Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

Spike sat, watching her go, thinking about who she could have been talking about. The idea that he could be someone good in the future, though repulsive to his inner demon, struck Spike the man as extraordinary. He felt hope kindle in his chest and couldn't remember the last time he had felt it. "Well bloody hell," he chuckled to himself.

Chapter Ten:

Buffy and Faith walked in silence down the main drag of downtown Sunnydale. They were heading toward Willy's bar, the most logical place in town to go for information. It was a beautiful day; the sky was a deep shade of blue intermittently interrupted by great, puffy white clouds. The seasons were just changing, summer making way for fall. There was a slight chill in the air, a light breeze that stirred the leaves and charged the air with electricity.

Neither of them noticed, however, as they strolled along, each lost in their own thoughts. Faith was pleasantly surprised by Xander's reaction to her apology, though she knew it would take more than words to convince him that he could trust her again. Though Willow hadn't reacted at all, Faith was confident with time she could convince the redheaded witch to give her a second chance. The first few months after she had awoken from her coma, Faith had been convinced that she wasn't worth saving. As hard as Kara and Callum tried to convince her that she was, she tried just as hard to push them away.

In the end, they won; a fact for which Faith was quite grateful. When she entered the Magic Box that afternoon, she knew things weren't going to be easy. With the confidence and self worth she had developed under Kara and Callum's watchful eyes, she knew she could face any obstacle. Faith smiled to herself, closing her eyes and breathing in the air. She could smell the change of seasons, a lingering musk that coated her throat with the taste of age and wisdom.

Beside her, Buffy's mind was a whirl of activity. She had been pleased with the reception Faith received from her family and friends. However, she was worried about Willow's reaction. She could tell from Tara's thoughtful glances in her direction that the blonde haired witch was worried as well. Willow rarely shut down, but this afternoon she had shown no signs of any emotion to Faith's apology, save the bitter scowl on her face when Faith first walked into the Magic Box and back into their lives.

When those thoughts died away, Buffy thought of Riley for the first time that day. Sighing, she couldn't help but feel she and Riley weren't meant to be together. She liked to think she was in love with him, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was in love with the idea of a normal life. Though Riley wasn't normal in every sense of the word, he was human at least, and seemed the most likely to give her something of a normal life.

Once Faith had stepped back into her life, however, Buffy couldn't see the attraction in a normal life anymore. Faith had always stirred deep feelings inside of Buffy, feelings Buffy had attributed to their bond as slayers for the longest time, but was starting to recognize as something more. When she was around the younger slayer, she felt alive. Their skin brushed and Buffy would feel sparks of electricity run up her spine. She didn't know if Faith felt the same, though she desperately hoped that she did. Buffy could see a sadness behind Faith's eyes that she longed to erase.

"Here we are. One of Sunnydale's finer establishments," Faith commented with a snort as they stood outside of Willy's bar. Buffy suppressed a shudder.

"Let's get this over with," she said, her face a mask of slayer concentration. Faith smiled, feeling every nerve in her body tingling with anticipation. She could feel the demons inside the bar and her slayer instincts were going wild.

Not even ten minutes later, Buffy and Faith emerged from the dank, smoky bar, out into the soft, afternoon sunlight. Wiping her hands on her jeans, Buffy grimaced and started walking in the direction of Sunnydale's one and only motel. "Well, that was easy," she said.

"Yeah. Willy squeals like a girl," Faith responded, sharing a laugh with her sister slayer.

They continued to walk in silence, their thoughts taking nearly the same path as they neared the motel. Faith had spent a better part of a year living in that motel, before the Mayor had set her up in her apartment. Many unpleasant memories were associated with the motel, including the conversation she and Buffy had shortly after she had killed Allen Finch. Faith still regretted every word of that conversation. She had deeply cared about killing Allen, though she was too afraid to admit it. If she had, things might have turned out very different for she and Buffy.

