CHAPTER TWENTY: MORNING AFTER
(Sarah's got a weird eye twitch…reckon it could be to do with…well, who knows what, but…"Faith!". K.)
Warm early morning light from the venetian blinds played over Faith's brown body like pale stripes. They marked the pages of flesh written upon the night before by the blonde girl who lay beside her, eyes fluttering between the land of dreams and the waking day.
Faith's heavy lids opened. She was thirsty. She reached across and as her palm cupped the glass of water that stood on the bedside table, she realised where she was. Her instinctual reach for water was waylaid as she turned her head and saw Buffy's sleeping body beside her. She bit the side of her mouth, and then sipped from the glass. In Buffy's bed…this was strange new territory.
She watched her sleep, enjoying the opportunity to think before choosing her first words to the girl who would soon wake. They were important, first words. Within the phrase she elected to use lay much of the weight and potential of the future of their relationship. First words were unpredictable; they could elate or crush. She cocked her head to the side, and reached out to stroke the sleepy girl's brow that was softened with sleep.
"Good morning Buffy," Faith said softly, watching as those hazel eyes slowly opened. She grinned at herself. So formal… addressing Buffy as though she was a teacher or a child. She ignored herself and focused instead on Buffy's steady gaze.
"Hey," Buffy returned. The blonde Slayer was watching her. Like she watched her opponents. Every flexing sinew in Faith's body was accounted for by Buffy's eyes. And although her gaze was almost invasive, Faith didn't flinch from it, nor did she shift her own eyes. Instead she lay back down, resting her head on the pillow and facing Buffy, who rolled so she too lay on her side.
Their faces were only inches apart.
The silent tension between them had carried over from the night before. It was a mixture of sweetness but also uncertainty. This was new ground for both of them to break. Buffy's only other experience had ended in heartbreak and pain, awakening to find her lover gone from the bed, and then discovering that he'd turned evil. Faith had always been the one leaving a cold empty place next to a slumbering body. So now, both were unprepared for what would happen next.
"So…" Buffy said casually. She was almost surprised that she'd used such a cliché ice-breaker but was quickly relieved when the dark haired Slayer echoed her words.
"So…"
The girls stared at each other in unfaltering silence. Neither knew what to say. After what they'd shared the night before this sudden freeze in conversation seemed almost ludicrous. Buffy had made parts of Faith do…things, that she'd never experienced before. They'd been close, breath on flesh. But now that their bodies had stilled, they had drawn back from each other. And neither knew what to say at all.
Finally Faith broke the silence.
"I'm thinkin' I wanna train with Giles for a while," the raven haired girl said with a smirk.
Buffy was caught off-guard by the randomness of the comment.
"Uh, yeah…why?" She asked, puzzled but grinning.
"Cos, fuck, B, how do you bend like that?"
Both of them collapsed into childish laughter. Buffy gasped with giggles and punched Faith in the arm. Faith mock recoiled in dramatic pain, and the laughter intensified. Both of them were silently thanking the other for the levity provided by the moment.
Buffy had a thousand questions. She didn't want to fulfil a morning after cliché, but she was aching to know where things were headed now for them. There was so much uncertainty, even in a certain thing, and she liked the black and white of slaying in comparison to the grey of relationships. She needed definition. She needed control.
Faith pre-empted her question.
"I'm thinkin' we're okay, Buff. I'm not gonna run off with some other…other, and I'm sticking around. With you. And I'm glad about what happened last night, and yes, I'm feeling very soul-full this morning, and yes, I…y'know…kinda…"
"Kinda what?" Buffy asked. She wanted her to say it.
"Oh, y'know…"
Buffy leaned over the dark haired slayer's body, their shoulders brushing. She reached her arm across Faith's chest, resting her smaller torso on Faith's. She looked up into her eyes, slightly brushing her lips against Faiths, making the dark haired girl lean forward, but then pulled her head away.
"Kinda…what? Kinda feel like a soda? Kinda have cold toes? Kinda wanna go to the mall?" Buffy was teasing, and she knew it. But it was merciless fun. You couldn't toy with vamps. It was plunge and move on. But this game…she liked this game.
Faith knew Buffy was evoking far too much pleasure from toying with her. But she would only be the prey for so long.
Faith grabbed Buffy's shoulders with two strong hands and flipped Buffy roughly onto her Back, grinning when the blonde girl squealed in surprise.
"Kinda love you," she said with a grin, pressing Buffy's shoulders into the sheets.
