Chapter 3

They were sitting in the lounge of the Hyperion, Robin Wood had been hospitalised and Faith felt at a loose end. Around her, Slayers dozed while Giles and Angel organised sleeping arrangements.

Always with the admin and the planning, damn, I can't take this anymore. She thought in exasperation. It's 11pm, the night is young.

"I need to get wasted." Faith announced, to no one in particular. "Put this all behind me, y'know?" she got up from where she had been sitting and prepared to leave the rest of the assembled Slayers and friends.

"So do I." It was Kennedy. "Let's all just get Sunny Dale off our minds. C'mon."

Angel and Giles shared a glance. "Um. Certainly." Giles said. "I don't see why not, I mean, exercise due caution, of course, but…"

Faith zoned out, noticing that all the Slayers were getting up.

"Tell me this didn't just become a freaking Slayer expedition." Faith muttered.

"So much for the solitary drinking," Faith turned to see that it was Buffy who had spoken, a knowing smile on her lips.

Faith shrugged. "Hey, so long as there's drinking involved, I can deal."

Buffy snorted.

–:::–

In event, they ended up at Vanguard, a warehouse-cum-club. Faith contemplated making a getaway, finding a quiet bar where she could sit with a drink and smoke, but that lasted only until she felt the first hum of the bass shuddering through the floor. That was when she knew a quietly alcoholic night was the last thing she wanted.

"Oh my God. Have you seen how much they're charging for a drink?" Buffy squeaked, shooing underage Slayers from the bar. Always the responsible one. Faith sighed. I guess someone has to be.

"B, this is LA. It was always going to be overpriced. But I haven't exactly been spending much the last couple of weeks, have you?" Faith replied, catching the bartender's eye.

"What's this?" Buffy demanded as Faith handed her a shot glass.

"Pernod." said Faith innocently. "Kinda like Sambuca. But better."

"I'm not–"

It was Xander who stopped her. "You just saved the world. Again. The word Not shouldn't even be in your vocabulary. No one's coming after us. We have to live it up while we can."

"Amen to that." Buffy agreed, knocking back the glass.

–:::–

Faith danced with typical abandon, her head buzzing pleasantly from the last few drinks. Now and then she spared a glance at the bar, keeping an eye on Xander and Buffy there. Xander had declined to dance, and Buffy wouldn't leave his side. She doesn't want him to be alone while he's hurting, Faith knew. But she also observed how Xander powered through drink after drink, accompanied by a somewhat resigned Buffy. They'll both be under the table if someone doesn't break up their little pity fest.

It wasn't difficult to direct a woman to the bar, with a drink and a vague "from my friend. He's kinda shy."

Job done, Faith was about to turn back into the faceless crowd.

Then Shania Twain came on. She blasted from all speakers, an optimistic bombshell.

Whether it was the alcohol, Faith could never be sure. But suddenly, I feel like a woman.

She glanced around. Saw Buffy sitting at the bar, her back to the people dancing, lonely now that Xander was occupied.

She had no memory of leaving the dance floor: just found herself at Buffy's side, tugging on her elbow.

"Faith?"

"C'mon, B. Let's dance." Faith grinned. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the solitary drinking. But you look bored as hell."

Buffy flicked her eyes sideways to look at Xander, then back at the drink in her hand. "There's still half the bottle left, I can't just–"

"Down it, B."

"What? No, I couldn't–" she started to protest.

"B, are you a Slayer or what? You telling me you can kill demons but drinking a little beer is just too much to handle?"

"Oh, fine." Buffy muttered, relenting.

"Now will you come dance with me?" But this time she was asking for more than dancing.

"Like you even have to ask."

–:::–

Back at the hotel and suddenly it occurred to Faith that having sex might ruin the tenuous friendship that she and Buffy had managed to construct.

"You sure about this, B?" even as she said it, the question sounded faintly ridiculous. Most of their clothes had already been shed and Buffy was lying on top of her in a way that suggested friendship had never been further from her mind.

"Are you kidding?" Buffy spluttered, half-laughing, half-outraged. "You spend the last couple of hours seducing me and now, now you're hesitating?"

"I wouldn't call it seducing, but yeah." Faith said seriously, "I don't want to fuck up what we have."

"So just fuck me?" Buffy smiled sweetly.

"Is it as simple as that?" Faith asked. Somehow she didn't trust that smile.

