CHAPTER THREE

Pulling into Wolfram & Hart was a mind fuck and a half.

It ain't like Faith didn't know Angel was now working for them – that news traveled fast. More like it didn't actually sink in until she saw him come down the stairs from his office to greet them, big boss on campus, while the whole gang stood in the middle of… hell. Really. Last time she was here she was being contracted to kill him, and now he runs the joint. Though by the looks of it, he's still trying to get used to it himself.

Buffy was all kinds of awkward when she woke up and realized she had been sleeping on Faith, but Faith just brushed it off and let it go. She didn't want to talk extensively about it, or at all. It happened and it's not like it fuckin' meant anything. Not to Buffy. But it was… alright, it was hell. But it was the nice kind of hell. The one that makes you feel good until you realize it's some twisted torture technique. There's gotta be a dimension of hell like that. She had to hand it to the Powers That Be and their sense of humor.

"Buffy," Angel says, coming down to meet them. He looks like he's about to ask her how she's been, but that'd be a stupid question. He just looks at all the beaten troops behind her and says, "Our medical center can have a look at all of you before you turn in for the night. It's—where is it?" Angel asks, looking to the green demon, Lorne, to his right. Yup, he still ain't used to this place.

"Two floors down, near the Restoration room," Lorne replies. "Don't worry, Angel-cakes, I'll take care of this." He turns to the group, putting his hands up and motioning for them to follow him, "Anyone who needs fixing up, follow me please. I'll give you the grand tour on the way."

Most everyone followed Lorne as he took them away, but Faith stayed behind with Buffy. She was good. Sore as all hell and back again, but alive. Functioning. She smirks a bit though at Angel, "Angel-cakes? Cute pet name."

"Faith… nice to see you didn't die," Angel responds. It's dry, but Faith can tell he means it by the small smile.

"You know me. Surviving."

"You have… rooms, here?" Buffy asks, looking around the building in either awe or fear. Faith couldn't tell. Nor could she blame her. "For all of us?"

"Yeah, didn't find that out until yesterday," Angel says, that confused look back on his face. He scratches the back of his neck. "This place is—you know, they have a room that when you go in it the doors change so you can't find your way back? Was lost in there for about an hour. Still have no idea what it's for." He shakes his head, but continues, "Yeah, we have a couple. Looking at the size of your group I'd say we have enough, but some might have to share. I think they were for hiding out clients; there was a ton of mystical barriers around them. Fred only finally found the blip on her radar and decided to check it out. Fully furnished. Nothing real fancy but, you know, it's a bed."

Buffy nods, stifling a yawn. "Sorry," she apologizes. "I'm just worn out. Long day. Hell of a long day."

"Well let me show you where they are," Angel responds, turning to walk up the stairs. They all followed, one by one, each and every one of them still wary of the place, but once they got into bed? Nothing else mattered but sleeping.

Faith did end up getting her own room. Some of the potentials—no, slayers now—shared, and Willow and Kennedy shared, of course. Man, Faith didn't know how good sleeping could feel until that night. She was out like a light and slept like a fuckin' brick and waking up in the morning actually felt good. She's woken up to impending doom for so long that for just a moment to wake up to something somewhat normal was refreshing and desperately needed.

There was a knock on her door after she climbed out of bed. She yawned, rubbing her eyes a bit with the back of her hands. Shit, no. She shouldn't have jinxed it. It's too early for doom.

When she opened it, Buffy seemed to have lost her train of thought completely. She blinks for a minute, her eyes sweeping over her form. "Faith, I believe you have heard the phrase 'leave some to the imagination,' right? Well right now, I think that would be appropriate."

Faith looks down at herself, confused for a minute. Oh. Jeez, what a prude. She did have clothes on. Underwear and bra definitely constituted clothes, especially in her book. She looks back up at her, an eyebrow cocked, "Is there some imagining going on now that I don't know about?"

Faith couldn't be sure, but she thinks Buffy just flushed a little. But she's pushed out of the way as Buffy invites herself into her room, and Buffy doesn't give her a chance to figure out if what she saw was real or a figment of her imagination. Faith just blinks in her half awake state and closes the door behind her. "That's so not what I meant," Buffy replies, firm.

But Faith can't help but notice how she didn't deny it either. God, she must really be half asleep for her to even think that—no. Yeah, she's just tired. But it still lets the predator in her come out to play for a bit. She leans against the wall, smirking a bit as she crosses her arms over her chest to accentuate her breasts. She takes note that Buffy makes every effort not to notice.

