Chapter Twenty One: Progression (part 3)
Faith grinned as she caught the foam basketball Willow tossed her as she collapsed sideways into the stuffed chair inside the study. Giles sat with one leg crossed over a knee on the couch, his glasses hanging between two fingers as he rested his head on the palm of his hand. Dropping the ball to the floor, Faith glanced between the pair as Willow walked past her to shut the door.
“So which version of twenty questions shall I be enjoying as much as a fleet enema tonight?” Faith asked, her eyes locking on Giles as Willow took a seat beside him.
Picking up a heavily written on pad of paper from the coffee table in front of her, Willow clicked on a pen and glanced at her notes, “You said that in the dream, Buffy told you that time was running out and that you had to lay out your cards before it was too late. Now, we didn’t get any immediate hits on that from the quick research we did from this morning until now, because we’ve been focusing on preparing for tomorrow. However, we can start up on that before the meeting later on.”
“What might you think the dream meant?” Giles interjected softly, his voice steering the trio’s focus onto the reason they were assembled.
Faith resituated herself into the correct way to sit in the chair, “I dunno, B told me about a couple of times she had these dreams with me in them, but I’d have no memory. This time we both remembered. If going on her past experience, I’d say the meaning had to do with the upcoming apocalypse,” Faith shrugged, slouching into a more comfortable position in the chair.
“Do you think it might have had anything to do with your relationship with her?” The question was asked softly, yet Faith felt a chill shoot through her, the question suddenly making her worried.
“I don’t… know. It’s possible,” Faith replied, avoiding looking at Giles as she spoke.
Seeing Giles shift in the corner of her eye, Faith glanced back over, hoping he would try a different tack.
“Why don’t we start from the beginning? The first time you had a prophetic dream of some sort,” Giles leaned forward as he uncrossed his legs and pressed his elbows into the tops of his knees.
Oh joy, just when I thought this wouldn’t be difficult, Faith shook her head from her musings and straighten up slightly in her seat, “Well, the first one I really remember, and didn’t just have a sense of déjà vu from had to be about a month after I left you guys four years ago. I had chilled at Angel’s for about a week and had done a whole journey walk with the Powers That Be about what I could do with my life as a fucked up champion. They told me I would know where to go to help people- which turned out to be the dreams- but the down side was that I would learn about it in a way that matched my life and actions. Kinda like the supernatural karma of Big A getting a soul to suffer for the evil he had done so that he could turn into a champion of the White Hats. I get this karmic slayer assistance that keeps me awake all night. Anyway, I had left LA to head up to Canada, just as a stepping stone- get out of the country where I knew all of the champions,” Faith stopped for a moment, her eyes shutting. Turning her head to look out of the window behind Willow’s desk Faith began again, “And that was when I had my first slayer nightmare.”
“Nightmare?” Willow interjected.
“Buffy gets dreams. I get nightmares. Matches the person, don’tcha think?” Faith shot out, feeling the frustration building up.
“Faith,” Giles began, rubbing his eyes before finally putting his glasses on, “Why the Powers do what they do is not always cut and dry, but I think there are at least two journals by two different Watchers who mentioned how their Slayers had more distressing and bleak dreams, rather than the more…normal prophetic dreams that the others received.”
“Were those girls living such stellar lives like me?” Faith inquired, the sarcastic tone etched throughout the question.
Giles closed his eyes, as if willing tranquility from the Dark Slayer, “I’m not fully sure, I will look it up later and confirm it.”
“All right, so they gave you slayer nightmares,” Willow smoothed over, trying to move the conversation forward, “What were they about, or what did they do to you?”
Faith eyed Willow for a moment before sighing and beginning the long story of just how much her nightmares had affected her over the last four years.
“…and then they gave me a party hat,” Faith finished, a grin breaking out on her face after the somber mood of the last hour and a half slowly ebbed from the only comedic story that had any relation to her dreams.
