On the morning of her birthday she woke to a raging snowstorm and the sounds of someone juggling a tray of food just outside the door. She chuckled as she heard Faith swear under her breath as she managed to get the door open. Buffy sat up in bed slowly as Faith walked in balancing a tray of breakfast and two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Morning birthday girl," Faith said cheerfully as she walked up to the bed and Buffy took the tray from her and placed it over her lap.

"You do all this for me?"

"I had some help," she chuckled as she got into bed next to her and grabbed a cup of coffee. "Dawnie nearly kicked me out of the kitchen when I wouldn't stop eating everything. Of course she had to remind me this was all for you, not for me."

"There's enough food for both of us."

"Part of the plan. Wasn't gonna bring you your birthday breakfast without bringing some for me. I'm selfish like that," Faith winked as she reached for a piece of bacon and took a bite.

"Well thank you," Buffy smiled and she let Faith lean in for a bacon flavoured kiss. "I hope you plan on giving me a proper birthday kiss after we eat."

"Plan on doing a hell of a lot more than just kiss you babe."

Buffy smiled at her and sipped her coffee, still waking up a little and slightly overwhelmed with the amount of food piled on the tray. The last couple of days had dragged on and the teasing between the two of them had reached the breaking point. She and Faith had become inseparable ever since she'd moved back in the house. The only time they spent apart was when they slept at night. Buffy was hoping that would change as soon as Faith was ready to enter into the relationship fully.

"It's snowing like hell outside," Faith muttered as she looked out the window. "Told everyone to go fuck themselves when they asked if we could help them dig the cars out of the driveway. Today is the one day we're both gonna do fuck all but spend the day cooped up in bed together."

"I understand why I can get away with it, being my birthday and all, but you?"

"I'm here to pamper the birthday girl."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah," Faith said as she wiggled her eyebrows. "I don't do the normal girly pampering shit so don't expect me to braid your hair or paint your toes. I will give you the ultimate full body massage."

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at how adorable Faith was being. She could tell she was slightly nervous too. Her small shred of nervousness made Buffy's heart flutter in anticipation of what else Faith had planned for the day.

"Gonna eat your breakfast, B? It's getting cold," Faith said quietly as she reached for a slice of toast and nearly shoved the entire thing in her mouth.

"Working on it although I think you're taking care of eating it. I had something else in mind," Buffy chuckled, her voice thick with arousal as Faith's eyes went wide and she nearly choked on the toast. "What, you don't like that idea?"

"What..." Faith mumbled as she tried to swallow before continuing. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of eating you. Since it is my birthday and all, shouldn't I get what I want most of all?"

Faith blushed a little and within a few seconds she was out of bed and taking the tray of food from Buffy's lap and placing it on top of the dresser. She stood there for a moment with her back turned to Buffy and breathed out shakily. Buffy had never seen her blush as much as she had in the past couple of days. It gave her a sense of power to know she could have that effect on Faith when no one else ever had. She knew that Faith never expected her to be so verbally sexual and every time she was it never failed to surprise her and cause that blush to creep over her cheeks.

After a few minutes passed, Faith came back to bed and Buffy pulled her down partly on top of her and smiled as she leaned in to kiss her. It'd been three days since Buffy had kissed her, three days of torture. Three goddamn long days. It took Faith a few seconds to finally kiss her back and when she did, it was wild without abandon and she was quickly trying to get Buffy out of her soft, fleece pyjamas.

She had a great feeling that the day was doing to be one of the longest and easily the best days she'd had in a very long time. She just hoped that she'd be able to keep up with Faith and for once she had no doubt in her mind she'd have a hell of a lot of fun trying.

****

It was late afternoon by the time Buffy woke up from a short nap. She was tangled in the covers and curled up next to a still sleeping Faith. What was left of her pyjamas lay shredded on the floor next to Faith's clothes and she stifled a chuckle as her eyes roamed over Faith's very naked body. She was deliciously sore and still craving more, but she didn't have it in her to wake Faith up just yet.

She untangled herself from the covers and from Faith and slipped out of bed. The room was cold and she shivered as she grabbed her robe and slipped it on. She picked up her pyjamas and determined they were a lost cause and chucked them in the small trash bin by her desk. The food Faith had brought up for her for breakfast was cold and inedible now and she sighed as she found some clean clothes and quickly got dressed. She looked back at Faith, smiling a little as she picked up the tray of uneaten food and headed downstairs.

She ignored the oblivious stares she received from Willow, Dawn and Kennedy when she walked into the kitchen. She had a permanent smile etched across her face and there was nothing that would wipe it away. She got rid of the uneaten food and stacked the dirty dishes in the sink and turned to look at the three of them.

"What?"

"About time you decided to get out of bed," Kennedy snickered.

Dawn rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen. Buffy looked over at Willow who looked rather emotionless until a smirk appeared and she laughed.

"I think you traumatized poor Dawnie," she said between fits of laughter. "And Giles."

"Why?" Buffy asked, holding back her own giggle as she leaned against the counter.

