I decided, after writing this chapter the other day, that the next chapter (chapter 10) will be the last. This fic turned itself around on me and ended up not going quite the way I wanted it to, but nevertheless, enjoy :)


Two days passed and everything, surprisingly, was coming along smoothly. Faith was getting over her insecurities with Buffy's help and she was finally learning how to let down the walls she didn't even realize she still had built up around her. Luke wasn't brought up at all in the past two days and Faith was relieved about that. There was no way she was dragging up that dirty laundry, not when she and Buffy had finally fell into a familiar easy pace in their growing relationship.

They barely spent much time apart either. Faith really didn't mind having Buffy pretty much at her side at all hours of the day. It was comforting and sweet and she never felt more relaxed than she did just being near Buffy. The past couple of nights had been almost restless. Faith was still fighting her resolve when it came to taking things slow between the two of them. Whenever they got a chance to be alone, they were making out heavily like a pair of wild, hormonal teenagers. Those were Giles' words, not hers.

Just like she had done the night before Christmas Eve, she found herself sitting in the backyard on the bench staring up at the house, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. It was hard for her to believe all that had happened in the last eight days. It didn't surprise her at all thought. Once she'd admitted her feelings for Buffy, everything else fell into place, one by one.

"Hey," Buffy smiled as she sat down next to her. Faith tried not to look surprised, but it was hard not too when she hadn't even seen or heard her come out of the house. "Aren't you cold?"

"Freezing."

"What are you sitting out here for then?"

"Just thinking."

"The party has started," Buffy pointed out as she looked up at the house. "I see you've already started your own party out here all by yourself."

"One beer. I'm taking it easy tonight. Don't want a repeat of that night, right?"

"Definitely not."

"Last night of one fucking crazy year, B. How do you want to spend it?"

"With you, my friends and my family. The neighbours," Buffy chuckled as she moved in closer to her. "The neighbours are just an unfortunate bonus."

"Do you think we'll be missed if we duck out for a couple hours?"

"Probably not. What did you have in mind?"

"You. Me. Bedroom."

Buffy laughed as she swatted Faith's arm. "Stop joking around."

"I'm very serious."

She wanted to be with Buffy tonight, alone and as sober as they could be. She wanted to show Buffy how she felt properly, without the drunken fumbles and the awkward morning after. For the last two days it was all she had been able to think about and she couldn't fight the feelings anymore. She couldn't fight her libido since she knew she was fast losing that fight. She flicked her cigarette to the ground and looked down at Buffy, trying to figure out what she was thinking without even asking her.

There was a mix of emotions in her eyes and she knew then that Buffy was nervous. Despite all the flirting, the soft, subtle and not too subtle touches and the kisses over the last two days, she could tell that Buffy was nervous. She had to admit, and only to herself and the voices that chastised her constantly, that she was nervous too.

"Let's just go back inside for a little while, enjoy the party and we'll duck out for an hour later."

"B, are you serious? I need more than an hour with you," Faith said softly as she leaned in to kiss her. "You've been driving me crazy, B."

"Have I?" Buffy asked innocently as she ducked back from the kiss. "What about you? You think you haven't been driving me crazy either?"

Faith shrugged as she ran her hands over Buffy's smooth, bare thighs and toyed with the hem of her short black dress. Buffy grabbed her hands and pulled them away before they could disappear under the soft fabric of her dress. With a shy smile, she pulled Faith up from the bench and headed up to the house. The sound of laughter and the music hit them as soon as they walked inside. Buffy stopped when they reached the fridge and with a shake of her head, Faith led her towards the stairs.

"I have a bottle of wine upstairs waiting for us," she whispered as she leaned in close to her.

Buffy only smiled, her eyes showing how nervous she was as Faith gave her a soft and rather chaste kiss and headed up the stairs quickly. She knew she looked a little eager to get her alone and she didn't care. Two days of teasing had driven her to the brink of going completely insane. She started kissing Buffy as soon as they reached the top of the stairs and she walked backwards ever so slowly, her hands roaming as Buffy moaned softly into her mouth. Faith's entire body was buzzing as she reached her bedroom door. She fought to stop her roaming hands long enough to open the door and pull Buffy inside with her.

"God," Buffy sighed out as she broke away from the kiss. "You keep that up and we won't be going back down to the party tonight."

"Sounds good to me," Faith said under her breath as she closed the door and made sure it was locked.

"Faith..." Buffy said as she looked around the room. It was dark aside from a few candles Faith had lit not even half an hour before. "You so planned this, didn't you?"

