AN – Fusion Pink and Russian Red are both lipstick colours from the MAC collection. In case you were wondering.
Sooo...epilogue! After almost two years, we're finally at the epilogue! So much has happened since I started this story – falling pregnant, moving house (twice), giving birth amongst it all – and this story has been there the whole way through (the way I'm talking would make you think this story is a real live person). I'm so, so sad to say goodbye to it after all this time, but I'm really looking forwards to working on other stuff. Thank you so much to every one who has read and reviewed, the support I've received has meant all the world to me. And an extra special thank you to the wonderful sarbear, who created some beautiful images which really inspired me to continue writing.
Sooo...epilogue!
Epilogue
4 YEARS LATER
Faith sat in front of the vanity mirror in Buffy and Dean's bedroom and glanced down at the tube of lipstick in her hand. She turned her up her lip and placed it down. "It's pink," she pointed out.
"Actually, it's Fusion Pink."
"I'm not wearing it."
Buffy stopped folding clothes on her bed to cross her arms and glare. "Why not?"
"Because I'm not a freakin' barbie doll like you."
"Fine." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Go for the Russian Red. It matches your dress anyway."
Faith did as she was told and blew a kiss towards her reflection before standing up. "Look, about the dress-"
"You look totally hot in it. No, you look beautiful."
"I don't think it's really me."
"It's tight and it's red. It's definitely you."
"But it's a dress." She tugged at the materiel self-consciously. "Do you really think he'll like it?"
Buffy pressed her lips together tightly to repress a smile. Nervous Faith was surprisingly cute. "He's gonna love it. I bet he even stammers."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. And there'll definitely be blushing."
Faith smiled and wrung her hands. "This is so dumb. I don't even know why I'm acting like this. It's just a stupid date."
"It's a first date. Everyone gets a little panicky on their first dates. It's a given."
"Did you get nervous on your first date with Dean?"
Buffy cocked her head to the side and thought about it for a moment. "Well, by the time we went on our first, official date, we'd already had sex like a billion times, and I'd gone all evil and tried to kill him and his family. So no, not really. Also, he took me to a burger bar. Actually, that's when he asked me to marry him, so yeah, I guess I got nervous."
"Okay, totally not the same thing."
Dean walked in to the room, halting any further conversation. He was carrying a giggling two year old boy over one of his shoulders. "Hey," he greeted. "I found a little monster for Mommy to slay."
"No monster!" the boy squealed between peals of laughter. "No monster!"
Dean chuckled, and threw himself and the boy onto the bed.
Buffy scowled as the pile of clothes she had folded earlier toppled off of the bed and tumbled to the floor. "Honey," she said. "tell Faith she looks beautiful."
"You look beautiful, Faith," Dean obliged, fully sincere.
"What do you think, Alex?" Faith asked the boy sitting on Dean's lap. She twirled around and held out her arms.
"Booful," Alex confirmed seriously.
"Okay, champ, time to say nighty night to Mommy and Aunt Faith," Dean told him.
Alex reached his arms out to Buffy, and she swung him up into her arms and peppered his face with kisses. "Goodnight, baby."
"Night night, Momma."
Faith took him from Buffy and lifted him into the air, before bringing him back down for a kiss.
"Hey kid, don't go messing Aunt Faith up when she worked so hard to look all pretty," Dean warned him teasingly.
"'Kay, Papa." Alex nuzzled into Faith's hair, tiredly.
Dean growled. "What did we say about calling me papa?"
"Don't renember."
"We said that it makes me sound old. Dad is much more cool." He turned to Buffy and narrowed his eyes. "You've been telling him to call me papa again, haven't you?"
She said nothing in reply, but sent him a devilish smirk.
He stood and stalked over to where she was standing and grabbed her by the waist. "I'll make sure you pay for that later," he promised into her ear in a low voice, before leaning down to kiss her.
Faith rolled her eyes. "That's just gross." She looked down at Alex, still in her arms. "Ain't it?"
"Yucky," he agreed.
"Damn straight, little dude."
Dean and Buffy pulled apart, smiling. "Okay, it's time little monsters were in bed."
The doorbell rang just as Dean was walking down the stairs in the house he and Buffy owned after putting Alex to bed.
He pulled the door open, and smirked widely. "Well, aren't you just a handsome devil."
Sam looked down at his posh suit and shrugged bashfully. "Is it okay?"
"Yeah, I'm not gonna talk fashion with you."
