Faith and Second Chances 3: Thinking Time
author: Lucinda
rating: pg/pg13
main characters: Riley, Faith
disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
distribution: TNL, Wic, Paula, Cat - anyone else ask first.
set in season 4, just after the body-switching has been reversed.
She was sitting in a jeep driving out of town with Buffy's boyfriend. There were all kinds of things wrong with the situation. Like the fact that she really didn't know much about Riley Finn beyond that he had nice arms and liked to cuddle after sex. But could she trust him? Everything was depending on that now. Well, maybe not everything in the world, but her personal future depended on this guy. They guy that she'd allowed to think that she was Buffy.
"I know this has to seem pretty strange to you." He sounded sort of quiet, and Faith wished that she knew if that was his normal sound. "But... I sort of have the idea that things got pretty crazy, and all muddled up, and what you need is some time to think, time to figure out what you want and how to get it."
She closed her eyes, feeling them prickling as a sort of unfamiliar emotion fluttered inside... relief? Her own voice was barely over a whisper, and she wasn't certain if he'd even hear her. "Thanks. Things got... intense, and then I've been out of everything for the last few months... Thinking time could be good."
"Yeah, I figured that things had been pretty busy. Umm..." He'd almost smiled, which was a good expression for him. Made him look all nice and helpful, the great guy next door that never really existed. "There's a guy I know that I figured you could stay with. Just remind him to eat occasionally, he's... well, he's sort of a science geek."
Faith had been a bit worried about this whole idea, about staying with some random guy. Far too often, guys expected 'a little something' as compensation, and she really didn't feel like that sort of thing now. But if this guy was that much of a science geek that he needed someone to remind him to eat, chances were that either he didn't have much interest, or really couldn't get much beyond stammering incoherency around females over fourteen. "Sounds better than just wandering off into the desert or whatever."
"You shouldn't have to be all alone, Faith. Buffy isn't alone, and there's no reason that you have to be." He sounded like he was trying to make her feel better.
Faith looked at him, offering a tiny smile. "Did she ever tell you about the 'stands alone' part of the whole thing?"
"It sort of came up. That was one of the parts that she's ignoring... and there was something about a handbook?" Riley sounded a bit amused. "There's a Slayer's Handbook?"
"Yeah... the thing was written about three hundred years ago by a bunch of stuffy guys who were so wrapped up in theory and wishful thinking that they had no clue about the real world." She chuckled a bit at some of the more unrealistic bits, like proper form and apropriate styles of dress for a Slayer, how 'she should always have properly modest skirts that brush the tops of her shoes'. The memory actually made her smile, remembering how she and Penny had laughed over parts of it. "My Watcher had me use the pages as a guide to reading the old way of writing and then for target practice with throwing knives and axes. She was pretty cool."
"Buffy didn't mention you having a Watcher." Riley sounded like he wasn't certain if he should pry.
"Penny was killed before I got to Sunnydale. B never met her." Faith sighed, wondering for a moment how Penny would have viewed the past two years. She probably would have been disappointed. Penny was always big on responsibility, and the whole idea of saving people, not killing them.
"Oh. So, what are you going to do now? I mean, with the rest of your life?" Riley sounded a bit embarrassed, maybe he felt guilty for reminding her of something unhappy?
Faith shrugged, looking at the little Spanish style house that he was pulling up to. "I really don't know. I figure that I should take a little time to catch up on everything I missed, and sort out everything before I start new stuff. Then maybe once I've got everything figured out… Maybe I can do something right for a change?"
"The way I see it, you helped those people at the church. That was the right thing to do. You didn't do it because someone told you to, or because there was some sort of money to gain, but… well, why did you do it?" Riley looked at her, her face saying that he was fumbling for the right words.
"Because… those guys were doing something wrong. And it wasn't for some big goal, no master plan, it was just… it was stupidity and greed, and it wasn't right at all. Grab a bunch of people, scare them half to death, and demand money… That's not even effectively evil, you know?" Now it was Faith's turn to fumble for the words. There had been such a tangle of feelings when it had happened. Outrage, that people were being held hostage in a church, that there were scared little kids… And there was this sort of scornful disdain at their little efforts of evil. She'd seen real evil, and they weren't even close. "Yeah, it's wrong, and those people were scared, but… they're just the little fish in the sea, the sort that might end up as somebody's minions. And… one of those people sort of reminded me of my aunt, back when I was little. It didn't sit right to see her looking so afraid, and since I could do something to fix it, I just did."
"That's all you can ask, really. In the end, that's what courage really is, just… doing what you think is right, even if it's not safe, or scary." Riley sighed, looking as if he had his own unhappy memories stirring. There was a rough whisper filled with anguish. "Even if the danger wears the face of a friend…"
She looked over, realizing that the guy had some depths to him. She almost wished that she could take the time to explore them. "So, courage is just going ahead with what's right, even if it gets you killed? I guess… well, thanks. I've got a lot of thinking to do, thanks for the chance for a little breathing room during."
And as she listened to Riley explain the short, short version to the guy who's house it was, Faith found herself smiling. Yeah, the guy looked like a sort of skinny guy with floppy hair and this really pale skin, but… things just might be sort of quiet for a while. Time to think, to adjust. And that was enough to ask for right now.
