By: Tinks8995
Summary: Fluffy (Geez, I'm only writing fluffy. I'm not a fluffy person. Need help. Must find angst soon.) little reunion fic.
Timeline: Three years post "Not Fade Away"
Disclaimer: All products belong to their respective owners. None of which are me. I just wanted to play in their sandboxes awhile. There are some quotes from different episodes. I don't know the exact ones, since they kept popping into my head as I was writing.
A/N: This is a product of seeing the episode "Surprise," an episode of the Real World, a movie & a weekend trip to Vegas. I've been working on it forever and I'm still not happy with the ending. I'll be posting it in three parts while I tweak it. Not a writer, engineer. And for the record - astronauts would so kick caveman butt.
Faith jumped up on to the counter and started playing with a pen display. "Come on B. It's Saturday night. No one is gonna need photocopying at this hour! Just close a little early and let's bail." Faith whined.
"I promised Giles I'd be the responsible one around here." Buffy said patiently. "The store is supposed to be open until 9. That's only twenty more minutes." She grabbed a broom from behind her and held it out. "Besides, if I had a little help, we might get out of here on time."
Faith jumped back down, took the broom and halfheartedly started pushing it around. "What's the deal with you anyway? I thought you liked living in Italy. Aren't you the one that said the food was good, the shopping great and the guys hot?"
"Yeah well, Italy was really Dawn's idea. I spent almost 3 years there and all I can really say is hello, where is the bathroom and my dress is red. Without Dawn around to interpret, it was getting tough. Besides I missed home, Taco Bell, Neiman Marcus, Must See TV in English, you know all the good stuff." Buffy said reflectively. "Besides, with Dawn gone to college and the slayers all being taken care of by the new Council, I decided to start life over." Buffy stepped in front of the cash register and started counting the money in the till. "You are now talking to the new and improved Buffy Summers, quasi-normal, slightly older than average, college student slash office supply store manager, who slays vampires and demons as a side gig."
Faith leaned over the counter and pulled out an Introduction to Marketing Techniques textbook., "So this explains the big thick books you've got under the counter." she said, shoving it back in place.
"It's just basic stuff." Buffy said. "With a little help from the amazing techno-pagan wiz, Willow, we embellished my transcript a little and voila here I am, UNLV sophomore."
Faith picked up the broom and set it back behind the counter. She jumped back up on top of it and watched Buffy count out the register. "You're a regular Miss Mary Sunshine. Geez, we really need to go out and loosen up. Get you in touch with your dark side."
Buffy looked up from her wad of bills. "Mmmm, no thanks. Been there, done that. Not going back. " she said, referring to her behavior the years following her resurrection.
Faith snatched the keys from the open cash register and sauntered over to the front door. She flipped the open sign off and locked the door. "You moved to a place nicknamed Sin City. You are 26, not exactly an old lady, and most importantly, single. Let's go totally wild tonight." Faith implored. "There's a big bright city out there waiting for two more bad girls." Faith gave Buffy a wink.
Buffy sighed. "You win." She easily relented, even responsible girls needed fun time occasionally. "Let me finish counting this out and we'll take off."
Faith gave her a grin that reminded Buffy suspiciously of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. "Just leave yourself in my good hands. But first we gotta get changed. You are not going out with me in that." Faith said, gesturing to Buffy's outfit.
"What's wrong with jeans and a t-shirt?" Buffy looked down at her working garb and grimaced. Her shirt was rumpled and streaked with dust from stocking shelves. "You make a good point . We'll stop at home and change first."
Buffy finished counting the day's receipts and dropped the money into the office safe. She and Faith went out the door, locking up behind them. They walked to the parking lot and got into Buffy's car.
"Man, I wish Giles would do all this for me." Faith remarked upon seeing Buffy's new Jeep.
"Actually I have to pay for the car out of my own salary." Buffy told her. She unlocked the doors and Faith got in. "You know…you could come stay here and help me. I could use it."
Faith laughed and started fiddling with the radio. "I don't know anything about office supplies, much less that magic crap you have in the back."
