Chapter 3
Faith shifted the bags of Chinese take-out in her arms in order to unlock and open her motel room. When she gained entrance, she found her girlfriend lying on her stomach on top of the single bed, watching television, and eating Twizzlers.
"I come bearing food," Faith announced, adroitly closing the door behind her with just the toe of her boot.
The woman on the bed made a relieved noise. "Finally!" she cheered, twisting to sit up. "I think I ate everything out of the vending machine waiting for you to get back." She hopped up and padded over to the brunette slayer.
"Then what are you complaining about?" Faith laughed.
"A girl cannot live on sugar alone you know," the small blonde informed her partner. She gave Faith a quick peck on the cheek.
The Bostonian set the two full paper bags on the small table in a corner of the room and began to take out the bags' contents. "I guess it's a good thing I ordered just about one of everything on the menu," she observed with a wide grin.
The blonde looked over Faith's shoulder at the array of white containers. "So did you bother to get anything for me?"
"Ha. Ha," Faith deadpanned. "Are you calling me fat?"
The shorter woman walked her fingers up the brunette's flat abdomen over her t-shirt. "I wouldn't mind if you gained a few pounds," she admitted. "More to hold onto," she grinned slyly.
Faith leaned it to kiss the other girl, but the blonde ducked out of the way and grabbed one of the white boxes off the small table. "You, love, have a one-track mind."
"Hey, you know it's hard to think of much else when you insist on looking like that," Faith defended herself.
The other woman sat back on the queen-sized mattress, folding her legs Indian-style. "I'm amazed you can even function in public," she remarked. "Speaking of which, how was your super-secret Scooby meeting tonight?" she asked as she eagerly dug into her lo mein.
"Pretty eventful actually," the Boston slayer revealed. She grabbed a box of vegetables and chicken and sat down on the bed next to the British woman. "We took a fieldtrip to the area where Simone's been shacked up, and we nearly ran into her," Faith noted in between bites of food. "Oh, and I got to meet Buffy's girlfriend."
The other girl nearly choked on her noodles. "What?" she exclaimed. "Buffy has a girlfriend?"
"I might be exaggerating," Faith said wryly. "But she apparently shagged some newbie slayer when I was off working with Giles."
The other woman set her chopsticks down and searched Faith's face for any sign of emotion. "How are…um…how are you doing?"
"Me? What do you mean?" Faith asked, feigning innocence.
The British woman scoffed. "Don't play dumb with me, Lehane."
"I'm fine," Faith insisted gruffly. "And I technically didn't meet her. Just saw her from afar." The brunette reached for a crab rangoon with her chopsticks. "Looks like Buffy's little roll in the hay wants her dead just as much as Simone does. Gotta give it to Buffy," Faith said with an almost-malicious snicker. "She sure does have a complicated love life."
"Said the kettle to the pot."
Faith scowled and looked cross. "Just eat your food, woman, and be thankful."
The blonde Brit flashed a quick smile as a peace offering. "So now what?" she questioned. "Does Buffy still want you to be double-agent girl?"
"I don't know," Faith said with a quick shrug. "She wanted to talk it out more tonight, but I didn't stick around."
"Why not?"
Faith smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes dramatically. " 'Cause I wanted to come back to you, of course."
The blonde threw a fortune cookie at her partner. "You're such a cheeseball," she stated, shaking her head.
Faith caught the wafer cookie before it could hit her. In a fluid motion, she put her cartoon of Chinese food on the floor and promptly tackled her partner onto the mattress like something out of a cartoon.
"Hey!" the blonde pouted as Faith straddled her and pinned her arms at her sides. "I wasn't done eating."
Faith's full lips curled into a leer. "If I'm such a cheeseball," she remarked, "I guess it's a good thing you're not lactose intolerant."
Buffy flopped down on the futon in the back den that, for the past few months, had served as her bedroom. "What a long, crazy day," she announced.
Willow followed in after her. "You can say that again. And here I thought seeing Faith was going to be excitement enough. I certainly didn't expect to see both Satsu and Simone tonight."
The blonde slayer stared up at the ceiling. "You can go ahead and say it, you know. I deserve it."
