Rating: NC-17
Notes: Season 4 AU. Faith never went bad in Season 3. After getting her high school equivalency, she enrolled in UCSunnydale with the rest of the gang. Unexpectedly, she was doing really well. Willow moved in with Tara and Buffy and Faith became roommates. This takes place one afternoon on campus as Buffy and Faith met for lunch between classes, and it goes on from there.
Summary: Faith claims to have the ability to make people do ‘things’ that they wouldn’t normally do. When Buffy doubts her said abilities, they decide to settle things up with a friendly challenge.

- Electra

A Friendly Challenge Between Two Slayers

Chapter One: Intro

Buffy laughed at the girl in front of her.

“You really think highly of yourself, don’t you?” She asked.

Faith tried to look hurt at the comment, but her grin kept peeking through.

“What? All I said is that I have this wicked-cool ability to make people do . . . things . . . they wouldn’t normally do. Call it a . . . hidden talent”

Buffy laughed again.

“Explain. You mean, if I didn’t want to eat this plum,” she held up the plum she was about to eat for lunch, “but you wanted me to, you could make me do it?”

Faith shrugged. “Nah, that’s not really what I mean. But . . . yunno what? Yeah, I bet I could get ya to eat that plum if I really wanted ya to.” She added, sounding really sure of herself.

Buffy just raised her eyebrows.

“Oh really?” She decided to put Faith up to a little challenge. ‘There’s no way I can lose this game.’ “Okay, Faithy. Do you dare to prove it?” She asked rather condescendingly.

Faith just shrugged, trying to look uninterested and nonchalant about it. ‘Oh, there’s no way I’m gonna lose this game.’ “Alright, B. I’m in. I’ll give ya a little demonstration. BUT . . . once I win, you have to let me do another challenge. One that I choose. Deal?”

Buffy thought about it. ‘I have the strongest willpower of anyone I know. Of course I can handle Faith.’ She smirked as she nodded at Faith.

“You’ve got yourself a deal. Now, back to this totally unappetizing plum that lies before me. I don’t think I want it anymore.” She tried to look as indifferent as possible.

Faith looked at the plum as if it puzzled her. “Right, I could see why you wouldn’t want it. Probably rotten. Then again . . .” she picked it up in her hands and began to inspect it, “it could be perfectly ripe. Perfectly delicious.”

She rolled the plum around in her hand, studying it from every angle. In this case, she had resorted to using basic psychology: she would make the discarded object seem as appealing as possible. She had to rationalize it in her head, making sure that her strategy would work.

‘It’s like two five-year old children. Example: If child A has two toys, a fire truck and a football, he will choose one toy as his favorite and will discard the second. If child B comes along and picks up the discarded item, it suddenly becomes a prized possession again in the eyes of child A. The discarded object is suddenly desired by someone other, so it must have some sort of special value to it, and therefore, it must be reclaimed as the property of child A.’

Faith smiled to herself, happy with the logic and reasoning that she had just come up with. She chose to continue in the direction that she started.

“Yep . . . perfectly delicious. Yunno, judging from the texture and softness of this plum, I’d be willin’ to guess that it’s sweet . . . and juicy . . . and even kinda sugary.”

She brought her eyes up to Buffy, who was now looking at the plum as if she wanted it back.

The blonde noticed that Faith had caught her looking, so she tried to appear uninterested. She pulled a rice-cake out of her bag and began to nibble on it.

Faith inwardly smiled, knowing that things were going just as planned.

“Hey B, ya sure you don’t want this instead? I mean . . . look at it. It’s pure plum perfection!” She looked at Buffy who kept her eyes on the rice cake, but listened to every word that she was saying.

Faith knew that she already won, so she decided to go for the big last move.

“Alright B. You don’t want this plum? Fine. I didn’t bring any lunch with me, and I don’t have money to buy any either.” She noticed Buffy watching her out of the corner of her eye.

Without another word, Faith raised the plum up to her dark, full lips. She opened up her mouth, about to take a huge bite, when Buffy grabbed it out of her hand and sunk her own teeth into it.

Faith smirked as she looked at the petite blonde in front of her, chewing down a mouthful of plum. She knew she was going to win from the beginning, and now she had.

“What?!?” Buffy asked around a mouthful of plum, trying her best to sound incredulous. “I wasn’t about to let you eat my plum, Faith. You eat everything else in my fridge, I’m not about to let you get this too.”

“Whatever ya say, B. I still won. Ya said you didn’t want it. I said a few words, worked my magic, and now here you are, enjoying plum-y goodness. That was wicked easy. I’m gonna love the next challenge.”

“No, Faith. There will be no ‘next challenge’. You cheated, thereby giving up your right to claim another challenge.” She said, clearly pushing her luck.

“WHAT?!?” Faith yelled. “I didn’t cheat, B. I told you I could get you to eat that plum, and I did. We didn’t establish any guidelines, just the basic goal. Don’t be a sore loser.”

Buffy huffed for a moment before putting on her patented pout.

“What are you gonna make me do?” She asked Faith with a slight whine in her voice.

“I don’t know yet. We’ll talk about it tonight on patrol. Then, we can establish your guidelines so that we don’t have to go over the whole ‘sore-loser’ thing again. ‘Kay?”

“Fine.” Buffy replied in her best little girl voice.

Faith laughed.

“You’re adorable when you pout, B.” Buffy looked up at her, kind of taken aback by what she just said. “Anyways, gotta motorvate. Got English Lit & Poetry in 10 minutes. I’ll check ya later.”

With that, she got up and made her way to the building just across the quad.

“Oh god, what did I get myself into this time.” Buffy said aloud as she gathered up her bag and headed to her next class.

Chapter Two: A Little White Lie

Buffy might as well had not have gone to her class after attention. Her body was there, but her mind was elsewhere.

‘I can’t believe Faith actually “won” this afternoon. One minute I’m in total control, and the next, I’m almost choking on the very same plum that I convinced myself I didn’t want. How did she do it? She had to have been cheating.’

Similar thoughts ran through Buffy’s mind during the length of her Psych-101 Class. She didn’t mind so much that she wasn’t paying attention . . . Faith took the same course the previous semester and would be able to share her old notes.

The thought of Faith in college still amused Buffy more than a little. The same girl who had made such a big stink when they made her get her high-school equivalency was now kicking ass in college.

Much to the amazement of . . . well, pretty much everyone she knew, she received 4 – B’s and 1 – A her first semester. Buffy’s 3 – C’s and 2 – B’s kind of paled in comparison, but the older Slayer was happy at least to be passing.

The first semester was tough on all of the Scoobies. Willow had to deal with the realization that she was gay, and she also had to deal with coming out of the closet to her nearest and dearest. In the end, everything turned out fine. Her friends supported her and she got a great girlfriend out of the deal. In fact, Tara had invited Willow to share her double room, and the two witches had been living happily ever after since.

Xander, on the other hand, had some problem finding his direction in life. Living in his parents’ basement, he picked up several part-time jobs to save money. His weekdays were spent on a construction site and his weekends and occasional evenings were spent on campus working in a local bar. He didn’t mind the ‘non-student bartender’ job, seeing as that he got to spend time with all of his favorite girls while on campus.

Faith had been living in an on-campus apartment. She had 8 roommates, zero with whom she got along with. They couldn’t handle the fact that even though she liked to party hard, she was also trying to do well in school.

As soon as Willow moved in with Tara, Faith began crashing with Buffy. It made sense, anyway: between slaying and going out to either The Bronze or the Campus Bar to see Xander, they were together most nights anyways. After a little bit of haggling with the Residence Life Office, Buffy and Faith made the move official and they became roommates for good.

Buffy had noticed how close she and Faith were becoming, or had become. They spent almost all of their spare time together. Whether it be slaying, going out, getting something to eat before or after class, or even the weekend visit to Joyce’s to do laundry.

She also couldn’t help but notice how comfortable she had become around her sister Slayer. She had no problem walking around their room in her bra and boyshorts, she didn’t mind when Faith would dance oh-so-close to her when they went out, and she didn’t even mind when Faith would ‘growl’ at guys who got too close to the two of them.

In fact, she was getting so close to Faith that it almost scared her. She had put off her quest to find ‘the perfect boyfriend’ seeing as that she was spending all of her free time with Faith anyways.

Plus, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t block out the voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her, ‘Hey . . . college is supposed to be about experimentation, and being young and dumb! Let go of your inhibitions! You only live once, and Slayers are supposed to die young, so get with the living!’

Buffy also couldn’t ignore the fact that even though Faith had toned down her usual barrage of flirting and sexual innuendos, there was still a hint of the ‘old Faith’ left. On more than one occasion, the younger girl had hinted that she’d like to expand their relationship a bit.

Actually, her exact words were, “We should just do it and get it over with already. We both know that’s where it’s headed anyways, B. Either after a drunken frat-party or a night of some real good slayin’ . . . it’s bound to happen sooner or later. Let’s just get it outta the way is all I’m sayin.”

At the time, Buffy had attributed Faith’s little confession to a case of the post-slayage hornies. Her only response to the younger girl had been to giggle a bit and say, “Faith, the only way you’re getting into my pants is if you steal them out of my closet.”

Faith had just laughed at her response. “Whatever you say, twinkie. When that river in Egypt dries up, you make sure ya give me a call.”

As Buffy thought about it while sitting in her Psych class, she pouted to herself a little. ‘I am not in denial. I am so totally far from denial . . . heck, I’m Mrs. Miles-from-Denial. Heh.’

Buffy was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed that everyone was getting up from their seats and leaving the lecture hall.

‘Oops . . . guess I kinda lost track of time. But . . . yay! I’m finally done with classes. Time to get back to Faith and . . . . wait. I am SO not going back to the dorm. She’ll be there, all smug from this afternoon’s little freak show and scheming for the next challenge. I’ll just go visit Willow and Tara for awhile.’

Buffy stood up and grabbed her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and heading for the door. Before she could exit, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She turned around quickly to see who it was.

“Oh, hey Riley. What’s up? Did I forget to hand in an assignment or something?” She asked the tall guy in front of her.

Riley had caught her eye the previous semester, B.F. (That’s before-Faith . . . Buffy’s little term for her time in college before Faith moved in with her). At first, she thought he was the exact kind of person she was looking for. Tall, semi-good-looking, smart, and a good guy in general.

But, P.F. (yep, you guessed it . . . post-Faith), Buffy couldn’t help but find him just the slightest . . . dull and boring. Not wanting to have to let him down after showing an initial interest, she just stopped paying attention to him altogether.

Apparently, he hadn’t forgotten about her.

“Hi Buffy. How have you been doing? I hardly ever get the chance to talk to you anymore.” He said with a large, annoying smile.

Just the sight of him in front of her now was enough to make Buffy wish she had done a better job of ignoring him.

“I’m good, thanks. I’ve just been busy, you know? With the friends, and the new roommate, and the studying, and the slay . . .” she caught herself about to say slaying and quickly tried to cover, “slate. Yep, the slate.” She said nervously.

“The slate?”

“Yeah, you know, the slate. I’m . . . taking a geology class. Lots of slate. And rocks.”

An awkward silence filled the air as the two looked anywhere but at each other. Finally, Riley spoke up again.

“So, I was wondering if maybe you want to get a coffee or something. I don’t have any more classes today. But, if you’re busy now, maybe I could take you out later . . . “

Buffy quickly cut him off.

“Oh, that’s really nice of you to ask, Riley, but I . . . have to go to my geology class now. Yep, I have to hand in my report on . . . rocks.” She faltered a bit trying to hide her lie.

“Well, what about tonight? Do you want to go to the Bronze?” He asked, a hopeful smile appearing on his face.

“Oh, darn, you know what? I already have plans tonight. And tomorrow. In fact, I think I’m pretty busy for the next week or so. Sorry.” She said gently, trying to be nice, but clearly not wanting to leave any windows of opportunity open for him.

“Wow. Guess I gotta book a little farther ahead in advance if I want to get a date with you . . . .unless, of course, you’re seeing someone else. Which, I guess, would explain the lack of availability.” He gave her a questioning look.

“What? OH! Yeah, that’s it. I’m sorry, Riley. I am seeing someone else.” She lied, thinking that this was the best possible way to get him off of her back, at least for the time being.

Riley looked a little shocked. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that. After all, every time I see you, you’re always with your new roommate . . . Faith, right? I’ve never seen you with another guy. Unless . . .” then something dawned on him. “. . . wait a minute . . . is it Faith?”

Buffy just blinked, trying to come up with a response. Just as her silence was becoming a little too long, she happened to look out the window to see Faith walking by on her way back to the dorm.

“Faith?” Buffy murmured a she watched the girl walk by, forgetting that Riley was standing there.

Riley coughed quietly, trying to catch her attention. Her head snapped back and she looked directly at him.

‘Okay Buffy, this can work to your advantage. Tell him you’re “with” Faith. Then, not only will he think you’re taken, but he’ll think you’re gay, too. Two good reasons for him to leave you alone. Okay, go with it for now, deal with the consequences later.’

“Yep, Faith. Me and Faith. Together. With the dating and the hand-holding and all that. Guess we just haven’t made big with the publicity yet. Sorry.” She rushed the words out.

Riley just stood there, a defeated look on his face.

“Oh, ok. Well, I guess I’ll see you around then.” His voice sounded a little sad, but he put on a smile, trying to cover his real feelings. You know, the same stupid smile that made Buffy cringe just a little bit.

“Okay, bye!” Buffy yelled over her shoulder as she high-tailed it out of the building and straight towards Faith.

As she had reached the outside of the building, she could feel eyes on her from behind. Riley had followed her out and stood watching her from the doorway. Knowing that he was watching, she knew she had to put on a little show.

She ran up to Faith, but kept her own back towards Riley so he couldn’t see her face.

As she approached the dark girl, she called out to her just barely loud enough to get her attention.

“Faith!” Buffy called.

The younger girl turned towards Buffy with a smile on her face. “Hey girlfriend.” She noticed Buffy’s annoyed face. “What’s with the look?”

Through clenched teeth Buffy answered, “Riley is watching from the building behind me. I’ll explain later, but I need you to just play along with me for a minute here. Can you do that?”

Seeing Buffy’s pleading look, Faith nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

“Good.”

Without warning, Buffy leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on Faith’s lips. She felt Faith tense up and could sense that her eyes had popped open in shock. She pulled back a few inches and looked Faith in the eye.

“Okay, now I need you to either hold my hand or put your arm around me as we walk away. You’re choice. Now, let’s go before he walks over.”

Faith shook her head a little as if trying to regain a little composure. After a moment or two, she finally came back to her senses. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, she quickly grabbed the other girls’ hand and interlaced their fingers.

They began walking back towards their dorm, Buffy with a relieved look on her face and Faith with a genuinely content smile on hers.

Chapter Three – The Challenge

The two girls had walked quickly across the campus. Buffy’s grip on Faith’s hand had turned from gentle to vice-like when they had passed by large groups of people, etc.

“Relax, B. Nobody cares. If they’re not doin’ it in public, they’re doin’ the same thing in private. This is college . . . live a little!”

“I am relaxed, F. I’m the definition of relaxed.” She said through clenched teeth, her body rigid. “Look up the word ‘relaxed’ in the dictionary, and it will say ‘Summers comma Buffy’. There will even be a little picture of me next to it.”

Faith just glanced at the other girl in amusement.

“Yeah, whatever B.”

She chuckled at Buffy as the blonde tensed up when she gave her a little spank on her backside.

Buffy finally released her death-grip on Faith’s hand when they entered their dorm room. She sighed heavily as she threw herself down on her bed, burying her face into a pillow.

Faith just laughed at the sight in front of her. She kicked off her boots before plopping down on her back next to Buffy. She crossed her legs at her ankles and rested her arms behind her head, making herself as comfortable as possible on the small bed.

“So, are ya gonna tell me what happened, or are we gonna play 20 Questions here? She asked.

“Mmfphh.” Buffy answered, her words muffled by her pillow.

“Fine then, 20 Questions it is. Kick your legs if I guess right. Okay, so let’s see here . . . you were in Psych, right?”

Buffy kicked her legs.

“Okay. Hmm . . . and it involves Riley, right? ‘Cuz he was watchin’ you like a hawk when you walked outta the building.”

Buffy kicked again.

“So . . . okay, I think I almost got it figured out: you’re in class, and you’re daydreamin’ . . .”

Kick.

“. . . most likely about me . . .”

A pause, then a small kick.

Faith smirked. “. . . and ya don’t even realize class is over until you see everyone get up and leave . . .”

Kick.

“. . . which gives Riley the perfect opportunity to corner you . . .”

Kick.

“. . . and confess his undying love for wearin’ women’s underwear?”

She stole a quick glance over at Buffy and noticed that while she didn’t kick, her body shuddered as if she were laughing.

“Okay, so that wasn’t what happened. Let’s see . . . he corners you . . . and asks ya out to do somethin’ lame, like get coffee?”

Kick.

Faith laughed. “Man, what a fuckin’ loser. Seriously . . . who asks someone out on a date to go for coffee these days?”

Buffy lifted her face from her pillow, which had left a series of funny little imprints on her face.

“Not everyone is as bold as you are, Faith. How many people besides yourself do you know that actually walk up to someone and say, ‘I’m hungry and horny. What say you and me get somethin’ to eat and then take care of that other part at your place’?”

Faith scoffed. “Whatever, B. Let’s not forget the fact that unlike your boyfriend Riley, I have never been turned down before.”

“Except for by me.” Buffy added.

“Except for by you.” Faith commented. “But I’m still workin’ on that.” She winked at the other girl.

Buffy just laughed at the other girl and shook her head.

“Anyways, back to my problem.”

“Right.” Faith said, putting her game face back on. “So, he asks you out for coffee, and you do the smart thing and say ‘fuck no’?”

“Basically . . . just less with the ‘fuck’. Then, he asked me to go Bronzing with him, and I told him I had plans. Actually, I told him I was busy for the next week or so.”

Faith looked confused. “So . . . what then? Beefstick couldn’t take the hint?”

“Well. . . he kinda got the impression that I’m seeing someone.” She nervously lowered her head and began to play with the hem of her shirt.

“Oh yeah? And how’d he come up with that little gem?” Faith asked.

“I, uh . . . well, he said that he hasn’t seen me with anyone besides you, and he kinda guessed that it was, uh, you.” Buffy responded quietly as if she were afraid to say it. She hesitantly raised her eyes to gauge Faith’s reaction.

Faith began to laugh hysterically. She removed her arms from behind her head and brought them in front of her to clutch her sides.

“Man! That’s fuckin’ classic. Hah. So, what did ya end up tellin’ him?” She asked, not catching onto the obvious.

Buffy began to blush a little.

“Well . . . I didn’t end up telling him anything. I, umm, I kinda let him think he was right.” She looked up at the other girl through her eyelashes, putting on her best innocent look.

An evil-looking grin appeared on Faith’s face.

“Oh ya did, now did ya? Is that some kind of deep, dark desire finally bubbling to the surface? I think your subconscious is trying to tell ya somethin’, girlfriend.” She joked.

Buffy pouted. “Oh, come on, Faith! I didn’t know what else to do. He was making with the moon eyes and that stupid grin, and I could practically feel my IQ dropping just from being near him for so long. It’s just a little white lie. Him thinking that I’m taken and that I’m gay? . . . not the worst thing that could’ve happened. Maybe he’ll leave me alone now, at least for a while.”

“Yeah, well, good luck with that, twinkie. What are ya gonna do when he sees us out and about together, and he doesn’t get a repeat performance of what he saw this afternoon? Or when he sees you or me dancin’ with some random hottie at the Bronze? Seems to me like your ‘little white lie’ just turned into a big flaming disaster.” Faith teased, jabbing Buffy in the ribs every now and then to drive her point home.

Buffy remained quiet for a minute, trying to work out in her head what Faith had just explained to her. Feeling defeated, she once again collapsed face-first onto the bed, her face buried in her pillow.

“Shit.” She murmured into her pillow. “Am I tragically destined somehow to be the girlfriend of that corn-fed meathead?”

Faith couldn’t help but laugh at her. In a last ditch effort to give the girl a little comfort, she ran her hand along Buffy’s back and played with her hair a little before speaking.

“Listen, B. I may have a certain lacking of inhibitions and morals, but I don’t lack a heart, especially when it comes to you. If you really want the Beefstick off of your back, I’ll go along with the whole charade for a while.”

Buffy lifted her head from her pillow just enough to look at the other girl.

“What . . . what do you mean? Like, if we’re out and we see him, you’ll pretend to be my girlfriend . . . like hold my hand or kiss me?”

“Yeah, somethin’ like that, B.”

Buffy smiled. “You’d really do that for me?”

“Yeah, really. I don’t mind . . . you know I’m always tryin’ to kiss you and embarrass you and stuff when we’re out as it is. I love testin’ your limits. Now I’ll have an excuse to do it without you getting’ all bad-moody at me.” Faith replied.

Really, she wasn’t lying. Since she and Buffy had become roommates, she was always pushing the line a little, trying to see how far she could get Buffy to go before her inhibitions popped back up.

On more than one occasion, she would sneak in small kisses while they were dancing at the Bronze. Sometimes, if Buffy were in a particularly good mood (or if she had enough alcohol in her), she would let Faith get away with it. Heck, once or twice the small blonde had even initiated it. But other times, she would push Faith away and just say, ‘not here’ or ‘find someone else to take your hornies out on.’

Still, Faith had never tried to hide her actions towards Buffy. She pretty much made it perfectly clear that if Buffy was willing, then she was more than happy to meet her halfway. She was just waiting for the day when Buffy would finally listen to her inner ‘experimental college-girl’ voice and just give in to the temptations around her.

Suddenly, Faith’s eyes got wide and a smile crept over her face as if she had realized something.

“Faaaaith?” Buffy asked, a bit uneasy at the look on the brunette’s face. “What’s with the look? You’re scheming, aren’t you? Should I be scared?”

“B, I think this might be the perfect little intro to that challenge I promised ya.” She said with a glint in her eyes.

Buffy rolled her eyes a little. “I shudder to think. Do I dare to ask?”

Faith put on a wicked little smirk and rolled onto her side to face the blonde laying next to her.

“Okay. So, I’m always tellin’ you that you need to loosen up a little, shed some of you inhibitions, and to just . . . LIVE, right?”

Buffy just nodded her head, not entirely sure where this was going. Faith continued.

“Right. Now, like I said before, I’m willing to keep up the charade that we’re dating for awhile. But this is where the fun part comes in: we’re not gonna pretend, or fake it. For the next . . . oh, 10 days . . . you’re gonna be my girlfriend. And by girlfriend, I mean the hand-holding, the smooches, the public-displays-of affection, and whatever else we can come up with that couples do.”

Buffy’s eyes almost bugged out of her head.

“Faith, I don’t think that I can . . .”

“Exactly!” Faith interrupted. “You don’t THINK that you can do somethin’ like that with me, a girl. You’ve convinced yourself that ya can’t do it, and that ya don’t want it. But, do ya remember that wicked little ability that I rocked your world with this afternoon?”

“Yeahhhhh?” Buffy responded.

“Well, not only am I gonna prove to you that you can do it . . . I’m gonna prove to you that you want it just as much. And even further? I think that after those 10 days are up, you’re gonna find that those inhibitions you cling to so dearly have flown out the window. You’re gonna want to continue thins ‘thing,’ and not just to fool the Beefstick.”

Buffy’s surprised look turned to one of amusement, and with a smug tone she asked the other girl, “You’re so sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Abso-fuckin-lutely. You won’t know if you’re coming or going by the time that I’m done with you. Wait, I take that back. You’ll definitely know if you’re coming, I’ll make damn sure of that.” She stated, waggling her eyebrows.

Buffy put on her best self-righteous smile.

“Alright, Faith. You’re on. You’ve got 10 days to make me realize that I want ‘this’.” She pointed back and forth between the two of then. “I hope you don’t take defeat too hard, ‘cuz this is one challenge that I am not going to lose.”

As a gesture of good sportsmanship, she held out her hand to Faith, offering her a handshake on the deal.

Faith looked at Buffy’s hand and grabbed it, then looked up to meet her eyes. “I better get started, we don’t wanna waste any time.” She stated as she pulled the other girl to her in a quick motion, crashing their lips together in a heated kiss.

Chapter Four -- Tease

Buffy’s first reaction to the kiss was to resist it, to push the brunette away and be sarcastic about it. However, she suddenly found herself indulging in the softness of the other girls’ lips, enjoying the taste that was uniquely Faith . . . cinnamon and brown sugar.

The hand that was on Faith’s shoulder, originally there to push her away, was now tangled up in her dark tresses. Her other hand was still intertwined with Faith’s, trapped in the space between their two bodies that was slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller.

Somehow, their legs had become intertwined and the two girls were getting closer and closer without even realizing it. Neither seemed to protest.

Faith, for her part, was exploring every part of Buffy that she could reach. Her free hand roamed from the older girls’ ass, to the small of her back, up to her neck pulling her even deeper into the kiss, and finally back down to rest at the small of her back again.

Feeling more that a little bold, Faith reached under the hem of Buffy’s shirt and slowly ran her hand along the skin of her back. She traced little circles and patterns, loving the feel of the soft skin on her fingertips.

Buffy audibly moaned into Faith’s mouth at the feather-light touches on her back, and the brunette couldn’t help but smile into the kiss.

Finally, the two slayers broke apart, breathing hard while looking into one another’s eyes.

“That was . . . wow.” Buffy stated breathlessly, wriggling her hand out of Faith’s. She brought both of her hands up to the younger girl and brushed away a stray piece of air before cupping her face and leaning in to place a kiss on her full bottom lip.

“Mmmm.” Faith replied, finally pulling back a little so she could talk. “Hell yeah it was. I could definitely get used to you lettin’ me take charge like that.”

Buffy giggled. “Yeah. I guess we both know who wears the pants in this ‘relationship’.”

With her infamous smirk planted on her face, Faith raised an eyebrow and answered, “Well, if it’s up to me, neither of us are gonna be wearing pants all that much.” She leaned in and kissed Buffy’s forehead. “Or shirts.” She kissed the tip of her nose. “Or much of anything else.”

She leaned in to engage the blonde in another steamy kiss, lightly tugging at the hem of her shirt. But Buffy put her hand on the girls’ shoulder to stop her movement. She raised up her eyebrows and gave Faith a doubtful and questioning look.

“Anxious much, Faith? Please. You don’t really think that I’m gonna hop into bed with you this quick do you? According to my calculations . . . we haven’t even had a first date.” She put on a pleased smile knowing that she had the upper hand.

“B . . . you already hopped into bed with me. In fact . . . here we still are. In bed. With the closeness. Besides . . . I’ve known you for almost 2 years. Oh! And . . . we already live together. Now, according to MY calculations, that practically makes us married. So give it up, girlfriend.”

She leaned in for another kiss only to come into contact with Buffy’s hand yet again.

“B . . . Buffy, you gotta be fuckin kiddin’ me here! Is this about you wantin’ to punk outta the challenge?” She asked, knowing that Buffy would want to prove herself.

The blonde just scoffed.

“I’m all about the challenge, Faith. But challenge or not . . . I don’t put out on the first date.”

“Oh yeah? What about Parker, B?” Faith asked, knowing right away that she should’ve never opened her mouth. She knew it was the one thing she could say that would hurt the other girl, and for some reason, it had accidentally come out.

Buffy just glared at her, a hurt look on her face. She didn’t bother to say anything. After blinking hard a few times, she simply got up from the bed and walked across the room, heading for the door.

Before she could reach it, she felt a pair of arms circle her waist from behind, stopping her from moving any further. She immediately tensed up.

“I’m sorry.” Faith whispered against her ear. “That was stupid. I shoulda kept my mouth shut; it’s none of my business. Please . . . don’t leave like that.” She nuzzled into Buffy’s neck, placing several small kisses along her neck and shoulder.

The older girl relaxed and covered Faith’s arms with her own.

“That’s still a really sore subject for me. You know that, Faith. If you’re trying to get on my good side, why would you even bring that up?” She asked, still turned away from the other girl.

“What can I say? I’m an asshole, B. Coulda told you that a long time ago. Sometimes stuff like that gets past my internal Censor, but I’ll try and work on it, ‘kay?”

Buffy quickly turned in Faith’s arms, a big smile on her face.

“Hah. Now look who’s wearing the pants, Faithy. A whole 5 minutes after our first intimate kiss and I have you apologizing, calling yourself and asshole and trying to reform yourself. Damn, I’m good.”

Faith laughed.

“Suuuuuuure. Use the guilt trip and the ‘sad-puppy’ look to get me groveling. That’s a nice trick. But you realize now that this is war, right?”

Buffy furrowed her eyebrows. “War?”

“Oh yeah. War. It’s on now, B.” Faith replied with a devilish grin.

“Uh, Faith? I’m not quite riding on your ‘thought train’ here. What exactly are you talking ab . . .” she said, not able to finish her sentence as the brunette began a tickle attack on her.

“Faith, no!!!!!” She screamed between laughs, trying desperately to squirm out of Faith’s grasp. She finally managed to wriggle free and ran across the room, throwing herself onto her bed.

“I’m sorry, B, but this is the way it’s gotta be.” Faith stated with a smile, happily chasing after the other girl.

She was momentarily halted by the barrage of pillows and stuffed animals that Buffy threw at her from the bed, but quickly regained her footing as the other girl ran out of things to throw.

