author: Lucinda
rating: pg 13
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)
Darkened Faith 12: On Top of the World
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.
* * * *
Faith wondered if David meant it. If he meant those words of reassurance or if he was just trying to get a little Faith. If he really wanted to be there for her, for the long term. She wasn't certain if she wanted to try to sort out if she wanted him to stay.
After all, David had already slipped past her defenses. He wasn't just some monster to her, despite the fact that he'd killed people. She knew that he'd killed people, would probably kill people again. They probably hadn't all been scum like that child molester either. It bothered her, and it bothered her that it didn't bother her more, if that made any sense at all.
But what he offered was appealing. Not just a handsome and sexy lover, not just a patrol partner, but... Companionship. An end to the loneliness that she'd been feeling. Someone to be with her through the night, no matter how long or how dark it got.
She could feel the night around her, as if a thousand tiny fingers were caressing her skin. Faith could feel his presence, warm comfort beside her that had nothing to do with temperature. And she could see everything so clearly, far better than she could just last week. "It's so different..."
"Then you should probably start carefully with your patrol. If your sense have changed, have your reflexes?" David's voice was like velvet in the darkness, soothing and seductive all at once.
"Is there supposed to be a warning in that? I feel great!" Faith looked at him, noticing the way the moonlight gleamed on his hair. "I don't need coddled."
"Faith..." He practically purred the words, his fingertips brushing over her cheek. "You're changing. It's a rush, and everyone feels invincible at first. But you know better. It's the same feeling that even the most pitiful minion wakes up with - I'm strong, I'm powerful, I can do anything... next thing that happens, they're dust. I want better than that for you, I don't want you to loose yourself in the rush."
"David, I am what happens to most brand new minions who are convinced that they're invincible." Faith smiled, wondering just what had him so worried.
His hand dropped down, brushing over her arm. "But there are other things out there. I'm just asking you to start with something small and get a feel for the way things work before you go after another giant killer newt."
Faith sighed, admitting to herself that it seemed reasonable. What she actually said was different. "We probably won't run into anything big anyhow."
"Then you haven't lost anything." David smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. "And after we get rid of a few minions, then we have cider, go back to my place, and I see if I can seduce you."
"I'm still trying to figure out why you're so cheerful about the idea of helping me kill minions." Faith shook her head, finally asking the question that had been nagging at her since she'd first met him on patrol.
"But Faith, they aren't my minions. They aren't the minions of my family. Actually, we were never that big on minions anyhow. They aren't my allies' minions… I don't actually have any vampire allies in this city. They hold no advantage to me in any way, I owe them nothing." David's words seemed so calm, so casual. "Vampires have a territorial nature. We want space that we can call ours, a place that nobody who isn't family will be hunting. It means that rivalry can get pretty intense and ruthless."
"What about my soul? If I become a vampire, all the way a vampire, what happens to my soul?" She looked at him, finally voicing one of her fears.
David shrugged. "What exactly is a soul? Where is it when you're alive, and how does it stay there? If you can tell me that, maybe we can try to guess what happens if you die. Philosophers have been debating that question for centuries… probably closer to say thousands of years. A couple centuries back, there would be people wondering if you even had a soul to loose, simply because you are a woman."
Faith shivered, wondering if the whole thing could so easily be put aside as a matter of philosophical debate. It was even more disturbing because she knew that he was right about the ancient ideas that women were inferior and lacking in souls entirely. "That idea is full of shit. I've got as much soul as some guy. Wherever a soul rests, it's not in the cock."
He almost seemed to choke at that. "Faith… don't… have mercy on a guy."
"What, you disagree?" She smirked at him, amused by his reaction.
"I didn't say that." He glanced out over the street. "It's just that I normally don't consider the question of souls too much, and certainly not in connection to how a person's put together. I never thought that made a difference towards a soul."
"Well, that's one thing we won't have to worry about." Faith grinned. She took a few steps down the street and paused. She could feel the prickle of vampires, but they didn't feel like David. These felt cold and unwelcome, like putting your foot on the puddle left by a melting ice cube. Sensing vampires had never felt quite like that before. "I feel… minions?"
Faith could feel her body tensing as the minions approached. There were three of them, none very old or particularly powerful. The awareness bothered her, but it didn't set her on edge quite the way it had always done before. It could only be a sign that David had been right, she wasn't the Slayer anymore. She held her stake, knowing that now was not the time to chase the question of who she was if not a Slayer.
"Hey! I know who he is." The minion was so weak that he couldn't change his yellow eyes to look human. "He's that beach guy, the one who was insulting our master!"
"He doesn't look so tough." This minion had a shaved head and a football jersey, and he crackled his knuckles in a clear threat. "Why don't we just get rid of him?"
Faith glanced over at David, noticing the way he seemed unworried. "Are you reminded of those hyenas in the Lion King? I'm telling you, bad guys these days…"
David smiled at her, his eyes warm and laughing. "The hyenas? Shinzi was a much better leader than the one they follow."
