket as he tried not to stare at the two naked Slayers, but he was a man after all, a man who appreciated the female form in all its beauty and that beauty was beautifully on display in two totally different , but equally beautiful ways of beauty that were …

“Xander!”

Giles voice brought him out of his lustful imaginings and he entered the room fully, closing the door with his foot so that he could keep his gaze trained on the Slayers. He lifted the tranq gun and leveled it steadily as he awaited his cue.

Giles was proceeding as planned:

“It’s good to see both of you. I was wondering if we could …”

“Giles no move.”

He stopped instantly. Buffy’s eyes had narrowed and Faith had lifted her club back into a fighting position.

“I’m not moving, neither is Xander.”

“Good Giles. Buffy happy.”

“Splendid! So, perhaps we might all sit and discuss…”

“Down.”

One simple word spoken to Xander that carried a wealth of information as Faith’s eyes drilled into him. He instantly began to sweat and his voice came out all shaky:

“Uh,Giles? Angry Slayer staring at me.”

“Hold steady, Xander. Faith, we’re not here to hurt you.”

Buffy’s head tilted, her confusion plain to see:

“Giles not hurt. Giles good.”

“That’s right, Buffy. Giles is good and would never hurt....”

“Down now!”

Faith was staring hard at Xander and it was clear she didn’t like what she was seeing.

“Faith, it’s just me your buddy ‘Cyclops’.”

She smiled at the nickname, then her expression hardened again:

“Down.”

“Faith, he cannot put the gun down. We need to…”

With a speed they could barely see, Buffy threw her couch leg at Xander. The gun was knocked from his hand and it slammed up against the wall. He wasn’t really hurt, but it stung and he grabbed at his wrist.

Buffy was unconcerned with his reaction, her attention already on Faith:

“Down now.”

Faith smiled and her posture became less aggressive.

“B good.”

With a grin Buffy turned back to the men:

“Giles okay?”

He was glad he’d decided to equip both Xander and himself with hidden tranq pistols.

“I’m fine, Buffy. Giles worried about the two of you.”

Buffy smiled and pounded her chest:

“Buffy strong!”

She punched Faith in the arm:

“Faith strong too. And pretty.”

Both Slayers laughed and Giles and Xander joined in, although it wasn’t all that clear what they were laughing about. Still, happy Slayers were easier to deal with than mad as hell ones, so both men were more than happy to play along.

“Yes, Faith very pretty.”

Giles began moving again and although two sets of eyes tracked his movements, neither girl ordered him to stop this time. Xander began talking to provide a distraction:

“So Buff, I see the tiny people are back.”

She glanced at the TV and then to Xander:

“Tiny man fight! Kiss girl!”

“Yes, and did tiny man drive car too?”

Buffy was puzzled:

“Buffy not know. Tiny man good.”

A growl emanated softly from Faith and Buffy whirled to look at Giles. It seemed innocent enough, but he had somehow managed to take up a relatively secure position behind one of the large food carts.

Although both girls unquestioningly liked and trusted the man with the round things on his face, they also knew it wasn’t good to let anyone flank them either.

“What Giles do?”

“Just admiring the available food, Buffy.”

He lifted a steak and made a show of smelling it.

“Mmm…steak smell good. Giles take steak.”

He’d anticipated a negative reaction, but the Slayers surprised him. Faith merely grunted her approval and Buffy nodded:

“Giles take.”

He felt ridiculously touched, they were both willing to give up their food to him, and here he was trying to trick them. It made him feel guilty, but there was nothing that could be done about that. It was a necessary evil that couldn’t be helped, no matter how rotten it made him feel, and he steeled himself to continue.

He removed the pistol from his pocket and held it unseen at his side behind the cart. Xander tensed, his own hand in his jacket as he awaited the signal.

The Slayers clearly sensed something was happening, and Buffy’s eyes narrowed again, her expression suddenly not so friendly:

“What Giles do?”

“Merely trying to…”

“Move!”

Faith practically bellowed the order at him.

“Now Faith, perhaps we can…”

“Faith move man.”

Buffy didn’t seem at all inclined to stop her, but Giles stayed where he was and attempted to distract them.

“Mmm…steak smell good. Faith want steak?”

Faith growled again and Buffy spoke up:

“Giles bad. Buffy no like. Move.”

“Xander…”

Three sets of eyes turned to Xander.

“…do you remember the plan?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure exactly when I’m supposed to soil my pants.”

“Hold steady. Buffy, surely you’re not…”

The men didn’t hear anything, but the Slayers did. The noise came from behind them and then they felt the faint breeze brushing against their backs. They knew what that meant: the enemy was in the room they’d just come from, but despite the temptation, both girls kept their focus on the people in front of them.

Faith seemed to have paired off with Xander and Buffy had Giles, but no one moved or said a word until Faith growled down low in her throat:

“Man bad.”

“Not ‘man’, Faith, your buddy ‘Cyclops’…remember? Dear sweet God…Faith, please remember, it’s just me.”

If she did remember, it didn’t make any difference. She began advancing on him and he panicked, pulling the tranq gun clear from his pocket and firing twice. The first shot went wide, but the next one caught her in the arm. She never even broke stride, but then suddenly she staggered and looked at Buffy.

“B…”

And then she was down, out cold…and that was when all hell broke loose.

Buffy yelled:

“Faith!”

…but all too quickly her attention was back on Giles.

“Buffy, I know this looks bad, but trust me, it’s for your own…”

“Buffy trust Faith.”

She backed up slowly towards Faith as Xander struggled to reload without knocking himself out. Giles kept his gun trained on Buffy, his hand steady as he waited for an opening…and then there it was.

He fired, the tranq dart right on target, but Buffy caught it in mid-flight and in the same motion threw it into Kennedy’s neck as she came rushing in from the bedroom. She went down instantly, the super dose taking a regular Slayer out of commission without the slightest problem.

Her sudden collapse tripped up Vi and Satsu, and they fell in an ungainly Three Stooges pile which Rona smoothly leapt over. Buffy was on her as she landed, spinning quickly and shoving her in front like a shield to let Giles’ second dart hit her in the shoulder. Rona crumpled and Buffy shoved her into Xander as he began taking aim.

His shot went wild, hitting Vi just as she was regaining her feet and bringing her own weapon to bear. She went down, her dart firing harmlessly into the ceiling as she lost consciousness. Satsu however was up and she shot at Buffy three times in rapid succession, but the Slayer managed to avoid each dart. She jumped over the last shot, landing a step from Satsu.

Satsu wasn’t stupid and she used her rifle as a club, connecting hard with Buffy’s head…except Buffy moved faster, catching the butt of the rifle and wresting it from her grasp. Satsu let her have it, instead bringing Buffy down with a leg sweep. She quickly grabbed onto the rifle again and pulled, but Buffy outsmarted her.

As Satsu yanked the rifle towards her, Buffy shoved it in the same direction, striking her firmly on the forehead and Satsu was out like a light before she hit the floor. The Slayer flipped to her feet, holding the rifle like a club as she surveyed the scene.

There were only two left standing and it quickly became a stare down between Watcher and Slayer. Giles kept his gun aimed at her, not wavering in the slightest as they faced off:

“Buffy, can we perhaps settle this amicably?”

Her only response was a warning growl.

Xander was up on his knees and he began to take aim. The rifle left Buffy’s hand and struck him a glancing blow on the side of the head. He was down and out, leaving Giles as the sole conscious member of the rescue team.

“Giles not trying to hurt Buffy. Giles just…”

“Giles bad! Hurt Faith!”

“Buffy, she is not hurt. She’s simply…”

“Put down…Now!”

“I cannot do that, nor can I allow you to leave. Please understand…”

She advanced on him so quickly, he barely had time to get the shot off. It whizzed by her as she turned sideways, never slowing her approach. He found himself pinned against the wall with Buffy’s forearm applying pressure to his neck.

“Buffy mad.”

He struggled to breathe, uncomfortable, yet not exactly afraid.

“Yes, so I’ve…gathered.”

“Giles stay away. All stay away.”

“Buffy, I can’t agree to…”

She applied more pressure and Giles did his best to nod in agreement.

“Good. No more or Buffy hurt.”

She stared at him for a few more seconds, then released him. She removed the gun from his hand and walked over to Faith, hoisting her up onto her shoulder and leaving through the broken balcony window. She looked down and saw four other Slayers “hidden” below and growled deeply.

“Bad people.”

She could hear the man rushing up behind her and despite her anger, she didn’t want to hurt him. He called up a softness in her, a love and a desire to protect, but his actions were confusing her. He’d come with people she knew and had hurt Faith, and Buffy could not understand what was happening.

This man she knew and trusted was behaving bizarrely and she had no real way to figure it out. To her it was cut and dried: the familiar people came and hurt Faith, Buffy didn’t like that, and now they were leaving.

She threw the gun at the Slayers down below and leapt to the neighboring balcony, continuing to jump until she’d come to rest on the corner room’s scenic “balcony with a view”. She glanced back and saw the man shouting into a squawking box he held in his hand, but she didn’t hesitate.

Buffy tightened her grip and jumped off the railing into the thicket of trees that led to the woods behind the hotel. She missed the branch she was aiming for, but managed to easily snag another not too far away. She grunted with the impact, but kept moving as fast as she could.

“Faith safe. Buffy have.”

She was miles away in minutes.

CHAPTER FOUR

Buffy hadn’t stopped staring at Faith since she’d found a safe spot to rest. She’d done all she could to help her, feeling her all over, removing the dart from her shoulder, slapping her several times…even going so far as to poke her with a stick, but Faith remained asleep on the bed of tree boughs that Buffy had hastily made.

She could hear the sound of running water, but she didn’t want to leave Faith. She remained at her side in a crouch, her right hand firmly clutching a large stick as she grunted softly to herself, rocking back and forth slightly.

A nearby scurrying in the underbrush gained her attention briefly, but Buffy wasn’t hungry. She was scared for her Faith, confused by recent events, and she was thirsty. Still she ignored the enticing sound of the nearby water, fighting her instincts to stay with her fallen partner.

Time passed slowly, and finally Buffy could no longer resist. She bent over and screamed in Faith’s face, then shoved her hard, and when she received no response, she began walking backwards toward the sound of the water. She kept her eyes on her mate for as long as she could - she wasn’t happy about leaving Faith alone, but she was too thirsty to hold out any longer. With a reluctant last look, she turned and loped away.

The water wasn’t far and after scoping out the area, Buffy laid down on her front and began drinking her fill. Her right hand was still clenched around her club and twice her head lifted to scan her surroundings, but there was nothing she perceived as a threat and she resumed drinking from the small lake. With her thirst slaked, she headed back to Faith.

She hadn’t moved and Buffy edged closer, her worry and frustration easy to see. She shook Faith roughly and when Faith stirred slightly, Buffy smiled and sprayed the mouthful of water she’d been holding onto all over her face.

Faith sputtered and sat up, a groan escaping as her hands wiped at the water.

“Buffy?”

Buffy jumped in the air happily, then knelt back down. She hugged a “not all there yet” Faith to her, knocking her flat to the ground in her excitement. Faith groaned at the impact, but her arms came up to return Buffy’s embrace.

“Faith good?”

“Faith good.”

Buffy peppered soft kisses on her neck and jaw and then she leaned up to look at her:

“Faith need water?”

Faith nodded, still looking slightly dazed and Buffy helped her carefully to her feet. She led Faith to the lake, one arm wrapped firmly around her waist, the other holding tight to her weapon. Faith followed along somewhat docilely, and when they got there, Buffy had her sit at the water’s edge.

Buffy laid her weapon down, scooped up two handfuls of water and held them up to Faith with a smile:

“Faith drink.”

Faith drank greedily, and it took six times before her thirst was quenched. When they were done, Buffy picked up her club and led Faith back to their little campsite. She pushed a resistant Faith back down onto the bed of tree boughs:

“Faith rest.”

“Faith no want. Faith strong.”

She tried to get up, but Buffy didn’t like the idea.

“Buffy say stay. Stay!”

“No! Faith good. Faith…”

She was struggling to rise and Buffy was struggling to keep her down. Both girls were becoming angry at having their desires thwarted, never a good thing when two Slayers were involved.

Faith managed to elude Buffy’s restraining hands and stood quickly, her fury obvious:

“No touch! Faith want up!”

“Buffy say down! Faith down.”

They stood in a stand-off until Faith shoved Buffy backwards:

“No. Faith go.”

As she turned to leave, Buffy grabbed her arm, winding it around to pull it up behind Faith’s back, but Faith merely spun with her and they ended up facing each other again.

Faith wasn’t happy with the attempt and she shoved Buffy again. Buffy’s reaction was immediate: she swung at Faith, connecting with her jaw. Faith tripped, her arms whirling wildly as she backpedalled trying to regain her balance. She couldn’t hang on, and she ended up thudding to the ground on her ass.

She made an “oofing” noise as she impacted with the ground, but she was back on her feet in seconds:

“B bad. Hit Faith!”

“Faith bad! Buffy say down!”

They began circling each other, their eyes riveted to the other as it became apparent that there was going to be a fight.

“Faith good!”

“Faith no good!”

