Smash Into You
Rating: M (Not in the early chapters but it will come later on)
Pairing: Willow and Faith. As much as I am a Willow and Tara girl if I have to accept the fact Tara is forever gone then I really like this pairing as a season 7 or post season 7 pairing. Was never much impressed with Willow and Kennedy, Joss should have well gone down the Willow and Faith joint redemption route!
Disclaimer: If Buffy was mine then Tara would never have died and Faith would have been in every episode! Amber and Eliza are good eye candy!
Summary: Nearly a year after the defeat of the first Willow organises Faith's early release from prison and asks her to join the gang in Cleveland. Ignores the comics and presumes that Faith would have actually gone back to prison to complete her sentence.
Authors Note: I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for being so patient for my last update and I'll try not to make you wait as long again. The reviews were great for chapter 24, this one is a bit of a transitional chapter but I hope you enjoy it just as much xxx
Chapter 25
After eating with the group Willow went straight back to bed. Food had made her feel slightly less dizzy but she was still tired and sore and she felt like she could sleep for a week. Everyone's chatter had been doing her headache no good at all and the fact Faith and Xander now seemed to be getting along only added to the pain that was mounting in her skull. She had no idea what had happened to make the pair of them pals but it made her feel like she had been unconscious for weeks not hours.
She knew she should be pleased really. The infighting and the tension had been frustrating her for days and now it had finally eased. Somehow it just seemed to put her under a different kind of pressure all of a sudden. When Buffy and Xander where against her and Faith's friendship she had rebelled against the pressure because they had no right to tell her who she should like. Now they suddenly approved of Faith the pressure was on her and the brunette slayer to actually get together. That was something that thrilled her and terrified her in equal proportions.
She had broken down some of the barriers between her and Faith without giving it any prior thought this morning. She had been relieved to be alive and grateful for Faith saving her. Add those to the fact she already had strong feelings and it had been a potent mixture. Once she'd had time to reflect back she regretted her actions. It wasn't that she didn't want to kiss Faith; she had wanted to kiss her several times over the last couple of days. It was just such a huge step to take and now it had happened Faith would expect things to move swiftly. Willow wasn't sure she felt ready to move swiftly into a relationship just yet.
It wasn't a new fear she was feeling, it was the same old issue she'd been battling since she had began to be attracted to the brunette. She still couldn't get her head around the idea of moving on from Tara, especially as the only time she'd tried it had been a failed attempt. She hadn't been able to love Kennedy, she had tried, but she could only ever like her and feel slightly attracted to her. If anything Kennedy had chased her until she couldn't be bothered fighting. Faith on the other hand was doing no such thing and was steadily working her way into Willow's heart. It was just like what Tara had done. They had found common ground and built a friendship which had progressed into something wonderful.
The problem lay with her lack of ability to let go of Tara enough to completely give herself to Faith. She hadn't felt the need to do so before dating Kennedy but Faith was Faith and too special and too vulnerable to not treat properly. Faith was risking her heart and probably her sanity by following her feelings and Willow didn't want to hurt the slayer and push her back inside herself.
She was at her wits end trying to figure out how to deal with the situation. Torn between giving into her current feelings or living in the past; she was lying in bed driving herself mad rather than truly resting. She wished more than ever that Tara had never died and that she didn't have this dilemma even if it was a childish thought.
It had been a quiet day at the hotel and everyone had lounged around in their pyjamas. Even Giles had been sat in the living room watching TV in his dressing robe for most of the day. However, once all bar Willow had eaten diner and the sun had started to go down there where things that needed to be taken care off. The rock demon and many of his miniature evil minions had been dealt with but there was still a great big gaping hole in the basement of the warehouse that needed dealing with before workmen turned up on in the morning.
Buffy had planned just to take Giles with her but Faith had insisted on coming even if she was a bit on the battered and bruised side. She wasn't really needed as they were not going to fight but Buffy suspected that Faith was bored sitting around and wanted to see the fireworks. Actually once Buffy had gave it some thought she suspected Faith may be quite an experienced arsonist as the brunette had certainly had a misspent youth.
The drive had been a quiet one apart from random bits of humming by Giles as he drove. Buffy was too tired to find his behaviour amusing and she wasn't sure if Faith even noticed as the brunette spent the whole time gazing out the back window seemingly lost in thought. Buffy wondered if the brunette was replaying the mornings kiss or worrying because Willow had locked herself in her room. The brunette's face was surprisingly blank and unreadable.
Once they pulled up at the warehouse Faith was the first one out and had already opened the trunk by the time Buffy had climbed out herself at a more sedate pace. The brunette stood staring at the wooden crate in the back of the jeep until Giles joined them, torch in hand.
"So what's in the box exactly?" Faith asked, giving the crate an explorative poke.
"A couple of flares and some dynamite" Giles replied before lifting the crate up and thrusting it into Faith's arms.
