They were forty-five minutes late to the impromptu meeting Giles had called that morning and yet nobody said a word regarding their lateness, much to the surprise of the two senior slayers. Everybody seemed to be in a good mood, smiling and carefree—something all too rare since Willow's death. It had only been just over a week since they had lost her. Nobody talked about it, or about her, and even Faith felt that something was wrong with that. Some hours it felt it had just happened, the grief almost crushing. In other hours the grief would recede and allow them, like now, to smile and behave almost normally. The smiles faded, however, when Giles brought some information to light about Angel.
"While you were all out last night I had an interesting conversation with Wesley," Giles started and he shifted in his chair and placed his cup of tea on the table next to him. "It seems that Angel isn't entirely Angel any more. We've come to the conclusion that when Willow restored Angel's soul the last time it was not properly anchored."
"What does that mean?" Buffy asked as she idly stroked her fingers over Faith's jean-clad knee. "He's Angelus again?"
"He's both Angel and Angelus. While he doesn't have any control over the shifts in his persona, Wesley and I both believe he's Angelus more than he's himself."
"I fuckin' knew somethin' wasn't right," Faith muttered under her breath. "So what then, Giles, is Angelus the big bad we gotta worry about now?"
The colour drained completely from Buffy's face as the realization began to sink in. Faith just placed her hand over Buffy's and gave it a gentle squeeze as the room fell into complete silence, nobody believing such a thing was possible, but at the same time everyone knew that something hadn't been quite right with Angel since the first time he'd shown up in Cleveland. Xander was muttering to himself as he paced around the room, occasionally stopping to run his hand over his head before continuing.
"We must not let Angelus become aware that we know what is happening," Giles said, breaking the heavy silence in the room, "and that means we cannot risk telling the Angel persona either. If it comes down to it, Buffy, Faith," he said as he looked over at them, "one of you will have to end this."
"You want one of us to kill Angel?" Buffy asked, her voice choked with emotion as she pushed Faith's hand off of hers. "You can't...ask us to do something like that, Giles!"
"Sure he can, B," Faith said calmly. "Think about it for a sec here. Angel wouldn't want this."
"You don't know what he'd want."
"Faith is right," Xander said as he stopped pacing. "Angel wouldn't want this, Buff. If Angelus has found a way to take him over even with his soul present, there's no telling what'll happen or how bad it will really get."
"What else do you know?" Buffy asked Giles, ignoring Xander completely as she took Faith's hand back in her own.
"We know that the things he has told us about Julie, her family, even about the Hellmouth haven't been entirely true. I do realize we had our suspicions that what he told us was not entirely accurate, but Angelus has complicated things by mixing truth amongst the falsehood and we still don't know precisely which pieces of information were untrue," Giles replied rather calmly. "Wesley has informed me he has sound facts that prove Angelus was working with Julie. It is how Julie and her family knew so much about you two, about all of us."
"It's all just a game, ain't it?" Faith asked him, shaking her head with disbelief. "It's all just a fucked up head game designed to do what...make our lives hell and eventually turn as all against each other? Look," she sighed as she leaned forward, keeping a tight grip on Buffy's hand, "I was inside of Angel's head, inside his memories, and I know what kind of sick fuck Angelus can be, but even then that was nothing compared to what I know he is, what he's capable of. I say we go down to LA and stake his undead ass 'fore he has a chance to do anything to any of us."
"No," Buffy said firmly. "We're not going to go down there and 'stake his undead ass', Faith."
"No? What the fuck else are we s'posed to do then, B?"
"We wait. We see what Angelus is trying to do and we find a way to fix it. We're not killing Angel."
"But—"
"No, Faith," Buffy said sharply. "I told you. We are not killing Angel. This isn't even going to be a discussion! Even as Angelus, he is not a threat to us. Not right now. So we're going to figure out a way to deal with it and fix it. Killing him is not going to solve anything."
"And if we can't fix it, B? What then?" Faith asked, her anger getting the better of her seeing Buffy acting this way. "We're just gonna let him fuckin' play us in the meantime? Is that your fucking plan?"
"For now."
"Buffy, I do not think it is wise to be—"
"Giles, shut up. You are not in charge here!"