Willow sat, pen scribbling, as she attempted to maintain a straight face. However, Faith laughed out loud at how quickly that failed when the witch looked over at Giles, and squeaked out a laugh. Giles, for his part, sat, mouth agape, a dumbfounded look on his face, as if not quite sure whether what Faith had told him had any true correlation with everything else she had said. The group was silent, processing, and the lighthearted moment was overshadowed by the rough edged and dark tales which Faith had weaved for her audience.
“You said you have been waking up periodically since you first came here, from a dream that you could not remember?” Giles guided the group back as he regained his composure and sat back in his seat.
Faith nodded, “Yeah, it was odd. I would jolt awake and just… nothing. Not even a trace feeling of worry or anguish or fear would remain. I always was just left wondering why I woke up. I didn’t think it was a problem, because I never remembered anything disturbing or had a bad feeling- which usually are two big characteristics for my dreams. I didn’t think before that my lack of remembering despite being woken the same way as with the regular nightmares meant that it could be the same thing regardless of remembering.”
“It might be because of all of the magicks we have protecting this house,” Willow mused, glancing over at Giles.
“It can’t be. Buffy has still had dreams here regardless of how much protection we have. The Slayer dreams transcend all magicks, except that which created them,” Giles shook his head, “It must be something else.”
“Giles, I’ve had some pretty horrific dreams, to which my storytelling barely describes the Dolby Digital and Surround Sound feeling of my experiencing any given dream. I’ve woken up screaming, crying, wishing I was blind and on the rare occasion, dead. If I’ve seen things like that, why would I suddenly be blocking them out?”
Faith glanced over at Willow, who merely turned to Giles. Shaking his head, Giles replied, “I wish I knew. I’ll start researching that tonight as well.”
“I could run this by Alice, our adult psychologist. Maybe she could figure something out by coming from a different angle than we do,” Willow proposed, glancing between the pair.
“No. No fucking way, Red,” Faith dismissed angrily, “I don’t get my head shrunk unless it’s a penitentiary requirement.”
Giles bridged his fingers together and rested his chin on them before responding, “Then how do you suggest we proceed?”
It had taken Willow and Andrew about four hours on Friday after Faith had first spoke to the small group when she initially got back to the mansion to triangulate a rough estimate of where the Kartuk demons had held Harrison Beatman captive. Faith’s previous evening’s conversation with Willow and Giles had left her frustrated as they used rationality to get her to agree to talk with the Slayer psychologist. Mixing that with her focus on revenge for the Kartuk’s attack on Buffy and the desire to land a critical blow before the apocalypse would begin was causing Faith’s personality to shift back to when she was younger and out of control. Faith felt the itch to jump onto her bike while Willow was giving out instructions in the garage before they all left which caused her foot to start tapping. As the group began to climb into the two vehicles, Kennedy came over to Faith and grasped her arm. Turning Faith looked a question at the younger Slayer.
“Are you okay?” Kennedy asked, her eyes searching the taller woman’s.
Faith allowed a crease to appear at the corner of her eyes, “Yeah, just…”
“Tense? Impatient? Desperately in need of a good fuck?” Kennedy supplied, her gaze flicking to Buffy, who was currently tossing a duffel bag into the back of the SUV.
Faith’s gaze followed Kennedy’s and dropped to the curve where the blonde Slayer’s thigh met the bottom of her ass, God. Turning back to Kennedy, she saw the knowing grin, “Tell me it’s not that obvious.”
“Tell me you’re gonna do something soon. I mean, neither of you are nuns, and you’re dancing around each other like it would be bad if you just sealed the deal,” Kennedy stopped as Faith shifted her stance, “Look, I’ve seen the way she watches you when you’re being oblivious. She wants it, and I know you want it. Hell, from the stories you’ve told me, and from what I know, you used to hit that shit up like it was your job. So just go all in girl, what have you got to lose?”
As Kennedy grinned and walked away, Faith moved to her bike and swung her leg over it. Holding a different, dark gray helmet with the Chinese symbol for “faith” in black on the back of it between her hands, Faith looked over at the SUV where Buffy sat behind the wheel. As their eyes locked, Faith swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, everything. Pulling the helmet on, careful not to screw up the ponytail that secured her hair, Faith pressed a small button on the underside of the helmet near her throat as she flicked the visor down. Instantly the murmur of chatter entered her ear inside the helmet.
