( This chapter is nowhere near what I had originally planned, so just go with it ok? Sorry to disappoint)
"So are you ready? Gosh, you look beautiful", the blonde said as she stared with mischievous intent at the wide hipped figure of her girlfriend. She smiled widely as she repeated the term over and over to herself - girlfriend. It was as wonderful a sound as she could imagine and, despite her reservations, Joyce knew that this was everything she ever wanted from life and, now it had been offered to her, she was not going to let it slip away.
"So do you", Bette replied as she took Joyce's hand and leant in for a kiss.
The last couple of days had been a torrent of admission and guilt, of desire and regret. But now, here, they had found themselves across the murky waters of denial and were ready to face their first public exposure. Together.
They pressed their lips together and felt complete, like all the trials and tribulations that had been their lives thus far were all just preperation for this moment, that their whole existence up until this point was merely a waiting game. For they had found what they had both been so desperately searching for, and they would be damned if a few raised eyebrows and petty snide remarks would taint the pure and honest love they had found with each other.
Taking Joyce's hand into her own, their fingers clasped around each others like they were made to fit. Fingers that were now glistening after the lengthy stay at Joyce's usual boutique where she had revelled and squirmed in equal measures at announcing just who was accompanying her. Her girlfriend, her daughters...and a pissed off brunette who moaned incessantly at the enforced femininity she would have to endure for the impending nuptials.
Bette started to walk down the aisle with her lover. Ignoring the stunned looks of some guests their hearts were bolstered when they saw the wide grins of Buffy's friends and that meant more to them than anything, not that they needed validation, but they still found it in the happy smiles of Willow and Xander.
Taking their seats in the front row they refused to let go of the others hand as they felt the love flow between them, though fatigue coupled them both after last night's foray into wild monkey sex which had Buffy banging on Joyce's bedroom door in the early hours. Apologies and the application of Ben-Gay were the orders of the day come morning.
"You feeling better now? Man, it ain't good to be woken up by someone upchucking like they just heard St Anger for the first time", asked Faith as she took in the replenishing complexion of Jenny.
"I'm fine, just nerves and all that. Plus, having my mother here is always a stressful encounter"
"Say that again, she keeps bitchin' at me about lookin' more ladylike. I mean what is her problem? Just 'cos I don't wear crap like this all the time she thinks it gives her a license to have a pop all the time"
"Faith, will you stop fidgeting", snapped Buffy as she watched her girlfriend once again play with the spaghetti straps of her dress.
"But it's pissin' me off, still don't see why I can't wear my leathers", she huffed back.
"Look, there's no need to throw a Wendy, and anyway, it's my wedding so you wear the dress I picked out, besides lilac looks good on you. You can wear all the leather you want when you get married", Jenny said as she pinned her veil in place.
"Cool"
"Oh no, not cool. Most definitely not of the cool, when we get married it's going to be flower girls and organs all the way...don't even think of it, Faith!"
The brunette closed her mouth but still smirked as she knew that the organ joke was already in the blonde's mind. But after a second, the message within Buffy's words revealed itself to the brunette with a startling clarity.
"When we get married? Woah, B, I ain't down for that just yet, I mean we're only seventeen and I thought we were going to have a long relationship before we even started to think about shit like that besides..."
But her rant was cut off by the laughter of Jenny and Buffy as they shared a look. Between the two of them they had come close to perfecting the art of Faith manipulation.
"Hey, no ganging up on me! Shit, I thought you, as my new Mom, would take my side"
"Of course I do Faith, but it's so easy to see you freak out over issues like that", Jenny said as, although it had been a long route to get to this point, she truly loved Faith despite her bad language and annoying habit of leaving her boots in the doorway so they would be tripped over.
"Sorry baby, I couldn't resist it. But still..you know...one day", Buffy said back.
"Yeah ONE day, not TOday", Faith responded but whenever her petite lover fired off that pout she knew she was unable to resist anything Buffy asked. Deep down she knew that the countdown to her own wedding had already started.
The blonde's heart was rattling around inside her as she drank in the sight of her irritated girlfriend. Her hair was up and, via a threat by Jenny of no more cable access, she even had a flower neatly tucked into it. Trying not to succumb to her growing desire to finally let Faith have her wicked way with her, Buffy changed subject as today was not about them.
