In a house just a few streets away from the Summers home, Dawn was relaxing and chatting excitedly with her best friend, Janice. The two were sitting in Janice's bedroom, chatting about the usual things teenage girls like to talk about when they're alone and there are no grown-ups around to cramp their style.
"So, your sister's gay?" Janice asked, "That must be interesting for you. First her friends Willow and Tara are gay and now she's got a girlfriend. What's it like living in a house with gay women coming and going?"
"It's not that big a deal," Dawn replied truthfully, "I've always kind of known that Buffy liked girls over guys. You should see how excited she gets whenever we watch Cruel Intentions at the kissing scene in the park. I've asked her about it, and she's always hotly denied being turned on by that scene, but it's pretty obvious she likes it. She and Faith have always had a thing between them as well; you should've seen how upset Buffy got when Faith had joined forces with the big bad Mayor. It was like she was betrayed or something."
"Sounds pretty heavy," Janice replied thoughtfully, "and then Faith almost got herself killed to save your sister. If love's that crazy between two girls, then I'm very thankful that I'm only into guys. Want some pretzels?" Dawn shook her head, not feeling particularly hungry at that point. She'd never really given much thought to how much Faith and Buffy were in love with each other. It was overwhelming, after all the hurt her sister had suffered at the hands of Angel, Riley and Spike, to see her so content in the arms of another female. She felt truly happy for Buffy finding that kind of happiness. The girls continued chatting and watching DVDs until Janice's mum came up into the room.
"Janice, just to let you know that Kennedy's came to stay for a few days," she said, "I was thinking she could share your room until she gets herself sorted."
"That's fine, mum," Janice replied, "tell her to come up and she can join me and Dawn." Janice's mum smiled and disappeared downstairs. Dawn looked at Janice in a curious way.
"Who's Kennedy?" she asked, "you've never mentioned her to me before." Janice shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her best friend's eye.
"Kennedy's my older cousin from Cleveland," she replied, still avoiding eye contact with Dawn, "she's had a privileged life. That branch of our family is wealthy and live in a very grand house. They think they're better than everyone else, generally not very nice people to be around. Kennedy's the exception, although we've not seen each other in a while. Her parents and sister really don't like Kennedy cos she doesn't see herself as better than anyone. She's confident and bold, but also very sweet and sensitive. There's also something else you should know about Kennedy."
"What's that?" Dawn asked, unsure as to why her best friend would be so uncomfortable when talking about a cousin she seemed really fond of.
"Kennedy's gay," Janice replied, "she's never really had a steady girlfriend as well. Any girl that Kennedy got close to has treated her like crap and dumped her once they had their fun with her." Dawn nodded in an understanding way.
"Being gay's no big deal," she told her best friend confidently, "look at my family situation. The main people in my life that count are all gay, except for a couple. I can't wait to meet Kennedy; she sounds like a fun girl." As Dawn finished talking, there was a tentative knock on the door. Janice opened the bedroom door and moved out of the way for what Dawn could only describe as the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Long hair that just stopped around the level her chest was, eyes that were so dark that there seemed to be no pupils in them and skin that was the most amazing shade of brown. The girl's eyes gave away the insecurity she was feeling and her nervousness at being in new company.
"Dawn, this is my cousin, Kennedy," Janice introduced them, "Kennedy, this is my best friend, Dawn. She's staying over tonight, is that cool with you?" Kennedy walked a few steps over to Dawn and put her hand out to shake hands. The younger Summers girl put her hand out and shook hands with the stunning girl in front of her. She could tell that Kennedy was a little bit smaller than her in height and she couldn't believe the heat she felt when she shook hands with the quiet girl.
"That's ok by me, Janice," Kennedy replied, never taking her eyes off Dawn, "is it ok if I stick my stuff in your wardrobe just now?" Dawn noticed for the first time the bag on Kennedy's shoulder. It hit her that this was all that was left of the other girl's possessions. Janice took the bag from her cousin and put it inside her wardrobe. Dawn didn't let go of Kennedy's hand right away, but gently ran her thumb along the knuckles of it. Kennedy's eyes went even darker than they were already and this sight took Dawn's breath away. Janice, unaware of what was happening, walked between the girls.
"Right, let's get this party started," she said, sticking in a DVD, "I vote we watch Bring It On. You guys ok with that?" Kennedy and Dawn didn't say anything, just sat down together behind the other girl. Janice took this as no protest with her choice of film and started it playing. Only one thought was going through Dawn's mind. 'This is gonna be an interesting evening'.
