Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Personally, I feel that the holiday is completely commercialized and we're all just blowing our money, but it is an excuse to write extremely fluffy fanfics! I figured I owed it to you since my other story is a bit morbid (and it isn't even done yet). This story is completely unrelated to the other story and takes place about a montha after they move to Cleveland. So here you go: a rather-generic, fluffy, Buffy/Faith oneshot that is ridiculously long!

This story goes out to Tegan. My co-conspirator, my fellow Buffy/Faith shipper, my shoulder to cry on and heart to love. My best friend in this world and in the next, you are the reason I am not sitting on my couch cradling a pint of Ben&Jerry's and sobbing to Sinead O'Connor, like I've done so many years before. Nothing will ever compare 2 U. Love you more than words can say.

"Hurry up and get the fuck off me, Ken!"

"Well, it's not my fucking fault that we ran out of stepladders! And you're not exactly being a reliable replacement either, so stay still!"

I turn slightly to glare daggers at B, like I've done many times over the last half hour. She gives me an apologetic pout and resumes chatting with Red, cutting out paper hearts out of red construction paper.

I'm officially in hell.

Ken is in full concentration mode, stringing red and white lights into a lopsided heart shape. Her tongue sticking out, she hangs it gently on the nail, doing a little happy dance on my shoulders when it stays in place.

"Okay, you're done." I say, tossing her off of my shoulders and onto the couch beside us before she can stop me. Starting to stalk off to the backyard, I suddenly whirl around and snag the tape dispenser she hurls at my back.

"Nice try, Ken." I mock, smirking when her nostrils flare and she comes charging at me with fists clenched. The smirk stays on my face as we spar, kicking and punching up and around furniture. Narrowly missing a lamp and a vase of cut flowers, I accidentally lash out and catch her in the shoulder. With a growl, she jumps on me and then the punches really start flyin'.

B and Red look at each other and shake their heads.

"Okay, cut it out before you kill yourselves." Red says, arms crossed and with her resolve face on. We stop and look guiltily in other directions, like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

I mumble something about being hungry and dash off to the kitchen with Ken hot on my heels.

Dawn and Andrew are at the table, arguing over a list between them.

"Cupcakes. It's Valentine's Day, Andrew, you totally need cupcakes!"

"Cupcakes are for birthdays and such. Cookies are the smart the way to go. Delicious, decorative, and handy for chucking at the squirrels when they get stale. Plus,we need batteries for my video camera."

"Oh, you are not going to make another one of those documentaries again. Remember the way Buffy blew up at you?"

"Pfft. There's nothing wrong with home videos. Hey, Faith, wanna go to the store for us?" Their eyes turn on me and suddenly I know what a cornered rabbit feels like. Oh, shit.

I edge towards the door, pushing Kennedy in front of me while I escape out the back.

Damn, it's cold. Zipping up my jacket to the neck, my breath escapes in little white puffs. I walk along the sidewalk for a while, pelting the roosting birds with snowballs. Nearby, our neighbors have pasted lace doilies all over their windows. I shudder.

"Everyone's gone fuckin' crazy." If you haven't figured out yet, this happens to be the holiday I despise the most. A bunch of morons running around buying flowers that'll rot in a week, spray painted plastic jewelry, and cheap drugstore chocolates that taste like shit. Not to mention a fat baby with fuckin' wings shootin' people in the ass with arrows that make them "fall in love."

And about love…

I look up at the sky, staring blankly at the snowflakes pouring down. A few fall onto my cheeks and I feel the prickling as they melt there, making me look as if I've been crying. Digging into my pocket for my wallet, I open the cracked leather and pull out a photo.

It's one of those photo-booth pictures. Four of em', lined up in a strip.

The first is of me and Ken. Neither of us looks particularly thrilled to be stuck in a small space with each other. Matter a fact, we look like we're being tortured, with our cheesy smiles and tense postures. I always laugh at that one.

The second is of Red and I. we've actually become pretty good friends since we all relocated to Cleveland. She's cool to hang out with, plus she's the only one besides Ken that's not straight as an arrow. Ignore the fact that she could destroy the universe, and we're really close.

The third is a formal one of me and G-man. As much as I hate to admit it, he's been great to me. I can see why B looks up to him like a father.

And speaking of B…

The last one is of us, heads tilted together to we get both of our faces in the photo. She's smiling softly, and I smile as I trace her face, wishing that it was her real face that I was stroking.

