"So, this is how a Watcher lives, huh?" Faith smirked, running a finger across the dining room table as she glanced around the apartment. "I expected more… I don't know… doilies and old dusty books or something."
Wesley approached her, carrying a cup of warm tea in each hand. He handed her a cup without saying a word and sat down at the table, sipping silently from his drink.
Faith looked down at the cup clasped in her hands with a quiet sigh. She looked back up at Wesley as she finally asked, "Why are you doing this? I mean, you… I tried to kill you. You do remember that, right?"
"I remember it well," he replied, watching her carefully.
"Then… why?"
"Because you have done your time. You have embraced your path to redemption." He paused, a bitter frown etched across his face. "Because I can forgive a person's transgressions."
Faith sat down across from him, sniffing at her drink before taking a long sip. She sat her cup upon the table as she asked, "Why are you forgiving me so easily? I mean, I expected you to spit in my face and tell me to go to hell. You know, I deserve that… You have a right to pissed off at me."
"I do have a right to all that, but you also deserve my forgiveness," Wesley replied with a slight shrug.
"Huh," Faith said with a shocked smile, running her finger around the rim of her glass. "So… does Angel know I'm back? I mean, I haven't heard from him in a long time so…"
"Probably not. I don't claim to know the inner workings of Angel Investigations anymore. Much like yourself, we've kept very minimum contact."
Taken aback by his admission, the only word that slipped past her lips was, "Why?"
"Long story short?" he replied, sitting back in his chair. "Angel has sex with Darla, somehow creating a human baby. The baby is born, and a prophecy arises of the child's death by Angel's hands. I take the child to save him, but in the end, I end up sending him into the arms of Angel's archenemy, never to be seen again."
"Okay," Faith said with a stunned nod. "So, I guess asking what you guys have been up to while I was in the slammer is completely out of the question."
"Completely."
Finishing off his drink, he stood and made his way to the sink. As he placed his empty cup within it, he said to her, "You're welcome to stay as long as you like, as long as you need."
Faith scoffed slightly at his offer. "Thanks but no thanks, man. I'll be up on my feet, kicking some ass in no time."
"Keep in mind, Faith, that you are still a Slayer, and every Slayer needs a Watcher."
"A rogue Watcher for a rogue Slayer?" Faith asked with a devious grin. "The council would shit their pants."
Wesley couldn't stop the slight smirk that formed on his lips. It had been a long time since he had smiled, but what surprised him even more was who was able to finally get a smile out of him.
"I need to head out for a moment," Wesley finally said. "Why don't you start making yourself at home?"
"I guess I could," Faith replied with a slight shrug. Wesley simply nodded in acceptance as he walked out of the kitchen.
**********
Fred placed the last of Wesley's journals in the small box with a frown. It had become spring-cleaning time at Angel Investigations. Time to get rid of everything that bore Wesley's mark. She had returned his items to him once before at the hospital, but they had been in such a rush to remove items that obviously belonged to Wesley from the office that a few things had slipped by their radar. Now, it had become everyone's responsibility to find Wesley's belongings around the hotel and hide them from Angel's eyes.
"Out of sight, out of mind," Fred mumbled under her breath, her frown deepening as she placed the last of the man's journals in the box.
She could just hide the box in one of the many closets in the hotel, but to her, that didn't feel right. Wesley was still alive. He may have betrayed them greatly, but he still deserved to have his belongings in his possession.
Besides, she wanted to see him. Their last meeting had been anything but pleasant. Actually, it had been horrendous. She had let loose the feelings she had had pent up inside her since Connor's kidnapping, and none of the words had been kind. And after learning that Wesley had been the one to save her from the slimy portal slugs, the need to see him only heightened. She needed to see him, if only to get in a quick thank you before he slammed the apartment door in her face.
The box in her hands, Fred glanced around the hotel lobby before quickly making her way out the door.