"Neither are you," Dawn spat out, tears welling in her eyes as Buffy glared over at her. "Nobody is in charge here, Buffy. You being in charge ended back in Sunnydale. We are all supposed to be working together here, not following your orders."
Buffy was shaking with anger and Faith grabbed her before she could go after Dawn. Faith wasn't sure what had gotten into Buffy, but she knew that talking about Angel, especially if he was Angelus, was a very touchy subject with her. This all felt like the beginning of a storm Faith wasn't so sure they'd all pull through in one piece. She let Buffy go and watched her walk out of there somewhat calmly. She was upset and it wasn't the first time Faith seen little changes in her. The deal with Angel/Angelus and whatever he'd said to her the other morning on the phone was really getting to her.
"Got your smokes on you?" Faith asked Kennedy as she stood up. Kennedy nodded and followed her out the main doors. "Thanks."
"You don't actually want one, do you?" Kennedy said as she offered her the pack and Faith refused.
"No. Just couldn't stand sitting in there any longer."
"Buffy's really upset."
"No shit," Faith said under her breath as she leaned against the brick wall.
"She's going through a rough time with Willow..." Kennedy said softly and she quickly wiped away her tears. "Dawn told me what it was like while they were in California. She didn't tell you anything, did she?"
"No."
"Best I don't say anything then," Kennedy said quietly as she pulled out a cigarette from the pack and lit it quickly. "I think the only thing we can do is kill him."
"Buffy killed him once. Not so sure she'd do it again."
"Then you know what you have to do, Faith."
"Yeah. I know. Tryin' to figure out how without making Buffy completely hate me for it."
"Right," Kennedy drawled, voice positively dripping with sarcasm, "because that's the big huge worry you've got if Angelus turns out to be a much bigger threat than he already is. Buffy loves you, you idiot."
Faith chuckled at Kennedy using her words against her. "Still, Buffy and Angel got this history behind them that barely touches ours and I know that she still loves him. Ain't nothin' ever gonna change that."
"And you're okay with that?"
"Not okay with it, but I get it," she sighed, then grabbed the cigarette from Kennedy's hand so quickly she didn't even realize Faith had taken it at first. "Really could use a break from all of this."
"I think we all need a break. Try telling that to Giles, though. He's a lot more focused on getting all these new Slayers trained and set up around the world than on giving us all a chance to take a little vacation."
"Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, Ken. Life doesn't have any free vacation time. Learned that a long time ago. The only vacation I got from the outside world was when I was in prison."
She knew this was the most she'd opened up to Kennedy so easily, but with her emotions charged up because of the way Buffy had reacted inside, she couldn't help herself. Kennedy understood her, to a point. She never pressed Faith to say more than she felt comfortable talking about. Kennedy was going through a lot herself, they all were, and they were all dealing with everything that had happened in the last two months in their own way. It wasn't always the right way, but everyone made mistakes and didn't always learn from them.
"I should go see if Buffy..." Faith sighed as she finished the cigarette quickly. "She's probably cooled off enough by now and calmed down a little. Last thing I need is for her fist to connect to my jaw and for them to form their own little relationship."
"Yeah. Might be a good idea to keep your distance though," Kennedy laughed as she shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder what you see in her. What do you see in her anyway?"
"It's Buffy. Can't explain it any better than that."
"Oh, this is like a whole connection thing, isn't it?"
"Slayer and otherwise," Faith replied and she flicked the cigarette to the street and headed for the main door. "Think you and Sats could cover for me and B on patrol tonight? Got a funny feelin' she ain't gonna be down for goin' out tonight."
"Sure."
"Thanks, Ken."
Kennedy just flashed an easy smile her way as Faith opened the door and headed straight down the hallway. She passed by the lounge quickly, casting a glance to see if Buffy had come back down and only saw Giles, Bryce and Dawn quietly talking to one another. She nearly ran up the five flights of stairs and down to apartment 5D, not stopping even when she heard Xander and Buffy talking inside the apartment. She walked right in, not caring that she'd walked in on what sounded like it might have been a rather private conversation between the two of them.