I don't know when it happened. Maybe it was from the very beginning, when I spotted her looking at me at the Bronze. Maybe it was right after I dusted those vamps, when she looked at me with shock and…admiration. The hornies were fired up, too, so that didn't hurt.

I shake my head to clear it of thoughts and start walking again, bowing my head against the wind. It doesn't matter, really. She's straighter than a ruler, completely uninterested in girls. Plus, I'm the last person she'd even think about shacking up with. But hey, a girl can dream, right?

Sighing, I slip the picture back in my wallet, picking my way through the snowy slush along the sidewalk.

Valentine's day is such a pain in the ass.

Or in the heart.

Later that day....

I'm standing here with a Heineken clutched in my hand, trying to avoid anyone who looks drunk. Cookies and cupcakes litter the tables and shelves, along with random candy hearts and even stranger- fortune cookies. I pick one up and crack it open, shoving the two halves of the cookie into my mouth.
Good fortune is coming your way. Hang in there.

Snorting, I crumple it up and toss it into the trashcan, taking a swig of my beer. I pull a face. My addiction to JD is rearing its head, so I hop down from the counter to search for a bottle.

Vodka, vodka, beer, juice box, juice box….

Score! There's still a bottle left. Popping the cork, I tilt the bottle back, letting the amber liquid slip down my throat. That's the good thing about JD. Strong enough to calm you down and warm you up, but not enough to blow your socks off. The familiar weight settles in my stomach, and I smile, relaxing for the first time today. Of course, it also makes you really want to use the facilities.

Music blares from the living room, nearly shattering my eardrums when I walk in. The room is packed with all the Slayers, taking advantage of the fact that we don't have training tonight. Wincing, I clap two hands to my ears and duck into another corridor, heading for the bathroom.

When I approach, I know something's wrong.

Someone's crying in there.

I knock on the door, hesitantly.

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

A gasp, then a thud.

"You okay, whoever's in there?"

No answer.

Finally I grasp the doorknob and turn it, sticking my head into the room.

"What- Oh."

It's B.

She's crouched on the floor, shivering and shaking. I freeze when I see the tears soaking her cheeks.

Oh, shit.

"Hey, what's wrong, B? You okay?" My voice cracks a little. Panicking, I grab a roll of tissue and fall to my knees next to her, thrusting it at her like an offering.

Smooth, Faith.

She shakes her head, still sobbing. Awkwardly, I sit beside her and put the tissue down. Hesitating and moving in little motions, I place a hand on her trembling shoulder. She flinches at the contact.

I start to move away, but she grabs my arm.

"No-please don't go." Her voice melts and breaks my heart in an instant. It's so lost. So desperate.

Before I know what I'm doing, I pull her into my arms. Nestling my chin in her hair, I hold her trembling body, clutching her a little tighter when the sobs threaten to overwhelm her. A few tears prick the corners of my eyes too. I hate seeing her like this.

God, this is so fucked up.

After what seems like an eternity, she stops and gently pulls away, sniffling.

"I'm sorry- It's just that-Valentine's Day and all-"

Instantly, I freeze. Of course. Angel. B's on-again, off-again boyfriend.

I want to choke him. I want to dust his sorry ass and drag him through hell for not being here to hold her. I want to crawl into a corner and sulk for the rest of my life, cursing the Powers-That-Be for putting me in this situation. God, she has no fucking clue.

"And everyone's so happy-but I can't be with the person that I love. How unfair is that?"

Hear, hear.

I chuckle humorlessly, staring at the tiles.

" Nothing is ever fucking fair. Woulda thought you'd know that by now."

She turns and looks at me properly for the first time.

"Who do you wish you could be with right now?"

I chew it over for a while.

"She's a Slayer." I say, gauging her reaction out of the corner of my eye. She doesn't move a muscle.

"Oh."

Silence falls.

"Who is she?" She asks, with fake enthusiasm. Seriously, she can't lie to save her life.

"Guess."

"C'mon, there's like a hundred of them. And I suck at guessing games."

Well, B, she's blonde. And beautiful. Her name is Buffy Anne Summers and she stole my heart. Take a wild guess.

"Let's see...she was with me in Sunnydale." B chews blithely on her thumbnail. I'm relieved to see the tears have stopped.

"Vi?"

