Chapter Five
The red digits of the hotel alarm clock announced the past midnight hour as Faith stepped back into their room. She leaned for a moment against the wall, her eyes closed, collecting herself after what had proven to be an exhausting night. Slaying and running around in the woods all on top of the emotional rollercoaster she and Buffy had ridden earlier in the night had drained her. She felt Buffy's presence behind her and turned to smile tiredly at the other slayer. "I'm just gonna use the bathroom and then I'm hitting the hay." A soft hand reached round her waist and even softer lips barely touched at her temple. Buffy let out a soft hum against her skin, then pulled her hand away and patted Faith's shoulder. Walking past, she looked back as Faith was about to step into the en suite and gave the brunette an achingly soft smile. Faith smiled back as best she could, her heart still processing everything that had happened on the roof.
Ten minutes later and she was barely out of the bathroom when she found herself pinned against the wall by the shoulders, her blonde lover's strong hands firm and sure. Buffy kissed her firmly and ran her hands down her arms and then to her waist where she pulled them flush together. Suddenly completely awake with renewed energy, Faith's pelvis instinctively canted forward, desperate for contact. Pulling away with a gasp, Buffy's eyes met hers, a wildness in them; the pupils growing larger and the colour at their greenest.
"I'm all for saving lives and our sacred duty and all that…But God Faith, I've been dying to finish what we started on the roof."
"Me too B," Faith rasped out as her hands curled around Buffy's waist and then up her back. "Plus, there's the extra buzz… well, you know… after slaying." The blonde grinned and kissed her more gently. "Yes," she murmured in a low register. "I do know."
She pulled away, earning a whimper from her brunette counterpart. With a devastating look, leaving Faith utterly unable to resist, she placed a flat hand firmly on Faith's sternum. "Stay put. Don't move unless I move you." Faith gulped and nodded dumbly.
Buffy took another step backwards and with no comment took off her top in one swift movement. She threw it unceremoniously on the floor at the foot of the bed and moments later her jeans were beside it. Stepping back into Faith's space, she dipped her head to kiss the other woman's throat, practically worshipping the soft skin there. Faith felt Buffy's mouth curl up in a smile as the blonde slayer sensed the brunette clenching her fingers, itching to touch her girlfriend. "Soon baby. Soon." Buffy crooned the words before her mouth found that spot just under Faith's ear and a moan fell from the darker slayer's mouth.
Skilled slayer fingers played along the hem of Faith's tee shirt, the pads brushing against the skin of her stomach and back. Right before the moment they both knew Faith would buckle and grab her girlfriend, the tee shirt was pulled over her head. Jeans, bra and underwear followed, interspersed with the unrelenting ministrations of Buffy's fingers, palms and mouth on her body.
And then they stood staring at one another. Faith now naked; her lover frustratingly still in her underwear. The weight of the emotions from earlier that night returned; the revelations, declarations and promises made clouding around them both. Then Buffy smiled. It was a soft, affectionate turn of the mouth with the same fondness shining in her eyes. She stepped back again and held out her hand. "Care to join me love?" Faith did not need to be asked twice and took her lover's hand with a speed that her former self would have been embarrassed at.
With an almost aching gentleness, Buffy led her to the bed and in a moment she was on her back, the blonde looming over her. Buffy pressed their bodies together, their skin still separated by the now offensive bra and panties the older slayer still wore. "Touch me Faith. I'm yours." Faith's hands flew to Buffy's hips, quickly slipping around to grip her arse and pull her in. Those hands slid up the blonde's back, caressing and whispering over her skin. Buffy pushed up on one arm, the other finding its way to Faith's ample breast and began to grind her hips down, a slow deliberate rhythm. Faith brought her hands around to caress both of Buffy's breasts, drawing a moan from the woman on top of her. The blonde's nipples hardened through the fabric as Faith kneaded and then thumbed across the tips. One thumb stretched up and pulled the fabric down, the effect of her touch direct to Buffy being instant and electric. Huffing half in frustration, half in now uncontrolled arousal, Faith took the material firmly in her hand and tore the bra off. Buffy arched her back and pushed her centre into Faith's. "The pants too babe," she husked into Faith's ear. Faith's hands instantly went down to the offending piece of clothing and tore it like it was tissue paper. The wild look on Buffy's face that resulted was further kindling to the fire within Faith, but it was just a bonus on top of the feeling of finally being completely skin to skin with the love of her life. Faith sat up, her legs cradling Buffy now who sat between them as they touched their most sensitive parts together.