“Can everyone hear me?” Buffy’s voice cut through, the sound quiet.
“Loud and clear in the cab,” Kennedy’s voice replied, also quietly, and Faith turned her helmeted head to the truck next to her before speaking, “Can you turn up the volume a little? You guys are too quiet. I won’t hear you on the road.”
“How’s this?” Buffy replied, Faith catching her movement in the SUV as she adjusted the volume.
“Better, are we good?” Faith asked, turning the helmet to both vehicles.
“All set,” Kennedy commented, “Let’s get this bitch on the road.”
“Faith, you’re on point. For most of the drive, we’ll be going the same way, so the chatter will be minimal until the end,” Buffy informed Faith as the brunette hopped and kick-started her motorcycle.
Squealing the tires, Faith spun a quick ninety degree turn to face the front exit of the garage.
“Such a lesbian,” Kennedy barked into her ear as Faith drove down the driveway.
“You should talk, back there in your red truck,” Faith shot back, “Now, am I gonna hafta deal with you the whole drive?”
“Nah, just thought I’d say it now,” Kennedy laughed out, “Let’s vamos!”
It was relatively quiet for the majority of the drive, and Faith allowed her brain to jump around. From the current situation, to her dreams, to the lack of finish occurring in hers and Buffy’s relationship, Faith’s brain was anywhere but on the road. When Buffy’s voice suddenly cut through to her, Faith jumped slightly on her bike, jolted by being brought back to the present.
“Will says to take the next exit.”
Faith turned her head to glance over her shoulder and switched lanes as the exit approached. It dumped onto a road in one direction and Faith, after yielding, sped up. Faith counted two major intersections before they entered into a less populated area. Passing roads and houses took longer as the country began to swallow the road and civilization dropped away.
“The next road on your right is the one we want. The park entrance will be a few miles up on your left. Try to find an unobtrusive parking spot for us,” Buffy informed her.
“Gotcha B,” Faith replied as she decelerated into the right turn, “Someday you gotta tell me where ya learned such big words.”
“Save it for the demons, Faith,” Kennedy cut through suddenly, her voice laced with mirth.
“Oh like that ever stopped them before,” Dawn commented, causing Faith to grin at the interplay between the vehicles.
Turning left into the park, Faith slowed in order to reduce the amount of noise her bike gave off to remain as low-key as possible. Parking in a secondary -and almost completely empty- parking lot, Faith dismounted and pulled her helmet off as the SUV shifted into park on one side of her while Kennedy’s truck came to a halt on the other side- framing the least protected vehicle perfectly. Placing her helmet on the seat of her Ducati, Faith watched both vehicles empty out. As she adjusted her ponytail more securely, Buffy, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, Dawn, Sandra and Tracy moved to stand in a small huddle with her, hiding as best as they could between the two vehicles. Leaning against the side of the SUV, Faith crossed her arms, waiting for the “pump up” speech to start.
“Okay, Sandra and Will, you guys’ll be with me on the right flank. Trey will be with you, Faith, on the left flank. Xander, you hang back with Ken and Dawn, keep the swords sheathed and crossbows as hidden as you can while we make sure the open areas are clear for you. Everyone has an earpiece- so stay in contact- I don’t want anything going wrong with this,” Buffy nodded at Faith, “Keep weapons shouldered and concealed until we’re far enough into the woods so that we can call as little attention to ourselves as possible. Now, Will said we won’t be within earshot of any trails, but I still want this kept as quiet as possible.”
“Thank God this is a recreational park,” Faith commented as the back of the SUV was opened and Buffy began handing out weapons. As a broad sword was handed to Xander, she continued, “I don’t know how we’d explain ourselves at the visitor’s center if it wasn’t.”
Xander grinned at her, and Faith felt the mood lighten, “Imagine us trying to go through customs, never mind a visitor’s center.”
“Let’s not, shall we?” Willow interjected curtly as she swung a messenger bag with a small axe sticking out, over her head.