"We'll talk later," Xander said as he looked over at Faith, forcing a smile as he began to quickly make his way to the door. "You down for some takeout later? Before you two head out on patrol?"
"Sure," Faith replied and she sent him a look that made him leave just that much quicker. She locked the door as soon as it shut behind him and then tentatively approached Buffy on the couch. "How ya feelin' about this whole sitch, B?"
"I really don't know, Faith. I knew something was wrong. I should have said something before and maybe we could've...maybe Will would still be...and..."
Faith had her arms around her as soon as the tears had formed in her eyes. Faith couldn't say anything and she couldn't do anything other than hold Buffy in her arms while she cried. It was as if the floodgates had been completely destroyed and she had never seen Buffy this vulnerable before. It almost scared her to see Buffy like this, feeling so weak, so helpless, so lost. She knew the feeling all too well, but the pain was deeper for Buffy. It'd be a long time before she got over Willow's death and the events that led up to it. Faith knew that the word about Angel being Angelus had broke open those floodgates and everything else just poured out with it.
"Buffy," she said softly, pulling her more onto her lap and holding her a little tighter. "B?"
"Mm?"
"You do know what I have to do, right?"
"I know," she sobbed as she clutched on to the front of Faith's shirt, stretching it as the material balled up in her fists. "Why do you think I'm so upset, Faith? I know I can't kill him, not even if he's Angelus. I can't...I can't do it again..."
"So what was with that whole scene downstairs?"
Buffy shrugged and let out a sharp laugh as she choked back the tears. "That was me overreacting. I tend to do that a lot, don't I? At least that's what Xander told me."
"You're okay now, right?"
"Working on it," Buffy sighed out. She then inhaled deeply before leaning in to plant a soft kiss on Faith's neck. "Have you been smoking again?"
"Yeah, kinda needed one after Giles dropped that bomb on us like that."
"I like the way you smell when you don't smoke," Buffy uttered quietly and Faith laughed as she lifted the blonde's chin so she'd look up at her. "What? I do. Besides, you promised me when we were...there that you wouldn't smoke anymore."
"Sorry."
It was a lame, half-assed apology and she fully expected Buffy to get angry and lash out at her over it too. It never happened and all Buffy did was let go of Faith's shirt and try to smooth it out, letting out a small, quiet laugh when she realized she'd pretty much ruined it. Faith didn't let go of her and she shifted until she was able to lie down on the couch with Buffy still in her arms. The cuddling thing came as second nature to her now whenever she was this close to Buffy. She really loved the feel of her in her arms, the feel of her warm breath blowing across her neck, the feel of her chest rising with each breath and her heart beating nearly in time to her own.
Her mind was more focused on Angel being Angelus again. She wanted to know more about how that was possible. It hadn't even been that long since the last time Angel had lost his soul, but from what they knew he still had his soul and Angelus had still somehow found a way to take control even with said soul in place. She was realizing that the few times she'd talked to him in the last couple of months, she'd talked to Angelus more than she had to Angel. It was all starting to make a lot more sense now with the things he had said, how his 'information' always seemed to change in the littlest of ways, and his two-sided opinion on her and Buffy's relationship.
There was never one reason why Angelus did the things he did or why he played the games he did. It was just the way he played the game and got his kicks—by tearing apart the people closest to Angel, piece by piece, one thread of sanity at a time. He'd been trying to convince both of them that what they felt for each other wasn't real. Faith knew that was a crock of shit right from the second he'd told her that. She'd always had deep, strong feelings for Buffy and the only difference was that now she no longer fought them or feared them. She hadn't since shortly after that first kiss.
Angelus was no match against her, or even Buffy, not with the power and the strength that they still possessed since Willow pulled them out of that world between worlds. Faith knew she could take him without much of a fight and if the opportunity arose, she'd do it without hesitation. She'd do it despite however Buffy would feel in the end. What other choice did she have? None, really—hoping for the best and hoping that Angelus would stay out of their lives really wasn't an option.
"God, I'm so tired right now," Buffy said softly as she stifled a yawn. "I could seriously use a nap right now."
"What's stoppin' ya?"
"We need to figure everything out."
