Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (unsurprisingly), and I do not earn anything with this story (except hopefully a few reviews).
AN: This is the third story and takes place after "Two Talks", so you might want to read that one first.
As always, feel free to drop me a line!
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When the training ended, the slayers left quickly, Kennedy's little speech about Xander still ringing in their ears. Buffy hadn't returned, but no one had dared to even mention it, let alone complain about it. Kennedy stayed behind to clean up and place the gear back where it belonged. She didn't notice her girlfriend, who had appeared without making a noise, until she spoke.
"That was amazing, Ken."
The young slayer whirled round. "Willow! Whoa, where did you come from?"
The red-head smiled and shrugged. "Oh, just some witchy special entrance, you know?" She grew serious instantly. "I heard what you said about Xander. Thanks."
Kennedy shook her head. "No need to thank me; it's what I honestly think about him."
Willow smiled again. "I know, but thinking something and expressing that thought are two different things, and I'm glad someone's standing up for him. He really deserves it."
"I know." Kennedy replaced several swords now in order to avoid having to look into her eyes.
"Although I have to say," Willow went on, seemingly oblivious, "I was a bit surprised. I didn't know you felt so strongly about how Xander's seen by the others."
The brunette turned to her Wiccan girlfriend again. "Well, I… it's just, she reminded me."
"Reminded you? Of what?" Willow asked curiously when she didn't continue.
"Of me," Kennedy admitted in a low voice. "Until he lost his eye for me, what Linda said was exactly how I saw Xander. I'm normally pretty good at judging people, but I was completely wrong about him. I… I really thought Buffy just kept him around to take care of Dawn and to fix things, you know… I completely underestimated him."
Willow smiled sympathetically at the chagrined brunette. "You're not the first to do that, Ken… and definitely not the last one, either. Xander has a way of hiding behind his jokes and antics."
"But why?" Kennedy asked urgently. "Why does he do that? With all the experience he's got, with all the things he's seen… he could easily be second-in-command of the entire Watcher's Council! He could be in charge of the active field-slayers or something like that!"
"Yeah," Willow replied with a nod. "He could, but I bet that thought hasn't even crossed his mind." She sighed. "You see, Xander's parents always told him how completely useless he is, what a huge failure. When we found out about the things that go bump in the night, even Buffy and Giles didn't really see what he can do for some time… And we shouldn't even start talking about Cordelia…" She lowered her eyes. "And I have to admit that I wasn't the most supportive, either… I mean, I didn't like how people made Xander feel, but back then, I was too shy and insecure to say something about it." She blinked a few times. "Letting my best friend down like that's probably one of my greatest regrets, right up there with going black-haired psycho bitch who murders people and tries to end the world."
Kennedy instinctively pulled Willow in a hug when she saw the pain on her girlfriend's face. "Hey… shhh… It's okay… We'll make it right…"
Willow looked up, her eyes red now. "How?"
Kennedy smiled. "The way I see it, the problem is Xander's low self esteem, so all we have to do is boost it till he believes in himself as much as we do."
The red-haired witch chuckled sadly. "You make it sound so easy…"
"Oh, it'll be pretty hard work, but I think we owe him."
Willow nodded, her resolved face showing. "Yeah, we do."
-
When Buffy and Xander left the room after their talk, with Xander's arm still around Buffy's shoulder and Buffy leaning in to him, Faith let out a sigh. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she had been in the next room when Xander and Buffy entered, and since she hadn't wanted to disturb them and the door had been open, she'd heard everything (and if she was honest, she had been kind of curious, too).
She shook her head as if to clear it and turned to leave, when she saw Dawn standing in the doorway.
"Don't worry, they're just friends," Dawn said. At Faith's quizzical look, she continued. "I eavesdropped. Old habits die hard."
She spoke so matter-of-factly that Faith had to laugh, but the Bostonian grew silent again when Dawn went on.
"Anyway, they don't love each other romantically and never will."
Faith raised an eye-brow. "How d'you work that out?"
The former key smiled. "It's pretty obvious. Buffy goes for dangerous guys and complicated relationships. Actually, she's a real idiot when it comes to who she dates. And Xander… he doesn't see her like that anymore. It's the look he gives her, you know? He doesn't look at her the way he looked at Anya. It's more like he looks at Willow, or me… like he would at a sister, I guess."
The way Dawn said 'me', with a hint of well-concealed sadness that almost escaped notice, made Faith realize the truth.
"You love him…" she whispered, her eyes wide with astonishment.
Dawn's eyes widened for a moment. "Faith…"
"No," the brunette interrupted, her voice full of wonder, "you really do, and it's not just a silly crush. How did I miss that?" Faith prided herself for being able to read people, but in this case, she'd been completely in the dark.
Dawn sighed. "I keep it pretty well-hidden. Listen, I know that he doesn't love me like that, that I'll always be Dawn patrol with him, and… it's okay. I can live with that. So don't tell him, please? It would only make things awkward."
Faith nodded, still a bit surprised. "Sure thing, Pip."
"Thanks." Dawn actually managed a smile before abruptly changing the topic. "By the way, I wanted to thank you."
Wondering how many more surprises this day had in store for her, Faith asked: "What for?"
"For talking to Xander, for getting him out of his funk. I don't know what you said to him, but it really helped, so thanks."
Faith, clearly uncomfortable with being thanked, just made a vague gesture. "Hey, don't mention it. It helped me just as much as it helped him."
Dawn grinned. "So, what's the what between you?"
"We decided to try the whole friendship thing again," Faith replied in a slightly insecure sounding voice.
"Great!" Dawn replied brightly, before adding: "We're talking friends without benefits here, right?"
"Yes."
"Great!"
No matter how hard she looked, Faith couldn't find a trace of resentment in Dawn's tone or expression; Buffy's little sister seemed to be honestly happy about the news that the man she secretly loved and the woman who'd tried to kill him once wanted to become friends. Hiding her insecurity behind sarcasm, Faith answered: "Glad you approve."
Dawn turned serious again. "I don't know if I do, because I know how much you've hurt him in the past, but your talk had a positive effect on him, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But if you hurt him again…"
"I won't," Faith told her quietly, turning serious herself when she saw Dawn's expression. "I've caused him more than enough pain and… it's nice to have him as a friend."
"Yeah…" Dawn replied with a smile before shrugging. "Well, glad we talked about it. Next on my to-do-list: Find a way to get rid of Andrew, in a non-lethal sense of course. You know, perhaps you could teach me that look of yours."
"What look?" Faith asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"You know, that look… It's basically like screaming 'get the hell outta my way or I'll rip your head off', just without the actual screaming!"
"Oh, that one!" Faith answered with a grin, glad about the topic change. "Well, I'm afraid that one's an exclusive and can't be taught."
Dawn sighed dramatically. "So, what else you got?"
While answering and continuing to banter with Dawn, Faith had to smile. For once, maybe even the first time, she didn't feel like an outsider or an intruder, but like she belonged and mattered, and she found that it was a very nice feeling. She could definitely get used to that.