The mood shifted back to business as the group recalled the story of Willow and Kennedy being detained in LAX after coming back from Brazil where they were almost shipped off to the FBI for interrogation.
“Well, next time I won’t bring an ancient Peruvian sacrificial knife in my backpack,” Kennedy murmured, her tone conveying her dislike of the incident.
Faith scuffed her toe on the ground for a moment before sighing in an attempt to set herself, “C’mon, let’s motor.”
Buffy nodded, and the pair moved forward with Willow, Tracy and Sandra moving like a group of friends out for a hike, only their watchful gazes exposing their ulterior motive. Spreading out slightly, Faith noticed that there were only a few people with a direct line of sight to them, and they were distracted. Let’s hope they stay that way, Faith thought, as Buffy gestured for Xander, Dawn and Kennedy to go into the trail entrance from where she stood. Faith kept a vigilant eye on the oblivious hikers who appeared to be out on an early spring picnic as Xander and the others passed her. Tracy, Sandra and Willow moved in a second wave after them, followed quickly by Buffy while Faith took up the rear, glancing around one last time before entering the woods.
“Now, we follow this trail until we’re a little more than a third of the way around the lake,” Willow began as the group reassembled and started their hike along the trail, “Then we’ll be far from any people, and facing the woods that run parallel to the utility road that Faith told us about.”
“What’s the closest civilized area once there?” Xander asked as he handed out three short swords before adjusting the crossbow strap across his chest.
“Well, aside from the almost vacant park, there is an equally vacant campsite almost four miles southeast of where we’ll be,” Willow answered.
“So we’re on our own,” Tracy concluded.
“Trey, we’re quite capable as a group, and it’s better that there won’t be any innocents that could possibly get in harm’s way,” Buffy rebuffed.
The group fell silent a while, the hike getting the better of them. Eventually, Sandra piped up, “So why aren’t Rona and Vi with us?”
“They’ve got term papers due early,” Dawn replied as she hopped over a fallen branch.
“Oh,” Sandra nodded, then, “Why are you here then?”
“I don’t have any due until the end of the semester,” Dawn answered, shrugging, “How long is this hike of ours anyway?”
Faith glanced back at Dawn before making eye contact with Buffy, “About 45 minutes until we reach the utility road, and then another 45 ‘til the barrier markers.”
“Wow, day trip,” Sandra commented, deadpanning, “Too bad I didn’t pack my bathing suit.”
“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t get any sort of decent tan in these woods,” Kennedy scoffed sarcastically.
As the rest of the group bickered congenially, Faith blocked them out, her mind focusing on maintaining control on herself so that she wouldn’t rush into the hideout the moment she saw it.
Faith stood off to the right, Tracy a few feet from her, their attention locked on Willow, who held a yellow candle, murmuring an incantation under her breath, her eyes fused on the pile of rocks Faith pointed out to her. Buffy and Sandra stood a similar distance away from Willow on her left, with Kennedy, Xander and Dawn keeping further back, completing an arc around the witch. A soft wind blew through the forest after a moment, causing the candle to go out, despite the fact that none of the trees or plants moved with it.
“Okay, this is officially becoming a bit too much Blair Witch for me,” Dawn commented, adjusting the short sword in her grasp, “Faith’s whole Robert Ludlum marking skills were cool, but this just freaks me out.”
“Check out Dawn, queen of all books about Jason Bourne,” Sandra commended, “Glad you didn’t make a movie connection for once, considering the present group’s pop culture knowledge.”
“Hey, we know books!” Xander cut in playfully, only to be silenced by Willow.
“Quiet,” Willow’s voice was low. After making sure everyone was back to being serious, Willow continued, her voice normal and more relaxed, “The barrier is down. They left a while ago. However, there are traces of the magicks used here. I’ll try to conjure a way of containing it so that I can study it, and possibly help us find out where to go from here. You guys can check the place out; but I doubt you’ll find anything that didn’t die at least a month ago.”
