I'm Right Here
With the wayward Champions defeated, Buffy and Faith had nothing much to do but laze around their room at the Kensington Hotel. Buffy had entertained the idea that they sleep in shifts, since they were both exhausted from their eventful night.
Faith had already changed for bed and was lounging in bed, halfway between the waking state and the sleeping state. Buffy turned off the TV and crawled into bed beside her friend. Faith yawned and slid down onto the pillow. She put her arm around Buffy's waist.
Buffy smiled when Faith's arm wrapped around her waist. She brushed her lips against Faith's. Faith kissed her softly back, her eyes still half-closed. They both wanted to do more, but they were exhausted. And it had been a long time since they'd been together. Faith had left Scotland to hunt down Haarmann and Christabel de Tournefort in San Francisco, at Wood's suggestion, nearly a month ago.
"I missed you, Faithy," Buffy said quietly.
"Missed you too, B." Faith yawned again.
At first, Buffy had been convinced that Wood was trying to take Faith away from her. And she'd almost persuaded herself that was true before she told Faith. Faith hadn't been happy with Buffy's assumptions and they'd fought about it. Faith was convinced that Buffy was jealous of her one-time fling with Wood, which Buffy admitted that she was. They talked everything through and made up before Faith left. They'd talked every day during the month Faith had been gone.
Sadly, since Faith had come to Providence to help deal with the Dark Congress situation, they hadn't been able to spend a lot of time together. Now was their chance and all Faith wanted to do was sleep.
Well, at least I get my Faith snuggles, Buffy thought. But we could be doing so much more...
"I know what you're thinking , B," Faith whispered. "And we will. But I'm way too tired to do it now, all right?"
"I get it, sweetie," Buffy whispered. "Go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."
"You better not."
After hours of sleep, Buffy woke up to find herself still happily ensconced in Faith's arms. Her sister Slayer was already awake, looking worried.
"What's the matter?" Buffy asked groggily.
"Nothing. Just thinking."
"Must be deep thoughts. You have your serious face on," Buffy teased her. Faith just grinned tiredly. She leaned in and kissed Buffy softly on the lips. "What time is it, F?"
"Almost nine o'clock."
"Wow, really?" Buffy asked. "I didn't think we'd slept that long...What time did we get back last night?"
"Like two or something," Faith muttered. She wriggled out of Buffy's arms. "I'm going to take a shower." She sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed at her temples. "Got a horrible headache."
Buffy sat up and crawled over to her lover. She kissed Faith's neck and gently massaged her shoulders. Faith sighed and her shoulders began to relax. Buffy had noticed before that Faith seemed to carry all her stress in her shoulders. And they'd had quite a stressful time lately.
"Why don't we take a bath together?" Buffy whispered, nibbling at Faith's earlobe. Faith chuckled.
"All right, B. Meetcha in there." She stood up, turned to peck Buffy on the lips, and disappeared into the bathroom.
This feels so good. We haven't done this in so long, Buffy thought happily. She smiled to herself and nuzzled Faith's chin, receiving a soft sound of approval when she did.
Faith's arms tightened around Buffy's waist and Buffy sighed blissfully. She'd always loved doing this with Faith. It was so simple. It required little to no conversation. It was just bodies pressed together in the most intimate way possible without making love. It had been over a month since they'd been able to enjoy a bath in private.
Xander didn't know about them, something Buffy was glad about. She couldn't imagine what kind of fantasies Xander had had about them back when Faith had first arrived in Sunnydale. She realized Xander had matured since then, but it didn't change how much she would worry what people thought. She loved Faith and she knew things like that shouldn't matter to her. But Willow and Xander were her closest friends and she wanted their approval. She wasn't too worried about Willow, since she was a lesbian. But Xander...even if he was buddy-buddy with Faith now, Xander had resented Faith for a long time.
Buffy and Faith had discussed Xander's issues with Faith at length and Faith understood why there might still be badness in the air between them. Xander had forgiven her, officially, but Buffy was afraid that if she told him that she was dating Faith, he would overreact.
"Penny for your thoughts, B?" Faith asked quietly, kissing the top of Buffy's head.
"Just thinking about...us. About coming out, maybe."
Before Faith could reply, a knock came at the door and a familiar soft voice called out to them: "Buffy? Faith?"