“Buffy stay back.”

“No. Faith down!”

They both made their move at the same time. Faith’s punch connected with Buffy’s cheek just as Buffy’s smashed into her stomach. Both Slayers were staggered and each took a step back.

“Faith stop!”

“Buffy stop!”

Buffy smacked her own chest:

“Buffy say what do!”

“Faith stand!”

They began circling again, crouching slightly, each wary of the other. Faith suddenly paused and tried to speak what was on her mind:

“Buffy have stick.”

“Buffy have good stick.”

“Faith no have.”

Buffy seemed puzzled, then a smile slowly crossed her face:

“Faith scared.”

“No! Faith want stick.”

“No! Buffy have.”

Faith was irritated and she grunted her displeasure:

“Faith find stick.”

She began looking for her own weapon, turning her back on Buffy as she did. The concept of fair play wasn’t exactly pressing on either Slayer’s mind and Buffy made her move. She poked her club right into the middle of Faith’s back, shoving her forward.

Faith fell headfirst into a clump of weeds and grass, and Buffy stood with an amused expression on her face that somehow matched her arrogantly raised eyebrow.

“Buffy say down…”

She laughed as Faith rolled over, spitting out grass and dirt.

“…Faith down.”

Faith didn’t see the funny in any of it and she leapt to her feet in a rage:

“Faith no stick!”

“Buffy have. Faith down!”

“Buffy bad!”

Faith gestured angrily:

“Faith want stick!”

“Buffy have stick. Faith be good.”

“No!”

She tackled Buffy and tried to wrest the club from her hand. Buffy hung on, even when Faith punched her hard in the shoulder. She managed to kick Faith off of her just far enough to get to her feet and then the fight began in earnest.

Buffy never used the club once, but she refused to let go of it. They battled ferociously, punching and kicking, but after several minutes they still stood facing each other as they circled cautiously. They both had cuts and bruises, little nicks and scratches that barely seemed to faze them at all, and each girl was still ready and raring to go.

“Faith want stick.”

“Buffy say down.”

It was a stalemate and Faith was tired of waiting. She rushed in, her hands on the club. Buffy went with her, letting Faith knock them both to the ground. She rolled quickly, putting herself on top as her as Faith tried to pull the club from her grasp. She came close, but Buffy’s knee smashing into her stomach made Faith let go as all of the air was forced painfully from her lungs.

Buffy took advantage of the situation, pinning Faith’s arms with her knees. She sat there triumphantly and yelled a yell that sounded like a howl of victory. Faith tried to pull her arms free and when she couldn’t, she tried to lift her legs to knock Buffy off. She couldn’t quite reach her, but she didn’t stop struggling…not until she felt Buffy’s teeth at her throat.

“Buffy say down. Faith down.”

Her teeth latched on, gently at first but as Faith continued to struggle, the pressure increased. Faith finally went still, and after a few moments Buffy relented and her teeth let go. She licked gently over the bite, then kissed her way up to Faith’s mouth. She hovered there until Faith groaned softly:

“Buffy say down…”

Faith stared back, her mouth held tightly closed, and Buffy growled a warning.

“Buffy…say…down…”

Faith still looked at her defiantly and this time Buffy’s tongue softly traced the thin line of Faith’s compressed lips. Faith tried, but she couldn’t hold out. Her mouth opened, yearning for Buffy’s tongue and lips to devour her, but Buffy pulled back instead:

“Buffy say down?”

“…”

Her lips returned, her tongue gliding along barely there, her breath tickling along Faith’s mouth.

“Buffy say down?”

And finally Faith cooperated:

“Faith down.”

Buffy smiled, not willing to let it go quite so easily, and she repeated herself:

“Buffy say down?”

“Faith down!”

“Good.”

She kissed Faith then, her tongue plunging in, her lips moving with Faith’s as they both became lost in the sensations. Buffy’s free hand went to Faith’s breast and Faith’s response was immediate. She groaned and began murmuring:

“Faith down…B good…Faith want…”

And then Buffy relaxed, taking her knees from Faith’s arms, sliding her body down to cover Faith’s completely. She began kissing her everywhere she could reach, purring when she felt Faith’s arms wrapping around her, her hands roaming up and down, then lower as they explored her ass.

“Faith…”

“B good.”

It was a struggle, but Buffy sat up again:

“Take.”

She turned her club around and offered it handle first to Faith:

“Faith take stick.”

“Buffy stick?”

“Buffy give.”

The tears welled up in Faith’s eyes as she let go of Buffy’s butt to take the club.

“B…”

“Faith good. Strong. Take.”

Faith held the stick behind Buffy’s back, and with a hand on either end, she pulled Buffy down to her.

“Buffy give. Faith like.”

Buffy smiled:

“Faith take Buffy?”

The club fell to the ground as Faith wrapped both hands around her:

“Faith want Buffy.”

“Take Buffy.”

No further encouragement was needed and Faith did as she was told.

****

Hunger was gnawing at them and the night air was becoming a little too cold. Buffy and Faith were crouched in the bushes as they watched the people moving around their campsite. It was a cozy scene, two warm and inviting fires blazing, a grill cooking hotdogs and hamburgers and children laughing and running a serpentine pattern among the three tents. The grownups were sitting around the fire, sipping beer and hot chocolate as they laughed and talked about their lives.

Buffy and Faith were nearly ready to make their move. They wanted the delicious smelling meat and they wanted the woolen blankets that some of the people were wrapped so comfortably in. They also wanted the mysterious blue and white box that seemed to contain a never ending supply of food and drink, and they were determined to get it all.

They didn’t need to speak, communicating effortlessly with hand gestures and some innate bond that had them working like a well-oiled machine. Faith had already tried to lure or scare the people away from the campsite by throwing well placed sticks and stones, and when that hadn’t worked, she’d gone so far as to cause a commotion in the bushes herself.

Their adversaries were completely oblivious, stupidly and dangerously so, and both girls wondered how they even managed to stay alive, let alone seemingly prosper. Faith returned to Buffy’s side, confused and irritated.

“People stupid.”

Buffy was clearly thinking and she agreed distractedly:

“People stupid.”

Faith tried to be patient, she could tell Buffy had an idea, but patience wasn’t her strong suit even when she was just normal Faith. She’d had enough with the pussyfooting around:

“Faith get food.”

Buffy grabbed her arm and held her back as she started to stomp off half-cocked into the middle of the campsite:

“No. Buffy know. Faith stop.”

With a series of gestures, grunts, and spoken phrases, the plan was in place. Faith nodded her assent, and then the Slayers went into action. Faith ran into the campsite, snatched up one of the women standing near the grill, tossed her over her shoulder and without breaking stride zoomed off into the night, much to the astonishment of the other campers.

“Did you see that?!”

“What the hell?!”

“A naked woman just…”

“Karen!!!”

They gave chase instantly, save for the one woman left behind to guard the children. Buffy threw a stick into the nearby brush and the woman nervously shepherded the children into the largest tent, then followed them in.

With a smile Buffy quietly crept into the campsite, grabbed a piece of meat from the grill and took a large bite:

“Ow! Hot!”

And also juicy and tender and tasty, and Buffy licked her fingers thoroughly while the woman’s voice sounded out loud:

”Don’t come in here! I’ve…I’ve got a gun!”

“Stay! No come out!”

The zippered flap zipped shut at the speed of light once the woman tugged and swore at it as it got stuck. Buffy stared hard at the entire process, but once the flap was securely closed, she was satisfied that the woman was going to stay cowering in the tent. Buffy nodded happily and went about collecting their bounty.

The magic box was open, and Buffy hurriedly threw all of the sizzling meat inside it. She grabbed three of the thick blankets and piled them around her neck and shoulders, then peered inside the small tent. She decided to take the pile of clothing she saw there and bent down, scooping up the clothes as well as the sleeping bag. She stood too soon and in her panic she became entangled in the fabric of the tent.

She pulled and then jerked free as the tent began collapsing around her. She rolled clear as it hit the ground, then pounded her fist to her chest as she kicked at it.

“Buffy strong!”

Her head tilted this way and that and then a smile crossed her face. She dumped everything onto the tent, then gathered the ends to close it off and lifted it over her shoulder. It hung down, more awkward than heavy, and she could easily manage it. She slammed the lid closed on the Magic Box and hoisted it onto her other shoulder.

With a last look around the campsite, Buffy glanced again towards the tent concealing the woman and children.

“Buffy go! You stay!”

And then she was off, running back into the darkness, mission accomplished.

****

Faith returned to their spot about twenty minutes later and found that Buffy had been busy. She was sitting on a pile of clothes, a blanket wrapped around her as she ate a delicious smelling piece of meat. She smiled when she heard the grunt and looked up when Faith drew closer:

“Food good. Faith eat.”

Faith nodded and reached into the now broken “Magic Box” to grab a hamburger. She sat down next to Buffy who lifted one end of the blanket and draped it around Faith’s shoulders.

They ate in a companionable silence, digging into the cooler, fighting to unwrap snacks, and drinking the water from the melted ice. They ate until there was nothing left, and then they sat back. There was a sudden noise in the underbrush, but they gave it only a cursory glance before classifying it as a non-threat.

Buffy snuggled into Faith, her nose rubbing gently along the side of Faith’s breast:

“Faith take woman.”

“Woman loud.”

Both Slayers laughed at that statement. The woman had been like a screaming banshee, yelling all the way as Faith had carried her fireman style off into the darkness.

She had hollered the entire time, even after Faith had smacked her hard on the butt and told her to knock it off:

“No more!”

The woman had kept screaming in terror, and Faith had finally yelled back at her:

“Faith no hurt!”

Her words of reassurance did no good and Faith had determined rather quickly that she was dealing with an idiot. She gave up all attempts to reason with the noisemaker on her shoulder and she just kept running.

She didn’t go full speed otherwise she would have lost her pursuers and she didn’t want that. She made sure they kept catching a glimpse of her, not that they really needed to, they could just follow the blaring commotion.

She led them on a merry chase, winding in and out and never veering all that far from their campsite. They followed her like it’d been scripted and when Faith grew tired of the game and felt enough time had passed, she took off in the opposite direction from where Buffy and she were to meet. She then dropped her annoying passenger unceremoniously on the ground and kicked her a glancing blow:

“Stupid head!”

Then she was off and running, leaping up into a tree and running along the interlacing branches until she jumped down into the middle of the river. She swam a ways, then went to the shore, jogging towards her rendezvous with Buffy. She was tense, hoping that Buffy had been able to gather the food and blankets and also hoping that Buffy was okay.

She smiled and relaxed when she saw the flash of blonde hair in the moonlight. She strode in loudly, wanting Buffy to hear her coming, and she grunted out her greeting. Buffy’s response was immediate as she triumphantly held up a hot dog:

“Food good. Faith eat!”

Now she was happy, full, warm, and there was now lips kissing along the side of her breast.

“Faith smell nice.”

“Buffy good.”

And then they were at it again. The passion, hot and animalistic flared out of control in just moments, and it took a long time before they were finally satisfied. They laid back, wrapped in each other’s arms, basking until the night air chilled them as they cuddled together:

“Buffy cold.”

“Night cold.”

Buffy sat up, grabbed the blankets and gestured at the tent.

“Sleep there.”

Faith grinned when she saw the tent and snatched up the clothes:

“Good place. Warm place.”

Buffy smacked her chest hard:

“Buffy good!”

Faith nodded approvingly and seriously:

“Buffy good.”

They laid down on the tent, covering themselves with the blankets and clothes, then pulling the edges of the tent up around them. They were warm; toasty even, and they faced each other smiling.

“Faith happy.”

“Buffy glad.

They wrapped an arm around each other, snuggling in even closer as they fell asleep.

CHAPTER FIVE

The sunlight brought with it the relentless sound of a chopper in the nearby distance and the cacophony of a large group of people talking way too loudly in the bucolic setting.

“No, this direction is clearly the way we need to go!”

“Look Giles, all I’m saying is…”

Giles’ exasperation was easy to hear as he continued to traipse through the surrounding woods:

“I know what you’re saying, Xander, you’ve been bloody well saying it for over an hour now! Common sense indicates they must be in this direction and when coupled with the report we received of excessively strong and hostile naked women…”

“I’m just saying we don’t all need to be searching the same…”

Giles snorted in disbelief:

“I couldn’t possibly disagree more, and frankly I’m baffled at your attitude. Did the blow Buffy gave you completely muddle your senses? We most likely need even more people if we’re to deal with…”

“Mr. Giles? I’ve got something!”

He was already rushing to her side:

“Yes, Satsu?”

“I found the tracking device.”

She held up the discarded tranq dart for his inspection.

“Good show! Satsu, take your team in that direction. Kennedy, your team with hers, Rona, yours with mine whilst Xander and Vi shall head over that way.”

The troops were already moving into position.

“Spread out, but not too far. Keep in contact, we don’t want them slipping past us again.”

*****

Faith awoke first, the sunlight shining on the part of her face that was exposed to the elements. She yawned and stretched, smiling as she felt Buffy snuggling in even closer. It was warm inside their cocoon, but Faith knew it wouldn’t take long for it to heat up…especially when Buffy kept getting closer, her warm silky skin sliding along Faith’s at some very interesting points.