“Whatcha gonna do now, B? Looks to me like your arsenal is empty . . . nothing left to throw at me.” Faith said, creeping towards the bed.

“Oh, I’ve got one more thing to throw your way, Faithy.” Buffy replied, pulling herself up on her knees and bracing herself for the brunette’s approach.

Faith advanced on the bed in a predatory fashion and was now only about a foot away from the older girl. She dropped her hands to her sides and cocked her head, an amused look on her face.

“Oh yeah? What’s that, twinkie?”

“This.” Buffy stated, grabbing Faith by the shirt and pulling her into a heated kiss. She immediately ran her tongue along the brunette’s lower lip and was granted access into her mouth.

There was nothing soft or gentle about the kiss as lips, teeth, and tongues came into contact. Both girls groaned into the kiss as Buffy fell back onto the bed, pulling Faith down on top of her.

Immediately, Faith crawled up Buffy’s body and her thigh found its way between the girls’ legs. She began rocking forward, applying just the right amount of pressure to the blonde’s center to make the girl moan.

“Mmmmm, Faith.” Buffy groaned, unconsciously raising her own thigh so that it was having the same effect on the other girl.

She wrapped her hands around Faith back and her hands quickly found themselves on the other girls’ ass. She pulled the brunette down even harder onto her, increasing the pressure on both of their centers.

“Fuck, B.” Faith groaned into Buffy’s mouth. Their kissing had never halted, neither girl wanting to lose the warm contact of each other’s mouth.

Faith took Buffy’s hands on her ass as a sign that it was okay to go further, so without hesitation, she ran her hands freely over the blonde’s body, exploring as she went.

When her hands finally reached Buffy’s breasts, she felt the girl freeze under her. She halted all of her movement as well, waiting for Buffy to do or say something. After a moment or so passed and nothing happened, she lifted her head up to gaze down at the girl.

“B?” She asked, eyebrows furrowed and a worried look on her face.

“Faith . . .” Buffy said breathlessly, blinking hard a few times to regain her senses, “. . . I’m . . . I’m sorry, I can’t do this yet.”

The brunette growled and rolled her eyes, letting her entire weight fall on the small blonde.

“I’m sorry, Faith. I just got caught up in the moment. But, on a good note . . . at least I know how to get you to stop tickling me.” She beamed.

Faith, for her part, just laid there, her head in the crook of Buffy’s neck, enjoying the scent of the other girl . . . vanilla and pears, thanks to her shampoo.

Finally, she managed to groan out a few words.

“You . . . are . . . a complete . . . and total . . . cock-tease.” She heard Buffy scoff, so she corrected herself, “I’m sorry . . . I mean poon-tease. A complete and total poon-tease.”

Buffy laughed. “Okay, I’m a ‘poon-tease’, and you’re dead weight. Get off me, I can’t breath.” She said, rolling the brunette off of her.

Both Buffy and Faith now lay side to side on the small bed staring up at the ceiling, breathing hard. Faith grabbed Buffy’s hand and brought it up to her mouth, placing a small kiss on it.

“Buffy . . . honey, sugar, baby, peaches, love bug, sweetie . . . how long until we can make with the lovin?” She asked, a small whine in her voice.

Buffy laughed again. “I see that patience is NOT a virtue to you.” She paused for a moment, then continued. “I just need to get used to this. Give me a couple days.”

Faith rolled onto her side to face the blonde. “A couple days? Buffy, I only have 10 days to break you. Ten days to convince you that THIS,” she pointed back and forth between the two of them, “is what you want. If you won’t let me show you, how can I make you want it?” She pleaded.

Buffy rolled onto her side and gently smiled at the brunette. “Here’s the thing, Faith. I think that I may already want ‘this’.” She pointed back and forth between the two of them. “And not just since the kissing thing a few minutes ago. Since always. We can’t deny that we have some sort of a connection. Be it Slayer or otherwise, I don’t know. Maybe that’s why I accepted the challenge . . . to finally figure out exactly what it is between us.”

Faith sighed. “So, what’s the problem then? It is the social stigma thing? Cuz I already told ya, B. No one cares. It’s all old hat.”

“The problem is this, Faith: What happens if we do the relationship thing and the sex thing for 10 days. What happens if after those 10 days, I DON’T want ‘this’. What happens to our friendship, Faith? I value you and your friendship too much to have it all go to hell over something like this.” She lowered her head and waited for Faith’s response.

After a minute, the brunette finally responded.

“Listen, B. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. That’s why it’s a challenge . . . we don’t know the outcome. I say . . . we let things happen as we feel and as we see fit. After 10 days, if you don’t want it . . . well, we go back to our old ways: I’m a slayer, you’re a slayer, we’re both college students, and we’re friends. So, c’mon. What d’ya say?”

Buffy thought about it, and then smiled.

“Alright. I say let’s do it.” She closed her eyes and leaned in towards Faith to engage her in another kiss, but his time, she felt the other girls’ hands stop her.

She opened her eyes to see a grinning Faith staring back at her.

“Hold that thought for awhile, B. I got some business to take care of.” She said as she got up from the bed and straightened herself out.

Buffy pouted from the bed, watching Faith as she moved across the room.

“But . . . I though maybe we could do a little more of what we started before.” She said sheepishly, looking up at Faith through her eyelashes. “I’m a little hot and bothered after that little game we were playing.”

Faith smiled, loving the fact that she had the upper-hand.

“Sorry, B. Like I said . . . business.”

Buffy pouted again. “Business? What’s more important than impromptu kissage with your quasi-girlfriend?”

Faith laughed.

“Well, sugar-pie honeybunch snookums . . . I . . . am going to tell your friends about our little set-up. This way, they won’t be shocked when they see us all over each other.”

Buffy was about to protest, but then she realized that Faith probably had the right idea. Also, this way, she wouldn’t have to tell them herself.

“Just don’t tell my mom . . . or Giles. That would be all sorts of new levels of weird and awkward.” She said. Then, “But . . . baby . . . don’t you think it could wait a little while? I think I need a little more attention over here.” She said in her best little girl voice. She sat up seductively on the bed, trying to lull the other girl over to her.

Faith just laughed.

“Sorry, twinks. Gotta get this outta the way. Just . . . put it on the back-burner for awhile.” She said as she opened the door and began to make her way out.

Just before she was about to close the door behind her, she leaned back in and blew a kiss to Buffy, winking her eye as she did so. Before the blonde could respond, Faith slipped back out and closed the door behind her.

“Tease!” Buffy yelled loudly as she flopped back down on her disheveled bed.

Chapter Five – Gotta Have Faith

Willow just stared at the dark slayer with a confused look on her face.

“Let me just see if I have this right: You convinced Buffy to eat a plum . . . Riley asked her out to do something lame . . . he thinks you and Buffy are going out. . . so you and Buffy ARE going out?” She asked, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

“At least for 10 days. I told her I could convince her that’s what she wants.” Faith answered nonchalantly.

“Like you convinced her about the plum?” Willow asked doubtfully, her eyebrow raised.

Faith sighed. “Okay, the plum thing was a fluke . . . I knew that she’d be wicked hungry cuz she missed breakfast this mornin’, and she always joneses for sweet or sugary stuff halfway through the day anyway. I took the plum and pretended I was gonna eat it, and she grabbed it back. Basic psychology, Red. That, and common sense.”

Willow laughed a little.

“So . . . the Buffster and you are seriously going to try this?”

“Yep. Startin’ today, for 10 days, she’s mine and I’m hers. I keep tellin’ her that college is about tryin’ new things. You know that first-hand, Red. Buffy’s too shy and uptight to just try it with some random person and god knows I’ve been tryin’ to push her buttons since last semester. So, I just decided to step up to bat. Besides, I’m also doin’ this to help her get Riley off her back. Beefstick can’t seem to take a hint.”

“I just hope the both of you can handle this. You’re the ‘get some get gone’ girl, and she’s more of the ‘white picket fence’ girl. I hope this isn’t just a sex thing for you, Faith, because Buffy is sensitive when it comes to that stuff. Sex isn’t just a pleasure thing for her . . . it’s an emotion thing.” Willow stated, making sure to get the point across that she was serious.

Faith shook her head. “It’s not just a sex thing, Red. I mean, I’m not gonna rule sex out, cuz . . . well, I’m not an idiot . . . healthy young woman here with an even healthier sex-jones. Plus, it’s Buffy . . . hello . . . hotness abounds, or whatever. But, it’s more than that.” She hesitated before continuing. “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, Red.”

She leaned in, indicating for Willow to do the same thing. Willow laughed internally just thinking how young Faith looked at that moment.

“It’s . . . it’s not just a challenge for Buffy. It’s a challenge for me too, only she doesn’t know that. Ya see . . . I’ve never done the relationship ‘thing’. Like you said, I’m the ‘get some get gone’ girl. But I figure, I’m always on Buffy’s back to try a little change and expand her horizons, so I should take my own advice. If I had to choose someone to be in a relationship with, it’d be B. We have this connection. I can’t really explain it, but she feels it too, told me so this afternoon. So, we both have a challenge here. Hers is to let go of those fuckin inhibitions and try the ‘girl thing’, and mine is to do the relationship thing and behave . . . y’know, listen to my morals or whatever.”

Willow watched intently as the other girl rambled on. She could see that it wasn’t just a sex thing because if it was, Faith wouldn’t be trying to explain and defend herself so much. She finally decided to let the other girl off the hook.

“Okay, Faith. I believe you. I’ll go along with the whole thing, and I’ll even be ‘Support Girl’. If you need my help along the way, I’m here, even if it’s just to help you arrange stuff with the Buffster.” She gave Faith a friendly smile which the dark slayer promptly returned. “But . . . if you hurt her, I’ll curse you with a set of horns and a tail, okay?”

Faith laughed.

“Yeah, Red. I get it. Hey, I hope ya don’t think I’m cuttin’ ya short here or nothin, but I gotta get to the construction site to talk to Xan-man before he leaves. So, we’re cool, right?” She asked as she stood up, getting ready to leave.

Willow nodded. “Like an igloo.”

Faith chuckled. “Guess that’s pretty friggin cool, Red. Alright, I’ll catch ya later. Tell TT I said ‘Hey’.”

30 Minutes Later at the Construction Site

“So . . . the Buffster and ‘She-of-little-Faith’ are gonna be making with the girly action?” Xander asked.

Faith just nodded with a grin on her face.

“Okay, cool.” Xander replied. “You wouldn’t by any chance be willing to let me watch, would you?” Xander joked with a goofy smile on his face.

Faith gave him a menacing glare. “No.”

“No, I didn’t think so.” Xander answered quickly, sounding only minutely dejected. “Well, you better get on your girly-loving way. I don’t wanna keep Buffy away from her love bug for too long.”

With an amused smile, Faith turned and began to walk away after saying, “Thanks, Xan-man. I’ll be sure to make doubles if we take any pictures.”

Xander laughed.

Faith couldn’t help but think, ‘Damn. That was a lot easier than Red. And less with the threats.’

“Hey, Faith, there’s just one thing I forgot.” Xander called out.

The dark slayer halted and turned around expectantly. “Yeahhhhh?”

“You break her heart, I break your legs . . . or at least I die trying.” He said in a serious tone but with a big smile on his face.

“I’ll hold ya to that.” Faith said as she turned around and headed off to her dorm, and to her . . . girlfriend. Gasp.

Meanwhile, Back at the Dorm

Buffy stepped out of their private bathroom after taking a VERY long, cold shower. She needed to make sure that she cooled herself down before Faith got back, otherwise she might completely forget her inhibitions and jump her right then and there.

She couldn’t help but smile when she thought about how lucky they were to have their own private bathroom. Only two rooms per floor were equipped with that luxury and usually, they were designated for the Resident Advisors. However, the college had changed its rules and now staffed only one advisor per floor rather than the usual two. The other room was put up in a lottery, and somehow, Buffy had won it.

At first, she thought that the ‘private bathroom’ was the reason that Faith wanted to room with her. After all, she had to share with 8 other roommates in her old apartment. Though the brunette had admitted that the bathroom was definitely a helping factor in her decision, she said that the bigger part of her decision was simply that she’d rather room with her sister-slayer than anyone else.

Buffy hummed to herself as she walked around the room in her towel, trying to pick out an outfit while tidying up the mess that she made with the pillows and stuffed animals. Deciding that she needed some music, she walked to Faith’s CD player and hit play.

An old Limp Bizkit CD began to filter through the speakers. A year ago, Buffy would have immediately put on something else, like Sarah Mclachlan or Madonna, or even No Doubt if she was feeling a little saucy. But now, she actually enjoyed the music that Faith was always blaring. It made her feel energetic and crazy, and just a little bit untamed.

She continued to straighten up around the room, picking up the chewed wads of gum, empty pop cans and water bottles, and dirty clothes that lingered in areas. Not to say that the two slayers were slobs, especially when compared to some of their fellow classmates. Still, they did leave things just a little bit messy sometimes, too preoccupied with homework, slaying, or going out to really care.

Just as she was about to enter the bathroom to finish getting ready, a new song began and she stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around to look at the stereo with a large grin on her face.

“Oh my god . . . you have GOT to be kidding me!” She said aloud, giggling as she walked to the other side of the room and picked up the empty CD case, turning it over in her hands to look at the playlist.

An idea quickly sprung into her mind. Knowing that her roommate could be back at any moment, she hopped into action.

“Well, I guess that if you ‘gotta have faith’, you’ve gotta do it the right way.” She giggled.

The blonde slayer quickly ran around the room, gathering up a few different articles of clothing before heading into the bathroom. Just as she was about the close the bathroom, she ran back out to Faith’s closet and grabbed something from it with a smile on her face.

With a mischievous smile planted firmly on her face, she went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, humming the song all the way.

45-Minutes Later at the Room

Faith entered the room with a smile on her face.

“Honeyyyyy, I’m hoooooooome!” She sang out, immediately searching the room for Buffy.

She instantly noticed that the room had been straightened up. She could also tell that the older girl had showered, as the fresh scent of her vanilla-pear shampoo lingered throughout the room.

Her attention was caught by something that was distinctly out of place in the newly straightened room: the chair from her desk sat in the middle of the room between the two beds. On it was a piece of paper, folded in half and propped up like a card.

She sauntered over to the chair, searching out of the corner of her eyes for the blonde slayer. When she got to the chair, she picked up the paper and unfolded it.

‘Sit Down.’ was the only thing written on it.

‘Okay, I’ll play along.’ Faith thought.

With a cocky grin on her face, the brunette plopped down on the chair. She folded her arms behind her head and stretched her legs out, crossing them at her ankles. When she was comfortable, she decided to find out what was going on.

“B? I got your note, and I’m sittin’ here patiently like a good little Slayer. Now, are ya gonna tell me what this is about or do I have to burst in there and force it outta ya?” She yelled in the general direction of the closed bathroom door.

After a minute passed and she got no response, she was just about to lift herself out of the chair when she heard the door creak open just a crack. She laughed to herself when she saw Buffy’s hand sneak out of the small crack, clutching onto something.

‘What is that? It is the remote control to my stereo? What is she . . .’ Faith was suddenly broken from her thoughts when she heard a familiar tune began to filter through her stereo.

Faith smiled to herself. It was “Faith” by Limp Bizkit, a cover of the old George Michael song.

Suddenly, Buffy stepped out of the bathroom barefoot, dressed in the tightest pair of jeans that she had, now torn at the knee. She had on a tight white ‘wife-beater’ tank top that was barely visible under Faith’s black leather jacket. Her long blonde hair was blown-dry straight and left to shaggily hang over her eyes and shoulders. As a finishing touch, she had applied a thick layer of Faith’s charcoal gray eyeliner and smoothed on some of the ‘Harlot’ lipstick that she had taken from her mother’s makeup box.

Faith inhaled sharply at the sight in front of her. Buffy looked . . . well, FUCKING HOT. Especially when she was looking up through her heavily mascara-d eyelashes, like she was doing right now.

‘Holy shit’ the brunette thought as she tightly grabbed onto the armrests of the chair.

Buffy smiled, momentarily distracted by the brunette’s reaction. However, she quickly looked away, determined to get through with her plan.

As the vocals of the song began, she started to lip-sync the words.

“Well I guess it would be nice

if I could touch your body

I know not everybody

has gotta body like me”

She ran her hands up and down her body, dancing provocatively as she approached the seated brunette.

“But I gotta think twice

before I give my heart away

and I know all the games you play

'cause I play them too . . .”

By this point of the song, she had made her way over to the brunette and now was sitting in her lap, her back to the other girl’s chest. She wriggled around, making sure to create just the right amount of friction on Faith’s lap.

She continued to lip-sync the words, looking over her shoulder to gauge the other girls’ reaction. Faith’s lips were parted and Buffy could tell that her teeth were clenched beneath them, trying to hold back and groans that were trying to escape. The blonde leaned back farther, casually licking Faith’s bottom lip before hopping off of her lap and jumping onto the bed as the tempo changed.

“I’ve gotta have faith!

gotta have faith!

gotta have faith!

gotta have faith!”

She pretended to scream the words as the singer did while ripping off the leather jacket and tossing it across the room. Her toned figure was revealed through the tight clothes as she stood on the bed, alternating between jumping and doing a sexy little dance. She made sure to keep here eyes firmly locked on the brunette in the chair below her.

Faith, for her part, was trying to look very ‘cool’. But it was quite obvious that she was getting hot and bothered. Her chest was rapidly rising and falling, and her pupils had dilated so much that her eyes looked black from desire.

As the tempo of the song finally began to slow down, Buffy finally hopped down off of the bed and sat on Faith’s lap so that she was facing the girl. She gave the brunette a huge smile as she wrapped her arms around her neck.

“So, Day One of the Challenge is here, and I thought I’d make it official.” She beamed.

“Yeah, I guess you did.” Was all that Faith could reply, still a little taken aback by the blonde’s little display.

“So . . . you like?” Buffy asked, suddenly feeling a little shy.

Faith gave her a wicked grin. “Yeah, I definitely fuckin like. Didn’t think you had it in ya, B. Let me tell ya . . . I can definitely get used to stuff like this.”

“Good.” Buffy stated, moving one of her hands to Faith’s face. “Because for 10 days, you get the special ‘Buffy Treatment’, complete with silly and sexy dances alike.” She brushed a piece of hair out of the younger girls’ face before running her thumb over her full bottom lip.

Faith, feeling more than a bit frisky, quickly opened her mouth and licked Buffy’s thumb, sending a shiver through the other girls’ body. She released the blonde’s thumb and smirked.

“Okay. And for 10 days, you get the special ‘Faith Treatment’, complete with shivers and chills alike.”

“Hmm. I think I could get to like that.” Buffy stated with a smile as she closed the distance between the two of them, finally bringing their lips together in a soft kiss.

“Oh, hell yeah.” Faith mumbled into Buffy’s mouth, causing both of them to giggle.

Chapter Six – Finishing Off the First Day

The two girls pulled back from their kiss and smiled at one another. Buffy remained in her position straddling Faith’s lap, her arms resting on the other girls’ shoulders.

“I gotta tell ya, B. I liked the little number that ya just did for me. Tell me . . . where’d ya learn those moves, Miss Innocent?” Faith asked, her hands on Buffy’s hips.

“Two words: Coyote Ugly. I loved that movie.” The blonde replied.

“Really? I was thinkin’ you may have learned that from somethin more along the lines of ‘Showgirls’ or ‘Striptease’.” Faith joked.

Buffy scoffed.

“Please. I take off one measly article of clothing and I’m automatically deemed stripper-friendly? I don’t think so. I’m Coyote Ugly, not Striptease.” She gave the brunette a little pout, which Faith took as a ‘say-something-nice-about-me-now’ look.

“Hey, B . . . speaking of that one measly article of clothing . . . you looked wicked hot in my leather jacket. In fact . . . you look pretty steamy in that outfit altogether. What’s it gonna take me to get you outta it?” The brunette asked, raking her eyes up and down the older girl’s body.

Buffy instantly froze, suddenly realizing with Faith’s words the intimacy of their position. Trying to remain ‘cool’, she slid off of Faith’s lap and plopped down on her bed in a hasty retreat.

“Thanks for the compliment, ‘F’. But you’ve still got a while to wait.”

Faith groaned.

“Tease.” She mumbled under her breath, but Buffy was easily able to hear it with her Slayer-hearing.

“I’m not a tease, Faith.” The brunette pointed at Buffy’s outfit and then her own position on the chair and gave Buffy a doubtful look. “Okay, so maybe I am the slightest bit of a tease. But, like my mother always used to say, ‘The boys aren’t going to buy the cow if they can get the milk for free’.”

Now it was Faith’s turn to scoff.

“Yeah, except for the fact that I’m not a boy and you’re not a cow. And the milk’s gonna be mine before 10 days is up, so I might as well take a little taste now before it goes sour.” The brunette whined in a very non-Faith like fashion.

Buffy laughed at the other girl.

“Okay, ‘Old MacHorny’, enough with the farm-talk. We’ve got 3 hours before dark. Study-time?” She suggested.

Faith thought about it for a minute. “Nah, not yet. Strangely enough, all this talk about cows and milk got me hella hungry. Wanna go get some food?”

“Actually . . . yeah.” Buffy laughed. “Just let me get changed first.”

She stood up and began to walk towards her closet when she felt a hand on her shoulder holding her back.

“What? Don’t change. Ya look wicked hot, B. I wanna see the guys drool when you walk by them. I think ya look cute when ya blush.”

As if on cue, the blonde blushed.

“Just like that, B. Fuckin adorable. Now, come on, let’s go.”

Without giving her another second to think about it, Faith pulled Buffy across the room and out the door.

The two slayers walked hand-in-hand across campus to one of the dining centers. It had, of course, taken a little bit of coaxing by Faith. Buffy would try to pull her hand away when they walked by large groups of people, but the brunette would hold on even tighter and just tell her to calm down or relax.

When they finally reached the dining hall, they were happy to see Willow and Tara seated at a table in the corner. The two slayers anxiously made their way over to the witches, hoping to share the table with them in the bust dining hall.

“Hey guys!” Willow beamed as she saw the two girls approach hand-in-hand. “Aww, Tara, don’t they look cute together, with the hand-holding and the googily eyes? Oh . . . and look at Buffy’s outfit. She’s even starting to dress like Faith. How cute!”

Tara nodded and smiled sweetly at the slayers.

“We do NOT have googily eyes.” Buffy stated firmly. Faith had let go of her hand, allowing her to sit comfortably. “You must be seeing things.”

“Yeah.” Faith agreed. “Plus, the ‘hand-holding’ wasn’t really my idea . . . yunno, not my kinda thing. But, Little Miss Tightly-Wound here nearly decked me when I tried to walk with my hand in her back pocket, so I learned to compromise: hand-holding resulted.”

Willow laughed.

“Well, I still think it’s adorable. Our little Buffster is finally growing up.” She taunted, but quickly changed the subject. “So . . . can we see some slayer-smoochies?”

Faith chuckled at the request, giving Willow a nod and a wink as if to say ‘thanks, Support-Girl’. Buffy’s eyes got real big and she turned her attention to the red-head.

“You can’t be serious, Will. Don’t tell me that you’re in on this too.”

“Guilty as charged.” Willow beamed.

“But Willow,” Buffy whined playfully, “you’ve known me longer, you’re supposed to be on MY side!”

“Sorry, Buff. I think this little experiment will be good for you. Maybe you’ll loosen up a bit and live a little. It’s the best thing I ever did.” Willow replied , then looked over to Tara. She shot her girlfriend a warm smile and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers.

“Right. Well, you’ll just have to learn to be patient, just like Faith. We’re not quite up to ‘public displays of affection’ yet. We barely just got past the ‘private displays of affection’ part.” Buffy commented.

Willow quickly turned her gaze back to Buffy. “Ooooh. So there are private displays” to which Buffy immediately blushed. She then looked towards the brunette. “That was quick, Faith. Nice. You really dive right into your work, don’t you?”

Faith smirked. “Did ya really expect anything less from me, Red?”

The four girls engaged in small talk and laughter while enjoying their dinner.

Buffy had visibly relaxed about halfway through the meal. She saw an uncomfortable look come on Faith’s face as the younger girl began to stretch and rub her lower back. When she realized that the brunette’s back must have been sore, she casually scooted closer to her and began to rub small circles on it, hoping to relieve some of the other girl’s discomfort.

She quickly earned three suspicious looks from her friends at the table.

“What?!?” She asked incredulously. “Don’t look at me like that. If I saw my boyfriend having back pain, I would rub it for him. Faith’s supposed to be my girlfriend, so she gets the special treatment too. I’ve always been an excellent girlfriend, thank you very much.”

Faith smiled as she looked over the blonde’s shoulder.

“Well, keep up the lovin, blondie,” Faith stated casually, “cuz here comes your Beefstick.”

Buffy spun around quickly just in time to see Riley approach the table.

“Hi Buffy.” He stated with a goofy smile on his face. Yeah, you know the one.

“Oh! Hi Riley. What are you doing here?” She asked, trying not to look too nervous or surprised and failing miserably.

“Well . . . this IS a cafeteria, so . . . I’m getting something to eat. I see that you guys are too.” He smiled as he looked at the other girls around the table.

“Oh, yeah. We are. Umm, you remember Willow and Tara, right?” Buffy asked.

“Yeah, I was their T.A. in Psych 101.” He said, smiling over at the two witches. Then he turned towards Faith. “And you must be Faith. Buffy told me about the two of you. Congratulations, you’ve got a great girl here.” He stated with a smile, looking back and forth between Buffy and Faith.

“Thanks Rodney.” Faith replied with a fake smile.

“Uh, actually, it’s Riley. It’s Irish. Kinda like the book ‘Mary Reilly’, just spelled a bit diff . . .”

“Yeah, whatever.” Faith interrupted, trying to sound uninterested.

She scooted up closer to Buffy and wrapped her arms around her from behind. “Baby, what say we finish up here and head back up to our room. I’m still hungry, but food isn’t gonna cut it this time.” She leaned in and placed several small kisses on the nape of the blonde’s neck, looking up at Riley and giving him a wink as she did so.

Buffy drew in a deep breath and shivered, not even realizing it as she closed her eyes and settled back into Faith’s arms, relishing the contact. If it hadn’t been for her slayer hearing, she might have missed Faith whisper into her ear, “shivers and chills alike, as promised.”

After a moment had passed, Buffy finally opened her eyes and regained her senses. She looked up at the people around her who were looking either a little uncomfortable or a little shocked.

She laughed nervously.

“Sorry guys, we gotta go. Will, Tara, I’ll talk to you later. Riley . . . yeah. Nice seeing ya.” She stood, pulling Faith up with her. Grabbing the brunette’s hand, she began to walk away from the table.

Riley shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, nice to see you too, Buffy.” He looked at the brunette and nodded. “Faith.”

“Ronny.” Faith said with a victorious smirk on her face.

The two girls made their way out of the dining hall hand-in-hand, leaving a pair of giggling witches and a stunned Beefstick behind.

The two slayers returned to their room with about a half-hour to spare before dusk. Neither had brought up the incident with Riley. They had just carried on with the small-talk that they had been having with Willow and Tara.

Buffy sighed as she plopped down on her bed.

“Ugh. I’m exhausted. Do you think the evil un-dead in this town would mind behaving for just one night so I can have a little time off to rest?”

Faith plopped down right next to her, half of her body covering the smaller girl. She rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes.

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a gazillion times, B. Vamps? Not that considerate. They like it when we’re tired. So . . .” she yawned, “I think a little nap is in order.”

Buffy laughed as she looked at the girl who was laying half on top of her.

“Okay, I can handle a nap. But, are you forgetting that you have your own bed not 10 feet away from here?” She asked, nodding in the general direction of Faith’s empty bed.

“I know it’s there, B.” Faith said, opening one eye to glance at the older girl. “But, I think this is what couples do, yunno? I can’t say from experience cuz I don’t usually share a bed for more than an hour or two at a time, but . . . hell, I don’t mind tryin’ it out with ya.” She said, closing her eye and snuggling just a little bit more into the blonde’s side.

Buffy growled. “Okay, fine. But can you at least move off of me? Breathing might become an issue.”

“Nope.” Faith replied sleepily. “You see . . . it’s a small bed. If I move over any more, I’m gonna fall off. And if I fall off . . . then I won’t be able to cop a feel once you doze off. So, to answer your question: no, I can’t move.”

Buffy chuckled. “What kind of insane troll logic is that?” She waited for a response, but only heard Faith’s shallow breaths as the other girl was slowly drifting off to sleep. “Ugh. Fine. But no funny stuff, missy. That means no groping and no copping feels. Sleep only.”

“Mmmmhmmm.” Was all that Faith replied.

“Mmmmhmmm.” Buffy imitated Faith, chuckling a bit. She closed her eyes after a moment and slowly drifted off to sleep, enjoying the warmth of the body next to her.

Buffy awoke to a completely dark room. She sat up quickly, trying to adjust to her settings.

‘Geez, how long did I sleep for? I better wake Faith up so that we can patrol.’

She was mildly disappointed to find that Faith was no longer lying with her, keeping her warm. Actually, the feisty brunette was nowhere to be seen. Just as Buffy was about to get up and look for the girl, she found a note on the bed-stand. She turned on the table lamp and read the note.

B:

You looked too cute sleeping & I didn’t wanna wake you up,

so your wish is granted: take the night off and rest. Don’t

worry, I can handle patrol solo. I’m a big girl, remember?