Blinking, she looked over at him, surprised that he'd actually seen the movie. "Good point. And Ed was funny."
Apparently insulted by the fact that they weren't cowering, the first minion lunged towards them, growling. David easily avoided his attack, and sent him crashing into a wall with one booted foot. He shook his head, and made a faint tsk'ing noise.
Faith smirked, her amusement fading as the jersey wearing minion lunged towards her, having pulled a knife from somewhere. It looked like she was getting a chance to test those new abilities of hers… And the verdict was that she wasn't quite as invincible as she'd felt just minutes earlier. She was still stronger and faster than the minion, but she'd already been as a Slayer. Her speed might have been a bit more, but not enough to throw off her style. The strength was likewise pretty close to before. And the minion fell in dust to the ground before she'd managed to do more than feel out a rough estimate.
Looking up, she realized that there was nobody else there besides David. No third minion, no onlookers, just the two of them. "So… I guess I'm not super Faith. Not more than I was earlier anyhow."
"Maybe a bit more." He took her hand, and suddenly he was moving upwards, into the air.
And Faith was rising up with him. It didn't feel like he was carrying her upwards by her arm, he just had a light grip on her fingers, her elbow was even slightly bent. But when he stopped, they were over the tops of all of the warehouses, over the nearby apartment buildings.
She looked around, feeling partly comfortable and partly awed and unsettled all at once. "You're… we're flying? I can fly?"
"I told you you'd be able to." He leaned in, his lips brushing over hers softly as his hand moved from holding her fingers to resting on the outside of her arm.
Faith had a moment of panic at the realization that he wasn't holding her up, nobody was holding her up. She bobbled a bit on the air currents, feeling the wind tug at her hair, feeling it press against her shoulders. "I'm… I'm really flying."
"It's great, isn't it?" He was smiling at her, hanging there in the moonlight like some sort of fallen angel.
Leaning forward, Faith kissed him, her tongue flicking at his lips, teasing over his teeth. She could taste blood in his mouth, and it didn't even slow the kiss. Slowly, she explored his mouth, learning the feel of him, the taste of him as her hands pulled her close to him, or perhaps he was pulled to her. "Wow."
"We have freedom, Faith. Freedom from time, from gravity, from the boring rules of mortal society." His words barely carried in the face of the wind, but that somehow made them feel more seductive, more appealing.
"And I have you." She kissed him again, wondering if this amazing light feeling was from kissing David or from flying. Wondering if she cared. "Should we go catch some of that cider now?"
end Darkened Faith 12: On Top of the World.
rating: pg 13
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)
Darkened Faith 12: On Top of the World
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.
* * * *
Faith wondered if David meant it. If he meant those words of reassurance or if he was just trying to get a little Faith. If he really wanted to be there for her, for the long term. She wasn't certain if she wanted to try to sort out if she wanted him to stay.
After all, David had already slipped past her defenses. He wasn't just some monster to her, despite the fact that he'd killed people. She knew that he'd killed people, would probably kill people again. They probably hadn't all been scum like that child molester either. It bothered her, and it bothered her that it didn't bother her more, if that made any sense at all.
But what he offered was appealing. Not just a handsome and sexy lover, not just a patrol partner, but... Companionship. An end to the loneliness that she'd been feeling. Someone to be with her through the night, no matter how long or how dark it got.
She could feel the night around her, as if a thousand tiny fingers were caressing her skin. Faith could feel his presence, warm comfort beside her that had nothing to do with temperature. And she could see everything so clearly, far better than she could just last week. "It's so different..."
"Then you should probably start carefully with your patrol. If your sense have changed, have your reflexes?" David's voice was like velvet in the darkness, soothing and seductive all at once.
"Is there supposed to be a warning in that? I feel great!" Faith looked at him, noticing the way the moonlight gleamed on his hair. "I don't need coddled."
"Faith..." He practically purred the words, his fingertips brushing over her cheek. "You're changing. It's a rush, and everyone feels invincible at first. But you know better. It's the same feeling that even the most pitiful minion wakes up with - I'm strong, I'm powerful, I can do anything... next thing that happens, they're dust. I want better than that for you, I don't want you to loose yourself in the rush."
"David, I am what happens to most brand new minions who are convinced that they're invincible." Faith smiled, wondering just what had him so worried.
His hand dropped down, brushing over her arm. "But there are other things out there. I'm just asking you to start with something small and get a feel for the way things work before you go after another giant killer newt."
Faith sighed, admitting to herself that it seemed reasonable. What she actually said was different. "We probably won't run into anything big anyhow."
"Then you haven't lost anything." David smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. "And after we get rid of a few minions, then we have cider, go back to my place, and I see if I can seduce you."
"I'm still trying to figure out why you're so cheerful about the idea of helping me kill minions." Faith shook her head, finally asking the question that had been nagging at her since she'd first met him on patrol.
