Storm Clouds
Author: Eden Lee Raven
Rating: R?
Paring: Fuffy
Authors Notes: Contains character death. You might want a tissue nearby just in case. Coz if the author cries when they're writing it? Sign of a damn angsty fic.
*
They'd been talking about movies. Which ones sucked, which ones rocked and which ones they could watch over and over again. As it turns out Faith's favourite movie was called 'imagine me and you'. Kind of the sort of movie Buffy preferred; soft, funny, kind of sappy. Not something she thought Faith'd like. Goes to show how wrong stereotypes can be.
That was one minute, the next they were neck deep in vampires. They seemed to be jumping out from no where, but Buffy wasn't too worried. They'd fought more than twenty at once before now. This was nothing.
She punched and kicked her way through them until she came to her last one. Punch, punch, roundhouse kick, knee to the groin, stake in the back, poof.
It was through the cloud of his swirling dust that she saw it happen. Faith was paying attention to the vamp in front of her and didn't notice the one coming up behind her. He drew his arm back and with a soft grunt, drove his arm around. It was the moonlight twinkling off the blade that made Buffy move. She threw her stake with so much force it came out the other side of the new cloud of dust and just kept going.
But even though she'd reacted in the blink of an eye, she was still way too late.
She watched as Faith staked her vamp, and then crumpled to the floor. She might have a good record with surviving knife wounds but even this was a little to bad for her.
The only part of it that was showing was the handle. It stuck out of her side, from between the ribs, having sliced through her lung like it was butter.
When Buffy reached her, dropping to her knees beside her, Faith was on her back, looking up to the sky above them. Her breath was jagged, rattling out between her lips, which Buffy could already see were tinged with blood.
She wouldn't waste time telling Faith she was gonna be alright, she wouldn't have their last minutes filled with lies.
"You're not supposed to leave me Faith!" her words were a desperate whisper, choked out past the lump blocking her throat. She grabbed Faiths hand tightly, leaning down slightly and catching the brunettes eyes. Faith'd spent so much of her life being alone, Buffy wouldn't let her think that the end of it was just the same.
She slowly reached her other hand up, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind Buffys ear, before running her fingertips over the blondes cheek. "I'm always here B." a gurgling cough shook her body slightly, blood tumbling out of her lips and running down her cheeks. "Just in the other room."
The last thing Faith ever saw was Buffys tear soaked face.
*
It was funny. Not funny ha ha but funny weird, how the body of a dead person weighed so much. Not like the unconscious. Like the soul and life of a person made them lighter. But there was no life left in the body Buffy cradled so gently against her chest, which made her thankful she was a slayer and could take the weight easily.
She wouldn't have left Faith in that cemetery, easy pickings for anyone.
She walked around the side of the house, into the backyard and straight to Faiths favourite tree. The brunette would spend hours underneath it, lazing about, playing in the branches. It brought a sob from her throat to realise she'd never see her doing those things again. She laid her body down with such care and attention, arranging her arms so she'd at least be comfortable.
And then she knelt down beside her, unable to leave her side for just a minute to go get the others. To do.. whatever you were supposed to when there was the body of a loved one in your backyard.
She didn't need to bother. She heard the backdoor click open and soft footsteps walking towards her. She heard the soft gasp before she felt Xanders body curl around hers from behind. Wrapping her up in his strong arms when he saw Faiths body on the grass next to her.
Without saying a word, he gave her permission to let go. To feel all the pain that came with knowing she'd never hear Faith laugh again, never hear her crack a perverted joke. Never see her smile again.
And she did. With heaving sobs that rocked her body against his.
*
She jerked awake, her breath panting out from between her lips in loud, harsh gasps.
"You ok?" the person in the bed beside her didn't move to comfort her, they knew by now not too.
"Nightmare. Really, really bad one." There was a tremor to her voice, and shake to her hand when she reached up and realised she'd been crying in her sleep. Her cheeks were soaking, as if all the water in her had come pouring out of her eyes whilst she slept.
"What about?"
Buffy turned her head and felt a soft gasp escape her lips at the sight before her. Wavy brown hair mused by sleep, chocolate eyes with a mischievous twinkle to them despite the serious conversation. A pouting bottom lip that, no matter what was taking place, seemed to beg to be kissed.
"Your death." And all of a sudden she sat up, putting one hand into the hair on the side of the blondes head and the knuckles of the other brushing her cheek. She looked into Buffys eyes as if it was the only place in the world she could look.
"I'm right here." Buffy nodded as she leaned into Faiths shoulder, burying her face into her warm neck, her arm draping around Faiths stomach and holding on tight.
"It might've just been a nightmare, but it was so real. I felt empty with you gone." She felt Faith nod as she wrapped her arms around her and squeezed with a kind of force it'd bruise a normal person.
"I'm right here B." she couldn't think of what else to say. What *do* you say when the person you're in love with wakes up from a nightmare like that?
Nothing. You just hold them. Because there's never anything you *can* say.
Just be there when the storm clouds roll back again.