She tried not to move, she didn’t want to wake Buffy, plus she was comfortable, warm, safe, and happy…except she had to pee. She wanted to do it right where she was, but then that would mess up their bed and she instinctively knew that wasn’t smart. She also knew Buffy would be mad, so Faith held it, determined to stay where she was for as long as she could.

But she was hungry too, and thirsty, and with Buffy’s leg gliding over hers like it now was, she could add horny to her lengthening list as well.

“Mmm…Faith soft.”

Faith squirmed, she really needed to pee.

“Buffy want.”

Buffy was tasting Faith’s shoulder and neck, slowly making her way upwards.

“Buffy take Faith.”

She kissed Faith, morning breath not a problem at all, and just like always, Faith went with it. She forgot all about her other urges, forgot everything except Buffy and the way she made her feel.

Half an hour later after the most intense orgasms of her life, Faith took off for the bushes to find some relief, Buffy close behind. After they’d finished their business they headed to the lake, frolicking in the water and examining each other in great detail. What they found led to another lovemaking session, this one short and quick and to the point.

They emerged from the water clean, satisfied, and hungry. They headed off into the forest holding hands and their club. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and the Slayers were content.

****

They crept silently, moving in on their quarry. They’d sealed off all avenues of escape and there wouldn’t be any mistakes, not this time. A voice quietly spoke the final instructions, and with a prearranged signal, twenty girls bulldozed into the camp, tranq guns held at the ready. They had the Slayers surrounded, trapped, and they were ready to shoot on sight…just as soon as there was a sight to shoot at.

“Giles, Kennedy. They’re not here.”

“Damn it! Any sign of them at all?”

Kennedy looked at the makeshift bed and cooler:

“They definitely spent the night and it looks like they’ll be coming back. I don’t think they can be far, should we go…”

Giles’ answer left no room for argument:

“No, stay put. We don’t want to tip them off. Keep out of sight and if I’m not there by the time they show up, contact me. This is our chance, so no cock-ups, Kennedy. Tell all the girls I expect their very best.”

“Will do, Giles. Don’t worry, we’ll get them.”

“I shall be there as soon as possible. Giles out.”

Kennedy hung up and turned to the waiting Slayers:

“Okay, split up. Satsu, take your squad to the backside and fan out. My people, we’re taking the front. Everybody stay out of sight and radio silent. No mistakes, we need to round them up.”

The Slayers dispersed and took up their positions, and Kennedy couldn’t help but laugh. Twenty Slayers to round up just two, it seemed like a huge overkill until she considered who the two Slayers were. Buffy and Faith were formidable when everything was totally normal, and when they were all souped up on some weird Neanderthal hormones? Kennedy was wishing she could call in a tank or two to back them up.

She checked that everyone was well hidden and out of sight in the surrounding brush, nearly invisible behind trees, rocks and bushes, then took up her own position. She settled down with the woods at her back, trying to remain optimistic. They’d get them, even though it hadn’t been and wouldn’t be easy. But they’d get them…they had to.

Now she just had to hope they’d hurry up and show. She wasn’t much for sitting around and waiting at any time, and sitting around waiting while hidden and quiet in the woods with a bunch of bugs feasting on her, well it wasn’t her idea of a good time.

She didn’t remember too much after that.

****

Buffy and Faith were happily making their way back to their camp after striking the Mother lode. They’d stumbled upon a cabin in the woods and after discerning that no one was around to bother them, they’d broken in and found some food. First they’d feasted on dry cereal from off the floor after Faith had opened the box by accidentally pulling it apart.

Buffy had clapped excitedly as the pretty colorful rings of Fruit Loops had burst into the air, some landing on Faith as the rest made their way to the floor. Buffy had eaten the ones off of Faith first, then when that led to something else, both girls forgot their hunger pangs and followed their passion.

When they were finished, they sat up and began eating the cereal from the floor. When it was all gone, they were still hungry and began rooting around. Buffy finally solved the mystery of the cupboard doors, ripping them off of their hinges and tossing them aside. She found lots of canned goods and tested their heft with an approving nod:

“Good.”

She could easily imagine using the heavy objects to brain any enemies as well as using them to capture their food when they ran out of whatever someone else had already managed to gather. She put more cans on the counter and continued on with her search.

She heard a growl of frustration from Faith and turned to see what the problem was. Faith had opened the refrigerator, but as she emerged holding a package of bologna triumphantly, the door swung shut again. She tossed her find to Buffy, then reopened the door to haul out more of the goodies inside, using her leg and butt to keep the door propped open.

The refrigerator held all kinds of food and the Slayers ate their fill and then some. The ice cream sandwiches they found in the freezer were a huge hit, and even the remnants of paper they devoured along with them, didn’t diminish their delicious taste.

Buffy found some blankets and began loading their supplies on top of them. When Faith saw what she was doing, she began rounding up more stuff, picking up the colorful things from the kitchen table and tossing them onto the blankets as well. As she turned away, her eye was caught by a small, bright red object with a shiny metal top. It was wedged between the wall and the box with the window in it, and Faith scooped it up quickly. It was pretty.

Soon they had four blankets filled with food and the round metal weapons that Buffy had found. Faith also added to their arsenal, piling on several brick hard, flat, rectangular packages she’d discovered in the freezer. Now they had plenty of supplies to last them for a long time, and each Slayer happily picked up two blankets and slung them over her shoulders for the trek back to camp.

“Buffy good.”

Buffy beamed at the compliment:

“Faith good.”

Faith wanted to pound her chest with pride, but with her hands full she couldn’t quite pull it off. She instead settled for tossing her head back as she puffed out her chest and yelled:

“Faith strong! Buffy strong!”

They bumped each other affectionately, and Buffy wanted to knock Faith to the ground. She didn’t though, she wanted to get the food home first. Then she was going to knock Faith down and let Faith take her.

“Buffy happy!”

Faith smiled at her:

“Faith happy!”

They walked along in a comfortable silence, their senses on alert as they strode confidently for home. When they finally neared their camp, they both slowed, then stopped altogether. They sensed something and it wasn’t a good thing.

They sat their packs down hidden in some bushes and climbed quietly into the trees. With hand signals they split up to scout ahead and below them, and it didn’t take long before they’d each spotted the people again. They returned to their original location and drifted back even further, not wanting to take a chance of being overheard.

“Bad people.”

Faith was nodding:

“We hit all!”

“No, too much woman.”

“Faith hit all!”

Buffy shook her head, her eyes narrowed and her voice firm:

“Buffy say no! Too much!”

Faith didn’t like it, but she could see that Buffy meant it and she could also see that Buffy was thinking hard.

They stood still and silent until Buffy said:

“Want bed.”

Faith was on it in a second:

“Faith get.”

She smacked her chest and started off, but Buffy stopped her:

“No! Faith no go.”

“Faith no scared.”

Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith’s waist from behind:

“Buffy scared. No go.”

Faith stopped struggling and gave in:

“Faith no go. Bed go.”

Buffy suddenly smiled:

“No. Bed come.”

****

They were silently sitting above Kennedy and she didn’t have the first clue. She sensed only her fellow Slayers, either that was causing enough interference or maybe she just couldn’t sense Cave Slayers at any time. Whatever the reason, she was oblivious that the women she was seeking were perched almost directly above her. Faith was lying on a thick tree branch, her arms extended as she carefully lowered Buffy. The thick foliage that concealed Kennedy also concealed a dangling Buffy, a situation that Buffy and Faith were happily exploiting.

When she was in place, Buffy smacked Kennedy upside the head with a small, but stout branch, and she was out cold. She signaled and Faith let go, allowing Buffy to land lightly on the ground. Lying flat and using the more than ample cover the terrain provided to keep her out of sight, Buffy looked up at Faith, who smirked and tossed down her stick. She smiled back and crawled close enough to hook the tent, pulling it to herself slowly, trying her best to minimize the noise.

All too quickly it became apparent that it wasn’t going to work. Buffy crawled back over to the unconscious Kennedy and yanked the weird box from her belt. It was just like the one she’d seen Giles using back at the hotel and she thought it might be a good thing to have. She flung it up to Faith who caught it easily and placed it safely in a nearby crook of the tree. Faith grinned wickedly when Buffy gestured at her, and she jumped to the ground without a sound.

They split up and crept around the perimeter slowly, knocking Slayers out one by one. Faith hit the cute Asian Slayer a little harder than was required; something about her just rubbed Faith the wrong way. She prodded her with her foot, then bared her teeth at the unconscious girl before fiercely whispering:

“You bad. No Buffy!

With a final kick, she moved on.

When they’d picked off all they could, Faith and Buffy met back at their original spot. Faith returned to her place in the tree, climbing up quickly and noiselessly as Buffy crawled forward again, hooking the tent and pulling it towards her.

The few Slayers remaining on guard duty were the furthest away from the tent, their view obstructed and the noise so faint, they didn’t raise the alarm. They were all under orders to remain silent, and surely the Slayers closest to where the noise seemed to be coming from would be hearing it too, if in fact, there really was a noise in the first place.

When Buffy had the tent secured, she gathered the edges together and hoisted it over her shoulder. She stayed crouched as best she could, fading back into the deeper part of the woods, and when she was completely out of sight, she began running. Faith kept up with her from above, jumping easily from branch to branch and when they were far enough away, she landed gracefully at Buffy’s side.

They were smiling victoriously, and then they were kissing. They reluctantly pulled away and began laughing as they quickly gathered up their supplies. They jogged off happily, laden down with their treasure, leaving a silent chaos behind them.

*****

“Well yes, as a matter of fact, I do wish to go over it yet again. I would very much like to know how two Slayers not only overpowered twenty other Slayers, but managed to abscond with their campsite whilst it was under surveillance!”

Kennedy shifted her icepack and winced:

“Geez, Giles, do you have to yell so loud?”

“There are two rogue Slayers on the loose, fourteen of my best Slayers are down with head injuries, Satsu has a moderate to severe concussion and is now hospitalized, and we’ve no bloody idea how to corral Buffy and Faith whatsoever. For some strange reason I find myself needing to be loud, but forgive me, Kennedy if I’m in fact bollocksing up the crack job you’ve all been doing!”

She stood up and looked at him, squinting painfully as the sun blazed cheerfully behind him:

“Giles, it’s not like we let them get away, okay? I had the teams in place, nobody screwed up. They’re just...they’re just super Slayers or something. None of us heard a thing and we were listening.”

He sighed and began cleaning his glasses as he regained control of himself:

“…I know that. I’m sorry, Kennedy, I shouldn’t have directed my frustration at you. This is a most unprecedented situation and I’m aware it isn’t your fault. It isn’t anyone’s fault.”

She relaxed a little then, groaning slightly as she tried out a tentative neck roll:

“We had the place surrounded, everyone was hidden, and none of us heard anything, except the tent getting dragged away...sort of. I guess the noise was so soft and sporadic they couldn’t get a handle on it, and none of them had a sightline either.”

“Yes, I understand. We knew they were incredibly fast and strong, I suppose we can now add ‘sneaky’ to their list of attributes.”

Kennedy whistled, then tossed her icepack to the Council medic as he turned towards her:

“I’ll tell you one thing, I’m sick and tired of getting knocked out by Buffy.”

Giles replaced his glasses and chuckled slightly:

“And why are you assuming it was Buffy who incapacitated you this time?”

“Because it was definitely Faith who nailed Satsu, and we were sitting on opposite sides.”

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense. All right, we need to get organized and stay after them.”

She nodded, then held her hand to her head as the pain lanced through her skull.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say I’m not looking forward to it, not if there’s any moving involved.”

He smiled sympathetically and patted her shoulder on his way over to the triage area.

“Dr. Roberts?”

The tall, brunette woman turned to him:

“Time for the report already?”

“I’m afraid so. We need to get after them, is there anyone totally out of commission?”

“With the exception of Satsu, I’d say all of the girls are good to go when their headaches ease off in a few hours. Until then, they’re not going to be feeling very well.”

“Not the best of news, but then not unexpected either. Reinforcements shan’t be here for hours…

He faded off as he saw the impatient look she was giving him.

”I’ll let you get back to it. Thank you, Doctor.”

She smiled, but she was already returning her full attention to her patient. Giles moved away to stand at the center of the area:

“All right, may I have your attention, please? Those of you uninjured in the latest confrontation, we’re departing in ten minutes. Most of you shall be remaining behind, so I ask that when you feel up to it, you join us as quickly as you can.”

He wasn’t exactly surprised to see every girl struggling to her feet and standing at the ready.

“Girls, while I very much appreciate your diligence to duty…”

It was Rona who spoke up for the group:

“Come on, Giles. It’s Buffy and Faith out there, I think we can all handle a headache when they’re in trouble.”

He smiled, touched by their affection and loyalty to the Slayers:

“Dr. Roberts, what do you advise?”

“It won’t do any of them permanent damage, but they’re going to feel like hell for a few hours.”

Giles was a smart man and he didn’t waste any time arguing a point he couldn’t win:

“Understood. All right, the same groups stick together. Satsu’s team, please spread yourselves evenly amongst the others. We shall leave in ten.”