"Yes! The way we were dancing, we were practically having sex right there on the dance floor! And your hand did not just accidentally fall down the front of my jeans!" Buffy couldn't help being impatient. She had been so close to having what she wanted and now it looked like it was about to be snatched away. "We're drunk." She said, more softly now, and paused to lean in and suck at the fabric covering Faith's nipple, sliding a hand around Faith's back to unhook and help her out of her bra. She drew her mouth away as she pulled the bra aside, shifting forward to look into Faith's eyes and letting her hand move up to massage the place her mouth had vacated. "Tomorrow it'll be like it never happened, nothing will have changed. I swear." She liked the sounds Faith was making. They told her she had almost won. She kissed Faith gently, tantalisingly. "Is that OK?"

Maybe it was the alcohol and the lust getting the better of her judgement, but these terms sounded better than OK to Faith.

"Five by five," she said, suddenly breathless, and pulled Buffy back down into a kiss.

–:::–

Faith opened her eyes slowly. Sunlight shone through a hole in the curtains, dazzling her. When she had grown accustomed to the light, she looked around her. Saw Buffy, and realised it wasn't just the blankets that had been keeping her warm.

Her breath caught in her throat. She reached out to touch Buffy's lips – and stopped herself. She could feel all the places Buffy had kissed her tingling like it had been moments ago, not hours.

Shit. Faith thought desperately. What is this?

Her eyes felt stuck on that body. She forced herself to look away, but her gaze kept being drawn back to Buffy.

Maybe I should ring room service, get her breakfast in bed.

Am I shitting me? Shiiit.

I'm not – I'm not in – no, don't even think it –

Faith couldn't believe she was still in the bed. She ought to be halfway out the door by now. But she didn't want to find someone new, didn't want to run away from Buffy. She wanted to stay and try to make this work. More than wanted to, was desperate to.

Oh God. B'll kill me. I can't fuck everything up all over again.

Need a shower. It'll all seem different after a shower.

–:::–

The sound of water pounding out of the shower woke Buffy. She stretched and yawned and thought fondly about the previous night.

So this is what it feels like to be Faith. She couldn't help smiling. Not bad. I could get used to this no-strings-attached stuff.

Something red on her shoulder caught her eye and she craned her neck around to get a better look. That is a hell of a hickey. It better heal up before anyone sees it.

For a second she was lost in daydreams. I didn't think I'd remember so much … maybe I wasn't as drunk as I thought last night? Ha, good one, brain. I'd never have gone home with Faith if I hadn't been completely, totally, one-hundred-percent wasted.

She wondered impatiently how long Faith was going to spend in the shower. She had to go before anyone else woke up and noticed that they had slept in the same room. That would be so humiliating.

–:::–

Faith stepped, dripping, out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. Her head felt a lot clearer and her thoughts and feelings concerning Buffy weren't worrying her half as much as they had been.

Last night had been a lot of fun – her chest was still stinging where the soap and water of the shower had irritated the half-healed scratch marks left by someone's too-passionate nails – but nothing more. It was just alien to think of herself being in a relationship with anyone, let alone Buffy. She chuckled at the thought. There was never a more mismatched pair in the world.

Just some post-sex delusion. Good to be me again. She thought in relief as she made her way out of the bathroom.

Wouldn't mind doing it again sometime; she was a good fuck. But I feel like doing a man tonight.

–:::–

Buffy passed by her, coolly comfortable, still in the midst of fuzzy replays of the night before. Goddamn, she took her sweet time circling around and around with her tongue, making me wait and shake and beg. She enjoyed that far, far too much. Buffy pursed her lips, her mouth gone dry. And God knows I did too.

She turned the shower on. Maybe it was the sudden rush of water falling on her head that jumbled her thoughts, but suddenly she was thinking less about how good the sex had been and more about how good it had been to have sex with Faith.

Unsexy drunken moments aside, it felt amazing. And not weird. And really right.

Why didn't I get in the shower with her?

Buffy closed her eyes. Imagined Faith was with her – kissing and biting her way up my thigh again – and shivered with delight.

We would totally work as a couple.

All modesty forgotten, she really wanted to confide everything to someone. She wanted to talk to Faith.

But – but – it was a one-off thing. We said it was a one-off thing. God, was I insane when I said that? I can't tell her how I feel. She'll run away.

Tell Willow? Willow would understand. Buffy suddenly didn't care who knew about the night she and Faith had spent together. Provided that Faith returned her feelings, so it wouldn't look like she had just used Buffy.

Oh God, Buffy thought, tortured, what if she really didn't feel anything? What if it wasn't good for her and she can't stand me?

I'll make her love me. I can be cool and indifferent and pretend it was just a one-time thing.

But I can make her love me. We can make this work.

Buffy couldn't even remember how she'd felt before stepping into the shower.