Title: After the Fall
Author: Kaylee's Teddy
Rating: PG-13, f/f relationships and some light swearing
Summary: Post-Chosen, set directly after the bus drives into the sunset. No connection to season eight. Buffy and Faith survived the final battle. Now what? Slightly angsty Fuffy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, Faith or anything else BTVS related. Joss said let there be scripts and they were good, they were very, very, good.
Note: This chapter ends a little up in the air. Fear not. Chapter 3 is already started and it ends much much better then this one. Enjoy!
Faith wakes up in a cold sweat. It's got to be the smell. Cheap motels all smell the same and it takes Faith a moment or two to realize that this isn't Sunnydale…it takes her another moment to realize that Buffy is fast asleep, curled against Faith's back. "Shit" Faith, thinks to herself "Shit". At least they're both still dressed and it's not like Buffy is even touching her that much. Just her head against Faith's shoulder but that's enough, it makes Faith nervous…and horny. Faith slides herself out of bed as quickly as possible, Buffy mumbles sleepily and Faith is afraid she's going to wake up but she just shifts and continues sleeping. Faith takes a much-needed breath and stares down at Buffy. "Well," Faith thinks to herself taking a little too much time watching Buffy's chest rise and fall. "At least I can rule out that whole, it was just a dream scenario." Faith backs away from the bed, her eyes never leaving Buffy's sleeping form. It's a small room, and it doesn't take Faith long to find her jacket hanging neatly off the back of one of the rooms two tiny chairs. Faith rustles through her pockets; these are the kind of moments that require a cigarette. Faith settles herself into her less then comfortable seat and tries not to notice the slight trembling of her hands as she finally manages to connect cigarette with flame. Faith takes a calming drag and leans back a little keeping her eyes steadily on Buffy as she tries to remember exactly how the older slayer ended up in her bed.
Faith presses her palm against her eyes trying to make the growing headache back up a pace. It helps slightly, Faith takes another drag on her cigarette and the nicotine rush clears her head a little. Buffy and her in the back of the bus, that was clear, Buffy saying she loved her, Faith can feel a deep warmth spread from her cheeks and down her belly sliding directly into her groin, yep that seems accurate enough…then? They'd separated that much was clear; Buffy needed a last check in with Dawn and Co. … "Here," Buffy say's slipping her a motel key. "What?" Faith isn't completely coherent; shock and a good solid ½ a bottle of scotch are making speech extremely difficult. Buffy Summers just slipped her her hotel room key? Did that mean… But Buffy seems to be reading Faith's thought pattern. "It's your room." Buffy stammers quickly "just you, a treat from Giles, it's been so long since any of us slept alone…' Buffy seems to realize how suggestive that sentence is just as she say's it. She blushes, while Faith tries to add those sentences together in a way that makes sense. "You're sending me away?" Faith realizes it comes out slightly accusatorily but she doesn't really mean it. She's just trying to clarify, "NO, no." Buffy interjects quickly, "Well I mean just for a little bit." Faith leans a little precariously to one side and Buffy catches her by her jacket and pulls her in close. "I just need a minute…I mean we could both use a minute…and she's kissing Faith again and this time Faith has enough sense to wrap her arms around Buffy and keep her from running off, but Buffy isn't running and Faith just holds her tight because she feels soo good. Buffy pulls away slowly and chuckles low in her throat and Faith has never heard anything so amazing in her whole life. She tries to pull Buffy into her again but Buffy pushes her away. "I really have to do this…sacred duty and all that." Her tone is serious but her eyes are smiling, Faith smiles back. "I could come." Faith offers. Buffy beams at her and Faith is proud of herself for saying something right. Buffy seems about to say yes but then Faith stumbles again and Buffy catches her and props her against the building. "You're very sweet…" Buffy whispers and Faith is sure she's blushing…no one's called her sweet since grade school and barely even then, Faith refocuses on Buffy's dialogue "…but I'd like to take you out for pancakes later and I feel like that would go over better if you clean up first." Buffy finishes gently. Faith glances down at herself and realizes Buffy's probably right, besides the dirt and blood and other