-
Sorry that it's been a few days since my last update! I've just kinda had a little bit of writers' block, I couldn't decide what direction to take the story in. Thanks for reading and thanks to those of you who have been writing reviews, your comments are helpful! Well, here's chapter 4, enjoy! :)

P.O.V. may change partway through the chapter. I'm gonna stick with mostly writing 1st person from Faith's pov, but I think I may sometimes switch to Buffy. I'll try to make it clear who's telling the story and make it obvious when pov switches.

Chapter 4:

Faith's P.O.V.

I open my eyes to find my head resting against something soft, warm. I'm still half asleep so I cuddle in closer to my warm pillow. But just as I start to move I hear my pillow sigh, and I freeze.

Buffy mumbles something in her sleep, then proceeds to wrap her arms tighter around me. I watch her for a moment, worried she's going to wake up and freak when she finds us in this position. She's laying on the couch and I'm laying half on top of her with my head resting against her breasts. Her arms are wrapped tightly around me though, so even if I wanted to move, couldn't without waking her.

I close my eyes and lean my head back resting it against the warm body beneath me. I can feel the steady rise and fall of her chest. As I take a deep breath I inhale her scent, a scent uniquely her. Just her. Only her. Always her. Forever her.

She sighs again in her sleep and her nose wrinkles a little kinda like it does when she's thinking really hard. I can't help but chuckle a little at how adorable she looks when she's asleep. *Faith, no stop it, you're watching her while she sleeps? You're such a fucking creep. What if she woke up and caught you watching her?*

But then I remember what I heard her say when she thought I was already asleep. *Did she really say she loves me? No, I must have already been asleep. Yeah, that's it, it must have been a dream, a really, really good dream. But what about what I felt brush my forehead right before she said that? Did she kiss me? No, she couldn't have. And even if she did, a kiss on the forehead doesn't necessarily have romantic motives. She was comforting me, that's all, if she really did even kiss my forehead...*

I'm lay quiet, still, listening to her breathing and the steady beating of her heart. She's beautiful. That's the only thing that comes to mind when I glance up to take in her slightly parted lips, her closed eyelids, her tossed hair: absolutely beautiful.

I glance at the digital clock on the VCR, 5:30 am. Damn, we're gonna have to get up in about an hour. She's got school and I told Giles I'd meet with him in the library this morning for some training. She stirs a little under me, and I tense. I'm worried how she'll react when she finds how we're cuddled and woven so closely.

Slowly, carefully, I wiggle out from her grasp and extricate myself from our tangle of bodies and limbs. Standing above her next to the couch I lean over and place a gentle kiss on her forehead, light enough not to wake her, but lingering long enough to mean something.

I tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and smile. I love this girl more than I can even describe. Before meeting her I'd never loved anyone before in my life, in any sort of way, not romantic, not platonic. But then I met her, I first saw her while dancing away at the bronze luring some sleazy vamp out into the alley so I could stake him. There I was, dancing away, good old Faith, "want take have", no regrets, "h and h", and then...then I saw her, sitting at a table off to the side with her friends. And I felt something, not just the slayer connection, I felt something more. I felt what all those romance novels and cheesy movies talk about, you know? Those warm butterflies in your gut, that ridiculous giddiness, the warm feeling in your chest, that overwhelming urge to be closer to them, to protect them, to know them, to love them. I mean sure, I was pretty fucking turned on too, I mean have you seen B? But that doesn't matter. I'd rather be there for her and be her friend and not ever get to fuck her, than fuck her and leave her and never get to know her. I care about her. Why? I have no fucking idea why, but I do, and it's driving me insane.

I grab my slimy clothes from the previous night from the kitchen floor and step into my boots. I grab a slip of paper and write her a quick note. I leave the note on the coffee table next to her and place another chaste kiss on her forehead before quietly slipping out the front door.

-Buffy's P.O.V.-

I open my eyes slowly and stretch. Problem is, I forgot I was on the couch and expected to be on my bed which is much larger. So in the process of stretching I fall off the side of the couch, effectively knocking a few of the things on the coffee table off on top of me. *smooth Buffy, really smooth*. But then I find a brief note:

"Hey B,
It's about 5:30. I didn't wanna wake ya. I wanna get back to my room and change before meeting Giles, you, and the scoobies in the library. Thanks for letting me borrow some clothes, I'll drop em off later. See ya later

Faith"

It's only then that the previous night's events all come spinning back to me. Explosive demon. Slimy demon guts. Faith in just her underwear. *mmmhmmm...if only she hadn't been wearing any*. Showering. Watching some random tv show. My mental breakdown. Faith saying she'd die for me. Me asking her to promise not to sacrifice herself. Her kissing me on the cheek...*Aw Faithy...* Me asking her to promise that we'll then be a team, for both our sakes. Her tears. Her sobs. My tears. My sobs. Holding her. Her holding me. Holding each other. Falling asleep in each other's arms. And then when she was asleep...

-flashback-

Her breathing has slowed. I think she's asleep now. Wow, she's really cute when she's sleeping. *She'd kick my ass if I ever told her that*.

I tighten my grip on her and gently place a kiss to her forehead. I can feel the blood burn under my skin and my heartbeat quicken, even from that brief chaste contact. I pull back and gently whisper in her ear, confident she's asleep, "Goodnight Faith. I love you."

-end of flashback-

I can't help but smile as I remember the contented sigh she let out in her sleep after I said that. *Oh god what if she wasn't asleep yet? What if she remembered it when she woke up and that's why she left so early this morning, because she couldn't face me.*

Tears are threatening to fall so I stand and take a few breaths. I sleepily shuffle upstairs and enter the bathroom. I grab my toothbrush and begin to brush my teeth while studying my reflection in the mirror. *Ew, I look horrible. It's no wonder why Faith ran this morning when she saw me, I look worse than some of the demons I've slain. I guess crying will do that to you.* But it's then that I notice a smear of red on my forehead. *Is that...is that Faith's lipstick? No...it's probably some cut or bruise that slayer healing hasn't managed to resolve yet.* I lift my hand up to rub my fingertips against the smudge of crimson, and find it rubs off. *Faith kissed my forehead? When? Was it this morning before she left? Why?*

I'm starring blankly at my reflection in the mirror when I feel my stomach jump and lurch. *Oh god, I know that feeling* I quickly throw open the toilet seat and kneel down in front of it just in time for the entire contents of my stomach to be emptied out into the porcelain bowl.

I lay there on the cold bathroom floor for a few minutes until I hear the front door open. A few minutes later as I'm beginning to drift into an ill induced sleep I feel someone help me up and guide me into my bedroom and tuck me in.

So there's chapter 4! Tell me what you guys think so far! I'll try to update soon!