Chapter 13: Progression
It had been several days since Faith and Buffy had been downgraded from slayers to bait, and Faith was still itching to do some damage instead of waiting. Waiting to slay Big Bads never was one of my strong points…Faith mused, as she hunched slightly to clear a tree limb, the sound of dying leaves crunching beneath her boots, signifying that the end of autumn was upon them. About ten feet away, Faith saw Sandra lift her hand to her face to push some free-falling bangs out of her eyes. Buffy had paired them off when the large group headed out to scour all four quartiles in one night for any sign of the Kartuk demons. Vi and Rona were thrown into the suburban (and not too demon infested) area that was Quartile 4, Kennedy and Willow were given the now well known Quartile 3 – which meant that Buffy was allowing for Kennedy to get in some good vamp dustings, but it should keep Willow out of any demon fighting fray (at least while there wasn’t any immediate slayer back-up). Buffy took Dawn and Xander with her into the relatively decrepit- and cemetery laden- Quartile 2, while Faith and Sandra happily took the normally demon infested, run down part of town that was Quartile 1. I’d rather be given a more dangerous area to patrol than deal with puffed up newbie vamps all night long.
“So, where are you from originally, Faith?” Sandra broke into Faith’s thoughts, causing her to almost get hit in the face with a branch limb when she turned her head suddenly in Sandra’s direction.
“Boston,” Faith replied, snapping the adventurous branch off of the tree in anger, “You?”
“Norwich,” Sandra answered, smiling softly.
The pair fell into silence, and Faith had a feeling that Sandra really wanted to ask her something, but had no idea how to, “So, are we gonna patrol all night using shitty small talk to pass the time, or are you gonna ask me whatever it is that you really wanna know?”
Sandra laughed nervously, “I’m obvious, aren’t I? Bollocks,” Faith smirked. “Ah well, I guess…I guess just want to ask you about Buffy, how are things?”
Faith sighed heavily before thinking of how to respond, “Tense.”
Sandra laughed again, only this time fully, “I can tell. I think the whole house noticed, even little Lynn is picking up on the tension between you two.”
Faith smiled and shook her head, “Well what do you think?”
“Buffy obviously wants to reciprocate your feelings for her, but something’s holding her back.”
Faith snorted, “Tell me about it.”
“Faith,” Sandra said sternly, stopping to look at the other brunette, causing Faith to stop as well. “She knows where you stand; you need to wait for her to make a move. She’s the one who isn’t ready yet; this has to be on her terms.”
Faith nodded, sighing inwardly, “Yeah, I know,” Falling back into step beside one another, the pair went silent again. “Doesn’t mean I hafta like it.”
Grinning, Sandra shook her head at Faith. Faith was about to say something else when she got the feeling that they were being watched. Glancing over at Sandra she could tell she felt it too. With slayer-senses on high alert, Faith cocked her head towards her left and Sandra followed her lead. Hearing a low snarl, Faith only had a moment to prepare herself before a brute of a demon barreled into her from the brush. Grunting, Faith crashed to the ground, wincing in pain as a branch raked across her temple and into her hair. The sound of Sandra yelling her name before being knocked over herself was all Faith heard before she focused on getting out from underneath the demon currently pinning her.
Looking into his red eyes, Faith let out a yelled and head butted him as hard as possible before rocking her body and throwing the demon over her head. Springing up, Faith caught sight of Sandra fighting dirty on the ground with the other demon out of the corner of her eye before crouching down to pull a gleaming knife from her boot. Taking a long look at the demon before her, all Faith could think was, that is one, fugly demon. His skin was brown and covered in patches of black hair, four horns extruded around his ears and two out of his chin, emphasizing the sharp teeth that protruded from his mouth. As a bit of drool dripped out from between his sharp teeth, the demon lunged for Faith, only to receive a roundhouse kick to the sternum, sending him flying to the ground. Faith moved quickly to him as he scrambled up and slammed her heel into the back of his knee, causing him to fall partially back to the ground with a short howl. Quickly hitting the demon in the face with her elbow, Faith turned slightly and punched the demon again in the face with the hand holding the knife before pulling back and slamming the knife into his chest. The demon let out a strangled gurgle before falling backwards, the knife sliding out as he fell. Faith turned towards Sandra’s direction, who was still struggling on the ground, this time with the demon on top, and ran over. Grabbing the demon’s shoulder, Faith yanked him off of Sandra and spun him before slamming her knife into the demon’s chest.