"You know, I hear that the average American spends over $40,000 on their wedding", said Buffy as she fluffed up the voluminous dress of the nervous bride-to-be.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not an average American", replied Jenny.
"Why, because you don't weigh three hundred pounds and you actually have a job?", mocked Drusilla in her typical display of colonial baiting.
Faith burst out laughing, she admired Dru for her candidness and she knew that the English eccentric would always have her back. They were family now, sort of, or would be one day. It was all so confusing.
"Now Drusilla, this is not the time nor the place for your particular brand of humor, though I will miss it when you're gone...and when will that be again?", said Jenny even though she still believed in the old tradition of lying on your wedding day would bring you misfortune.
"Don't worry Aunt Jenny, you'll be seeing quite a lot of me for a while"
"Meaning?"
"I've been accepted to Sunnydale U, studying psychology", Drusilla replied as she picked idly at the wildflowers in the vase on the windowsill.
"Cool", Faith exclaimed,"but this isn't one of those fake out things is it, like you did when you got me to try black pudding?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"It was like plague in a tube!", crowed Faith as she tossed her camera from one hand to the next.
"Please, it's a common foodstuff back home, and a staple of my diet", scoffed Drusilla.
"Yeah, like I'm gonna believe someone that's named after a zoo? Yeah, Spike told me ya little secret"
"Girls please", snapped Jenny as she picked up her bouquet.
"Sorry", said Drusilla as she smiled at the ease with which she could toy with people.
"Yeah, sorry Mo...er, Jen", Faith adjusted quickly. Though she loved Jenny she was still nervous about telling her just how much she meant to her.
Jenny just smiled and swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, though after a day like this and all the tears it would bring, she was so happy to finally be able to officially be part of a real family. Something that Giles, Faith and Jenny had been aching for all their lives.
"Are you ready?", asked Buffy as she took a step back and watched as the almost-bride glowed before her.
"Yes sweetie, I think I am. Mom, did you take your pills?"
"Uhh?", the elderly woman drawled back with dilating pupils.
"Perfect. Let's go", said Jenny with a smile as she took her overly medicated mother by the arm and signalled for the music to start.
"You know it's not too late, you could still run outta here and jump on the first flight back to Blighty. This is definitely a brown trouser affair after all", said Spike as he watched Giles fumble with his neckwear one more time.
"No. There is no power on this earth that could make me back out of this", he said back to his best man with utter conviction.
"Come 'ere", the peroxide addict said as he reached forward to adjust his uncle's bow tie.
As Spike's hands tightened the knot they shared a small smile of familial longing.
"I just wish your father could have been here, William", said Giles softly.
"Yeah, I miss him too", replied Spike as he felt a tear build, "So, you ready for the ol' ball and chain?", he continued shaking off his moment of sadness with a grin.
"Don't call her that, at least not within earshot. But yes, yes I am"
As the music lilted through the church the assembled mass of guests stood. Some friends, some family, some here because of the most glorious coupling of words in the english language - open bar.
Joyce and Bette couldn't help the smiles tinged with tears that sprang on their faces as they squeezed hands. They watched Jenny breeze down the aisle to the traditional wedding march and not 'Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter' as Faith had recommended, and Joyce couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, one day she would be the one to glide down the aisle to meet her beloved and exchange vows before their friends and families. She shook her head as thoughts such as those should be a long, looooong way off. Shouldn't they?
Jenny stopped by the altar, a seething mass of nerves and chiffon, and just smiled as Giles lifted her veil back. He was greeted by a vision of flawless beauty that, for reasons he still couldn't quite fathom, wanted to marry him.
Buffy and Faith held hands as the couple before them exchanged their long awaited 'I do's' and the tears flowed freely. They inched closer together and shuddered when the soft skin of their arms came into contact with each other as they tried to steady their breathing. But teenage hormones and a beautful setting made it hard for them not to shred their ridiculously overpriced dresses and...well, you know. Giggidy-giggidy.
Willow stared at them a little jealous as Xander tried to cover his crotch again.
"So, I guess we should talk?", said Buffy as she stared at her mom's new girlfriend while they circled the edge of the dancefloor. The reception was in full swing and despite the blonde girl's reservations she knew she would have to confront this new woman in her life with a genuine heart to heart.