*****

The Slayers had hauled ass and all of their supplies, and they were presently camped out several miles away. They’d found a small cave, and after Faith’s thorough inspection to make sure it was unoccupied, they moved in. It took awhile, but they also managed to get a small fire going.

Faith gathered everything and placed it just so, rubbed two sticks together like she’d been doing it all her life, and then just like that…nothing. She angrily threw a box of crackers, a bottle of water, and then the bright red cigarette lighter. When it hit the cave floor, a spark flared up briefly.

“Firestick!”

Faith then spent the next twenty minutes trying to make the flame appear again. After burning her fingers several times and almost setting her hair on fire twice, she managed to set some of the dried leaves and brush ablaze.

She turned proudly to Buffy:

“Faith make fire!”

Buffy was sitting on their bed, her back leaning against the wall as she watched with excitement:

“Faith good!”

Faith handed the lighter to Buffy, who studied it with awe, then placed it carefully on a rock off to the side:

“Firestick good! Buffy happy!”

Faith was smiling as she returned to the fire and arranged several logs so that the flames had no chance of fizzling out any time soon. When she was satisfied, she carried over a blanket of food and plopped down on the bed:

“Good place.”

Buffy opened a bag of potato chips and began eating them happily from off of the tent, offering one to Faith with a big smile:

“Faith eat.”

Faith grinned:

“No. Buffy do.”

She opened her mouth and when Buffy placed the chip inside, Faith’s lips grabbed onto her fingers, sucking lightly while her tongue caressed. Their eyes met and Buffy shivered slightly:

“Faith bad.”

Faith sucked harder, then released Buffy to munch on the now soggy chip:

“Faith bad…Buffy like.”

And clearly Buffy did. She already had another chip in her hand, her eyes gleaming sexily:

“Faith take.”

“No.”

Buffy moved closer, trying her best not to smile:

“Buffy say take!”

“No. Faith bad.”

Faith leaned back trying to look angry, but her dimples were giving her away. Buffy decided to change tactics.

“Faith take.”

She placed one end of the chip between her own lips, then slid down until she was sprawled out on their bed. Faith moved in, leaning down to gently take the other end of the chip into her mouth. Buffy quickly bit into her half and pulled Faith down by her hair until their lips met.

When they broke apart, Faith swallowed and licked her own lips.

“Buffy food. Taste good.”

She reached over and pulled the blanket closer, snatching up a bag of cookies.

“Faith eat.”

She tore the bag apart, and the cookies joined the chips on their bed. She picked some up, then began placing them on different spots on Buffy’s body. Buffy grew impatient and started to grab one, but Faith slapped her hand away.

“No! Buffy wait.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed and she growled slightly, but she made no move to stop her.

It wasn’t much longer before Faith was finished, all of Buffy’s most interesting areas marked by a cookie or a chip, and she sat back with an excited smile.

“Buffy good.”

“Buffy want food.”

Faith was shaking her head sadly as she straddled her:

“Buffy no eat. Faith eat Buffy.”

In just moments, Buffy didn’t remember that she was hungry. All she knew was that Faith was the best eater ever.

*****

“Sorry. Say again!”

“I said, mis….ose…erg…Do you copy?”

Xander was this close to throwing his com unit to the ground and stomping it into pieces.

“No! I copy the ‘copy’ part only! Say again!”

“Repeating:...is…ro…n…er…”

Xander’s reaction was edging toward the volcanic:

“How much did we pay for these stupid things?! And what could possibly be so important that you’d contact us now when we’re…”

He screamed like a sissy as the air shifted and Willow was suddenly standing right next to him.

“I think he’s trying to tell you that I’m coming there…here. Hi, Xander!”

She wrapped him up tight in a hug while he tried to regain his manly dignity:

“Okay, that’s the second time in the last couple of days that I’ve almost soiled myself.”

“Hey, there’s no shame in wearing a diaper in some circumstances, and this is a stance that’s totally of the circum.”

Even she looked confused at her own babbling:

“Sorry. Teleport lag. So where’s Giles?”

“He marched onward. My team’s lagging back to rendezvous with the reinforcements.”

“Ooh, look at you.”

“What?”

She smiled as she linked arms with him:

“You’re all commandery and soldiery.”

“Yeah, for all the good it’s doing us.”

“Well, have no fear, Rosenberg is here! And not only am I bringing the rhymes, I’m bringing the locator spells and a bunch of other witchy goodness too.”

He hugged her this time:

“The way it’s going, I’m hoping you’ve also got a bazooka or two with you.”

“Nope, although mystically I suppose a fireball spell could be considered…”

She pulled herself out of her own tangent:

“So, how are they?”

“Hmm…Remember how hot Raquel Welch was in her cavewoman ensemble?”

Willow’s eyes went dreamy as she thought about it:

“Oh yeah, was she ever…Wait, that’s all Buffy and Faith are wearing?!”

“Yep, except without the ensemble. They’re buck naked.”

“Naked?! You mean, ‘they aren’t wearing any clothes’ naked?”

“That would be the literal definition, and yes, they are literally without a stitch.”

“Goddess!”

He turned away, only half listening to her as he tried to get his team’s attention:

“Oh, they’re definitely goddess-like…but not in the ‘Glory’ evil, scary way, although they are pretty scary in their own way...Get ready everybody, we’re moving out in ten!”

One of the Slayers asked what was on everyone’s mind:

“But what about the reinforcements?”

Xander gestured at Willow who was setting up to do a locator spell, still looking a little dazed at the idea of two naked Cave Slayers running around:

“They’re already here, so we’ll be moving out soon.”

He sat down next to Willow, still amazed at the things she could do even though he’d seen her in action a million times over the years.

“I should be able to pinpoint them in just a few.”

“So how come you don’t just teleport them here?

“I’m not up to full speed yet, and from the report I got, they’re kind of super Slayered up, right?”

He rubbed the side of his head:

“Yep, you won’t believe how fast and strong and gay they are.”

“So I figure I’d better save my energy in case I need to control them until…Gay? With each other?”

“You said it, sister. Apparently before Faith went all Flintstones on us, Buffy sort of had her way with her. Not that Faith minded all that much, and now that they’re the same…”

“Got’em!”

He leaned over to look:

“Where are they?”

“Buffy’s the little red one and Faith is the blue one.”

“And see? Faith’s on top of Buffy.”

She laughed and smacked him on the arm:

“No she’s not, they’re just in the same location. Besides, it’s not that big of a surprise when you think about it.”

“No, of course not…except I’m surprised.”

Willow gathered all of her stuff and stood:

“Gee Xander, way to be the stereotypical clueless male.”

“I am so not clueless, Will, just a little dense and slow.”

“The point I’m trying to make is that they’ve always had mega-sparks flying between them. Then when Buffy got all gayed up with Satsu...Well, I think it’s safe to say it was only a matter of time.”

Xander was lost in thought:

“Well she sure wasn’t gay when we…you know.”

“I don’t think you can say that, not that it matters since it was so long ago and…”

“Oh God, Will, do you think I made Faith gay?”

She looked at him, her face completely serious:

“Yes, I think you did, Xander.”

He looked crestfallen and Willow rolled her eyes:

“Of course you didn’t! All I’m saying is that Buffy and Faith have always been attracted to one another, and now with the normal restraints removed, the status quo no longer applies.”

“Well all I’m saying is, it’s not fair! It was only my first time and I got a lot better at it after that.”

“They’re all about the id now. In fact, you could say their relationship’s completely ‘id pro quo’ now. Hahaha!!! Get it, Xander?”

He clearly wasn’t listening:

“It’s downright mean to judge a man from his first experience. I was just a boy, and I can’t even really remember it. To tell you the truth, I couldn’t even really remember it when it was happening either. Plus it was Faith, so you know, anybody’d be a little excitable.”

Willow sighed, her brilliant joke lost in his insecurity.

“Xander?”

“Huh?”

“Shouldn’t we get going?”

“What? Oh, yeah.”

He turned to the team, once again all commandery:

“Okay guys, let’s do it.”

They fell into line and moved out, Xander still mumbling under his breath:

“Although Buffy’s really hot, so maybe it has nothing to do with me. I mean, I never slept with her, and she suddenly went gay too. Yep, nothing to do with me…unless just the thought of sleeping with me made her…”

“Xander?”

“Yeah, Will?”

“We need to get you a woman, Leroy.”

“There’s a woman named ‘Leroy’?”

Willow sighed and linked arms with him again:

“It’s an old song about…Never mind, okay?”

“Okay. Hey, did I tell you that I’ve been kicking everyone’s ass at ping pong while you’ve been gone?”

“Really?”

“Yes ma’am…Well, I’ve been schooling Dawnie almost fifty percent of the time.”

“Most impressive Mr. Harris.”

He grinned his best Xander grin at her and pulled her closer:

“That it is, Mis…ro…erg…Now let’s go rescue our favorite Cave Slayers.”

Chapter Six

The back of Buffy’s head was resting comfortably on Faith’s stomach and Faith was sleeping soundly, all complete with a loud rumbling noise that soothed Buffy. The cave was warm, she wasn’t hungry, and yet Buffy couldn’t sleep. She should have been worn out; she and Faith had chased each other around for hours, wrestling playfully until they’d ended up having wild, passionate sex over and over again. They’d eventually worked their way back to the cave and gone to bed, yet sleep still eluded Buffy.

She felt strange, her senses on high alert. There seemed to be nothing wrong, yet she felt on edge and restless with the need to be on guard. She shifted and stared up at her mate, the sight making her smile happily. She laid a soft kiss just below Faith’s breast and without waking, Faith’s hand came down to rest gently on Buffy’s head.

“B…”

And then all was quiet again and Buffy closed her eyes…which lasted for only a few seconds. She couldn’t relax and she got up noiselessly, making sure to cover Faith as she left. Faith rolled over but she didn’t awaken, and Buffy went to the opening of the cave.

They’d covered it with brush and Buffy peered through the branches, her eyes roaming as she searched for the source of her increasing anxiety. There was nothing, not even an animal stirred. The night was quiet, everything was just as it was supposed be and yet Buffy felt...

She jumped slightly as she felt the arms encircling her from behind:

“Buffy?”

She said nothing at first, uncertain how to explain as Faith nuzzled into her neck.

“B?”

“Buffy no sleep.”

“Buffy come.”

Faith tugged on her, trying to lead her back to their bed, but Buffy wasn’t budging:

“No. Buffy no like.”

Faith stopped pulling and let go of her, stepping up to stand next to her and peer out into the night. After a couple of minutes, Faith grunted and turned back to her:

“Night good. No bad.”

Buffy had to agree:

“…No bad.”

“Buffy come.”

Faith pulled again and after a moment’s hesitation, Buffy let herself be led back to their cozy bed, still looking worried:

“Buffy no like.”

Faith wiggled her eyebrows and grinned as she deliberately misunderstood:

“Buffy like. Faith make like.”

She fell back onto the bed, pulling Buffy down with her. They both made an ‘oofing” noise as they hit, the floor still hard despite the blankets and thick layer of clothing piled on top of the tent, but Buffy was smiling again by the time they’d settled.

“Faith stupidhead.”

Faith laughed:

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Buffy kissed her then, effectively silencing her as their tongues mingled. When they broke apart, Faith looked serious:

“Faith want Buffy.”

Buffy stared back at her:

“Buffy want Faith.”

“Buffy no go? Buffy stay?”

Buffy kissed her softly, then lifted her head to look Faith in the eye:

“Buffy stay…no go. Buffy want Faith.”

Faith searched her face intently:

“Buffy want Faith?”

“Yes.”

Faith’s smile lit up the shadowed cave:

“That good. Faith want Buffy.”

“Stupidhead.”

And then they sealed their vows.

****

It was several minutes before Giles even dared to speak:

“Willow?”

His whisper was barely audible.

“We’re okay, Giles. The concealment spell’s working just fine.”

“Good show, although I must admit that my heart sped up when Buffy appeared to be searching for something.”

Willow nodded as she began setting up some stuff:

“I think she was sensing me, my aura’s kind of out in the open.”

“Yes, well you girls have always been close. So how long before you feel we can…”

“At least a few hours. I’m not sure I can handle both of them, not without recharging, and I know I definitely need some sleep.”

Giles nodded as he turned to Xander and Kennedy:

“You both understand the plan?”

Kennedy rolled her eyes:

“No, could you go over it again? The part where we do nothing is really confusing me.”

“Kennedy, a civil answer would be most appreciated.”

“Getting to help in some way would be too.”

Xander stepped in:

“Ladies, ladies…Let’s not fight amongst ourselves. Let’s wait until Buffy and Faith kill us before we resort to fisticuffs.”

“Guys?”

They all turned to look at Willow:

“Could you keep it down a little? I need to concentrate on this before I can start with the log sawing.”

Giles looked embarrassed:

“Yes, of course. Our apologies, Willow.”

“Well, I’m not apologizing. Sitting around doing nothing for hours on end is…”

“Kennedy, I’ve already explained the plan several times, and I must say your poor attitude is…”

“Ladies, ladies, let’s all admire the déjà vu-ness of this moment…again.”