The brunette knew that by now she must look as wrecked as Buffy. She didn't care, she loved this woman and needed to give her absolutely everything. The last months of doubt and failure to communicate on both their parts were swept away in a deep intimacy as they both now drove each other to heights of ecstasy. It was simultaneously tender, gentle and intense.
She felt Buffy grab her hand, entwining their fingers and pulling the enjoined hands up between their bodies. She still had her other hand on Faith's breast, while Faith still held the blonde by the waist, fingers splayed across Buffy's skin. They were breathing into each other's mouths with their kisses, arousal looping back on itself with their breasts pressed together, nipples erect and teasing the other's. And the relentless pushing, grinding, giving to each other as they made love and cemented the words of promises made.
Then she was falling, falling, falling over the edge; her vision whitening out and stars flashing behind her eyes. She could feel Buffy tensing in her arms, moments away from following her into orgasm. She brought her hand down between them and swiped a finger over Buffy's clitoris, then swirled it around and swiped again. Buffy's back arched again, her hand moving down to hold Faith's hip in a bruising grip and her mouth falling open in a silent scream. They both continued to grind, guiding the other through their aftershocks and down into the blissful after state.
Faith flopped back onto the bed, the pleasant exhaustion creeping up from her legs. Buffy followed her, grinning happily, wriggling into position to curl into the brunette with a leg slung over her possessively. She reached over and began to draw gentle patterns over Faith's taut stomach. Faith's eyes trailed her fingers as they brushed hesitantly over the knife scar to the right of her belly button. Buffy had always been careful to not touch the scar during their lovemaking, but now it was as if she was almost drawn to it. She brushed her soft pads over its ridges and then laid her palm over it, her warm hand covering it in its entirety. Faith scrunched her face up, feeling the guilt that Buffy still held over the night she got that scar.
Tracing her fingers gently over Buffy's knuckles, Faith hunched herself further into the blonde Slayer's embrace. "B, I know what you're thinking about."
"I don't wanna live at the Hyperion anymore." Faith's face scrunched in confusion. "That was not what I expected you to say." The blonde shifted back and propped herself up on her elbow. "Move in with me Faith." The brunette scrunched her face again. "B, I know we've just had sex and everything, which does usually make you a bit incoherent… but you're making even less sense than usual." Buffy chuckled. She sat up a little more and took Faith's hands in hers. "I want to do things right Faith. With you and with Angel. I know it's backwards, but I'm asking if you want to live together. Let's actually decide to live together." An indulgent smile spread over Faith's face. "You're kinda cute when you're like this. I like it."
"So, do you want to? Live together?"
"Of course I do you numptie." Buffy let out a giggle. "You're a smartass Lehane." Faith reached an arm around Buffy and pulled her back into her body. "I'm your smartass." Their lips came together in a hard and passionate kiss. It was Buffy who pulled away, the shadow of a laugh bubbling in her throat. "Good, that's decided. And you were right before. The Hyperion wasn't the best idea. And it kinda fits with some other stuff, slayer stuff I've been thinking about. We're spread out too much. The scooby core I mean. Having split headquarters across LA, Scotland, Cleveland and London has been a crazy idea. And it's been taking me away from both you and Angel far too much. It's fine having the slayers spread out around the world, it makes sense we have satellites in Asia, Africa, South America. But we should have one headquarters. A home for you and me and Angel and a proper base of operations. A decent training facility, library, science… stuff. And accommodations for slayers and other folks to stay." Faith sat up, looking at Buffy with wide eyes. "You really have been thinking about this stuff."