Faith looked at Buffy, who nodded at her, and moved past Willow and the barrier markers, her eyes watchful despite Willow telling her not to worry. Keeping the knife in her hand down, Faith circled one way while Buffy mirrored her in the other direction. When they met at what appeared to be the only visible entrance, Buffy lifted her hand and motioned for Tracy and Sandra to follow. With the other Slayers at their backs, Buffy took the flashlight that Sandra offered her and moved into the entrance, Faith right behind her. The initial entranceway was small and emptied into a larger room where straw and leaves matted the floor. Pieces of wood lay scattered, some appearing as makeshift seats, while others as floor level tables of some sort. Swinging the flashlight around, Buffy and Faith saw three more tunnels branch off from the room.
“Tunnel number 1 it is,” Faith murmured as Buffy approached the tunnel on the left.
“You guys stay here, I don’t want to forget which tunnel the exit is at,” Buffy turned and looked back.
Static in her earpiece told Faith that someone outside was starting to speak, “Anything in there?”
Recognizing Willow’s voice, Faith replied, “Nothing yet. Everything is makeshift, set up like a hive.”
Buffy glanced over her shoulder at Faith before continuing down the tunnel. It also emptied into a large cavernous room, but something was different about it.
“I smell blood,” Faith whispered as Buffy came to stop in front of her.
“Me too, demon.”
“Yeah.”
“Medical area?” Buffy looked back at Faith, who was busy turning a wooden cot over with her foot.
Nodding, Faith took the light from Buffy and exited, this time in the lead. When they came back to main room, Faith immediately hung a left and entered the middle tunnel. It only took a few minutes before it dead-ended into a series of cuts in the walls that looked like dirt beds with leaves and branches littering the area. Handing the flashlight back to Buffy, Faith followed her out in silence. The third tunnel emptied into another wide room; this time however, the room reeked of human decay.
“I think we found where Harrison was held captive,” Buffy supplied, lifting a hand to her nose.
“Sandra, come down the far right tunnel, we need your expertise,” Faith called out, her earpiece receiving Sandra’s clipped acknowledgment.
Glancing around with the flashlight, various body parts and a corpse were suddenly lit up in a corner. When Sandra came in, a second flashlight in hand, Faith saw her gaze drop to the floor.
“Bugger,” Sandra swore, moving past the pair to crouch in front of the corpse, “Move your torch over around my right, could you?”
Buffy immediately moved, her light giving Sandra as much assistance as possible.
“These remains appear no less than three weeks old. The other body parts here are older however. I’ll need to take these out and study them more fully to tell you anything else,” Sandra informed the pair.
Buffy nodded once, “You call the shots, this place is clean as far as Faith and I could tell.”
“Willow? Can you hear me?” Sandra spoke, her eyes following her flashlight as she checked the rest of the room.
“Yeah, what’s up? You guys found bodies?” Willow asked back.
“Parts. I need you, Ken and Xander to come down here to help me bag, tag and move the remains out,” Sandra informed her.
As the three woman moved around to see if there were any more remains, they heard Xander ask timidly from outside, “Is this payback for the wine spill at your parents?”
Sandra came to a stop and turned, her eyes narrowing on the other two Slayers, “What wine spill?”
With the continuing silence from Xander’s end, Buffy and Faith shared a knowing grin, open mouth, insert foot Xand.
**
“Toss me one,” Kennedy called out as she entered the kitchen, where Faith had just pulled a can of Sprite from the fridge.
Glancing over the top of the door, Faith pulled another can out and tossed it to the other woman, who was leaning back against the counter. The group had pulled in about an hour ago, and Faith, with sundown almost three hours away, had nothing to focus on aside from the thoughts Kennedy had put into her head at eight that morning. Leaning back against the opposite counter, Faith cracked open her can, and eyed her friend carefully.
Kennedy watched her back before a grin broke out on her face, “My God, I really had an effect on you this morning!”
Faith broke the eye contact and shook her head, “No Ken, it’s not that…”
“Like hell it is. I know you, girl. Remember back when we used to spend all the spare time post-Sunnydale’s implosion hangin’?” Kennedy asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Faith sipped her drink and nodded, “Yeah, yeah. My brain’s scattered today.”