I’ll catch up with ya later.

F

p.s. – aren’t you starting to wonder if I copped a feel? I’ll

never tell . . . ;)

Buffy smiled. She hadn’t thought that Faith would do something so thoughtful for her. Every other time that she had tried to weasel her way out of slaying, Faith had dragged her out of the door claiming that they were ‘The Chosen Two’, not ‘the Chosen One and the One That Needs a Break.’ But deep down, Buffy knew that the real reason that Faith had always made her go was because she liked the solo-time that the two got to spend together, sans Scoobies and other distractions.

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity at a break, Buffy slid under the covers and decided to go back to sleep. She made sure to leave a small space next to her as she lay on her side, a silent invitation for Faith to reclaim her position there.

She lay there in her thoughts for a while before she slowly started to drift off. Just as she was about to fall over the edge between awake and sleep, she felt the bed shift under her, followed by a familiar sense of warmth next to her.

“Hey.” She whispered with her eyes closed, a smile on her face.

“Hey.” Faith responded huskily.

“Thanks . . . for letting me sleep. I would’ve gone with you.”

“I know.” Faith whispered again, moving in closer to Buffy (if even possible on the small bed). She began to rain small kisses along the girls’ back and shoulders.

“How’d it go?” Buffy asked quietly, her breath catching in her throat from the feeling of the other girls’ lips on her back.

“Fine. Lots of action. Dusted 8 vamps in 3 cemeteries.” Faith responded, slowly becoming bolder in her moves. She rolled Buffy so that they were facing more towards each other and began to place light kisses on her lips and jaw line.

“Anything we should be concerned about?” The blonde asked breathlessly, slowly starting to respond to Faith’s kisses.

“Not right now.” She whispered. She rolled just a little more so that she was half on top of the blonde again, positioning herself so that one of her strong thighs rested between Buffy’s legs.

Buffy gasped at the contact, but it made her quickly realize the direction in which their motions were leading them. In a strong show of will and restraint, Buffy pulled away from Faith’s warm mouth and began to speak.

“Wait wait wait, Faith. We need to stop, I can’t do this yet.”

Faith snickered, continuing her assault on the blonde’s jaw line. “It seems to me like you can. Besides . . . slaying got me wicked horny. I’m not gonna be able to sleep unless I get this itch scratched.”

Buffy put her hands on Faith’s shoulders and pushed her back. Both girls were panting as they gazed at one another.

“Faith . . . if you wanna sleep in my bed, you’ve got to stop. At least for tonight, okay? So either go sleep in your own bed or go take a shower and take care of your . . . problem . . . then come back to bed with me.”

The brunette grunted. “Yes, dear.”

She got up out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

Within a minute, Buffy heard the shower running. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to get the images out of her mind of what the brunette was most likely doing in the shower at that very moment.

She must not have realized exactly how tired she was. With her eyes still shut tightly, she began to drift off yet again, blocking out all of the sounds in the room.

Just as she was on the brink of sleep, she sensed Faith crawling into her bed and felt a warm arm embrace her. She was only vaguely able to make out the brunette’s hushed voice whisper “Night, B”, but she was sure that she felt several butterfly kisses on her face.

Both girls fell asleep with content smiles playing upon their faces.

Chapter Seven – Day Two

The first light of morning began to shine through the windows of the Slayers’ room, illuminating their bodies that lay oh-so-close to one another.

Somehow during the night, the two girls had managed to change positions without either of them falling off of the small bed. Now, Faith lay stretched out on her back, one arm behind her head and the other wrapped around Buffy. The older slayer also seemed to have shifted so that she was now laying on her stomach, half of her body draped over Faith, her head resting on the brunette’s shoulder. She had also draped one of her legs over the brunette’s.

Buffy was the first to awake, having had lots of rest the previous night. She vaguely remembered Faith coming home with an attack of the hornies, kicking the brunette out of bed to take care of her ‘problem’, and lastly feeling the warm embrace and soft kisses of the other girl before drifting off into a beautiful slumber.

She couldn’t help but smile when she looked up at the sleeping girl next to her. Faith, who was usually all about doing what she felt when she felt it, was showing a surprising amount of restraint in their current situation. Granted, they had only began their little ‘experiment’ or challenge the day before. Still, Buffy had teased, flirted, and done her best to lead the other girl on, and Faith had managed to keep her cool.

‘Mrs. Want-Take-Have’ had suddenly turned into ‘Mrs. Want-Wait-and-Whine-about-it’.

And now, here was Faith, looking so peaceful and innocent while wrapped up in Buffy’s pastel-colored sheets, acting like a perfect gentleman, erghh . . . gentlewoman? Gentleperson? Whatever. Either way, it was very un-Faith like, and Buffy found it rather endearing.

With all of the stealth that she could muster, Buffy slid up so that she was now face-to-face with Faith, looking directly down at her. She didn’t know what came over her, but suddenly she felt like the close physical contact she had with the sleeping brunette just wasn’t enough. She needed something more.

Slowly and gently, she leaned in a pressed her lips to Faith’s. She enjoyed the feel of having a little control of the younger girl for once; of being on top.

Unconsciously, the brunette slightly parted her lips. Buffy took full advantage of the situation and began to kiss Faith’s full bottom lip, eventually starting to gently suck on it.

At that point, Faith slightly moaned, alerting the blonde to her waking status. Buffy smiled a bit and finally let go of Faith’s bottom lip, leaving it slightly swollen. However, she did continue to push her lips into Faith’s, not wanting to give up the soft feel of them just yet.

She was pleasantly surprised when she felt Faith slowly begin to respond to the kiss, pushing up just a little to put more pressure into it. For several moments, they stayed there like that: eyes closed and kissing softly.

Finally, Buffy broke away, smiling down at the grinning girl beneath her.

“Hey.” She said, leaning in to steal another chaste kiss from the other girl.

“Hey back.” Faith responded with a chuckle. “See? I knew ya couldn’t resist me.”

Buffy laughed. “I don’t know about that. YOU I can resist, but those lips of yours I’m having a hard time fighting.” She paused for a moment. “Oh . . . and thanks for last night, by the way. For being so sweet. And patient.”

She leaned down and gave Faith a much deeper, passionate kiss, wanting to extend her thanks.

Now, it was Faith who pulled away, chuckling.

“See, right there, that’s the kinda thing that’s gonna make me lose my cool, B. I’ll gladly take the ‘kisses aplenty’ for now cuz I know it’s all you’re willin’ to give yet. But you keep up the cuteness and the not-so-subtle flirting, and I’m gonna go nuts and just ravish you.”

Buffy giggled. “Okay, okay. I guess I’ll have to abandon the nice kisses and find some other way to wake you up. Maybe I’ll hit you with a pillow . . . or a book . . . or a baseball bat.” She started to move away, not wanting to lead Faith on too much.

However, the brunette had other plans as she pulled Buffy back and held onto her even tighter. “Nuh-uh. You’re not goin’ anywhere, princess. Besides . . . the way you woke me up? Didn’t suck. I can definitely get used to that.”

“Oooooooh. I am SO gonna break you before these 10 days are over.” Buffy taunted.

“What?” Faith asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m gonna break you.” Buffy answered nonchalantly. “ ‘Mrs. I-Don’t-Do-the-Relationship-Thing’ is suddenly taking a liking to the cuddling and butterfly kisses. You’re going down, Faith. After next Saturday, you’re NEVER gonna want to let this go. I can just see it now.”

Faith scoffed.

“Whatever, B. Unlike some people I know, I’m gonna let whatever happens happen, and I won’t fight what feels right.”

Buffy caught what Faith was hinting at. She knew that Faith was hard to resist, and she knew that she wanted her almost as much as the other girl wanted her back. ‘Damn these inhibitions’ she thought. ‘It’s okay – I’ll get past them. Just another day or two, and you’ll be able to get what you want without feeling so weird about it. Just give yourself a little more time to adjust.’

She was about to speak again, but Faith beat her to the punch.

“Oh, and B? The thing about me ‘going down’? You just say when and where, blondie, and I will gladly ‘go down’. GLADLY.” She waggled her eyebrows at the now blushing blonde.

Buffy gave a hesitant smile, feeling just a tad bit embarrassed and uncomfortable. She started to get up once again, realizing that she wanted to shower, eat, and get a little bit of studying done before class. After all, she never got around to doing any homework the night before.

Once again, Faith stopped her from moving.

“Wait. Where d’ya thing you’re goin’ B?”

“Faith,” Buffy began, “I have classes today. YOU have classes today. And if I recall correctly, neither one of us got any homework done last night. Now, come on, let’s got.” She started to get up, only to be pulled down yet again.

“Nuh-uh, B.” Faith said sleepily, closing her eyes. “We’re takin’ the day off, and we’re gonna spend all day in bed. Order Chinese, watch some old movies, sleep, and maybe if I’m lucky, you’ll let me cop a feel before the day’s through.”

Buffy laughed.

“First and foremost, I’m not ditching classes so you can ‘cop a feel’. Secondly, we can’t stay in all day; with the amount of nasties you fought last night, I definitely think patrolling is in order. We should also stop by Giles’ and report it to him. Also . . .”

“Arghhhhhh.” Faith groaned, pushing Buffy away. “Okay, okay, I get the friggin picture. Class good. Slaying good. Sleeping bad. Copping a feel definitely bad. Now, go take your shower so I can fall back to sleep in peace. I don’t have class till noon, so get the hell out.” She said playfully.

“Yes, dear.” Buffy quirkily responded. She leaned in for one last kiss, surprising Faith when she snuck her tongue in her mouth and kissed her deeply. She didn’t want to admit it to herself . . . but she was definitely getting to love the simple ‘feel’ of Faith, whether it be lying next to her in bed or giving her a kiss.

Just as Faith was starting to get into it, Buffy pulled back and walked across the room to her closet. Faith sat there dazed, watching Buffy as she gathered up a fresh outfit.

“What was that for?” Faith asked, not know what else to say.

Buffy just sent her in innocent glare as she peeked over her shoulder. “Just a little something to get you through the day.” She winked before walking to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Faith grunted as she lay back on the bed, covering her face with the blanket.

“Tease.” She huskily mumbled under her breath, quickly falling back asleep.

Almost the whole day had passed and the two slayers hadn’t run into one another even once.

Buffy attended her morning and afternoon classes, then spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening in the computer lab typing a paper.

Faith had slept till 11:00am, giving her only enough time to get dressed and get something to eat before her afternoon classes. After her classes had finished, she headed off to her part-time job as a life-guard in the Student Athletic Center.

At about 7:30pm, Buffy returned to the empty dorm room. She decided to try to get in some study time before her roommate came home and distracted her. Strangely enough, she had missed the brunette during the day, and the very thought of that made her smile. She couldn’t help but think, ‘Mmmm . . . distraction by Faith.’ However, she quickly pushed the thoughts out of her mind, sitting down at her desk and opening up her books to read.

After about a half-hour had passed, Buffy began to feel a familiar tingle. She smiled, knowing that Faith must be in the area, making her way back towards the room.

Not more that a minute had passed when Buffy heard the door open. She looked up to see Faith walk in, a semi-disturbed look on her face.

“Hey . . . what’s up?” Buffy asked with concern. She could tell that something was wrong right off the bat. Then she looked down and saw a large scrape on the brunette’s hand. “What happened?” She asked, walking over and inspecting the injury.

“I was just walkin’ back from the Athletic Center and I was caught off-guard by 2 vamps. I wasn’t expectin’ an attack cuz the sun had just set like 2 minutes before. But these two fuck-heads come tearin’ outta the park and ambush me. Needless to say, the vamps are no more, but they got a few good licks in before I dusted ‘em. We better head out to G-man’s and fill him in.”

She started walking towards the door but was held back by the blonde. She turned and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Wait. Faith, we’ve gotta clean that scrape up and cover it before we go out. All you need is to get some dirt or vamp dust in it and then get a nasty infection.” She started to pull Faith towards the bathroom, but the brunette pulled away.

Faith knew that Buffy was just trying to show concern, but she couldn’t let the other girl touch her right now. She had just had a good slay, and she was definitely feeling the aftereffects. Even the feeling of Buffy’s hand on hers was driving her insane, and she didn’t think she’d be able to control herself.

“B . . . I’m fine. It’s a scrape. Slayer healin’ already kicked in . . . ya won’t even be able to see it by tomorrow. So, come on, let’s motorvate.”

Buffy pouted. “Hmph. No boyfriend of mine has ever rejected my T.L.C. before. I’m just tryin’ to be a good girlfriend.”

Faith laughed. “B, I would definitely love some of your T.L.C., and playing ‘Doctor’ with you is definitely on the top of my list. But unless you wanna spend all night gettin’ ravished, I think we’ve got bigger things to deal with right now.”

“Fine.” Buffy stated with a childish tone. “But if your hand gets all infected and icky, don’t expect me to hold it when we walk across campus.” She grabbed her jacket and headed towards the door.

“I’ll remember that.” Faith joked. She grabbed Buffy’s hand as the girl passed her by and looked into her face. “But thanks for the offer. Maybe another time, yeah?” She leaned in and gave Buffy a quick, hard kiss before pulling away quickly and walking out the door.

Buffy stood there dazed, trying to figure out why Faith was acting so weird. ‘Ohh! She just slayed, and she’s feeling the hornies.’ She thought. Then a small smile crept up on her face. ‘Awww . . . she’s trying to behave herself. No wonder she doesn’t want me touching her.’

With those thoughts in mind, she virtually skipped out of the room after Faith, practically melting at the humor and cuteness’ of the situation.

The two Slayers walked to Giles’ apartment, practically silent the whole way. Buffy thought it would be fun to play a little ‘game’, whereby she would try to hold Faith’s hand or touch the girl, just to rile her up and make her squirm. It was fun to watch ‘Big Bad Faith’ buckle under a little bit of pressure.

Several times, Faith had spouted random phrases like, “B, would ya quit it?!?” or “Come on, cut it out already!” and even, “If you don’t stop with the bad touching, I’m gonna push you into an alley and have my naughty way with you. No time like the present for a little ‘Want Take Have’.”

Buffy had laughed at all of Faith’s outbursts. That is, except for the last one, which had actually convinced her to put an end to her little ‘game’. She could see that Faith was getting more and more edgy and tense, and that it was only going to get worse without a release and with her own relentless flirting.

After about a 15-minute walk, they finally arrived at Giles’. After giving him a brief rundown of the prior night’s activity and of the jump in activity so early tonight, they anxiously awaited some sort of worried response from him.

Instead, they got a very nonchalant, “Well, of course. There’s a lunar eclipse on Sunday. The days before are always bustling with vampiric activity. Surely you both know that.”

Buffy and Faith looked at each other embarrassedly. “Of course.” “Sure.” “Absolutely.” “Totally.”

With that out of the way, they made their way out of Giles’ apartment to patrol, laughing as soon as they were out of his range.

“I can’t believe we missed that little factoid.” Buffy laughed.

“I know!” Faith replied. “ I feel like a complete fuckin moron. Isn’t stuff like that supposed to be instinctual for us?”

“Yeah!” Buffy laughed. “Guess we’ve just been too wrapped up in other stuff to pay attention.” She slowed down a bit, trying to get the brunette to turn and look at her.

“Guess so.” Faith replied, suddenly getting quiet.

“Faith?” Buffy asked quietly.

But before the brunette could respond, she was blindsided by a vamp that had been hiding behind a tree. He caught her off-guard and pushed her to the ground, but her reflexes caught up quickly and she managed to jolt him into the air with her legs. Taking advantage of the moment, Faith flipped and sprang to her feet, stake in hand.

“What, no sarcastic banter or threats before the big brawl?” She asked down at the vamp who was struggling to get back on his feet. “Hey, no problem for me. Let’s me get right in for the kill . . . no teasing, no playing. A girl could get used to this.”

She lunged forward at the vamp, hitting him full force with a combo of jabs and high kicks. The vamp was again momentarily dazed by her assault, so she turned to look for her sister-slayer. She spotted her several yards away, fighting off one of her own vamps. Seeing as that Buffy seemed to be holding her own ground, Faith turned back to finish off her own baddie.

Not wanting to play around anymore, she went right for the kill. With a swift plunge of her stake, the vamp was dust and Faith began to casually walk back towards Buffy.

She paused when she got closer, taking in the sight before her. Buffy had the upper hand and was easily landing blow after blow on the dazed vamp. She watched as the vamp fell back, trying to make a hasty retreat, and as Buffy stalked his clumsy form in a predatory fashion.

She had always loved to watch her sister-slayer fight. It seemed like one of the most natural, beautiful things that she had ever seen: the way her movements blended together so fluidly, they way she would unconsciously twitch in anticipation of the next move, the way she focused entirely on her chore at hand . . . it just captivated Faith entirely. Another unfortunate side effect? It completely turned the dark slayer on.

After watching the fight for what felt like a moment too long, Faith finally lowered her gaze and went to lean against a nearby tree. She knew that she shouldn’t let herself get too riled up, because tonight was sure to be a repeat of the night before: she’d be wicked horny, Buffy would lead her on a bit, but as soon as she started getting into it, she’d be pushed away. Not that she didn’t like making out with the blonde . . . but she questioned the level of self-restraint that she had over herself and she didn’t want to make any big mistakes. She wanted to be strong.

A moment or two later, she heard the familiar ‘poof’ sound, indicating that Buffy had indeed won her battle. The little blonde came skipping over, excited at the rush that she had got from the fight.

“Man!” Did you see that vamp? He was ‘Mr. Big Nasty’ . . . until I kicked him in the head a few times. Then he was all ‘please don’t kill me, I’m really a nice guy’, and he even tried to run away!” She noticed that the brunette wouldn’t meet her gaze. She furrowed her eyebrows. “How was your fight?”

“Quick and easy, B.” Faith said, eyes down.

“Faith? Why won’t you look at me? Did I do something wrong?” Buffy asked, placing a gentle hand on Faith’s arm.

The brunette jumped at the contact and quickly stepped away.

“It’s not you, Buffy, it’s me. I’m all anxious and on-edge from the fight. Yunno . . . hungry and horny. You’ve made it perfectly fuckin clear that you’re not ready, and I’m really tryin’ to respect that. But if I look at you right now or if I let you touch me? It’s outta my hands, I won’t be able to control it. So . . . yeah.” Faith answered, sounding frustrated but shy at the same time.

“Oh. Okay.” Buffy responded, feeling a little dejected. “I guess we should just finish patrol then.” She began to walk away.

Faith sighed, knowing that she had probably just hurt or pissed off the other girl. “Buffy . . . wait up.” She ran and caught up with the blonde, still avoiding her gaze. She tucked her hands in her coat pockets, trying to keep them from reaching out to touch the other girl.

“Listen, B: I don’t want ya to feel bad ‘bout it, ‘kay? It’s my problem, and I’ll deal.” She paused. “This is a challenge for me too. I’m not used to using self-restraint and not takin’ what I so obviously want. I don’t mind givin’ you time, but I need you to be patient with me too, cuz I really am tryin to do good here. I might act a little distant every now and then when I’m tryin’ to control myself, but I’m just tryin’ to respect your wishes. Okay?”

Buffy smiled.

“Okay, Faith.” She responded gently. What she really wanted to do was wrap her arms around the other girl and give her a soft kiss, but she knew that it would only make the current situation worse.

Oddly enough, Buffy was starting to miss the ‘feel’ of Faith. The day before had been filled with kisses and cuddling galore . . . and she liked it. They had shared only a few small kisses earlier that morning, but then had spent the whole day apart. And now that Faith was by her side, the girl was trying to keep her distance.

Still, Buffy knew that she had to respect Faith in the same way that girl was doing for her. She’d behave until she knew she could give Faith more . . . and she feared that time was approaching all too soon. Just recently, she had finally admitted to feeling the ‘hungry and horny’ part of slaying. And now? She had just had a wicked good slay. ‘Maybe Faith won’t have to wait as long as I thought’ Buffy mused.

The rest of the patrol had been pretty active, between the two of them, Buffy and Faith had dusted over a dozen vamps. They had tried to avoid any physical contact with one another and had been quite successful in that endeavor.

That is, until their last few moments before returning to their dorm.

Just as they were walking across campus, 2 large vamps came barreling at them out of nowhere. Faith was instantly knocked down but the vamp had managed to fall square on her stake, dusting himself upon impact.

She looked up just in time to see the second vamp get the upper hand and knock Buffy roughly to the ground, laughing as he stood above her. Between Faith’s adrenaline rush and seeing Buffy knocked to the ground, she had reached her breaking point.

Just as the vamp was bout to pounce on the dazed blonde, Faith jumped on his back and began pummeling him roughly from behind. She beat him mercilessly, stopping only when he fell to his knees on the brink of passing out.

She hopped off of his back and stepped around to his front, grabbing his face and making him look up at her. “You don’t ever get to touch her again, fuckface. Burn in hell.” She said through gritted teeth as she rammed her stake through his chest. Before the dust settled, Faith was at Buffy’s side, checking her over.

“You alright?”

Buffy shook her head to regain some clarity. “Yeah . . . he got me really good. I’m just a bit dizzy is all.”

Faith stood up and offered her hand to the girl, abandoning her earlier efforts to avoid physical contact. This was different . . . Buffy needed her help.

Buffy looked up and after a slight pause, she grabbed Faith’s hand. Faith hadn’t yet some down from her adrenaline rush, so when she pulled, Buffy came flying up and landed in her embrace, their faces only inches apart.

Suddenly, both girls seemed to be breathing really heavy, unable to pull their eyes away from one another.

“Faith . . .” Buffy whispered leaning in, brushing her lips ever so softly against Faith’s before pulling back just the slightest bit.

“Yeah?” Faith whispered back, copying Buffy’s feather-soft kiss.

“What . . . what if we start this and I spaz or we get interrupted . . . what if something stops us and I can’t get ‘it’ back?”

Faith hesitated for a moment before finally whispering, “I don’t . . . I . . .oh, fuck it.” She closed the short distance and captured Buffy’s mouth in a fierce kiss. Buffy immediately parted her lips and Faith took full advantage, plunging her tongue in, letting the other girl brutally suck on it.

It seemed as if neither girl could get enough of one another. Hands were exploring, chests where heaving, lips, tongues, and teeth were in contact. No doubt, they were feeling the aftereffects of slaying, but there was something more to it too. For Buffy, it was simply the ‘feel’ of Faith that she had been craving since that morning, and for Faith, it was the ‘feel’ of Buffy that she felt she had been waiting for her whole life.

However, the moment didn’t last too long as a group of frat boys went walking past, stopping to whistle and holler provocative comments.

Buffy began to tense up, and Faith immediately felt it.

“Ignore them, B.” Faith said against the girls’ mouth.

The guys kept up their antics, and Buffy slowly stopped responding to Faith’s advance.

Faith shook her head. “No. Nuh-uh. Hold on to this feelin’, B . . . don’t lose it. Just . . . fuck it. Ignore those assholes. We’ll just head back to our room and go from there, ‘kay?” Faith asked excitedly.

“Okay.” Buffy stated shyly, grabbing onto Faith’s hand.

Faith practically ran across the campus, dragging Buffy along with her. She figured that if she could get Buffy to ‘keep’ the feeling and could get her back to their room in time, they’d be able to get down and dirty. Still, she had to keep’s the blonde’s attention focused for the moment.

When they passed by a secluded little wooded area, Faith grabbed Buffy and pushed her up against a tree, instantly beginning to devour the other girls’ mouth. Buffy moaned into the kiss, putting her hands behind Faith’s neck to pull the girl even closer.

“You still feelin’ it, B?” Faith mumbled against Buffy’s mouth. She took that moment to press her hip against Buffy’s center, grinding roughly against the other girl.

Buffy’s breath hitched. “Ah . . . I’m definitely feeling something.”

“Good.” Faith replied, her voice husky with desire. “Let’s get this back to our room and finish what we started. No distractions, I promise.”

And once again, the girls were off at a quick pace across campus, giggling a bit along the way.

Back at the room, the door burst in with a sudden crash.

After having made out in the stairwell of their dormitory for a few minutes, the two girls finally arrived at the door to their room. After a minute of frantically searching their pockets, both of them realized that they had forgotten their keys. Buffy offered to go to the R.A. so he could let them in, but Faith quickly put a stop to that idea. She didn’t want Buffy to get out of ‘the mood’.

So, she did the next best thing she could think of.

She reared back and kicked the door in, her hornies winning out over her common sense.

“Faith!” Buffy exclaimed, staring disbelievingly at the younger girl.

“What?” Faith asked innocently. “I’m not about to let a little setback like this break the mood, B. Just keep feelin’ it. Look, we’re already back here, no distractions.”

Buffy glared between Faith and the broken door. “I’d say that’s a pretty big distraction, Mrs. Attention Span. I can’t believe you mpffh . . .”

Buffy’s protests were cut off when Faith covered the girls’ mouth with her own, hungrily kissing her while walking into her room. Buffy soon forgot what she was complaining about and anxiously responded to Faith’s advances.

‘God bless these post-slayage hornies.’ Faith thought.

As they passed the threshold, Faith caught the broken door with her foot and kicked it, making it jam into the door frame with a loud ‘thunk’ noise. Still, she was determined to get the bashful brunette to the bed, alternating between kissing her jaw-line and sucking on her neck along the way. When they finally reached Buffy’s bed, the two girls fell onto it, Buffy onto her back with Faith lying on top of her.

The two girls scooted so that they were lying along the length of the bed. Buffy had both of her arms wrapped tightly around Faith, sliding her hands under the brunette’s shirt to feel the soft texture of her skin.

Faith took that as a sign that she could move things along a bit. She nudged Buffy’s legs apart and slid her body in-between them, resting her full weight on Buffy’s lower half. She rocked just the slightest bit, causing a delicious friction directly on the blonde’s already stimulated clit, causing Buffy to suck in her breath.

“Oh fuck..” Buffy breathlessly moaned, throwing her head back.

Faith grinned. She loved the little whimpers and faces that Buffy was making, and her goal simply became to get a lot more of the little noises out of the usually reserved blonde.

With that in mind she began to grind just a little harder, watching the other girls’ face the entire time.

“Does that feel good, B?” Faith asked huskily, leaning in for a quick lick on the girls’ neck.

“Oh god, yeah.” Buffy responded, eyes clenched shut as she focused on her pleasure.

Faith smiled. “Can you imagine how fuckin good it would feel without our clothes in the way?”

“Mmmmm.” Buffy responded, barely capable of making words.

“Then how ‘bout we get rid of ‘em?” Faith asked, thrusting herself forward quickly, making the other girl gasp.

“I . . .I . . .Faith, I want . . .” She was broken off when the phone rang.

“Fuck! Dammit! Shit!” Faith yelled, pulling up just a little to look down at the blonde.

Buffy had a look on her face . . . a cross between shy, annoyed, scared, regret, and confusion. Faith’s eyes got big when she saw it.

“No! Don’t lose it, B. Keep goin’ with it . . . just . . . just ignore the phone. Let the machine get it.”

“Okay.” Buffy answered shyly.

The two girls slowly began to kiss again, both trying to ignore the sound of the phone ringing, then of the answering machine picking up.

‘Hi, you’ve reached Buffy and Faith. Press 1 to leave a message for Buffy. Press 2 to leave a message for Faith. Press 3 if you need someone to save the world, and just hang up if you’re a telemarketer . . . we don’t want your magazines or your insurance.’ Beep.

‘Hey Buffy, it’s Willow. I just saw you and Faith walking into your building looking all snuggly-wuggly.” Buffy froze and Faith groaned. “Are you doing what I think you’re doing? Do I need to keep hanging up and calling back? Do I really need to put you through that, Buff? Hellloooooooooo? . . . ‘

After realizing that the red-head wasn’t going to relent, Buffy finally sighed.

“Faith . . . I’ve gotta answer that. Get up a little.” She said softly, feeling bad to put the brunette through this. Faith groaned again before half-rolling off of the girl, burying her face in the pillow to muffle the scream that she let out. Buffy, in the meanwhile, picked up the phone.

“Hi Will . . . yeah, we’re here . . . no, we just got in . . . what? I’m not breathing heavy . . . okay, I am, but that’s cuz I heard the phone ring from down the hall and ran to get it . . . don’t worry Willow, we’re not . . . . yeah, I know it’s kinda soon . . . yeah, I know . . . okay, bye Will.”

She hung up the phone and laid back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling while panting just a little. Faith didn’t make a move to get off of her just yet.

Suddenly, Faith mumbled into the pillow, “It’s gone, isn’t it?”

“Yeah . . . yeah it is.” Buffy stated, sounding a bit defeated and disappointed.

Faith sighed into the pillow. “Figures.” She began to get up from the bed, needing to get as far away from the other girl before she couldn’t control herself anymore.

“Where are you going?” Buffy asked quickly, her voice shy and quiet. She knew she had to stop their little ‘display’, but she didn’t want Faith to go away. She still missed the ‘feel’.

“To bed, B. It’s late.” Faith answered quickly in an annoyed tone.

Buffy grabbed her hand trying to stop her from leaving. “You . . . you can stay here with me.” She said sheepishly, indicating a spot next to her on the bed.

“No . . . I really can’t B. I’ve got a little problem I gotta take care of, and my self-control flew out the window about 10 minutes ago, so, again . . . I really can’t.”