Holding out a hand to Sandra, Faith pulled the other slayer up.
“That was rude of them,” Sandra grumbled, brushing the leaves off of herself.
Faith scanned the area around them, looking troubled, “That was too easy.”
“Easy? Luv, that was me playing rugby in a life-or-death wrestling way,” Sandra scoffed, catching her breath.
“I’ve had more challenging fights with a newly risen vamp than what that demon gave me. I don’t think they were here to fight us,” Faith reasoned.
“So what, you think we just invaded their personal bubbles?” Sandra asked sarcastically.
Faith was silent a moment, weighing the fact in the comment, “It’s possible,” Looking around one last time, Faith sheathed her knife and began walking again. “C’mon, let’s finish sweeping this area and get the night over with.”
Faith collapsed with a sigh into the comfy chair in Willow’s study, the four “teams” reassembled after the night’s patrol. As everyone took seats, or leaned on something, Faith spoke up, “So, who wants to see who had the most interesting night?”
Faith grinned as everyone stole glances at each other before Kennedy piped up, “What happened?”
“Popped two demons,” Sandra replied, running a hand threw her hair. “Ugly buggers, too.”
“What did they look like?” Willow asked, leaning forward on her desk.
Faith glanced over at Sandra quickly before thinking back to the short fight, “Brown, lil’ on the furry side…hmmm, red eyed, protruding teeth, horns around their ears and on their chin. That’s about all I cared to notice.”
Willow flicked her gaze up to Dawn, who nodded, “That sounds like a Kartuk demon,” Dawn mused. Off of Faith’s shocked face, “The chin horns give them away. Did they put up a big fight?”
Faith shrugged, a smiling tugging at the corners of her lips, “Well, Sandra seems to think so.”
“Hey! Not my fault that I was stuck with the mud wrestling champ of the pair,” Sandra shot back defensively.
“Faith?” Willow looked at the dark slayer for an explanation.
“It was a simple fight, not too difficult. Her demon just gave her a harder run for her money than mine did,” Faith sighed. “To me, it seemed as if we had intruded upon their protected area, and they came at us because of that. I don’t think if we had investigated the area they were in that they would have attacked us.”
“You probably slayed the ones who were supposed to keep tabs on you and Buffy,” Andrew rationalized.
Willow took a deep breath, “Which means that you’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest now.”
“What? Me? I was just doing my job,” Faith lifted a hand to her chest, faux defensive.
“True, but now they’ll probably want to speed things up a bit on their whole ‘end the world’ plan,” Willow replied.
“If that’s true, where are you on getting this spell for us?” Buffy asked, shifting her position on the couch.
Willow shook her head, “I still need to get a couple of ingredients that are hard to come by. I had to call up the Coven to get them, to which they have to scramble to find them. Hopefully they’ll get here by this weekend, and I’ll do the spell then.”
Faith sat on one of the kitchen counters, the cordless phone in her hand, a single bare foot swinging forward and backward slightly, tapping her heel against the lower cabinets. Looking once more at the number next to her, Faith turned the phone on and dialed the seven digits. After two rings, the phone picked up.
“Famous Pizza, pick-up or delivery?” A woman asked quickly into the phone.
“Delivery please,” Faith dutifully answered.
“Number please?”
“555-4829.”
“Summers residence?” The woman asked after a moment.
Hmmm…Guess they order from here often. “That’s the one.”
“All right, make I take your order?”
“Yeah, can I have four large pizzas, two of them plain; one half pepperoni, half pineapple; and one with the works? That’s all.”