Well, this was… not new, exactly. More like a flashback to when she was sixteen. A flashback to when she did everything in her power to get Buffy to notice her like that and Buffy did everything in hers to not. "So what's up?" Faith asks.

"I… got food," Buffy says, seeming to stumble over her words for a minute. She holds up the bag in her hand, and Faith's eyes light up. Shit, she was starving. She makes a grab for the bag, but Buffy holds it away from her. "Clothes, then food."

"Buffy, I'm not naked," Faith protests.

"Close enough."

Faith just rolls her eyes, mocking 'close enough' silently as she walks over to her clothes she left laying out from the night before. None of them had any changes. She unhooks her bra with a flick of her fingers and it falls to the floor as she grabs her shirt. If she has to wear these clothes twice, she's not gonna wear her undergarments with them. Just seemed a bit gross. Then again, wearing grimy clothes twice kinda did too. There was no winning, really.

"Jesus. Faith. This is what bathrooms are for," Buffy says, shielding her eyes from her with her hand. "I swear. There's something wrong with you."

"Probably," Faith replies, sliding the shirt over her head. When she takes off her panties, Buffy makes some sort of noise that Faith can't tell if it's frustration or something else. But hell. She wanted her to get dressed, and she's not exactly the shy type. After she pulls on her pants she sits down on the bed and holds out her hands, "Gimme."

"Please," Buffy corrects, but hands it over anyway. "And it isn't all for you, so don't scarf it all down, like you do."

"Right, yeah," Faith says, dismissing her and pulling out boxes of Chinese food. Thank god. She dives in to the Kung Pao as Buffy starts to take some out of the bag for her. They eat in silence for a little while, until Faith gets the urge to be cocky, or maybe annoying, and says, "So what? This your idea of a date, B? Knockin' on my door when I'm half dressed and bringing good food?" She smirks.

"You're intolerable," Buffy tells her, but she looks amused, despite it. She holds out her hand, "Pass the Lo Mein." Faith hands it to her, the smirk still lingering a bit on her features. Buffy looks up at her, then narrows her eyes a bit before snapping her chopsticks together in her face.

"Stop looking like that. Your face will get stuck that way."

"Yes, mother," Faith replies dryly, and wipes the smirk on her face and turns it into a look of mock seriousness. Buffy snorts a bit into her noodles, and it makes Faith laugh.

But the laughter soon turned into awkward silence. It was just… it was just too weird. Trying to be normal with Buffy, when everything was so very not fuckin' normal. Buffy coughs a little awkwardly and Faith immerses herself back in her food. There stretch of silence probably seems longer than it actually is, but when Buffy talks, Faith isn't sure if she preferred it over the quiet.

"We do this… don't we?"

"Either this or tryin' to kill each other," Faith responds, making a point not to look at the blonde. She used the chopsticks to fiddle with her noodles in her bowl.

"But… pretending isn't the healthiest thing either." Faith just shrugs, not really wanting to have this conversation. But apparently neither does Buffy. "We should talk," she goes on. "But… not now."

"Whatever you want," Faith mumbles, just because it is, isn't it? Whatever Buffy wants. She's not bitter about it; she knows she's part to blame for making it that way. "So what? We go back to pretending now?"

Buffy shrugs, a little smile etched on her face. "Like you said, it's better than killing each other."

"Word," Faith responds, holding up her chopsticks with a smirk. Buffy rolls her eyes at her response but clicks her chopsticks to hers. Acceptance. For now.

"So… guess what I got?" Buffy asks, her eyes twinkling a bit. Faith looks at her expectantly, and then Buffy pulls a credit card out of her purse, waving it around.

"You stealin' people's plastic now, B? Didn't think you had it in ya."

Buffy makes a face, "I didn't steal it, moron. It's Angel's. So we can get clothes. Unlimited funds." she stresses, the grin on her face widening. Those words make Faith's eyes light up as well. "You want to go shopping?" Buffy says lightly, but the excitement is clear in her voice.

"Shit, don't gotta ask me twice," Faith responds with a grin. Man, it'll be nice to have some clothes that don't… ick. These are kind of grimy. Going out in public in them ain't high on her list of priorities, but hell. She needs to at least wear something out of this… establishment. Pfft.