Buffy watched as Faith stalked across the room, turning out the light on her way. She could see Faith’s figure in the dark, stripping off her clothes just before she jumped into bed.

She felt bad that Faith had to go through another frustrating night, and she felt bad that she was leading her on. But until Willow had called, she was really feeling okay with the directions in which things were headed. But the call had served as an un-welcomed distraction, and now Faith was ‘suffering’ as a result.

Buffy slipped off of her bed and grabbed a pair of pajamas before heading into the bathroom to wash up for the night. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and put on her clean pajamas before turning out the bathroom light and heading out into the room.

When she walked into the room, it was completely dark, but she could tell exactly what was going on. ‘Slayer senses, gotta love ‘em’. She knew right away that Faith was laying in her own bed, taking care of her ‘problem’ by herself.

She felt a little bad, like she should give the brunette some privacy, but it was a situation that they had come across before. Sometimes, the post-slayage hornies gotta be taken care of, no matter when or where.

Quietly, Buffy made her way to her bed and lay down, hoping to quickly fall asleep.

But she couldn’t. She could hear the small gasps and rough breathing of the brunette, and she could smell her arousal in the air. She could see the rough outline of Faith’s body in the dim moonlight of the room, and she could see the small writhing movements that the girl was making.

Suddenly, Buffy felt like her senses we on overload. The smell, the sound, the sight . . . hell, she could almost taste the sex in the air. The only thing she was missing was the touch, and that’s what her body was telling her she wanted the most of all.

With complete and utter stealth, she got up from her bed and crossed the room, standing next to the other girls’ bed while glancing down at her.

Faith hadn’t noticed the blonde standing there because her eyes had been clenched together so tightly. Only when she felt her bed sink down a little did she finally open her eyes in shock.

“B?!? What are you doin?” Faith asked breathlessly, her voice just above a whisper.

“Shhhhh.” Was all that Buffy relied, slipping onto the bed next to Faith. She kept her gaze fixed upon the brunette until she leaned in and began to sensually kiss the other girl, sucking on her bottom lip and finally her tongue after a few moments.

Faith had slowed the movement of her had under the covers, shocked by Buffy’s sudden presence next to her. Only when she felt the blonde’s hand cover her own did she start to move it again.

Buffy held onto Faith’s hand as the brunette began the movements again, rubbing herself in the same way as before. As Faith tried to increase the tempo, Buffy would hold her back and try to keep some of the control.

Faith audibly moaned into the other girls’ mouth as Buffy began to add more pressure to Faith’s hand, thereby increasing the pressure on the brunette’s hard clit.

“Oh shit.” Faith exclaimed, arching her back of the bed as she felt herself starting to come. She chose that moment to be a little naughty, and she completely stilled her hand, waiting for the blonde to make the next move.

After a moment passed like that, Buffy realized what Faith was doing: she was waiting for Buffy to call the next shot. With a smile on her face, she grabbed onto Faith’s hand even tighter and began to move it at a frantic pace against the girls’ engorged clit, pushing harder and harder until she heard the girl come with a loud grunt, then felt the girl go limp in her arms.

Faith came down from her temporary high a few minutes later. She finally unclenched her eyes and looked up to find two sparkling green eyes looking down at her.

“Hey.” Buffy whispered, placing a feather-light kiss on the brunette’s forehead.

“Hey.” Faith replied with a smirk. “Umm . . . thanks.” She said, suddenly shy.

“My pleasure.” Buffy whispered, a gentle smile on her face. “So . . . can we sleep in the same bed now? Maybe get some slayer cuddles?”

Faith softly laughed. “Yeah . . . I guess we can.”
Buffy slid down and snuggled against the girl, her breathing becoming slower almost immediately.

“’Night, Buffy.” Faith said softly, wrapping her arms around the girl.

“Goodnight, Faith.” Buffy mumbled, completely content and relaxed lying in the arms of her sister-slayer.

Chapter Eight – Day Three: Brownie Points & Just Rewards

Buffy awoke to the feeling of Faith’s soft lips placing kisses on the corner of her mouth. Her smile alerted the other girl that she was awake.

“Mornin’, B.” Faith said in an all-too-chipper tone, moving her lips over just a bit so that now her kisses were landing directly on Buffy’s slightly parted lips.

“Mmmm . . . that’s got to be the best ‘good morning’ I’ve ever gotten.” Buffy replied sleepily, breaking away from Faith but holding the girls’ face close.

“Really?” Faith asked excitedly, bordering between proud and cocky.

“Yep. The only thing that would make it better would be . . . some breakfast in bed to accompany it. Mmm . . . bacon and eggs, toast, home fries, and orange juice. Oh! And strawberry jelly for the toast. That, along with some Faith smoochies, would equal the best ‘good morning’ ever.”

Faith smiled. “Okay, I’ll remember that. In the meanwhile, you sit tight. Sleep in; it’s still early, about 9:00. It’s Saturday and we don’t have any good reasons to leave the room until at least the late afternoon. I gotta run a small errand but I’ll be back in less than an hour, and I have every intention of crawlin’ back in bed with you and bein’ bums all afternoon.”

She planted one last kiss on the blonde’s lips and hopped out of bed, pulling on a nearby pair of track pants and a sweatshirt before making her way out of the room.

She was surprised that her nakedness hadn’t freaked the other girl out, but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She had something else she had to take care of first.

Buffy rolled over onto her side, making herself comfortable in Faith’s bed. She inhaled deeply and took in the scent surrounding her. The crimson-colored sheets and pillow smelled like Faith’s perfume – Deep Red by Hugo Boss. It was like Faith . . . spicy and exotic, and completely intoxicating. She closed her eyes and continued breathing in the scent, and before she knew it she was asleep again.

About 45 minutes later, Faith came prancing into the room, a definite bounce in her step. Her arms were loaded with various bags and packages, products of her morning errands. She tried to be as quiet as possible when she saw the blonde sleeping, but between the rustling of the bags and the sound of the broken door ‘thunking’ shut, Buffy woke up and turned to see what the distraction was.

“Hey.” Faith said with a big smile, showing off her dimples. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake ya. I’m about as graceful as an elephant in a China Shop.”

Buffy laughed. “No, it’s okay. I should probably be getting up anyways. It’s gotta be late by now, and I should probably take a shower cuz I think I’m a little gamey from last night. Besides that, I’m hungry.”

She began to lift the blankets off of herself, but Faith interrupted her.

“Uh uh uh, little B. First and foremost, ya don’t stink, so no shower yet. As for hungry, I’ve got it covered.” She held up 2 of the bags. “Breakfast in bed and various sources of entertainment. We officially have no reason to leave the room. That is . . . until I gotta go to work at 3:00.”

Buffy stared disbelievingly at Faith as the other girl pulled a chair over next to the bed and started placing the contents of the bags on it. When all was said and done and the contents were displayed on the chair, Buffy smiled. Faith had gone out and bought several breakfast specials from a diner just off of campus. There were enough eggs, bacon, toast, home fries, and even pancakes to feed a small army. There was also 2 cups of coffee, 2 large mochas, 2 glasses of orange juice, and a carton of chocolate milk.

Just when Buffy thought the surprises were over, Faith brought out another bag. She reached her hand in and removed a wide array of DVDs and magazines.

Faith smiled as she watched Buffy search through the items like a kid in a candy store. She couldn’t wait to get back into bed with the blonde for a little of the cuddling action. It was hard for her to believe that in less that 3 days, she had already been transformed into a ‘cuddler’. She began to get undressed, keeping on only a small tank top and her underwear before crouching between the bed and the chair.

“So, whattaya say, B? Which movie d’ya wanna watch? Breakfast Club, License to Drive, The Goonies, Sixteen Candles, Scream, or The Lost Boys?”

Buffy smiled, finally meeting Faith’s gaze.

“I can’t believe you did all this for me. And in only 45 minutes, no less. Is it because you had a ‘good’ night?” Buffy asked, waggling her eyebrows in a Faith-like manner, then indicated towards “The Goonies” DVD.

Faith chuckled as she grabbed the DVD and crossed the room, turning on the TV and putting the DVD in. “That mighta had a little bit to do with it. But, I kinda just wanted to do somethin’ nice for ya. See ya smile, get to spend the day in bed with ya . . . figured it would all be worth it.”

She turned to see Buffy staring at her with a truly genuine smile on her face.

“Come here.” Buffy said with a smile, holding the sheets up for Faith to crawl under.

“Yes m’am!” Faith beamed as she kicked up her legs a little before running to the bed and hopping in.

Her body half-flopped onto Buffy’s and the blonde immediately caught her lips in a sweet kiss. Faith wriggled around a little, loving the contact that the older girl was letting her have, especially in her half-naked form.

After a moment, Buffy pulled back but kept her hands buried in Faith’s hair. She held Faith’s head in front of hers so that they made close eye contact.

“I just want to say . . . thank you.” Buffy said kind of shyly. “No one has ever brought me breakfast in bed, and no one ever remembers all of my favorite movies, let alone rents them all for me. So . . .” she planted a quick kiss on Faith’s lips, “thank you again.”

“No problem.” Faith stated sincerely, stealing one more quick kiss before moving off the blonde. “Okay, let’s see. Movie: check. Bed: check. Now let’s get to breakfast.”

She pulled the chair closer to the bed and started handing random containers to Buffy. After picking out what they wanted, the two girls sat up and began their little feast.

They spent the rest of the morning and the better part of the afternoon like that, nibbling on the food and watching the DVD’s that Faith had brought home. They alternated between sitting up and cuddling up against one another, stealing kisses and tickling one another occasionally.

At about 2:30, Faith regretfully had to get up and go to work. Seeing as that she only had to work until about 9:00, the two Slayers planned some evening activities. Faith would return to the dorm by 9:15 and shower and get ready. Then they’d head off to the campus bar to see Xander for awhile, hopefully scoring a free drink or two while there. After that, they’d do a quick patrol, and then they’d follow up the evening with a trip to The Bronze to do some dancing and drinking.

The plan was set and the two Slayers finally parted ways, both greatly anticipating the evening that lay before them.

As planned, Faith returned at the room at 9:15. She showered and got ready, letting her long dark hair hang wildly over her shoulder and back. She wore her trademark black leather pants and a backless black shirt that tied around her waist and neck, leaving her bellybutton and back completely exposed.

“Nice.” Buffy purred as she watched Faith’s reflection in the mirror.

Faith turned back to look at the blonde who was wearing a red tank-top that zipped up the front and a pair of tight, boot-cut black jeans that left very little to the imagination. Her make-up was done like she had worn it the day before: smoked-out eyes and the ‘Harlot’ lipstick.

“Likewise.” Faith replied as she checked out the other girl.

After a few more minutes of last-minute adjustments, the two Slayers grabbed their jackets and left their room, both making sure that they had their keys tucked safely away this time.

After a 10-minute walk, the two girls arrived at the campus bar. They walked in and were immediately greeted by Willow and Tara who were seated at the bar, talking to Xander.

“To what do we owe this pleasure?” Xander asked, immediately handing a beer to Faith and a fruity concoction to Buffy.

“Just stoppin’ by before patrol, hopin’ to score some free drinks from our favorite bartender.” Faith replied, holding up her beer to Xander before taking a long swig.

“Oh, I bet you say that to all the bartenders.” Xander joked.

Faith laughed. “Yeah, I do. But I only mean it when I say it to you, Xan-man.”

About an hour passed as the five friends talked and shared a few drinks. The bar was fairly slow with only a few groups of people scattered around the bar, so Xander actually got to spend some time with the girls.

Faith and Xander were engulfed in a conversation discussing the merits modern video games versus classis video games. Buffy, Tara, and Willow were clustered together having their own random conversation.

Suddenly, Faith felt cold and kind of alone. Not that she wasn’t enjoying her conversation with Xander, but after spending a day cuddling with Buffy, she missed the feel of the blonde girl.

As if it were nothing, Faith walked up behind Buffy and wrapped her hands around the girl from behind, resting her chin on the girls’ shoulder. She expected the girl to tense up under the watchful eyes of her friends, but just the opposite happened: Buffy relaxed and leaned back into the embrace. Faith figured that it probably had a lot to do with the lack of crowds of people gawking at them, and also that her friends already knew about the challenge, so she wouldn’t have to explain it.

“Hey.” She said huskily, placing a small kiss on the girls’ cheek.

“Hey.” Buffy responded with a smile, placing her arms over Faith’s.

“You ready for a quick patrol? Get it outta the way then head to The Bronze?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Buffy responded grabbing Faith’s hand, getting ready to leave the bar.

“Leaving already?” Willow asked.

“Duty calls.” Buffy answered truthfully. “We’re probably gonna head to the Bronze afterwards, so, if you guys want to meet up, give us about two hours.”

With that, the two Slayers said good bye to their friends and made their way out of the bar.

The two Slayers entered the very-crowded Bronze about an hour later having ended their patrol early. After having dusted about 6 vamps each in that one short hour, they figured that they deserved the rest of the evening to unwind and have some fun.

They were also hoping to dance off some of the sexual energy that they had gotten from their active patrol.

Before even hitting the dance floor, Faith led Buffy to the bar by the hand and ordered 6 shots of Jack Daniels and 2 beers.

Buffy just shot her a look when she ordered.

“What?” Faith asked with a smile, trying her best to sound innocent.

“Six shots, Faith? Isn’t that a little much for you to start with?” Buffy asked, eyebrows raised.

“Nah, not really, seein’ as that 3 are for you, princess.” She flashed a large smile, displaying the dimples that she knew the other girl had a soft spot for.

“Ughh, Faith, you know that Jack and I are not on speaking terms, not since the last encounter with him that you forced on me.”

“Well, it’s already paid for, B. Might as well just knock ‘em back with me. Look, I even got ya a nice beer chaser.”

“Faaaaaaaaith.” Buffy whined, pulling on the brunette’s arm. “Can’t I do something less . . . caustic, something that tastes less like battery acid? Ooh! How about some Tequila Rose or Baja Luna? I’ll do 3 shots of those!”

Faith began lining up the shots and the beers in front of them, not even paying attention to Buffy’s complaints. She could clearly see that Buffy had put on her patented pout out of the corner of her eye, so she refused to raise her eyes to the other girl.

“Faaaaaaaaith? Why won’t you look at me?”

Faith laughed, keeping her eyes on what she was doing.

“Cuz I know you put on that cute little pout and that you’re gonna try and ‘cute’ your way outta this. I’m not fallin’ for it, blondie.” She finished lining up the drinks and she indicated to Buffy that they were ready. “Come on, B. Bottoms up.”

Buffy scoffed. “Fine. You win. But just remember, you’re taking care of me if I start turning inside out tonight.”

“Deal. Ready?”

Buffy just nodded.

“Alright. When I say 3, go. Ready? Three.”

Simultaneously, the girls lifted and slammed down their first, second, and then third shot. Faith casually turned around and eyed up the dance floor while Buffy choked and spluttered next to her.

“Blehhhhhhck! Yuck, that’s horrible, Faith! How could you possibly enjoy that stuff? Yiiiiiiiiick.” She grabbed her beer and took a long swig.

“Mother’s milk, B.” Faith said with a smirk. She turned her back to the bar and leaned up against it.

“You ready for another round yet?” She asked, already knowing that the answer was ‘no’.

“Are you kidding me? I’m still working on keeping the first round down.”

Faith smiled victoriously.

“Well, this is a bar, B. If we’re not drinkin’, we’re dancin’. Come on!”

She grabbed Buffy’s hand and led her to the dance floor. There was a DJ playing, and he was playing good dancing music . . . loud, hard, driving beats. When the two girls walked onto the packed dance floor, the song was just changing. The new song that came on was “#1 Crush” by Garbage.

“I love this song!” Faith screamed out over the loud music, moving her hips back and forth to the music and running her hands through her hair.

She noticed that Buffy looked a little lost in the crowd, so she promptly put her hands on the blonde’s hips and pulled her close, moving in synchronicity with her. Seeing that Buffy looked a little hesitant, Faith yelled, “Just close your eyes and feel the music, B. Block everything else out.”

Buffy obeyed and closed her eyes, letting Faith lead her to the tempo of the song. After a moment or two, she completely relaxed into Faith and a small smile appeared on her face. She raised her arms up in the air, letting them drop onto the other girls’ shoulders after a minute or so.

“I think I’m starting to feel that Jack.” Buffy yelled, keeping her eyes closed.

“Nuh-uh.” Faith responded with a grin. “But you can start to feel ‘Faith’.” She said as she grabbed Buffy’s hands from her shoulders, slid them down her sides, and rested them on her ass.

Buffy’s eyes shot open and she gave Faith a dangerous glare, as if to say ‘not here’. Before she could say anything to convey the thought, Faith grabbed her chin and turned her head to look out onto the dance floor.

“Look, B. You’re not the only girl dancin’ with another girl. No one cares, so fuckin’ relax a little.”

Buffy looked at the many girl/girl and girl/boy/girl pairs on the floor. Not only did nobody seem to care, but nobody seemed to notice the two slayers at all.

She turned her gaze back to Faith and mouthed the words, ‘okay, I’m sorry’ while giving her ass a squeeze.

Faith jumped a little at the contact and then smiled. “Now that’s what I like to hear.” She winked at the blonde before settling back into the beat of the song.

The two girls began to dance closer and closer until every part of their bodies were in contact; thighs to thighs, stomach to stomach, chest to chest. Neither girl could deny the look of pure lust in one another’s eyes, but they kept dancing despite the fact.

After several more minutes of bumping and grinding on the dance floor, Buffy leaned in and whispered, “I’m hot, and I’m kinda thirsty too. I think I need a drink.”

“Sounds good.” She grabbed Buffy’s hand and once again pulled her in the direction of the bar.

When they got to the bar, she turned to Buffy and asked, “So, same as before?” with a daring look on her face.

“Okay. I’m game.” Buffy replied, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.

Faith turned to the bartender and ordered the same thing they had earlier: 6 shots of Jack and 2 beers.

The bar area was extremely crowded. Buffy was pushed up against the bar by a group of people who were standing next to her, and Faith was pushed forward into the blonde by the people that were trying to get closer to the bar.

Buffy felt Faith press up against her back and a small chill ran throughout her body. She couldn’t help but feel Faith’s hard nipples pushed into her back, and it suddenly turned her on to no extent. She closed her eyes for a moment, reveling in the contact, when she felt the other girls’ warm breath on her ear.

“I thought ya said you were hot, B, but wasn’t that a chill I just felt from ya?” Her voice was low and husky. She knew exactly what her closeness was doing to her sister-slayer, and she wanted to use it to her advantage.

“Yeah, well . . . the warm tingles from the Slayer-Connection definitely don’t suck.” Buffy stated, unconsciously leaning back into Faith’s body.

Faith smirked, loving the setup that the blonde had just given her.

“No, they don’t. But I do.” She said as she leaned in towards Buffy’s neck and gave it a sudden lick before beginning to lightly suck on it. She expected the other girl to resist so she was pleasantly surprised when Buffy seemed pretty relaxed.

‘Note to self: Buffy likes to have her neck licked and sucked. Do it MUCH more often.’ Faith thought.

“Mmmmmmm. Faith, that feels good.” Buffy said breathlessly as she brought up one hand and tangled it in Faith’s dark tresses.

‘Finally, she’s lettin’ go a little’. Faith thought. She slowly lifted her mouth from Buffy’s neck and began placing feather-light kisses from her jaw down to her shoulder-blade. “If you like that, you should feel what else my mouth can do.”

She felt Buffy shudder in her embrace. Just as she was about to spin the blonde around and claim her mouth, the bartender walked over with a bottle of Jack and began pouring the shots. He gave the girls a smile and a wink, not taking his eyes off of their little display for longer than a second at a time.

Faith smiled, knowing that his attention could work out to their benefit. She wrapped her arms around Buffy and interlocked them on the girls’ stomach as she continued to kiss along her shoulder and neck.

Seeing the bartender’s eyes drift down towards her hands, she slowly slid them under Buffy’s shirt and caressed her stomach softly, earning a small moan from the blonde in doing so. She kept her eyes focused on the bartender and smiled when she saw him accidentally overfill one of the shot glasses due to his lack of attention.

He shook his head slightly and slid the shot glasses over, wiping up the mess that he had left behind. “This round’s on me.” He said with a wink as he gave them one last look up and down before moving on to the next customer.

Buffy quickly spun in Faith’s arms so that she was facing the girl.

“And here I thought you couldn’t keep your hands off of me because I was irresistible, but it turns out you were just trying to score free drinks. I’m genuinely hurt, Faithy.” Buffy said playfully.

Faith pulled Buffy even closer so that their faces were mere inches apart. She gazed into Buffy’s emerald eyes before glancing down at her lips. “The drinks were just a bonus, B. You are pretty fuckin irresistible.”

Buffy could feel Faith’s warm breath against her face. She felt almost naked as the brunette stared at her mouth, looking like she was going to devour her at any moment.

However, Faith shook her head and smiled a little, glancing up to Buffy’s eyes.

“But . . . we still got these free drinks sittin’ here, so I say we take advantage of them.”

Without another word, Buffy spun again so that she was facing the bar. Before Faith could see what she was doing, Buffy had slammed down all 3 of her shots and was chasing them down with her beer.

“Damn, B! Couldn’t wait for me, could ya?” Faith laughed, reaching over Buffy’s shoulder and slamming her shots down just as quickly.

Before she could even get to her beer, she felt Buffy’s lips push against hers. After the initial shock wore off, she spun the blonde around to completely face her and kissed her back just as eagerly. She felt Buffy’s tongue sweep across her lips so she parted them, granting the other girls’ tongue instant access. The hoots and hollers of the guys around the bar didn’t even distract them, further proof that Buffy was finally shedding her inhibitions more and more.

Just then, and new song began to boom across the bar. Faith immediately recognized the song and smiled into the kiss, breaking the momentum that was building. She rested her forehead against Buffy’s and tried to catch her breath a little.

“This is my jam, B. Dance with me?” Faith asked breathlessly. The harsh sound of Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl” surrounded the girls, causing them to slightly move against one another.

Buffy smiled as she slightly nodded, and in a flash they were off to the dance floor. They didn’t go to the middle of the floor as usual, but stayed on the outer perimeter near the side wall.

“I need to feel you against me.” Faith said huskily, pulling Buffy so her back was resting against her own chest.

Faith moved her body in time to the music, matching the beat perfectly. Buffy automatically followed her lead, closing her eyes and focusing on exactly where Faith's body was and matching her body to the brunette’s.

The music intensified as did their pace. Buffy instinctively moved back further into Faith and their warm bodies mingled together even more so.

Buffy closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Faith’s lithe and powerful body against her own. The way the brunette moved put Buffy in a state of ecstasy, and she didn't ever want the feeling to end. All thoughts of good and bad vanished from Buffy's mind, and the only thing left was the need to dance, the need to feel Faith's body against hers.

The song ended, and another started as Buffy spun around in Faith’s arms so they were facing each other. She draped her arms around the brunette’s neck, pulling her as close she could get.

When suddenly their eyes met, they both realized that it wasn’t enough anymore. Whether it was the alcohol, the music, the heat of the room, the post-slaying hornies or something else, they didn’t know and they didn’t care. The look of pure, unadulterated lust was shining in both of their eyes, and they knew there was no holding back anymore.

They began another long, passionate kiss, picking up where they left off at the bar.

Buffy wasn’t sure how it happened, but suddenly she felt her back being pressed into the wall and realized they weren’t on the dance floor anymore. She broke her lips away from Faith’s, throwing her head back in pleasure as the brunette continued to kiss and suck along her jaw and neck.

“Faith . . . oh god, Faith . . . you feel so good.” Buffy moaned. “I – I think we should get out of here.”

Faith pulled back so that her face was about an inch away from Buffy’s.

“What do you want, B?” Faith asked, desire filling her voice.

“I want you to take me home.” Buffy responded huskily, sending shivers down the other girls’ spine.

Buffy leaned in to kiss Faith again, but the brunette pulled back so that she was just out of range.

“What do you want when we get there?” Faith asked, teasing the blonde with a quick kiss.

“I . . . I want you, Faith.” Buffy responded, stealing another kiss before the brunette could pull away.

Faith smirked, but then a serious look came across her face. She leaned in as close as she could get to Buffy’s face without actually kissing her.

“What do you want from me when we get there, B?” Faith asked before leaning in and capturing the blonde’s lips yet again, gently sucking on Buffy’s tongue when she snuck it in her mouth.

Buffy broke away from Faith’s mouth but leaned in and put her lips against her ear.

“I want you to fuck me, Faith.” She said breathlessly, running her tongue along the brunette’s outer ear.

That’s all it took. In a flash, Faith had grabbed Buffy’s hand and practically ran from the Bronze and back towards their dorm room.

Chapter Nine – Ending Day Three With a ‘Bang’

The two Slayers made their way back to their dorm in record time. Faith was actually going to break into a car outside of the Bronze and ‘borrow’ it for a while so they could get home that much quicker, but Buffy had quickly squashed those plans with a ‘do it and you’re not getting any’ glare.

During their walk back to campus, the two girls couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. Their desire seemed to grow more and more the closer they got to their destination. A simple hand-hold had turned into an ass-grab-athon, which then turned into a two-minute long grope session against the back of a campus security van. Only when the van began to drive away did the Slayers decide to move on towards their dormitory.

When they had finally reached their building, they could barely contain their passion anymore. The moment that they had entered the stairwell, Faith had Buffy pinned against the wall and was devouring the other girls’ mouth with her own. Buffy moaned into the kiss as she tried to pull Faith impossibly closer to her. When their already extremely close contact wasn’t enough for her anymore, she hopped up a little and wrapped her legs around Faith’s back, grinding herself against the brunette’s stomach.

“Fuck, B,” Faith whispered, “I can feel how hot your pussy is against my stomach. Are you wet for me, baby?”

Her words only spurned the petite blonde to grind even harder against her. But it wasn’t Buffy’s actions that surprised Faith, it’s what she said.

“You’ll -uhhh- just have to find out for yourself.” Buffy panted.

Faith pulled back a little and just stared at the blonde with a questioning look on her face, as if to say ‘are you serious?’ and ‘you mean right here right now?’. She wasn’t going to wait for the actual words because she knew how flippant the blonde could be.

She hesitated only for a moment before leaning back in and beginning to suck lightly on Buffy’s neck, eliciting a series of soft moans and sharp breaths from the girl. Slowly but surely, she worked her right hand between their bodies. She lifted the material of Buffy’s top slightly so that she could slowly caress her stomach.

After receiving no stop signs, she decided to push a little further. She lowered her hand just a bit and with as much ease as possible popped open the button to Buffy’s pants. She waited for a negative reaction but instead, the older girl seemed to tighten her legs around her even more.

Carefully, she slid her hand into the tight confines of Buffy’s underwear and wriggled her fingers down further until she came into contact with the source of the heat she was feeling against her stomach. She gasped slightly as she cupped her hand over Buffy’s mound, feeling the wetness drip onto her fingers.

“Goddamn, B, you’re so fuckin wet.” Faith practically growled.

She moved her fingers and began to search for Buffy’s clit. When she heard the girl hiss out in pleasure, she knew that she had hit the hunnypot. With the little bit of room that she had in the confined area, she slowly began to move her fingers in a circular motion over Buffy’s hard clit, steadily increasing pressure on the small bundle of nerves.

“Oh god . . . oh god . . . Faith . . . your fingers . . .” Buffy gasped, throwing her had back and clenching her eyes in ecstasy.

“. . . haven’t even begun to show you what they can do.” The brunette finished the sentence for her.

Just as she was about to move her fingers forward and plunge them into Buffy’s waiting channel, a door slamming on the floor above them caught the two Slayers’ attention. They froze, waiting to see if anyone was in the stairwell. When they heard footsteps descending the stairs above them, they quickly pulled back from one another, trying to fix up their disheveled appearances.

Buffy re-buttoned her pants with barely a second to spare as a guy and girl turned on the flight of stairs before them. She politely smiled at the couple, trying to hide her blushing cheeks. After the door closed behind the guy and girl, Buffy grabbed onto Faith’s hand and began pulling her up the stairs.

“Upstairs. Now.” She said, leaving a big smirk on the other girls’ face.

“Yes ma’am.”

Buffy fumbled in her pockets for the key she knew she had put there earlier. When she finally found it and tried to unlock the door, she found that her hands were shaking. All of the pent up energy and frustration from the last few days was finally exiting her. Before she could even register the sound of the lock clicking, she felt herself being pushed into the room by an eager Faith.

Expecting to be pushed up against another wall, she was pleasantly surprised when she felt the soft texture of her bed underneath her. Faith was instantly on top of her, kissing her hungrily while exploring her body with her hands.

It took her a moment to realize that in the short trip from the door to the bed, Faith had managed to rip her own shirt off and now lay above her in her leather pants and black satin bra. Buffy was feeling overdressed so she reached between their warm bodies and unzipped her tank top, pulling the sides down so that she could get the skin-to-skin contact that she was suddenly craving.

Faith finally broke her contact with Buffy’s mouth and pushed herself up a bit so that she could look down into Buffy’s eyes.

“B, I’m only gonna ask ya once . . . are ya ready for this, cuz once we do it, there ain’t no goin’ back.” She said softly but seriously.

Buffy nodded. “I want this, Faith.”