"And we will, B. Betcha Giles and Bryce are down there figurin' it out with Dawn. They find anything we can use then they'll let us know. We're Slayers, B. I forbid us to do any form of research unless it involves you and me, in bed, naked..."
"Are you ever not horny?"
"Not that I ever remember, no. And I ain't never heard you complain 'bout it either."
"No," Buffy chuckled as she moved to lie more fully on top of Faith. "How could I complain when it's just...amazing when we're together?"
"I got mad skills, yo."
Buffy laughed again, kissing her softly as she straddled her hips. "Yes, you do."
"Can I ask you somethin', B?" Faith asked in all seriousness as Buffy sat back slowly. "If I do gotta take Angel out, it ain't gonna change anything between us, is it?"
"I don't know."
"I don't want it to change anything between us," she said softly. "Come too far to go back to square one now."
"I know how far we've come, Faith. After Angel, I couldn't fall in love with anyone else. I never thought it would be possible for me to fall in love with anyone else, much less you. Feelings like this just don't go away because of things that happen in our lives. Our lives are so far from normal and I've got to learn to accept that I will never have a normal life, not even if I ran from it."
"So, ya thought about runnin' from your life, B?"
"Every day," she admitted easily. "You do too, don't you?"
"No. Despite all this shit, B, I'm the happiest I've ever been and a lot of that has to do with you. I wouldn't want a single fuckin' thing in my life to change."
"Not one thing?"
"Would like to be able to go more than a month without some kind of apocalypse deal about to fall into our laps," she said with a laugh, knowing how much Buffy wanted the same thing too. She'd said it enough in the last two months. "But all this right here and now, B? Even with this training school shit Giles has goin', I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else but here. With you. With everyone else. Feels like I belong here and for once I'm gonna stay right where I belong."
"You do belong here," Buffy whispered as she leaned forward, her lips just brushing against Faith's lightly as she took in a deep breath. "And you belong with me."
"For as long as you'll have me, I'll be here with ya, B."
"Then don't kill Angel," she said, planting a brief kiss on her lips before she slipped off of her and headed for the door.
Faith laid there, unable to keep a single thought straight in her mind. Buffy having a complex in the way that she was, it was throwing her for a loop. She stayed there alone in the apartment for a little while longer before she got up and headed back down to the lobby where she knew she'd find Giles. She only hoped that Buffy had gone off somewhere else because of the things she was going to ask him. She was going to go down to LA as soon as possible and she was going to find Angel and kill him.
And she knew it was the right thing to do despite the consequences that would follow.
Faith was sitting alone on the balcony sipping a beer and watching as the last bits of light faded from the sky. Buffy and Dawn were sitting inside on the couch watching a movie and talking quietly. Faith couldn't stand sitting there with the two of them, which had led her to grab a beer out of the fridge and come outside. She was thinking mostly about what she had talked to Giles about, about the possibility of going down to LA by the end of the week to take out Angelus before things got out of hand and before he tried to meddle into their lives once again.
Thinking of it brought back those old memories of fantasies she'd had when she first found out about Angel back in Sunnydale. She was a Slayer, he was a vampire, and she'd wanted nothing more than to stake him. Why, was the question she kept asking herself, why didn't she just do it then? She knew if she had, she wouldn't be where she was now. In some ways, Angel was her saviour and he had helped her start out on her path to redemption without hesitating for a second to help her. She wouldn't be the person she was now if he hadn't started her on that path and made her feel as if it wasn't completely hopeless, to not give up on herself and the rest of the world.
"Hey," Kennedy said as she stepped out onto the balcony with two fresh bottles of beer in her hands. "Figured you'd need another. Buffy said you'd been out here for an hour already. You didn't want to be left alone, did you?"
"Just been thinkin' is all," Faith replied and took the offered beer from Kennedy. "Everything is so royally fucked up right now that I'm half expectin' the whole world to break apart any second."
"Don't jinx it," Kennedy chuckled as she stood next to Faith and leaned against the railing. "I wish that Willow was still here. At least some things made a little more sense with her around."
"Yeah," Faith said, turning to Kennedy as she raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you supposed to be out on patrol tonight?"
