The Night Before the Morning After
02:12am
Faith had never been a particularly heavy sleeper, she was usually awoken several times during the night by noises or movements. Tonight she snapped to consciousness when she rolled over and her arm smacked into soft flesh. Faith didn't sleep with people, she fucked them, but actually sleeping with someone was a whole 'nother level of headfuck that Faith didn't want to have to deal with. It took her a second to realize why she hadn't done her usual get some get gone routine, then she caught the outline of the x-box controller on top of the TV and the silhouette of the battle axe leaning against the wall and remembered that she was in her own apartment. There was no way in hell she was going to let Buffy 'perfect' Summers drive her from her own home. Especially not seeing as they'd finally, after years, reached what Giles called A Sensible Working Relationship and what everyone else in the world called Peace Finally.
Faith rolled away from Buffy and closed her eyes. She was going to go back to sleep, that was all there was to it, there was no way Buffy was going to win this one.
03:49am
Faith watched as the figures in the digital clock changed from 3:48 to 3:49. She had tried everything to get back to sleep, she had counted sheep, she had counted vampires, she had counted vampire slayers. But that last one always led her back to the fact that there was currently a slayer, a naked slayer, in her bed. She rolled over and looked at Buffy, the blonde slayer was curled on her side facing away from Faith, her blonde hair was hanging over face and the curve of her spine could be seen through her pale skin.
When Faith was in Sunnydale first go round she had developed a, looking back on it, slightly unhealthy fixation with Buffy. She would have loved to have fucked Buffy into the middle of next year, of course back then they were the chosen two and the thought of what they could do in the sack was always near the front of Faith's mind. But Faith had screwed slayers before tonight, after all what was the point of being in charge of an army of hot flexible girls if you couldn't take a few liberties. Not that fucking Buffy still wasn't as hot as sex came 'Faith forcing her knee between Buffy's slick thighs, Buffy bucking up into her, pastel pink nails drawing blood from Faith's back...' But now Faith had a bit of perspective. Buffy was pretty hot but she wasn't the best lay in the world.
Relaxed by the knowledge that Buffy's last hold over her had been broken Faith closed her eyes and fell asleep.
04:31am
Faith stopped herself just before she slammed her elbow violently into Buffy's ribs. She was breathing heavily as if she'd just gone a few rounds with a slime demon, not woken from a mostly peaceful sleep. She swung her legs over the side of the bed sitting upright. The sheet pooled around her hip and her nipples hardened in the cool night air. It was one thing that Buffy had rolled up in Faith's town and taken over her Slayers, and that Buffy had grabbed Faith and kissed her roughly after the battle seemingly without giving any thought to the fact that Faith might be over her obsessive crush. Those were things that Faith could live with, she'd been the one to call the council to ask for backup, and Buffy was right, Faith wasn't obsessed with her anymore, but it turned out she wasn't as over her as she'd like to think.
But throwing her arm over Faith's waist when she was asleep, she was just lucky Faith no longer slept with a knife under her pillow. Faith could hear Buffy snoring softly behind her. Still sleeping like the dead 'Better than sleeping with the dead' Faith thought. A few years back Faith would have been convinced Buffy was doing this on purpose just to torment her. But Faith wasn't the same person she had been then, she no longer slept with a knife under her pillow and if she could take on an army of fear demons with two trainee slayers and a pointy stick then she could sleep in the same bed as another person without having a panic attack.
Faith took a deep breath in and lay back down, pulling the sheet over her. Buffy rolled over and wrapped her arm around Faith again. Faith breathed out through clenched teeth, she may not be the same person as she used to be but it seemed Buffy was, she was still an entitlement bitch.
06:24am
Faith laced up her boots and pulled her jacket on, shoving a stake in the pocket. The sun was up now but you could never be too careful, 'sides more things than vampires could be killed with a stake. Buffy was still sleeping soundly curled on her side clutching the white sheets, she looked peaceful, oblivious. Faith rolled her eyes, same old Buffy, oblivious to everyone else's turmoil.
She swung the door open and headed out into the low sunlight, swinging the door shut behind her. She spun round with reflexes born of years of slaying and jammed her boot between the door and the frame before it could slam closed. She shut the door gently, allowing Buffy to continue sleeping and headed off down the stairs.
07:01am
Faith jumped up the last three steps to her landing, careful not to spill anything. She swung open the door to her apartment.
"Uh, hi Faith," Buffy was sitting upright on the bed, a sheet wrapped really tightly under her arms.
'Sleeping beauty is awake,' thought Faith, she noticed Buffy trying to pull the sheet up higher while her eyes darted across the room trying to pick out her clothing, 'and apparently still really uptight.' She was sure there was some big watcher word that could be used to describe someone that couldn't be naked in front of someone they'd held down and begged to fuck them seven hours earlier.
Faith kicked Buffy's jeans within arms reach of the bed. "I got you some coffee," she offered Buffy the cup of Starbucks she'd picked up, "I don't drink the stuff so I don't have any here." Faith turned away from the bed and grabbed a can of coke out of the minifridge for her own caffeine hit. "I know you probably don't drink black coffee but I couldn't bring myself to order a non-fat non caffinated iced frappe latte or whatever the hell it is you drink."
"No, it's fine. This early in the morning all coffee is good."
Faith took another swig of her coke and glanced at Buffy's reflection in the window and saw that the blonde was now wearing her pin bra in addition to her blue jeans. She decided that was as much privacy as she was giving the other slayer and turned to face her.
"I thought you'd take off during the night," Buffy said.
"I live here," Faith shrugged, taking another swig of coke.
"I know," Buffy looked around at Faith's games console, the weapons within easy reach, the clothes strewed across the floor.
"Thought about making you sleep outside though."
"Glad you didn't. I get terrible bed head if I have to sleep outside."
"You've got terrible bed head now," Faith smirked as Buffy automatically tried to smooth down her hair.
"So maybe I'll give you a little more warning next time."
"Next time?"
"That you need me to save your butt."
"Or do something else to my butt."
"Faith!" Buffy exclaimed, but she was grinning the whole time.