"Nope."

"Caridad?"

"Wrong again."

"That Asian girl who I can't remember the name of?"

I laugh at that one. It's a bittersweet laugh.

"Chao-An. And no."

"C'mon, Faith, why can't you just tell me?"

Suddenly, I get angry. Fuck, why is this so fuckin hard? I get up and turn around, staring down at her.

"Fine. you wanna know who I wanna be with?" I sound bitter, even to myself.

"Someone who I can never be with. Someone who's too fucking blind to see that other people just might love them too."

Confused, she starts to get up from the floor.

"You, B." I spit out the letter like I hate her. But it's all just a farce, a fuckin' decoy.

Not waiting to see her reaction, I bolt.

Away from the bathroom, away from the house, away from her.

Clunk, clack. Clunk, clack.

All I can hear are the sounds of my boots hitting the pavement.

Clunk, clack. Clunk, clack.

I only stop running when my heart is threatening to beat itself out of my chest, and the cold is starting to numb my toes. Collapsing on a nearby bench, I put my head between my knees and rock back and forth, back and forth. Tears form at the edge of my eyelids, but I brush them away angrily.

Fuck.

I look around me. I don't know where the fuck I am. Instead of calling someone, I curl up into a little ball to conserve body heat and lean back against the icy wood, ignoring the snow seeping into my jeans. Closing my eyes doesn't help me forget.

A twig snaps behind me. I don't bother to turn around.

"Okay, you can kick my ass now." I stand up and turn around, holding my hand up like I'm being arrested. I do a double take when I see she didn't stop to grab a jacket.

The silence stretches to a minute. To five.

"How long have you-"

"A while now." Just cut to the chase, B.

She walks closer to me. I consider running again, but she'd catch up with me eventually. Might as well get it over with.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Her voice is quiet, soft. The tear tracks aren't quite dried on her face.

I throw my head back and laugh insanely at the sky like it's the funniest shit I ever heard.

Fuck it, I don't care anymore.

"You wanna know why, B? You wanna fuckin' know why? Because you don't fuckin' care about me. After all, I'm Faith the Vampire Slayer, right? The badass who can't love anyone because she's too fuckin proud to. And you know somethin' else? I don't give a fuck that Loverboy isn't here to heal your broken heart. Because maybe there's someone else who cares about you!"

My rant didn't go quite as well as I hoped. Maybe that was a good thing, because I was expecting a slap in the face and a good old-fashioned Buffy lecture.

It doesn't come.

Instead, she stares at me with wide, moist eyes, shaking her head ever so slightly.

"Faith-" I hear my name escape from her lips.

Then, in a rush of blonde hair, I feel her warm body and her lips pressing against mine.

For a second it's just a blur. Lips and tongues, grasping hands and gentle caresses. My arms automatically wrap around her body, claiming her as my own. Before too long, my hands are weaving through her air and I'm kissing her desperately, knowing that if all this is a fluke I'll at least have something to hold onto.

When air becomes an issue, we pull apart and stare at each other with quivering eyes, neither of us knowing what the fuck we just did.

I'm dimly aware that she's crying again.

"Buffy." The whisper is all that I can get out.

"It's always been you." She replies, her face an inch away. I can see every teardrop on her eyelashes, every snowflake on her cheeks…

Wait.

"W-what are you saying?" My low, throaty whisper tells me that I'm crying too.

"I'm saying, you dumbass," she laughs, crying openly now," that I love you. I've always loved you."

And in that instant, I know there's a heaven.

My smile seems to crack my face in two, and I laugh in wonderment, touching my forehead to hers. Words seem useless now, so instead I kiss her again, reveling in the way she kisses me back.

Shit, why can't we stop breathing for once?

"It was never Angel, you know." She gasps, smiling. I use my thumb to wipe her cheeks clean, tracing every contour of her perfect face. I've dreamed of moments like this. Literally.

"And it's never been anyone but you." I say, taking her in my arms again. She smiles-God, her smile is perfect-and we grin at each other for the longest time. But there's one more thing to take care of.

"B?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you be my valentine?" The cheesiest words that the English language ever vomited up.

Her laughter makes up for it.

"Yes."

I don't know how long we stayed there. I don't know what we must have looked like, me with my muddy jeans and B with no jacket. I don't know how many emotions were running through my head.

But mostly, I don't know how on earth I became this lucky.