Faith gave her a lopsided smile. “And tomorrow . . . it’s not gonna be blamed on Jack or the beer or the heat of the moment? You really truly want ‘this’, and it’s not gonna be ‘kick Faith in the head’ when you wake up?”

Buffy smiled, raising up both of her hands to cup Faith’s face. “Not as long as I wake up in your arms.”

“That can be arranged.” Faith chuckled before leaning down and capturing Buffy’s mouth in another steamy kiss.

Buffy pulled Faith’s bottom lips into her mouth, sucking and nibbling on it lightly before releasing it and getting back into the kiss.

Faith felt like it was finally time to take things to the next step. Again, she lowered her hands to Buffy’s abdomen and caressed it gently before reaching down and unbuttoning her pants. Realizing that she wanted more room to work with, she broke away from Buffy’s mouth for just a moment so that she could pull the girl’s pants off.

When she finally managed to tug off Buffy’s boots and pants, she was about to pounce again but the blonde’s words made her freeze.

“Faith, wait.” Buffy said breathlessly.

The very words made Faith want to puke. Or get violent. She couldn’t decide which feeling was more dominant, ill or anger. Before she had to choose, Buffy continued.

“You’re a little overdressed, Slayer. Take your pants and boots off, and get your sexy ass back down here.” Buffy said with a sexy grin.

Faith didn’t need any more prompting. She kicked her boots off across the room, had her leathers off, and was back on Buffy in about 10 seconds.

She picked up her action right where she had just left off. As she began to kiss Buffy again, she snuck her hand between their bodies and began to trace small circles over the crotch of Buffy’s soaked panties.

At the contact, Buffy arched up off of the bead, moaning into Faith’s mouth.

“You want more, baby?” Faith asked huskily, applying just a bit more pressure against the blonde’s panties.

“God, yes, I want more.” Buffy panted. “I NEED more.”

Faith smirked. “Your wish is my command.”

With that, Faith slid her hand underneath the waistband of Buffy’s panties and dipped down into her wet folds. She gathered some of the wetness in her fingers and spread it around, making sure to give the blonde’s clit a few flicks and caresses in the process. Again, Buffy hissed in pleasure at the contact.

After a moment of exploration and gentle caresses, Faith finally grew bold enough to take what she wanted. Ever so carefully, she placed one of her digits at the entrance of Buffy’s pussy and slowly pushed it inside. She kept her finger still for a moment, letting Buffy adjust to it being there in the first place. She got her cue to continue on when she felt the blonde’s hips begin to rock against her hand.

Slowly at first, Faith began to slide her finger in and out of Buffy’s tight pussy, feeling her inner muscles lightly clenching on her finger. Buffy’s light gasps and moans egged her on, causing her to thrust a little more forcefully as she pressed her palm against the girls clit.

“Oh fuck . . . Faith . . . that feels so good . . . faster, baby . . . just like that . . .” Buffy moaned out, her eyes clenched shut. Her arms were thrown over her head, tangled up in her hair.

Faith smiled. She loved having power like this at her disposal. The ability to make someone shout out in ecstasy, the ability to make them melt at a simple touch, the ability to make someone feel so good that they can’t speak clearly. It all made her feel incredibly powerful . . . and incredibly turned on.

Once again, she decided to take things up another notch. She casually withdrew her finger from the blonde’s dripping cunt, waiting to see her response. Just as Buffy began to open her eyes to protest, she felt two fingers slam into her, filling her tight pussy and creating a delightful new sensation in the blonde.

Buffy began to rock her hips, meeting each of Faith’s thrusts. As the brunette pressed her palm into her clit once again, Buffy felt herself begin to tremble. She knew that she was close and that at this rate, she’d come in another minute or two.

“Faith . . . I’m getting close . . . keep going, baby . . . uhhhh . . . ohhhh . . .”

Faith was really getting into it at this point. The continued moans and sighs from the blonde were really getting to her, and she felt like she was also about to pop. Everything was going so great, and Buffy was really doing this.

But the gods of ‘Don’t-Let-the-Slayers-Get-Some’ must have been listening to her thoughts, and of course, they wouldn’t let things go so well for too long. They sent their message in the form of a distraction.

The phone began to ring.

Buffy’s eyes popped open and she glanced down at Faith who had stilled her movement. They glared at each other in disbelief as the second ring echoed. Buffy chewed on her bottom lip, pondering what to do. A phone call in the middle of the night was never a good sign.

The phone rang a third time.

Buffy glanced between the phone and Faith, and a small smile crept up on her lips. She glanced back at Faith and gave her a sexy grin.

“Fuck it . . . and fuck me . . . let the machine deal with it.”

A huge grin appeared on Faith’s face. She didn’t need any more prompting. She immediately began to pump her fingers in Buffy’s pussy again, the wet sounds filling the room along with Buffy’s moans. After two more rings, the answering machine picked up. After a moment, they heard a voice fill the room.

‘Hey guys, it’s Willow. We came to meet you guys at the Bronze, but you’re not here. Well, maybe you guys are here in the bathroom or in the balcony or something. We’ll take another look around, and if we don’t find you in a while, I’ll call back in a few minutes, see if you’re there yet. Bye!’

“Fuck.” Faith said, annoyed. “She sure knows how to put a fuckin damper on a girls’ plans.” She was sure that Buffy was going to push her off or something. She looked up to meet the other girls’ lust-filled eyes and watched as the older girl leaned over and casually turned the answering machine off.

“Faith . . . come up here . . . I need you to kiss me . . .” Buffy said breathlessly, grabbing onto Faith’s unoccupied arm and pulling her up so that the brunette lay above her.

Faith stared down at the blonde with a smile on her face before leaning in and beginning to slowly kiss her. She ran her tongue over Buffy’s bottom lip, then softly plunged her tongue into the blonde’s mouth. Their tongues danced together, neither fighting for dominance but just enjoying the feel of one another. Faith continued to thrust her fingers in and out of the blonde, feeling her getting closer and closer.

As if the first phone call wasn’t bad enough, the phone began to ring again just minutes later.

Faith went to move away but she felt Buffy’s arms wrap around her, holding her tight to her body. She knew that Buffy was ready to come any minute, so she didn’t stop her motions. In fact, she kissed the girl even more deeply, pulling away to kiss down her neck and suck on her pulse point.

After about the twentieth ring, Faith finally got frustrated.

“B . . . just answer the goddamn phone. Tell Red that we’re busy fucking and that her late-night calls are really startin’ to fuck up our moments here.”

She moved off of the blonde just enough so the girl could reach the phone, but she kept her fingers buried deep inside her pussy and her palm against her clit. ‘Buffy’s gonna come tonight whether she’s on the phone or not. No more fuckin games.’

Buffy leaned over and grabbed the phone, answering it in a shaky, breathless voice. Faith leaned close enough so that she could hear the conversation.

“Hello?”

’Hey, Buff. We’re at the Bronze, we thought you were gonna be here.’

“Sorry Will, there was –uhhhhh- a slight change of plans.”

’Oh. Well, it’s still kinda early for a Saturday night. Do you want me and Tara to come to your room? We could have a girl’s night; watch movies, eat pizza, laugh and . . .’

“Will!” Buffy interrupted, trying to hide the sound of her impending orgasm from her voice. “That’s –nghh- that’s not the best idea.”

’Why not?’

Faith looked at Buffy with a grin, speeding up her fingers. “Tell her why, B.”

“It’s –nnghhhhh- not a good time, Will.”

’Why? What’s going on Buffy? You sound kinda funny.’

“I’m fine Will. I really have to go -ohhhhhh-.” Buffy panted. She felt herself losing it . . . she was gonna come.

’How come?’ Willow asked skeptically.

Buffy couldn’t take it anymore.

“Because Faith has two -uhhhhhhh- three fingers in my pussy and I’m about to come . . . oh god oh . . . I gotta go, Will!”

Buff clicked the phone off and threw it across the room.

“OHHHHH . . . Faith, I’m coming . . . harder . . . yessssss . . . fuck me!” Buffy cried out, writing uncontrollably under the brunette’s body.

Faith felt Buffy’s inner muscles clenching tightly on her fingers and she knew the girl was coming. She moved slightly down her body and began to suck on one of her erect nipples through her lace bra. It was exactly what Buffy needed to push her over the edge.

She felt Buffy’s hands entangle in her hair as her trembled. After a moment had passed, the blonde had stopped trembling and now lay almost motionless on the bed, panting heavily and quietly sighing.

Buffy finally unclenched her eyes and looked down at Faith, smiling while pulling her up to plant a series of soft kisses on the brunette’s lips.

“That . . . was fucking amazing.” Buffy said breathlessly, causing the brunette to smirk.

“Yeah, well if you liked that, you’re gonna LOVE this.” Faith said as she began to slide down the blonde’s glistening body.

Buffy looked down questioningly. “Faith? What are you doing?”

Faith looked up at her, her brown eyes almost black from the desire running through her.

“I’m gonna eat ya, B.” She winked before pulling down Buffy’s lace panties and coming face to face with Buffy’s dripping sex.

She took in the sight before her: a perfect pink pussy, completely hairless, lips slightly swollen from her earlier ministrations, and a perfect little pink clit just there for the taking. She inhaled deeply, instantly loving the scent that was enough to drive her crazy with lust.

Not able to wait any longer, she tentatively leaned in and ran her tongue along Buffy’s wet slit, introducing herself softly and gently.

Buffy hissed at the contact and spread her legs apart a little further, giving the brunette as much room as she needed. Her pussy lips spread open, giving Faith the access that she wanted.

Faith leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Buffy’s clit before taking it into her mouth and gently sucking on it.

Buffy’s hips immediately began to buck, lifting up off of the mattress and pushing herself up into Faith’s eager mouth. It wasn’t too much for the younger Slayer to handle. She simply lifted her arms to Buffy’s hips and guided the girl, pushing her down when necessary and pulling her up when she felt the girl start to go limp from the pleasure.

“Oh god . . . Faith . . . that feels so good . . . ooooh, baby.”

Faith knew that Buffy was already approaching her second orgasm, so she decided to change her tactics a little. She released her clit from her mouth and began to run her tongue flatly along it like she was licking an ice cream cone. She removed one of her hands from Buffy’s hip and brought it down to her pussy, plunging two fingers inside the girl as she continued to lick at her clit.

Instantly, her fingers were coated in Buffy’s juices and they easily slid in and out of her tight channel.

Buffy writhed on the bed, throwing her hands above her head and grabbing onto the head-board of the bed with a death grip.

At that point, Faith removed her fingers from Buffy’s dripping pussy and replaced them with her tongue, burying it deep inside the girl as her fingers began to play at the girls’ clit.

“Oh fuck! Fuck me, Faith! Mmmmm. Yesss!”

A second orgasm shook through Buffy’s body, leaving her limp on the bed. But Faith wasn’t done with her yet. She removed her tongue from her pussy and replaced it once again with two of her fingers. She curled them slightly so that they caressed Buffy’s g-spot every time they thrust in and out.

“Faith –nnghhhh- you, oh god, you have to stop. I can’t take it, baby. You gotta . . . ohhhhhh.” Her words were stopped when she felt Faith roughly sucking on her clit again as she fucked her with her fingers and caressed her g-spot.

With the last ounce of strength that Buffy had, she yelled out Faith’s name over and over again as her third and last orgasm swept over her, leaving her entire body feeling warm and tingly. She now lay on the bed, completely limp, completely out of breath, and completely satisfied like she had never been before.

Faith placed a quick kiss on Buffy’s pussy before climbing up the bed, resting herself atop the girls’ hot, sweaty body. She noticed that Buffy’s eyes were still clenched shut. She began to place soft kisses all over her face an neck, waiting for some kind of a reaction.

Finally, Buffy spoke.

“Faith . . . I think you broke me.” She panted.

Faith laughed. “I didn’t break ya, B. You’ll be fine.”

Buffy slightly scoffed, opening her eyes to gaze up at the brunette. “Yeah, in a day or two.”

Faith smiled endearingly. “That’s okay, baby. I’m not goin’ anywhere. You take your time, and tell me when you’re ready for more.”

“There’s more? You have more left in you?” Buffy asked incredulously.

Faith laughed again and put on a smirk. “Slayer stamina. Gotta love it.”

Buffy smiled. She put her hands behind Faith’s neck and pulled her down for a kiss. She could taste herself on the brunette’s lips, and strangely enough, it didn’t freak her out.

‘What’s happening to me?’ Buffy asked herself, but she couldn’t even answer her own question. She felt exhaustion washing over herself, and between that and being locked in Faith’s warm, tight embrace, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Faith heard Buffy’s breathing become steady, and she knew the girl had fallen asleep. She smiled to herself and then snuggled up even closer to the blonde.

“Night, baby.” She whispered, placing a soft kiss on the girls’ forehead before joining her in a comfortable sleep.

Chapter Ten -- Day Four – Part I

It was Sunday morning in Sunnydale. The two Slayers lay in a peaceful slumber in their dorm room, wrapped around one another in the blankets so that every part of their bodies were in contact with each other.

It appeared to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. The cool, crisp breeze blew softly into the opened window . . .

. . . and out of nowhere, the phone was ringing.

“Hhhmmmmm.” Buffy moaned with her eyes closed, her lower lip instantly coming out in a little pout.

“Ugghhhhhhhh.” Faith groaned as she pulled the blankets up over both of their heads.

The phone rang for the third time.

“Faith, get it.” Buffy said sleepily as her eyes remained closed.

“Nuh-uh. YOU get it.” Faith replied in her husky morning voice as she snuggled against Buffy even closer.

“Fine, let the machine get it.” Buffy concluded.

The phone rang a fourth time . . . then a fifth . . . then a sixth . . .

“Smooth move turnin’ the answerin’ machine off, B.” Faith said with a smirk as the phone continued ringing.

“Faaaaaaaaaith.” Buffy whined, kicking her feet a little.

“Ughhh, fine.” Faith groaned as she rolled off the bed and walked across the room, clad only in a pair of underwear, to pick up the phone Buffy had tossed the night before. Before she picked up the phone, she mumbled, “Pussy-whipped in less than 4 days. I can’t fuckin’ believe it.”

Feeling less than friendly due to the disturbance to her sleep, Faith answered the phone gruffly.

“Yeah?”

‘Hi Faith sweetie, it’s Joyce.’

“Oh, Hey Mrs. S.” Faith replied, instantly trying to chipper up her voice.

‘Did I wake you girls up?’

“Yeah, sort of. Late night.” Faith grinned. “But no need to worry ‘bout it. We’ve got all day to sleep it off.”

‘Oh. Are you girls not coming over to do your laundry then?’

“Umm, I really don’t know. I guess I have to check with B first.” Faith answered, not really wanting to leave the sanctity of their own room after the events of the previous night.

‘I was thinking that you guys could come over in an hour or so. I’ve got fresh deli meat, so we can make sandwiches and have fruit salad for lunch. I’ve got a roast defrosting, so I thought I could make that for dinner, too. You girls normally spend most of the day when you come here, and I want to make sure you’re properly fed.’

At the mention of lunch and dinner, Faith heard her stomach growl. The decision, it seemed, was already made.

“Yeah, okay. That sounds real good, Mrs. S. We’ll grab a quick shower and gather our laundry, then we’ll be there, ‘kay?”

‘Okay, sweetie. I’ll see you girls soon then. Bye!’

“Bye, Mrs. S.” Faith smiled as she hung up the phone. Joyce had always been so friendly to her, and she truly appreciated it.

Joyce had become even more friendly ever since Faith and Buffy had become roommates, looking forward to spending the weekend ‘laundry days’ with her daughter and ‘surrogate daughter’, as she called Faith. The feeling was returned by Faith who had somewhat began to view Joyce as a mother-figure to her.

Sometimes when Buffy would be too busy on the weekends to drop by and do her laundry or just say ‘hi’, Faith made it a point to go the Joyce’s anyways and spend the afternoon with her. Strangely, it wasn’t awkward in the least. Joyce was always warm and receptive, and the situation felt as comfortable as any mother-daughter bonding session.

Faith was developing a strange sense of loyalty towards Joyce, and she wasn’t going to let their developing closeness be disturbed by anything.

“Did I just hear you tell my mother that we’d be over in an hour?” Buffy asked from the bed, propped up on one elbow as she glared menacingly at Faith.

“Yeah, I did. Is that okay?”

Buffy’s menacing glare turned into a pout.

“Well . . . I was kinda hoping that we could . . . you know . . . stay in bed all day, veg out in front of the TV . . .” a sexy grin suddenly cam up on her face, “. . . test your theories on Slayer stamina.”

Faith chuckled as she walked across the room to her closet, pulling out some fresh clothes.

“You’re kinda startin’ to sound like me, B. Maybe I’m a bad influence on you.”

When she turned away from her closet, she found that the blonde had crept out of bed and was now standing right in front of her.

Butt fuckin naked.

“Whoa.” Faith exclaimed, surprised to see Buffy in front of her. “Where’d you come from, lil’ girl?” She smirked.

Buffy took a step closer towards Faith so that they were only inches away from one another. She glanced behind her shoulder at the bed and pointed at it before turning her sex-kitten gaze back on Faith.

“From the bed over there. I was kinda thinking that we could go back there . . . crawl under the covers . . . and get all hot and sweaty together . . . even up the score.” She closed the remaining few inches between them and began to kiss and suck on Faith’s lower lip.

Faith inhaled sharply as she tried to regain some control.

“Umm . . . rain check, B. Your Ma’s waitin’. Besides, I think that we are even. You helped me two nights ago, and last night was your turn . . .” she paused and let out a little groan as Buffy’s lips trailed from her lips, down her jaw, and now were licking and sucking on her pulse point, “. . . and that’s gotta be cheating.”

Despite her words of protest, she found herself tilting her head back to allow the blonde more access to her neck.

“According to my calculations,” Buffy mumbled between kisses on Faith’s neck, “I owe you. Big time. You gave it to me good last night, Faith. So fucking good. In fact, you gave it to me good three times. I’m up on you by two now, and I think it’s only fair if I even out the score.” She said as her hands began to trail down Faith’s body.

One hand stopped at Faith’s breasts, gently cupping and squeezing the soft flesh before her. The other hand continued to travel southward stopping only when it came to the top of Faith’s panties. Just as Buffy was about to slip her hand past the waistline and into the confines of Faith’s panties, she felt Faith’s hand on hers, stopping its progression.

“As much as I REALLY fuckin want this right now, B, I don’t wanna keep your mom waitin’ for us all day. She’s got lunch and dinner planned, and it’s kinda rude to just show up late or stiff her all together.”

Buffy pulled back and gave Faith a look of disbelief.

“Are you kidding me? Am I really losing out to FOOD?”

Faith chuckled.

“Nah, B, you’re not.” At Buffy’s raised eyebrows, Faith continued. “If you really need to know, I plan on eatin’ lunch and dinner at your mom’s, but after that I’m gonna come back here and eat YOU all night long. ‘Kay?”

Buffy’s look of disbelief turned into a blushing smile.

“’Kay.” She smiled as she watched Faith walk away and into the bathroom. Just before the brunette closed the door behind her, Buffy called out, “Oh! But Faith . . . I still owe you.”

Faith peeked her head out of the door, “And I have every intention on collectin’ that debt, ma’am.” She winked before closing the door behind her.

Faith tilted her head back, letting the hot water of the shower run over her head and down her body.

She had briefly considered taking a cold shower, but she remembered her Evolutionary Biology Professor telling her class that cold showers can actually increase sexual desire and heighten sexual stimulation rather than curb it.

So hot water it was.

Just as she had finished rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, she heard a noise in the bathroom. Moving forward to peek around the shower curtain, she jumped back when the curtain was moved from the other side and she saw Buffy standing there.

Before she could voice her surprise, she felt herself being pushed back against the tiled wall and being kissed hungrily by an equally naked Buffy.

Faith tore away from the kiss after a moment, glancing into the suddenly dark eyes of the blonde before her.

“B . . . whatcha doin?”

Buffy smirked as she trailed her right hand down Faith’s side. “I thought it was kinda obvious. I have a debt to settle. We can still get to my mom’s on time . . . you’ll just have to settle for a quickie.”

“Wait B, I . . .”

Just as Faith began to protest, she felt Buffy’s fingers run along the length of her slit. She hissed at the contact, her eyes half closing as she threw her head back. Days of her pent up sexual frustration were finally getting the best of her.

“I’m sorry, what was that you were saying?” Buffy asked playfully as her fingers spread Faith’s warm lips, searching out her clit as she sucked roughly on her neck.

As her fingers found what they were searching for, she began to apply just the right amount of pressure on Faith’s hard clit in a circular motion; enough pressure to make the girl moan but not enough to make her completely incoherent.

“I was . . . nothin. I wasn’t sayin nothin.” Faith choked out between gasps, rocking her hips forward so that she pushed more forcefully into the other girls’ hand.

“You know . . . I’ve never done this before.” Buffy said nonchalantly as she continued her ministrations. As she spoke, she slightly sped up her movement on the other girls’ clit, eliciting a loud groan from the other girl.

“Unngghhhh . . . well you’re doin a fuckin GREAT job, B. Don’t stop, baby.”

Buffy smiled, happy with the sudden power that she had over the girl.

“Do you want more, baby?” Buffy asked, feeling pretty confident that she could make Faith feel as good as the girl had made her feel the night before.

Faith began to emphatically nod her head. “Fuck . . . oh god . . . yeah, I want more.”

And just like that, Buffy moved her hand from Faith’s clit and entered her with two fingers, knowing straight away that she could handle it.

The brunette bucked forward and unconsciously slid down the tiled wall just a bit so that she was now level with Buffy. Buffy took full advantage of the situation and snuck her tongue into the brunette’s mouth, their tongue’s immediately starting to slide together in a passionate dance.

Buffy smiled into the kiss when she sped up her thrusting and Faith moaned into her mouth.

It all felt incredibly erotic to her. Her one time with Angel had been ‘nice’, but it was her first time, so the pain and ‘ick’ factor were still there. Then there was Parker. Her one time with him had been satisfying, but it seemed to lack the spark that she was having here with Faith. She was literally holding the girl in the palm of her hand, complete control given over to her with perfect trust.

Faith, for her part, was about ready to pop. She was always one to come really fast, and today wasn’t any exception. She was coming fast, and she was coming hard.

“B . . . I’m gonna come . . . faster baby.” Faith moaned, her breath hitching as Buffy complied and began thrusting into her at breakneck speed, a third finger added into Faith’s dripping pussy.

Buffy felt Faith’s inner walls clenching tightly on her fingers, and she knew that it would all be over soon. She wanted to make the last few moments as memorable as possible. Pushing the heel of her palm into Faith’s clit, she began to whisper into her ear.

“Faith . . . you’re so fucking tight around my fingers. I can feel your cum covering my fingers and running down my hand, and I can smell it too. You smell so good . . .” She sucked Faith’s earlobe into her mouth and with her other free hand she began to lightly pinch the brunette’s nipples.

“Oh jesus . . . Buffy.” Faith groaned.

“Come for me, Faith.” Buffy said huskily into Faith’s ear, and that was all that the brunette needed to send her over the edge.

She came with a few loud grunts and her body began to slide down the tiled wall until Buffy grabbed her and held her up, their wet, naked bodies pressed directly into one another.

After a moment Faith unclenched her eyes and found Buffy smiling endearingly at her, her eyes back to their emerald color.

“You sure that was your first time doing that, B? Cuz I gotta say . . . wow. And . . . wow.”

“Yep. And . . . thanks.” She leaned in and placed the gentlest of kisses on Faith’s full lips, lingering there for a few moments as she got lost in the sensation. “Have I told you how much I love your neck? And god . . . those lips!!! I swear to god . . . if J-Lo can have her booty insured, I’m thinking about doing the same thing to those lips of yours.”

Faith smirked.

“You wanna test out how much these lips are worth?” She asked with a sexy smile as she pulled Buffy even tighter against her, still feeling pretty frisky.

Buffy laughed. “Tonight. You’re all hell-bent on getting to my Mom’s, remember?” She teased, pulling back farther and glancing up at Faith.

Suddenly, her eyes turned wide and she covered the smile on her face with her hand.

“Right then . . . so you just finish up here . . . I’m clean, so I’m . . . outta here.” And with that, Buffy ran out of the shower and out of the bathroom, giggling the entire way.

“What?” Faith mumbled to herself. She didn’t realize why the blonde had run out of there so quickly, but as she turned off the water and opened the shower curtain to see herself in the mirror, she suddenly realized what Buffy had been giggling about.

Three large hickeys adorned her neck.

“Buffy!”

Chapter Eleven -- Day Four – Part II

“Faith, please.”

“Nope.”

“Come on.”

“Nuh-uh.”

The two Slayers walked up the sidewalk in front of the Summers’ House, bags of dirty laundry in tote. Faith was taking confident strides with a smug grin on her face as Buffy did her best to keep up, a pleading look on her face.

“Pleeeeease?”

“Sorry, B.”

“Faith, I’m asking you nicely.” Buffy begged. “Please take your hair down from that ponytail. My mom is gonna be kind of suspicious if she sees fresh hickeys on your neck.”

Faith smirked even bigger. “Like I said, sorry B. I just can’t do it. You put ‘em there, now you gotta face the consequences.”

As the two girls walked up the steps to the front porch, Buffy decided to make one last attempt.

“What if I tell you there’ll be no more sex unless you take your hair down?”

Faith put her bags of laundry down and took a few steps towards Buffy so that they were mere inches apart. Staring into Buffy’s eyes, she bit her bottom lip and watched as Buffy’s eyes dropped to her mouth, gazing at them with a hungry look in her eyes.

“I’d have to call your bluff, B, cuz now I know for sure that you want me just as much as I want you.”

Before Buffy could respond, the front door opened and revealed a smiling Joyce standing behind it. Both girls jumped back from one another, hoping that Joyce hadn’t seen or heard their little interaction.

“Hi girls! It’s good to see . . . oh Faith, what happened to your neck honey?”

With her enhanced hearing, Faith was able to hear Buffy’s breath stop for a moment. She tried to fight the smirk that wanted to pop up, but she couldn’t.

“Umm, it happened this mornin’.” Faith casually explained as she picked up her bags and made her way into the house, Buffy in tow behind her. “A little minx of a demon took me by surprise. Got me really good, but . . . I came out on top in the end.”

Joyce shook her head. “You girls really need to be more careful. Anyhow, I’ve got sandwiches and fruit salad ready in the kitchen. Why don’t the both of you go and get started while I run downstairs and put in the first load.”

Both girls smiled before running off into the kitchen.

“Thanks Mom!” “Thanks Mrs. S!”

“I so thought we were busted when your Ma opened the door and saw my neck.” Faith said with a chuckle around a mouthful of sandwich.

“I know, me too. I wonder if she would freak if she found out.”

Faith thought about it for a moment. Her last few days with Buffy had been . . . great. She couldn’t remember the last time when she had been as happy and had smiled as much. Not to mention the little shower incident from earlier that morning.

The more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want the challenge to end. She loved having Buffy in her arms at night, and she liked waking her up with kisses every morning.

And she couldn’t be totally sure, but she thought that maybe Buffy was feeling the same way too.

If they were going to stay together, Joyce would have to hear about it sooner or later. Still, Faith didn’t want to just spring the thought on Buffy right then and there, so she casually brought it up, her voice steady and serious.

“Well why don’t you tell her and see what she says.” She looked up and waited for Buffy’s reply.

The blonde scoffed at how casually Faith had said it. She began to speak in a loud whisper.

“Tell her?!? What exactly am I gonna say, Faith? ‘Hey, Mom, thanks for the lunch. By the way, did I mention that I like to eat pussy now?’ I don’t think she’d take that too well.”

She grabbed a handful of napkins and handed them to Faith who had ceremoniously spat the milk she was drinking all over the counter in front of her.

“Geez, B! Listen to the mouth ya got on ya. Maybe you’ve been hangin’ out with the wrong kinda people.”

Buffy’s scowl melted into a small smile. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Faith’s lips, lingering there for a moment.

“You’re the only one I’ve been hanging around with, Trouble.” She said against Faith’s lips, loving how soft they felt on her own.

“Ya got me there, B.” Faith chuckled as she pulled away. She took a big bite of her sandwich and played their conversation over in her head. A little grin appeared on her face as a realization hit her. “Hey B, y’know that you couldn’t actually say that to your Mom though. It’s not entirely true.”

Buffy gave her a confused look. “How so?”

Faith put on her trademark smirk. “Cuz you haven’t actually eaten pussy yet, snookums.”

Seeing Buffy’s eyes go wide and her body tense, she quickly continued.

“Not that I mind or anything, cuz what you did this mornin’ was wicked hot, baby. A girl could definitely get used to that.”

Buffy relaxed a bit. Suddenly, something flickered across her face and just like that, she was once again creeping up to Faith in her best sex-kitten strut.

“And I could definitely get used to what you did to me last night, too. And about that whole ‘eating pussy’ thing? Don’t worry baby. I was taking mental notes last night from you. If what I learned from you is any indication of things to come, I say that you’re in for the best sex of your life.”

Faith smiled. ‘A-ha! So that means I gave B the best sex in her life. I always knew I was fuckin’ good..’

“Sounds good.” Faith said as she pulled Buffy against her and gave her a kiss. After a moment passed, she pulled away from the kiss but still held Buffy against her. “Taking mental notes? I gotta give ya props on that one, B, what with the distractions and all. The hottie between your legs, the intense pleasure, the annoying phone calls . . .”