"I guess we should. Shall we?", Bette said as she gestured to the doors that opened out onto the patio garden of the grandest hotel in Sunnydale.
Joyce looked on with a certain apprehension for as much as she loved both women currently standing outside in the cool evening air, she knew there would be complications ahead. Buffy's stubborness being a major factor, but that said, Bette was no pushover.
"So, what do you think they're talkin' about?", asked Faith as she swayed in Joyce's arms to the insipid ballads the DJ seemed to have a thing for.
"I don't know, but I hope this is going to work. For all of us"
"S'ok, I think everything's kinda crazy at the moment. We just gotta let the dust settle and see what's what. After all, I'm still working on the whole being part of a family thing. I got me a relatively new dad and new stepmom, but honestly, what more could I ask for? Maybe my own TV show, riding across the country on my bike cooking at every hick town and cajun settlement"
"Stepmom? H-how do you think Buffy will react if she had one. A stepmom, that is?", Joyce asked nervously as she caught the gaze of her daughter's girlfriend.
"Really? You're that serious? Wow", the brunette said back as she stopped dancing for a moment and pulled her eyebrows back down from their lofty residence.
"I know, big wow"
"Hey, you're way too old to talk like that", Faith said with her usual cheeky smirk which earned her a light swat of the shoulder.
"Very funny, but seriously, do you think Buffy will be open to it. I know Dawn is, she's much more easy going, but Buffy can be kind of possessive when it comes to her dear old Mom. I know Buffy said she's ok with Bette and I being together, but still..."
"I think it would be kinda hard but she'll get used to it. But don't you worry Mrs S, I gotcha back, you know that right?"
"Yes, I know that Faith, and thankyou, for everything. I owe you alot, and don't call me Mrs Summers anymore. It's Joyce. No more formalities, understand?"
"Yes Ma'am", she grinned back deploying that cocky smile that Joyce loved about her. It's dimpled sweetness on that heart shaped face seemed familiar for some reason but Joyce couldn't quite put her finger on it.
As the two women danced, Faith praying that they would put on some Pennywise at some point soon, they moved around the floor just enjoying the time and the moment. By dint of past experience they knew that the good times had to be savored and held onto tightly for as long as possible for who knows just what Madame Fate had in store for them.
"Oh, hang on, be back in a bit", said the beantown girl as she spied someone enter the room and look around slightly apprehensive. Faith shot a full smile at the guest, one Cordelia Chase, who, upon feeling it's full power, fired back a wide grin of her own.
"Glad you could make it Cor", said Faith as she gave her friend a quick hug. Cordelia's dislike of Faith had thawed noticably since the headbutting of Xander, but after the incident outside Chase Manor a few weeks earlier, she had grown even fonder of the Boston girl and had fast become her best friend.
"Cordy, what are you doing here?", blustered out Xander as he tried to smooth down his unruly cowlicks.
"Forget it Harris, I'm not here because of you. It's over, and as much as it hurt me at the time ...well, I forgive you...and Willow too. I'm here because Faith asked me", said Cordelia as she twirled around her gift in her fingers anxiously looking for the recently spliced.
"Really? You forgive me? Well, ok, thanks", Xander said back as although he was still racked with guilt, at least his ex-girlfriend had been big enough to let by-gones be by-gones. It filled him with a new flavor of shame but now she had officially forgiven him he hoped it could start a new chapter of their friendship. But it was still very early days and the wounds were still healing.
"C'mon Cor, I'll show you where to put your present...and where to get a drink", Faith said as she slipped her arm through Cordelia's and lead her across the room.
"So...you really think this is going to work", whispered Cordelia.
"Trust me ok...it'll work. Now just do what I told ya and everything will be cool, so go and wait 'cos I gotta dance to finish"
"Dawn, do you want to come and dance with your Mom", said Joyce as she saw the miserable youngling in the corner. Her boyfriend had dumped her the day before and though it hadn't been serious she wanted more than anything to be able to attend a function with a date. To prove that she was no longer the dappy young girl that followed the latest MTV sponsored trends and was now on the brink of womanhood.
"I gotta go find B, make sure she isn't hitting anyone with a silver serving tray. And by anyone, I mean a certain hottie who just happens to be banging her Mom", Faith said as she broke away from Joyce.
"Faith!", said Joyce with a slight blush but before she could run after the girl, Dawn took her mother's hand and started to dance, instantly and visibly cheering.