"But Faith, they aren't my minions. They aren't the minions of my family. Actually, we were never that big on minions anyhow. They aren't my allies' minions… I don't actually have any vampire allies in this city. They hold no advantage to me in any way, I owe them nothing." David's words seemed so calm, so casual. "Vampires have a territorial nature. We want space that we can call ours, a place that nobody who isn't family will be hunting. It means that rivalry can get pretty intense and ruthless."
"What about my soul? If I become a vampire, all the way a vampire, what happens to my soul?" She looked at him, finally voicing one of her fears.
David shrugged. "What exactly is a soul? Where is it when you're alive, and how does it stay there? If you can tell me that, maybe we can try to guess what happens if you die. Philosophers have been debating that question for centuries… probably closer to say thousands of years. A couple centuries back, there would be people wondering if you even had a soul to loose, simply because you are a woman."
Faith shivered, wondering if the whole thing could so easily be put aside as a matter of philosophical debate. It was even more disturbing because she knew that he was right about the ancient ideas that women were inferior and lacking in souls entirely. "That idea is full of shit. I've got as much soul as some guy. Wherever a soul rests, it's not in the cock."
He almost seemed to choke at that. "Faith… don't… have mercy on a guy."
"What, you disagree?" She smirked at him, amused by his reaction.
"I didn't say that." He glanced out over the street. "It's just that I normally don't consider the question of souls too much, and certainly not in connection to how a person's put together. I never thought that made a difference towards a soul."
"Well, that's one thing we won't have to worry about." Faith grinned. She took a few steps down the street and paused. She could feel the prickle of vampires, but they didn't feel like David. These felt cold and unwelcome, like putting your foot on the puddle left by a melting ice cube. Sensing vampires had never felt quite like that before. "I feel… minions?"
Faith could feel her body tensing as the minions approached. There were three of them, none very old or particularly powerful. The awareness bothered her, but it didn't set her on edge quite the way it had always done before. It could only be a sign that David had been right, she wasn't the Slayer anymore. She held her stake, knowing that now was not the time to chase the question of who she was if not a Slayer.
"Hey! I know who he is." The minion was so weak that he couldn't change his yellow eyes to look human. "He's that beach guy, the one who was insulting our master!"
"He doesn't look so tough." This minion had a shaved head and a football jersey, and he crackled his knuckles in a clear threat. "Why don't we just get rid of him?"
Faith glanced over at David, noticing the way he seemed unworried. "Are you reminded of those hyenas in the Lion King? I'm telling you, bad guys these days…"
David smiled at her, his eyes warm and laughing. "The hyenas? Shinzi was a much better leader than the one they follow."
Blinking, she looked over at him, surprised that he'd actually seen the movie. "Good point. And Ed was funny."
Apparently insulted by the fact that they weren't cowering, the first minion lunged towards them, growling. David easily avoided his attack, and sent him crashing into a wall with one booted foot. He shook his head, and made a faint tsk'ing noise.
Faith smirked, her amusement fading as the jersey wearing minion lunged towards her, having pulled a knife from somewhere. It looked like she was getting a chance to test those new abilities of hers… And the verdict was that she wasn't quite as invincible as she'd felt just minutes earlier. She was still stronger and faster than the minion, but she'd already been as a Slayer. Her speed might have been a bit more, but not enough to throw off her style. The strength was likewise pretty close to before. And the minion fell in dust to the ground before she'd managed to do more than feel out a rough estimate.
Looking up, she realized that there was nobody else there besides David. No third minion, no onlookers, just the two of them. "So… I guess I'm not super Faith. Not more than I was earlier anyhow."
"Maybe a bit more." He took her hand, and suddenly he was moving upwards, into the air.
And Faith was rising up with him. It didn't feel like he was carrying her upwards by her arm, he just had a light grip on her fingers, her elbow was even slightly bent. But when he stopped, they were over the tops of all of the warehouses, over the nearby apartment buildings.
She looked around, feeling partly comfortable and partly awed and unsettled all at once. "You're… we're flying? I can fly?"
"I told you you'd be able to." He leaned in, his lips brushing over hers softly as his hand moved from holding her fingers to resting on the outside of her arm.
Faith had a moment of panic at the realization that he wasn't holding her up, nobody was holding her up. She bobbled a bit on the air currents, feeling the wind tug at her hair, feeling it press against her shoulders. "I'm… I'm really flying."
"It's great, isn't it?" He was smiling at her, hanging there in the moonlight like some sort of fallen angel.
Leaning forward, Faith kissed him, her tongue flicking at his lips, teasing over his teeth. She could taste blood in his mouth, and it didn't even slow the kiss. Slowly, she explored his mouth, learning the feel of him, the taste of him as her hands pulled her close to him, or perhaps he was pulled to her. "Wow."
"We have freedom, Faith. Freedom from time, from gravity, from the boring rules of mortal society." His words barely carried in the face of the wind, but that somehow made them feel more seductive, more appealing.
"And I have you." She kissed him again, wondering if this amazing light feeling was from kissing David or from flying. Wondering if she cared. "Should we go catch some of that cider now?"
end Darkened Faith 12: On Top of the World.