Buffy watched Faith's expression change from one of wonderment to one of amusement. Then within seconds she was laughing.
"Boom!" she exclaimed, "I expected something less...explosive! I have to ask though, what are the flares for?"
Giles smirked and began to walk into the building. Faith turned on her heels and jogged after him with the box so Buffy followed on behind silently.
"These creatures can't stand light so we're going to clear them from the tunnel they created by sending some flares down" Giles explained as they walked towards the building. The front gate was still open from the night before and the door smashed in so getting into the building was simple. The estate would have been disserted on a Sunday but if anyone had noticed the building had been entered they would have probably put it down to teenage gangs.
"Then we fill the tunnel...boom" Buffy finished of the explanation of the plan even though it was obvious.
Faith turned as she walked and grinned broadly back at her causing Buffy to snicker slightly at the excited look on the brunette slayers face. They began to take the matter more seriously as they entered the building and Giles turned on the heavy duty torch he was carrying. The idea of blowing up the building was fun but at the same time Buffy had a healthy respect for explosives and the damage they could do. It was obvious that underneath Faith's bravado she respected them too because she quietened down the second they stepped inside too. The building was eerily silent again but this time it didn't hold and feeling of threat; it just felt dead. The echoing of their footsteps only signalled their intent rather than the feeling of impending doom like the night before.
Once they were down in the basement it was easy to see the carnage from the night before. Even though Giles and Andrew had thrown the bodies back down the hole there was still inky blood splatter around the room and debris and loose plastic that had been kicked around and scattered during the scuffle. Giles stepped through the debris without breaking stride and the two slayers followed him to the edge of the hole. It was looking down a huge black precipice that went on into eternity. It looked like a tunnel to hell and the thought made Buffy shudder slightly. Since she had been brought back to life and she knew how peaceful heaven was the idea of hell being the exact opposite actually scared her. If hell was as bad as heaven was good then it truly would be eternal damnation and torture.
"How deep do you think it is?" Faith directed her question at Giles.
"I don't know but I wouldn't like to fall into it and find out" Giles admitted. He used his foot to tap a stone down and for a few seconds they could hear it bounce of the sides until it went silent. Like the night before they never heard it hit the bottom. There was a silent pause between them before Giles placed the torch on the floor with a loud clunk.
"Pass me a flare" Giles requested. Faith had the crate in hand so Buffy took out a flare and the flare gun and passed it to Giles. The flare wasn't a necessity but Giles didn't want to massacre the creatures for the hell of it. If light was sent down the tunnel then the creatures would scamper away and back to the cover of darkness. Then when the debris of the building fell into the hole the creatures would not get hurt.
After a few seconds of setting up the flare Giles shot it down into the hole and they all watched in amazement as the light from the flare got smaller and smaller as it went further away. Finally it seemed to stay the same size, about the size of a golf ball, and it looked like it was burning out on the floor at the bottom of the tunnel.
"That really is a big hole" Faith commented. "Now can we blow the place up?"
"Give them a minute to clear out" Giles replied, "I need to ask you a favour anyway."
Faith looked surprised and Buffy was sure that she probably looked surprised or confused too. Usually if Giles had a favour to ask then it was of her but perhaps he was trying to make Faith feel part of the group.
"I need a slayer to come pick up some books with me from a demon I don't really trust tomorrow" he explained. "I'd take Buffy but I know she and Dawn have plans."
Giles had obviously overheard Dawn pestering her at dinner. Her younger sister really wanted to go shopping with her after college and she didn't want to let her down.
"Yeah sure" Faith agreed to the task cheerfully. "I can play security guard."
Giles smiled in response before continuing on with the task at hand. He removed several sticks of dynamite that where wound together by black masking tape.
"According to Xander we need to put this one against the back wall where the foundations have already weakened and the other needs to go by the stairs" Giles informed them. He handed Buffy the dynamite and a lighter and took the box out of Faith's arms and placed it on the floor, before removing another load of dynamite and handing it to the brunette.
"You two are much quicker than I am so give me two minutes to get to the car and turn the engine, on then light them up at the same time and run" he instructed. Both slayers nodded and Giles turned and picked up a small torch from the box before jogging towards the steps and out of sight.
"Do you want the back wall or the stairs?" Buffy asked Faith.
The brunette slayer looked round thoughtfully before pointing her stick of dynamite at the wall. It meant that she was agreeing to the longer sprint which Buffy wasn't going to argue with.
"I'll take the torch and point it towards you."
Faith had to navigate across the debris as speed and even for a slayer doing so in the dark would be perilous. Torch light at ground level would allow Faith to see where she was going and hopefully prevent any accidents whilst the time was ticking down.
"Thanks" Faith replied simply. "I think he's had enough time."
"Yeah he's no slouch" Buffy agreed. He'd had plenty of time to get out to the car by now so Buffy picked up the torch and headed to the stairs. She placed the torch down and angled it across the floor so she could see Faith pretty clearly. It was a powerful torch but the basement room was large so the light was dim. If she didn't have slayer vision then she probably wouldn't have been able to see Faith at all but being an overworked vampire killer had its perks.