**********
Faith stepped out of the shower, humming quietly as she wrapped a large blue towel around her body. She wiped her hand over the steamed mirror and smiled as her reflection stared back at her.
That had been a pleasant experience, showering by herself. No one to time how long she could bathe. No one to watch her every move. No one to try to put a move on her.
She had seen many of the newer inmates learn the hard way. If you looked weak, you were screwed, and Faith understood that. She had established herself as strong the first week. She took shit from none of the other inmates, and they respected that. Earning their respect in turn meant that Faith was off-limits. No one would dare to lay their hands on her.
It still felt good to just take a shower to take a shower. To take the time to feel just how warm the water was, feel just how hard it pounded against her body.
Faith was lost in her own reflection when she heard a faint knock upon the apartment door.
She opened the bathroom door, the steam billowing out into the hallway. "Wesley?" she called out.
As soon as his name left her lips, she silently scolded herself for her own stupidity. Wesley wouldn't be knocking on his own apartment door.
Holding the towel in place with one hand, Faith walked down the hallway and towards the apartment door. She opened the door to see a thin brunette on the other side, a small cardboard box in her arms. The brunette's eyes widened at the sight of her.
"Can I help you?" Faith asked.
Fred opened her mouth a couple of times but no words escaped. A small squeak passed her lips before she finally found her voice. "Sorry, I was returning Wesley's stuff and… And I must have the wrong apartment," Fred finally managed as she glanced at the apartment number on the door again.
"You're looking for Wesley?" Faith asked, eyeing the girl.
Fred simply nodded in response.
"He's kinda out right now, but I can take his stuff for him," Faith replied, reaching for the box.
Fred handed over the box, her eyes still wide in shock as she gave the strange woman a quick once-over. "Okay… Just tell him… Um, tell him Fred stopped by."
"Cool, thanks," Faith replied with a nod, shutting the door in the girl's face.
**********
A paper bag filled with a bottle of wine and frozen dinners in his arm, Wesley entered his eerily silent apartment. He stood still for a moment at the apartment threshold, simply listening to the silence.
"Faith?" he called out after a moment.
Silence greeted him in response.
Wesley frowned as he placed the groceries upon the dining room table as he advanced down the hallway and towards his bedroom. He wasn't surprised to find that Faith had left. It was in her nature. She had always been a lone wolf, relying on no one but herself. Her trust issues were overwhelming, especially in regards to him. She had every reason not to trust him. He couldn't reach out to her if she didn't trust him, and she couldn't trust him because he had betrayed her, let her down, time and time again in Sunnydale.
Wesley's frown only deepened as he realized the horrible trend forming in his life. Maybe he was never meant to be trusted by anyone. Everyone that trusted him ended up regretting that choice, Faith included.
Maybe some things never changed…
Wesley's thoughts froze in the crevices of his mind as he reached the doorway of his bedroom. Sitting Indian-style in the center of his bed was Faith. She casually flipped through a large tome that was opened in her lap.
"Making yourself at home, I see," Wesley said, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to disguise the look of relief on his face.
She looked up at him, smiling, as she ran a hand through her hair. "I knew I'd find some dusty old book somewhere in this place. You're a Watcher. It's like a rule or something."
"I didn't know you could read," he scoffed in response.
Laying the book upon the sheets, Faith's smile turned to a smirk as she crawled out of his bed and approached him. "You always underestimated me. You know, there's more to me than you realize."
"I realize."
Faith shrugged, standing within Wesley's personal space as she messed with the zipper on his jacket. "You know what I've been craving ever since I got out?"
"What's that?" he asked, swallowing hard as she zipped and unzipped his jacket.
Faith zipped the jacket up to the collar as she smiled, "Pizza. A big greasy pizza."
Wesley smiled slightly. "Pizza?"
She nodded in response.
"I guess we'll be enjoying pizza for dinner then."
Faith winked at him in appreciation before starting down the hallway, Wesley watching her leave.