"You and Faith weren't exactly quiet," Kennedy pointed out. That brought the blush to Buffy's cheeks and she only shrugged it off as best as she could. "You didn't even eat your birthday breakfast? I'm thinking you wanted to eat Faith instead. Am I right or am I right?"

"Ken!" Willow laughed as she smacked her across the back of the head.

"What?"

"That was a little too much information even for me," Willow chuckled and she got up from the chair and walked over to Buffy and gave her a hug. "Happy birthday, Buffy."

"Thanks."

"Just wanted to get the birthday hug in there," Willow smiled as she backed away from her. "Who knows if I'll see you until tomorrow or next week!"

"Next week?" Buffy laughed as she shook her head. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Years of sexual frustration between you and Faith just kind of exploded this morning. Figuratively and literally. It's bound to continue."

"I take it you're okay with me and Faith being together then?"

"Yeah," Willow nodded. "I know I wasn't acting too nice the last couple of days, but I had to get used to the fact, you know? The history you two have had a lot to do with it then I had to remind myself how much you two have changed since we came here and how close you two have gotten. If you are happy then I am happy."

"Thanks, Will. This means a lot to me that you are okay with this," Buffy smiled as she pulled her in for another hug. "I should get back upstairs..."

"Yeah. Just try to keep it down a little. I don't think Dawnie or Giles can handle being anymore traumatized for today."

Buffy chuckled as she walked out of the kitchen and headed back up to her room. She stripped out of her clothes and crawled back into bed. Faith's arms instantly found their way around her and she sighed out contentedly as she laid her head on Faith's shoulder.

She was already used to the way her whole body relaxed and her mind eased just being near Faith. She ran her fingers lightly over the fast fading love bites over her neck. Being a Slayer had its perks, quick healing and stamina although she wasn't so sure if the stamina applied in bed. They'd both fast worn each other out. It'd never been like that with anyone else. Not even with Satsu. She knew now that sex with Faith was on a completely different level than it had been with Satsu and her past relationships didn't even register in her mind anymore.

"Heard you downstairs," Faith said quietly as she looked down at Buffy. "We really were loud, weren't we?"

"Yeah," Buffy chuckled softly, moving up to kiss her lightly. "We'll have to try and keep it down next time."

"You mean right now?"

"Again?" Buffy asked as she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You are complaining?"

"No," she laughed as she shook her head. "I just...this morning was intense. Kind of still recovering from..."

"Recovering from what? Having multiple mind-blowing orgasms?" Faith asked coyly as she ran her hands over Buffy's back slowly. "I've never been able to come so many times, B. To look at you, you wouldn't think you had the skills, but I definitely know better now."

"Hey!" Buffy laughed as she poked her in the stomach.

"I said I know better now!" Faith groaned as Buffy moved to straddle her and pinned her hands above her head against the pillows. "You still feel like this is fucking surreal?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Glad that jealousy is gone, B?"

"Mm-hmm."

"It was a good look on you despite when I said it wasn't," Faith smirked as she tried to get her hands out of Buffy's grip. "Always got me a little hot and bothered seeing you get all wicked jealous, babe."

"Just a little?"

"Okay, a lot," Faith chuckled as she leaned up to kiss her. "Still feels fucking surreal. You had me so fucking derailed the last couple of weeks, B. I really had no idea you were in love with me until you told me. Really thought I never had a chance with you after you blew me off years ago."

Buffy had thought about that a lot in the past couple of weeks and she was thinking about it again now that Faith had brought it up. It had been at the time in her life when she wasn't looking for any kind of relationship and she definitely wasn't open to being with another woman then either. Faith had almost kissed her that night they'd had a talk, or rather Faith talked and she listened, about if there'd ever be anything more than friendship between them.

She'd let her down gently, told her the timing was all off and that she couldn't be more than friends with her. Even thinking back to it now, she knew how hurt Faith had been even though she didn't show it. Faith being Faith just shrugged it off and went on with life as if that talk between them and that almost kiss had never happened.

"What you thinking about?" Faith asked quietly.

"About that day," Buffy replied with a shrug. "I can't believe I turned you down like that. What was I thinking?"

"Don't have a damn clue. You regretted it, didn't you?"

"I did when I realized how I felt about you. And since you and Josh were serious I thought my chance with you was gone completely. I should feel bad about acting so selfish when I told you how I felt about you, but I don't."

"Good," Faith smiled as Buffy finally let go of her hands. "If there's one thing I'm fucking happy about it's you being so fucking selfish. Look where it got us. Naked in bed together."

"Is that all this is?" Buffy asked, a teasing smile creeping across her lips. "I'm just another fuck to you?"

"Oh hell no," Faith growled as she flipped them over and hovered over Buffy, smiling down at her before leaning in to kiss her. "You're a hell of a lot more to me than just a fuck, babe. In case you don't know, which I know you do, I'm so in love with you. I think I always have been."

"Faith, I..."

"You tell anyone what a fucking sap I am and I'm gonna kick your ass."

"No you won't."

