CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: ANGELS AND SLAYERS
After a quick check-in with Giles and Joanna, and a quick phone call to Buffy's mother, asking if she would mind having Faith stay in their spare bedroom, the two Slayers made their way home, taking a 'short-cut' through the cemetery. Of course, as always in Sunnydale, the short-cut quickly turned into a battle field.
Two Slayers against ten vampires hardly seemed fair. For the vampires that is. Faith and Buffy, though never having Slayed together before, worked in perfect synchronicity. They fought back-to-back, both of them feeling the adrenaline rush that always came with Slaying.
"So, Willow was cool with everything, right?" Faith asked, ducking a punch and slamming her own fist into one of her many attackers, sending it stumbling towards Buffy.
"Well, there was a lot of babbling, but, yeah. I think she's alright with it," Buffy replied, staking the vampire that Faith had just assailed.
Buffy was momentarily distracted from the conversation, three vampires deciding to collaborate their efforts. She blocked a punch from one of her attackers, but didn't move fast enough to stop herself from being kicked in the stomach from another. She steeled herself against the pain, refusing to double over and give her attackers the advantage. She grabbed one of the vamp's fists and propelled it into it's accomplice, sending the two vampires tumbling to the ground. She quickly staked the third of the trio, before checking over her shoulder to see how Faith was coping.
The darker Slayer was completely caught up in the fight. With a grin on her face, she put her full strength into the fight, ensuring that none of the attacking vampires would get away with their lives…so to speak. She staked another of the vamps and turned her attention back to Buffy.
"What about your mom?" Faith asked. "She's all five-by-five with the whole…'sleeping arrangements'?"
Buffy assumed that Faith was not referring to their separate quarters within the Summers' household for the next few days.
"Well…that's kinda the thing," Buffy began, staking another of her attackers as she contemplated how exactly to word her answer. "She doesn't exactly, well…y'know. Know. About the us that is the usness of us."
Faith paused, mid-stake, the vampire failing to halt as it ran towards her, impaling itself on her stake and crumbling into dust.
"Oh." Damn. She'd been so hoping to get the short blonde girl into bed.
"I'm gonna tell her," Buffy assured the other Slayer. "I just figured that she should at least meet you first. And then maybe find out about the whole 'gayness of me' thing, and then…then I'll tell her. Hopefully when you're wearing far less leather."
"I can't see you telling your mom while I'm naked B."
Buffy was fairly certain that Faith lived to make her blush.
"I was aiming more for a skirt maybe," Buffy qualified.
Faith looked down at her clothes and wrinkled her nose. She suddenly had the horrifying image of wearing a pink, frilly sundress, simply to please Buffy's mom.
"But, your other suggestion does have a certain appeal. Nowhere near my mom of course, but…" she trailed off as she thrust her stake into another vampire's heart.
If Faith was the blushing type, she might have gone red from Buffy's comment. As it was, she'd just been driven to an extremely appealing mental place.
"Well, I dunno about a skirt B. It's kinda not really me, y'know," Faith commented, driving her own stake into a vampire who had tried to catch her off guard by lunging towards her.
Buffy was suddenly tackled from behind as a crossbow bolt flew through the air in the exact place she'd just been standing. She rolled and looked at her 'attacker'.
"Angel."
She didn't have a chance to really process what had just happened, and before she could regroup, Faith threw herself at Angel, punching and kicking viciously, disregarding the other vampires and whaling on the vamp who had knocked Buffy to the ground.
Angel pushed Faith backwards, jumping to his feet and trying to defend himself against Faith's attacks. The remaining four vampires saw their opportunity and ran into the night, not particularly wanting to lose to the Slayer, her newest companion, or her vampiric lap-dog.
"Would you stop!" he yelled angrily, restraining himself from hitting her back.
"Hello! You vampire, me Slayer. In case you didn't notice, there's this whole thing where we're mortal enemies," Faith replied snarkily.
Angel shot a look to a very stunned Buffy. "Little help here?"