"So Mom, you really do love her then?", said the young girl, though Joyce was astonished at how much her baby girl had grown and was now almost at eye level with her.
"Yes honey, I really do", she replied as she saw Bette and Buffy come back into the room, not bleeding nor threatening each other with pitchforks, but smiling widely. Joyce let out a deep sigh of gratitude as whatever was said between the two had settled any worries. This, for now, was more than enough for Joyce.
"Mom, when are you going to tell Grandma and Grampa? They'll be coming to town for my birthday won't they? Maybe you could tell them then, it's not that long away now is it?", said Dawn, combining her curiosity with her mother's 'coming out' and, now there was a new element to their family, hinting at the possibility of more presents than usual.
"Huh? I er...god, I haven't even thought about it. Telling them that is, not your birthday as that is all well in hand, how about we let all this settle down and then I...I guess I'll tell them", said Joyce as she felt a sudden chill erupt from within her. She was never that sure about her parents take on matters of the heart such as this, especially after the Thanksgiving when Hank and her father had that huge argument which lead to strained relations for many years.
Dawn could feel her mother stiffen in her embrace and so kissed her lovingly on the cheek.
"Don't worry Mom, we'll all be here for you...no matter what"
"Thankyou sweetheart, I love you", Joyce said through a teary eyed sheen.
"I love you too Mom", said Dawn as she pulled away from her mother as she just smiled as her extended family circled round her.
"S'up Beeps?", asked Faith in her usual bravura display as Bette and Buffy came up to them.
"Beeps?", asked Joyce as she looked at her lover who was sliding easily into her arms like she was a perfect mould for the molten desire that Bette brought out in her.
"It started off as B, but with Buffy here it got confusing so it became BP, then it somehow evolved into 'Beeps'", replied Bette with a warm grin. She felt giddy everytime one of her, she hoped, new extended family talked to her in the familial manner she had yearned for.
"I can do it with most peeps too, you wanna name Jo-Jo?", asked the brunette as Joyce rolled her eyes.
"Faith no, as I've explained to you before, your ability to come up with nicknames is not a legitimate X-Men power", chided Buffy in her usual playful way as she hugged her girlfriend from behind and desperately tried to keep her hands from wandering up and cupping Faith's 'weighted aggregates'.
"So have you totally given up LA?", asked Dawn as she could sense the love radiating from both her mother and Bette.
"Yes, well not totally, I still have my sister there. Oh Joyce, you haven't met Kit yet have you?. She's been away for a while but now she's firmly on the wagon I think it's time for you to meet", said Bette as she wondered what her girlfriend would make of her often inebriated sibling.
"I'd love to"
"Great, how about if I invite some of the girls here for a weekend, that way we can all be properly introduced", said Bette with a smile.
"I don't see why not, I like your friends. It'll be fun to have them here in good ol' Sunnydale"
"You owe me ten bucks. I knew you couldn't go an entire day without at least one Futurama referrence", said Buffy with a chirpy sneer.
"Crap it", Faith sighed but she really didn't mind the loss of cash as having her love by her side was all the treasure she would ever need.
"So anyway, you were saying?", said Xander as he wondered just how bad Faith's ADD was to fly off on a tangent mid sentence.
"Oh yeah sorry, I just think Red is an emo heiress on the brink of coronation, we just have to save her from a life of mittens and corduroy", said Faith as she clinked wine glasses with Xander, taking care that her father didn't see her partaking in the fermented grape of a fine year.
"I just hate seeing her so lonely, after the Oz thing I thought she would be happier as I know she didn't really feel for him what he felt for her", replied Xander with concern for his best friend.
"Don't worry about Red, in ten years time when she's too busy to answer our calls 'cos she chairing a UN committee or somethin' at least we can say we knew her back in the day. That we were her friends before the Nobel prize and all her doctor-y prizes for doctoring."
"You really do have a way with words you know", said Willow as she came up behind Faith, Buffy and Xander making them jump. "But..do you mean that...about...you know"
"Wouldn't say it if it weren't true baby", Faith said with her full on dimples, "You know you're a hottie and if I weren't with B, I'd be right in there with you"
"Really?", said Willow with shock.
"Really?", said Buffy equally, if not more, shocked.
