So, after a conversation with Aragorn II Elessar, I've been thinking about doing this and I thought, 'Why not?'
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.
It was late at night as Willow sat alone at the bar in the nightclub. Even though the Scoobies forgave Willow for what she had done after Tara's death, it was still uneasy for her to readjust as she kept staring at her glass of drink and looking at the people dancing.
"Red?"
Willow recognized the voice and turned her head and looked startled upon seeing a familiar brunette in blue jeans jacket, red top and black pants.
"Hey, hey, take it easy." Faith assured, raising her hands. "I'm not here to hurt B. or anyone else, don't worry."
"You… what are you doing here?" Willow asked, stepping back in fear.
"Early parole for good behavior. They released me few days ago. And I…" Faith took a breath, not sure what to say. "I know I have a long way to go but I wanna try to make up for what I did. I just want you to give me another chance."
Willow was apprehensive and unsure but considering that she herself had gone dark too recently and was also on a way to make up for it, plus, considering what Cordelia had told her regarding Angel visiting Faith in prison, she decided to give her a benefit of the doubt.
"Even if I wanted to believe you… I'm not sure if I can." Willow said, turning away from Faith as she stared, noticing the painful look in her eyes.
"And I don't blame you." Faith nodded. "I know there may be nothing I can do to make up for what I did to all of you but I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything. I just want all of you to know that. I'm not trying to escape that… but… for what it's worth, I'm sorry."
Willow looked at Faith and saw nothing but regret and pain in her eyes, it wouldn't really compare to Willow losing Tara but it was close enough, making Willow realize that now Faith was just as broken as Willow was, if not more, and trying to put the pieces back together.
"I understand." Willow said. Considering what she had gone through recently and what Cordelia had told her about Angel helping Faith and visiting her in prison. "I think it's best to leave the past where it was. In the past."
She looked down as Faith noticed the pained look in her eyes. "Is everything OK, Willow?"
"It's not you. It's…" Willow trailed off.
"Where's the other girl who was with you? The one with the dirty blonde hair?" Faith asked before she saw how devastated Willow was. "Oh. God, Willow, I… I'm so sorry. What happened?"
"She was murdered. The guy who did it, tried to kill Buffy too. And I killed him for it." Willow said and Faith stared in shock, not ever expecting Willow of all people to kill someone in cold blood, now realizing how much she was being haunted.
"I… I don't even know what to say." Faith said. "Angel told me that running away from what we've done isn't the problem. All we can do is face it and accept it."
"That's what Giles and everyone else tells me." Willow said.
"What happened exactly, Red? Tell me. I might be able to help." Faith said as Willow turned to her, not seeing judgmental or pitying look, more full of sympathy and understanding and so, Willow started to talk about how she met Tara after Oz had left due to struggling with his werewolf side, the little fiasco with the Maclay family, Glory, Willow's continuous addiction to magic, which led to Tara leaving before they eventually reconciled up until her death as Faith patiently listened. The whole time Faith didn't judge, mock or have some cracks, as one might expect from her. When Willow got to the events that led to Giles looking after her, all Faith could reflect on how she herself had gone dark due to Wesley's failures as a Watcher and Willow going dark due to Giles failing the rest of the Scoobies, while focusing mainly on Buffy.
"And you're trying to run from what you did?" Faith asked as she looked around.
"Honestly… I'm not trying to escape that. But… I don't know if I can move on, even if others may have forgiven me." Willow said.
Faith took a breath. "Angel once told me that even if others would forgive me, I might never be able to. But that didn't mean that my life would have to be over. Redemption is a long way to go but you don't have to walk down it alone. Angel has been there for me all the way." She smiled.
"Buffy, Xander, Dawn and the rest too. I guess we're both damaged goods, huh?" Willow said.
"Maybe. I might be just as damaged as you but we're both looking for redemption, right? I mean, I've screwed up with you and your friends and so have you. And now we're both here, thinking about how to make up for it." Faith said as they smiled at each other and talked.