She stopped when she heard Buffy gasp and saw a look of horror on her face.

“B?”

“Ohmygod! The phone calls! Willow! Do you have any idea what I said to her?” Buffy stated as she began to pace frantically.

“Yeah, B. I was kinda there, though . . . your knees were kinda clamped tight around my head, maybe I didn’t hear it right. Wanna refresh me?” Faith teased.

Buffy turned to face her, an incredulous look on her face.

“Faith! It isn’t funny! Willow knows . . . ” she lowered her voice again, “. . . Willow knows I had sex with a girl!”

“Yeahhhh? And you know that Red fucks girls too. Not a big deal, B. She knew about the challenge. She’s a big girl . . . I’m sure she figured out that with two hot chicks involved, there’d be ‘fucking’ involved at some point in time or another.”

Even though Faith was right, Buffy just couldn’t let it go like that.

“Yeah, well, it’s still awkward. I think I’m gonna run up to my room and call her real quick . . . make sure she didn’t hurt herself when she passed out after what I said to her.”

She began to walk out of the kitchen but was momentarily stopped by Faith, who had grabbed her hand and pulled her close so that their bodies were touching.

Faith put her hand underneath Buffy’s chin and tilted her head up so that they were looking directly into one another’s eyes, their faces mere inches apart.

“Buffy,” she began seriously, “don’t be freaked out about this. Red mighta been shocked at first, but she’ll deal. We didn’t do anything wrong, and you don’t have anything to feel bad about it. Go and call her if you want. I’ll be right here when you get back. Even if she’s weird about it now, I won’t make you go through this alone. ‘Kay baby?”

The gentleness in her voice and the sincerity in her eyes made Buffy relax from her nervous state.

Just as she was about to lean in and give the brunette a kiss, the two girls heard footsteps coming up the basement stairs. Buffy’s smile turned into a little pout when she knew that she wouldn’t be able to kiss Faith like she wanted to with her mother about to walk into the kitchen.

Faith chuckled at the interruption and took a step away from Buffy, speaking in a whisper.

“Kissing can wait, B. Go make your peace with Red, yeah?”

Buffy smiled. “Okay.” She gave Faith’s hand a squeeze before walking out of the room, missing her mother by mere seconds.

Several minutes later, Buffy came walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, expecting to see Faith there. When she found only her mother there, she frowned a little.

“Hi Mom. Umm . . . Faith didn’t leave, did she?” Buffy asked hesitantly. Right away, she thought that maybe Faith had gotten mad because of her insistence on calling Willow and that she had left.

“No, she’s in the basement, honey. I mentioned something about ‘doing dishes’ and she suddenly thought it best to go and make sure the laundry was okay.” Joyce replied with a motherly smile.

Buffy laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like Faith. I bet she grabbed some food on the way down, too. Planning on staying down there for a while, I bet, at least until the dishes are done.”

Joyce laughed as well. “You sure seem to know her well, honey. Why don’t you go down there and take her this,” she handed Buffy a bottle of Pepsi, “we don’t want her to be thirsty, now do we?”

“Nope, we don’t.” And with that, Buffy made her way to the basement door.

She couldn’t help but giggle to herself when she thought of what Faith was probably doing. ‘She’s probably sitting on top of the washing machine, enjoying the vibrations, all while eating. Her two favorite things all at once . . . pleasure and food!’

Sure enough, as Buffy descended the stairs she found Faith perched on top of the washing machine, kicking her legs happily as she munched on a bag of Cheetos.

“Hey.” She said gently as Faith finally met her eyes. She walked over to the washer and stood between Faith’s knees, wrapping her arms around the brunette’s lower back and giving her a coy little smile.

“Hey back.” Faith replied with a goofy grin. “I see you’re still in one piece. So, Red didn’t send any big witch mojo over the phone to getcha?”

“Nope.” Buffy answered, pulling Faith’s body closer to the edge of the washer.

Faith was a little taken aback by Buffy’s actions, but she still pressed forward with her questions, trying not to act too distracted.

“So???? Is she mad? Is she happy? Is she in the hospital? Does she have a concussion or any hearing loss? What’s the what, B?” She asked impatiently.

“Well,” Buffy began, her voice almost husky as she looked up at Faith through her eyelashes, “she’s kinda in a state of denial. She knows what she heard, and she’s not mad about it or anything, but I don’t think she wants to ponder the reality behind it. But she did say that she found herself pounding down some shots before she left the Bronze . . . you know, to relax herself. Anyhow, you were right . . . she’ll deal. ”

Faith smiled. “I love when you tell me I’m right, baby. I knew she’d be okay with it . . . just needs a little period of adjustment. She’s definitely cool with the girl-on-girl action. If she wasn’t, then she’d definitely have to reevaluate her own relationship.” She joked.

She had more to say, but she was temporarily distracted as she felt Buffy’s hand begin to roam over her body, blazing trails across her back and down her sides.

“Faith . . .” Buffy said, her voice a sexy whisper, “. . . I just wanna thank you for being calm before and for being the rational one. I also wanna thank you for being so sweet and telling me you’d be there. It really meant a lot to me.”

Faith gave her a genuine smile.

“No sweat, B. You know I’d do just about anything for ya.”

Buffy smiled at her reply.

“Faith . . . I wanna kiss you.”

Faith chuckled. “Since when do you need permission from me, B? ‘Want Take Have’ became our shared motto a long time ago.” At that, she ducked her head lower and leaned in to give Buffy a kiss, but she stopped when she came into contact with Buffy’s fingers instead of her lips.

She pulled back and raised an eyebrow, Buffy’s fingers lingering on her lips the whole while.

“I don’t want to kiss you here Faith.” She lowered her hand and cupped the crotch of Faith’s jeans. “I want to kiss you here.”

Faith unconsciously shut her eyes arched her back at the contact, bringing her body even closer to Buffy’s. When she opened her eyes again, she glanced down to see Buffy’s suddenly dark eyes gazing up at her, a feral look on the blonde’s face.

Between the vibrating from the washing machine and the ‘come-hither’ look that Buffy was giving her, Faith was raring and ready to go for a little action. But then the reality of where she was hit her and her little fantasy came crashing down.

As she felt Buffy’s hand unbuttoning her pants, Faith reached down and put her hands over Buffy’s, halting her actions.

“Wait wait wait . . . B, your Ma is upstairs. This is her house. We can’t do this here. I don’t wanna get caught and have awkwardness between your Ma and me.”

Buffy smiled again. “Don’t worry, Faith. I know I can be quiet. Can you?”

The challenge in her words wasn’t lost on Faith. The brunette thought about it for a minute and then pulled her hand away, looking at Buffy with a defiant smile.

“Okay. Get your freak on, B.” She stated simply.

In the blink of an eye, Buffy had closed the short distance between them and began to slowly and softly kiss Faith. When she felt Faith part her lips, she took full advantage and snuck her tongue in, softly massing Faith’s tongue with it. She felt like she could get lost in the softness of Faith’s full lips, but there was another set of lips on the brunette that she was even more interested in at that point.

Slowly but surely, she managed to unbutton and unzip Faith’s jeans and pulled them off of her as the brunette leaned back and lifted her butt up. Buffy gasped when she realized that the brunette wasn’t wearing underwear.

Faith put on a crooked grin.

“It’s laundry day. Ran outta clean undies. That a problem for you?”

Buffy shook her head. “Nope. They’d just get in the way and I’d end up ripping them off of you with my teeth.”

Faith laughed. “That’s a wicked hot image, B. Remind me to wear some next time.”

Buffy grabbed the hem of Faith’s shirt and carefully lifted the offending item off of the brunette’s body, leaving her hair looking wild and sexy in the process. She chuckled when she realized that Faith was bra-less as well, but she didn’t stop to talk about it this time. Instead, she leaned in and slid her tongue against one of Faith’s delicate nipples before sucking it into her mouth.

She raised up one of her hands and began to softly massage Faith’s other breast, loving the way that the brunette’s lithe body trembled with pleasure and anticipation.

After a moment of licking and kissing Faith’s breasts, Buffy leaned up and planted a hard kiss on Faith’s lips before sliding down her body and positioning her face between the brunettes’ parted legs.

Though she felt that she should be nervous or timid about the prospect that lay before her, strangely, she wasn’t. It felt almost natural to her.

And if what she had learned from Faith the night before was any indication of things to come, she knew that Faith was in for one wild ride.

Without hesitation, she went balls to the wall and dove face first into Faith’s almost bare pussy. She used her fingers to spread the brunette’s warm lips and her tongue instantly darted out to lap at her already engorged clit.

A low moan instantly escaped Faith’s throat but she bit her lower lip to keep any more from slipping out. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to focus on not coming right then and there. Still, between the thoughts of the petite blonde between her legs and the steady vibration from the washing machine under her, it was almost too much for her and she began to whimper as the other girl sped up her tongue.

Buffy smiled as her tongue began to move faster and faster on Faith’s clit. She knew that if she kept up at the pace she was going, Faith would come any minute. With that in mind, she slid her tongue down Faith’s wet slit and thrust it into the brunette’s dripping hole.

“Aw, fuck B!” Faith said aloud. She was trying to keep her voice quiet which in turn only made it sound strangled and shaky.

Buffy thrusted her tongue in and out of Faith’s tight cunt as deep as she could. Every time she thrusted in further, her teeth would hit the brunette’s clit and her nose would bump into her pelvic bone.

Through the euphoria that Faith was feeling, she had to wonder how Buffy was doing what she was doing without getting smothered or blacking out from lack of oxygen. But those thoughts were brushed from her mind as she felt a new wave of pleasure hitting her as Buffy began to massage her clit with her free hand.

So there was Buffy, her tongue buried in Faith’s tight channel, one hand massaging the brunette’s clit while the other hand held the girl close. Faith had her eyes clenched shut and was biting on her bottom lip so hard that it looked like it was about to bleed.

The younger Slayer couldn’t take the pleasure any longer and she unconsciously began to moan and grunt. Buffy must not have noticed it either as she continued to thrust her tongue in and out of the brunette.

Just as Buffy began to feel Faith’s inner walls clench around her tongue, she suddenly heard the basement door open. She instantly stood up and covered Faith’s mouth with her one hand but let her other hand continue to massage the brunette’s swollen clit.

“Girls? Is everything okay down there?” Joyce yelled from the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, Mom, we’re fine!” Buffy yelled as she looked at Faith and winked at the girl.

“I thought I heard grunting. Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, we’re just sparring, Mom. Waiting for the laundry and sparring.” Buffy replied as she slipped two fingers into Faith and pressed her palm against her clit. Once again, Faith quietly moaned but the sound was covered by the rumbling of the washing machine.

Joyce was quiet for a moment before she called again.

“Faith . . . everything’s alright?”

Buffy nodded at Faith and removed her hand, just long enough for her to blurt out “Fantastic!” breathlessly.

“Okay. You girls sound like you’re getting pretty worked up. I’ll get a couple of bottled waters out of the refrigerator. Are you gonna come up and get them, Faith sweetie?” Joyce asked.

Faith clenched her eyes shut and answered in a strangled voice as her orgasm began to wash over her, “Yeah! I’m coming!”

With that said, Joyce closed the basement door and the two Slayers got back to what they were doing. Buffy began to slide back down Faith’s body to finish the job but was stopped when Faith’s hands grabbed her shirt and pulled her back up.

She was confused at first but as she felt Faith pull her to her mouth and start to kiss her, she realized what the brunette wanted: she wanted to come while Buffy was kissing her.

Buffy kindly obliged slowing the motion of her thrusting down to let Faith ride out her orgasm. She kissed Faith at the same speed that her fingers were moving, loving the way that Faith was moaning into her mouth as she came hard. Her fingers were instantly covered in the flood of cum that followed Faith’s orgasm and she found it to be completely and totally erotic.

As Faith’s tense body slowly relaxed, Buffy pulled her mouth away from Faith’s and removed her fingers from the girls’ pussy. She brought her hand up to her mouth and carefully licked the girls’ cum off of them as she stared Faith straight in the eyes. <p>

“You taste so good.” Buffy said with a smile.

Faith groaned as she watched the blonde. “You’re fuckin amazing, B. I . . .” she was about to say ‘I love you’ but instantly stopped herself before the words could come out, “. . . I’ve never came that hard in my entire life.”

At that moment, it felt perfectly comfortable and natural to say ‘I love you’, but she didn’t want to freak the other girl out. She knew that the last few days had been a big change for the blonde, and she didn’t want to scare the girl away after she had made such good progress. <

Buffy smiled at her words. “I learned from the best.” She beamed.

Several kisses later and after a few minutes of recuperation, Faith finally got re-dressed and made her way upstairs to get the water, not wanting to make Joyce wait for her any longer.

As she walked upstairs and entered the kitchen, she found Joyce sitting on a stool at the island countertop with an expectant look on her face.

Joyce tapped the empty stool next to her and indicated for Faith to sit on it. Hesitantly, Faith walked over and sat on the stool, her head hung low. She pretty much knew right then and there that they were busted, but she wasn’t going to jump and try to defend just yet. She wanted to see what Joyce had to say first.

Joyce gave her a small smile before she began speaking.

“To me, it seems amazing how kids today think parents are completely ignorant.” Faith began to interrupt but Joyce just held up her hand and continued. “Just because I’m . . . older . . . doesn’t mean that I don’t pick up on the little things. The physical closeness, the hickeys, the subtle giggling, the moon eyes, the . . . basement. I know that you girls have been getting closer. I’m right, aren’t I, Faith?”

With her eyes still lowered, Faith nodded her head.

Joyce paused for a moment and took a good, hard look at the girl sitting next to her before she spoke again.

“You love her, don’t you?” She asked. Her tone wasn’t accusatory or mean . . . it was simply inquisitive.

Faith’s eyes nearly bugger out of her head when she heard the words and her head snapped up to look at Joyce who was looking back at her in an amused manner. Seeing as though it seemed that the woman wouldn’t freak out on her, Faith once again nodded her head, lowering her eyes as she did so.

Again, Joyce paused as she rolled through the implications of Faith’s admission in her head. After a moment passed, Joyce smiled and placed a hand on Faith’s back.

“You’ll take care of her, right?”

Faith just nodded again.

“And you’ll never hurt her like the other have, will you?” Joyce asked seriously.

Faith’s head once again shot up and she gave Joyce the most serious expression that she could muster to convey her feelings.

“Never.”

At that, Joyce gave her a warm smile. She got up from her stool and handed Faith the two bottles of water. “Why don’t you go back downstairs and make sure the laundry doesn’t need to be switched yet.”

Faith just looked at the woman, amazed at what had just happened. Basically, Joyce had just found out about her relationship with Buffy and had, in a sense, given her approval. She couldn’t help the huge smile that appeared on her face as she hopped up from the stool and grabbed the bottles in a child-like manner.

Before she went down the basement stairs, she ran back into the kitchen and gave Joyce a big hug and whispered into her ear, “I’ll never let her down.”

With that, she unwrapped her arms from the older woman and headed back toward the stairs, a definite spring in her step as she headed down towards the woman she loved.

Chapter Twelve -- Eclipses and Other Cosmic Events

Faith poured some of the water into her hand and flicked it at Buffy’s face. The blonde didn’t react . . . she just sat there with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open like she had been for the past 5 minutes.

“It’s not that big a deal, B. Really.” Faith said, trying to hide her smile.

Buffy snapped back to reality at hearing Faith’s words. She brought her sleeve up to her face and wiped off the water before giving the brunette a look of disbelief.

“Not a big deal? My mom knows! It is a big deal!” She said excitedly, though her voice was lacking the anger that Faith had almost expected.

“Well, if it makes ya feel any better, I didn’t actually tell her. She just kinda knew.”

Buffy gave Faith a confused glare.

“What do you mean?”

Faith chuckled. “Well, there’s the newfound closeness, the hickeys, she said somethin’ about ‘moon eyes’, and . . . umm . . . then there was the whole ‘basement’ thing.”

She cringed as she waited for Buffy’s reaction to finding out that her Mom knew what had happened in the basement.

Buffy’s eyes grew impossibly wider before she jumped up from her place on the floor and began to pace.

“Not good. NOT good. SO not good. This is definitely of the bad.” Buffy ranted frantically. “Well, that settles that. I can never leave the basement. I’ll be down here for the rest of my life. Instead of being the ‘crazy cat lady’, I’m going to be the ‘crazy basement lady’. Kids from the neighborhood with come around and try to look into the windows to get a glimpse of me, so I’ll have to make a fort under the stairs to hide, and I’ll mpfhhh . . .”

Her rant was quickly brought to an end when Faith crushed her lips to the girls’, kissing her softly but passionately in hopes of calming the girl down a bit.

When she felt the other girl finally relax a little, she pulled back from the kiss but held Buffy against her in a warm embrace. Just the simple feeling of having the small blonde nuzzled against her made her feel a small pang in her chest. Instead of being scared by it, it actually made her smile.

“How ‘bout this: if you decide that ya really wanna be ‘crazy basement lady’, I’ll be ‘crazy basement lady’ with ya. We could spend the rest of our lives down here together, playin’ Monopoly and Scrabble, eatin’ whatever food you Ma throws down the laundry shoot for us, and . . . if those kids come creepin’ ‘round and peekin’ in the windows? We’ll give ‘em a real show.”

When she heard Buffy giggle and relax even more, she continued.

“Or, we could always just finish our laundry, go back upstairs and pretend like it’s just another normal day, eat dinner in peace, and walk outta here hand-in-hand like it’s not a big deal. Besides, I kinda got a surprise planned for later and we can’t do it if we’re shacked up in the basement.”

Buffy lifted her head and gazed up into brown eyes, a small smile on her face.

“Pretend it’s just another normal day?” She asked innocently.

“Yep. Another vanilla day in the ‘dale.”

“Right. I can do that. It’s just another normal day in Sunnydale . . . where my Mom knows that I fucked you in the basement.” She paused and thought about her words. “I don’t know, Faith. That doesn’t feel so ‘normal’ to me.” She joked.

The two Slayers remained in the basement for a few hours. They spent the time folding and ironing their clean laundry, doing some actual sparring, taking a small nap while curled up together on a small cot, and playing a few games of Go Fish.

When dinner time came, Joyce called them upstairs. After a few minutes of Faith trying to convince Buffy that everything was okay, the two girls slowly made their way up to the dining room. Faith wore a victorious smile during dinner while Buffy mostly wore a deep blush.

If Joyce was unhappy or uncomfortable with the situation, she certainly didn’t show it. She carried on a causal conversation with Faith as always while Buffy remained fairly quiet, looking up from her plate only to make sure that things were looking ‘okay’ with her mother.

When dinner ended, Buffy happily escaped back into the basement to gather their bags of clean laundry.

After carrying the several sacks up the basement stairs, she shyly entered the kitchen to see Faith helping Joyce with the dishes, the two of them whispering conspiratorially. Her interest piqued, she walked further into the counter and leaned against the countertop island, still unnoticed by the other two women.

She coughed after a few more seconds passed to announce her presence and laughed slightly when Faith spun to face her, a shocked look on her face.

The brunette looked like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Buffy stared at her, amused as the girl started stammering and trying to speak.

“B?! You scared the hell outta me! I’m seriously considering makin’ you wear a bell or somethin’.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows and smirked at her. “So what’s going on in here? Secret planning or something? Should I step outside for a few minutes?” She teased.

Faith relaxed as she realized that Buffy hadn’t heard whet her and Joyce were discussing.

She tried to look as relaxed and nonchalant as she answered.

“Nahh, it’s all good. I was just tellin’ your Ma that I had a surprised planned for tonight, so she agreed to drop our laundry off tomorrow so that we didn’t have to worry about gettin’ it back to our dorm tonight.”

Buffy folded her arms across her chest. “That’s all, huh?” Faith nodded casually. “Care to let me in on the surprise then?”

Faith smiled, showing off her dimples.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise then, would it? Speakin’ of which, we gotta motorvate if we’re gonna get there on time.” She turned towards Buffy’s mom. “So, it’s okay if I borrow that stuff then?”

Joyce smiled. “It’s waiting for you in the living room. Have fun girls. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” She winked at Faith before turning to Buffy and giving her a hug.

Faith grabbed a large duffle bag from the living room floor before she and Buffy had left the house. She led Buffy on a casual walk that took about a half hour.

The last leg of their journey was through a small wooded area and up onto a hill that overlooked downtown Sunnydale. Buffy kept asking Faith where they were going, but she received no reply each time she asked. Faith would just keep looking straight ahead while wearing a coy smile, bringing their interlaced hands up to her mouth to place a small kiss on Buffy’s fingers.

When they finally reached the highest part of the hill, Faith placed the duffel bag on the ground and opened it to rummage through the contents.

Buffy’s attention shifted from Faith to the beautiful sky above her. The stars looked bigger and brighter that ever in the cloudless sky and Buffy could see the smallest part of a shadow on the moon.

‘Oh!’ She thought. ‘Faith brought me here to see the eclipse. Awwww, how sweet!’

When she finally brought her attention back to Faith, a huge smile crept up on her face at what she saw.

Laid before her was a large blanket, a bottle of wine, two glasses, a pair of candles surrounded by colored hurricane glass, and a bowl of fresh fruit. Faith was busy pulling a second blanket out of the duffle bag and didn’t realize that Buffy had crept up behind her until she felt a pair of this arms slide around her midsection.

She stood up and turned in Buffy’s arms so that she was facing the girl, their faces only inches apart.

“So,” Buffy began, “you brought me here to watch the eclipse?”

Faith chuckled. “You’re really kinda a master of the obvious, aren’t ya B? Yeah, I brought ya here for the eclipse. The fruit and wine was your Ma’s idea. Yunno, I figured that you’d like this girly type of shit.”

“You really know how to sweet talk a girl, don’t you?” Buffy laughed. “I can’t believe my Mom gave you wine . . . how’d you manage that one?”

“I think that your Ma and me have an understanding. She wants the best for you and, well . . . that’s me.” Faith answered, flashing a huge smile and a wink. She looked up towards the sky and her eyes got wide. “Come on, B, the eclipse is startin’ already! We’re gonna miss it!”

She plopped down on the blanket and sat with her legs in a ‘v’, indicating for Buffy to come sit between them.

Buffy chuckled at Faith’s sudden enthusiasm but sat down in front of her nonetheless. She hadn’t been sitting there for more than ten seconds when she felt Faith wrap her arms around her stomach and pull her back against her. She put one of her hands on top of Faith’s on her stomach and grabbed her glass of wine with the other.

“This is kind of perfect.” Buffy said quietly as she leaned back further into Faith and glanced up to the sky.

“It kinda is.” Faith answered back just as quietly before starting to place soft kisses on Buffy’s shoulder, up her neck and on her jaw line.

She was feeling a million different things at that point. Excited, content, nervous, happy, comfortable, and tranquil all at the same time. But mostly, she was just feeling love. Love for her sister slayer, love for the time they were sharing together, love for the possibility of a future together. Love pure and simple. It was something that she had never felt before, or had at least not recognized until now.

And she wanted to tell the world.

After about 15 minutes, Buffy finally broke the silence with the thoughts that were in her head.

“I wonder what Willow’s gonna say when I see her tomorrow. I bet she’ll be all stutter-y and blush-y. She sounded pretty ‘okay’ on the phone; I just hope she’s the same way in person.”

“She’ll be fine, B. You’re like a sister to her. She loves ya, yunno?”

Buffy smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

Faith felt like it was her opportunity then and there to let the blonde know just how she felt. The fear of rejection, the fear of acceptance . . . it all went away when she felt Buffy’s small hand lovingly stroking her arm.

She gathered up all of her courage and after another minute of silence, she finally spoke.

“I don’t think ya have anything to worry ‘bout, B. They all love ya.” She took a deep breath and finally spoke the words she’d been waiting to say. “Even me. I love ya too.”

Buffy smiled and laughed quietly. “I love them too. And you. You know I love you back, right Faith?” She asked innocently. She didn’t quite get exactly what Faith was trying to say to her.

So the brunette tried it once more.

“Umm, yeah, I know. But, I don’t just love you B . . . I’m . . .” she paused, “. . . I’m kinda IN love with you.” She didn’t have to wait long for a reaction as Buffy spun around and stared her in the eyes.

“You . . . you’re . . .” Buffy stammered.

“In love with you.” Faith finished, staring her in the eyes in hopes of conveying all of her unsaid feelings.

“Since when?” Buffy asked quietly.

Faith chuckled. “Since always, I think.”

They kept their eyes locked together as several moments of silence passed. After what seemed like an eternity to Faith, Buffy finally responded by fully turning her body so that they were now chest to chest.

Buffy brought her hands up and cupped Faith’s face, running her thumbs over Faith’s lips before leaning in to taste them. She didn’t say the actual words back, but her feelings were clearly conveyed in the gentle and loving manner in which she was kissing the brunette.

There they sat under the stars on a blanket on a hill, both suddenly oblivious to the eclipse that was happening directly over their heads.

They were too busy dealing with their own cosmic event.

Day Six

When the two Slayers had finally made their way back to their dorm room on Sunday night, neither wanted to be without the other for any amount of time.

After making love all night long, they decided in the morning on Monday to take that much needed ‘day off’ that they had been talking about.

They stayed in their room all day long, skipping their classes while avoiding every other distraction presented to them. Buffy had placed a call to Joyce and told her that they would be by to pick up their laundry on Wednesday, and she disconnected the phone after that.

Truthfully, they really had no need for the laundry. They remained naked in bed for most of the day, spending their time sleeping, cuddling, making love repeated times, and watching TV.

Faith got dressed for a grand total of about 30 minutes so that she could go a pick up the food that they had ordered. But as soon as she crossed the threshold to their room, Buffy had her stripped and on the bed before she could even put the food down.

When it came time to patrol, Buffy called Giles to get out of it for the evening. However, she was pleasantly surprised when he told her that she and Faith should take the evening off. His exact words? ‘After a cosmic event like last night, most demons and creatures take a night off. Perhaps you and Faith should take the time to study or catch up on other chores’.

Needless to say, there was no arguing involved.

As night finally fell and the two Slayers went to sleep, it was as it had been the few nights before: both girls nestled into one another, content smiles on both of their faces. The only different this time was that instead sleeping so that one of them faced away from the other, they slept with limbs entangled, facing towards one another.

Heart to heart.

“B! Where’s my underwear?” Faith yelled towards the bathroom as she frantically searched through the disheveled room.

They had both overslept and were now frantically trying to get ready and get to their classes on time.

“Where they always are, Faith: in your drawer.” Buffy answered back while blow-drying her hair.

Faith ran over to her dresser and opened all of the drawers, finding them all to be mostly or completely empty.

“No, they’re not!” She cried out frustrated.

Buffy turned off the blow-dryer and scurried into the room, trying to put her socks on as she walked. She glanced in Faith’s drawers and then looked around.

“They all must’ve been in the wash. Here, take a pair of mine.”

Faith caught the dainty pair of bubble-gum pink undies that Buffy threw at her and raised an eyebrow.

“B, I know that I’ve been tryin’ to get in your panties for awhile, but this gives it a whole different meaning.”

Hearing Buffy sigh in frustration, she stopped her complaining and put on the underwear.

“Okay,” Buffy began as she continued to get dressed, “I’ve got classes till 2:00, then I’ve gotta get to the computer lab and catch up on some work. I won’t be back ‘til 8:00. Oh, shoot! I’ve gotta run to my moms and get the laundry. Better make that 10:00.”

“Right. I’ve got classes ‘til 3:00, then I gotta work ‘til 9:00. How ‘bout this: I’ll shower and get changed at work. Then I’ll do a quick patrol after I’m done, and I can meet you up at the campus bar afterwards. Say . . . 10:30?” Faith said hurriedly as she finished getting dressed and threw a few books in her bag.

By the time she finished speaking, she was standing at the door with her bag in hand, ready to make a mad dash across the campus to get to her class.

“Deal.” Buffy said as she finished dressing and grabbed her bag, meeting Faith at the door.

“Love ya, baby.” Faith said as she grabbed Buffy around the waist and kissed her hard and fast.

“Me too.” Buffy said against the brunette’s lips. “Now go, you’re so late.”

At that, both girls made their way out of their room, ready for a busy day.

Both Slayers simultaneously entered the Campus bar at 10:30 on the dot. They immediately made their way up to the bar where they were greeted by a grinning Xander, a smiling Tara, and a blushing Willow.

Seeing the look on Xander’s face, Buffy pouted.

“Will! You told Xander?!”

“I . . . I didn’t mean . . . I . . . yes.” The blushing red-head stammered.

“No need to be embarrassed, ladies.” Xander cut in, his voice dropping an octave. “I’m perfectly fine with the girly-loving. In fact, I wouldn’t be totally against some public displays of affection as we speak.” Seeing the evil glares he was getting from all four women, he continued. “Or I could just shut up and get you some drinks. Yeah, let’s go with that.”

Faith stepped up behind Buffy and wrapped her arms around her, and the blonde instinctively pushed back even further into the other girl. The new-found closeness of the two girls wasn’t lost on any of the others, but they didn’t make a big spectacle of the fact. Mostly because it had been so long since they had seen either of the two slayers looking that happy and content.

After about an hour had passed, the group of friends was distracted from their quiet conversation when a group of rowdy young men came in. They turned their attention towards the young men and the air suddenly became tense when they saw that Parker was among the men.