"Carmen and Satsu are out there with Amber. Didn't feel like going myself. Nobody else knows what is going on with Angel but us. Thinking maybe that's not a good idea and that everyone here needs to know exactly what kind of situation they've walked into."
"I'm takin' care of it. Giles is gonna get me to LA by the end of the week."
"Seriously? And you're just going to what, go down there and take Angelus out by yourself?"
"Ain't got no other choice, Ken. Buffy doesn't know I'm plannin' to go down so soon either, so try to keep this sitch on the down low," Faith said quietly. She looked back through the window at Buffy and Dawn still sitting on the couch and still talking rather than actually watching the movie that was playing on the TV. "I'm gonna lose her either way, Ken. Best it happens after I do the right thing."
"But she loves you. You aren't going to lose her, Faith."
"She might love me, but she still loves Angel too. She doesn't want me to kill him, a part of me doesn't want to either, and yet I don't have a choice. It's the right thing to do. Has to be."
"Well, I'm behind you with whatever you decide to do, Faith. If you think it's the right thing to do, then it's the right thing to do."
"Thanks, Ken."
"You aren't going to tell Buffy what you plan to do either, are you?"
"No," Faith replied with a shake of her head as she turned to look at her. "And you ain't gonna say a word to her or anyone else either. Only you, Giles, and Bryce know what's bein' planned and that's the way it's gonna stay until I finish this."
"Are you sure that's the right way to do this, Faith?"
"Has to be. Ain't no other way to do this, Ken. Buffy doesn't want to take Angelus out cos he's still technically Angel too. Hell, I'm havin' mixed feelings about this myself, but the pull to do the right thing has never been stronger than it is now. Been thinkin' that maybe once I do this, maybe things'll slow down around here and we'll all finally get a fuckin' break for once."
Nobody said being the good Slayer would be easy, but it wasn't even about good slayer and bad slayer. She was the Slayer. The line still ran through her despite the hundreds, thousands of other Slayers around the world. If anything, it was all on her shoulders and she was going to bear the weight of the world even with all the others. It was just the way it was and she was finally beginning to see it and accept it.
She ran a shaky hand through her hair as she looked back inside once again at the same moment that Buffy chose to look over at her. She couldn't imagine losing her, losing what they had, but that feeling she had told her she really would lose Buffy no matter what she did. It sent pangs through her heart and tears threatened to fall, but she held herself together, trying to act as if nothing was wrong at all. She watched as Buffy got up from the couch and headed for the door, stepping out onto the balcony as she silently motioned for Kennedy to leave the two of them alone. And that's when she heard it, ever so faintly, the music being played from one of the apartments a few floors above them.
"I told Dawn to take Kennedy out of here," Buffy whispered as she took the bottle from Faith's hands and set it aside. "Right now, I just want to be alone with you."
"Sounds good," Faith smiled as she slid her hands over Buffy's hips and pulled her in close.
They swayed slowly to the music, a piano playing a gentle melody, and stared into one another's eyes. Something told her that Buffy was fighting something inside of her, fighting not to say the words she wanted to say and choosing instead to get lost in this moment they had together. Faith took the lead by grabbing on to Buffy's hand and spinning her around, smiling at her as she pulled her back into her arms. It was always so easy to forget everything else when she held Buffy close and even easier to become lost within her the instant their lips met in a soft, tender kiss. It felt different this time and Faith could feel Buffy holding herself back from kissing her deeper, more passionately.
It didn't always have to be about sex and she knew that, but it was almost all that it was between them at times. Maybe that was what was making Buffy hold back now and whatever it was, Faith knew she would never really know. Things were changing and she could feel it as she parted from their soft kiss and stared into Buffy's eyes, searching for the answers to unspoken questions. Maybe Angel/Angelus had been right before about not everything appearing to be as it was. So many maybes and not enough solid answers were making her ever so frustrated.
Buffy lifted a hand from her shoulder and ran the tips of her fingers over Faith's furrowed brow, frowning when Faith pulled back from the gentle caress. She loved 'speaking' to Buffy this way, so many things could be seen, almost heard when they shared their moments like this, but she didn't want it right then and there, not with so much on her mind. And the guilt she was feeling already over Angel wasn't helping any either.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked as she dropped her hand back down on Faith's shoulder.
"Nothing."
"I can almost see the wheels in your head turning, Faith. What's wrong?"
"Told ya, B. Nothing. Just thinkin' is all."
"You're always 'just thinking'," Buffy muttered under her breath. She didn't move away even when Faith dropped her hands from her waist. "It's not going to be like it was before between us ever again, is it? We're going to..."
"Going to what, B?"
"Drift apart," she finished, looking away from Faith as Faith wrapped her arms around her once again. "We already are."
"Nah," she said, forcing a smile as she closed her eyes, leaning her head against Buffy's as she held her tight. "You seem to forget this morning, y'know before Giles dropped that napalm bomb on us 'bout Angel."
"I didn't forget," Buffy said coyly, causing Faith to chuckle softly into her hair. "Do you think we can do this every night?"
"This?"
Faith held her breath, knowing how much more Buffy was saying. Buffy wanted out. She wanted out of slaying, out of Cleveland, just out. Faith understood where she was coming from, at least she hoped she did. For her, all she wanted to do was stay right there and do what she needed to do, fight the good fight since that was her one purpose in life. It wasn't just Angel/Angelus that had made Buffy feel this way. She'd felt it for a long time—too long.
"I know you are planning to go down to LA," Buffy said quietly. "When you get back, Faith...I'm not going to be here."
"You ever coming back?"
Buffy said nothing as she pulled her in for a kiss, whispering 'I'm sorry' across her lips before she backed away slowly. "It won't mean this is over between us, Faith. If you kill Angel, I can't be around you for awhile."
"I get it, B."
"I..." Buffy let out a gasp as Faith tightened her hands over her waist and backed her up to the wall. She looked at loss for words as Faith's eyes penetrated into hers, waiting for her to speak. "I'm not coming back and it has nothing to do with you or what you're going to do to Angel."
"Do what you gotta do, Buffy."
She winced at how heartbreaking her voice sounded. She hated feeling so broken and showing it so openly. Rather than say anything more, she kissed Buffy hard, using her own body to pin Buffy's to the wall. The kiss was bruising and her hands were still gripping onto Buffy's waist, which she knew was bordering painful at that moment. Her hands quickly unbuttoned Buffy's jeans and she roughly shoved her hand down the front of her pants, eliciting a moan from Buffy as soon as her fingers brushed over her clit. What Faith was feeling was primal and the urge to claim Buffy as her own was too much to ignore.
"Nobody is ever gonna be able to touch you like I do," she whispered against her lips. "Nobody is ever gonna be able to make you feel as good as I can."
"Faith..."
She silenced her with another crushing kiss as she lazily rubbed over her clit, feeling a flood of wetness pour out as Buffy moaned again. She teased her for a moment longer before she pulled out her hand and began to back Buffy up towards the door, her lips never leaving Buffy's until they reached the bedroom. She half expected Buffy to stop her, but when she didn't, she made quick work of getting her out of her clothes and didn't bother with her own as Buffy laid back on the bed. Faith stood there for a moment just staring down at her and she slipped off her shoes and crawled over the bed towards her.
It was almost as if she was trying to imprint the sight of Buffy naked, ready, and waiting for her in her mind. Buffy looked tense, she looked scared, and she looked like she couldn't wait for Faith's hands, lips, and tongue to worship her.
"Faith, take your damn clothes off."
"No."
Her lips found Buffy's sweet spot on her neck just below her ear and when Buffy tried to tug at her shirt, she grabbed both her hands and pinned them against the mattress by her head. Faith pulled back, quirking her eyebrow as she reached over for the handcuffs in the bedside table drawer. She knew Buffy could easily break them without even trying now, but she knew she wouldn't. She handcuffed her hands together and made her grab onto the bars on the headboard.
"Don't move," she whispered softly and she felt Buffy shudder beneath her.