"And how do you know that?"

"You're in love with me. You won't intentionally hurt me."

"Feeling confident about that, are you?"

Buffy pouted and pretended to think about it for a moment and they both burst into a fit of giggles in a matter of seconds. Buffy could see a flash of fear in Faith's eyes, fear that if she was too happy and free in the moment that it'd be taken from her. Buffy sighed as she reached up and tucked a few strands of Faith's hair behind her ears and pulled her down for a deep, passionate kiss. She fell into the intensity of the kiss, the rest of the world slipping away until all she saw from behind closed eyes was Faith.

It was how it always was and how she knew now that it always would be.

She'd fought a raging battle within her heart, her body, her mind, her soul all fighting her conscious and in the end she knew neither had lost. She'd gotten the girl she was in love with and she'd found the shred of happiness she'd long been searching for. Nothing would ever come between them and she knew she'd fight to the death if anyone or anything ever dared to try. Even a part of her knew that Faith felt the same way she did. It was something that went unsaid, but strengthened the bond they shared and the bond that was continuing to grow with every passing hour.

Buffy pulled the covers completely over them, stifling a giggle as Faith tried to pull them off. It became a battle of wills as they continued kissing and tugging at the covers. Buffy pulled away from her with a gasp as the expensive linen shredded in their hands.

"Shit," Faith muttered as she let go of the sheets. "Sorry, B."

"Wasn't just you," she shrugged it off even though she had spent weeks looking for the specific bed linen. "It's only sheets, you know?"

"Yeah..."

"Just promise me you won't rip every single item of clothing I own. I don't think there's enough money in my bank account to splurge for new clothes every other week."

"Hey, I already apologized for ruining your new pyjamas, B."

"I know, I was just warning you."

"I can't promise you anything though. Now that I know what this hot body of yours looks like under all those clothes you wear, I'm gonna wanna get you naked every chance I can get."

"Charming, Faith."

"Not known for my charms, babe. Known for my mad skills and wicked hot looks," she winked and wiggled her eyebrows for the desired effect.

"You know something, Faith? This has been by far the best birthday I've ever had and I didn't even get any presents!"

"I got you something actually. Bit too lazy and wicked comfortable to go and get it right now. It's nothing special or anything, just something I saw when I was out and it made me think of you."

"What is it?"

"You really want me to go get it right now?" Faith asked and Buffy nodded her head excitedly. "You sure?"

"Yes! Go. I'll keep the bed nice and warm for you," she smiled as Faith reluctantly got out of bed and grabbed Buffy's robe and slipped it on.

"It's nothing major, just warning you."

"Go get my present already!" Buffy laughed as she tossed a pillow at her.

Faith quickly left the room and came back a minute later with a small white paper bag. She kicked the door shut and made sure it was locked before she discarded the robe and climbed back into bed with Buffy. She handed her the bag, smiling as Buffy pulled out the wrapped gift that was inside. It was small, but she didn't care. It was from Faith and whatever she'd gotten her she knew she'd love it.

"Oh Faith..." Buffy sighed out happily as she tore off the green wrapping paper and held the small stuffed pig in her hands. "I can't believe..."

"I remembered how many times you talked about Mr. Gordo and how much it killed you inside that you couldn't find another one just like the one you left behind in Sunnydale. When I saw this I just had to get it for you."

"Faith this is the best present ever!" She squealed out happily as she threw her arms around Faith and hugged her tightly. "I can't believe you found one just like the old Mr. Gordo!"

"Ouch," Faith groaned as she stuck her finger in her ear and rolled her eyes. "Take it down a couple notches, huh? I'm gonna end up being deaf in one ear with all this squealing."

"Oh whatever, Faith," Buffy laughed, knowing Faith was only teasing her. "Thank you."

"It's nothing."

"Oh it's more than nothing. You have no idea what this means to me, do you?"

"Have an idea. My ears are still ringing," Faith smirked as she leaned in to kiss her lightly, lingering for a moment before pulling back.

"Thank you," Buffy said again, pulling her back in for another kiss. "I love you, Faith."

"Love you too, B."

Buffy settled next to Faith, their arms around each other and their legs tangled. She closed her eyes, loving how happy she felt, how in love she was with Faith and how amazing it felt just to lay there in her arms. And for a few short minutes she could swear their hearts were almost beating in time together and it was comforting to feel as if they'd almost merged into one. The simplest act of intimacy, of just holding one another, was just as crazily intense as it had while they'd spent hours that morning making love.

Their relationship was only beginning and yet it felt like it'd been happening for years. She had a lifetime ahead of her to love Faith, to show her how much she loved her and to just be with her every single day and only ever taking it one day at a time.

The derailment of her life, of the matters of her heart and of Faith's had been for the better, it had brought them together even after the drama, the bitter jealousy, the emotions that drove her and steered her down a road she hated being on. She always seemed to find herself back where she started, only this time, Faith was there waiting for her.

The days and months and years to come would be interesting to say the least. They were in for the ride of their lives and she couldn't wait to see what would come next.

The End