"Yeah," the blonde answered with a smile. "But it was you talking about feeling like a guest in your own home that kind of pulled it all together. I want to live with you Faith. Properly. Share a home. And have slayer stuff separate." Faith returned the smile and swept blonde hair back from Buffy's face with a deft finger. "You have some crazy ideas Summers. But this one is perfect."
"Great! How do you feel about Portugal?"
XXXXX
The shrill tone of a text alert pulled Buffy from her slumber. Wrapped tightly in Faith's arms she blinked into the bright light of the Welsh morning. She pulled Faith's arm off her so she could reach the 'phone. The brunette grumbled and wriggled onto her back. "S'too'rly. Tell 'em go back t'sleep." Giving her girlfriend a gentle kiss on the forehead, Buffy pulled the 'phone off the nightstand and opened the text. "You keep sleeping baby, I gotta check this from Willow." Faith shifted again and mumbled into the pillow. "Jus' ten more minutes." Buffy smiled and placed a hand on Faith's shoulder as she read Willow's text.
Willow: Big Zero on the tooth I'm afraid. Giles is going spare. He seems worried for his friend as well. And I'm worried for mine. Are you and Faith okay? Will keep researching, but I'm not hopeful. Wx
Buffy sighed and typed a reply.
Buffy: Faith and I are fine. We're the original two, remember. Isn't there anything else?
She noticed there were another couple of texts and flicked through.
Giles: Buffy, I'm so sorry. I only heard rumours of the Tooth. Rumours and whispers. I would never have sent you alone if I had known. Good job you have Faith with you. And fortunate about Satsu. Look after the girl. Be safe. RG.
Kennedy: My girlfriend has been researching whatever this is all day and is frustrated as hell. Don't die boss.
Buffy rolled her eyes. She liked Kennedy. The Latina was a good influence on Willow and had an excellent talent for being a slayer. She had certainly kept Faith and her on their toes for the last couple of years. And incessantly teased her about the whole 'boss' thing. Oddly, it kept Buffy grounded and she actually enjoyed the occasional ribbing she got from Kennedy.
Her phone pinged again.
Willow: There is one thing. Don't freak out. The Order of Aurelius? Ye, that's the order that The Master was in charge of. It does NOT mean he's back. I promise. I did a little peeking into the spirit realm – which by the way used up almost all of what little mojo I have these days – and he is definitely not on our plane. But, you know. It's the same order. The order that Angelus was part of. So ye. I'm sorry. At least you know. Be careful Wx
Buffy: Thanks Will. I thought the name sounded familiar. And yes, thanks I'm gonna spend a couple of minutes freaking out. Then I'll be okay. We'll figure something out about the other thing. We're three slayers here. Love you. Bxx ?
Shifting further in the bed she reached over and retrieved her tee shirt. She looked down at her girlfriend who was watching her with keen eyes. "Why did I let you rip my bra?" The brunette beside her chuckled and wriggled closer to the blonde, pulling the sheet with her. "You know it turns you on. I'll buy you a new one." Buffy smiled and pecked Faith on the cheek before turning to root in her bag for a spare bra. As the brunette slayer nestled back down into the sheets and closed her eyes Buffy pulled the fresh bra on. Following it with her tee shirt she stood and wandered over to the window overlooking the forest.
Sitting on the ledge she pondered the events of the last thirty six hours. Not just about the tooth and the ransacking of the church; not just about the trap set for Satsu and the tumultuous melee of vampires they'd seen in that cave; not just about a cult of vampires in possession of a potentially dangerous artifact that she knew nothing about. She thought about her lover lying in the bed. About her own failings of the past months and how she had almost pushed away the most amazing woman in the world. She thought about the promises made and plans to come and changes on the horizon. And knew beyond doubt she wanted this girl in her life for as long as they both lived. She had been serious about asking Faith to marry her, she knew one day she would. And knew that she had to re-earn that moment.
