Summary: Fairly short and fluffy. A fic watching Buffy and Faiths' relationship turn into something more
Timeline: Set towards the end of season 4, after the body swap, with Faith staying in Sunnydale
Rating: PG-13, mild language, sexual references and such
Pairing: B/F
Disclaimer: These characters all belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy etc etc
Feedback: Yes please. This is my first fic, so I'd love to know whether I should ever write another one :)
Chapter 1
La foi consiste à croire ce que la raison ne croit pas
-Voltaire, Questions sur L'Encyclopédie
BUFFYS POV
It was such a stupid thing, so why couldn't I stop it? Maybe it was just the way she walked. Faith's boots scuffed tiny bits of dirt up from the grass and I almost tripped trying to stop walking in time with her.
She smirked.
"Ya right there B? Would hate to think you were losing that famous slayer co-ordination we got going on."
"I'm fine. It's just ah, these shoes. Not really made for graveyard walking."
I looked back down at my shoes and realised it was probably true. Strappy sandals, a white halter and a mini skirt just long enough to leave at least something to Faith's imagination. Everyone's imagination! People's imagination. People looking at me. Not just Faith.
We were on our way to the bronze, and as usual, Faith couldn't resist a quick detour through the graveyard. Fine for her at least. Her entire outfit consisted of leather pants, boots, and a red tank top. She looked so good in red – I left my eyes lingering over her top a little too long, because her smirk was threatening to take over her face.
"What? You think I should have gone with the black top? Damn. Just when I thought I'd try and spice my outfit up a little."
"No Faith, the red's fine. Great actually. I was gonna say it looks great."
Oh my god. Did I just say that?
It didn't seem to bother Faith though; she was too busy now frowning at her top and muttering about colors. Cute. No! Not cute! Why am I thinking like this? Slayer connection? Sure. Maybe if I tell myself that a million more times a day I'll believe it. Was it so hard to accept that I had a crush on Faith? Apparently.
With a small sigh, I perched on top of a headstone, and watched Faith prowl restlessly around the graveyard. With Faith it was never just walking. It was always prowling, stalking, strutting. I loved how wild she always looked. It was something I couldn't put my finger on, but never failed to catch my attention. And keeping my fingers off Faith was a fairly good idea about now. I didn't want to think what I would do if I had my hands on her.
"Want to share the joke B?"
Oops. Guess I was smiling.
"Um, no, I was just lost in my own little world. Nothing special. Just Buffy wanderings, you know."
I flicked my hand around in a dismissive kind of way to show Faith my thoughts would be of no interest to her.
I guess it worked, cause she looked away again and sighed.
"Yeah, well the vamps are obviously lost in your world too, cause they sure ain't anywhere here. Come on, let's go. If I can't go slaying, the least I can do is get down and dirty with you at the Bronze."
Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. Why are you still here?
"Yeah whatever Faith. No one will even notice you when I move onto the dance floor."
"Wanna bet girlfriend?"
I'd started to walk off, when I saw Faith staring at my ass and smiling. Not that I minded so much, but she wasn't being too subtle about checking me out.
"Ah B? You plan to steal all the guys from me with thousand year old grave dust plastered over your ass?"
I spun around on the spot, and sure enough, I had a thick layer of dust coating my skirt. Oh, maybe that's what the staring was about. Nice one Buffy. Very classy. No wonder Giles always bought along a picnic rug to our midnight patrolling. I always thought he was just being quaint and English. Who knew he was practical too?
With a scowl, I brushed away all the dust and ignored Faiths' laughter as I stomped off towards the Bronze.
BronzeAs we reached the Bronze, I could already hear a loud beat coming from the entrance. It was the sort of music that was made for dancing, and I knew Faith wouldn't be able to resist it.
We wandered in, looking for the others to see if they'd arrived. I saw them almost immediately sitting at a booth near the back. Willow and Tara were leaning towards each other, obviously trying to talk, and Xander was guarding a pile of drinks on the table.
As we made our way over Xander stood up and waved, and Willow and Tara both smiled.
"Welcome ladies. Glad you made it in one piece!" Xander beamed.
Faith and I slid into the booth, and she reached over and took two of the drinks away from Xander, keeping one for herself and handing one to me.
"No chance of any bad guys Xan-Man. All the demons and vamps are away for a national holiday or something."
Faith downed her drink before I had even taken a sip of mine, and glanced over at me.
"Guess I'll have to make my own action tonight. Wanna dance B?"
I shook my head and pointed at my drink.
"Why don't I come over in a bit? I'm gonna drink this a little slower than you."
She shrugged.
"Ok, just look for where all the guys are gathering and you'll find me."
With a final smirk she pushed her way into the crowd of people already dancing.
"So really nothing on the demon front tonight Buff? Cause Faith sometimes means only a dozen or so nasties when she says there was nothing happening."