“Sure thing. You’re total will be $47.08, and it’ll be there in about 45 minutes.”
“Thanks,” Faith replied, hanging up.
Placing the phone beside her, Faith leaned back slightly, resting her head against the cabinets behind her. Closing her eyes, Faith felt her stomach rumble- the current winner in the hungry and horny contest. Sitting silently for a few moments, Faith heard Dawn’s and Buffy’s voices floating into the kitchen as they made their way down the stairs, and opened her eyes, waiting for their entrance.
“Are you serious? He did that?” Buffy’s incredulous voice grew louder as they walked into the kitchen.
“Totally. I was so surprised that the embarrassment didn’t set in until long after everyone had gone back to work,” Dawn answered, shaking her head before glancing up at Faith and smiling.
“What happened?” Faith asked.
“Oh, Peter just sent two dozen lilies into my class today because it was our year and a half anniversary, and he won’t be able to see me for another month at least,” Dawn explained.
“That was sweet of him. Nice to know there are still some good guys out there,” Faith smiled.
“Hard to come by, but yeah,” Dawn winked. “So, what are you doing in here?”
“Mmm, ordered pizza. I’ve since moved on to the impatiently waiting phase,” Faith gestured towards the phone.
“What’d you get?” Buffy asked, leaning forward on the island.
Faith’s eyes focused in on the low cut shirt Buffy was wearing that, due to her leaning, gave ample exposure of her chest, and jolted her self into responding upon catching herself staring, “Uhh, four pizzas with random toppings of plain, pepperoni, pineapple and the everything.”
“Nice,” Dawn nodded. “The whole gang will probably come down here to eat.”
Faith paused, thinking, doing her best to ignore the knowing smirk flashing across Buffy’s features as she shifted her position on the island.
“Should I have ordered more?”
“Nah, Vi and Rona already headed back home, and Willow and Kennedy have locked their bedroom door,” Buffy smiled, a glint in her eyes.
“Yeah, and we all know what that means,” Dawn rolled her eyes, grinning herself.
Faith laughed, “Mmm, I guess the post-slayage hungry and hornies don’t just apply to me, huh B?”
Buffy grinned, but merely shook her head at the comment, averting her eyes from the brunette’s. The group shared a few moments laughing together before Faith heard Xander’s footsteps as he came down the hall from the living room, Sandra right behind him.
“I heard talk of food,” Xander stated bluntly, looking around.
Faith laughed again, “It’ll be here soon enough.”
Faith reached for the last slice of the pepperoni half of the pizza, amazed at the ability the five of them had at packing away four pizzas. Then again, with three slayers, and two big eaters… Buffy’s laughter broke into her thoughts, and Faith turned in the blonde’s direction as she took a bite of the pizza.
“Oh my God, I remember that! Your last words were something like, ‘Hey, watch this!’” Buffy laughed again, and Faith saw Xander’s face reddening.
“Xander, you should never let those words come out of your mouth ever again,” Dawn giggled.
“It’s not my fault! I didn’t know there weren’t any brakes on the damn thing!” Xander crossed his arms defensively, a pout forming on his lips.
“Aw, luv, don’t worry. Ten years from now…we still won’t let you forget it,” Sandra laughed, gaining a grunt from Xander.
“Wonderful,” Xander sighed. Looking around, he noticed the lack of food remaining, and looked over at Sandra. “Time for bed hon?”
Sandra looked over at Xander, a sultry look in her eye. “Sure babe,” Standing, Sandra nodded to the group, and before exiting, and added, “If that’s what you call it.”
A series of hollering from Faith, Dawn and Buffy ushered a blushing Xander and a laughing Sandra out of the room. After the pair went up the stairs, Dawn leaned back in her chair and let out a burp.
“Nice,” Faith nodded, raising her beer towards Dawn in acknowledgement.
“Thanks, it’s my signal to go to bed,” Dawn replied, smiling as she stood up and stretched.