battle issues they've also been riding around in a small-enclosed un-air conditioned bus for half a day. "Yeah" Faith says looking back up at Buffy. "I should hit the showers." and before she can stop herself Faith let's a few more words fall out of her mouth "…care to join me?" Faith knows she's smirking and arching her eyebrow, it's a reflex really, one she's used a few too many times and she's sorry about it as soon as she's said it. Buffy blushes and lowers her eyes for a moment and Faith stammers out an apology. "You've done this before." Buffy says quietly, ignoring Faith's fumbled words. Faith wants to ask what she means exactly, done what? Used cheesy lines, used cheesy lines on girls, showered? But she knows what Buffy's asking, so she just nods. "Sometimes." Faith says. Buffy doesn't look at her. "You haven't." Faith says more as a statement then a question. Buffy meets her eyes and theirs a fierceness there that makes Faith step back a little. "Not yet." Buffy says. Faith let's that sink in a minute. "So was that a yes?" Faith asks hoping it comes off as cocky and non-chalant and not as desperate and needy as she feels. Buffy steps into Faith's personal space and it's all Faith can do not to flinch away from her. Buffy makes sure Faith is looking her in the eye before she leans up to kiss her cheek, only then does she answer. "First you clean up," Buffy says smoothing a strand of Faith's hair behind her ear. "Then we'll see." Buffy finishes and gently pushes Faith off in the direction of the road. "Four blocks down on your right, 212 on the second floor, half hour tops, I promise." And with that Buffy turns into the building and is gone, leaving Faith more then a little dazed stumbling towards the street.
Faith doesn't really remember the rest, but she can piece it together, the stumble across the parking lot, down the block, into her room on the second floor and then apparently the bed. Faith rubs her head a little more as she finishes her cigarette, Buffy must have come to get her and then she stayed and that thought makes Faith smile. Buffy stayed with her, all night Faith smiles some more. Despite the hangover Faith is feeling surprisingly good, Buffy came to get her and she stayed. More then that, Faith realizes, Buffy must have taken care of her, since Faith knows from previous drunken evenings that she is hardly careful about where either her or her stuff ends up when she passes out. But here are all her things neatly in a chair and Faith herself woke up nice and tucked in. And still dirty Faith realizes noticing a long smudge of something on her pants leg. That does it. Faith stabs out the cigarette and heads for the bathroom. "It's a brave new world." She thinks, not sure what it's from but it feels right. Sunnydale is a crater and Faith feels lighter without it, all her indiscretions buried under dust and rubble. A fresh start and she wants to do it right. Faith wants to be clean, really clean, hot water, entire bar of soap, clothes just out of the dryer clean. Years of catholic education try and whisper things about water and redemption but Faith shrugs it off. She doesn't want to probe too deeply into why, just knows it feels right, fresh start, fresh Faith, something she just has to do.
It isn't until after the shower that Faith remembers the issue of clothes. She can't stand the idea of starting her new life in the same, three day old, blood stained jeans. Faith hesitates only a moment before pulling a towel around her waist; almost as an afterthought she wraps a second one around her torso. She wants Buffy and she's pretty sure Buffy wants her but she doesn't want to push it. "Still," Faith thinks drying her hair a little more, "no harm in showing a little skin." Faith smiles to herself picturing how the morning will go, it's still early, she'll smoke another cigarette and wait for Buffy to wake up. And then…Faith grins to herself. She's not kidding herself, the most likely scenario is that Buffy will run out to find a Laundromat and Faith will hang out and watch bad cartoons but even that limited possibility fills Faith with an inexplicable warmth. "Buffy is going to take care of me." Faith thinks and then almost hesitantly, "Buffy loves me." Faith knows she's grinning like an idiot but for once in her life, she doesn't care. Buffy loves her and that changes everything. "Brave new world." Faith whispers and reaches for the door.
"Got to be careful not to wake B," Faith thinks as she cracks open the bathroom and begins sneaking quietly across the worn carpeting. It takes Faith a few steps to work up the courage to look up towards the bed. What she sees makes Faith stop dead in her tracks…Buffy is gone.
