Alphabets
A/N: I doubt that this hasn't been done before, just wanted to have a stab at it myself.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
An A-Z of Buffy and Faith moments. 26 one-shots for each letter of the alphabet.
A is for…
Awakening.
"You can go in you know." Buffy was startled by the soft, gentle voice, her slayer senses drowned out by the volume of the thoughts in her head.
"Umm, thanks" The preoccupied response left her lips with a weak smile whilst fumbling with the door handle and finding that it took a surprising amount of strength to open it, strength that was beyond the slayer kind.
She found herself here, yet again, by her bedside. The blonde slayer cast her eyes up and down the unconscious form in a routine that had become familiar over several months.
Buffy remembers the darkness, the hurt, the betrayal, remembers the silver knife hovering around her best friend's throat, the purple marks left by a slayer's hand on Xander's neck, the crunching impact of the arrow through Angel's chest and the roof…
The night on the roof changed everything, in the effort to extinguish her darkness she had touched her own.
Buffy finds the hospital room so white it hurts her eyes. Everyday she watches, making sure the steady rise and fall of her chest continues. She looks out for any signs of colour in the washed out features, which without their layers of paint are frail and girlish. She concentrates hard, eyes never leaving the still form, in case she misses a blink, a twitch, or any sign that she might wake up. Sometimes, the blonde slayer breaks from her thought to find one of her hands wrapped tightly around Faith's palm. Her skin is pale, with a smoothness that months without a stake in hand will achieve. Buffy takes fleeting comfort from the soft touch, until she realises what she's doing, and flinches like she's been burned.
It starts the flood of memories. Of vampires fought in synch, the clouds of dust enclosed them both in a private world that lasted seconds but felt like forever. Of the tingles that shot from head to foot in her presence, and settled into a comforting hum. Her mind remembers every thump of the bass coursing through their swaying bodies wanting to believe that it was just the rhythm that pushed them closer together.
Except that now the pulsing of the Bronze is replaced by the steady hum of machines.
Buffy doesn't speak, she just sits. When looking at Faith without her energy, without life, those dark eyes shuttered closed because of silver blade at her hand. She shuts her eyes to prevent the tears and the bile that rises in her throat.
The blonde slayer touched it briefly. She stood at the edge of the black hole as she slid the cold blade ruthlessly into Faith's stomach. Buffy now knows how thin the line is. She casts her mind back to every moment with the dark girl, every expression, every action, and remembers. Now she's not sure, if madness masked fear, if her betrayal was survival, and if she hurt because she was hurting.
"Excuse me, miss?" The nurse paces over and scribbles on the coloured chart, "hours up"
Wordlessly, Buffy nods and rises. The urge for one last touch breaks through her stubborn resolve and her fingers trail softly down Faith's arm giving her palm a last, soft squeeze. Hazel eyes trail once more over her still form, lingering on pale lips forming a soft pout even in sleep. Buffy imagines them slick with their usual shade, teasing, taunting and talking until stretching wide and bearing familiar dimples. Those dimples that were enough to make her flush brightly, whilst everyone else thought the blonde girl embarrassed by Faith's teasing. Only Buffy knew that her red veil hid a rush of pleasure when those dimples were directed at her. It didn't matter whether they were accompanied by a friendly smile or flashing menace.
On her way out, she pauses, swinging her head back for a last look at the comatose girl. Something plunges in her stomach whilst her heart soars. She realises. Her relationship with Angel was intense, but Faith. She makes her feel in mind, heart and soul…feelings that have pulled Buffy here frequently over the months.
Whilst unconsciousness keeps the dark girl in its thrall,
Buffy has had an awakening.
---