"Hoped for it," she replied with a smirk as she pulled Buffy in close to her, her hands gently trailing down her back until she found the zipper on her dress. "Trying to make up for our first time, you know?"

"Mm-hmm," Buffy smiled into the kiss as she managed to slip out of her heels and pushed Faith back towards the bed. She pushed her down on the bed and motioned for her to stay right where she was as she reached back and slowly slid down the zipper.

Faith leaned up on her elbows, mesmerized by Buffy as she watched her slowly ease the dress down. She bit her lower lip as her eyes drank in the sight of Buffy standing in front of her in nothing but a sexy pair of black panties and a matching barely there bra. Whatever nervousness Buffy had felt before had disappeared as soon as they were in the bedroom and Faith definitely was not complaining. Feeling much too overdressed, she began unbuttoning her shirt with one hand, watching as Buffy picked up her dress and carefully laid it over the back of the chair.

Faith got up from the bed and walked up behind Buffy, her arms circling her from behind as she trailed her lips over the back of Buffy's neck. She turned Buffy around smiling at her as their eyes met and even in the flickering candlelight she knew she'd never seen anything more beautiful. Her heart was hammering in her chest as their lips tentatively met and her hands trailed up Buffy's back and stopped when she reached the clasp on her bra.

"Nuh uh, Faith. You're still a little overdressed," Buffy whispered against her lips as she slowly began to slide off Faith's shirt and carefully tossed it onto the chair. Her hands were instantly on the belt of her black leather pants and Faith felt completely helpless and under Buffy's spell as she let her set the pace between them.

Buffy pulled back from the kiss slowly as she unbuttoned Faith's pants and she laughed softly as she pushed her back onto the bed. Slowly she eased the tight leather pants off, her breath hitching in her chest as she drank in the sight of Faith lying on the bed in front of her. She looked a little nervous again all of a sudden, but Faith wasn't going to let her feel that too long. She reached out for her hands and pulled her down onto the bed, smiling up at her as she straddled Faith's hips and leaned in to kiss her.

"You are so fucking sexy," Faith whispered as she moved her lips down to Buffy's neck as she slowly flipped her over onto her back.

Buffy only whimpered as Faith gently bit the skin near her pulse point and continued kissing down her neck and slowly across her chest. She bit down on Buffy's hardening nipple through the thin lace of her bra as she eased her hand around her back and slowly unclasped it. Trying to take it slow and not wanting to rush anything, she slid the bra off and tossed it haphazardly behind her, smiling down at Buffy as she trailed her tongue over her right breast, purposely avoiding her nipple as she ran her fingers up her side, teasing her and loving the feel of Buffy's muscles rippling under her light touch.

She stared up at Buffy as she flicked her hard nipple with the tip of her tongue, her body buzzing uncontrollably now with every soft sigh and moan that escaped Buffy's lips. She closed her eyes as her tongue circled Buffy's nipple, groaning as Buffy raked her nails over her shoulders and down her back until she reached the clasp of her bra. Her heart was pounding so loudly she wouldn't be surprised if Buffy could hear it too, but she pushed all thoughts out of her mind as she focused on the gorgeous woman under her, prepared to fully worship her body with her hands, her lips and her tongue.

The sounds of the party downstairs faded away as Faith slowly kissed her way back up to Buffy's lips, both of them already slipping into their own little world together. She paused for a moment, just staring down at her and knew that everything she felt for her right then showed in her eyes. She still felt nervous. She'd never made love before and she didn't want to disappoint Buffy in any way. She knew she wouldn't though. She was insecure but not that insecure.

She slowly trailed her way back up to Buffy's lips and she kissed her deeply, lazily as she rocked her hips into Buffy's gently. Feeling as if she'd taken it slow enough, she trailed her lips back down, paying short attention to Buffy's breasts before lightly kissing her way down her stomach. She never took her eyes off of Buffy even though Buffy had hers closed and her breath's came out in struggled gasps with every light, tender kiss upon her skin. Faith was mesmerized by the taste of Buffy's skin; by the way her body reacted to every touch, every kiss and every gentle bite. A slow chill ran through her body as she ran the tips of her fingers over the barely there black lacy panties.

She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply as she hooked her fingers around the flimsy material and slowly began to slide them down. Her own body was reacting in very much the same way Buffy's was and she'd never quite felt so in tune with someone else. Not this way.

"Faith," Buffy breathed out softly as she ran her fingers through her hair, stopping her as she licked and nipped her way up Buffy's inner thigh. "I want to..."

"Yeah?" Faith smiled, knowing exactly what Buffy wanted to do. She slid off the bed and stood there at the foot of the bed, staring down at Buffy as she ever so slowly slid down her own panties. "Do you know how fucking sexy you look right now?"