"Jerk." Sam shuffled into the house, looking awkward. "Is uh...Is Faith ready yet?"
Dean slapped him on the back and guffawed. "Aw, you're just as nervous as she is. Lame."
It had taken Sam and Faith some time to finally get their acts together.
With Azazel finally dead, Sam finally had the closure he needed to take a step back and really come to terms with Jess' death. He'd finally been able to mourn properly.
And Faith had asked Willow to look up Noah's location. She'd gone to him, and been with him when he died. It had taken her a long time to get past his death.
And now here they were, finally at a place where Sam could ask her out. No guilt, no regrets.
A noise at the top of the stairs caused both men to look up. Sam's mouth opened and closed as he watched Faith walk down, and he barely even noticed Buffy following behind her. He stepped forwards. "You look...you look pretty. Uh...beautiful, I mean."
She looked down at the ground. "Thanks."
Buffy and Dean exchanged amused glances, and Dean mouthed 'Awkward'. Buffy had to stifle a laugh.
"We should go," Sam suggested, after a moment of avoiding looking at each other.
Faith nodded and turned to Dean and Buffy. "See you guys."
After the door had closed firmly behind them, Sam and Faith ambled down the garden pathway, at least a foot in between them. Both tried to act cool and casual, but failed. Miserably.
When they reached the garden gate, Faith stopped walking and sighed. "This is awkward, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Too awkward?"
"A bit."
"I don't know why. I'm sorry."
"I guess maybe because we've known each other for such a long time. Maybe it's a sign that we should just leave things the way they are."
"Maybe." Sam pondered this for a moment. And then he swooped down and kissed her. "Or maybe we should just stop being awkward idiots and go on our date."
Kissage. Now that was something Faith was comfortable with. She grabbed him by the butt and pulled him closer. "I like the way you think, big guy."
Dean stopped peering through the peeping hole in the front door and turned to Buffy. "They've gone," he informed her. "Finally."
She grinned and walked into the kitchen. "Don't be grumpy," she threw over her shoulder at him. "I think they're cute."
"I think you're cute," he told her charmingly, coming up behind her and trapping her in his arms. He nuzzled at her neck and his hand crept under her shirt. "Let's do naughty stuff up against the kitchen counter."
She spun around in his hold and rubbed her hands over his shoulders. "Your dad will be here in ten minutes."
"Baby, I could get you off at least twice in that amount of time."
"It was promises like that which led to Alex."
He walked her back until her butt hit the counter. "I bet I could convince you."
"Dean-"
He cut her off with a kiss, and smirked when she responded just as eagerly as she always did. When she deepened the kiss, he moaned happily into her mouth and lifted her up onto the counter.
It was just as he was gripping her thighs to wrap her legs around his waist when the doorbell rang for the second time that evening. He cursed, and reluctantly let her down.
Trying to straighten out the hair that had been thoroughly messed up by Dean's eager fingers, Buffy moved to answer the door.
"Hey," John said sheepishly, as he entered the house. "Sorry I'm early. I wanted to get here before Alex fell asleep."
Dean came in from the kitchen to greet his father. "He's upstairs in bed, but he's still awake. He wouldn't go to sleep until Grandpoppy came to tuck him in."
John chuckled. "Well then I guess duty calls..." He headed over towards the stairs.
"Thanks for babysitting tonight," Buffy called as she picked up the bag of weapons she had left by the front door earlier.
"Happy to do it," he replied, already half way up the stairs. "Just make sure you get that demon before it rips out the intestines of any more young girls."
Dean and Buffy looked down at the dead intestine eating demon, matching pouts on their faces.
"Well, that was easy," Dean observed.
Buffy pulled out the axe wedged into the demon's head. "Too easy. I wanted to fight more. Stupid demon."
"So what do we do now?"
They glanced at each other and smirked.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck, fuck, fuck! Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuck!"
Dean came straight after Buffy and then collapsed, still half on top of her. He panted, working hard to get his breath back. "Sweet merciful Jesus, woman."
She sighed contentedly and smirked over at him. "See? I told you getting a motel room was a good idea. There was no way we could have done that in the park."
"We totally could have. It just would have been messy."
"And we probably would have gotten ourselves arrested."
She giggled, and Dean looked over at her and smiled. "I love you. So freakin' much."
"I love you, too. Always."
"You and me, baby, we got a real kind of something." He grinned, and pulled her on top of him. "I think it's about time we started on baby Winchester number two. Don't you?"