Willow set her bag down on the ground and sat down beside it on the carpet. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Buffy propped herself up on an elbow to look at her best friend. "You know. How it's my own fault that Satsu turned against me. How I should have been more careful with her, knowing how much she loved me."
Willow blinked a few times and shook her head. "That thought never even crossed my mind," she insisted.
Buffy eyeballed the redhead. "Uh huh. You're not a very good liar, Wills. It's one of the many reasons I like you so much."
Willow's cheeks pinked. "Okay, so maybe it's a little bit your fault."
Buffy smiled weakly. "That's better."
"I know you probably don't want to talk about it," Willow started hesitantly,
"but why did you sleep with her, anyway?"
Buffy looked at her long-time friend and sighed. "I was lonely and she was pretty." The blonde winced and covered her face with her hands. "Does that make me sound like a horrible person?"
Willow's mouth twisted into a small smile. "A little."
Faith walked out of the motel bathroom, towel drying her long, dark hair. The blonde girl sat on the bed in the center of the room, her eyes glued to the laptop screen.
"Find any good porn?" Faith asked, only half-joking. She tossed her damp towel back in the bathroom and began to pick through her duffle bag on the floor to finish getting ready for the new day.
The girl wrinkled her nose. "No, I've been looking online at local places to eat. I think I've decided on what I want for breakfast."
Faith quirked an eyebrow at the attractive girl as she pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. "Oh really? I don't get a say in this?"
"No." The British woman looked momentarily thoughtful. "Actually, I think it's only fair that I make all the big food decisions from now on, considering I'm the one stuck in here for the majority of the day."
Faith grinned and sat down on the bed next to the girl. "Well, you sure made your case." She rested her chin on the other woman's shoulder and looked at the computer screen. "So where will it be today?"
The blonde pointed at a hyperlink on the screen. "This place looks promising, and it's relatively close," she stated. "If I call now, they might be able to put together our order in the next 10 to 20 minutes. That should give you enough time to get there, come back, eat, and be off to do your saving-the-world thing."
"You mean saving-the blonde-thing," Faith corrected with a grin.
The woman laughed and playfully swatted at the brunette slayer. Faith grabbed the girl's hands and pulled her in for a kiss that lingered unexpectedly.
"I don't feel like going," Faith sighed. She pressed her forehead against her girlfriend's. "Why couldn't our motel have room service?"
"Don't start with that," the British-born girl complained sourly. She wiggled out of Faith's hold. "I'd go for you if I could, but I can't." She placed her palms on her flat abdomen. "But if I don't get some food soon, my stomach's going to start digesting my other internal organs."
"Are you for real?"
The girl's eyebrows furrowed together. "No, silly. It's just a figure of speech."
"Alright," Faith conceded with a heaving sigh. "I guess I can go grab breakfast. But only if—,"
"I am not going to have sex with you for my breakfast," the Brit cut in. "Don't play with my hunger, love," the girl warned with a steely glance.
Faith's expression revealed mock pain. "You make havin' sex with me sound so bad."
"It's a talent," the girl shrugged, looking smug. "What can I say?"
"What I was originally going to say was," Faith began again, and ignoring the girl's barbs. "I'll go, but only if a pretty girl wouldn't mind keeping me company on my journey."
"Really?" The blonde woman's voice was calm, but Faith could see the excitement in her eyes. Normally the Brit would have made a sarcastic crack about the "pretty girl" comment instead of showing genuine emotion.
"Yes." Faith nodded. "I think it's time San Francisco finally got a taste of you."
"Right now?"
"Yes!" Faith chuckled. "So get changed, and we can get you fed and then do some sight-seeing."
"But don't you have to be a super hero today?" the other woman asked, looking momentarily saddened.
Faith waved a dismissive hand. "Nah. I can't really do much until Buffy gets off of work. It's not really an efficient way to go about fighting Simone, but B's calling the shots, not me." She flashed her girlfriend a brilliant smile. "We've got the whole day, just you and me."
The blonde woman hopped off the bed and walked over to the dresser bureau. She opened the top drawer and scanned the clothes she had brought on the trip. "What's the weather supposed to be like today?"