“What? It’s like…” Faith trailed off, pulling her phone out of her pocket to check. “Okay, 1:30, but still…”
“Faith, I’ve got a 9:45 class tomorrow, I’m going to bed,” Dawn squeezed Faith’s shoulder before looking at Buffy, “Night Buffy.”
“Night honey,” Buffy smiled, watching the younger Summers woman leave the room.
Leaning back in her chair, Faith took a final swig of her beer before standing up and pulling the boxes together, “I’ll be right back,” Faith held up the boxes towards Buffy, who nodded, before going down the hall to the garage and dumping the boxes just inside the garage next to the trash bins.
Re-entering the dining room, Faith saw that Buffy had finished cleaning up, and was now finishing off her own beer. Washing the empty bottle out with water at the sink, Buffy turned to look over at Faith.
“I should head to bed,” Faith shifted her feet, the second part of the H & H was now at full attention, and she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible to take care of it on her own instead of doing something else that she’d regret in the morning. Like fucking B senseless on this island…shit. Groaning, Faith shifted again, and noticed the pointed look Buffy was giving her, “What?”
“You just look…” Buffy trailed off, shaking her head, and Faith suddenly could see the tension in all of the blonde’s movements. You get what I’m feeling, don’t you, B?
Faith stepped closer, not yet daring to hope for anything, “Look like what, B?” She breathed.
Buffy started to speak, but her voice hitched on the words and she fell into silence, her eyes flicking down to Faith’s lips. Shifting her feet, Buffy blinked and cleared her throat, trying to gain some distance from the situation, “You look like you’ve got an itch to scratch.”
Faith allowed a knowing grin to spread across her features, “Yeah… Thus my pending exit to my room,” Faith winked and backed away from Buffy, fighting down the urge to just grab the blonde and kiss her for all she was worth.
Buffy swallowed and nodded silently before replying quietly, “I know what you mean.”
Faith’s eyes widened at the admission, and she felt her jaw slacken slightly, Holy fucking…I need to get away from her right now. Faith opened her mouth and took a sobering breath, “On that note, I definitely need to go to bed.”
Buffy allowed a guilty smile to flash across her features, “’K. Enjoy.”
Oh don’t you know it.
Faith jolted up into a sitting position, the remnants of her dream leaving her pulse racing and a thin sheen of sweat coating her body. What the fuck? This is happening way too often. Sighing, Faith climbed out of bed, knowing she would never get back to sleep now. Glancing at the clock as she went to her dresser, Faith groaned, 5:30? Can’t these dreams every wake me up after 9 AM? That’s a far more normal time to wake up, or hey, if you’re gonna wake me up, let me remember them for once. After yanking on a pair of sports shorts, Faith pulled a sports bra and a worn out gray t-shirt out of the top drawer and got dressed.
A few minutes later, Faith walked out the back door, the early morning chill causing goose bumps to appear all along her arms and legs. Stretching quickly, Faith jogged off the porch and entered the trail in the woods. She had run this trail practically every morning these dreams woke her up, it helped ease her stress over them, and plus, it woke her up. It felt good to have the cold air flowing into her lungs, and the wind blowing against her face. She felt the blood pumping through her veins as her pulse quickened from running, trying to keep up with the rigorous workout she was giving her still lethargic body.
As she neared the second mile marker, Faith knew the obstacle course part of the trail was approaching, and shifted to the right of the trail to bypass it. Coming around the bend that signified the end of the second mile, Faith saw Buffy sitting atop the rope wall. Faith saw Buffy’s head whip around to look down at her intrusion, and slowed to a stop near the wall. Taking a long breath through her nose, Faith let it out of her mouth, regaining control over her breathing, watching as Buffy climbed down to greet her.
“Hey B, what are you doing up so early?” Faith asked, lifting a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
Buffy shrugged, slipping the hood of her sweatshirt off of her head, “Couldn’t sleep. Came out here, watched the sun come up.”
Faith glanced around, “In the woods?”
“Yeah, it’s nice to watch as the light livens up this place slowly,” Buffy said quietly.