"Tara!" Buffy exclaimed. "Faith, come on. Get out."
"Jeez..."
Buffy climbed out of the bathtub and grabbed a towel off the rack. She quickly dried herself off and grabbed one of the hotel-supplied robes. She turned around to see Faith still lounging in the bathtub.
"What are you waiting for?!" Buffy asked her lover, eyes wide. Faith just smiled at her and Buffy relaxed and smiled back. "I'll go let Tara in. Come out in a few minutes. Please?" Faith nodded and Buffy kissed her softly. "I love you."
The Chosen Two froze simultaneously. Neither of them had expected this; Buffy could hardly believe what had left her own mouth. But she couldn't take it back either. It was true. Faith was pleased with this sudden revelation but confused as well. How long had Buffy felt this way about her? And why had it come out now?
Buffy came to her senses first and simply said, "We'll talk later," before leaving the bathroom to let Tara in.
Buffy flung the door open a little too enthusiastically, startling the woman standing on the other side.
"Tara, hi! What's up?"
"Can I come in?" Tara asked, smiling.
"Oh. Yeah." Buffy stepped aside to let the witch inside. The door closed with a quiet click. Tara saw Buffy's "clothing" and smiled.
"I didn't interrupt something, did I?" she asked. An amused half-grin appeared on her face when Buffy's cheeks flushed pink.
"Nah. Me and B here were just fooling around." Buffy turned around to see Faith coming in from the bathroom, also dressed in the hotel-supplied robe, her damp hair hanging down her shoulders. She placed an arm around Buffy's waist and kissed the side of her lover's head.
"So, what's up Tara?" Faith asked. She sat back on the bed and dragged Buffy with her, settling the smiling blonde into her lap.
"Well, Willow and I talked a lot and we've made a decision." Tara took a deep breath. "And as much as I love being here, being alive, and with everyone again...I can't stay. I just...I can't."
"Yes, you can," Buffy said at once. "You can and you will. We need you, Tara."
"Buffy...I really can't. All magick has consequences, which Willow and I know all too well. And I couldn't stand something changing the natural order of things because of my resurrection."
"I was resurrected by all you guys a couple years ago," Buffy argued. "And you weren't worried about the natural order of things."
"Your death wasn't natural," Tara said. "Mine was."
"You were shot!"
"Which is human and natural."
"B, I don't think you can stop her from doing this. She's determined."
"Faith's right, Buffy. I have to do this."
Buffy nodded slowly, gazing at the witch for a moment. She stood up and hugged Tara tightly, tears falling down her cheeks.
"We all love you," Buffy said quietly. "And we're all going to miss you so much."
After a few minutes, they separated, wearing identical sad smiles.
"Do me a favor?" Tara asked. Buffy nodded. "Tell everyone else I said goodbye? I don't think I could do that."
"We will," Faith said, standing up. She hugged Tara too. Tara, though she didn't know Faith very well, returned the embrace in her usual warm manner. When they separated, their eyes met and they shared grins.
"There's something about you Tara. A person couldn't not love you." Tara bowed her head shyly. "Tell Willow she's the second luckiest girl in the world."
"Odd request," Tara said, grinning. "But I will." She sighed and hugged them both again. "I better go. Bye, you two. Good luck with...everything." She smiled and left the room.
Buffy straddled Faith's lap. "So...who's the first luckiest girl in the world, Faith?"
"Me. Because I got the 'Deathless Slayer,' the best girl in the entire world."
"Aw, sweetie!" Buffy grinned and kissed Faith. Buffy broke the kiss and buried her face in Faith's neck. Faith held her close and rubbed her back.
Buffy couldn't help thinking about Tara. She loved Tara. She started to cry and Faith just held for a moment, before leaning forward, effectively putting Buffy on her back on the bed. She kissed Buffy softly, remaining between the iron grip Buffy's legs had on her.
"Buffy, shh," Faith whispered. "Don't cry."
"Faith..."
"B, listen. I know you're going to miss Tara a lot. You knew her for...what? Two and a half years, right?" Buffy nodded. "I know that you've missed her and you'll probably miss her even more now that you've gotten a chance to see her again."
"Yeah..."
"I want you to know...I'm here, B. I'm right here."
Buffy smiled through her tears and stroked Faith's cheek. "I know," she said softly. "I know."
The End.