"Cold," Faith stated flatly. She lay back on the mattress and propped her head up with her folded arms.
"But it's California and it's summer," the other woman pointed out.
"San Francisco didn't get the memo."
"Layers it is," the blonde said aloud, more to herself than to her partner. The British-born woman grabbed a handful of clothes and rushed off to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
"I don't know why you don't change in front of me," Faith mildly complained through the closed bathroom door.
"A girl's gotta keep a little mystery about her," came a muffled reply.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and the woman stepped out. She wore a three-quarter length top paired with skinny jeans, boots, and a woven houndstooth scarf knotted around her neck. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her makeup was light with her eyes done up to highlight the green in her irises. She cocked her hip to one side, striking a pose. "How do you like the look?"
The Boston girl gave her girlfriend a lazy smile as she indulged in the view. Faith slid out of bed and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist. "Let's just say," she began, leaning to murmur and nuzzle her nose against the other woman's ear, "you're exactly who I want to show off to the world."
The British woman held up an oversized t-shirt and made a face. Screen-printed on the front was the figure of a tanned woman wearing a bikini. "I'll never understand Americans," she mumbled.
Faith sidled up next to her partner. She unwrapped a piece of salt-water taffy and popped it into her mouth. "You want that?" she asked around the chewy candy.
After a leisurely breakfast, the two women had traveled to Fisherman's Wharf to play tourist. Faith hadn't told the other girl that the tourist-location was Simone-central, but she decided she could entertain her partner while also checking out the area at the same time.
The other woman rolled her eyes and refolded the t-shirt. "Please," she drawled. "You should know by now that I have better taste than that."
"You have a point…" Faith mused, looking thoughtful. "You do have me as a girlfriend, so obviously good taste is a quality you have."
"Hah," the British woman chortled, as she began to sort through another pile of tops. "Good taste or bad luck?"
Faith's full bottom lip popped out in an uncharacteristic pout.
"I mean…good luck…" the other woman quickly self-corrected when she looked up and saw her girlfriend's reaction. The British woman gave her partner a fierce smile and nodded. "Yes…definitely good luck."
The Bostonian sniffled dramatically and tried to turn away.
The other woman grabbed the retreating brunette and pulled her close. "Even though I know you're playing around right now," she murmured, cupping Faith's face, "that pout is killing me."
Faith's lips curved into a devilish smile. "Good. Mission accomplished."
The other girl smirked and pulled her hands away. "For supposedly being a badass rogue slayer," she remarked, focusing her attention back on the stacks of t-shirts on the display tables around her, "you sure are a child stuck in an adult's body."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Faith asked, putting her hands on her hips. "At least I'm not physically changing to play the part," she pointed out. "100% adult body here."
The British woman smiled privately. "That I know for sure," she mumbled. "But I honestly think that you have a complex."
Faith laughed. "Is that your way of saying I'm too much for you to handle?"
"No, it's my way of saying you're crazy, but I love it," the other girl added. She pulled some clothes off a table and held them up for the brunette to approve. "I'm gonna try these on, hun. I hope your credit card can handle it."
Faith started to walk in the direction of the fitting room. Her partner stopped her, however, putting her hand in the center of the other woman's chest. "Where do you think you're going?"
"What? I thought you might want some company in the fitting rooms," Faith said innocently.
"Uh huh. 'Company.' I'm not getting kicked out of another clothing store because of you, missy," the woman informed her partner with slightly narrowed eyes. "Your country might deport me."
Faith grinned. "Where's your sense of adventure, babe?"
"I guess I left it back at the motel," her girlfriend remarked wryly. "Now stay here while I try these things on. I won't be long," she promised before walking away.
Left to her own devices, Faith began to sift through the piles of t-shirts. After looking at a few garments more closely, she abandoned the idea and turned her attentions to waiting for her girlfriend to immerge from the dressing rooms. She entertained the idea of going back into the fitting rooms even though her partner had insisted she stay put.
"Can I help you with something?" a short blonde woman asked, stepping up next to the Boston slayer.