And again, it didn’t go unnoticed as Buffy tensed up and pulled away from Faith, fixing up her appearance as she kept an eye on Parker.

The look of hurt on Faith’s face was caught by everyone but Buffy. Willow and Tara watched as Faith went from looking hurt to just looking pissed. Xander, not wanting to get caught up in the female drama, suddenly found some actual work to do.

“I can’t believe he just strolls in here like that after what he does to all these girls.” Buffy stated as she continued to glance at him.

Faith, ignoring her boiling blood, tried to soothe her girlfriend.

“It’s not somethin’ you have to worry about anymore, B. So, why don’t you come back here and we . . .” she stopped speaking when, after reaching out her hand to pull Buffy back to her, found that the blonde pushed it away.

A bitter smile crept up on her face as she shook her head in disbelief.

“I can’t fuckin believe you, B. One sidelong glance from Parker-fuckin-Abrams and you’re fuckin droolin over him again?” Faith asked bitterly.

Buffy just gave her an angry glance.

“I’m not ‘drooling’ over him, Faith. You need to get your facts straight.”

Faith chuckled, her anger seething. “Yeah? Fine. I’m wrong. So why don’t you come back here and sit on my lap, baby?”

Buffy just looked at her. “Because I’m not gonna try to make him jealous by hanging all over you. That’s not my style.”

Faith laughed bitterly as she stood up and put on her jacket.

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess that ‘hanging all over me’ was never really your style, was it?”

She turned to walk away but stopped when she heard Willow call out to her.

“Faith, wait! You . . . you shouldn’t leave like this. Don’t walk away mad.” Willow said.

Again, Faith laughed bitterly. “I’m not mad, Red. I’m stupid. I shoulda known this woulda happened when I finally let down my guard. Guess I’ll just have to learn from my mistakes, yeah?”

With that said, Faith turned around and stormed out of the bar. She wasn’t sure where she was going to go, but she knew it had to be far away from her sister Slayer.

The pain of just seeing her was suddenly too much, and Faith ran from the bar with tears in her eyes and a driving pain in her heart.

Chapter Thirteen – Day Seven: Wednesday

After running out of the bar, Faith found herself wondering where she was going to go and what her next move was. There was no way that she was about to go back to the dorm and spend the night there with Buffy, but she really had nowhere else to go.

Focusing on her anger, she decided instead to patrol through the night and get her hurt out on any unsuspecting nasties that crossed her path.

Only when the moon had crossed the sky and the sun was well on its rise in the east did she decide to make her way back to the dorm to gather a few of her things. She figured that Buffy would be out of the room and sitting through her first class by now.

As she stood outside of the dorm, she closed her eyes and focused on her Slayer senses, trying to feel if Buffy was nearby. After sensing nothing, she grabbed her key out of her pocket and nonchalantly opened up the door to their room.

Faith casually walked in but froze about two steps into the room when she saw Buffy walk out of the bathroom. The two Slayers locked eyes, both frozen where they stood.

Faith’s first instinct was to walk up to the blonde and give her a big hug and kiss, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be pissed off.

Shaking her head a little and letting go of Buffy’s gaze, Faith mumbled “Slayer senses, my ass” as she walked over to her side of the room.

“Hey.” Buffy said, finally managing to find her voice. “Umm, sorry about the Slayer senses thing. I had Willow dull them for a day.” She said awkwardly.

“Cuz that’s a safe thing to do.” Faith said sarcastically as she rummaged through the pile of laundry on the floor. “Take away one of the few advantages we have over the nasties. Yeah, seems perfectly fuckin logical to me.”

Buffy shook her head and sighed.

“It’s not like I had any other choice, Faith. I was looking for you for hours, and every time I’d start to feel you, you’d run off in the other direction. I thought that maybe if you thought I wasn’t here, you’d come back and we could talk.”

Faith scoffed at the blonde’s words.

“Nothin to talk about, twinks. You made that perfectly clear last night.”

She continued searching through the pile of clothes, throwing a few random articles onto her bed. The only time she glanced up was to check to see what was on the bed, but she made sure to avoid looking at Buffy at any cost.

Buffy hesitantly took a few steps closer, not wanting to spook the brunette and cause her to run.

“Yes, there is something to talk about. Us, Faith. We need to talk about us.” She said gently, inching closer and closer until she was finally on the younger girls’ side of the room.

Again, Faith scoffed.

“Apparently, there is no ‘us’, B. You tried to play like ‘us’ didn’t exist with one glance from Parker. I may be lots of things I’m not proud of, but I’ve never been anyone’s dark dirty secret.” Finally, she raised her tired eyes to meet Buffy’s. “The part that kills me is that you did that to me. You made me feel that way. After all we’ve been through the last few days, I . . . you . . . oh, fuck this.”

Faith shook her head and broke her eyes away from Buffy before angrily stomping to her closet and getting a duffle bag.

She made her way back to her bed where she proceeded to shove the clothes she had hastily thrown there into the bag.

Buffy, who had remained silent through Faith’s little rant, suddenly found her voice again. She realized that Faith was about to run. Maybe not to another town, but definitely as far away from her as the brunette could get without shirking her responsibilities.

“What are you doing?” She asked quietly.

“What does it look like I’m doin?” Faith snapped. “I’m leavin. Ain’t it obvious?”

Buffy did her best to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. They were burning her throat, but she was still able to speak shakily.

“Why? Where?”

Faith chuckled bitterly, still avoiding Buffy’s tearful gaze.

“Why? Cuz I can’t stay here with you, B. I’m too pissed off right now and if I stay, I’ll probably say somethin stupid or make ya cry. Where? Fucked if I know. Anywhere with a couch for me to crash on. You weren’t the only one who didn’t sleep last night.”

Buffy went to take a step closer but stopped when she saw the brunette tense up.

“You can stay here, you know. This is your room, too.”

“I already told ya, I’m not gonna stand around here and argue with ya all day. I need to sleep and I can’t do that if you’re busy yappin’ and playin Miss Self-Righteous all day long.”

Buffy looked down at her feet, not knowing exactly how to respond. At that point, she knew that she had hurt Faith pretty bad and that the girl had put her walls back up as a result. From experience, she knew that the brunette needed some time to simmer down and mellow out.

Still, she didn’t want the girl to slip through her fingers and out of her grasp completely.

“Well, there’s no sense in you leaving right now.” Buffy began. “I have to go to class, then I have to go to the computer lab to do some more work. If you’re not going to your classes, you can stay as long as you like . . . I’ll try to make myself scarce until I get back from patrol tonight.”

Faith felt like she should reject the offer or put up more of a fight, but her endless hours of slaying and her lack of sleep was finally catching up to her.

After a minute of thinking it over, Faith finally spoke.

“Whatever. I’ll be gone by the time you get back tonight.”

Silence filled the room as Faith cleared off her bed and arranged the rest of her laundry and as Buffy finished getting ready for class.

Just as the blonde Slayer was putting on her jacket, she turned to Faith, not wanting to leave without saying goodbye.

“So . . . I’m gonna go to class now. Is there, I mean . . . are you gonna come slaying with me tonight?” She asked sheepishly.

Faith chuckled.

“I’m not sure you really wanna be around me and weapons right now.” She glanced up and saw the hurt expression on the blonde’s face and instantly felt a pang of guilt. “Fuck, I didn’t mean it like that. I . . see what I mean, Buffy? This is why I can’t be around ya right now. I’m not petty enough to actually WANT to hurt you that way.”

Without saying another word, she lay down on her bed and pulled the comforter up over her body. She wasn’t exactly sure what Buffy was doing because her back was towards the blonde, but she knew that the girl was still standing there.

When she heard footsteps across the room, she just assumed that the blonde was walking towards the door. However, she found that she was wrong as she felt the mattress sink down a little bit behind her.

Buffy hovered above her, one knee on the bed and one hand atop the comforter on the small of her back.

She leaned over so that she could watch Faith’s face as she whispered to the girl.

“Regardless of what you think, there is an ‘us’ to talk about. I love you, Faith. I meant it when I said it, and nothing’s gonna change that. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I was stupid. But please . . . don’t shut me out. Please.”

With her peace spoken, she leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Faith’s cheek, letting her lips linger for a moment before pulling away. The brunette didn’t respond in any manner. She simply remained completely still and quiet.

Buffy gathered the rest of her things and silently made her way out of the room.

When Faith heard the door shut, she exhaled the breath that she had been holding. She inhaled shakily, her resolve coming undone a little at the memory of the blonde’s words and of the scent of her shampoo that still lingered on the pillow.

“I love ya too, B.” She mumbled, tasting the tears spill down her throat that she had been holding back. “Fuck.” She exclaimed, burying her face deep into the pillow.

The day had gone by fairly quick for Buffy. Before she knew it, her classes were over and she found herself staring blankly at the monitor in front of her at the computer lab.

She found that it was pointless to even try to do any kind of school work. Her mind was elsewhere. Wondering if Faith was still at the room; wondering if she had moved her stuff out; wondering where she would stay the night; wondering what the future held for them.

It took a lot of willpower to stay in the plastic computer chair, seeing as that her body was willing her to run back to her dorm as quick as her legs could take her and apologize to Faith. To make things better.

Over and over, she played the events of the previous night in her head. Feeling safe and warm in Faith’s arms. Shivering every time the brunette whispered ‘I love ya’ in her ear. Nestling further back into the brunette’s warm embrace and loving every minute of it. Looking up and seeing Parker walk in. Remembering how he held her similarly. Remembering how badly that situation had ended up. Starting to feel slightly claustrophobic as she recalled the events with him. Suddenly needing room to breathe. The hurt look on Faith’s face. Her own random babbling about what a jerk Parker was. Rejecting Faith’s offer of body contact but not being able to tell her why she couldn’t be held at that moment. Watching faith walk away with unshed tears in her eyes.

Buffy had stood there frozen after Faith had walked out. She wasn’t sure if the whole thing had actually happened or if her mind was playing some sort of sick game on her. Only when she heard Willow calling her name and felt Tara’s small hand on her shoulder did she realize how badly she had screwed up.

In the span of a few minutes, she had totally rejected Faith and let her walk away mad and hurt. Big mistake, especially seeing as that the brunette already had her own intimacy issues. With a ‘slap-in-the-face’ like she had received, the blonde knew that it was going to be hard to convince Faith that she was truly sorry.

Blinking back the tears in her eyes, Buffy grabbed her opened books from the desk and stuffed them arbitrarily into her backpack. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but sitting and staring at the computer screen was completely pointless.

Remembering that she told Faith she’d stay out of the room until after slaying that night, she decided that she’d just wander around campus for awhile and perhaps get something to eat. In all honesty, she wasn’t hungry. Her nervous stomach churned a little more angrily when she thought of food. But if she was slaying alone that night, she’d need all the energy she could muster.

Walking in a semi-daze out of the computer lab, Buffy didn’t hear her name being called until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to find Willow standing behind her, a concerned look on her face.

“Hey, Buff. Are you alright?” The redhead asked, her hand still on Buffy’s shoulder.

“Yean. Fine. Great. Fantastic.” She answered with a fake smile. Upon seeing the look of doubt on Willow’s face, she continued. “I’m miserable. Thanks for asking.”

Willow frowned. “So, things are bad I take it.”

The two girls began walking slowly, no particular destination in mind.

“Well, they’re definitely not of the good.” Buffy answered.

“So, you got to talk to Faith then?”

Buffy chuckled, trying to hide the hurt she was feeling.

“I guess you can call it talking. She was bitter. I was repent-y.” She paused, looking down at the ground. “She’s leaving.”

Willow’s eyes grew wide.

“What do you mean ‘leaving’? Like, leaving school? ‘Cause that would be bad. She’s finally pulling her life together, and she’s doing good, and she has a job, and we all love her now, and . . .”

“Will!” Buffy cut the redhead’s babble short. “She’s not leaving school. She’s leaving me. Or, our room anyway. She came in this morning because she didn’t think I was there. I tried to apologize . . . but she’s really hurt. I think she was planning on leaving right then and there cuz she started packing some of her stuff in a duffle bag, but I convinced her to stay and sleep. Guess she’s gonna be gone by tonight.”

Willow remained silent, not quite knowing exactly what to say to comfort her friend. She had only gotten to know Faith better since they had started college, and in that short time, she got to know the brunette well enough to know that the she was likely more hurt than she had ever been. Having her love thrown back in her face the first time she decided to freely give it away must’ve stung the girl more than words could describe.

Buffy sighed and continued.

“I really fucked up this time, Will. If I would’ve known that I was going to lose my best friend . . . erghh . . . one of my best friends over this challenge, I never would’ve let it happen in the first place.”

“But do you regret it? What happened with Faith, I mean. Do you regret getting so close with her?”

A small smile graced Buffy’s face as she thought about her answer. She lifted her head and looked at Willow, pure honesty behind her eyes. “No. I don’t regret that part at all.” She softly began. “Behind closed doors, she’s sweet and kind and entertaining and endearing, and just completely amazing. Everything I’ve always wanted in a guy.”

She turned her head away from Willow and cocked it to the side a little, a pensive look on her face.

“Buff, here’s something for you to consider. If you lover her and she’s everything you want in a man . . . maybe she could be everything you want in a woman too. Just some food for thought.”

Silence filled the air between the two girls again as they continued their slow walk. After a few minutes, Willow watched as Buffy stopped walking and a look of realization came across her face.

“You’re right. She is what I want in a woman. In a man. In a lover. In anything. She’s what I want, point blank.” She glanced up at the redhead. “Willow, will you . . . can you help me fix this?”

The redhead gave her a huge grin.

“Of course, Buff. That’s what I’m here for. Maybe we should go back to your room and see if we can talk to her, I . . .”

“No!” Buffy interrupted. “I don’t want her to feel cornered or anything. Plus, I said I’d keep away. It’s probably best if I stick to what I said. Maybe I can just come to your room until I have to go slaying tonight?” She asked hopefully.

Willow nodded. “Good. Then maybe we can start working on a plan. OOH! I’ve got it! We can ask her to come with all of us to the Bronze tomorrow for Tara’s birthday. Even if she’s mad at you, she still loves Tara. She’d go just to make her happy.”

Buffy put on a big smile.

“That sounds like it just might work. We’ll have to let Tara in on the plan too.”

“Now’s as good a time as any.” Willow finished as she linked her arm with Buffy’s and they headed off towards her and Tara’s room.

“Thanks for lettin me crash here, Tare-bear. You’re a real sweetheart, yunno that? Red’s a lucky girl to have ya.” Faith said as she set up the spare bed for herself in Willow and Tara’s room.

Tara smiled. “You know you’re always welcome here Faith. You can stay here until you and Buffy work things out.” She said, trying to get Faith’s feelings on the matter.

Faith chuckled, trying not to let her bitterness come through. The last thing she wanted to do was upset the blonde witch when all the girl was trying to be a good friend.

“Yeah, about that. I don’t what’s gonna happen. I don’t handle rejection well, and I think it’s fair to say that last night was choc full of rejection-y goodness. Or badness. Whatever. I’m not gonna go crawlin back on my hands and knees, cuz it wasn’t me who screwed up this time.”

Tara sat down on her bed and watched Faith as the brunette tried to busy herself.

“Faith, Buffy screwed up. I think she knew that the minute you walked out of the bar last night. She went looking for you for hours, but you kept running from her. She even went so far as to have Willow block your bond so that you wouldn’t run away from her. All she wants to do is apologize and make things right. If you won’t even give her a chance to prove how sorry she is, then you can’t keep playing the ‘innocent’ card.”

Faith stopped what she was doing and sat down on the spare bed opposite of Tara. She played with her fingernails for a minute before finally glancing up to meet the witch’s eyes.

“T, I want you to close your eyes for a sec and imagine something.” She watched as Tara closed her eyes without hesitation and waited patiently.

“Okay, imagine this: you and Red finally get together after bein’ real close for a long time. You both love each other, and you’ve both told one another that. Your relationship is goin’ great, the sex is fuckin mind-blowin . . . everything seems like a dream. But there’s always this white elephant in the room between the two of ya. Either fear of people’s reactions to your relationship or the lingering ex or the threat of someone or something comin’ between the two of ya. Now, I want you to imagine that one of those things happen, and that Red turns her back on you. How do ya feel now?”

Tara opened her eyes and gave Faith a sympathetic smile before crossing the small distance and sitting next to the girl.

“Faith . . . I think you’re forgetting that something like that DID happen to Willow and I.” Faith gave her a questioning glance, so she continued. “Oz. Do you remember when Oz came back in town and tried to reclaim Willow?”

Faith’s eyes got wider when the memory hit her. Tara continued.

“Willow and I were so new at that point. I loved her and she loved me too. But suddenly, the one and only love of her life walks back into the picture and, understandably, she was a little confused. I had almost convinced myself that it was a losing battle for me. How could I compete with years of their love? But, you know what? I didn’t get too nervous.”

Faith chuckled. “Yeah, until wolf-boy was chasin’ ya across campus.”

Tara smiled at the brunette and covered her hand with her own.

“Yeah, that part made me a little uneasy. But I never truly doubted Willow for a minute, because I knew that deep down, she loved ME. She had let go of her past long before Oz ever came back. As expected, her past haunted her for a little bit with the appearance of an old ghost . . . but I had faith in her.”

Faith looked down at their joined hands and sighed.

“Yeah, but that’s the thing, Tare-bear. You and Red were working on the ‘love’ thing for a while. Me and B? It’s about 2 days old. Even worse: it’s part of a fuckin challenge. How am I supposed to know if what she’s feelin’ and what she’s sayin’ is real?”

Tara smiled gently.

“You’re not supposed to know it; you’re supposed to feel it. Faith, do you love Buffy?”

Faith didn’t hesitate to quietly respond, “Yeah . . . with all that I am. But, I don’t know if that’s enough for her.”

Tara pulled Faith closer to her and into a gentle embrace.

“Well, you need to let her decide that, and you need to have some faith in her. Just . . . give her a chance. What more harm could it do?”

Faith smiled deviously before standing up and twirling Tara around in a circle.

“You’re so SMART, Tare-bear. What would I do without you?” She joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“Well, for starters, you’d probably look a little silly spinning by yourself.”

After a moment or two, Faith finally stopped spinning and let Tara down. They talked quietly for a few more minutes before they heard voices in the corridor and the sound of the door opening.

Buffy and Willow walked into the room arm-in-arm but froze instantly when the saw Faith standing there.

“Faith!” Willow shouted, startled. “I’m sorry, I forgot to reverse the spell from last night.”

Faith’s eyes remained locked with Buffy’s as she responded. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, Red. It’ll wear off by tonight, right?”

Willow looked nervously between Faith and Buffy before answering.

“Umm, yeah. 24 hours.”

“No problem then.” Faith said as she finally tore her gaze from Buffy and started busying herself by her duffle bag again.

Buffy and Willow intently watched the brunette. Willow tore her eyes away to give Tara a questioning glance.

Tara, ever the peacekeeper, decided to get things moving.

“You’re just on time, Willow. We have Wicca group in 10 minutes. Are you ready to go?” She raised her eyebrows and stared intently at Willow, hoping to convince the girl to play along.

There was no Wicca group that day. In fact, they didn’t even belong to it anymore. Tara just wanted to give the two Slayers a chance to talk.

“Oh . . . right. Wicca group. We’d better go then.”

Tara walked towards the door and grabbed Willows hand on the way, exiting the room before either of the Slayers could protest.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Buffy finally decided to make an effort.

“Hi, Faith.”

“B.” Faith acknowledged.

“So, you’re staying here then?”

“Yep.”

“For how long?” Buffy asked, perching herself on Willow and Tara’s bed.

“’Til something better comes along.” Faith answered, instantly regretting how bitter the words seemed as they left her mouth. “Uhh, that’s not what I mean. I . . .”

“No, it’s okay Faith.” The blonde answered. “You’re upset. I get that, and I totally understand. But there’s something that I want you to understand too.”

Faith stopped what she was doing and tuned to Buffy, looking the girl in the eyes. Instantly, she felt her resolve melting away.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Buffy stood up and nervously approached Faith, looking for signs that the girl was going to run. Receiving none, she walked up so that she was only about a foot away from the girl. She tentatively took Faith’s hands in her own and ran her thumbs over the soft skin.

“I want you to understand that I’m sorry. Really and truly. That I love you. And that I’m not going to let you go without a fight. I can’t . . . no, I WON’T see my life without you.”

Faith stared into Buffy’s green eyes that were wet with unshed tears. She tried to take inhale deeply, but her breath hitched in her throat. Her emotions were overwhelming her.

“So, what do we do, B?” She asked with a shaky voice.

Buffy smiled.

“Well, we start off simple for now. You stay here tonight, and I’ll patrol alone.”

Faith felt her heart drop a little at Buffy’s response, but Buffy continued.

“And then tomorrow, I’d like you to be my date for Tara’s birthday party at the Bronze. We’re all going . . . my Mom, Xander and Anya, Giles . . .”

“Giles is gonna be there?” Faith interrupted. That was a big deal. If Buffy was comfortable with Giles finding out about their relationship, then she was obviously serious when she said that she wanted to be together.

“Yep. So . . . what do you think? Will you be my date?” She asked with a nervous smile, loving the fact that the brunette was actually letting her do this.

Faith tried not to smile, but the corners of her mouth cracked up into the teeniest of grins.

“You’ve got yourself a date.”

Buffy beamed at Faith’s response.

“You won’t be sorry. I promise. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 8:00.”

She let go of Faith’s hands and started to walk towards the door but stopped halfway across the room. Seeing as that Faith had been so understanding and willing to listen, she decided to push the envelope just a little further.

Hesitantly, she turned around and walked back towards Faith. She put her right hand on the brunette’s cheek before leaning up and placing a feather-light kiss on her lips.

She pulled back to stare into Faith’s deep brown eyes. After flashing a small and gentle smile, she pulled back all the way and walked to the door, stealing only one backward glance before walking out and closing the door behind her.

Faith couldn’t help but smile as she brought her fingers up to her lips and pressed gently against them like Buffy just had.

“I think I understand now, B.” She said quietly.

Chapter Fourteen – Day Nine: Friday

Wednesday night had come and gone very quickly for the group of friends. Faith stayed with Willow and Tara for the night, the three of them ending up staying in all night and watching movies.

As darkness approached, the Slayer in Faith was itching to come out and play, but she was determined to spend at least a little bit of time away from her sister-Slayer. Every part of her being was calling out for her to run to Buffy and kiss and hug and love her . . . but she figured that they could both use the time to do some thinking and reflecting.

She was, however, really looking forward to her date the next evening with Buffy. Not only would she be able to spend some time with her ‘girlfriend’, but she’d also be spending the same time with her family and friends. ‘Going public’ was a pretty big indication that Buffy was ready to accept their relationship as ‘real’, and move along with it.

And that very thought pretty much made Faith forget about why she was sitting at Willow and Tara’s in the first place.

As the three friends sat and watched the movies, Faith wore a smile the entire time.

She couldn’t wait for Thursday night to come fast enough.

Meanwhile, in a cemetery somewhere in Sunnydale, Buffy was busy pummeling a pair of newbie vamps while wearing Faith’s back-up leather jacket and a huge smile.

There was no planning or real thought in her well-executed moves . . . her body was running on auto-pilot, letting her Slayer take over. Her mind wasn’t in the fight . . . it was thinking of Faith and of the time they would soon get to spend together.

She was pretty sure that Faith had forgiven her already. If she hadn’t, it was certainly weird that the brunette let her hold her hands and give her a kiss, and had willingly agreed to be her date.

Things were looking up.

After easily finishing off the two vamps, she decided to end her patrol for the night and go back to her room to finish her homework.

The fact that she would spend another night alone in her room managed to make her a little bit sad. Since Faith had become her roommate, they had never spent more than a single night apart from one another. If she had anything to do about it, Buffy would never let it happen again.

DAY NINE – Friday

Though the original plans were to meet up on Thursday evening for Tara’s birthday, plans had to be rescheduled for Friday.

Just as Buffy was about to leave to pick up Faith, Giles had rang her and informed her that three groups of demons had arrived in Sunnydale for a type of demonic ‘Scavenger Hunt’. They had been wreaking havoc throughout town, and it seemed as if they were almost unstoppable in their scattered form.

However, with Buffy hunting one group, Faith hunting a second, and the rest of the Scoobies hunting the third, all of the interloping demons were eradicated in a timely manner. Still, after the heat of the battle, most of the gang just decided to call it quits and save the birthday bash at the Bronze for another evening.

Buffy stayed out to do a quick patrol, making sure that no other nasties were out prowling in the night.

Though she didn’t find any unsuspecting demons or vamps to slay, she did feel something else prowling in the night. The low hum running through her body let her know that Faith was patrolling as well. They hadn’t gotten close enough to actually run into one another, but both girls knew the other was out roaming in the night.

Instead of trying to seek Faith out, the blonde Slayer decided to give her a little space. Truth be told, every minute spent away from her sister-Slayer felt like an eternity . . . but then again, she didn’t want to make the girl feel suffocated and cause her to run.

Deciding that she didn’t want to spend another night alone in their room, she headed to her mother’s house to sleep there for the night.

She snuck into the house as she had a hundred times before, careful not to wake her mother as she crept up the stairs and into the bathroom.

She glanced into the bathroom mirror, studying her features intently before splashing some cool water on her face.

Something in her had changed. She didn’t look un-like herself. Her hair was the same, she hadn’t changed her make-up. But something was distinctly different. It was almost as if she was glowing . . . as if something had caused her to look warmer and more beautiful than ever.

There was no doubt about what the cause was.

It was Faith. Pure and simple.

Well, maybe not so pure. They had done some pretty un-pure things together.

But no one through her entire life, including Angel, had made her feel as happy and as complete as Faith had in the last few days. It was if they fit together perfectly; mind, body, and soul.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, Buffy grabbed the phone from her bedside table and sat on her bed. She smiled as she punched in Willow’s telephone number . . . she knew it was late, but she wanted to make sure Faith got home from patrol safely and say goodnight to her.

After two rings, she heard a husky voice on the other end.

“Someone better be dead” the voice rasped out. It was Faith, no doubt.

“That’s never a good thing to say in our profession, Faith.” Buffy said with a bit of happiness in her voice.

“B? What’s wrong? It’s like . . . way past ‘Buffy-Bedtime’? You okay?” Faith said without a hint of contempt or anger in her voice.

It made Buffy’s heart flutter. Not only was Faith sounding ‘okay’ . . . but she had shown her cuteness with the ‘Buffy-Bedtime’ phrase that she had coined earlier in the semester.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was pretty sure I sensed you when I was slaying tonight . . . wanted to make sure you got in okay and everything . . .” she trailed off waiting for Faith to respond in some way.

“I live to tell the tale.” Faith joked quietly, keeping her voice low enough as not to wake the witches across the room. “How bout you? Doin’ good?” The brunette asked, her accent coming on stronger than normal. She was in full-on ‘flirt-mode’ and hadn’t even realized it.

Buffy smiled at her sister-Slayer’s concern.

“I’m fine. Just . . . sitting here on my bed, looking around my old room and getting ready to sleep for the night.”

She could almost hear Faith’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, so she continued.

“I’m at my Mom’s house. No, nothing’s wrong. I just . . .” she sighed, “. . . I hated being in our room alone. It feels so empty after being there alone for two nights.”

She paused, waiting for Faith’s response yet again. A soft smile crept over her face as she twirled the phone cord in her fingers, listening to Faith’s even breaths on the other end of the line.

After a minute, Faith finally spoke.

“You want me to come back now?” The brunette asked quietly, sounding both shy and unsure.

Buffy chuckled into the phone. “Of course I want you to come back. And now would be great for me. I never wanted you to leave.” She paused, waiting for her comment to sink in a bit and considering Faith’s offer. “But it’s already late, and we’ve both got class in the morning . . . so, let’s compromise. Tomorrow? Tara’s re-party? You’ll be my date? And if things go good, and you feel comfortable and stuff . . . you can come back then. Deal?”

She held her breath waiting for Faith’s response.

After a moment, Faith quietly answered, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow then, girlfriend’. Buffy couldn’t be sure . . . but with her enhanced hearing, she could almost swear she heard Faith smile.

With a happy look on her face, the blonde Slayer returned the telephone receiver to the base and turned off her bedside lamp. She lay back down on her bed and pulled her extra pillow against her body, hugging it tightly as she fell asleep, thinking of Faith the entire time.

Faith was getting ready in Willow and Tara’s bathroom when she started to feel the all-too-familiar warm buzz through her body. She smiled in anticipation as she quickly finished applying her Mac charcoal eyeliner and a fresh coat of lipcolor.

Hurriedly, she rushed out of the bathroom and squeezed into her tightest pair of chocolate-brown leathers, staring at the entrance door and expecting to see Buffy pop through at any minute.

The day had come and gone so quickly for her. After sleeping until 9:00 am, she sat through her morning classes before heading off to work for the afternoon. As she had crossed campus, she had run into Buffy who was running late for her Psychology Class.

They had stopped and said ‘hello’ to one another quickly, eyes glued to one another the entire time.

Both girls were feeling nervous and semi-awkward during the minute-long encounter, but above all, they were feeling more drawn to one another than they had ever been before.

As Faith casually said goodbye, hoping to shield the immense need burning behind her eyes, she was surprised to suddenly feel the body of her sister-Slayer pressed against her.

“So, tonight then?” Buffy said quietly against her ear, intertwining their fingers as their hands rested limply along their sides.