“Got a lot on the poor thing?” Kennedy pouted, mocking Faith.
“Fuck you,” Faith shot back, grinning.
“Ask Buffy first,” Kennedy retorted before exiting the room laughing.
“So do we have any progress on the double front back at the mansion?” Vi asked as she, Rona, Buffy and Faith walked through one of the larger nearby cemeteries that evening.
“Willow’s holed herself up in her study, allowing only Dawn and Andrew to pop in on her magicks research. So far she hasn’t made the house explode. That’s progress if I ever saw it,” Faith replied dryly as she glanced to her right into the shadows beside a mausoleum.
“And Sandra has equally holed herself up in the Trauma room…and no one’s attempting to bust in on the wondrously decaying flesh she’s up to her elbows in down there. We won’t know the full story on the remains for another week because she has to bring all of her samples to the lab, which takes time to process,” Buffy finished.
“Ick,” Rona shuddered, “I don’t see the joy in chillin’ with decaying bits.”
“You’re a Slayer, Rona…Vamps are decaying bits,” Vi reasoned, rolling her eyes.
“There’s a difference,” Rona argued before coming to a halt.
The group stopped, all eyes on Rona, who cocked her head in a motion to follow her as she headed to her left. Another mausoleum’s door hung open, grabbing the group’s attention. Halting outside, Buffy gestured to Rona and Faith to follow her in, leaving Vi to stand guard in case of a trap. Entering quietly, the unmistakable sound of a growl reached Faith’s ears, causing her to duck and roll on instinct as a vampire swiped at the spot she had just vacated. Spinning around, Faith kicked up her leg into the vampire’s knee, causing him to drop. The sounds of fighting and multiple vampires in the mausoleum amplified Faith’s adrenaline rush as she grabbed her current attacker around the cuff of his collar and threw him around behind her, knocking down two other vampires in the process. The sound of two vamps biting the dust made it to Faith’s ears as she advanced on the trio scrambling up in front of her. Spinning a kick in one’s jaw, Faith kneed the second in the face before focusing on the third, who had stood up.
Landing a punch to his jaw, the vamp countered with his own that sent Faith back into Rona. Righting themselves, they moved away and back to their respective vampires. Vaulting off of the wall, Faith landed a kick to the vamp’s face, and upon landing, spun again to slam another foot into his shoulder, sending him reeling into another vampire. Snarling, he came barreling back, giving Faith the ability to do a leg sweep, and stake him the moment he hit the ground. No sooner had her first slay of the night been dusted when another vampire grabbed her around the throat and pulled her up and back. Grunting loudly, Faith pushed them backwards until they hit a wall, causing the vamp to snarl. Whipping her head back, the sickening sound of one skull hitting another and the other ricocheting off of the wall was accompanied by the howl of pain from her attacker. Slamming a free arm down on the vamp’s wrist, Faith heard bone crack as she broke the choke hold and spun, shoving the vamp against the wall before plunging her stake home. Silence followed the scream of the vampire’s dusting, and Faith rubbed her neck as she turned around to look at the other two women. Glancing at the pair, the sudden sound of another vampire dusting outside the mausoleum caused the three of them to run back out, only to see Vi pocketing her stake.
“What, you guys think you would get all the action?” Vi asked, grinning.
“Who’s hungry?” Faith asked to a chorus of agreement. Catching Buffy’s eye, Faith winked, “Just hungry?”
Buffy allowed a playful smile to flash across her face as the other two women moved ahead of them, chattering quietly about their play-by-plays.
“Let’s just say I want more than a non-fat yogurt,” Buffy answered with a glint in her eye.
Faith swallowed and looked away, her thoughts darkening with lust, maybe Ken was right. Maybe I should just go all in.
The rest of the patrol turned out to be a dud, leaving the four women edgy as they got back into the SUV. The car ride home was quiet, with Rona and Vi talking about their paper topics before thanking Buffy for dropping them off at the second house. Faith and Buffy remained silent the rest of the car ride back, the music on the radio the only thing making any noise.