"You ready to light up B?" Faith shouted across the room. "I know I am!"
Faith had done a lot of growing up in prison but she was obviously still a rebel at heart. Buffy certainly wasn't as excited by the scenario as the slightly younger brunette.
"Ready" Buffy called back, "In 3-2-1 light up!"
There was a brief silence as Buffy sparked the lighter up and lit the fuse. It worked straight away and she knew Faith's had too as the brunette began to sprint towards her. Within a few long strides Faith had reached her so Buffy scooped up the torch and ran up the stairs, two at a time, with Faith right behind her. She had no idea how long they had to get out the building but she wasn't about to be sluggish and get caught out. She didn't slow at all as she raced across the main floor of the building and practically leapt through the door. As she ran towards Giles jeep which was lined up outside the gateway Faith pulled up alongside her and Buffy realised she was being raced. She couldn't help but grin at Faith's attempt to outrun her so she kicked on and the two reached the car at the same time, both swinging the passenger side doors open and diving in.
"Drive drive!" Buffy yelled, hitting the dashboard with one hand as she closed the front passenger door with the other. Giles instantly put his foot on the gas and Faith had to launch back across the rear seat to close the door before it was ripped off its hinges by the force of the acceleration. They had only got about 300 yards when a loud bang ripped through the air and the jeep was propelled forward even more by the force of the explosion behind them. Buffy looked back in the rear view mirror to see the building collapsing down on itself in a fiery inferno. It was an amazing sight and Buffy couldn't help but laugh with relief that the task had been completed without anyone getting hurt. She was not shocked when Faith began to laugh too but it did surprise her that Giles joined in.
"This feels like old times B!" Faith exclaimed between fits of giggles. She was right; it felt like it did when the two had been a team in Sunnydale before it had all got so messed up. They had made a good team at times then and they had certainly made a good team when required here in Cleveland. This time though Buffy didn't feel the need for jealousy because Faith was no longer the cool newbie that her friends fawned over.
"No it doesn't" Buffy disagreed, "It feels a bit better."
It was quite late when they finally returned to the hotel as they had patrolled for well over two hours. Now the strange rock demon had been slain the vampires seemed to be creeping back out again. It was amazing how quickly they heard or picked up on the fact the threat was over. Faith had learnt in Sunnydale and LA that the demon and vampire community had a pretty good communication network. In fact, some demons were bigger gossips then the tabloids and magazines.
They had let Xander know that everything had gone okay at the warehouse so everyone had gone to bed. Buffy and Giles headed straight to their rooms but Faith was too eager to see Willow to go back to her room and shower first. She didn't think Willow would mind if she showered in the red heads room and borrowed some of her pyjamas.
She presumed that Willow would be asleep so she didn't bother knocking and just quietly slipped into the room. The red head was not asleep though and was sat up in bet with her lamp on reading a spell book.
"Hey" Faith greeted softly.
"Oh...hi" Willow greeted offhandedly, showing far more interest in the book than Faith.
Faith was a little set back by Willow's less than friendly greeting. She wasn't expecting her to jump her or anything but she'd have liked a sign that the red head had missed her or even wanted to see her.
"How's your head?" she asked, hoping to get more of a reaction.
"Alright" Willow replied without looking away from her book.
"Have I done something wrong?" she felt childish for asking but she could tell something was up.
She finally got a response out of Willow though because the red head slammed the book down on her bed, totally losing her page.
"Can you just give me a break?" Willow snapped at her. "My head hurts; my mind hurts for god's sake! I just need time to think!"
For a few moments Faith didn't know how to react to Willow's angry outburst. She wanted to try and be mature and just step away from the situation but her anger overtook her slightly.
"You kissed me" she pointed out irritably, not caring how immature it probably sounded. "You kissed me...I am not pushing you so why don't you man up and not just push me away every time you get scared. I don't know what to do...I don't know what you want me to do...You just push and pull and push and pull and I'm not exactly a love guru so I have no idea what hell to do. God it is was easier just skrewing strangers!"
Part of her rant had probably been constructive, if not a little loudly spoken; the last part however was far from constructive. She'd just been a total ass and the second the words left her mouth she regretted them. She knew she needed to leave and fast before she did any more damage.
"I'm sorry" she forced out, "I think you're right...I think you're too good for me."
She didn't want to hear Willow's reply; she just wanted the red head to know that she understood. So without further ado she turned on her heels and walked quickly but dignifiedly out the room and she didn't stop walking until she was safely inside the privacy of her own room. Once there she threw herself on the bed and the tears began to pour even though she despised crying. It was going to be a long and restless night.
Authors note numero 2: I know it's a bit of a low after the last chapter guys but Willow was never going to adjust easily. I will pick up again very soon I promise!