“Yeah, tonight.” Faith rasped, deeply inhaling as if to imprint the scent of Buffy’s hair in her memories.

Buffy squeezed the brunette’s hands slightly before letting go and backing away slowly. Their eyes remained locked onto one another’s as they both backed away almost unwillingly, Faith finally being the first to turn as she felt her back brush up against some type of obstruction.

She shook her head to stir herself from her flashback. She heard a soft knock on the door almost immediately after she had snapped out of her daydream and quickly rushed to the door.

The younger Slayer opened the oversized door to find Buffy standing on the other side, looking quite the part of the shy schoolgirl. Her head was tipped slightly down and she was doing that thing where she was staring up into Faith’s eyes through her long, soft eyelashes.

“Hey.” Faith said, finally finding her voice. “Right on time. Wanna come in?” She said with a small smile, stepping back from the door to allow Buffy room to walk in.

“Hey . . . umm . . . well, are you ready? Cos if you are, we can just go . . . but if you’re not, I can always come in, you know . . . I . . .” The blonde’s words trailed off as Faith slowly stepped towards her. She completely stopped speaking as she felt the brunette’s hands cup her face and run small circles along her cheeks.

“Shhhh.” Faith whispered, a friendly smile on her lips. She stared into Buffy’s eyes as she spoke. “You don’t have to be nervous, B. I’ve had some time to think about it. I even got to talk to Red about it a little, and she made me look at it from your point of view.”

It was all true. Willow had sat down and had a heart-to-heart with Faith the previous night before Giles’ call with the demon news. Willow had pretty much told Faith everything that Buffy had told to her during their walk . . . just not in so many words.

Buffy had a bad track record with relationships. During the one relationship that was going seemingly well for her, a big ugly reminder of one of the past failures showed up right in her face. It had made her nervous and anxious and all things uncomfortable. The way the blonde had acted was not the best response she could have had . . . but Willow tried to make Faith understand why it had nothing to do with her.

It was about Buffy accepting that her past had no effect on her future. It was about her acknowledging that she did, in fact, want a future with Faith. It was about coming to terms with a lot of different things in general.

After the chat, Faith decided that she couldn’t be mad at Buffy anymore. Not for what had happened at the Bronze. It was the 9th day of the challenge, and she was pretty sure that they were both smitten with one another. Both in love. Madly, even. She wasn’t going to let her fears of commitment and abandonment drive her away from something this good.

She continued to speak softly, still stroking Buffy’s face.

“I’m not mad anymore. I just wanna move on, ‘kay? No need to dwell on the past and keep bringin’ up the bad shit, right?”

Buffy simply nodded her head as she stared back into Faith’s eyes, seemingly paralyzed from doing much of anything else.

Only when she felt Faith’s lips slowly caress hers was she finally able to close her eyes and let her body respond. She brought her hands up and wrapped them around Faith’s back, pulling her closer so that their bodies were in complete contact.

Their lips moved softly and slowly together, keeping the kiss simple and chaste as they became reacquainted with one another. When they finally managed to pull their lips away from one another, Buffy leaned her head forward and rested it on Faith’s shoulder.

“I missed you so much.” She whispered into Faith’s ear, just loud enough for the other Slayer to her it.

“God, I missed ya too, Buffy.” Faith sighed, wrapping her arms tightly around the smaller girl.

They stood there for a few minutes, eyes closed as they swayed softly in one another’s embrace. Finally, Faith ran her hands up and down Buffy’s arms, indicating to the girl that they needed to get things going.

“Not to go all ‘mood killer’ on ya, but we got a party to get to. After how sweet T has been to me the last few days, there ain’t no way I’m gonna miss her party.” She said with a smile.

“Not even forrrrrr . . . Buffy paused, looking up to make it look like she was thinking hard, “. . . hot sex with a hot blonde?” The older Slayer said with a wicked grin.

Faith put on as serious a look as she could before saying, “Well, I don’t know about you, B, but I think that Red would be mad if I missed the party cuz I was gettin’ all hot and sweaty with her girlfriend.”

Buffy started to pout until she saw Faith break out in a fit of laughter.

“Oh, that face was PRICELESS, B! Ya looked like you were gonna go all homicidal for a minute there!” Faith laughed, reaching in the room and grabbing a small gift bag before closing the door behind her and leading Buffy away.

Buffy was still pouting as she let Faith lead her down the hall by her hand.

“For your information, I’M the only hot blonde for you! I may not ‘go all homicidal’, but I will kick your cute ass if you plan on hitting on Tara or any other blondes in front of me.” She said with a wicked little grin.

Faith just laughed. She knew Buffy had nothing to worry about, because there really WAS no other blonde for her.

“Aww, thanks Mr. Giles. I can always use more crystals.” Tara said with a smile as she pulled several colored crystals out of a decorative pouch.

Giles nodded and smiled, feeling semi-out-of-place with the group of friends at the Bronze. Luckily, Joyce was there, taking some of the attention off of him as one of the only adults in the club.

However, he made sure to keep a safe distance from her and tried not to be overly friendly . . . anytime he had made an attempt to be cordial in the past, Buffy had given him a death glare and reminded him of the band candy incident.

Remembering the ordeal, he took a large gulp from his plastic beverage cup and moved his eyes all around the club, trying to avoid the eyes of any of the Scoobies as a guilty look crept up on his face.

Buffy and Faith had, for the most part, tried to keep their hands from each other until they could find the appropriate time to break the news to Giles. Pretty much everyone could already figure out that the girls had made up, and were now wondering why the two of them were keeping distance between them.

Tara had put the crystals back into their pouch and moved on to her next present, the gift bag from Faith. As she removed the tissue paper and went to pull the contents out of the bag, Faith quickly jumped in and placed her hand on Tara’s arm, stopping her action.

“You might wanna open that one at home.” Faith said with a smirk.

Tara furrowed her eyebrows before glancing into the bag and letting her mouth open in shock, right away seeing the box from Fredericks of Hollywood enclosed within.

“Oh, Faith, I-I . . .” Tara stuttered, blushing furiously as she pulled the bag to her chest and clenched it shut, “. . . umm, thanks.” She said shyly, making sure to give the brunette a smile and a wink as she shoved the bag under her chair.

“No problem.” Faith responded proudly, sitting back in her chair and taking a drink from her plastic cup.

“I wonder what that was about.” Giles said aloud. Only Buffy, who was sitting right next to him, heard his words.

She smiled as she continued to watch the scene in front of her.

“Oh, Faith probably got her some lingerie or something sexual.” Buffy said flatly, keeping her eyes on Faith. She took a deep breath before continuing. “Oh, speaking of ‘something sexual’, Faith is my girlfriend now. Okay?”

She kept her eyes forward, even as Giles sputtered out into the plastic cup he was trying to drink from.

“I beg your pardon?” Giles asked with a confused look.

Buffy watched as her mother walked over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Joyce gave her daughter a little nod, encouraging her to continue.

She knew that this was the last step her daughter needed to take to be happy . . . and there was nothing more that she wanted for her only daughter.

Encouraged, Buffy turned towards Giles and spoke the words again.

“Faith is my girlfriend.” She said loudly, getting the attention of all of her friends. Surprised by the volume of her own voice, she cleared her throat and tried yet again. “Faith . . . she’s my girlfriend. It’s new . . . but I love her, and there’s nothing I’m more sure of right now. I’m not asking for your approval, because I’m going to be with her regardless. But, I wanted you to know. I’m not gonna hide my relationship with her. So . . .” she paused, “. . . are you okay with this?”

Faith had stood up halfway through Buffy’s little speech and now stood in front of the girl, loosely holding her hand as the both glanced at their Watcher.

Giles looked at the others in the group as if trying to gauge their reactions.

Finally, he returned his eyes back to the Slayers and with an air of nonchalance, he said, “As long as you’re happy, I approve. And as long as you’re able to do your job and keep up with your schoolwork, I see no problem with it.”

Buffy let go of Faith’s hand long enough to walk to Giles and give him a hug.

“Thank you.” She whispered into his ear.

He hugged her back for a moment before clearing his throat and shifting in his seat uncomfortably.

“So, yes. Erm, best not to tell the Council, I think. They’d want to run tests and experiments, and, well . . .” he smiled mischievously as he took off his glasses and polished them with his shirt, “. . . I’m sure you’ve got enough experimentation on your hands at the moment.”

“Giles!” Willow gasped, her eyes almost popping out of her head as a huge smile crossed her face.

“On that note,” Giles began, getting up crossing the room and giving Tara a friendly hug, “I must be on my way. Happy Birthday, Tara. Buffy, Faith . . .” he turned back and looked back at the two slayers who were happily wrapped up in a hug, “. . . why don’t we hold off on training until Monday.” The two girls smiled at him, loving the fact that they now had a free weekend. “Have a lovely evening, everyone.”

And with that, Giles left the Bronze with a small smile on his face.

“That’s my cue to leave.” Joyce responded. “I’m now the oldest person in here. It’s a thought I can’t tolerate for long. Tara, happy birthday, sweetie.” She smiled at the shy witch before turning towards Buffy and Faith. “As for you two . . . I’m happy you got over your little spat. I haven’t seen two people so happy in quite some time.” She paused, considering her words. “Try and hold on to that. I’ll see the both of you on Sunday? Dinner and some pity-the mother time? And hopefully, a little less of what happened in the basement last Sunday?” She asked with a grin.

“You got it, Mrs. S. See you Sunday.” Faith said cheerfully as she wrapped her arms around Buffy from behind, wearing a 1000 watt smile as she did so.

As Joyce left, Buffy settled back more comfortably into Faith’s arms, enjoying the feeling of the brunette’s soft fingers that had slid just under her top and were now tracing soft patterns on her stomach.

“I missed this.” Buffy said as she leaned her head back onto Faith’s shoulder and turned her head sideways, capturing the brunette’s lips in a quick kiss. “I didn’t realize how much I liked going out places and just spending time with you until you weren’t there.” She said somewhat sadly.

Faith leaned her head down and rested her lips on Buffy’s exposed shoulder, moving her lips softly on the warm skin.

“Me too.” Faith murmured into her shoulder. “But, I gotta ask ya something, B.” She said, lifting her head and looking around the room.

Buffy followed suit, lifting her eyes and looking at the many people that had crowded into the club.

She noticed that there were several people looking at them. One or two wore looks of contempt, a few had pure lust in their eyes, and other just seemed interested in the two attractive girls who suddenly couldn’t seem to keep their hands off of one another.

“Is stuff like this gonna bother ya?” Faith asked softly, still stroking Buffy’s stomach. “People watchin’ us, I mean. It’s not somethin’ that’s gonna be ignored anytime soon. I mean, we’re two hot chicks that like to grope each other. People are gonna watch, and some might even say stupid shit about it. Can ya handle it?”

Buffy didn’t answer.

Instead, she turned in Faith’s arms and stood up on her tippy-toes, capturing the girls’ lips in a heated kiss. It wasn’t like the one they had shared earlier. It was hot and full of passion and everything that they had been holding back for the past 2 days.

Their tongues slid against one another, not fighting for dominance but simply touching, tasting, and reacquainting. Buffy nipped at Faith’s lips, capturing the lower one in her mouth and sucking on it roughly before letting it release with a little wet plop.

“Does that answer your question.” Buffy asked breathlessly, pushing her forehead against Faith’s as they kept their eyes closed.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” Faith laughed.

“Good, then let’s say goodbye to Tara so I can take you home and make love to you all night.” The blonde said, opening her eyes to find two deep brown pools staring back at her. She furrowed her eyebrows, instantly wondering why Faith was giving her a questioning glance.

“What?” She asked, lifting her hand up and running it across Faith’s bottom lip.

Faith smiled softly, hesitating for a moment before she spoke.

“It’s past midnight, B. It’s Saturday . . . day 10. Are ya sure about this? I’m kinda crude, and messy; I burp out loud, I like to scratch in the morning for prolonged periods of time, and I could definitely use a few lessons in manners. So . . . are ya sure ya still want me?” She asked, looking down into Buffy’s eyes with a timid smile on her face, trying to hide her sudden nervousness.

“Yes . . . I still want you, Faith.” The older girl answered quietly.

“For how long?” The brunette whispered, her face only inches away from Buffy’s.

Buffy put on a big smile, stroking Faith’s lips as she closed the rest of the distance between them.

“Forever.”

Chapter Fifteen – Slayers in Love

Three Months Later . . .

“Oh god, Faith . . . harder baby.” Buffy moaned out into the otherwise quiet room, her head tossing back and forth on her pillow.

Faith was hovering just above her, one hand holding her up on the bed, and the other placed firmly on Buffy’s hip.

She smirked when she heard Buffy’s request and happily obliged, thrusting herself harder into the blonde. Their slick pussies slid against one another easily, clit bumping into swollen clit as Faith ground herself harder against the older girl.

“Yeah, just like that,” Buffy groaned, “keep going baby, I’m so close.”

She managed to unclench her hands from their death-grip on the sheets and slid them around Faith, scratching her nails down the tanned skin of her back until they rested on her hips.

“Fuck, B, you’re so fuckin wet. I can hear the nasty little noises your pussy is making. Do you like it when I fuck you with my pussy? When I slide my clit against yours and grind against ya ‘til ya come?” Faith said as she looked down at Buffy, wetting her own lips as she watched every grimace of pleasure that the blonde made.

Buffy groaned again.

But this time, it wasn’t the same kind of groan she used to make months ago to get Faith to stop speaking so crudely. It was the kinda of groan that she had learned to use rather to encourage the brunette.

Faith smiled, yet again encouraged by Buffy’s groans and words. She leaned down closer to the blonde’s ear and began to talk softly, teasingly, their breasts pressing against each other’s.

“You feel so good against me, B. I love rubbin my pussy against yours almost as much as I like suckin on your hard little clit. I’m gonna keep pushing against you, harder, faster, ‘til we come against each other, and then I’m gonna slide down you body and lick and suck you ‘til ya come in my mouth again.”

Buffy couldn’t react in any other way than to grip her hands tighter on Faith’s moving hips, pulling the girl down harder as she arched her own back and pressed up into her just as hard.

The two girls panted heavily as they came against one another, Faith collapsing her body on top of Buffy’s as she slowed her movements to a barely visible sway.

Almost instantly, they sought out one another’s lips, kissing and nipping softly as they rode out their orgasms. Faith flicked her tongue across Buffy’s top lip before kissing the corners of her mouth, to her jaw, down her neck, slowly kissing her way down the blonde’s lithe body.

She paused at the blonde’s hardened nipples, achingly taking one after the other in her mouth and sucking lightly before gently grazing her teeth across them.

On instinct, Buffy arched her back up, trying to push more of her into Faith’s warm mouth.

Faith, however, had other ideas in mind.

She smirked as she pulled herself from Buffy’s breasts, dragging her lips down the blonde’s tight stomach. She placed several wet kisses around Buffy’s navel, dipping her tongue in it a few times, alluding as to what was to come.

“Buffy.” She whispered between kisses, continuing her downwards descent. “I love you . . . you’re my girl . . . forever.” She breathed as she placed her hands on the older girls’ thighs, pushing them further apart to make more room for her body.

She glanced up only for a moment, meeting a pair of deep green eyes across the way. Buffy smiled at her gently, mouthing the word ‘forever’ as she reached her arm down to cup Faith’s cheek. Faith smiled back, leaning into the blonde’s touch before turning her head and kissing the inside of her palm.

She turned her gaze into the green eyes only for a moment more before waggling her eyebrows, giving her trademark grin, and burying her face in Buffy’s already wet pussy.

Buffy hissed at first contact, Faith’s tongue almost too much on her already oversensitive clit.

She had become used to the feel of Faith’s tongue in the few months that they had been together since the challenge. The way Faith would sneak it into her mouth when they kissed; the way it felt as the brunette marked her neck with kisses; the way it dipped into her bellybutton any time that Faith was feeling frisky; the way that it was currently swirling expertly around her clit.

“Baby . . . Faith . . . so good . . .” she moaned out, wondering somewhere in the back of her mind when she lost her ability to speak more than random babbles.

Faith stopped her momentary attack on Buffy’s swollen clit just enough to slide her tongue down her wet folds, lapping most of her juices into her mouth.

The blonde’s hips bucked forward as Faith’s tongue teased at her dripping entrance and then stiffened up, thrusting into her in a few short bursts.

The brunette slayer removed her tongue, grinning as Buffy groaned out in frustration. Using her right hand, she ran her fingers over the older girls’ heated centre, collecting up the rest of the moisture that remained. Slowly, the slid two fingers into Buffy’s wet pussy, giving her a few kisses on her inner thigh as she did so.

As she felt the blonde start to rock against her hand, she lowered her mouth to her clit again and began to suck on it, pushing her lips hard against the other girl.

“Faith, I’m gonna come again.” Buffy gasped, the feel of Faith’s mouth on her clit almost too much.

Faith, anxious to have Buffy coming in her mouth, sped up her fingers as she curled them gently, rubbing against the blonde’s g-spot every time she thrusted deep inside of her. She began to flick the tip of her tongue against Buffy’s clit as she sucked on it, bringing the girl to another earth-shattering orgasm.

Buffy’s hand had worked its way into Faith messy locks, holding her against her pussy as she came in her mouth.

As her breathing began to return to normal, Faith reluctantly let go of Buffy’s clit and gave it a quick kiss before sliding back up the blonde’s body. Grinning, she lifted herself so that she was laying half on top of her, their legs tangled together and her arms wrapped around the older girls’ torso.

After a few minutes of silence, Buffy finally breathed out, “Well . . . I guess that means the Guest Room is christened.”

“Yep. Faith said, her voice sleepy and her eyelids closing half-way. “That only leaves the laundry room . . . the kitchen . . . the living room . . . our bedroom . . . the bathroom . . . the hallway . . . the back porch . . .”

“I think I get the picture.” Buffy interrupted, laughing. “Lots more sex to be had. Check. ‘Operation: Christen the New Apartment’ shall commence after a brief nap.”

“Hey. I’m ready to go again . . . you just tell me when and where, blondie.” Faith replied, worn out, still unmoving from her position.

Buffy smiled even bigger, bringing her lips down to the brunette’s forehead and letting them linger there.

“No worries. We have all the time in the world.” She sighed contentedly, closing her eyes and falling asleep in Faith’s arms.

“Well, if it isn’t the love bugs come here to grace us with their presence.” Xander beamed as Buffy and Faith entered the Bronze and approached the group at the table. “So, life in the new apartment. How goes the christening ceremonies?” He joked as Buffy sat down next to him and Faith perched herself on the arm of his chair.

“Half-way there, Xan-man. Cross the Guest Room and the back porch off the list, buddy.” Faith smirked as she gave him a high-five.

“I just hope you’ll change the sheets on the bed before asking any of us to spend the night.” Willow said as she laughed softly with Tara. Faith just winked at her in response.

“Sooooo . . . back porch . . . Faith, my friend, how’d you manage that one.” Xander asked mischievously, earning him a smack on the chest from Buffy and a smack on the back of his head from Anya. “Whaaaat?” He asked.

“Well, let’s just put it this way,” Faith began, “. . . when your girl bends over to pick up your steel-toed boots in her teeny-tiny little robe . . . things just kinda . . . happen.” She said innocently as she waggled her eyebrows at her girlfriend.

“Kinda, schminda.” Buffy laughed. “You had that all planned out from the get-go. I’m fairly certain that you left your clodhoppers right in the middle of the porch so I’d have to bend over to get them.”

Faith just smirked in response, shrugging her shoulders and trying her best to feign innocence.

“Baby,” Tara jokingly whispered to Willow but loudly for everyone enough to hear, “when we go to visit, you’re not allowed to wear shoes of any sort.”

The entire group laughed at the comment and Xander excused himself to go get some drinks . . . but the uncomfortable way in which he was walking pretty much gave away why he had to leave for a while.

“It’s all of us hot-chicks with super powers.” Faith stated nonchalantly. “We’re too much for Xan to handle.”

A few minutes thereafter, Xander returned to the group with an armful of drinks. The friends sat and laughed and enjoyed their night together, relishing what they could of their new-found closeness before they got swept into the chaos of another school year.

With Buffy and Faith having just moved into an apartment together, Willow and Tara still living in the same dorm together, and Xander and Anya apartment-hunting, it was pretty much assured that not a single one of them would ever spend much time alone. Still, time like this was special, because they were all finally finding some happiness and order in their lives.

There was one thing that Faith was sure of during this time. It was that she was happier than she had ever been in her life, and that the reason for it was sitting before her in the form of a blonde girl with the most amazing green eyes she had ever seen.

They had taken a chance with the whole ‘challenge’ a few months prior, and luckily, they had both won out. She had never expected that Buffy would actually fall for her; she was pretty sure that when she had flaunted her so-called ability to make people ‘do things they normally wouldn’t’, she was talking out of her ass. Still, she had surprised herself with how deeply she and her sister-Slayer had fallen during that time.

‘Love’s a funny thing’ Buffy had told her. ‘You go about looking for it for so long that when it finally lands right in front of you, you have change your perspective a bit in order to see it’.

And perspective was exactly what Faith was dealing with at the moment.

She looked at her life as it was and noticed that it was pretty much full of Buffy. Home, school, slaying . . . the blonde Slayer was a constant in her current life. When she looked to the future, it was all uncertain, except for one thing: she saw Buffy with her, though every limitless possibility. If there was one thing she wanted, it was to ensure that she could keep Buffy planted firmly in her life; in her future.

A knowing smile crossed her lips as she thought that perhaps just one more challenge was in order . . .

“Mom? We’re here!” Buffy shouted out into the front hall as she and Faith came walking into the house.

“I’m just finishing up dinner, girls!” Joyce shouted from the kitchen. “Make yourselves at home!”

Buffy took off her jacket and opened the closet door, about to hang it up when she felt a pair of arms encircle around her from behind.

Faith started kissing the side of her neck and pressing into her back, rubbing her hands along Buffy’s stomach.

“What are you doing, you nut?” Buffy giggled, trying to pry Faith’s arms from her midsection.

“Making myself at home.” Faith mumbled into her neck.

The blonde slayer laughed, still trying to squirm out of Faith’s grip.

“Hey, behave. I don’t think she meant ‘have your nasty way with my daughter in the front hall while you’re here’. Besides, your ‘horns’ are digging into my neck, you little devil.”

Faith finally relented, dropping her arms to her sides and resting her chin on Buffy’s shoulder.

“No fair, B. I can’t help it, especially when you walk around all irresistible-like. You’re like visual-Viagra right now.” She said with a hint of a whine in her husky voice.

Buffy laughed as turned and faced Faith, raising her eyebrows. “Irresistible? Faith, I was hanging up my jacket, not putting on a strip-tease.”

Faith smirked, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “Hey, you say potato, I say poTATo.”

“Did I hear something about potatoes?” Joyce said innocently as she walked into the room, giving both of the girls a quick hug.

“Yeah, I like Buffy’s potatoes.” Faith said with a smirk, winking at her girlfriend as Joyce’s back was towards her.

Joyce let go of Buffy and started walking towards the kitchen again. “I’m sure that’s a vague sexual reference to my daughter that I’m going to conveniently overlook.” She said over her shoulder, a sly smile on her face.

Buffy smacked Faith’s arm, trying her best to look perturbed but letting her smile win out.

“Gimme your jacket, I’ll hang it up for you.” Buffy said, holding her hand out for Faith’s leather jacket.

Faith almost looked panicked for a moment before a she was able to put on her usual calm and cool exterior.

“Yunno what? I’ll take care of it. You go help your Ma, I’ll hang this up, and then I’m gonna run to the bathroom and wash up real quick.”

Buffy just smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss before walking off into the kitchen. Faith watched her as the blonde walked away, nervously grasping at her jacket as she did so. She anxiously made sure that she felt the outline of the small box in the inner pocket of the jacket before hanging it carefully in the back of the closet.

With the jacket and the mysterious small box tucked safely away, she smiled and made her way to the kitchen.

“I’m stuffed.” Buffy groaned as she plopped down on the couch in the living room, the sound of her mother finishing the last few dishes in the background.

“I’m not. In fact, I was thinkin we could go out for some ice cream or somethin.” Faith responded, jumping around nervously a bit in front of the couch.

“Ughh. You’re never full. You’re like a bottomless pit.” The blonde joked.

Faith chuckled nervously, a sound that wasn’t all that common. Buffy immediately perked up to it and sat forward, taking Faith’s hand in her own.

“What’s wrong, baby? You seem nervous.” She asked, a concerned look on her face.

Faith tried to cover. “Nahh, not nervous. I just . . . well, I have a surprise for you. But we gotta go now if we’re gonna make it in time.”

Buffy smiled softly and stood up, her hand still around Faith’s. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“Mrs. S? We’re headed out!” Faith called out as she and Buffy made their way to the front closet, putting on their jackets.

“Okay! Goodnight girls! Oh, and Faith . . . that stuff you asked for is by the stairs!” Joyce called out from the kitchen.

“Thanks!” Faith answered, quickly grabbing a seemingly recognizable duffle bag. “Let’s motorvate, B.” She ignored the amused look on Buffy’s face and opened the front door, waiting for Buffy to step out.

The two Slayers walked hand in hand through the woods to a familiar hill in a familiar patch of woods.

When they reached the top of the hill, Faith gave Buffy a quick kiss on the lips before putting the duffle bag on the ground and pulling a blanket from it, laying it down on the ground.

“Why, Faith my love, are you gettin’ all romantical on me?” Buffy said with a funny little accent, an amused look on her face.

“Maybe.” Faith responded coyly, taking a bottle of wine and two glasses out of the bag next. “Just kinda feelin nostalgic . . . and this place brings back lotsa good memories.” She said softly, finally sitting down and making a spot for Buffy between her legs.

“Yeah, it does.” Buffy answered back just as softly before sitting down and settling back into Faith’s embrace. “I guess we’ll just have to do without the eclipse this time around.”

“Or maybe we won’t.” Faith said with a smile, pointing up to the magnificent sight in the sky above the; another eclipse.

“Whoa.” Buffy said nervously. “I don’t think that’s possible. Two eclipses so close together, I mean. This feels like something Hellmouth-y to me.”

“Nahh. Nothin to worry ‘bout, B. I just called in a little favor to a friend of mine.” Faith replied. When Buffy turned her heads toward her, eyebrow raised, she decided to elaborate. “Okay, fine. I wanted to re-create the moment. It’s a glamour . . . Tara did it for me. I just . . . I wanted tonight to be kinda perfect. Memorable.”

Buffy turned completely in her arms, wrapping both her legs and arms around the girl.

“Baby . . . something’s definitely up.” She said, concerned. “You sure you’re okay?”

Faith smiled, exhaling her breath and relaxing a bit as she gazed into Buffy’s eyes.

“Yeah, I am. See, that’s the thing. I’m completely fuckin okay. Happy. Perfectly, even. These last few months with you have been . . . well, they’ve been the best fuckin three months of my life. Every single moment that I look back upon . . . you’re in it. I’m totally swamped with thoughts of you, and how happy ya make me.”

Buffy smiled, arching her eyebrow. “That’s a good thing, right?” She joked.

“Yeah, it is. Point is, Buffy, You’ve been such a big part of my life, of ME, these last few months. Even more so, these last two years. I love having you with me and honestly, when I think of my future . . . I can’t see any part of it without you in it.”

She hesitated for a moment before nervously reaching into the inner pocket of her jacket and pulling out a small white box.

A jewelry box.

More specifically, a ring box.

Buffy’s eyes widened at the sight, so Faith quickly tried to explain.

“Chill, B. It’s not what you think.” She flicked the small box open to reveal a solid platinum band with two gemstones embedded in it. “They’re my birthstone and your birthstone. Real deal too, not the gumball-machine crap.”

Buffy smiled at her cute explanation. She remained silent as Faith continued.

“So, here’s what I’m thinkin: I kinda want you to be around. Forever. With me. And . . . fuck, I don’t know if I’m marriage material, and I don’t even know if that kinda shit is legal here. Besides, we’re too young for all of that now. This is . . . a promise. That I wanna be with you . . . that I’m yours and you’re mine . . . and that if we wanna be something ‘more’, we can be. Fuck . . . I love you so much, Buffy. This kinda stuff isn’t easy for me. I’m supposed to be badass and crass . . . not love-y and soppy. But I can’t help it with you. You just, well, you make me wanna be a better person. And I think I am, cuz of you.”

Buffy’s smile grew 10 times in size. “Faith, I – I . . .” She stammered, tears of happiness in her eyes.

“Think of it as a challenge, B.” Faith interrupted. “A friendly challenge between two slayers. What, with my super persuasion powers and all . . . I’m gonna try to keep you in

love with me for as long as you’ll have me. And you, well . . .” she held up the box, “. . . all you have to do is accept the challenge.”

Buffy let a chuckle-sob escape her throat before leaning her head down and pressing her forehead against the brunette’s. She pushed forward a bit more, brushing her lips softly against Faith’s as she blindly dipped her fingers into the white box, pulling the ring out with her fingertips.

She pulled back just enough to slip the ring on the ring-finger of her right hand, admiring the way it looked before laying her head in the crook of Faith’s neck and wrapping her arms around the girl. Closing her eyes, she sighed contentedly.

“It’s a perfect fit.” She said smiling.

Faith grinned, wrapping her arms around Buffy in return.

“Yeah, it really is.”