"Do you know how gorgeous you look right now?" Buffy grinned as she ran her fingers over her own breasts slowly, further mesmerizing Faith. "Come here, baby."

Faith knelt down on the bed, dipping her head down low and captured Buffy's lips with her own. Buffy pushed her away before she could deepen the kiss and she raked her nailed over Faith's back, biting her lip as she waited for Faith to turn around. She gave Buffy one last kiss, smiling as sweetly as she could and she turned around and easily knelt over her head. She looked back as Buffy ran her hands over her back and around to her ass and with the first barely there touch of her tongue Faith felt her entire body, still buzzing wildly, start to hum.

Faith moaned out into the room as Buffy's tongue circled her throbbing clit and when she felt Buffy pull away, she knew what she was waiting for. Faith deftly ran her fingers over Buffy's clit, her hips rising slightly as Faith lowered her head and ran her tongue flat over Buffy's pussy, leaving no inch of skin untouched.

"Oh fuck," Buffy moaned as she threw her head back, her fingernails digging into Faith's backside as Faith dove her tongue in her hot, wet hole as deeply as she could.

Buffy was already close, Faith could feel it with every deep, hard thrust of her tongue. She knew she was close to and she knew that it wouldn't take much more to push her over the edge. It was more than just days of sexual tension that had built up between them, it was years upon years of it and it all was letting itself go right then and there.

"Fuck, B...I'm gonna..."

"Right there with you, baby."

Faith moaned as she latched onto Buffy's clit and gently slid two fingers inside of her as Buffy copied her move for move. Faith felt her orgasm coursing through her body all at once and with one last thrust of Buffy's fingers in her, she came, hard and fast. She gasped into Buffy's cunt, driving her fingers in and out of her quickly as she Buffy came just seconds later. She needed to hold her, to kiss her as she came down from what she knew without a doubt was probably the best, and fastest, orgasm she'd ever had.

"Fuck that was..."

"Incredible," Buffy whispered as Faith slowly managed to turn herself around and hold Buffy close to her. "I never did that before."

"No?"

"I meant...not like that," she laughed softly as Faith rested her forehead against hers. "I never came so fast before either."

"Me neither, baby," Faith groaned as she closed her eyes and gave her a sweet, tender kiss.

"I never thought you'd be so tender."

"Mm-hmm. I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?"

"Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't like to talk afterwards, do you?" Buffy asked and Faith gently shook her head no as she laid her head on the mattress next to Buffy's. "Oh my god."

"What?" Faith asked, her eyes opening up quickly in alarm. "What, B?"

"What if everyone...heard us?"

"Music is too loud, B," she chuckled softly as she relaxed again. "I love you, Buffy."

Buffy cupped Faith's face, smiling at her as they both stared deeply into each other's eyes. "I love you too, Faith."

They laid there for awhile with their arms around each other, basking in the afterglow and listened to the sounds of the party downstairs. Faith wanted to spend the rest of the night there in bed with Buffy, but she knew they couldn't. They had to go down and enjoy the party, ring in the New Year with their friends and family. Faith couldn't stop thinking about her though and she kissed her way along her neck, gently nibbling at the soft skin below her ear.

"Don't you think we should go downstairs?" Buffy asked softly as she ran the tips over her fingers over the side of Faith's breast, teasing her as Faith pulled away from her and stared at her looking rather confused. "Baby, we really should go back downstairs."

"Do you want to?"

"No, but you know we have to."

"Think we could just stay up here till eleven?"

"We could," Buffy smiled as she rolled Faith's stiff nipple between her fingers. "I'm sure we can figure out how to make the hours go by quickly."

Faith bit her lip as Buffy shifted her body down slowly, her lips instantly wrapped around the nipple her fingers had been teasing seconds before. Faith could only moan out into the quiet of the room as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the pleasurable sensations that came from Buffy's lips and tongue.

****

They slipped down to join the party just after eleven, both of them unable to keep their hands off of one another as they made their way through the crowded house to the kitchen. Kennedy instantly grabbed onto Faith's arm, pulling her away from Buffy and towards the table that was lined with dozens of bottles of alcohol.

"What gives?" Faith asked as she watched Kennedy place two shot glasses in front of them and poured them each a shot of whiskey.

"You and Buffy were sure upstairs for a long time."

"Yeah, and?"

"So?"

Faith laughed as she shook her head and tried to catch sight of Buffy in the crowded kitchen. "You want details now, Ken?"

"No," she laughed as she slugged Faith in the arm and shoved the shot glass at her. She leaned in, swaying slightly and smirked. "You two fucked, didn't you?"