"Really. Now let's go for a walk, I think we need to discuss something", Faith said as she broke away from her girlfriend's arms. Before going she gave Buffy a quick peck on the nose to save any more pouting from the blonde as Faith wanted those sweet lips in full working order later on. For she had plans.
"B..but..."
Before Willow could stammer out her protests in controlled bursts of mistimed syllables, Faith took her by the hand and dragged her out into the cool evening air.
Xander smiled and loosened his tie a little as all the mini quiches he had ingested were starting to take their toll. Even though he knew they would likely clog one or more of his orifices the next morning, he didn't really care. He was at the most important event of the social calendar and was morbidly single, every girl he even looked at seemed to be taken, gay or bear an uncanny resemblence to Idi Amin.
"Xander, you're here alone aren't you?", asked Jenny shaking him from his deluge of self pity.
"Please don't remind me", he said with a hint of regret at mistreating Cordelia and leaving him alone with only memories and a stack of Faith's old porn mags to keep him company.
"Well, I'd like you to meet my niece. Xander this is Anya", said the newly married woman with a grin as she shoved a pretty young girl towards him.
"H-hi", he squeaked out with a helium tone and wished he had his crotch covering cushion with him.
"Yeah you can cut the cake now, I think I've taken enough photos of it for my portfolio", said Faith as he stared over her creation one last time before it would find it's way into the gullets of many people she didn't know.
"It's looks amazing baby", gushed Buffy as she stood next to her love, "Did you hear back from that job?"
"Yeah, I start work next week, just the assistant sous chef at Chez Lionelle's but it's a start. And anything involving cooking will look good on my application to the CIA"
"You're really serious about this aren't you"
"Yep, me and Dad had a long talk about all this shit and..well, I think I can do it. I want to do it.", said Faith with a serious tone.
"Then I'm behind you one hundred percent, just as long as I still get my muffins"
"I'll give you all the muffin you want B"
"Was that meant to be a sex joke?"
"Meant to be, didn't really work did it?"
"No"
"Nevermind. Oh, before we go remind to ask Red about her mom's cake", Faith said as she thought of the shy redhead she had left outside with a certain somebody, she just hoped that she had done the right thing.
"Her mom's cake? Is that meant to be a sex joke?"
"No, ewwww B! It's like Passover or somethin' next week so Red asked me to do something special for her and her Mom, I just gotta ask her about allergies n' shit like that"
"Ah, that makes sense. Oh, did you ever hear back from those judges?"
"Yeah, I gotta call from them yesterday, sorry I meant to tell you but with all the crazy shit of the wedding I just forgot. But anyway, they accepted my apology, stupid fuckers gettin' all pissy at me just 'cos I...", Faith moaned as she thought of her temper enrichened spat at the cooking contest she had competed in mere weeks earlier.
"But what did they say?"
"I got another chance, there's another contest at the end of the month, up in LA. I hope it goes better than the last one"
"Well it couldn't be much worse could it? I think...well, you just need to be yourself, besides the big white chef's hat and checked pants didn't really work on you"
"Made you laugh though...for fuckin' hours", grimaced the brunette as, though she was loathe to admit it, when Buffy first saw Faith in her proper chef's whites she had laughed incessantly and teased her to the point where Faith felt genuinely hurt. She felt that the one person she thought she could always count on was mocking her for just trying to be someone.
"I said I was sorry about that"
"You still haven't made it up to me you know"
"Do you have a plan?"
"Oh yes, one with you, me and...mmmm", Faith said as she scooped up a large dollop of cream from the cake and drew it seductively into her mouth. Her glossy lips sliding along her finger with an exagerrated moan.
Buffy's eyes opened wide and made a mental note to steal as much cake as she could. She knew that her mother and Bette would be busy tonight and with Faith staying at her house for the next two weeks, in her bed too, she was ready to give that last past of herself to her girlfriend.
"Can we just stop playing the apology game. You're sorry, Xander's sorry...and so am I. We've all done some stupid things in the past and regretted them and yes, you both hurt me but it's not like I never hurt you, all those years I was so mean to you...it's just because...well...I was in denial, waaaayyy in denial. For a hell of a long time I had all these feelings and I didn't know how to deal with them, so instead of dealing I just went with the queen bitch routine. But I've been playing that role for so long...I don't know how to be anything else", said Cordelia as she nervously shuffled around from one finely pedicured foot to the other.
