Animatus

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming!

Previously:

"Faith," Buffy said, her face turning seriously. "Could you close your eyes for a minute? I know that I'm acting weird," Buffy admitted. "But the only way I'm gonna have the courage to do this is if you can't see me."

"Do what?" Faith asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, which Buffy found to be completely adorable.

"This," the blonde Slayer said as she moved one step closer, placed her hands on Faith's shoulders, leaned forward on the tips of her toes, and pressed her lips into the younger girl's in a heavy kiss laced with years of desire.

Chapter Fifteen: Second Chances:

The sun was starting to set as Faith and Christy walked down the cracked sidewalk leading to the motel into which Faith had checked after the death of her mother. Her mother's body had been barely resting in its grave when Faith had packed her meager belongings and left the apartment that she had called home for the greater part of her life. Though she and her mother had never had a loving relationship, Faith could not bring herself to live in the same rooms where her mother had spent her last moments of life. Whenever she walked into the bathroom, the image of her mother lying dead on the tile floor filled her vision until she could see nothing else. She could still feel the chill of the older woman's skin as death settled upon it.

"You okay?" Christy asked quietly.

Faith nodded absently and the other girl slipped her hand into hers. "It's getting cold again," she murmured.

"I can't believe that he just left you like that," Christy said, referencing Faith's mother's last boyfriend, who had fled the apartment when Faith had found her mother's body. "What an asshole."

"He had his reasons," Faith said softly.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Christy pressed. "You've been quiet all day."

"I haven't been able to sleep," Faith replied, smiling reassuringly over at her girlfriend. "But I'm okay."

"I wish that you would come stay with me, if only for a little while. You shouldn't be by yourself," Christy grumbled good naturedly.

"I don't want to be a burden," Faith shook her head.

"You're not a burden to me, Faith," Christy insisted.

"I know that," Faith smiled lopsidedly. "But I don't think that your parents are too fond of me."

"They just don't know you," Christy replied.

"I'm not so sure that they want to know me," Faith stated.

"You know that I don't care what they think," Christy said firmly.

"I just need to figure things out," Faith insisted. "One of my mother's old boyfriends gave me his phone number and told me to call him if I ever needed anything. I've been thinking about trying to get in touch with him."

"Do you think that he'll want to see you?" Christy asked.

Faith shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "But it's worth a shot. He was a good guy. My mother was just too much for him. He wasn't a junkie like the others." Faith sighed deeply and gazed up into the sky. The sun had slipped below the horizon. She could see a star peeking out from behind the curtain of dark blue that covered the world. It twinkled absently and she suddenly felt the urge to cry. The streetlights started popping on, filling the sidewalk with an unnatural glow.

"Everything's going to be okay," Christy said softly. "You're not alone in this."

"I know," Faith smiled over at her gratefully. "I love you so much, you know that, right?" She asked.

Christy nodded, smiling happily. "I know," she replied. Pulling Faith towards her, she pressed her lips against the dark haired girl's. Faith pulled away after several long moments, gently kissing Christy's forehead before they started walking again. They continued on in silence until Faith could see the outline of the motel, in which she was living, dimly hovering before them.

"Home sweet home," she muttered sarcastically. A strange feeling crept upon her as they walked, a sense of dread filling her mind until the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. A shuffling sound from behind her caught her attention, but before she could turn, she heard a click that echoed through her mind like a deafening roar.

"Don't move," a low, male voice growled. Faith and Christy stopped in their tracks. "Put your hands in the air," the man commanded.

"What do you want?" Faith asked, knowing better than to risk a look back at their assailant.

"You got any money on you?" The man demanded.

"No," Faith answered.

"I do," Christy said. "It's just in my pocket."

"Okay," the man said. Faith could feel the looming presence of his gun just behind her head. "You," he said, tapping Faith in the back of the skull with the barrel of the gun, "step three paces to the left, get on your knees, and put your hands behind your head." Faith flinched, her heart racing wildly out of control. She detested the idea of moving away from her girlfriend's side, but when the man tapped her on the head with the gun again, she did as he had requested. The concrete of the sidewalk was rough against her knees. Placing her hands behind her head, she held her breath unconsciously, desperately hoping that the man would simply take the money and leave them alone. "Now," the man said, licking his lips, "you take your money out real slow."

"Okay," Christy nodded, reaching slowly down into her pocket. Pulling out a wad of crumpled bills, she handed them back to the man. Grabbing them eagerly, he counted the money.

"This is all you got?" He asked disappointedly.

"That's all I have," Christy confirmed. Glaring at her suspiciously, he shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said. "You got more. Hand it over."

"I don't have anything else," Christy insisted. "That's all."

"Bullshit," the man said, gesturing wildly at her with the hand in which he held his gun. "Don't fuck with me kid," he yelled. Christy felt crystals of spit stain her neck.

"She doesn't have anything," Faith said angrily. "Just leave us alone."

"Don't fuckin' tell me what to do," the man shouted. "I've go the fuckin' gun here, not you, bitch. So shut the fuck up," he said, motioning to Christy with the gun again, "and let me talk to your bitch friend here, okay?" Faith did not know whether he had intended to shoot the gun or not, but as his yelled his last word, his finger tightened on the trigger, pulling it until the gun exploded in a shot that sent a bullet hurtling through the air. The pop of the gun momentarily deafened Faith. Hitting the ground, she covered her ears. The sound died away and the smell of gun powder invaded her nostrils.

She heard the pounding of footsteps quickly running away. She turned her head to try to find Christy and her heart stopped cold. Her girlfriend was lying on her stomach on the ground, a dark pool of blood slowly creeping out from underneath her. "Christy?" She asked hesitantly, crawling over to her. "Baby?" She asked, reaching a trembling hand forward until her fingers touched the other girl's skin, which was cooling slowly. Tears welled up in Faith's eyes. She turned her girlfriend's body over, closing her eyes when she saw the dark patch of blood staining the front of her shirt. Christy's eyes were open, but they stared lifelessly into the sky, glazed and unseeing. Faith cradled the girl's in her lap, weeping silently over her body, as night fell darkly around her.

……………………………..

Darkness flooded her mind as Faith closed her eyes. She could hear shuffling outside of the door leading to the backroom, probably a soldier pacing back and forth on the first floor of the Bronze. She could feel the blonde girl standing in front of her, breathing heavily. "But the only way I'm gonna have the courage to do this is if you can't see me," she heard Buffy say. Her brows knitted in confusion as she pondered the older girl's words.

"Do what?" She asked, listening intently to the silence that followed her question. In the long moments that passed, Faith could almost see a myriad of emotions flitting through Buffy's eyes, though her own eyes were closed.

Finally, the blonde Slayer spoke, a simple word that echoed in Faith's mind uncomprehendingly until the older girl stepped forward. "This," Buffy said softly. Faith felt hands sliding up her arms until they came to rest on her shoulders. She was about to respond when Buffy's lips crashed into her own. Instantly, the burning ache of desire filled her belly with a fire that engorged her senses until she had to moan to release the pressure that was building inside of her body. The low sound emerging from the depths of Faith's being encouraged the older girl, who lightly ran her tongue along the dark haired Slayer's bottom lip.

Sliding her hands around Buffy's waist, Faith opened her mouth further, allowing Buffy access. Their tongues met and Faith felt her knees weakening. From the first moment that she had seen the older girl, she had wanted her. Despite endless flirting and insinuation, Buffy had never seemed to understand Faith's desire, or if she did, she never acknowledged it. Now, however, as Faith caressed the blonde Slayer's back with her hands, while caressing her tongue with her own, she understood that Buffy had always known how she had felt, but she had been unable to give in to her own desires. Buffy moaned deeply, heightening Faith's arousal until she forcibly extricated herself from the grip of the other girl. Stepping back, she struggled to catch her breath. She could see Buffy's green eyes glowing in the dark, shimmering with confusion.

"Did I do something wrong?" Buffy asked uncertainly.

"No," Faith shook her head instantly. "No, you didn't do anything wrong."

"So what is it?" Buffy asked, stepping closer again.

"You just did everything right, that's all," Faith murmured.