In the Summers house, Faith and Buffy said their goodbyes to Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya. Dawn had left sometime earlier in the evening to go to Janice's house, leaving the adults to have some fun of their own. This had resulted in Buffy getting out the booze that was in the house. After a couple of hours, this had begun to take its toll on everyone. Anya had begun saying in a loud voice that she wanted sex from Xander very much; Willow and Tara were giving each other touches that were becoming less innocent as the time passed and Buffy herself was feeling light-headed. Faith was the only one who appeared to be unaffected by the alcohol in her system and she took Willow to one side to apologise for her behaviour earlier that day.
"It's alright, Faithy," Willow slurred slightly, "all water under the bridge. Just make sure you take good care of Buffy." Faith was becoming slightly uncomfortable as Willow began talking about how she felt about Buffy. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long before Tara came over and led Willow towards the front door. Xander and Anya followed, both couples saying goodbye to the slayers as they left the house. As the front door closed fully, Buffy walked over to Faith and wrapped her arms loosely around the brunette's waist. Faith responded by resting her head on Buffy's shoulder and nuzzling the base of her neck.
"We're all alone now, B," Faith whispered softly, placing small kisses on the blonde's exposed shoulder, "what do you want to do? Go patrolling, watch TV, catch some dinner or snuggle?" Buffy's eyes shot open at Faith's use of the word snuggle. It was rather unlike the dark slayer to use vocabulary that was so near romantic and sweet it should be packaged for Valentine's Day. The blonde looked into her girlfriend's eyes, which were dark and shining with love.
"We can snuggle, Faith, if that's what you want," she replied softly, "whatever you want, I'll do my best to give to you." The brunette responded to these heartfelt words with a searing kiss. The passion that the slayers were holding back was inevitably threatening to break loose. Buffy had never felt such love and desire before in her life for anyone. The love she had felt for Angel had been immense in its measure, but it hadn't felt right for some reason. Riley was a sweet and caring guy to her, but Buffy couldn't bring herself to love him or let go of her emotions fully with him. At the back of her mind, she knew it was because he wasn't Faith. From the first time she had met Faith, Buffy had been irresistibly drawn to her. That night when they had went dirty dancing in The Bronze after patrolling, the girls had come so close to doing something altogether different from dancing.
'The heat in the club was overwhelming; the two girls couldn't help but grind against each other as the heat began to wind them up even further. Faith took one of Buffy's hands in her own and pulled the blonde closer to her. Their bodies ended up flush against one another. The slayers ended up breathing into each others' ears, spurring one another into even higher levels of sexual frustration. Buffy pulled herself back a bit from Faith and locked gazes with her dancing partner. The look of hot molten lust that she saw in the brunette's eyes shook her deep inside, as she felt the same way. They continued dancing in a very sultry fashion, hands wandering over one another's' bodies, almost coming together to kiss when a crash from outside drew their attention and brought the girls out of their trance-like state. The horny slayers decided to let their hormones rest for now, knowing that killing vampires was a more pressing matter to deal with.'
Faith and Buffy were now at the door leading to Buffy's bedroom, still kissing passionately. The two of them backed up until Buffy's legs hit the bottom of the bed and she fell backwards onto it. Faith landed on top of her and the girls were jolted out of their haze and realised where they had ended up and in what kind of position. Buffy gently stroked Faith's cheek, noting the shy and timid look in the dark slayer's eyes.
"Faith, we don't have to do anything you're not ready for," she whispered softly, "we have all the time in the world before we take our relationship to the next level." Faith blushed deeply and took a deep and shuddery breath,
"Buffy, I really want to make love to you," she replied nervously, "I just want to do it in a way that you'll remember it for all the right reasons. I know you've been treated like a sex toy recently in that department and that's something I can sadly relate to, but know that I will never make you feel that way." Faith was silenced by her beautiful girlfriend's lips once again fixed on hers, this time her tongue demanding entrance to Faith's mouth. The kiss was gentle, deep and loving but also hinted at how much the blonde wanted to feel the brunette's touch so much.
"It will be remembered for the right reasons, Faith," Buffy replied breathlessly, "because it's you. I've spent so long dreaming of making love with you, even when we were enemies and against one another. I know how badly you were treated in the past and I want to make it up to you starting now, if you'll let me." Faith could only nod wordlessly, feeling totally speechless after seeing the hunger in Buffy's eyes. The brunette laid her full body out on top of the blonde's, never taking her eyes away from Buffy's. Faith then gently stroked her hand down her lover's face, delicately tracing every little crevice and detail, determined to memorise it for the rest of her life. Then their lips came together in an embrace that started out slow and tender, full of the sweetest love, but then it took on a more urgent need. Neither girl had ever felt this way with anyone when being this intimate. At the back of their minds, they knew it was because they had never felt completely whole with someone. This was the love that many people had written songs about, that countless films had been made of and many a love story had been written describing. It was a love with no colour, no gender and there was simply no name for. Both slayers cried tears of sheer joy and were emotionally overwhelmed as they felt the other girl's love for them pass through their connection to each other.