"Bonus points to the drunk Slayer for getting it right on the first try."

"Everyone has been looking for you two all night. Don't you worry though, Faithy, me and Will covered for you two."

"What's the cover story?" Faith asked, playing along and trying to keep from laughing as she took back her shot. "Ken?"

"Well, we didn't really have a cover story," she giggled as she grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured herself and Faith another shot. "Joyce and Giles seemed to be a little...bothered...when Will said you two were probably upstairs having sex."

"Great," Faith rolled her eyes as she took back the shot and placed the glass back on the table. "Give me the bottle, Ken. I suddenly feel like I want to get really fucked up right now."

"You think that's a good idea?" Kennedy asked quietly as she held the bottle away from her. "I am not talking about the drinking. I'm talking about you and Buffy. Kind of soon, isn't it?"

"It was kind of soon a week ago."

"But you know what I'm getting at right? I mean she just broke up with...him."

Faith's muscles tensed and she breathed in deeply as she tried to shake it off before she could get pissed off about it. She knew what Kennedy was getting at even if she was drunk and could barely stand still. She felt a slight buzz from the couple of shots she had and she swallowed the lump in her throat as she left Kennedy standing there alone and tried to find Buffy. She wasn't about to let Kennedy ruin the high she'd been on since she took Buffy up to her room hours ago.

She remembered what she and Buffy had talked about during their post-orgasm bliss, the second one. Neither of them were going to hold back on showing the other how they felt and keeping that in mind when she finally found her out in the living room dancing with Xander and laughing, she cut in and slid her arms around her waist and pulled her in close.

"Hey," Faith smiled as she gave her a quick, small kiss. "Did you miss me, baby?"

"Of course I did," Buffy laughed as she wrapped her arms around Faith's neck and pulled in for a deeper kiss. "I thought you said you weren't going to drink tonight?"

"Buffy..."

She pouted as she ran her fingers through Faith's hair and gently rubbed the soft skin at the base of her skull. "It's okay. I saw Kennedy ambush you. Willow and Xander did the same thing to me."

"They are always going to be nosey when it comes to us, aren't they?"

"Are you kidding me?" Buffy laughed. "Of course they will be."

Faith smiled down at her, amazed at how much Buffy was glowing. Amazed at how in love she looked and it was all because of her. She wanted nothing more than to take her back upstairs, but she knew she couldn't. At least not yet. She gave Buffy one last kiss before she whispered into her ear she was going outside for a cigarette. Buffy pouted slightly and let go, blowing her a kiss as she backed away slowly. She felt as if all eyes in the room were on her as she mouthed 'I love you' to Buffy. She didn't care. This was one of the best feelings in the world and she was finally just allowing herself to feel it instead of trying to fight it or deny it.

A few of the neighbours were out on the front porch, smoking cigars and laughing. One of them offered Faith a cigar which she turned down with a smile and lit her own cigarette. She faintly remembered last New Years and how Buffy had whined when her then boyfriend, whatever his name was, had smoked a couple of cigars. She hated the smell and complained about it being a complete turn off. Faith shook her head as she sat on the railing on the far end of the long front porch and she knew then that she was completely whipped.

"Hey guys, enjoying the party?" Buffy asked as she walked out of the house, smiling at the group of men standing by the door smoking their cigars. She laughed as they all muttered their replies and walked over to Faith. She handed her one of the beers she had in her hands and smiled at her as she leaned up and kissed her.

"Can't leave me alone for more than a couple minutes, can you, baby?"

"Of course not."

"You got ambushed by your friends again, didn't you?"

"Maybe," she laughed softly and she stood between Faith's legs and shivered slightly. "Or maybe I just wanted to be with you."

"I'm going with the first option cos the second one is wicked obvious. We've barely let each other out of sight for the past couple of days. Definitely not complaining either."

"No? I thought you didn't like the clingy types?"

"I do when the person clinging to me is you," she smiled sweetly as she leaned down and inhaled slowly. "I'd rather you be clinging to me all naked and the like, but I'm not so sure I'd want anyone else seeing you in all your fucking sexy naked glory."

With a smug smile on her face as she felt the heat of Buffy's flushed skin, she leaned back and took a long drag, unable to take her eyes off of her for more than a second. Willow and Kennedy came outside then, both giggling drunkenly as they made their way over towards them. Faith tried to force a smile at the two of them, but it was hard to. She'd been enjoying her little private moment with Buffy, maybe a little too much.

"There you are," Willow laughed as she snuggled into Kennedy's arms as Faith handed Kennedy a cigarette. "I thought maybe you two went back upstairs."