It was nice for Willow and Faith to finally meet someone who understands the other deeper than anyone else could, in Willow's case it was Tara, in Faith's case it was Angel and neither one of them knew who moved first but at one point they were holding hands as the bartender poured them drinks, when suddenly, a fast-paced dance music went off alongside the light show.
"Wanna join in?" Faith asked.
"I… I don't know—" Willow said hesitantly.
"C'mon, Red, loosen up, it'll be fun!" Faith said as she dragged Willow to the dancefloor and surprisingly, both girls were immediately caught up to the heat of the music as they danced and had fun and when the slow music went out, they held each other by their shoulders and staring at each other before they gave into their feelings and kissed passionately.
In the morning, Buffy and Dawn were eating breakfast, when Willow went out in only a simple T-shirt, smiling happily. They had not seen her this happy since she returned after Tara's death, when Xander also entered.
"Hey, Will. You look happy." Buffy said.
"Anything interesting happened last night?" Dawn asked.
"I met a girl. It was… nice." Willow said.
"Oh? Who?" Xander asked, when an instant later, Buffy suddenly spat out her orange juice and Dawn almost choked on the corn flakes, both girls coughing out as they and Xander immediately looked away as Faith entered, naked, as the day she was born.
"What the… you… oh, my…" Buffy coughed out, while spitting out the orange juice.
"Merciful Zeus!" Xander exclaimed.
"Oh, my God! Someone bleach my eyes, please!" Dawn cried out.
"What is she doing here?!" Buffy exclaimed.
"Early parole for good behavior." Faith said, amused at their mortified reactions as she turned to Xander. "C'mon, Xan Man, you've seen all of me already, so don't be embarrassed. Also, you didn't have anything my size in your drawers." She said, turning to Willow.
"This is a decent family and we have rules in this house." Buffy said, her, Dawn and Xander using their hands to shield their eyes from Faith's assets.
"At least you could have wrapped a blanket around." Dawn said.
"Here." Willow said, handing Faith a kitchen gown. It wasn't much but still better than having Faith walk down the house butt naked to traumatize anyone else upon seeing her. "We're going shopping later in the morning."
They kissed and if jaws could drop to the floor, that's exactly how Buffy, Dawn and Xander would react at the moment as they stared, processing and freaking out, still trying to purge the image of Faith's breasts from their minds. While they could see the appeal between those two, considering that they knew now what had they been through, since Cordelia had filled Willow and Willow the rest in on Faith in prison, another thing altogether was to actually imagine both of them together as a couple.
"So… you… you two…" Dawn trailed off.
"Don't worry. I'm five-by-five now. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Faith said honestly to them all. "I'm sorry for what I did to both of you and your mom…" She turned to Buffy and Dawn and then to Xander. "…and what happened between us." She gave Xander a pointed look as he winced, remembering her attempt at rape/murder.
Buffy, Xander and Dawn looked at each other, conflicted. Buffy had gone to visit Faith in prison once or twice, just to see if Faith was not putting on an act, and Faith seemed to be genuinely remorseful of her actions and while it took a while for Buffy, she forgave Faith in the end. Xander and Dawn were conflicted, but considering what they had seen Willow herself go through after Tara's death, they decided to give Faith a second chance.
"I think we might be able to work something out. But we need to establish some ground rules." Buffy said in a motherly tone as Faith and Willow chuckled, with Xander and Dawn also having a ghost of a smile on their faces due to the awkwardness of the situation. Almost like old times. Almost.
Honestly, Willow/Faith would've been much better than Willow/Kennedy and Faith/Robin, since one of them is an arrogant spoiled and self-entitled brat who thinks she's better than anyone and the other guy, while good at first as a principal, later turned into a mommy's boy, who was just projecting his mommy issues on Spike and the Slayers, fascinated with them due to his mother being one.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter