Peace
V
"Okay, Faith, that's great balance. Now, just work on your form. Just…here, look," Diana Dormer knelt before a heavily panting Faith on the training mat in the basement. The girl had one knee up in front of her, and the other on the floor supporting her. Her arm fell to her side from where it had been poised with a stake. Tenderly, Di placed her hands on the sixteen-year-old's foremost foot. "If you keep landing with this foot like this, and a vampire attacks, your balance will be thrown off and you could be injured. Just angle it…this way a little more…what?"
Faith blushed at being caught staring and lowered her eyes. Gathering courage, she pushed Di's hair behind her ear. "It was…in the way. I couldn't see what your hands were doing. Although I felt the new position my foot was in, it always helps to have a visual aid for practice. It's…something you taught me last year…remember?"
Diana smiled and stood with her young Potential Slayer. "Yes, and I'm surprised at the fact you do pay attention. Good work. You've done well enough today to end early. What would you like to do for your birthday this evening?"
Still avoiding eye contact, Faith whispered huskily. "Well there is something I'm willing to forfeit any gift for…" a nod from her guardian prompted her to continue. Alright, Faith, here goes…she thought, taking a deep breath. She placed a shaking hand on Di's hip. "I think you know what I want. I'm asking, not begging, Di. Just once…and then no more."
Di tried to suppress a shiver, but to no avail. Against her better judgment, she let Faith press their bodies together. "Mmm, Faith…I know you're legal. But it's still statutory…" she was silenced by two fingers resting on her soft lips. She had never once been attracted to a younger female, and even with Faith felt nothing for the physical…or so she thought. But she was indeed falling for the girl's mind and spirit; and Faith knew it.
"Di…Diana…Dina," Faith soothed, her fingers slowly moving, stroking fair skin. "I'm home schooled…by you. We live alone…together…me and you. This house…is far from any other. Who will ever find out about…one…perfect…" her face drew closer to her mentor's, her breath quickening. And then their lips met.
Your eyes
Could have melted the glacier
Freezing me to my bed
I lay glued to the naked mattress
Naked as am I to the world
Diana's breath hot on her face. Her legs nearly gave out when they finally made contact. Her lips broke free from their leash and found minds of their own. Searching the young flesh suddenly cradled in her arms, she probed deeper. She tentatively brushed the tip of her tongue along Faith's bottom lip, and when the brunette willingly opened her mouth, the deal was sealed. "One perfect kiss," Di finished the sentence for Faith. "Happy birthday, sweetheart," she murmured before Faith took her lips captive once more.
"Hello, is anyone here? We need to buy these books," Faith tapped the small bell at the counter. She and Ileana had gathered the necessary items at the store area of the library and now stood increasingly impatient. "Excuse me, sire," yeah, 'sir' my ass, she thought when a man finally appeared. He seemed slightly awkward and uncertain of his job. "Can we pay for these?"
The man looked her over, took off and cleaned his glasses, and then looked her over once more. "Well, by all means, yes. You seem perfectly capable, judging by that large wad of cash in your hand. The question isn't 'can you,' but 'may you' pay for those." He froze and looked down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he cleared his throat and continued. "I seem to have forgotten my manners."
Ileana, momentarily distracted by the librarian's outlandish English accent, just nodded her head and smiled. "It's fine. I'm equally sorry for my friend's impatience," she sent a glare in Faith's direction, warding off a playful elbow to the ribs. "She's had a weird day so far."
The man said nothing, only studied them a moment longer, and went about ringing up their books on the cash register. He took their offered money and counted off the proper change with little difficulty. When they turned to leave, he decided it was now or never to carry out his plans. "I'm sorry, miss? Could I speak with you for a moment?" Exasperated at Faith's questioning glance, he sighed. "Yes, you: the brunette with the bad English and questionable taste in clothing."
Faith whispered something to Ileana, who smiled and walked out of the library. When the young Slayer reached the desk, she smirked. "There a problem, Professor Higgins? Yeah, man, that's what I thought. You look surprised that I've actually read a piece of classic literature…that I actually have brain cells. I guess you really can't judge a book by its leather bound cover. What can I do for you, Brit-man?"
"Well," once more his glasses came off for a cleaning. "I suppose you are far better off than one would assume of a girl three years without a Watcher. That is precisely what I thought, Ms…Dormer, is it now? You took Diana's name. Very touching…"
Your death
Has strewn my bearings and my clothing
Scattered around the room
My feelings and my sanity are painted on the ceiling
Painted like my nudity to the sky
"Holy sh- you're…I'm busy now, man," Faith scrambled a few steps back from the desk, caught very much off guard. "I don't have time for this, but I'll stop in tomorrow. We'll…do lunch…or something, man. Just please don't start going on about duties and legacies like I know ya wanna…" she got over the initial shock, and she took a deep breath.
Squinting, the man heavily weighed his next words. "How interesting…yes. I'm Rupert Giles; it is delightful to meet you, too. Now…what gives you the idea that I would want to 'go on' about the legacy of…well, your legacy?"
Faith chuckled and took two more swaggering steps back. "You Watchers Council types are all the same. Di was the only exception. But everyone…all everyone cared about was training and perfection. I slay just fine for now. So maybe we can do the torture-fest meet and greet thing tomorrow when I'm having a better day, okay? Smell ya later!"
Ileana drew an arm around her friend's shoulder when she came through the door. "Is everything okay, Faith? It looked like things were getting pretty heated in there."
The brunette stiffened at the unexpected contact. "Ah, it was nothing. He just was connected to some of my past that I kinda want to keep in the past; didn't want to dredge up old memories, you know?" Her arm is around me and my stomach is doing fucking flip-flops, she thought.
"Want me to beat him up for you?" Ileana grinned, oblivious to Faith's discomfort. "Come on, let's haul our asses out of here and have some fun; turn this day around." Winking, she grabbed Faith by the hand and dragged her in the direction of downtown.
"Ohh, I've heard about this place! People have been talking about it the whole time since I got here: The…whole…two days since I got here. Okay, maybe I heard one person mention it," Ileana excitedly babbled outside the Espresso Pump. "If we're gonna get coffee, this seems as good a place as any."
They went inside and sat at a table for two by the window. The streets outside were understandably quiet for a Tuesday afternoon, but Faith was sure the evening would bring the town to life. According to Buffy, Willow, and their townie friend Xander, there was a cool club in town called The Bronze. So she was pretty excited to check it out.
"Hey…Leana, you asked me earlier about nick names and I kind of never gave an answer." Faith sipped her iced mocha.
Ileana knew what was coming. She had skillfully flirted her way through the last four hours, and her suspicions were confirmed; Faith liked her: a lot. "Yeah, I wondered about that."
"My little bro used to call me 'Faithy' until he died six years ago. It just caught me a little off guard. It never occurred to me that it's just about the only nick name my name can have, so naturally I had assumed no one would ever use it again." Faith laughed good-naturedly.
"Geez, Faith, I'm…"
Faith interrupted her apology. "Don't say it. And besides…don't you want my answer?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "For you and you alone, I am Faithy." She looked down at the table where her hand had somehow covered one of Ileana's. "Now onto more important matters than my past: Do you want to go to The Bronze with me tonight?"
"One, two, three, one, two, three…long, short, short, long, short, short, long, short, short, and stop. Good…actually…great. You've just mastered the basic waltz step," Di buried her face in Faith's long dark hair, deeply inhaling her scent.
The seventeen year old girl closed her eyes and pulled the older woman tight against her body. "We don't have to stop dancing, you know," it was a statement more than a question. "The point of this training session can wait 'til tomorrow. Right now I'm fine just holding you in my arms, swaying to the music. If we stay like this all night my rhythm might be up to fighting standards by then."
Laughing softly, Di kissed Faith's neck. "You still learn faster than I give you credit for. Yes, this was an exercise aimed towards improving your rhythm in battle. That would heighten your alertness beyond the point at which it already is. Now that you've been called…it's very important…" her voice faltered as hands moved from her waist, up her sides, and over her breasts.
"What's important now, lovely, is that you breathe and stop being so nervous. No, you've said enough and done too little." Faith continued her fingers' journey up her mentor's torso, to her shoulders, to her neck, behind her head. She locked her fingers through Di's think blonde strands and planted a firm, meaningful kiss on her lips. Slayer strength surged through her, but she kept it in check. Of course a little extra force would slip through, but for now she was keeping things gentle.
Di whimpered softly and shuddered her defeat, giving her student complete control. It didn't take much for her to succumb to the desire Faith sparked within her. A simple brush of a hand against her shoulder could send her hormones flying so high that she forgot she was in her forties. "You know what else rhythm is good for, don't you, love?" She brought her lips to Faith's a final time before taking her by the hand and leading her to the bedroom door.
Your eyes
Are frozen in time
Though space has moved
Swiftly around me the world flies
I'm lost in the image of your eyes watching me
"Buffy, look, it's Faith!" Willow uncharacteristically interrupted her babbling blonde friend. When Buffy looked at her quizzically, the redhead rolled her eyes. "In the Espresso Pump, right there! Let's go in and say hi."
Buffy peered through the window to see Faith engaged in deep conversation with another girl. "She looks busy, Will, I don't want to interrupt her other friend."
"Don't be silly," Willow opened the door and walked in without waiting for an answer. She noticed upon entering that Faith had her hand over the other girl's, and reconsidered her decision. This looks kinda serious, she thought. Maybe I'll go back to Buffy and keep listening to her talk about the new Slayer who's supposed to be coming. Just as she turned to leave, a voice sounded behind her.
"Hey Willow…Buffy!" Faith called and waved over the retreating girls. As the blonde, so far silent, neared the table, the brunette had to shake a sense of tingling familiarity. "Um, pull up some chairs."
"Hi, I'm Ileana. You're all…second year, right?" Ileana asked when they were all seated. "Except for Faithy here. Is it normal for different classes to be in the same courses? I'm just wondering because the college I was at before transferring didn't do that."
"Wait, so you would be in our class at a different school if you hadn't transferred? That's interesting…so now you're a freshman again," Willow said thoughtfully. "To answer your question, though, it depends. It's kind of like high school. There are class required courses and then there are electives. Electives are usually really mixed up. Sometimes class required courses are a little bit mixed. For example: a transfer student needs to take a course he or she wasn't required to take at his or her previous school…so it's just to get the missing credit: not because some junior wanted to be in a freshman course."
Faith nodded. It was beginning to make sense why she was in the same course as Buffy and Willow. "So, Buffy, you thinking about someone hot enough to justify your silence, or do you just not like to talk?" She teased, knowing full well that Buffy liked to talk quite a bit.
"Huh? What?" Buffy sat up, jolted from her trancelike deep thoughts. She could have sworn that she'd known Faith from somewhere else. "Sorry, I'll be in a more talky mood tonight. I haven't Bronzed it in forever."
Ileana laughed. "Well, now that the question is out there…who are the lucky dates you chicas will be introducing us to? We're going to The Bronze tonight also." She sent a sly, not so discreet, wink at Faith.
"You already know who I'm going with…well, Faith does," Buffy said cryptically. "You just don't know I'm going out with him." She received a light prod from Willow saying 'stop drawing it out already and get on with it,' and rolled her eyes. "His name is Riley. He's the TA for Walsh's class."
"Haha! No wonder you were drooling in your dreams the other day when I just arrived. That's a nice body to be daydreaming about, lucky bitch." Faith slurped up the last of her beverage and twirled the straw between her top and bottom teeth. "How 'bout you, Red?" She gestured towards Willow. "Are we gonna meet your special someone? A good lookin' intelligent gal like you, you must have a bootylicious babe all to yourself." The rest of the group laughed as Willow blushed a deep red to match her hair. Faith just flashed her trademark suggestive waggle of the eyebrows.
The computer genius mumbled something unintelligible before gathering her courage and speaking up. "Yeah, chances are you'll meet hi-her-Tara-tonight." She struggled over the pronouns, unsure of how accepting her new friends would be. "I think it'll be her first time really Bronzing it. Buffy and I have Bronzed it since high school. So I guess you'll both be in the same boat as her. We'll show you the ropes and soon you'll be swinging," she laughed.
Ileana looked at Faith, who it seemed had the same question, and nodded slowly. "If it's like any other club, I think there's no necessary teaching of the ropes for me and Faith."
"Oh, but The Bronze is one of a kind. If it was a club, we'd just club it, you know?" Buffy shrugged as if what she said had made any sense. "But The Bronze is special, so we Bronze it. You never said if you guys had dates. Neither of you have been here long, but looking like you do I bet you've managed to snag some interest."
Ileana exchanged glances with Faith again. "We may or may not have some surprises. And you'll have to wait until tonight to find out."
Watching me as I watched you die