End Thinking Time.
author: Lucinda
rating: pg/pg13
main characters: Riley, Faith
disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
distribution: TNL, Wic, Paula, Cat - anyone else ask first.
set in season 4, just after the body-switching has been reversed.
She was sitting in a jeep driving out of town with Buffy's boyfriend. There were all kinds of things wrong with the situation. Like the fact that she really didn't know much about Riley Finn beyond that he had nice arms and liked to cuddle after sex. But could she trust him? Everything was depending on that now. Well, maybe not everything in the world, but her personal future depended on this guy. They guy that she'd allowed to think that she was Buffy.
"I know this has to seem pretty strange to you." He sounded sort of quiet, and Faith wished that she knew if that was his normal sound. "But... I sort of have the idea that things got pretty crazy, and all muddled up, and what you need is some time to think, time to figure out what you want and how to get it."
She closed her eyes, feeling them prickling as a sort of unfamiliar emotion fluttered inside... relief? Her own voice was barely over a whisper, and she wasn't certain if he'd even hear her. "Thanks. Things got... intense, and then I've been out of everything for the last few months... Thinking time could be good."
"Yeah, I figured that things had been pretty busy. Umm..." He'd almost smiled, which was a good expression for him. Made him look all nice and helpful, the great guy next door that never really existed. "There's a guy I know that I figured you could stay with. Just remind him to eat occasionally, he's... well, he's sort of a science geek."
Faith had been a bit worried about this whole idea, about staying with some random guy. Far too often, guys expected 'a little something' as compensation, and she really didn't feel like that sort of thing now. But if this guy was that much of a science geek that he needed someone to remind him to eat, chances were that either he didn't have much interest, or really couldn't get much beyond stammering incoherency around females over fourteen. "Sounds better than just wandering off into the desert or whatever."
"You shouldn't have to be all alone, Faith. Buffy isn't alone, and there's no reason that you have to be." He sounded like he was trying to make her feel better.
Faith looked at him, offering a tiny smile. "Did she ever tell you about the 'stands alone' part of the whole thing?"
"It sort of came up. That was one of the parts that she's ignoring... and there was something about a handbook?" Riley sounded a bit amused. "There's a Slayer's Handbook?"
"Yeah... the thing was written about three hundred years ago by a bunch of stuffy guys who were so wrapped up in theory and wishful thinking that they had no clue about the real world." She chuckled a bit at some of the more unrealistic bits, like proper form and apropriate styles of dress for a Slayer, how 'she should always have properly modest skirts that brush the tops of her shoes'. The memory actually made her smile, remembering how she and Penny had laughed over parts of it. "My Watcher had me use the pages as a guide to reading the old way of writing and then for target practice with throwing knives and axes. She was pretty cool."
"Buffy didn't mention you having a Watcher." Riley sounded like he wasn't certain if he should pry.
"Penny was killed before I got to Sunnydale. B never met her." Faith sighed, wondering for a moment how Penny would have viewed the past two years. She probably would have been disappointed. Penny was always big on responsibility, and the whole idea of saving people, not killing them.
"Oh. So, what are you going to do now? I mean, with the rest of your life?" Riley sounded a bit embarrassed, maybe he felt guilty for reminding her of something unhappy?
Faith shrugged, looking at the little Spanish style house that he was pulling up to. "I really don't know. I figure that I should take a little time to catch up on everything I missed, and sort out everything before I start new stuff. Then maybe once I've got everything figured out… Maybe I can do something right for a change?"
"The way I see it, you helped those people at the church. That was the right thing to do. You didn't do it because someone told you to, or because there was some sort of money to gain, but… well, why did you do it?" Riley looked at her, her face saying that he was fumbling for the right words.
"Because… those guys were doing something wrong. And it wasn't for some big goal, no master plan, it was just… it was stupidity and greed, and it wasn't right at all. Grab a bunch of people, scare them half to death, and demand money… That's not even effectively evil, you know?" Now it was Faith's turn to fumble for the words. There had been such a tangle of feelings when it had happened. Outrage, that people were being held hostage in a church, that there were scared little kids… And there was this sort of scornful disdain at their little efforts of evil. She'd seen real evil, and they weren't even close. "Yeah, it's wrong, and those people were scared, but… they're just the little fish in the sea, the sort that might end up as somebody's minions. And… one of those people sort of reminded me of my aunt, back when I was little. It didn't sit right to see her looking so afraid, and since I could do something to fix it, I just did."
"That's all you can ask, really. In the end, that's what courage really is, just… doing what you think is right, even if it's not safe, or scary." Riley sighed, looking as if he had his own unhappy memories stirring. There was a rough whisper filled with anguish. "Even if the danger wears the face of a friend…"
She looked over, realizing that the guy had some depths to him. She almost wished that she could take the time to explore them. "So, courage is just going ahead with what's right, even if it gets you killed? I guess… well, thanks. I've got a lot of thinking to do, thanks for the chance for a little breathing room during."
And as she listened to Riley explain the short, short version to the guy who's house it was, Faith found herself smiling. Yeah, the guy looked like a sort of skinny guy with floppy hair and this really pale skin, but… things just might be sort of quiet for a while. Time to think, to adjust. And that was enough to ask for right now.
End Thinking Time.