Giles whipped off his glasses:

“I don’t believe this to be the time for your unique brand of humor, Xander. In no way can this matter be considered a laughing…”

“Whoa, Giles, don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just trying to…”

Kennedy interrupted loudly:

“Yeah, Giles, no shooting the messenger. Let’s beat him up, that’ll give us something to do that’ll last awhile.”

Hey, I resent that! I’m playing the part of ‘peacemaker’ and I’m getting…”

Willow calmly picked up her things and strode off a good distance:

“Never mind. I’ll just be over here for now.”

They didn’t notice.

****

The morning brought with it an overcast day. There was no rain, just the threat of it hanging heavy in the air, but neither Slayer seemed to mind. They had sex, then set out for the nearby river to perform their morning ablutions. They walked hand in hand, bumping each other playfully, stopping once to kiss and barely managing to pull back before they lapsed into another bout of lovemaking.

They did their thing, then emerged from the water glistening as they strode off into the woods. When it was certain that they were gone, the Scoobies materialized among the nearby bushes.

“Whew.”

“I hear you, Will and I raise your ‘whew’ with my own ‘hubba, hubba’.”

Giles ignored Xander’s commentary:

“Are you quite all right, Willow?”

She nodded, but looked a little shaky:

“Yep, just…that got a little tiring.”

Kennedy slipped up behind her, squeezing her shoulders just the way Willow liked and Willow leaned back into her with a sigh. She closed her eyes and gave in for a few moments, then reluctantly pulled away as she got back to business.

“Okay, I’ve got a little invisible tracker on them, but I think if you guys think, we should just do it back at the cave.”

Giles was already nodding:

“Yes, I believe they’ll be much more relaxed there and it should hopefully make them easier to capture.”

“Whatever you guys say. This one-eyed grunt’s willing to follow orders.”

“And so’s this two-eyed Slayer…just as long as I finally get to do something.”

Willow smiled at her:

“Sorry, but if this goes well, you still won’t get to do anything, sweetie.”

Her grin took some of the sting out of it, but Kennedy was nowhere near happy:

“Terrific, now I’m almost pulling for a big screw-up.”

Giles’ response was immediate:

“I believe we’ve already suffered through enough ‘screw-ups’ as it is. I, for one, much prefer an unexciting resolution to this unpleasant situation.”

No one argued with that as they headed back to the cave. When they arrived, they went inside and it was Xander who voiced what they were all thinking, his low whistle sounding out:

“Wow, this is really kinda cozy. Cave Slayers sure know how to make a place feel like home.”

Willow gingerly held up a shirt and a pair of jeans:

“Buff still isn’t big on making her bed though.”

Giles’ attention was riveted by one of the cave walls:

“This is all quite exciting from a strictly anthropological perspective. These cave drawings are most advanced and yet I can glean the antecedents of…”

Kennedy was looking over the large array of canned goods:

“Whoa, it looks like they’re ready for anything.”

Xander moseyed over holding a pillowcase full of rotting meat:

“Well, are they ready for being stunk out of house and cave, because this meat’s going bad with a serious flair for bad.”

Giles crouched in front of what appeared to be a shrine of some kind:

“It seems this cigarette lighter is in a place of worship for them, which makes complete sense, of course. It’s a bloody cornucopia of prehistoric behavior in here!”

Willow held up a package of Ho-Hos with a look of relief:

“They’ve got all kinds of treats, so at least they’re not eating chipmunks. Because eating chipmunks? Buffy wouldn’t like that at all, not with that whole ‘crush since childhood’ thing she has on Alvin and Theodore. Never mind.”

Giles turned back to examine the walls of the cave:

“Now this is bloody fascinating! These drawings appear to have been done during the Upper Paleolithic era. As you know, it’s during the end of the Paleolithic that humans began producing art work that also contained certain shamanistic practices. These symbols here and here also seem to indicate different ethnic groups which were surprisingly…”

Kennedy’s voice interrupted his excited musings:

“And how great that’d be if any of us cared. Can we just get this moving along?”

It was clearly a struggle for him, but Giles managed to pull his attention back to the task at hand:

“What? Oh yes, quite right. Shall we?”

They went about their individual tasks and it didn’t take long before they were finished. When they were done, Willow did a quick double check:

“Okay, I think that’s it. Now we just hide and wait for the right time.”

“A task I’ve perfected to perfection over the years. Can I take the ho-hos?”

Giles smiled as he began steering them out of the cave:

“Sorry, Xander, I’m afraid we must leave those where we found them. Who knows if Buffy or Faith would miss them or not, and we certainly don’t wish to lose the element of surprise due to your craving for chemically laden pastries.”

Xander placed them back carefully:

“Okay, but they’re mighty tasty chemically laden pastries.”

“You’re most welcome to eat them when the situation’s resolved. Willow, are we still on schedule?”

They headed back to their mini-camp just inside the tree line and Willow answered him as they walked:

“Yep, all systems ready, except I’m still not totally recharged and I’m not going to be. This concealment spell’s really taking a lot out of me, and I’m going to need to be super close to have any chance of handling them both.”

Kennedy was at her side without delay:

“Baby, maybe you could…”

Willow patted her arm reassuringly:

“I’m okay, and we need to do it this way to make sure they don’t detect us ahead of time.”

Xander was busy checking the weapons and spared her a quick glance:

“So what’s the big, Will? I mean, why’s a simple concealment spell draining you so much? You can usually do them in your sleep, even when you’re exhausted.”

“True, but this isn’t a ‘simple’ spell. We’re not sure how developed their senses are, so I’m masking everything for all of us and it’s taking a bunch of energy. Factor in how depleted I was when I got here, well, let’s just say I can’t wait to get home and sleep for a year.”

Giles took the weapon Xander was finished with and handed it to Kennedy:

“I consider us lucky to have gotten hold of you when we did. Truth be told, without your magical expertise, we’d have no chance of catching them at all.”

“So any witch is a good witch, huh?”

Xander handed Giles the last tranq rifle as he slid a pistol into his hip holster:

“Except the ‘Wizard of Oz’ one, and I’m not all that crazy about Sabrina either. The TV one I mean, because the one in the comics? Daddy like.”

Kennedy snorted as she finished examining her own weapon:

“Yeah, Daddy like pretty much every woman. Daddy not very discriminating.”

“Hey! Daddy’s single, he can’t afford to ignore anyone.”

They all looked at him, and it took a beat before he realized exactly what he’d said:

“I meant, except for all of the taken women, all of the men, taken or otherwise, and Andrew, of course.”

Kennedy’s comment was instantaneous:

“But Xander, Andrew would love to be taken by you.”

“What?! Will, could you please control your crazy ‘taken’ woman?”

She smiled at him:

“She’s got a point, Xand. He does have a major crush on you.”

“Okay, stop! We’re talking about Andrew! I’d rather sleep with Giles.”

“Oh, Good Lord! As you children say: ‘Let’s not go there’.”

Willow tried to rein Kennedy in, but she wasn’t quite fast enough:

“Oh, so you’re saying you’re attracted to Giles, Xander? Well, that explains a lot.”

“What?! No! No, I’m not attracted to Giles! I just meant…”

Giles was furiously cleaning his glasses and staring off into the blurry distance:

“Normally I’m all for tormenting Xander, but not when the collateral damage involves myself, and most certainly not when it involves this most unsettling of topics.”

Kennedy snorted again, but with a look from Willow, she fell silent and Giles gratefully carried on:

“Right then, all that’s left for us to do now is wait. Hopefully they shan’t be too long.”

No one said anything for several beats until Xander spoke up:

“I’m definitely going back for those Ho-Hos when this is over. I’ve earned them, especially if I have to date Andrew and Giles.”

****

Buffy and Faith returned two hours later, each carrying two pillowcases stuffed with fruit, cheese, cookies and best of all, cans of beer. They’d hit the jackpot in the second house they’d broken into, finding several beers in the refrigerator as well as two six packs under the kitchen counter.

They’d had no trouble getting to the golden liquid inside, simply turning the cans upside down, then ramming their fingers through the smooth aluminum. They’d also had no trouble drinking the contents contained in those cans, throwing their heads back and gulping down the fluid as fast as they could.

After they’d each had four beers they gathered up the remaining loose cans, stuffing them into the pillowcases along with their other treasures, and headed back home. It had been a good day, they’d even managed to find more of the meat sticks that Faith loved in one of the big cold boxes with the self-shutting doors.

Their plan was to have a big feast when they got home, followed by some wild sex and then a good long rest. Life was perfect and they were happy, until Buffy stopped in her tracks as they neared the cave.

She stood still, her head cocking from side to side as her eyes searched the surrounding area. Faith looked too, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. After a minute, she became impatient:

“What Buffy do?”

“Buffy…feel thing.”

“What Buffy feel? Buffy scared? Buffy hurt?”

Buffy shook her head as she dropped her pillowcases to the ground:

“Buffy no scared. Buffy strong.”

Faith didn’t look convinced:

“What wrong?”

Buffy continued to scan the area and then she smiled:

“Girl here.”

Faith instantly dropped her sacks and looked around:

“Ein-stein?”

No! Ein-stein bad!”

Faith wasn’t exactly listening; she just knew she didn’t like that smile on Buffy’s face when it was about anyone other than herself:

“Girl bad! Buffy no go!”

“Ein-stein bad. Faith no go!”

They looked at each other in total confusion, and it was Faith who spoke first:

“Faith no go. Faith stay. Faith with Buffy.”

“Buffy stay, no go.”

With that all settled, Faith skipped everything else and got right to the heart of the matter:

“Who girl?”

Buffy clasped hands with her and began looking around again:

“No Ein-stein. Girl good.”

Willow, after a brief consult with the other Scoobies, decided the time had come to go with Plan B and she made herself visible:

“Hi, guys.”

Both Slayers jumped at her sudden appearance, Faith growling as she did. Buffy’s hand squeezed Faith’s to calm her:

“Girl here.”

“Yep, I’m definitely here. How are you?””

Buffy used her free hand to smack her own chest:

“Buffy strong!”

“And boy, don’t I know it. Hi, Faith.”

Faith had stopped growling, but she still looked suspicious:

“Faith no high.”

Willow moved closer, one slow step at a time:

“So you guys look good, but uh…not like that. At least I don’t think you do. I’m strictly focused above the shoulders, because uh…nudity, it’s not for everybody, you know?”

“Girl make Buffy happy.”

“I try, Buff, but not ‘happy’ happy because Willow doesn’t want Faith to kill her.”

Faith’s head tilted in confusion:

“Faith no kill.”

Buffy plainly agreed:

“Faith no kill girl. Will-ow good.”

She let go of Faith and wrapped Willow tight in a hug that lifted her off her feet. When she let go, she was smiling:

“Faith, Will-ow good.”

Faith wasn’t happy with the hugging part, but she didn’t want to be left out or upset Buffy. She approached cautiously, then smacked Willow on her shoulder, knocking her to the ground with the force of the blow:

“Good.”

Willow got back to her feet, rubbing her shoulder and trying to keep her smile in place:

“Yep, Willow good. So um, guys, where’ve you been staying?”

Buffy bent down to retrieve her supplies and motioned with her head for Willow to follow:

“Cave good.”

They filed into the cave with Buffy in the lead and Faith bringing up the rear. Buffy seemed to trust her completely, but Faith didn’t want to turn her back on Willow.

Once they were inside, Buffy placed her bags down, took Faith’s and began sorting out their latest haul. She gestured at Willow to sit as she worked and by the time she was done, Faith had finished adjusting the brush in front of the cave opening.

The Slayers joined Willow, sitting down around the fire, and Buffy gave them each a can of beer. Willow smiled and took it, she didn’t want to be disrespectful and was still hoping for a peaceful end to this whole thing. Refusing to drink the beer would probably be seen as a major insult, and although she’d never been one to handle alcohol very well, well at least she’d never turned into a cavewoman either.

She smiled what she hoped was a grateful smile and casually popped the top open to take a tiny sip. When she looked up it was to see the Slayers staring at her with awe.

“What Will-ow do?”

Willow didn’t know how to answer Buffy:

“Me? I… uh…How do you open them?”

Faith gave her a demonstration, smashing her fingers into the can and then draining the contents in one go. She hurled the empty off into the darkness at the back of the cave:

“Beer good!”

Buffy was holding out her can to Willow:

“Will-ow do.”

Willow took the can and opened it slowly, step by step. When she pulled the tab up, Buffy jerked back at the fizzy noise, then with a delighted giggle, she leaned forward. She was grinning like a little kid when she turned to look at Faith:

“Will-ow open!”

Faith excitedly leapt to her feet and raced over to bring all of the beer back to where they were gathered:

“More!”

Willow couldn’t help but laugh at their excitement over something so simple, and when Buffy started trying to open cans the “Willow” way, they all began giggling like crazy people at her unsuccessful attempts.

She finally managed to get one open and pounded her chest with pride:

“Buffy strong!”

She took a long swig, then gave it to Willow. She drank some before handing the half empty can to Faith, who almost polished it off before remembering to give it back to Buffy.