Faith continued to take her time, gently caressing every inch of Buffy's body as her hand slowly made its way south. She had the other arm wrapped around the blonde slayer's shoulders, wanting Buffy to know that she was always there with her and she wouldn't lose their connection. With one hand, Faith managed to undo the halter neck around Buffy's neck and was now stroking her breasts gently. The look of sheer joy and the small sigh of rapture that came from her girlfriend's lips told the dark slayer that she was doing everything right. The girls knew that there was no hurry to their lovemaking, but they also couldn't help but feel that they had been too long denied such sheer pleasure. It was hard to take their time with such an intense experience when they both felt the urge to claim one another, over and over again, making them each others for all eternity. When the time came for Faith to enter Buffy with one finger, the blonde's hips leapt so high off the bed that the brunette could almost have sworn they were headed for the ceiling. Her lips never left Buffy's for one second during this experience, as the blonde felt her orgasm build and get closer and closer. When she went over the edge and felt sheer bliss flood her body, Buffy was followed not long after by her dark-haired lover. The sight of her beloved in orgasmic happiness was enough to send Faith into that same heaven.
"I love you, F," Buffy whispered hoarsely, exhausted by the love making.
"I love you too, B," Faith replied, equally exhausted. Both girls then curled up in each others' arms and went to sleep, happier than they could ever have thought possible.
Across Sunnydale in the dorms of U.C.Sunnydale, Willow and Tara were having a slow dance in the moonlight. There was no music playing, the air was still and full of tranquillity which was rare for Sunnydale. However, for the two witches this was nothing new. It had always been the case whenever they were alone, simply revelling in the comfort that the other girl brought. In this heaven, nothing bad could touch them and the worries of their lives were left firmly at the door. Willow had believed this, Tara had shown her nothing but complete happiness and contentment, but she was having a hard time believing it now. Ever since the day Tara had been shot, Willow often wondered if things would ever be like that again, whether her relationship with Tara could ever be that pure and untainted once more. She felt that she didn't deserve anything good or that amazing in her life ever again after what she had done and almost did. Now, as they danced beneath the moonlight, the redhead didn't realise she was crying until Tara pulled back slightly and wiped away the tears flowing softly down her cheeks. This was followed up with a kiss, one that wasn't full of passion nor was it soft and gentle. It was a sign of devotion and healing.
"T-Tara, I love you so much," she whispered sadly, "do you think things w-will ever be like they were before between us?" Tara gently rubbed her cheek against Willow's and placed a soft kiss on the ear sitting on that side. She felt the shudder from Willow's body and heard the soft moan escape the redhead's lips.
"Willow, I thought it was me that did the stuttering and you did the babbling," Tara quipped, letting her crooked smile out, "I've already told you, my darling that I understand why you did what you did. I'm still alive, baby, and I don't want to spend my life with anyone else. Together, we can only grow stronger and yes, we can return to our personal garden of Eden. Starting with tonight." Tara followed her heartfelt speech up with a searing kiss that was full of passion. Willow was overwhelmed by how much love and devotion her blonde goddess was showing her. Their love was a beautiful and unique blessing, which brought them together and healed the souls of both women when they thought they could never be happy. It was a fire which burned brightly every night and was a torch of inspiration to their family and friends that someday they too could be that happy. They kept exchanging sweet, powerful kisses as they lay down on the bed together, their lips never leaving each others' for a second. For the first time in their relationship, the lovers entered each other at the same time, moving against one another in perfect synchronicity. This was a moment of rebirth, of complete healing and also of getting back down to a basic level. Tara was forever faithful and devoted to Willow and nothing could ever change that. It had long been established since their first meeting when the Sunnydale residents had all been rendered mute. The first incident of them holding hands, a powerful bond had been forged which was unbreakable. Now, as they both came at the same time, they looked deeply into each other's eyes. The love which they felt for one another was reflected back at them there, it was all they would ever need.
"I love you, my Tara," Willow whispered sleepily. Tara curled up beside her and placed a tender kiss on her cheek before wrapping her arms around Willow.
"I love you too, my Willowtree," she responded softly, before drifting off to sleep with her life partner.