Their intense love making the night before had been only the start of redefining what they had. It had been pretty amazing. And Buffy knew there was much more to come. She watched the woman dozing lightly in the bed across from her and knew absolute unconditional love. A love that kept growing and deepening. She smiled at the thought of what might be to come. But before that, they had to deal with this problem here and now. A dangerous vampire cult. Why couldn't her life be even a little normal?
She glanced back at Faith who was still naked beneath the sheets. With the morning sun streaming through the window and caressing the brunette slayer she looked otherworldly lying there. Buffy smiled to herself again. She walked back over to the bed and rested her knee on it before a controlled fall onto her lover. Faith let out a puff of air and tried to squirm away, but Buffy's strong hold reeled her back in. "You know Faith, if I didn't know better, I would think you were a Succubus. The hold you have over me…" She punctuated her declaration with a firm kiss that the other woman melted into. Faith snaked her arms around the blonde and pulled her fully on top of her. "I'll let Bo know she has competition when we visit them next. I kinda like the idea of being a Fae…" She paused as she saw the crinkle in Buffy's forehead. "What is it B?"
Buffy pushed up on one arm then rolled away from her girlfriend. Looking down at her, the crinkle deepened. "You know, this Arawn fellow… The way that verger talked about him. Didn't it all feel a little bit…Fae?" Faith sat up, leaning back on both arms and letting the sheet fall to her waist. "Well, now that you say it… there's been a kind of a Fae vibe to this whole thing. That standard with the bear and the blonde guy, there's definitely a 'fairy tale' feel here." Buffy grinned at her. "Well, our experts in this world may have come up with zeros, but we know a few bona fide Fae experts in another universe."
"I think it's at least worth giving Lauren a call."
"Just what I was thinking."
Buffy turned back to the bedside table and picked up her 'phone again. She accessed the special app programmed by Fitz and Daisy on their departure from the Nexus and dialled the contact number for one Doctor Lauren Lewis.
The call was picked up after just two rings.
"Buffy! What a pleasant surprise." Buffy couldn't help but smile. Although they had visited the couple and Isobel on their second wedding, the contact between them had been too sparse. Perhaps as well as shaking up her relationship with Faith, this was something else that she should change. Hearing Lauren's voice reminded her how much she missed the woman and her wife. "It's so good to hear your voice Lauren. Look, I'm sorry this isn't a social call. We need your expertise on something. You got your books to hand?"
"Hold on Buffy, I'll put you on speaker and you can catch up with Bo. I'll go get my laptop – I've spent the last couple of years digitising a lot of Trick's books. But I have a couple of books I should get too." The slayers heard a shuffling over the line and Bo's voice greeted them. Buffy felt a warmth on hearing the Succubus' voice and realised she had missed her more than she had thought. They did a little bit of catching up before hearing footsteps in the background that signalled Lauren's return. Buffy then proceeded to fill Bo and Lauren in on the events of the last couple of days; the simple job given by Giles, the tooth of Arawn, the wrecked church and missing vicar, the trap set for Satsu, the journey into the woods and finally the magnum force vampire cult. Lauren as always was the perfect listener. Offering affirmations and encouragements and asking short but relevant questions.
Once Buffy had finished the whole tale, it was Bo who spoke. "I think this is something that Tamsin might be able to weigh in on. I'll grab her, gimme a minute."
"No worries. You're on speaker this end too, just so you know. It's just me and Faith, so you can speak freely." While they waited, she could hear Lauren muttering and flipping through the pages of a book and typing something into her laptop. There came a shuffling in the background which signified Bo's return with Tamsin. The slayers exchanged a quick greeting with the Valkyrie. "Okay, the gang is all here. What do have for us Doc?"
"Okay, I already knew some of this. About Arawn. This artifact. It's the Tooth of Arawn? Yes. You know about him?"
"A little. He's some big lord of the underworld…"
"The Otherworld. Another version of the afterlife. More like Valhalla than Tartarus. Or perhaps… A generic term for the afterlife. Anyway. He is neither good nor bad. Just a force, a power. Like the ocean or the wind, he just is."
"And the tooth?"
"Well, this is where it gets interesting."
"Do tell."