"Cordy, why are you teling me this?", asked Willow as, she too, felt the unforgiving grasp of trepidation. She had spent the last few minutes in a daze after Faith had lead her into the secluded end of the patio garden. Once she saw Cordelia standing in the moonlight looking radiant in a low cut peach sundress and holding a single red rose, she feared what would follow. But she wasn't expecting this.
"Let me cut to the chase, no pun intended, when we were freshmen I started to see you differently. I was so jealous of the bond you had with Xander so that's why I had to hate you and treat you like crap. I thought that if I hated you...then I wouldn't have to admit to myself that I...loved you. I think that's why I went out with Xander, so I could be close to you without being too obvious, I mean I liked Xander, but as a friend that's all, that's why I never let him get very far. But once the whole cheating thing came up, well everyone rallied around you and Xander and I was just left with nothing...and no-one. Only Faith. I know it must sound stupid but she really is the only real friend I actually have anymore"
"She's my friend too Cordy...wait... did you say you love me?", said Willow as her fingers tightened around the stem of the rose that sat in her sweaty palm.
"Yes. And I do. I know after everything that's gone down between us, I've probably screwed up any chance I ever had with you but Faith and I have been talking...a lot. And she made me realise that if I was ever going to be happy I needed to drop the bitch act and start being...me. The real me. The one I never let any of you see, except for Faith that is. When I see her and Buffy together, well I want some of that...not like that of course, I mean how close and loving they are"
"It's almost sickening how in love they are isn't it?"
"God yeah. But I'm so damn tired of failure dates and horny idiots pawing over me in the backseat of their father's car. It's what was expected of me, not who I really am.", said Cordelia as she took a deep breath and stared into Willow's eyes through a misty glare, "I am Cordelia Chase, I am gay...and I'm in love with you Willow Rosenberg"
Cordelia breathed the biggest sigh of relief as she had finally had the courage to admit just who she really was. And admitted it to the one she had always wanted to. She bit her lip as Willow just opened and closed her mouth as a blush infused her soft skin.
"I..I...I..", the redhead babbled as Cordelia's shoulders slumped and her heart felt a sudden and painful kick. Her fear of rejection was something that had crippled her for a long time, hence her faux nonchalance when it came to emotional matters.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I should go", Cordelia blustered out as she grabbed her clutch purse and the first stray tear slid down her cheek.
"Wait", said Willow as she caught the brunette's arm as she tried to barge past her. Even thought the redhead's mind was on the verge of capsizing she knew that this was the moment she had been craving for.
"Cordelia, I know how you feel. You hurt me so much in school when you were so mean to me when all I wanted to be was your friend...well, more than a friend actually", she said as her hands began to tremble as she swept the rogue tear off Cordelia's cheek. But seeing as Cordelia had just bared her heart then so could she, and be damned with the consequences. It was fortunate that her resolve had been bolstered by the alcohol that Faith had been encouraging her to drink.
"Wait...do you...are you...", said Cordelia as she tried to figure out just what she meant. Before her brain could decipher the redhead's words, Willow took a deep breath and crashed her wine stained lips into Cordelia's. The entire world faded away until all that was left was this one perfect kiss.
"I think I can see why Xander wanted to kiss you.", said Cordelia as they broke for air.
"But what about this?"
"So far...I'd say it's going pretty well", replied the brunette as she stroked her delicate fingertips across the redhead's cheek.
"How is it going to go, for us I mean? I don't want to be some dirty secret of a sad girl who's just trying to get some", said Willow in all seriousness.
"No, I don't want that with you. I want to do this right...from the start, I don't want anything to hold us back. As for the others? They'll deal, but er, so, er, do you think you might...I dunno..want to get some...coffee or something sometime", Cordelia said as her nerves commandeered her emotions once more.
"I think I would", said Willow softly as her eyes glistened with an excitement she hadn't felt since the chemistry lab at school got new microscopes. Seeing the real Cordelia Chase for the first time in her life was a shock to her but now the brunette had finally shown her true colors, Willow was more than intrigued as to where this would lead.
"Cool", said Cordelia and, in the half light of the furthest end of the patio garden where no-one could see, pressed her lips once more to Willow's. Their soft flesh rippled with the desire and longing that had plagued them for many a sleepless night. But now, as their tongues slipped out, they felt more alive than they had ever felt and gave no thought to just what the future might bring.
