"So what exactly are we supposed to do at these little sleepover festivities?" Faith asked Buffy with a little sly grin, flopping down onto her stomach on the bed and kicking her bent legs back and forth with idle slowness. "Paint our toenails, pig out on cookie dough and chocolate? Braid each other's hair and tell all our secret lust fixations? Or," she said, her eyes gleaming wickedly, "pillow fight in our underwear?"

Buffy shoved at Faith's shoulder, mock exasperated, but smiling. She knew Faith was just being Faith… but still, enough with the underwear images, she didn't want her mind taking any more involuntary mental detours.

"Oh, sure, Faith, all of the above," she said casually. "I'll break out the green face masks if you're game too."

"Oh hell yeah, anything to make me all wrinkle-free or whatever the crap those things are supposed to do. You know what with being not even seventeen yet and having healing Slayer powers, I need the stuff," Faith quipped. "Don't hold out on me, B."

"You're not seventeen?" Buffy asked curiously, shifting her position from where she was kneeling beside Faith and looking down at her with interest. "You never said that for sure before. When's your birthday, Faith?"

Faith shrugged, and there was a strangely defensive clouding that came over her eyes.

"Does it matter?"

"Well, yeah, it matters," Buffy said, surprised. "It's your birthday. Don't you think I want to know your birthday?"

Faith shrugged again. "I probably won't even be here that long, B," she said, the same odd look in her eyes.

"What?" Buffy frowned, startled. "Why wouldn't you be? Where would you go?"

But Faith just smiled, something about it seeming too quick and easy to be quite genuine. She quickly changed the subject as well.

"I bet I know your secret lust fixation, B," she said, her eyes glowing with sudden impish satisfaction as she smiled slyly. "Want to kiss and tell?"

Buffy's heart lurched abruptly, and she felt her pulse quicken at Faith's choice of words. She swallowed instinctively, trying to rid her mouth of its sudden dryness. God, why did she keep circling back to that kind of talk? Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone- did she really enjoy making Buffy squirm so much? Why couldn't she just let things go the way they'd been going without deliberately setting out to bring them around full circle again?

"I don't have one, Faith," she said as evenly as she could make herself, trying to keep her face impassive as she sought to keep her voice from sounding either too serious or too casual. "I don't know what secret lust you're talking about."

"Oh, don't deny it, B," Faith said, her voice dropping huskily as she propped herself up on her elbow, her lips twisting teasingly. "You totally do, and you know it. Don't think I haven't seen you watching, seen that look in your eyes…"

"No, Faith, you've got it all wrong," Buffy said hurriedly, even as her heart beat still faster, and she had to swallow several more times, her tongue thick and pasty. "Anything you think you saw- anything that's happened- look, that was just… jeez, Faith, I didn't mean-"

"Yep, I've got to hand it to you, your taste ain't half bad, B," Faith interrupted, her words casually tossed out even as she grinned with wicked pleasure. "I mean, Giles is kinda British for me, but he's pretty foxy for a guy his age, you know?"

For a moment Buffy was positive she had not heard the other girl right, that any moment, Faith's actual words would kick in to her brain. As she began to realize that no other words would be forthcoming after all, Faith laughed at her widened eyes and stunned expression.

"Could your mouth open any wider, B? Who'd you think I was referring to?" Faith asked with exaggerated innocence, her dimples flashing with her playful smile. She seemed once again thrilled to have caught Buffy off guard, to have one up on her- but yet, there was an odd hesitance lingering somewhere around the edges of her smile, the deeper recesses of her dark eyes. Almost something akin to disappointment… as though she had received an answer or response of some kind she had hoped against.

Buffy shoved at Faith's shoulder again, making herself scowl at her. She was relieved by Faith's comment- too relieved, really… but somehow she almost felt let down as well.

"Ewww! Faith, that's disgusting! Me and Giles- he's old enough to be my father!"

"So? That Angel dude- he was old enough to be your great-great-great-great granddad's dad, wasn't he, and that didn't stop you," Faith snorted. As Buffy's expression tightened, and she didn't reply, Faith's grin slipped. She sat up abruptly, eyebrows drawing together in awkward apology as she faced Buffy, clearly regretting her careless words.

"Hey- hey, B, I didn't mean nothin'," she said uncomfortably, a line creasing in her forehead. "I'm sorry… I'll shut up now, okay?"

"No- no, it's okay," Buffy said slowly, forcing a tight-lipped smile as she exhaled, trying to convince herself of the same. "I- you've probably heard a lot about it from everyone, or else pieced it together in parts. I don't know… I don't like to talk about it much. I don't' like to think about him. About how he was, and what- what he used to be. What I had to do to him," Buffy told her, her voice dropping, before she raised her eyes to Faith's once again, firming her tone.

"I need to keep from thinking about him, because all he does is make things seem so hopeless… miserable. I- I want to move on from him, so that's what I have to do right now. Move."

"Yeah," Faith mumbled, dropping her eyes. A silence stretched between them for several moments before she looked up at Buffy again, her gaze as serious as her tone when she spoke.

"He really hurt you, didn't he, B?"

The younger Slayer's eyes were narrowed, her concern and hesitant sympathy for Buffy showing in her features, and her posture. Buffy looked over at her, regarding her thoughtfully and with some surprise. It wasn't often that she saw this side of Faith- this part of her showing her sensitivity.

"Yeah," she replied quietly. "Yeah, he hurt me, Faith. But it wasn't just me… I wish it had. He hurt everyone. My friends, my family… he killed people, just to get to me."

She sighed slowly, and a silence once more spanned between the two girls as they both lowered their eyes from where they were seated closely, facing each other. Shaking herself out of her reverie, Buffy realized suddenly that Faith, probably unconsciously, had picked up the teddy bear she had won at the arcade and was absently squeezing it in her hand, pressing it against her abdomen. She repressed the smile that wanted to emerge, not wanting to embarrass or hurt Faith, but finding that the sight amused her. Still, the heavier mood surrounding the girls remained, and Buffy found herself speaking to Faith before she could quite realize her own thoughts.

"Faith… what was your first time like?"

Author notes: Obviously Buffy is referring to sex. Sorry to end it here... I know people hate cliffhangers. Next part will be up soon.