"It's not a tooth at all. It's a horn. The information you have in your world is all a bit garbled and mostly lost in translation and misunderstandings. The Fae priest in this book takes great delight in the 'musings of foolish English humans', it's fascinating…" Buffy smiled at Lauren's unchanging capacity to get side-tracked by research and then chuckled at Bo in the background clearly encouraging her wife to get to the point. "Sorry Buffy. Anyway, this horn. Arawn is linked to a group called the Wild Hunt. Led by another god like Fae called Gwyn Ap Nudd. It's not entirely clear whether or not they are in fact the same person, but I'm going with separate people for now. So, the Wild Hunt. Variously a group of hounds, or historic figures, again, not all the sources agree. What they do agree on is this hunt effectively does what our friend Tamsin here does: They guide the dead to the afterlife, hence the connection with Arawn. Legend says that if you see a great black hound that it's one of the hunt and it's a portent of your death. Naturally human's fear of death then ascribes a malevolence to the hunt that just isn't there."
"Lauren. You're getting to a point at some time soon… like before Isobel's next birthday." Buffy heard her friend laugh nervously on the other end of the 'phone. "Sorry Buffy. I promise all of this is relevant. Anyway, where the horn comes in is that it was created by a dark Fae centuries ago to control the Wild Hunt." She paused and Buffy could hear movement. "Here's something from Trick's compendium. 'He who would wind the horn, calls the hunt and they must bow to his will.'" Faith leaned forward to interrupt the doctor. "I'm guessing that's not something we want to see in the hands of a vampire cult. In which case, they have it but don't seem to have sounded it. Which kinda begs the question…"
"Way ahead of you Faith. There's a ritual. To bind the horn to one person forever. Or at least until that person dies. So whomever has it is irrelevant. There's talk of a number of ingredients and a ritual they have to complete. But the Fae priest who wrote this does go on for while about 'the Blood of Power'…" Faith gasped and looked at Buffy wide eyed. "That's what they wanted a Slayer for." Lauren was quiet for a moment. "Your order of Aurelius?" Buffy confirmed and went back over everything they had learned about the order, including the titbit that the vampire who had killed her years ago was its Master.
Once she'd finished, she heard Lauren give a deep sigh. "Sounds like your vampires did indeed plan on using Slayer blood to complete this ritual. And that's not something any of us want to see. Control of the Wild Hunt…"
"The Wild Hunt?!" The slayers heard a male voice enter the conversation. Dyson. A door closing behind him indicated he'd only just arrived at the Lewis residence. "Hey Dyson," Buffy greeted tentatively. Instead of answering her, she could hear the wolf shifter speaking to Lauren in somewhat agitated tones. A muffled noise and his voice began to raise in volume. "You can't mess with the Hunt Lauren. Gods, you're still so bloody human sometimes!" Buffy knew it was time to intervene. "Dyson!" even though she was on speaker, she still shouted. "Lauren isn't 'messing' with anything. A vampire cult here is trying to harness the hunt and we need to stop them." A muffled noise that sounded like a growl came through the speaker. "Bloody vampires! Worse than humans for sticking their noses where they don't belong." Exchanging a look with her girlfriend beside her Buffy sighed. She could tell, even without a visual, that Dyson was highly agitated. And even Bo's frantic whispers were not calming him down. Worry spiked in both slayers as they heard the next exchange through the 'phone.
"Wait, Dyson… What?!"
"Bloody Hunt. Not going to hurt my friends."
"Wait, you dumb wolf!"
Buffy's eyes widened as she saw a familiar swirling of light appear in their room and watched startled as Dyson stepped through the vortex. She heard Faith's gasp beside her as she pulled the bed sheets back up over herself. The portal that had brought Dyson through universes snapped shut rather than the slow release they were used to. The wolf stood there, a lop-sided smile on his face, though laced with a worry he couldn't completely erase, his hand still gripping his shard of the red Caron stone. Shoving the shard back into his jacket pocket, he stood up taller and made to greet the two slayers. Then realised what he had come into. "Oh Shit! You're naked!"