What is there to lose? Faith thought as they exited the SUV. Opening the door to the mansion, Faith allowed Buffy to enter first. As the blonde took off her coat, Faith shut the door and slipped out of her own, hanging it on the coat hook closest to the bathroom door. Buffy had waited for her, and when Faith was done, turned and started to walk back towards the hallway, but Faith stopped her.
“Not so fast,” Faith called out, her tone conveying far more than her words.
Grabbing Buffy by her bicep, Faith pulled her back towards her and spun her until they had turned 180 degrees. Pushing Buffy back into the wall beside the few coats that were hung up, Faith planted her feet to keep Buffy where she wanted her. With Kennedy suddenly banging the fact home that she and Buffy were at a crux, and knowing how long she had gone without sex, solo sex notwithstanding, Faith had been feeling a strong urge to just grab the blonde all day and shove her against a wall, having her way with her. Considering the day they had had, this urge had been left to smolder even longer, and now, Faith was tired of waiting, waiting became old a long time ago.
Buffy asked no questions, her eyes had widened and her mouth had opened in a mixture of anticipation and fear at the initial assault. Moving in closer, Faith felt the personal space melt away, and savored watching Buffy’s rapid breathing as her chest moved up and down, the fabric of her shirt tightening just the smallest bit around her bust with each inhale, and Faith was mesmerized. She almost forgot the reason she had yanked the blonde back as they had reentered the house, but when Buffy shifted her hand up to grasp Faith’s elbow gently, the movement jarred Faith back to her plan, not much of a plan, really. Leaning in, Faith brushed their noses, trying to build up the moment if even the tiniest bit more. Feeling the sigh of warm breath escape from the shorter woman’s mouth, Faith opened her eyes to see that the blonde had already given in to the sensations, her eyes closed, enjoying the minute skin contact.
Part of the reason Faith wanted to enjoy this so much was because of the risk that someone might walk back down the hall. The idea that they might be caught in the act made Faith even more turned on- not that she was an exhibitionist when it came to the games of the bed (or couch, or floor, and occasionally the wall) - but rather that she could wind Buffy up so much that the generally uptight and self-conscious woman couldn’t give a flying fuck if the Pope walked in the garage door next to them. Not wanting to alter the moment by speaking, Faith lifted a hand and traced Buffy’s jaw line gently with a finger, soaking in the image. As her hand dropped to the crucifix adorned neck, Faith turned her palm away from Buffy’s body, and let her knuckles trail down between the blonde’s breasts to catch on the belt buckle far below.
Leaning in again, Faith felt the heat radiating off of the other woman’s body, and couldn’t help a small smile. Lifting her other hand to trail up Buffy’s neck and tangle in the loose hair at the nape of her neck, Faith finally succumbed and captured the parted lips before her. A small groan accompanied the sudden frenzy of desire in the kiss from Buffy, who lifted the hand resting at Faith’s elbow to grasp the back of Faith’s neck, holding her in place. Pressing in, Faith felt the all-too familiar jolt when her breasts pressed against Buffy’s. Sighing roughly, Faith turned her head for wider access to Buffy’s mouth, her tongue slipping easily into the willing blonde’s mouth, tracing the familiar ridges and crevices when not battling the tongue residing there.
Faintly, Faith heard someone approach, and the stiffening in Buffy’s body told her that the other Chosen One was just as aware as she that they were soon to be discovered. Deciding that she didn’t give a rat’s ass about someone walking around the corner to see the pair of them there, Faith focused on reconfiguring Buffy’s current priorities. Dropping the hand from the blonde locks, Faith broke the kiss and moved down to a sensitive spot on Buffy’s neck while her now free hand latched onto a breast. Squeezing enough to grab the blonde’s attention, Faith bit down gently on the scar tissue of one of the bite marks on Buffy’s neck, eliciting a sharp gasp from the Slayer, who arched her body spasmodically into the Dark Slayer’s body. Countering the arch, Faith ground her body down into the shorter woman’s, the hand resting on Buffy’s belt buckle quickly making fast work of undoing the restraining device. The soft sounds of receding footsteps brought a grin to Faith’s face as she licked the flushed bite mark with the tip of her tongue.