Buffy thought about that day too as they walked. In the middle of the night, when she was plagued with insomnia and her thoughts drifted back to all of the events in her life, she couldn't help but think she hadn't tried hard enough to help Faith. She blamed herself a great deal for Faith's fall into darkness. If she hadn't been so consumed with Angel and all of the petty things in her life, she would have seen the hurt and fear behind Faith's eyes. She could see it now and it ate away at her, knowing that some of that hurt was her fault.

"Home sweet home," Faith muttered as the motel loomed closer. Buffy sighed. She shouldn't have let Faith live in that motel.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said suddenly, catching Faith quite off guard. Stopping in her tracks, Faith turned and looked over at Buffy.

"For what?" She asked, honestly confused.

"For making you stay here. For not helping you when I had the chance. For being so incredibly dense that I couldn't see how much you were hurting," Buffy said, turning back to the dark haired slayer with unshed tears making her eyes sparkle in the sun. Faith was struck with how beautiful she looked in that moment.

Buffy stepped closer, her eyes falling to the brunette's stomach. "Can I?" She asked, glancing back up at Faith. Faith nodded, slowly lifting her shirt to reveal the scar she would wear for the rest of her life. Buffy stood within a breath of Faith, her hand reaching out with shaking fingers. Her fingertips landed on the warm skin of Faith's stomach and she shuddered. Tracing her fingers over the scar, a wave of guilt crashed into her. She had done this.

"It's not your fault," Faith said, sensing Buffy's mood. "I was so lost, B. You had to do this. I'd be gone now if you hadn't," she said, covering Buffy's hand with her own. Buffy looked up into Faith's chocolate eyes and was stunned by the depth of emotion she saw there. She could have sworn she had seen love in Faith's eyes. As Faith gazed back, she saw the same thing and it shocked her to the core. Quickly stepping back and recovering herself, Buffy wiped the unshed tears from her eyes and smiled over at Faith.

"So room 17, huh?" She said as they continued walking. Faith simply nodded, still too stunned from the their previous interaction to form a complete sentence. "You know, I told Giles we would handle this, but now that we're here...how are we going to handle this?" Buffy asked, suddenly realizing she had no plan.

"That's a good point. I mean, they have the guns after all," Faith pondered.

"I guess we could always just knock on the door," Buffy said lamely. Faith looked over at her and shook her head.

"Well, that wins plan of the year," she said sarcastically. "I say we kick the door in, catch 'em off guard, and tell 'em real nice like not to let the door hit them on the ass on the way outta town."

Buffy smiled. "Now that sounds like a plan." Moving toward the motel room door, they took their positions as Buffy silently counted down from five. Then, simultaneously, they slammed their feet into the door, busting it inwards. The Council members scrambled away from the flying door, covering their faces to protect from the splintering pieces of wood.

"Hello boys," Buffy said, strolling into the room with Faith in tow. "Always good to see you."

Faith quickly grabbed their guns, most of which were lying about the room. Unarmed and completely defenseless against two irate slayers, the assassins grimaced, hating their odds of surviving the confrontation unscathed. "Now that we have your attention...," Faith began.

"We'd just like to say that we don't particularly appreciate your little shows this morning. And if you try it again, I'll shove my stake so far up your ass, you'll be shitting splinters from now until the end of the world," Buffy said menacingly. "So go back to England and tell the Council we don't want to see any one even vaguely resembling a Council member in this town ever again. We will bring this fight to your doorstep," Buffy said, looking each of the frightened men squarely in the eye.

Faith stood back, watching Buffy threaten them with an amused expression on her face. She was certain the boys had been expecting these kinds of threats from Faith, not from her golden haired counterpart. "And if you think that's bad," Faith added. "Just of imagine what I'll do to you."

Buffy and Faith left the hurricane struck motel room rather pleased with themselves. With any luck, the Council would take the hint and leave them alone, though Buffy had a feeling they would be hearing from the higher ups for their little demonstration. Hopefully it wouldn't be in the form of a machine gun attack again.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," Faith declared suddenly. "Feel like ribs?"

Notes: Inspiration seemed to strike today, hence the surge of updates. Thanks for the reviews and keep 'em coming.