Buffy smiled as she pulled the car out into traffic. "The girls that work for me, Nicole and Haley, don't know anything either, you just need to know how to work the cash register. Think about it. You can stay in my extra room til you find a place. And to quote Giles 'Serve the underrepresented human population of Las Vegas' by doing a little slaying on the side. It's no Hellmouth, but the lights seem to attract demons like a bug zapper."
They pulled in front of Buffy's townhouse and hopped out. Buffy opened the front door and led Faith into the living room. "It's not large, but there are two bedrooms upstairs. You can stay in the empty one while you are here."
Faith hauled her bag up the stairs, while Buffy listened to her messages. She found the guest room with little trouble and plopped her bag down on the bed. Buffy came up the stairs and stood watching her in the doorway. "I'm just gonna touch myself up a little. It was a long flight from Ohio." Faith told her.
"Go right ahead. There's a little powder room downstairs, but the shower is in the bathroom up here. I'm gonna go look in the back of my closet for something that might still fit." Buffy wandered off to her room across the hall and shut the door.
Faith pulled out her toiletries. She quickly unpacked her bag and set her clothes for tonight aside. She set off for the bathroom to take a quick shower.
Buffy sank down on her bed, letting memories capture her thoughts. It had taken her a long time to forgive her family and friends. Their bonds almost completely severed one dark night almost four and a half years ago. The trust they stripped from her, shattered what little was left of her soul and she didn't talk to any of them for over a year. She couldn't even bear to be around Dawn, whom she unsuccessfully tried to dump on Hank. Even today, there is a small taste of bitterness, when she thinks about how she was summarily kicked out of her own home and life.
They've slowly mended fences. They are weak and rickety and would never last through another storm. Perhaps, that's why they only see each other once or twice a year. When they do get together, it is awkward and strange, the familiarity is gone. Buffy sometimes wished they could go back to easier times, lounging around her room, watching subtitled Indian movies, snacking and gossiping about their love lives.
Oddly, Faith is the only one that doesn't tiptoe around her and she is grateful for it. Somehow they managed to work past their history and can exist comfortably around each other. Who knows, maybe it's because they've already tried to kill each other. Or maybe it's because Faith was the one that flew halfway across the planet to kick her ass back into shape.
For eleven months after Sunnydale was sucked into the ground, Buffy lived her life on the edge. Desperate to forget her old life, there wasn't anything she wouldn't try. She finally had hooked up with a guy, The Immortal, everyone called him. It was dangerous and exciting. She knew he was using her, but she really didn't care, she just wanted to be wild and free.
One afternoon in late May, Faith showed up on her doorstep. She read Buffy the riot act on heraffinity for soulless fiends and her recent behavior. She told her about Spike's resurrection, Cordelia's death, Andrew's speaking for her on numerous occasions, Angel's problems at Wolfram and Hart and about his new girlfriend. She informed her that Angel had been here only weeks ago and had seen her with her new play toy. She chastised Buffy for ignoring Angel's obvious pleas for help and reminded her of the numerous times he had come to her aid.
Buffy let Faith say her piece, called her a few choice names and threw her out into the strada and slammed the door in her face. For the next ten days, she partied even harder. Her epiphany came in the back of a smoky club, while performing a lap dance on the Immortal.
As the DJ slowed it down, Buffy started to grind herself against her date. When she recognized the haunting melody of a song from a time long forgotten, she froze. Memories flashed through her head, remembering how much she had hurt the ones she loved. She knew then it was time to spank her inner moppet, again, and get her life back together. She had been focusing so much on the bad things in her life, letting it rule her actions, that she was missing out on the good stuff. She sighed, remembering something she once said, living truly was the hardest thing to do in this world.
With that last thought, she climbed off the Immortal's lap. She grabbed her coat and walked out of the club without looking back.
By the time she got her act together, Wes was dead and Angel and Spike missing and presumed dead.
Buffy sniffled at the thought of all she had lost. She decided that Faith was right. After years of nothing but murder, mayhem, hard work, sorrow and heartbreak, it was time for her to stop mourning and join the living again. She dug deep into the back of her closet where she kept her clothes from another lifetime.
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