They quickly went through all of the beer, and while the Slayers were obviously happy, they didn’t show any signs of being drunk. Willow on the other hand, couldn’t say the same thing about herself. She didn’t feel drunk exactly, but she definitely felt tipsy and now wasn’t the time and place for tipsy.

Because tipsy? It so didn’t mix well with spell casting.

“Does anybody hear me?”

Both Slayers answered her at the same time as they tossed a can back and forth between them:

“Will-ow loud.”

“Loud and clear, Will.”

Willow smiled reassuringly:

“Not you guys.”

Xander’s voice was confused in her earpiece:

“Didn’t you just call in?”

“No Buffy? No Faith?”

She shook her head at Buffy and answered Xander at the same time:

“No, not you, you.”

Buffy laughed:

“Will-ow stupid.”

She then returned to her game and Willow pretended to turn away to examine an empty can of beer.

“Sorry, kinda WUI here.”

“‘WUI’?”

“Yep, I’m witching under the influence.”

Xander laughed:

“Yeah, ya big boozer you. You must have drunk a whole can by now.”

“Laugh all you want, but I prefer to think of myself as a teetotaler who drinks now and…”

“What Will-ow do?”

Buffy was crouched next to her, looking at Willow with a still friendly expression, but there was now a wariness that hadn’t been there before.

“Huh? Me? Nothing! I was just reading this can!”

Faith was up now, looking around suspiciously as she headed to the entrance of the cave:

“Who talk?”

”Who talk? No one talk…well except me and you. Buffy talk too, but then you probably already knew that! Hahaha!!!...Um, guys? I think we’d better do this now, I’m all nervous, ‘Babble Girl’.”

“So we hear and see, but who can blame you with the Buffster that close and looking at you like you’re Judas?”

“Oh, then the new cameras work?”

“Even better than we…What? Okay…Giles says we can talk about it later.”

Willow had to agree as Buffy was uncomfortably close to her and still waiting for an explanation:

“Later would be best, I think.”

“Roger that.”

There was a muffled explosion in the cave and then smoke began billowing out from the back. The Slayers didn’t seem too agitated by the situation, they surprised Willow with their calmness. Buffy grabbed her stick, Faith snatched up the lighter and they pointed at the exit to the cave:

“Will-ow go.”

“I’ll help you carry stuff, Buff.”

“Will-ow go!”

“I’d rather wait for you guys, so…”

Buffy pushed her forward gently, but with a steady, implacable force.

“Buffy say go. Will-ow go!”

She staggered out into the wide-open outside, gulping in the clean air and waiting for the Slayers to emerge from the cave. It wasn’t that long before they did, although it was long enough to worry Willow. Just as she’d decided to go back in to help them, they emerged dragging their tent behind them with all of their possessions wrapped safely inside.

They both coughed a bit and looked mystified as to what had happened, but Buffy’s biggest concern was Willow:

“Will-ow?”

Her hands were running all over Willow’s body as she checked for any physical sign that something was wrong. She was totally focused on her task with no regard for personal, non-touchy places, and Faith stood off to the side growling softly at Buffy’s actions. Still she made no move to stop her, even though she didn’t like it.

“I’m fine, Buff. A little smoky, but good.”

“Will-ow good?”

“Yep, Willow fine.”

Buffy smiled and smacked her hard on the shoulder:

“Will-ow good! Faith good! Buffy good!”

Buffy pounded her own chest and let out a weird yell, culminating in a loud:

“Buffy strong!”

She then shoved Faith and Faith shoved her back. They began grappling, their arm muscles flexing as they began trying to throw each other.

“Hey, guys? Um…Buffy? Faith?”

Faith went sailing past Willow, the dust from the ground puffing into the air. There was a trademark grin on her face as she flipped to her feet:

“Buffy bad.”

Buffy was standing at the ready, one of her eyebrows crooked smugly as she smiled at Faith:

“Buffy strong. Faith bad.”

Willow tried to butt in, but Faith moved way too fast, heading for Buffy with a speed that seemed almost impossible, and Willow was well used to Slayer speed.

They collided, Buffy hitting the ground and taking Faith with her. They rolled over and over, laughing and yelling as they struggled for control.

“Hey, guys? Buffy? Faith?”

Xander’s voice crackled in her ear:

“Will, should we try to take a shot now while they’re distracted?”

“Maybe, but I’ll have to take the spell off first.”

“Giles says to tell you if we don’t move now, we’re going to lose whatever’s left of the surprise advantage…only he used a lot more words.”

“I know. Okay, get ready.”

She moved closer, relieved that the Slayers had stopped fighting, only to feel her face go red as she saw that they were now kissing and heading on to other things.

“Buffy Anne Summers, you stop that right this second!”

Surprisingly the Slayers stopped, staring up at Willow like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar…or in other places they shouldn’t be.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”

“Giles says to tell you ‘Bloody hell, Willow!’…Oh, never mind, he was just yelling at you.”

“I know, I just blew our best chance, but I’m tipsy and they were getting ready to…to go for it! It just sort of came out before I could stop myself.”

Buffy got off of Faith and stood, extending her hand to pull Faith upright. When they were both on their feet, Willow said a little prayer and went with the back-up back-up plan:

“Hey guys, guess what? There are some other good people here who’d like to talk to you.”

Both Slayers took a step back, their eyes darting around the area as they searched for these other “good” people. Faith’s growling was back and nearly continuous and Buffy although quieter, was clearly not of the happy.

“Where people?”

“Um…okay, let’s all try not to freak out.”

“Out now! Where people?!”

Buffy quickly grabbed her stick and tossed a couple of cans to Faith. They both took aggressive stances, more than ready to attack the first thing that moved.

“Hey, no, guys! No fighting needed, okay? It’s just us.”

“Buffy no like. Stop!”

Willow held up her hands as if in surrender:

“Okay, stopping. Everybody stop!”

“Where people?!”

Buffy was mad, and she and Faith went back to back as their eyes frantically searched the area.

“Buffy, it’s me, okay? Trust Willow, no matter how bad it looks.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed and her voice came out quiet and deadly:

“Where…people?”

“They’re right here. I’ll show you.”

One by one they appeared as Willow ended the spell: first Giles, then Xander, and then Kennedy bringing up the rear.

Before Kennedy had even a second to get used to being visible again, Buffy snatched a can from Faith’s grasp and bonked her right upside the head. Kennedy dropped like a sack of potatoes, out cold and out of the fight.

Buffy looked at Willow with hurt and anger:

“Girl bad!”

Willow stood her ground until Faith bared her teeth at her. She began backing up then, her smile and voice becoming increasingly shaky:

“I know it looks bad, but we don’t need snarling and scary Slayer stares. We’re not going to hurt you, we just need to…”

“Will-ow bad!”

“No Buffy, Willow good, honest. Remember how I opened all of the beer? Mmm…beer good, tree pretty! Fire bad. Fire good? Buff?”

“No talk! Go now! Buffy hurt people!”

Faith stopped growling long enough to back Buffy’s play:

“Faith strong! Faith hurt people.”

Willow tried one last time:

“I know it seems bad, but we just want to talk to…”

“No talk! Go!”

No one moved, and then finally Buffy did. She advanced on Willow quickly, her eyes angry and scary and all Slayer. Willow raised her hand and stopped Buffy’s forward progress when she was just a foot away.

Buffy struggled to move but couldn’t, and she shouted out a warning to Faith:

“Will-ow strong! Will-ow do ma…mag…Will-ow bad! Buffy no go!”

The distress in her voice sent Faith into action.

She threw her can at Giles, knocking the tranq gun from his hands just as he raised it and she headed for Willow. Xander got off two quick shots, one flying past harmlessly, the other nicking Faith as she dodged. She closed the distance to Willow all too quickly, and Willow called out more than a little nervously:

“A little help here would be good!”

She wanted to zap Faith, but it was taking almost all of the energy she had to keep a powerfully strong, still struggling Buffy under control.

And Buffy was a lot more powerful than Willow had planned on her being. It was like she was still Buffy, familiar and strong, tough and determined, but ten times squared. Couple that with her desire to protect Faith, well Willow was already sweating and shaking to hang on. She couldn’t spare any magic for Faith.

Giles didn’t bother trying to retrieve his own weapon. He bent and grabbed Kennedy’s, firing just as quickly as he could. Faith evaded the first dart, but the second one hit her right in the middle of her thigh. It didn’t slow her in the slightest.

Faith grabbed Willow by the neck, lifting her high into the air. Willow fought to keep control of Buffy, but her concentration understandably wavered and Buffy began moving slightly as she yelled:

“Faith! No hurt Will-ow!”

Faith didn’t want to hurt Willow, but she wanted Willow to stop doing whatever she was doing to Buffy. She began squeezing slightly and Buffy’s movement increased. Just a little bit more and…

Xander landed on Faith’s back, his arms and legs wrapped around her. He grabbed her in a chokehold and tried to pull her hand loose from Willow, but Faith didn’t even seem to notice him. Her attention was focused on Willow and her voice rang out loudly with more than just a touch of pleading in it:

“Will-ow stop!”

Faith was conflicted, that much was clear, but she wasn’t stopping and Xander became desperate. He jammed his fingers into her nose, even though he knew going for her eyes would have been the more effective option. But deliberately poking someone in the eye, especially someone he loved? Xander Harris could understandably go nowhere near there.

It didn’t hurt, but Faith didn’t exactly like it either. She leaned back, her grip on Willow loosening slightly, and then Xander upped the ante. He hooked one of Faith’s nostrils with two of his fingers, forcing her head to turn and Faith had had enough.

She let go of Willow and grabbed Xander’s arm, yanking his fingers clear. She continued with the momentum, flinging him up and over her shoulder. He didn’t stop flying until he crashed into a clump of bushes, his groan and the snapping of numerous twigs audible to everyone as he landed.

Willow didn’t waste time, she focused on restraining an almost loose Buffy. Faith whirled back to her, took two steps and then staggered as she closed the distance. She kept moving but dropped quickly, falling to one knee at Willow’s feet:

“Will-ow…bad…B…”

Faith took a feeble swing at Willow as she collapsed all the way to the ground, the tranquilizers finally taking effect.

“Faith! No hurt Faith!!!”

Buffy’s voice bellowed out and Willow tried to reassure her:

“Buffy, she’s not hurt, I promise! It’s okay, calm down, she’s just sleeping.”

Xander extricated himself from the bushes, sporting numerous scratches, but that seemed to be the extent of the wear and tear he’d suffered. Giles retrieved his gun from the bushes and headed over to Willow:

“Good show, Willow. I’m sorry we let Faith…”

“It’s okay, she didn’t really hurt me, just scared me a little…Okay, a lot.”

Buffy was staring daggers at Willow, her anger, hurt, and betrayal more than obvious.

“I’m sorry, Buffy, but it’s for your own good.”

Giles walked behind the last Slayer standing and took careful aim at her backside.

“My apologies, Buffy, but I believe this will be less painful in the long run.”

He fired two quick shots, one in each cheek, and Buffy winced and began growling.

Xander called over from where Kennedy was still sprawled out cold:

“Kennedy’s okay, just sleeping the sleep of the unconscious...again.”

They stood waiting and it took awhile before Buffy finally began feeling the effects of the sedative. Willow gradually relaxed her hold on her and by the time Buffy was fully unconscious, she’d been lowered gently to the ground.

The Scoobies stood looking down at the Slayers, relief mingling with affection. The adrenaline rush they’d been running on had suddenly left them, and they were all feeling exhausted.

“I must say, I could have done without these last few days. I’m totally knackered.”

Willow smiled tiredly:

“I’m totally of the knackered too, plus my throat kind of hurts.”

“Well, I believe your job to be over. We simply need to request a ride to…”

“Evac already requested and on its way.”

“Splendid, Xander. Might I ask that you bring three blankets from our campsite?”

It only took him a minute and he handed them to Willow. She bent down and covered the sleeping Slayers as Giles checked their pulse rates. Satisfied that they were as they should be, he took the last blanket and headed over to Kennedy:

“Whilst I attend to Kennedy, perhaps you two could go to the cave and…”

“And grab the Ho-Hos! On it, G-Man!”

“…gather some clothing that might fit Buffy and Faith.”

“Oh yeah, right...I can still get the Ho-Hos though?”

Giles shook his head and wondered at how this boy’s mind worked:

“Yes Xander, you well deserve them. And do not call me ‘G-Man’.”

“Yeah, but you let Faith…”

Willow was already dragging him away:

“Xander, give it up, okay?”

“Well I’d just like to know why Faith can get away with all kinds of stuff and I…”

“Because she’s Faith, and that’s all there is to it. Now come on, let’s hurry. I need to be there when Kennedy wakes up.”

Giles watched them fondly until they disappeared inside the cave, then crouched down to smooth the hair from Buffy’s face:

“Thank God we got to you before you were hurt.”

He patted Faith’s shoulder as he stood:

“Now let’s get you girls back home where you belong.”

Chapter 7

Buffy exhaled loudly as she entered her room. She was tired, patrolling for way too many hours and then getting teleported home would do that to a girl, as would the fact that she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in over a week. She pulled off her shirt as she headed for the shower, swearing under breath as her tag caught on the clasp of her cross.