Buffy grinned. She'd known what Faith had wanted to say, but hearing it was ten times better than just knowing. Moving quickly, Buffy dislodged Faith's grip on her shoulders, brought her own arms around Faith's neck and pulled the taller girl down, kissing her with force, not that Faith minded of course…
"Well that works quite nicely," Buffy replied quietly as they broke their kiss. "Cos I kinda love you too."
Faith felt herself practically melt. She was definitely in deep smit. She was grinning like an idiot, but found that she didn't really care. Even when she'd been having her monogamous relationship with Jamie, she'd never felt even half of what she was now feeling with Buffy. It was a nice change from the emptiness that she was usually left with in the mornings after.
Buffy sighed and circled her arms around Faith's neck, alternatively running her left and right hand up and down her spine. Faith's body stiffened, and Buffy felt her skin break out into little goosebumps.
"Stop it…" Faith said quietly, almost plaintively.
Buffy grinned. "You want me to stop?"
"Yes, I mean – No….I mean….Oh holy fuck," Faith swore, her eternal last resort when she had nought else to say.
"Well, I have been likened to a deity in my time, but never-" Buffy's words were stopped short by hands. In bad naughty places.
Faith was the one to giggle now. She rarely giggled, but when she did, it was always for a good cause. And being able to silence Buffy Summers with large amounts of painful pleasure was as good a cause as any to giggle.
"Oh…my….oh…God…."
"You know, you can call me Faith when we're in bed…." Faith grinned. She liked this new kind of revenge. It was fun for both of them.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs sent what seemed to be an electric shock through Buffy's body. She pushed Faith – and her hands- away from her so that she was able to leap from the bed and to the door to double check that it was locked. It was. She turned to look back at Faith who was stretched nonchalantly out on the bed with her ankles crossed, and her hands curled behind her head, grinning.
"You think this is sooo funny," Buffy grinned and shook her head. She whirled around when she heard Joyce's voice at the door.
"Honey, I'm making eggs for breakfast. Do you want some?"
"Uh….sure Mom. Two is fine…and uh…toast too, I guess," Buffy replied, in what she hoped was a plausible 'I've just woken up and there is no possibility that there is a naked girl in my bed' voice.
"Alright honey. And have you seen Faith? I checked her room but her bed's still made…did she go out again after I left?" Joyce asked in her usual, uncertain motherly way.
"Uh…no, no. We were up late last night eating…marshmallows and uh…talking about, you know, slayer stuff. And boys. There was lots of talk about the boys," Buffy clamoured to create an excuse that was plausible. She failed miserably and Faith sniggered.
Faith stood and walked slowly over to Buffy, pressing against her back and circling her arms around her waist. She grinned and wondered how far she could push Buffy's self control as the mother and daughter continued their door-blocked conversation. She began lightly kissing Buffy's neck, Buffy leaning away to give Faith better access as one of Faith's hands wandered up and the other continued lower.
"Oh. Hello Faith! Uh…well when you girls are dressed and ready to eat you can come on down for breakfast."
"Uh yeah Mom, we should be…oh….down shortly…Oh!….we'll be coming in a minute…" Buffy was now pressed against the door. She cursed Faith very, very quietly under her breath.
"Are you okay, honey?"
Buffy turned her head just slightly, glaring at Faith with a smile on her lips. Faith leaned her head around so that they could kiss.
"Honey?"
Buffy knew she should answer. She would, she just had to…
"Uh…Buffy is everything all-right in there?"
Buffy broke out of the kiss and breathily replied through the door, both hands pressed against the white painted surface.
"S'all good Mrs S," Faith replied as Buffy fought to catch her breath. "Buffy's just in the closet-" Buffy shot a glare at her girlfriend as Faith just grinned unrepentantly. "-picking out clothes. We'll be going down in a minute."
"Alright…if you're sure."
"We are," Faith assured her.
They listened as Joyce walked back down the stairs. Buffy turned to glare at Faith who couldn't keep the grin off her face.
"Are you sure you didn't wake up evil?" Buffy asked.
Faith just grinned and lifted Buffy up, dragging her over to the bed. Buffy yelped as Faith practically threw her onto the mattress. With the air of a predator, Faith crawled over to Buffy, leaning most of her weight on her fists.
"Now…we promised your mom that we'd be coming down any minute, and…well, I've decided to be a girl of my word, so…we're just gonna have to keep that promise."
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S&K