"I catch ya later then", Faith said as she bounded up to her father for a goodbye hug. Due to her pumps biting at her toes it was more of a controlled stagger than a bound really.
"I'll call you when we arrive, ok", Giles said as he hugged his daughter lovingly, smirking as he watched Spike slyly removing the silverware from the purse of his light fingered fiance.
"Fair enough, but I got a surprise for ya", she said with a smirk.
"Oh god, it's not another piercing is it?", he sighed after he had overheard an earlier conversation that involved a sharp needle and an intimate area.
"No, well not yet anyway, and not one I'm gonna show you. It's just I know if it was up to you, you would whisk Jen away for ya honeymoon on a magnificent steed...or a penny farthing or something."
"Well I wasn't thinking of being that dramatic"
"Whatever, 'cos you ain't going anywhere in that shitheap that you call a car", scoffed Faith as Jenny came out to join them by the grand entrance of the hotel.
"What do you mean?", Giles asked.
"It's so gay. I mean, you having sex with another man would be less gay than driving that", his daughter scoffed as she pulled off her shoes and made a resolution not to wear heels ever again. Or not until Buffy pouted at her until she did.
"But what do you suggest we use?", added Jenny whose face was aching from smiling for the last eight hours.
"I got Beeps to lend you her BMW. It's a sweet fuckin' ride, besides, you ain't goin' anywhere are ya?", Faith said as she turned to the striking woman behind her.
"No, Faith", Bette said as she held Joyce's hand even tighter and looked deep into her lover's eyes, "I'm not going anywhere"
"See, now get going", said Faith as she hugged Jenny one last time and bundled them into the car.
The assembled guests gave a drunken cheer as the happy couple drove off into the night. The dull haze of streetlights taking the lisp from the stars that had come out to honor the love that swarmed beneath their glassy gaze.
"No, don't turn on the light!", Buffy said as Faith opened the bedroom door, "Did you break something?"
"Oh the crashing sound in the kitchen? Weren't me babe, I think ya Mom and Beeps are doin' the nasty"
"Again? Jeez, they're like rabbits", the blonde sighed.
"Did ya get some cake?", asked Faith as she stood by the now closed door with her fingers dancing on the switch.
"Oh yeah...you can turn on the lights now", Buffy purred.
Faith flicked on the switch and her mouth fell open. Buffy was lying on her bed naked, a piece of cake cut into the shape of a heart resting on her taut stomach with a blob of cream topped off with a cherry on each nipple.
"I couldn't find a plate", Buffy shrugged, "I thought you might prefer a platter like this"
Faith's bridesmaids dress was instantly torn in two and the matching underwear she was forced to wear soon found itself on the nightstand.
"Roxie"
"Yeah, Velma", replied Buffy using the nicknames they had taken for each other after watching Chicago a few days earlier. Though Faith had assumed a women in prison flick would involve more handcuffs and shower scenes.
"I love you"
"I love you too"
"Good thing I ain't diabetic", thought the brunette as she launched herself onto her girlfriend. For more than one reason, they would have to change the sheets in the morning.
"What is it honey? You've been a little quieter than usual all night, I noticed you weren't drinking either" said Giles before swearing as he veered back on the correct side of the road.
"It's nothing, it's just today's been amazing and I didn't want any alcohol to fuzz my memories of it, I wanted to remember every little detail... I really love you, sweetie", Jenny said as she slid her hand over his and gripped his fingers tightly.
"I love you too...so damn much"
They spent the next few minutes in silence as Jenny finally gave up trying to get the temperamental cd player to work. She knew that this was finally the time and as much as she didn't want to tarnish their special day, she realised that she had to tell him now.
"Just one thing I've been meaning to tell you Rupey", Jenny started as they turned on to the freeway .
"What's that my love?"
"I'm pregnant"
THE END
(Woah, check it out, I actually finished a fic, bugger me! I know this last chapter has raised many questions but fear not my faithful followers, yes all four of you, though this fic is finished think of it more as an end to act one. There will be sequels such as the cleverly titled 'Plus Two' where much more is explained. And lots more B&F antics and L Word fun! But a huge thankyou for reading, should help me through the barren months of piss poor writing. See y'all after the World Cup)