"Ow…" Faith whimpered, clutching her bleeding nose. Today was really not her day. And tonight was… just 'ugh'.
The rest of the gang stared at Buffy as she stormed from the cramped room. Kennedy reached over the up-turned bed to pat her new best friend's shoulder, "You ok? That looks broken."
Faith barely nodded, "Hurts."
"What was that about anyway?"
'Stupid, drunken Truth or Dare', Faith grumbled mentally 'gonna kill Dawn for suggesting it!'
The girl in question emerged from the suite's tiny bathroom with a wet cloth and some painkillers. "Sorry about that. Not all Summers women are insane, you know- mainly just Buffy." She paused, "A lot of just Buffy."
Half an hour and one now-blood-free nose later, Faith found Buffy in the grimy hotel bar. "You ok, B?"
"You've never been in love?" Faith, slumped her head against the counter and let out a mumbled, 'do we have to?' Buffy glared at her, "Seriously? Never?"
The barman, noticing the beautiful brunette's predicament, slid a whiskey and an icepack across the bar. Faith nodded her thanks but winced as the movement hurt her bruised face. "What happened to 'Tell anyone and I'll beat you to death'?" She tried for a moment to concentrate on moving the pain away from her nose and down to her fingertips the way Angel had taught her. Unfortunately, the flow was intercepted by four tiny, manicured nails digging into her arm.
"It was a 'truth' Faith! A truth! You were supposed to say 'yes' then either be silent or give a transparent lie about a girl called 'Beth'- or 'Annie'- who had red hair that shone in the sunlight and a lot of inner strength… and a boyfriend. Obviously."
"Obviously." Faith rolled her eyes, "Didn't really stop ya though did it?" She tried to take a step back as Buffy growled. The iron grip on her arm stopped her from doing anything other than knocking over her drink. "Crap."
"You're an idiot Faith. A big, stinking, cheating idiot!" Buffy let go but only so she could drunkenly punch Faith's fractured nose again, making her dizzily topple sideways over the low bar. Busily mopping up the broken glass and whiskey by their feet, the barman yelped.
Faith groaned. She'd definitely landed on something sharp… or blunt… could something be sharp and blunt at the same time? "Uh… B?"
"Shut up! You big, stinking… uh… I- YOU DIDN'T FUCKING LOVE ME?" Faith's fingers grasped round for the thing that was sticking out of her back, "You just wanted to- to- have your way with me! You- fucking- fuck- you- GRAH!" Buffy lashed out at the bar, slamming a kick into it. A metal clang echoed. She yelped and grabbed her stiletto-ed foot "You have a metal bar!"
The barman raised his hands in surrender, "This used to be a rave club until new management came in and put wooden veneer on… uh… everything" He peered over the bar to see Faith squirming round on the floor, "Is your girlfriend ok?"
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" The slayers growled.
"Ok, ok, sorry… geez"
Buffy, still clutching her throbbing foot, sneaked a peak at Faith. The other slayer did look pretty pitiful, lying on a shattered crate of beer bottles. Buffy not-so-daintily slid over the bar and slumped down to sit next to her on the floor. "Sorry. It's not your fault you didn't love me."
Faith stared blankly "Are you really that blonde? I was lying, B, lying. You told me not to tell anyone ever."
"Oh." Buffy blushed, "So… you loved me?"
"I still did… up until ya staked me on a beer crate!" Faith grumbled, scowling at her.
"What! I never-!" She noticed Faith's raised eyebrows and bloodied hand. "Oh. Are you ok?" Buffy chewed her bottom lip as Faith sat up, half the crushed crate moving with her "That was a stupid question." Wood and flesh had definitely become one…
"Shut up and take the damn thing out!" Faith hissed over her shoulder.
"Maybe I shouldn't… Aren't you supposed to leave these things in?" Buffy prodded the wood with one tentative finger until Faith cried out and swung round to smack her hand away- accidentally hitting the half-crate against the bar.
"GARH!" She roared, "TAKE THE FUCKING THING OUT!"
"Ok, Ok! Fine!"
Buffy wrapped her hands around the wooden stump, rested her (non painful) foot against Faith's back and pulled! "GRAGH!" Faith fell forward and smacked her hand against the floor repeatedly "Bitch!"
"What!" Buffy smacked her across the head with the bloodied wood, "You told me to pull it out!"
Faith clutched her head, "God… I hate you…"
"I thought you loved me?" The two girls traded suspicious looks for a few minutes before Buffy pouted attractively, "You know… I… kind of like you too."
The other girl glared at her, "Oh woo-hoo. I tell you I- uh… was in love with you, and ya trade me back an 'I kinda like you'? I fuckin' hate you sometimes."
"Oh come on Kinks," Faith attempted to raise her heavily-damaged eyebrow, "you know I like you more than that."
"Actually I don't." She sent an evil glare Buffy's way, "ya never told me, 'Vanilla'."
Buffy winced, "Sorry, fine, don't- say it like that. I… um… I… lo- love… you?"
Faith's face remained stony for a long while until she broke out into a grin, "See now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"I guess not…" Buffy made what she thought was a smooth move forward. Until she put her hand down on half a broken beer bottle "Ow! Christ! All I wanted was a kiss."
"Well. If that's all you wanted…" Faith leaned over to grasp Buffy's lips with her own.
Standing awkwardly over them, eyeing his damaged and bloody floor, the barman cleared his throat. "Excuse me ladies, do you think you could-" Faith's leg shot out faster than the eye could catch and within a blink he was too busy rolling round on the floor in pain to question them.
"B?" Faith mumbled, lips still permanently attached to her counterpart (who really just wanted her to shut up and go back to doing that swoop-y thing with her tongue) "Next time, can we please let someone other than Dawn pick the party games?"
Resigning herself to the fact Faith had suddenly chosen to talk Buffy sighed loudly "It worked ok for you, didn't it? Now shut up and, for God sake, KISS ME!"