Faith glanced over at the smaller slayer and noticed her shifting her weight from one foot to the other, a sense of nervousness surrounding her. Taking a step closer, Faith reached out a hand and placed it gently on Buffy’s arm, squeezing it gently. When Buffy didn’t react, Faith felt a knot of concern form in her stomach and moved closer, lifting her hand to pull Buffy’s chin up so she could look into the blonde’s eyes.
“Hey,” Faith said softly, “You okay?”
Faith watched Buffy smile gently and nod in response. When Buffy’s eyes flicked down her lips, Faith suddenly became distinctly aware of the lack of personal space she had inadvertently created. Sighing inwardly, Faith started to shift backwards to allow for a more comfortable amount of space between them. As she began to turn her head, Faith felt Buffy’s hands grasp her jaw gently and turn her back towards her. Faith swallowed audibly, her gaze moving from Buffy’s lips to her eyes and back again, don’t flake out on me now B…
It was only a moment before Faith felt the soft lips of the blonde’s apply gentle pressure to her own, and an even shorter amount of time before she sighed into the kiss and moved her body closer. Finally. Lifting a hand to cup Buffy’s face, Faith tilted her head to one side and opened her mouth slightly, flicking her tongue out to trace Buffy’s lower lip. Faith could feel Buffy smiling as she opened her mouth in response, giving Faith access. She heard Buffy moan softly against her as their tongues dueled for dominance before Faith pulled back and kissed her top lip fully. Breaking the kiss, Faith leaned her forehead against Buffy’s, her breath mingling with the blonde’s.
“God B,” Faith whispered, feeling the little shocks of electricity shooting through her body at finally kissing the older slayer again. “That was…”
“Hot,” Buffy finished quickly, Good to see you coming ‘round to accepting things, Faith mused.
Swallowing, Faith pulled back, needing space to think cohesively.
“Okay, what does this mean?” Faith asked, sobering up enough to attempt a serious conversation, despite that the look that Buffy had just given her sent waves of heat to flush from her face straight down to her core. Damn B, one –very hot- kiss, and you’ve got me wet. Fuck.
“I’m…I’m not sure,” Buffy looked up at Faith, confusion etched across her features. Faith noticed the awkwardness and nervousness creeping back up into the blonde, and figured that pressing this topic right now was probably a one-way ticket to being shut out of any chances with her.
Sighing, Faith’s inner rationalization won out, and cocked her head to one side, “Wanna run?”
Seeing the relief wash across Buffy’s features, Faith hoped this gift of non-discussion would pay off in the future. With a quick nod from the blonde, they were off, the tension from the short, sexually charged encounter and it’s awkward aftermath slipping off of them with ease as their pace increased.
Taking a swig from her half-empty bottle of Corona, Faith let the taste wash throughout her mouth before swallowing, “We need a pool table,” She stated bluntly from her reclined position on one of the deck chairs out on the patio.
The sun was setting after a particularly long day of dealing with Buffy awkwardly avoiding her after their morning “run-in”, and Faith was waiting out the final remaining hour before she could go out and kill something evil to get her frustrations out.
“Where would we even put one?” Xander replied from the chair next to her, not turning his head to look in her direction.
“Well, there’s plenty of open space outside of the training room for one. I mean seriously,” Faith looked up upon hearing the door open and saw Kennedy come outside before continuing. “Even with it there, it wouldn’t hinder access from the stairs of to any of the rooms.”
“Pool table in the house,” Willow mused, sipping her glass of wine. “Interesting.”
“That would fucking rock,” Kennedy grinned, high-fiving Faith for the idea.
Glancing up at her lover, Willow shifted in her chair at the patio table, “Well, we could invest in one…” Her sentence trailed off as Andrew popped his head out.
“Willow? Giles is on the phone for you.”
“Thanks,” Willow stood, taking her wine with her. At the door, she turned back to look at the group before addressing Faith. “Put a post-it on the fridge door; see who would be willing to chip in. I’d rather not use the Council’s money for something as trivial as a pool table.”
After her exit, Xander grunted, “It’s a pool table. Nothing trivial about it.”