"Naw, I'm good," Faith replied, not really bothering to look at the store employee. "Just looking."
"Well maybe I can help you find something." The shop clerk picked up a grey tank top and held it up in front of Faith's torso. "You've got the arms for it; I bet you look killer in tank tops," she remarked, cocking her head to one side as if to better inspect the brunette slayer.
Faith couldn't help the predatory leer that fell so naturally onto her lips. "I look even better without them," she reflexively purred.
"I don't doubt that at all," the girl giggled.
The Bostonian took a moment to inspect the overly helpful shop girl. She might have been in a relationship, but there was no hurt in observing her surroundings, she reasoned. The woman was a few inches shorter than herself and wore form fitting jeans and a v-neck t-shirt that practically spilled over with cleavage. Her hair was blonde, but Faith could tell it didn't come to her naturally, and her skin looked freshly sun-kissed as if she'd been to the beach earlier in the day. Nothing about her seemed to indicate she was employed at the shop minus the ring of keys on a bungie around her right wrist.
"Are you sure I can't help you with anything?" the short blonde asked, aware of Faith's none-too-subtle gaze on her. "It's what I get paid to do, after all."
Faith was nearly positive the woman's t-shirt shifted to reveal even more of her bust line.
"I thought that was you," came a familiar female voice from behind the Bostonian.
Faith looked away from the store clerk's breasts and grinned when she recognized the owner of the new voice.
"Dawn! Hey!" Faith hugged the unexpected shopper. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just doing some errands," the brunette girl explained, "and I thought I saw you through the front window. Who's your friend?" Dawn asked, nodding in the direction of the blonde woman.
Faith glanced at the blonde shop employee. "I honestly don't know," she said with a short laugh. "Who are you?"
The girl pointed at the nametag that had gone unnoticed pinned to her tight t-shirt. "I'm Jane."
"She's Jane," Faith echoed with a broad grin.
"So she's not your girlfriend or something?" Dawn asked, still suspicious.
"No. Why would you think that?" Faith asked, trying to keep the tone of her voice under control. She guiltily looked in the direction of the changing rooms.
Dawn shrugged. "You just haven't been around a lot since you got to town is all. I thought maybe there was a reason, like you were hiding a secret girlfriend or boyfriend or something. I know you're, uh," she glanced in the direction of the store employee who continued to hang around, "just here for business, but I thought we'd get to hang out more."
"I'm sorry if it feels like that, D," Faith apologized. The brunette looked at the blonde sales associate. "Um, Jane, do you mind?"
"Oh! Sorry!" the shapely girl exclaimed. "I'm being rude. And I've got, um, shirts to fold. If you need anything…" she gave Faith a lingeringly look, "you know where to find me."
Dawn waited until the sales clerk was out of earshot. "Does that happen to you a lot?"
"Does what happen to me?" the Bostonian asked.
"Groupies."
Faith grinned. "Yeah, I guess," she replied with a sheepish shrug. "Kinda. Plus it's San Francisco. You can't throw a rock without hittin' a lesbian."
Dawn folded her arms across her chest. "So back to you hiding from us."
"Yeah…" Faith scratched at the back of her neck. "I'm not hiding, D. I…I just don't wanna step on anyone's toes," she explained. "This is B's town and I made the mistake once before of trying to overstep my bounds."
"Just because Buffy's a bitch doesn't mean that we can't hang out," the younger brunette pointed out abruptly.
Faith laughed. "I won't tell her you said that."
Dawn shrugged. "Tell her anything you want, especially if it'll make her finally get an apartment of her own."
"Yeah, about that," Faith started uncomfortably. "Is she really that hard up for money that she's gotta bunk with you and Xander?"
"Maybe, I don't know. She sure does work a lot at that coffee shop," Dawn revealed with a shrug. "I suggested she could move in with Willow now that Kennedy's disappeared. It's not like Xander and I have a ton of room at our apartment for the three of us."
"What's stopping her?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask her yourself," the girl sighed. She absentmindedly picked up a t-shirt that said "I heart SF" and set it back down on a pile of shirts. "Maybe she doesn't think I'm old enough to be on my own yet.