I had to give Willow credit for that. To Faith, a quiet night usually meant killing a number of vamps she could count on her fingers.
"Yeah, she was right Will. Zilch. Just a cemetery in need of a spring clean, and a more wound up than usual Faith."
Xander leaned over at smiled reassuringly.
"Don't sweat it Buff. You deserve a night or two off. In fact, I was thinking we should have a movie night this week. What d'ya think? All in favour?"
Will and Tara raised their hands, and Xander put both of his up.
"Sure. Sounds neat."
We sat for a while, sipping our drinks and chatting, but I kept losing the conversation. My attention kept drifting over to the dance floor where I could see Faith dancing with, just as she promised, a group of guys around her. There was no doubt about it. Faith dancing, was hot. Every now and then she pulled one of the guys close to her, and danced around him until the poor guy looked like he was gonna pass out.
Ok, enough putting this off. Just go dance with her. It's not a date Buffy. It's just dancing.
I cleared my throat and stood up.
"Hey guys, I'm um, I'm just gonna go dance for a bit ok?"
Without waiting for a reply, I strode off in search of Faith.
Her eyes lit up when she saw me push past her group of admirers. I managed to glare at them before Faith pushed away her latest toy boy, and pulled me close to her.
Ok Buffy, it's not mature to smirk at everyone. Just because you're dancing with the hottest girl in the club, it's no reason to get all high and mighty.
Oh, who am I kidding?
I smirked at all the disappointed guys as Faith danced behind me, grinding up against my back, with her hands on my waist. I leaned back a little, and tried not to shiver as I felt her pressed up against me.
I could hear the music distantly in the background, and was only vaguely aware of everyone dancing around us. All I could think about was how nice it felt to have Faiths' hands on me, and her body so close to mine. It was around then, I realised how all the guys that Faith danced with felt.
I could feel myself heating up and the alcohol going to my head. Not a good state to be in around a flirty Faith. I tried to stop myself leaning in closer to her, but my body didn't want to listen. I placed my hand on her neck and pulled her in even closer until we were practically joined at the waist.
I could feel her breath on my neck, and hear her breathing. It must have sounded just as fast as my own. I turned my face towards hers, and caught my breath when I saw her looking straight into my eyes. Before I could realise, her name escaped my lips.
"..Faith."
She held my gaze and with a smile, replied.
"Yes B?"
Just watching her lips say my name gave me goose bumps.
I knew if this kept going I would lean in and kiss her. Not a good idea Buffy. Just walk away now and everything will be fine.
For once, my body listened to my brain, and I pulled away from Faith.
I heard her yell my name as I walked away. When I returned to the table, I found Tara sitting by herself.
"Hey Tara, where are the others?"
"Will and Xander are dancing. I think Will's the only one with enough energy to keep up with Xander. Except maybe Faith."
She smiled at me, and I felt myself blush, so I looked down at the melting ice in my drink.
"Are you enjoying yourself Buffy?"
The concern in Taras' voice touched me, so I tore my gaze away from my glass and looked up at her again.
"Yeah, it's nice. Just, you know, dancing and stuff."
"Yeah. You and Faith looked like you were giving everyone a run for their money."
"Ah, um, I guess so. Lots of stamina. Slayers and all...."
I trailed off and ended with a cheery smile, which probably turned out looking kinda scary.
Tara didn't smile back, but she looked even more serious than usual.
"She's changed, hasn't she? You both have I think."
My silence must have spoken volumes to her, because she continued.
"You shouldn't be fighting against this Buffy. You've got more than a Slayer connection going on, and something like that shouldn't be fought."
I looked back at my drink, wondering why it was suddenly so fascinating.
"It's a little bit confusing right now. Faith's so........ She's...... I don't know how to explain it. We're friends again, which is great. And I can tell she's making more of an effort this time around. I just, I don't really know what I want from her anymore. And it's so hard to read what she wants from our friendship. Things are never easy with Faith involved."
Tara sat, waiting patiently for me to finish.
"It's probably mostly just the Slayer thing you know? What's that saying? Something about opposites attracting? Not attracting. Shit, I don't know. I mean, attracting plenty."
I frowned at my lack of sense.
"Attracting, but not being opposites, cause we're both Slayers, and er...uh."
My train of logic finally came crashing to a halt, and I found I didn't know how to continue.
"You're both Chosen Buffy. That's got to make for something. You're two of a kind, but as opposite as you can get. It's a strange thing, but I know what you mean. Just let yourself feel what you feel, and deal with things as they come."
It was the most calming thing I'd heard in so long. I just sat there for what seemed like an eternity and smiled back at Tara. This girl was a godsend. No wonder she was such good friends with Willow. I looked over at the dance floor just in time to see Faith heading back to the table.