Faith completely missed the exchange between Slayer and Vampire, and delivered a stunning kick to Angel's crotch which had the master Vampire howling and falling to his knees. She went to deliver the final killing blow, her stake raised. Buffy finally pulled herself out of her stupor and rushed towards Faith, grabbing her by the wrist.
Faith gave Buffy a look of sheer confusion. "He's a vampire," she protested.
"I'm not evil!" Angel replied, struggling to get to his feet. He found a nearby headstone and leant against it, wondering if Buffy would think he was a complete wuss if he slunk off in pain.
"He's really not," Buffy said. "Faith, this is Angel. Angel, meet Faith the Vampire Slayer."
Faith looked at Buffy, one eyebrow raised sceptically.
"Care to explain?"
"It's a long story," Buffy said.
"I've got a soul," Angel explained.
"Apparently not that long."
"A soul?" Faith repeated.
Angel nodded. Buffy had given him a rambling explanation several weeks ago about the newest Slayer. He'd been able to gather that something had happened between the two girls, and whilst Angel had seethed with jealousy, a part of him was still happy for Buffy. They'd split up because he could never give her the things she deserved, and if Buffy was happy with Faith, then Angel was happy for her. Of course, that didn't mean that he wouldn't prefer to be the person that she turned to for comfort. He sighed, knowing without a doubt that with Faith now in town, he had truly lost Buffy for good.
"It's this whole thing with a gypsy curse," Buffy explained. "He's good. His soul's…well, not exactly permanent, but…it's not going anywhere."
"Why is that not exactly comforting?" Faith asked. "And if that sucker ain't permanent, then…what? It just comes and goes every so often? Should I be worrying about that?"
Angel gave the newest Slayer a wry smile. "More like, I come, it goes," he dead-panned.
Buffy's mouth opened in shock, and she turned to stare at him, a look of complete and utter mortification on her face. "Did you just…oh you so did not just say that."
Faith was now truly lost. She looked between the two of them and felt everything click into place. The way they acted around each other was far too familiar, and the way that Buffy was now blushing again gave it all away.
"Holy shit B, you slept with a vamp?" Faith exclaimed loudly.
"Once. One time. One vamp. And he's got a soul," Buffy protested.
Faith just shook her head in disbelief. And she thought she'd had some strange sexual encounters over the years.
"Yeah but still…he's technically dead B," Faith said.
"Hey, dead guy still standing right here," Angel said. "And it's not like Buffy just goes around sleeping with random vampires." He paused. "Right?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, me and Spike were having a passionate affair. A real, bringing the house down type of fling."
Angel smirked derisively, shaking his head at the possibility of Buffy and Spike ever being together. It was inconceivable.
Faith was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around what was being implied by the conversation.
"So, wait, wait. Are you telling me that if you…and her…do that, your soul…"
"That would be the goes part of the comes and goes," Buffy finished.
"Uh huh," she said slowly. "I guess that kinda screws things around for you guys, huh?"
"Interesting wording, but, yeah…"
Faith suddenly felt horribly insecure. It wasn't something that she'd ever felt before, and she found that she really didn't enjoy the feeling.
"So now that there's…what was it, the usness of us…the two of you…and the youness of you and all that…your not gonna get with the going of the soul, right?" Faith asked.
"Oh no…no, no, no, no, no. No usness with me and him. That way lies badness," Buffy replied.
Angel couldn't help but sigh at the finality in Buffy's voice.
"And on that note, I think I'll leave you two ladies to your own devices," Angel said. He smiled softly at Buffy. "Be safe."
Buffy nodded and watched as Angel slunk into the darkness. Faith turned to look at Buffy.
"Y'know, if it weren't for the whole vamp thing, I'd think you had pretty good taste."
----
Ooo, much thanks for all your reviews!! Keep reading and reviewing pliz! We really appreciate your feedback.
SNEAK PREVIEW:
Buffy grabbed a towel from the closet and walked back to Faith. She handed it to the other girl, expecting for the door to close. Instead, Faith hooked the towel around Buffy's neck, grinning all the while, and forcibly drew the girl into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.
S&K.