She managed to untangle herself and finish undressing, turning on the water as she did. It warmed quickly and she got in, sighing loudly with pleasure as the liquid heat rolled over her aching muscles. She leaned her arms against the wall and let the water pour over her back, easing the pain from where the vampire had cracked a large branch across it. The bruise was already fading, but the pain felt deep enough to last until at least the morning.

Whatever. It wasn’t the worst pain she’d ever felt, and it was barely a blip on her radar at the moment. What was on her mind was the same thing that had been causing all of her sleepless nights of late: Faith.

They’d barely spoken since they’d both come to their senses and at first that had been just fine with Buffy. She could remember every second of her Cave Slayer time, and to call herself embarrassed didn’t even remotely do it justice. Mortified beyond all reckoning, times ten, might start approaching the lowest level of embarrassment she felt. The things she’d done…the things she’d done to Faith.

Her face flushed red as she thought of their first time together. God, she’d practically ravished Faith, but Buffy remembered other things too…how they’d fought, how she’d given Faith her stick, how Faith had taken her so passionately and tenderly, the feeling of comfort and rightness that she’d felt wrapped in Faith arms. The fun they’d had finding food and weapons together, the sweet taste of the ice cream sandwiches, the satisfaction in making Faith do what she said and then giving herself to Faith in return...

She turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel as she headed back into her room.

“This is ridiculous.”

True, they’d had sex and their real feelings about each other had come out. But the bottom line was they were still friends, best friends, and they couldn’t just keep avoiding each other because they’d done some…some different things. Besides, now that the initial flush of embarrassment had faded, Buffy was happy with what they’d done and she wanted to keep right on doing it.

Enough was enough. The awkwardness had to stop and clearly Faith wasn’t going to be the one to end it. That was fine with Buffy; she could be “Take Charge Girl”. When it came to Faith, she’d already proven more than once that she was up to the task.

She dressed quickly and headed out into the castle to find Faith. She looked in all of the usual places with no luck, and just as her search narrowed down to only one spot left, she literally ran into her. Faith was exiting the training room, her head down as she unwound the tape from her right hand, an angry scowl on her face. As they collided, her hands grabbed onto Buffy’s shoulders instinctively:

“Hey, watch where the fuck you’re…Oh, B…”

Faith trailed off all too quickly, her body going rigid and her gaze looking anywhere but at the woman she was holding onto. Her hands left Buffy’s shoulders way too fast and she immediately tried to slide off to the side to make her escape, but Buffy anticipated the move and slid smoothly with her:

“Hi. I was just looking for…”

“Yeah, well it’s all yours.”

And then she was gone, leaving Buffy staring after her.

“But I don’t want the training room, I want you…to talk to…with.”

Muttered to an empty hallway, and conversing with empty spaces was not at all what Buffy had had in mind when she’d started out on her quest.

She couldn’t remember the last time Faith had left her in the dust so quickly. Sure she had to be embarrassed by some of her actions, okay, most of her actions, but they were friends and they couldn’t just avoid each other forever. They had to talk. Talking was what friends did, and besides, they’d been doing nothing but talking for years. They were experts at it by now and talking was something they could…

By the time she’d shut up in her head and actually went after her, Faith was long gone. At first it seemed to be a minor problem because Buffy knew where Faith liked to hang out, she’d hung out with her in those places herself many times, but after several minutes it became apparent that she had a bigger problem than she’d realized.

Faith wasn’t in any of the locations she was supposed to be in. In fact, Faith didn’t seem to be anywhere at all, and even though Buffy knew that was a physical impossibility, it seemed to be all too true. And she didn’t get it, except she did. Faith was avoiding her, but Buffy didn’t know why. Sure, she understood being humiliated, but this was way past that, especially for Faith, the girl who never got embarrassed by sex.

After two hours she dejectedly gave up and returned to her own room. There was no point in wandering all around the castle, especially when there was no way to know if Faith was even still inside it. Besides, Faith had made it more than clear that she didn’t want to talk to Buffy, and that hurt way more than anything had in a very long time.

She got undressed and slipped into her black and white cow pajamas, a gift given to her last Christmas by a proud and grinning Faith:

“Took some doin’, B, but just didn’t seem right you not havin’em.”

The memory made Buffy’s eyes well up and she fought back the tears with more effort than she felt like expending. Faith was so sweet and considerate, and even though she always fought to hide her tender side, Buffy saw it with no effort at all. Faith was a softie, a bad-tempered, dangerous, “snap your neck and never look back” softie, but that didn’t make her any less of one. Buffy smiled, got into bed and shut off the light.

As she lay in the darkness, her mind went over the situation again and again and no matter how hard she tried, she could only come up with one answer: Faith hated her now. There couldn’t be any other explanation for how she was acting, and if Buffy looked at it objectively, what else could she expect Faith to feel?

Buffy had ruined their friendship and worst of all…no, that was the worst thing for sure when she really thought about it. Because Faith was her best friend and had been for a long time now. Sure, Willow was still her “best” best friend, nothing would ever change that, but Willow was always travelling around the world and they didn’t get much of a chance to talk anymore or just sit around being friends.

It was Faith who had become her “day in and day out” best friend. It was Faith who was there sharing the good times and the bad, the Slayer duties and the few chances when they were free to be just two young women out for a good time.

It was Faith who understood her, who stayed up late to talk about the important and the insignificant things. It was Faith who made her laugh when she was sad, and it was Faith who just let her feel whatever it was that she needed to feel. It was always Faith who knew when and how to reach out to her when she tried to pull away, and it was Faith who made her feel like she wasn’t alone. And now Buffy had lost her.

She couldn’t stop the tears this time and the worst thing was: she was in love with Faith. And she’d had her. For a brief time they’d been a couple, a weird animalistic couple engaged in a periodic power struggle, true, but they’d found something, or at least Buffy had. Despite the fact that she’d had the IQ of an ant at the time, she had found out the truth about herself at last.

Buffy Summers loved Faith Lehane like she had never loved anyone else in her life and she had never been happier than when she’d been running around naked, living in a cave, making love on a tent, eating crackers, paper and all, knocking the crap out of Kennedy, and sleeping wrapped up with Faith. God, it had been so perfect and Buffy wanted it to be her life…except with clothes sometimes and a real bed and conversation with more than two words at a time and food without paper, although she’d be just fine if she could still get to knock Kennedy out.

She eventually fell into a troubled sleep that wasn’t going to provide any rest, merely a respite from the pain she was feeling and would feel again as soon as she awoke…which was a short one hour and thirty-six minutes later.

Buffy was groggy and yawning repeatedly as she opened the door.

“B, we gotta talk.”

Buffy said nothing, suddenly wide awake.

“So um…can I um…Can I come in?”

Buffy stepped aside and let her enter, then shut and locked the door behind her. When she turned Faith was already staring out the window, at what Buffy could only guess because the blackness of the night left little on display.

They stood in silence for a couple of minutes, their mutual discomfort escaping neither girl’s attention. It hadn’t been like this between them in forever, and Buffy was at a loss what to do. Normally Faith breezed in, sprawled on the couch and rested her boot covered feet on the coffee table while telling Buffy to pick out a movie. Or she was jumping on Buffy’s bed saying they needed one of those “Whaddya call it, B? A bonding night. Well, let’s bond, baby!”

Or Faith would knock softly and enter with her head down, her demons holding sway over her as she turned to the one person who could pull her back to the light. Or Faith would practically hammer the door down and stagger in, drunk out of her mind as she flirted way too graphically with Buffy until she passed out on the bed or couch, only to be hung over the next morning and asking for sympathy.

Buffy was equipped to handle those scenarios and many more besides, but this situation seemed like the old days, so old it was almost new, and both girls were unsettled and ill at ease.

“Faith, maybe we should sit down.”

There was still only silence, and Buffy could feel her tears threatening a comeback. This wasn’t going to be good, not at all. Faith obviously couldn’t forgive her, and it wasn’t like Buffy could exactly blame her. She felt herself starting to panic, and what Faith said next pushed Buffy right over edge:

“Not sure I can do this face to face and…”

Buffy felt the tears spilling down her face:

“Faith, God, I’m so sorry! Please, isn’t there some way I can make it better?”

“…I keep fightin’ the urge to run, but I know I owe you more than that…Huh?”

“What?”

“What’d ya say, B?”

“What did you say, Faith?”

“You go first!”

That last line said at the same time as they looked at each other in confusion.

“Okay, wait. Stop talking and come sit down.”

Faith did, only she chose the chair that faced the couch instead of sitting next to Buffy.

They fell silent again, Buffy studying her face intently as she searched for any sign of forgiveness. She saw none. Faith’s face was blank like it always was when she was upset, and she kept her eyes, which always revealed her true emotions, from looking at Buffy.

“So you can’t even look at me now?”

Said so softly and with such sadness, Faith’s head jerked up:

“B, I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“I know, I didn’t either. Faith, I never would have…”

Faith stood again:

“B, you don’t gotta say anything, okay? It’s my deal and I figured if it ever got out, it was gonna fuck us up.”

Buffy was actually listening, but it wasn’t clearing up her confusion in any way.

“What are you talking about?”

“So I was just gonna motor, but like I said, I owe you more than that. Figure the best thing is to ask Giles to reassign me somewhere. Gotta be some place I can go where…”

Buffy went over to her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face her:

“Faith, what are you talking about? Why are you taking the blame?”

Faith jerked free:

“Don’t do that! We both know how it is, I made that crystal fucking clear. And the thing is, B, a big chunk of me’s glad it’s out. Now you know how I feel, how I’ve always felt.”

Buffy stood there as Faith continued:

“It’s wrong, I know that, but that’s how it is. Havin’ you as my friend meant everything to me, but I can’t go back to that now. I can’t look at you and not remember that I had you, even in the fucked up way I did.”

Buffy’s shock was still with her, but the truth was filtering through slowly, picking up steam until she was starting to understand that Faith was in love with her.

Faith was back to staring out the window again:

“I know I oughta be bigger than this, know I oughta be able to push it aside, but I can’t. I see you, B, and all I wanna do is take you again, make ya mine. And it’s not fair to you, not fair to either of us.”

“Faith…”

Faith started walking to the door, her voice low but plenty loud enough for Buffy to hear her clearly:

“So I’m gonna talk to Giles tomorrow and head out to the first place I can. I’ll stay out of your way ‘til…”

“I don’t want you to go.”

Faith glanced at her, but kept moving:

“Been on my own before. Don’t need your pity, B.”

“It’s not pity, it’s…”

Faith whirled, her face filled with anger and hurt and sorrow:

“Jesus Buffy, don’t! I know you’re the spokesman for every straight girl ever. Think I don’t feel stupid enough for lovin’ a woman who…”

“I slept with Satsu.”

“…wouldn’t fuck a chick if the world was at sta…What?”

“I slept with Satsu…twice.”

For the first time Faith looked at Buffy head on:

“You ‘slept with’ Satsu? What’s that supposed to mean? Ya had a slumber party?”

“No, it means I had sex with her. Lesbian, non-straight, sex with her.”

“You did?”

“Yes.”

“No ya didn’t.”

“Yes I did.”

“No fucking way you did.”

“Lots of fucking way I did.”

Faith stood there staring, the shock all on her side now, and Buffy took advantage of her inability to form words:

“You’re standing here making all kinds of assumptions and so far, every single one of them has been wrong. Please Faith, just sit down and let me talk to you.”

Faith did as she was told, and when she was settled, Buffy started speaking:

“I don’t want you to go, and besides, this is your home and this is where you belong. You can’t just up and go when something happens. There are at least fifty people who’d try to stop you or would go after you to bring you back. You’re stuck here.”

Faith looked conflicted: happy at the truth in Buffy’s statement and slightly panicked as she realized what that truth meant. Buffy plowed ahead, they could deal with that issue another time.

“We’re friends, Faith, really good friends and I’m sorry. I should have told you about Satsu a long time ago.”

“…So why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know.”

Faith snorted, an angry huffing sound, and Buffy knew she’d have to do better.

“Okay, wait, that’s not true. I didn’t tell you because I thought it would make you mad.”

“Yeah? Why’d ya think that?”

Buffy’s eyes met hers:

“Because there’s always been this ‘thing’ between us and I was afraid of what it would mean if you knew I could be with a woman.”

“Fuck! Always thought she had the hots for you! She’s always lookin’ all moony and droolin’…Fuck her, ya know?”

“The point is…”

“Who else knows about this?”

Buffy felt herself flush:

“Unfortunately lots of people. It wasn’t exactly the best coming out in the history of coming outs.”

Faith stood, her anger practically billowing off of her:

“And nobody tells me?! How’s that fuckin’ work, Buffy?!”

Buffy answered her calmly, Faith’s obvious jealousy making it plain just how in love she was.

“It works because I asked them not to say anything to you. Would you please sit down and let me explain?”

Faith stood there glaring angrily for a few tense moments, then flung herself back into the chair:

“Fine. Go.”