Shopping with Buffy was actually almost fun, in that little girly way. Not that Faith was one to really be girly, but new clothes always put a smile on her face. It was kind of funny, almost, shopping with her too. Just cause they have such a radical difference in clothes.

"You look like a slut," Buffy tells her when she steps out of the dressing room, a hint of disapproval in her voice.

Faith smirks, turning herself around to look at her backside in the mirror. "So yes then?"

"Yeah, sure, if you want a big neon sign over your head that reads 'I'm easy'," Buffy responds, clicking her tongue in annoyance as the store clerk is so obviously just appreciating her presence.

"Mission accomplished then," Faith retorts, but it's light. She might not appreciate being called easy, but there is a lot of truth in that statement. So the hell with it. She likes dressing this way.

"Jesus. Take a picture," Buffy snaps at the store clerk. The girl widens her eyes at Buffy's rudeness and scutters off. Faith turns to her.

"What's up your ass? The girl was just looking."

"Rather not stand here watching you get ogled, it's so tactless," Buffy responds, clearly annoyed with something. "I mean, she has a job to do. This isn't pay-per-view."

"Whatever," Faith responds, turning back to the mirror and fixing her hair. Yeah, she looked hot. She can still see Buffy's annoyed reflection though. "So what did you get? Something that's not pastel I hope."

"Pastels aren't a bad thing, Faith," Buffy retorts, almost chiding her now. "I am an adult now. So are you, if you've forgotten. You're not a teenager anymore." Her eyes sweep her form, taking her in. "And you're definitely not sixteen."

"Come on B, don't be a stick in the mud. It ain't like I'm gonna be wearing this as every day shit. Just. You know. When I gotta go out to pick up. H&H and all that good stuff, y'know."

"Charming," Buffy says dryly. She picks at her own nails for a moment, debating. Then she asks, "Doesn't that ever get old for you? 'Picking up'?" she uses very annoying finger quotes to prove her point. Faith just rolls her eyes. "I mean, don't you ever want something… more?"

Faith stops fixing her hair for a moment to look at Buffy's reflection through the mirror. Yeah, of course she did. All she fuckin' thought about when she was around—shit. But it ain't like she's the happy ending type of girl. Not in the fairytale sense, anyway. Faith just shrugs, blowing it off. "You know me; get some, get gone. Ain't not point trying for anything else."

"Yeah, I do know you, which is why I think that's a load of bullcrap," Buffy says. Faith bites the inside of her cheek lightly and turns around to face her.

"What do you want me to say?" she asks, a bit defensive. "Yeah, it'd be nice, alright? But it ain't like… shit, B. You know how it is. Secret lives and all that. Putting people in danger. There ain't no room for love in our world." Besides, ain't no one ever gonna love her. Not the real her. But she doesn't say that outloud, she's not looking to have a pity party here.

"I refuse to believe that."

Faith scoffs lightly a little; amused even though it's not funny. She leans against the changing room door, arms crossed over her chest. "Well then. Guess I'll be the pessimist and you can be the optimist. Like always."

Buffy smiles a little, amused a bit too. "Probably safer. The world might fall out of balance if we actually agreed with each other."

That makes Faith laugh a little, softly. She looks down at the ground, the smile on her face becoming wider before she looks up. Buffy's eyes lock with hers and Faith can swear she sees something behind them, but she was never a good reader of people. But she can feel this like… heat. It startled them both for a moment, and they both stepped back from each other, smiles gone.

It was like how it was. Only for a moment. The Slayer connection. It had dulled so much since they grew apart, since the world went to shit and back. There was always that light hum, hidden under the surface, but the heat? Man, she hasn't felt that in years.

"Okay, awkward," Buffy says, blinking a bit. "That was—"

"Agreed."

Buffy looks halfway between being annoyed at being interrupted and thankful that she did. "Yeah. So no more of that then. Whatever that was."

"Probably a good idea," Faith says, even though she has no idea what that was or how it even came to be again after all those years.

Maybe it meant something, maybe it didn't. Maybe it was just a fluke; confusion of the senses. But it was there, if only for a second. It made her feel good, but freaked her out all the same. Seemed to do the same to Buffy, who has decided that the new shirt she's looking at was absolutely fascinating. It sucked, honestly. Having it feel weird. But it had too, just because of, hell, everything. And yeah, maybe it meant nothing at all.

But Faith couldn't help but hope that it did.

TBC…