"Nah, we're spending midnight with everyone," Faith responded. "A little drunk there, Red?"

"A little bit," she smiled. "Okay, I'm a lot drunk. Hey, it's not wrong to let loose and have a few. It's not like I do it all the time. That's what the holidays are for, you know? To have fun and let loose and get a little wild sometimes. All about having fun. We're all having fun, right?"

Kennedy managed to quiet her before she let out an all-out babble fest. Buffy had her eyes on Faith the whole time, barely even listening or paying any attention to Willow and Kennedy. The four of them fell into a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the moment of being around each other and the calmness of the night. Even despite the cold, Faith felt warm with Buffy standing between her legs with one arm loosely wrapped around her waist.

Faith tried not to think too much about everything they'd gone through. She'd managed to go the last two days without dwelling on the past and the recent events. She just wanted to enjoy herself for once in her life, submerge herself in the moments that passed without feeling the doubts and the guilt she'd always felt before. She just wanted to be there in the moment with Buffy whether it was something small like right then, just standing out on the front porch with Willow and Kennedy, or something big rather like they'd shared up in her bedroom not even half an hour before.

She finished her cigarette, smiling down at Buffy as she flicked it to the ground behind her and she leaned in for a quick, chaste kiss before she took a sip of her beer and looked over at Willow and Kennedy. Both of them were staring at her and Buffy and Willow had a rather goofy smile on her face.

"You two are just so adorable together."

"Adorable? You trying not to overstep the friendship boundaries by calling us sexy, Will?" Faith asked. She wiggled her eyebrows as Buffy playfully poked her in the stomach. "What, B? I'd say we're sexier together than we are adorable."

"See, that's what I mean by adorable," Willow pointed out. "As for the sexy part...I don't want to go there. Nope. Not going there."

Faith and Kennedy laughed as Willow blushed furiously. Buffy poked her in the stomach again, shaking her head as she took a sip of her beer. Faith could only shake her head as she slid off the railing and headed for the door. Buffy still had her arm around her waist and from the looks of it she wasn't planning on letting go any time soon. Faith was okay with that, she loved how Buffy wanted only to cling to her, to touch her and just be near her. Nobody ever wanted that with her before. Then again, she'd never stayed with anyone for more than a couple days at a time. For the first time she wasn't feeling afraid of letting someone else in and she didn't want to run. She'd already done more than enough of that and now all she wanted was to stay put and enjoy being in love and enjoy the life she had with Buffy, her family and their friends.

They found quiet corner in the family room and danced to only music they could hear in their hearts. Willow and Kennedy were there with them, they too lost in their own little world. Faith broke her gaze from Buffy just long enough to look at those around them. The neighbours, drunk and rambunctious, we're too busy dancing and drinking and having a good time to notice anyone or anything around them. She spotted Joyce and Giles sitting around the dining room table with a couple of Giles' friends who had come from England. She laughed to herself when she knew they were playing a drinking game, the laughter that echoed from them quite obvious they were all enjoying themselves immensely.

"Hey guys, it's almost midnight!" Dawn squealed excitedly as she dragged Xander over to where they stood.

"Dawnie, can you squeal even louder?" Buffy asked, rolling her eyes as she kept her arms loosely wrapped around Faith's neck.

Dawn ignored her and smiled brightly at Faith. "I bet you know that next year is going to be one of the best years you'll ever have."

"This one isn't over yet."

"No, but it will be in half an hour," Dawn laughed. "Oh, I almost forgot. We set a date for the wedding. Make sure you don't have any plans for the first of May."

"You set a date?" Buffy asked, her face lighting up as she let go of Faith and hugged Dawn tightly. "Tell me I am going to be the maid of honour."

"I don't know..."

"Dawnie," Buffy stamped her foot as she gave her a glare. She couldn't hold it and the two burst into laughter and tears. "We have so much planning to do!"

Faith leaned against the wall, unable to stop smiling. She was truly feeling happy, she felt as if nothing could touch her and ruin the bliss she now had. The closer it got to midnight, the happier she felt. When the lights in the house dimmed and the music was shut off and the TV turned on so they could all watch the ball drop, Faith pulled Buffy in close to her, the tips of her fingers trailing over the side of her face and over her jaw slowly. It was so easy for her to fall away from the rest of the world just from looking into Buffy's eyes.

"I love you," she whispered so softly, her words nearly lost over the shouts of their friends, family and neighbours counting down.

"I love you, Faith," Buffy smiled as she pulled her in for a kiss. For once in her life, she was finally doing something right. She was starting a new year and it felt like a whole new life.