Faith began to kiss over her jaw and across her neck slowly, nipping at the skin, dipping her tongue out for a little taste as Buffy's breathing quickened. Her whole body was itching to be naked, to feel the soft slide of Buffy's skin against her own, but it'd have to wait until she was finished imprinting every last inch of Buffy into her mind. She knew this would be their last time together for god knows how long and she was going to make it last for as long as she could. She trailed her lips over Buffy's collarbone and then down across her breasts. She circled each nipple slowly with the tip of her tongue, feeling each one harden under her touch.
Buffy could hardly control herself as Faith kissed over her stomach, stopping when she reached her bellybutton and dipped her tongue lazily inside. She knew every last inch of Buffy's sweet spots and she was determined to hit every single one of them before she was through with her. She moved back up towards her breasts and nipped at the skin at the side of her ribs, smiling as Buffy let out a low moan that reverberated through her entire body. Faith pulled back suddenly and sat back, staring down at her, watching as Buffy looked right over at her, whimpering as she bit her lower lip as it began to tremble.
Faith knew she was going to cry and she nearly ripped off her own clothes, but kept it together, trying to stay cool, calm, and collected. She ran her hands up Buffy's legs, watching her as she spread them wantonly for her, her pussy already wet, glistening with need.
"Faith...I need you to...touch me."
"I am touching you," she whispered, trailing her hands up past her knees and inner thighs impossibly slow, knowing how much it was driving Buffy crazy and how hard she was fighting to keep her hands above her head. "Don't ever want to stop touching you, B."
Her words were mumbled and she felt like she was stuck in a trance as her eyes swept over Buffy's body, soaking in every last inch. She moved to lay between Buffy's legs and she blew hot air over her pussy before taking a rather tentative swipe down her slit. Buffy's hips bucked up at the touch and she whimpered at the loss of Faith's tongue when she pulled away. This was about claiming, not just pleasing, and Faith had every intention of making that be known without saying a word. She kissed over the insides of Buffy's thighs, marking her, biting so hard she nearly broke the skin. If it bordered on painful, Buffy didn't mind as each bite elicited a series of soft, whimpering moans.
Faith closed her eyes for a moment as she felt the sensation of tingles spread throughout her body with every inhale she took of Buffy's sweet, wet pussy. Buffy wrapped her legs around Faith's shoulders as she dove in suddenly, plunging her tongue as deeply as she could into her hole while gripping her hips to keep her from bucking up into her face. The moans escaping past Buffy's lips as she gasped for air were turning Faith on immensely. She'd never felt her body so charged up, so ready, so wanting. With one hand she managed to unbutton her own jeans and wriggle out of them with a bit of a struggle. She pulled back from Buffy's pussy, gasping to catch her breath as she pulled off her shirt and quickly slipped out of her bra. She went right back to it, sliding two fingers deep inside of Buffy's hole while her lips wrapped around her throbbing clit, no longer out to tease, only to please.
As soon as Buffy let go of the headboard and threaded her fingers through Faith's hair, she pulled away with a sly smirk creeping over her lips as she grabbed onto Buffy's hands and pulled them away. She slid up her body slowly, her eyes burning into Buffy's as she felt every inch of their bodies touching. Every second that ticked by made this feel that much more bittersweet than it already was and despite trying not to think about that, the tears sprang to Faith's eyes, every inch of her breaking apart as she struggled to hold it together. She didn't move, she barely breathed, as their lips met in a soft kiss. One so full of passion, of love, it made her fall apart even more.
"Oh!" A yelp came from the other end of the room and they broke apart from the kiss to see where it'd come from. "Goddess, I'm sorry!"
"Willow?" Buffy said quietly, the words barely slipping from her lips as she looked over at a non-corporeal Willow standing at the far end of the bedroom.
"The Powers that Be sure have a quirky sense of humour," Willow said with a laugh, holding her hands over her eyes as she made her way across the room.
"Willow?" Buffy asked again as Faith pulled the sheets up over their bodies and struggled with the key in the handcuffs. "Aren't you—you're not really here, are you? Faith, is she here?"
"Why don't you two throw some clothes on and join me in the other room? I have so much to tell you. All of you."
Buffy was shaking slightly, blinking past the tears as she and Faith both watched as Willow walked right through the closed door. The only thought Faith had at the moment was what the fucking hell?