Buffy looked up at her amusedly. "I did everything right?" She asked.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted you to do that," Faith whispered huskily, her voice low with desire. Even in the dark, Buffy could see her eyes change from the deepest brown to a lustful black that seemed to glow in the light coming from underneath the door.

"Really?" Buffy asked breathlessly, stepping forward until her body was pressed against Faith's. Faith could feel the swell of her breasts lightly rubbing against her own. The friction caused her pause, made her close her eyes, and she leaned her head back against the wall, to which her back was pushed.

"Yeah," she managed to choke out. Buffy's face was only inches from her own. She could feel the other girl's warm breath tickling her skin. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know," Buffy admitted.

"You have to figure that out," Faith said, sliding passed Buffy, who looked at her disappointedly.

"I don't understand," Buffy began.

"Look, B," Faith said, turning back to her. "I've wanted you for a long time. I feel something for you. But I don't know if you feel anything for me other than regret that you broke up with your boyfriend and you have no one else hold at night."

"That's not fair," Buffy stated.

"No," Faith shook her head. "It's not fair to me. You have to figure out why you just kissed me. I hope it's because you want the same thing that I want. But if it's not, there's too much going on right now, and I'm too tired, to let you fuck around with my head, B."

Buffy smiled resignedly. "I can't give you a reason right now," she admitted. "But I can soon. Please, just give me a chance."

"You know where to find me, B," Faith said, smiling back before she slipped out of the room. Letting the door close behind her, she stood with her back to it, her eyes closed, as she breathed out deeply. She could still feel Buffy's body pressed against her own. The feel of the blonde Slayer's lips had been intoxicating. She had not felt so alive for a long time. She could sense Buffy's energy in the room behind her. It was burning brightly like the sun, threatening to consume her. She hoped that Buffy would realize her true feelings, as she had been unable to when Faith had first arrived in Sunnydale, because she knew that she could not bear another broken heart.

…………………………..

"Willow," Giles said gently, walking up to the red haired witch, who was watching Joyce, Liz, and Tara playing cards on the floor of the second level of the Bronze.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning back to face the British Watcher.

"I wanted to talk to you for a moment," Giles began.

"What about?" Willow inquired politely.

"Let's sit," he said, motioning to a table just across the room.

"Okay," Willow replied nervously. They moved over to the table, both sitting. Willow placed her hands in her lap, fidgeting anxiously.

"I wanted to speak with you about Faith," Giles said softly.

"Faith," Willow repeated, nodding.

"We all know that what she did was incredibly wrong," Giles spoke thoughtfully. "She hurt a lot of people. She killed two. She tried to help a very evil thing destroy what was good in this town."

"Where are you going with this?" Willow questioned curiously.

Giles smiled. "What I'm trying to say is that I know that she did some very bad things. But I also know that she's trying to change."

"How do you know that?" Willow asked resignedly.

"She helped Joyce and Liz when she had no reason to," Giles reasoned. "She very well could have struck out on her own and faired much better. But she stayed with them and she brought them to safety here."

"So you just want me to forget?" Willow asked.

"No," Giles shook his head forcibly. "I don't want you to forget. I want you to talk to her. I want you to try to forgive her. For all that we know, we could be stuck together for a long time. Instead of spending that time harboring grudges towards each other, we don't we try to spend it in relative tranquility."

Willow sat thoughtfully for several long moments, smiling when she saw Tara, Joyce, and Liz erupt into laughter over something. She had heard Faith crying in the backroom of the club. Initially, she had doubted the authenticity of the Slayer's tears in the backseat of the car, shortly after Anya had died, but now she knew that the sadness Faith felt over the loss of the ex-vengeance demon was legitimate. Though she still harbored some ill will towards the younger girl, as she had held a knife to her throat, Willow thought that she could start taking steps towards forgiving the former rogue Slayer. "Okay," she finally replied. "I can give her another chance."

"You can?" Giles smiled hopefully. "I'm glad to hear you say that."

"I'm not saying that it's going to be right away," Willow cautioned. "But I'm willing to try."

Giles nodded and reached across the table, gently squeezing her hand, "That's all that I ask."