“I felt funny about it. I didn’t want it to mess things up between us and…”

“That makes no fucking sense. We’re supposed to be friends, the kind that tell each other everything. That’s what you said, Buffy, and that’s what I did! I told you shit I’ve never told…”

“I know that, Faith, okay? And you’re right, I should’ve told you, but I was afraid it would make it weird between us and we couldn’t really afford that back then.”

“Yeah, fine, but you had plenty of chances after that and you never even…”

Buffy leaned forward, her voice coming out in a shout despite her determination to stay calm:

“I felt guilty, all right? It should have been you, but we were still too busy hurting each other, so it was Satsu. Happy now?”

“…No B, I’m not happy at all.”

“She doesn’t matter, Faith. I don’t love her, I never did. We’re friends, but that’s it, and that’s all we’ll ever be.”

Faith’s dark eyes were filled with jealousy:

“Yeah? Well, that’s all we were, and look what we did.”

“We’ve never been ‘just’ friends and you know it. I was lonely, she was there and I went with it. Then things got complicated and we had goodbye sex. And that’s all it was, Faith…just sex. It wasn’t like anything you and I had.”

“And what’d we really have, B? Some wild sex while we were under a spell?”

Buffy’s anger flared up just like that:

“Well whatever we had, it was enough to make you wanna run like a coward.”

“Fuck you, Buffy.”

“You already did, several times, and I loved each and every second of it.”

Faith didn’t respond for a minute and when she did, her voice came out uncharacteristically small:

“B…Okay, so you can swing both ways even when you’re not drunk. All that means is…means it wasn’t even as special as I thought it was. You’d have fucked anybody who was in that room, just happened to be me.”

Buffy looked at her in disbelief:

“God, you really are stupid.”

“B…”

“No, I mean it! I’m in love with you, don’t you get that? I don’t need beer to…well, okay, I did need beer to let me show it, but the beer didn’t change how I felt about you.”

Faith’s laugh was mocking:

“Right, so why didn’t ya say anything before?”

“Why didn’t you? You knew you loved me forever and you never even said a word.”

“Yeah, so it’s all my fault now, right Buffy?”

Buffy stood up and walked over, putting her hands on the chair’s armrests and leaning in just inches from Faith’s face:

“Don’t you dare pull this! It’s both our fault, or it’s nobody’s. God, it doesn’t even matter anymore! We’re right here, it’s our time now, so stop acting like such a bitch and focus on what’s really going on. We love each other, it’s finally out in the open, so shut up and let’s deal.”

Faith’s mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. She had no real rebuttal, and after a beat, Buffy straightened up and held out her hand. Faith took it as she stood and let Buffy lead her to the couch. They sat next to each other, and Buffy kept holding her hand:

“You know, I thought you were avoiding me because you hated me.”

“What? Why would you think somethin’ like that?”

“Because…because of that first time.”

At first Faith was puzzled, but then understanding flooded her face:

“‘First time’? Ya mean the sex? How the hell could I hate ya for that?”

“Well, I…because I…”

“‘Cause ya just took me? No B, I wanted it. I just thought I was takin’advantage of you, so I kept tryin’ to resist.”

Buffy looked embarrassed:

“But you were saying ‘no’ and I…”

Faith took her other hand and waited until Buffy met her eye:

“B, you did stop, remember? You said, ‘Faith not want Buffy?’ and you stopped. It only kept goin’ because I did want you and you knew it. So fuck that, even Cave Buffy does the right thing.”

Buffy smiled and lifted Faith’s hand to her lips:

“Thank you.”

“Facts are the facts, plus Cave B? Fuck, she was hot.”

“What about regular Buffy?”

Faith tried to shift away, but Buffy wouldn’t let go of her hands.

“Well, regular Buffy’s pretty hot too.”

“So I’m thinking maybe we’ve got something here.”

“Maybe.”

“Hmm…let’s see…”

Buffy swung her leg over until she was straddling Faith, her arms hanging loosely over Faith’s shoulders as her hands played with her hair.

“…we both have the hots for each other, we’re best friends…”

“Yeah.”

“…we’re wildly in love with each other and hey, one of us is even willing to admit it.”

Faith looked at her almost shyly:

“I’m willing to admit it, B.”

“You are?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so let’s hear it.”

“Now?”

“Now would be good.”

Faith squirmed a little and blew out a breath, but then she looked Buffy right in the eye:

“I love you.”

“You do?”

Faith’s dimples popped out at Buffy’s gentle teasing:

“Yeah B, like ya wouldn’t believe.”

Buffy leaned in, stopping just before their lips touched:

“Oh, I believe it, F. In fact, I’m counting on it.”

Faith grabbed the back of Buffy’s head, pulling her forward until their mouths met. Buffy smiled as they kissed, their tongues dancing together as the fire between them blazed up in an instant. They only moved closer, each seeking more of the heat, no matter how hot it got.

When they finally pulled back, Faith laughed:

“Thought we had to talk.”

The tip of Buffy’s tongue darted in and out of Faith’s dimple:

“We do.”

“So?”

Buffy was pushing her back onto the couch:

“So we’ll talk.”

“Okay, but gotta tell ya, B, you layin’ on top of me and puttin’ your hands under my shirt…”

“Mm-hmm…”

“…not gonna get much talkin’ outta me.”

Buffy’s smile was confident and amused:

“Faith, I’m pretty sure I can make you talk or do just about anything I want you to do.”

The sexy laugh that came out of her when she saw the goose bumps rising on Faith’s flesh had Faith’s skin pebbling even further:

“B, I don’t care if we ever talk as long as you keep doin’ that.”

Buffy continued upward, pushing Faith shirt along with her:

“Now this is no good.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not used to you wearing a bra. It’s in my way.”

“Well yeah, I was gonna work out so I…”

The ripping sound drowned out Faith’s words.

“Problem solved. See? I’m a problem solver, F.”

“Yeah, you’re a real natural at it.”

Faith’s torso arched upward to meet Buffy’s mouth.

“Mmm…you’re very tasty.”

“Yeah, I uh…Fuck, B.”

“B fuck Faith now.”

Buffy stood and pulled Faith to her feet. She kissed her, then hoisted Faith over her shoulder.”

“Whoa! What the hell are you…”

Buffy smacked Faith hard on the ass as she headed into the bedroom:

“Buffy say come. Faith come.”

“Not that I mind the ‘coming’ part, but…”

Buffy tossed her down on the bed and quickly stripped off her own clothes:

“Buffy want Faith. Buffy take Faith.”

“And Faith want B too, but...”

Buffy crawled up the bed, sliding herself along Faith’s body until she was resting lightly on top of her, her center nestled securely between Faith’s legs.

“Good. Then don’t be a stupidhead. Make love to me.”

“Yeah, okay, cave girl, but I…”

“Faith?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re in love. Now let’s prove it.”

******

The giggling was muffled, but it was growing louder.

“Shhh! B, you’re gonna get us busted!”

All yelled in a whisper, as Faith tried to be quiet.

“Sorry.”

An unladylike snort escaped from Buffy as she tried to stop laughing, and that was when Faith began to lose it. They gave up, and laughing and giggling, they made a run for it.

Food began sliding all over the trays and drinks started sloshing over onto the hallway’s floor.

“Shit, grab that can, B!”

Buffy just managed to save the can of root beer, the only beer either Slayer would be drinking for a long time, from smashing to the floor. The apples were another matter entirely. They thudded, bouncing barely at all as they smushed more than happily, half on and half off on the ornate hall rug.

Buffy bent to get them, but Faith sounded the alarm:

“Leave’em! Think I hear somebody!”

The Slayers picked up steam, determined to get back to Buffy’s room with their stolen supplies.

There was a castle rule, an edict really, that no one was allowed in the cafeteria after hours unless they had the express permission of the Cafeteria Commandant: Andrew. Giles had instituted the rule after the first week of operation when Andrew came to him nearly in tears because despite all of his careful planning, he was going to run out of food before lunch time…and that was assuming he could make it through breakfast.

Slayers were to keep food in their own quarters for those in between meal treats and leave the cafeteria off limits unless it was open. The doors were secured with Slayer proof locks and the situation was resolved smoothly, much to Andrew’s happy satisfaction.

The only problem was that here in the here and now, Buffy had no food in her refrigerator, Faith never kept anything substantial in hers, and the Slayers were starving after having had wild, passionate sex for two hours. They quickly agreed that what they needed was in the cafeteria and they were going to get it.

They’d brought two pillowcases along, their stint as Cave Slayers having taught them about their multiple uses, and after using the hidden emergency key that Faith knew all about, they’d quickly loaded up. But not surprisingly, they’d gotten a little too greedy and one of the cases had split down the seam, causing it to be pretty much unusable.

Faith had “solved” their problem by grabbing a couple of trays and stacking the overflow onto those. A seemingly great idea, but as they’d hurried back to Buffy’s room, the delicate balance kept shifting and Faith was struggling almost every step of the way to keep their bounty from crashing to the floor. The fact that she’d insisted on placing an open can of root beer as well as two large glasses of coke filled to the brim on the trays was not making her struggle any easier.

Buffy had her own battle to fight, making sure that she kept the split pillowcase tightly closed as well as catching whatever bounced its way off of the trays. The look on Faith’s face coupled with her forced awkwardness as she kept trying to quickly counterbalance, had Buffy laughing almost beyond control.

As they began making their way past the sleeping quarters, they heard voices.

“B!”

Buffy looked around and thinking quickly, she opened the door to the nearby training room. She motioned Faith inside, then pulled the door almost closed behind them, peering out through the narrow crack. She went wide-eyed as the voices kept approaching and she was forced to shut the door all the way.

“Yeah, well I couldn’t sleep either. Will just pisses me off sometimes, like it’s my fault that I hung up on the Coven.”

Kennedy’s voice sounded irritated and Satsu’s was almost placating in its response:

“Women, right? I wish I was straight so I didn’t have to…”

She stopped speaking as she couldn’t get the training room door handle to budge.

“What the hell?”

“What?”

Satsu tried again, but there wasn’t even a wiggle.

“The door’s broken or stuck…or something.”

Kennedy rolled her eyes:

“Step aside and let a real Slayer take care of it.”

Satsu released her grip and stepped back:

“Oh yeah, like you’re stronger than me.”

“I am, which I shall now prove by…”

Her grunting became a full-fledged groaning before she gave one final tug:

“Aarrgghh…grrrr…Shit! It’s like it’s been super-glued or something. It doesn’t even move at all.”

Satsu’s expression was smug:

“Told you so, Wonder Woman. I’d better go get somebody.”

“At this hour?”

Satsu nodded in agreement:

“Good point. I guess we can just head to one of the other rooms and…”

“But this is the only one close to us, the other one’s still being renovated. We’d have to go all the way to the other side of the castle. Here, just let me…”

Again Kennedy took hold of the handle and gave it her all. Sweat popped out on her forehead as her muscles strained…and nothing, not even a twinge of movement.

“God, that’s crazy! What could possibly be stronger than a Slayer?”

“Hey, I know, Kennedy! We can grab some of the tools from the…”

“Yeah! Then we can take the damn door off the hinges ourselves!”

Satsu turned to go, then stopped.

“Except, where are the tools? They were re-plastering and painting in there, so Xander had all of the stuff moved somewhere that’s else.”

“Right…I think most of it got shoved into the supply room.”

“Which is where?”

Kennedy’s voice sounded irritated again:

“Where it’s always been.”

“Well sorry, I don’t usually run flunkey errands.”

“Yeah, right, like you’re too good for menial chores. I guess that explains why your place looks like a bomb went off in it.”

“Uh-huh, and if you didn’t have Willow, yours would be way worse than mine!”

“Whatever, Satsu. It’s like five doors down around the corner.”

“You come with me.”

“It doesn’t take two people to get some tools.”

Satsu’s tone of voice revealed the delight she took in agitating her fellow Slayer:

“I’m not your underling, Kennedy. I don’t take orders from you.”

“Fine, you little baby. I’ll go get them myself.”

“Stop trying to boss me around. I’ll get them.”

Their squabbling voices drifted further away and Faith whispered softly to Buffy:

“Think we oughta make our break now?”

Buffy slowly released her grip on the door handle:

“I think it’s the only chance we’re going to get. Ditch the drinks and let’s go.”

She picked up the pillowcases as Faith drained the root beer and quietly tossed the empty can and cups of coke into the nearby trash can.

“Ready, B?”

“Yep, on three. We just have to make the corner before they hit this hall again.”

“Got it.”

“One…Two…Three!”

Buffy swung the door open with Slayer speed, barely registering the brief impact she initially encountered. With a cursory glance back Buffy and Faith hauled ass, successfully gaining the corner before they were spotted:

“Damn, B.”

“What can I say? Girl bad.”

They grinned at each other and kept running.

An approaching voice could be heard along with the sound of clanking tools:

“It was seven doors down, smartass, and it only took one special Slayer to get the job done.”

Satsu was surprised that Kennedy offered no immediate comeback about just how ”special” she really was, like “little bus” special, but when she turned the corner she saw the reason for her friend’s uncharacteristic silence.

The training room door stood wide-open and Kennedy lay sprawled on the floor, out cold. A lump had already started forming on her forehead, and Satsu knelt down to make sure she was okay.

“Wow, Ken, you really are hardcore.”

THE END