Set mostly, if not entirely, in Faith's point of view, the story starts out immediately after the Buffy series finally. So, don't read on if you don't want spoilers.

--Italics are Faith's thoughts--

Let's begin!


PROLOGUE

So the big bad town of Sunnydale is now nothing more than a smoking crater. Can't say I'm upset about it. That shit hole has nothing but bad memories for me, what with the fallout with the Scoobies after killing that random guy in the alley, being stabbed in the gut by my former slayer sister... Whatever. It's not like I got too close to anyone anyway.

Except for B. I always thought there was something there, that tingly feelin' I got whenever we'd go out patrolling in the dead of night. I never felt that with no one before. Too bad I had to fuck it all up.

Okay, Faith, stop thinkin' about the past! This is a fresh start, she's forgiven you for all that. Well, sort of. I still see her lookin' at me funny sometimes, like I'm going to go back to my evil self and stab her in the back or somethin'. It's driving me crazy.

The whole bus ride to the motel after the fight was a little better than it has been at least. I guess the whole 'fighting to the death by your side so the good will prevail' thing put me back in her good graces just a little bit. She was mostly talking to Dawn and Giles, or lookin' at her feet, but every so often I'd see her staring at me out of the corner of my eye. So I'd look over and she'd just give me this little smile.

Well that's good because we're sharing a room together at the hotel. I think Angel set it up somehow, like he wants us to become bffs or something. He kept bringing it up in the few days before we left, but was trying to be all nonchalant about it. Like he didn't want me suspect anything or get pissed off.

So now here we are, me and B, each crashing on our own bed, taking a minute to relax and reflect before heading to the bathroom to inspect battle wounds and just freshen up. I looked over at her and sighed, trying to come up with small talk to ease the slight tension in the room.

"So, you gonna shack up with Angel again?" I never was good at small talk. But she took it surprisingly well, like she'd prepared herself for this, remembering that I never think before I speak.

"I don't know," she sighed, bringing an arm up to drape it over her eyes. "Things with him have always been majorly complicated... And after all that's been going on the past, oh, 4 years? A complicated relationship would not be of the good."

"Makes sense." There was a slight pause at that, like she was thinking. Then she let out this little chuckle, so quiet I probably wouldn't have heard it without my slayer hearing.

"I won't bother asking about your relationship status, since I assume it's the same as always." I just glared over at her, following it with a slow roll of the eyes. She smirked.

"Hey, I could settle down if I wanted to."

"That I can't picture. I mean, have you ever even had a serious relationship? Hell, a relationship that lasted more than an hour?"

Okay Faith, keep it cool. Don't blow your shit over something stupid like you always do, it'll ruin what little trust you've gained back.

"Most of the people I've gotten close with ended up being assholes. So, you can't blame me for being a little edgy about lengthy hookups." Okay keep it light, don't make her think you're still a bitch! "And an hour? Try twenty minutes," I laughed, causing her to raise a brow at me. "For the guys, at least. Girls last longer." The one brow was quickly joined by the other, both nearly touching her hairline.

"Girls?"

Why so shocked, B? I always thought you bought into the bull I fed you and the rest of the town about my open sex life. Sure a lot of it was true, but I definitely exaggerated a good deal of it too. The people wanted entertainment, I kept 'em entertained.

"Yeah, girls," I muttered with a wink, flashing my trademark smile with the dimples at her. I swear her face turned ten shades of red before she just mumbled something about needing a shower and running to the bathroom. Hot damn that was funny, I need to remember to pick on her more often. I missed seeing that blush on her after a good ribbing.

So anyways I laid off for the rest of the night, since I was too damn tired to put in the effort. Not to mention frustrated out of my mind with the whole double h factor. After all, this was the biggest fight I've had in a good long time, so everything hit twice as hard. I tried takin' care of things in the shower, but it was too awkward with Buffy being right there in the next room. And I know for a fact that she was feelin' the same thing, since her shower lasted all of 4 minutes, and she came out from the bathroom with that look on her face. That 'don't fuck with me, I have a major itch that I can't scratch' look. I probably didn't look any better.

The next day we woke up twice as bad, just giving each other a simple nod and grunt instead of a "good morning". When we got down to that little open area on the main floor where they serve breakfast where everyone was waiting, we got some weird looks. I just ignored them, grabbed a few plates and headed over to the little buffet area. Hope this is one of those all you can eat things, or the bill is going to be huge.

"Buffy, is everything alright?" I heard Giles ask with concern.

"It's nothin', Tweed. We're fine." I could feel Red's glare, smiling slightly to myself at how obvious it was that she didn't trust me yet. Giles must have given B a look or somethin', 'cause she just put on this smile and shrugged.

"I'm fine, Giles. Really. Just a little tired I guess. Need a big meal to help keep my strength up."

"Oh, yes, well... Eat as much as you'd like, don't worry about the bill. We can't have you without energy." Damn, so there is going to be a bill. Hope he's as easy going about paying for me as he is for her, 'cause I'm flat broke. Maybe I could just pull a dine and dash like I used to in the old days...

"He'll pay," B whispered to me with a smirk, as if reading my mind.

"Hope he knows what he's getting himself into," I muttered, grabbing a fourth plate and trying to balance it on my arm. "Damn, I need more hands..."

"Try using your head."

"I can't think of what else to do, they don't have trays or anything and I only have so many - oh." As I was in mid sentence she had placed a plate right on top of my head, and gave me this smug look. "Okay, that's embarrassing."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Then she just winked at me and walked over to one of the tables, sitting next to Dawn. I'd like to say I didn't watch her ass as she walked away, but... Hell, it was just screamin' my name. And so we're back to our old song and dance...