"Can you blame her for wanting to stick close though? You guys are the only family each other have," Faith pointed out.
Dawn made a face. "Yeah, but it would be nice to have sex with my boyfriend without worrying that my sister is gonna overhear us."
Faith reached for something to grab and caught herself on a display table nearby. "Jesus, Dawnie." She put her hand on her heart and pretended like she was having problems breathing. "You gotta warn me before you say something like that. I'm fragile."
Dawn smirked at the slayer's reaction. "Just promise we'll hang out more before you leave to go back to England, okay?" she pled. "I miss you," she emphasized. "You're like the only one who's ever treated me as an equal.
Faith released the display table and righted herself. She gave Dawn a genuine smile. "Alright, D. I promise."
Dawn gave the taller slayer another brief hug. "I'd stick around, but I've got to get home and then get to class," she stated. "We're hanging out soon, okay?"
"You bet on it."
Dawned flashed the brunette slayer a final smile before walking out the store's front entrance.
"I couldn't find anything I liked," came a voice from behind Faith. The Boston slayer spun to see her girlfriend had suddenly re-appeared.
"Hey, I was starting to worry you'd been kidnapped," Faith joked.
"I didn't want to interrupt," the other woman stated unhappily. "You looked like you were making friends."
"That was Buffy's little sister, Dawn," Faith said, absolving herself of any wrong-doing. "You should have come over. I would have introduced you."
The British woman quirked an eyebrow. "And how about the blonde girl with the boobs?"
Faith laughed and grabbed her girlfriend's elbow. "C'mon, babe. Let's keep shopping," she urged pulling her back outside and into the sunlight. "You look really good in green."
"So I figure after lunch we could go to the city aquarium. I read online that they have a hands-on area where you can touch sea cucumbers."
"I'd rather get hands-on with you than with a sea cucumber," Faith smirked. She wiggled her eyebrows at her girlfriend.
The British woman snorted. "Okay. I set myself up for that one."
Faith grinned at her girlfriend across the restaurant table. A buzzing noise interrupted their conversation.
"Your bat phone is ringing."
Faith wrinkled her nose. She looked down at the flashing screen and saw Xander's name and number. "Sorry, babe," she apologized. "I should probably take this."
The Bostonian pressed the touch-screen and brought the phone to her ear. "Hey, Xand-man."
"It's Buffy," came a familiar voice on the other line.
"You should really get your own number, B," Faith chuckled. She picked at a fry that was getting cold on her plate. "I coulda said something totally inappropriate thinking you were Xander."
"What are you doing right now?" Buffy bluntly questioned.
"Uh, having lunch."
"Can we meet up later?" the blonde asked. "Spike's got some new information for us about Simone. We could get dinner after sunset and talk shop."
"Sounds fine by me," Faith breezed. "Should I bring a date?"
"What?" Buffy's voice was filled with confusion.
"If you're bringing Spike to dinner, shouldn't I have a date, too?"
Faith winked playfully at the girl seated at the table with her. The other woman rolled her eyes and took another bite of her salad.
On the telephone, Buffy made a choking noise. "I'm not dating Spike," she protested.
"So just fucking then?"
"No!" Buffy squeaked. "It's not a date. It's business. And he and I…we don't…we don't do that anymore."
"Sorry, B," the brunette laughed good-naturedly. "You know I'm just bustin' your chops. You make it too easy."
"Are you drunk?" the Chosen One demanded warily.
Faith's features crumpled in confusion. "No? Why?"
"You just sound…happy or something," the other woman observed.
"It's a sunshiney day in California. Why shouldn't I be happy?" Faith pressed.
"Yeah, well, whatever," Buffy scoffed. "Just please don't be so 'happy' in front of Spike. He's easily encouraged."
"Duly noted," Faith chuckled into the phone. "Meet up at your place around 5?"
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "See you then."
Faith ended the call and set her phone back on the table. When she looked up, she found her date glaring at her from across the table.
"What?" Faith asked, innocently. She flashed her partner a dimpled grin.
The woman only shook her head and stabbed her fork into another bite of salad. "You know."
TBC