Leaving a warm, wet trail up to the shell of Buffy’s ear, Faith licked the edge before biting gently on the lobe- careful not to hurt either herself or Buffy by hitting a piercing. Tugging gently on the lobe, Faith freed the button on the blonde’s jeans, her thumb and forefinger yanking the zipper down the short distance it could move. Moving her lips to Buffy’s jaw, Faith left a trail of quick kisses along it before finally returning to Buffy’s lips, and was met with an animalistic groan when she slipped her hand into Buffy’s pants and cupped the blonde’s heated mound. Groaning, Faith opened her eyes when Buffy broke the kiss. Lust-hazed eyes were watching her, the beginnings of worry starting to appear in them.
“Faith, what are you doing?” Buffy asked, her voice a hoarse whisper.
Bracing her thigh behind her hand, Faith pushed into Buffy, her hand shifting ever so slightly, pulling the thin barrier of panties taut. Tilting her head, Faith watched as Buffy’s eyes fluttered shut, a shudder passing through her. Leaning into Buffy’s ear, Faith’s lips tickled the edge as she whispered her reply.
“Want, take have, B,” The sudden gasp of breath was all Faith needed to hear to know that Buffy understood the situation, “Tell me no now, and I stop. Otherwise…” Faith ground against the blonde again, the tip of her pinkie slipping under the thin fabric, dipping into the wet folds just a fraction.
“We can’t here,” Buffy’s voice pitched around as she tried to maintain some control over her vocal chords from the teasing onslaught Faith was giving her.
“It’s your house, B. Do what you want, where you want,” Faith reasoned coolly.
“Not when there are children as young as eight running around,” Buffy countered, swallowing audibly.
Faith sighed as she slowly pulled her hand from Buffy’s pants. Yanking up the zipper, Faith felt her frustrations build up again. Glancing at Buffy, Faith saw that the blonde was aware of Faith’s aggravation.
“I’m not saying no, Faith. I’m saying I want this private. Just us. Closed doors,” Buffy began. Faith nodded silently and began to pull away, too turned on to really listen, but Buffy grabbed her and pulled her flush to her body. Leaning in, the older woman whispered into the brunette’s ear, “If you’re gonna take me against a wall, I’d much rather not be worrying about whether Lynn might walk in on it, and rather focusing on how your fingers feel inside me.”
With that food for thought, Buffy licked the edge of Faith’s ear, sending an immediate shudder down the brunette’s back. Grabbing Buffy’s arms, Faith pushed the other woman back against the wall. Leaning forward, Faith gave her a searing kiss before pulling away. Moving out of both of their personal spaces, Faith allowed an impish grin to spread across her features as Buffy regained her focus, “That’s to remember what you said, because I’ll hold you to it.”
With that, Faith turned and left the blonde, her Slayer hearing just picking up on Buffy saying huskily under her breath, “Like I’d ever forget.”
Turning, Faith winked back at Buffy to let her know she’d heard the blonde before continuing out of sight down the hall. As she climbed the stairs to the third floor to go shower, the sound of Kennedy’s voice stopped her in her tracks as she passed Willow and Kennedy’s bedroom.
“Fuck her yet?”
Turning Faith eyed Kennedy, who was leaning on her doorframe, before suddenly understanding, “Enjoyed what you walked in on?”
“Not much of a voyeur myself,” Kennedy replied, shrugging, “Besides, didn’t wanna upset the non-exhibitionist of the two of you.”
Faith nodded mutely, before stating, “Progress is what moves us forward.”
Turning on her heel, Faith smiled as Kennedy called out to her as she walked down the hall, “If that’s you being cryptic, you suck at it.”
Turning back to face Kennedy as she continued walking backwards, Faith held her arms out, “Who said I was being cryptic?” Grinning she spun back around and left Kennedy muttering something that had a sarcastic bite to it behind her. No time for subtlety anymore.
