Chapter 5: Sandworm season
The town hadn't changed and that sent a warm feeling through the blonde cowgirl as she was left in centre of mainstreet and told by Faith to have fun and be home in an hour or two as she had collected everything she had needed to prepare dinner and a little extra from the Sugar boy too. Buffy had decided to stop in at the bounty office to check the board for updates and had entered up the steps to the tavern, narrowly avoiding a drunk slug demon being thrown out by a rather large looking robot bear demon.
"Hey! you're the girl who Faith brought home, heard ya blew a dimension hoppers brains all over some poor families living room" his one blue metal eye that molded into wires and fur gave her a disarming wink as she she had hastily stepped back defensively and assumed her boxing stance.
"Dun worry bout me, i'm just the hired muscle here, but Jeans been talkin ya up pretty fierce... ya gonna be rolling in jobs if ya aint too careful" He extended a hand out towards Buffy to shake it and she obliged sheepishly but was pleasently suprised to feel him handle her carefully.
"I take it Jeans happy i put in some overtime whilst on holiday?" Buffy let his hand go and he moved over to open the saloon doors for her.
"Go see him, guys havin a tipple over yonder" and he pointed to the left side of the bar before returning to dealing with a beligerent patron who had just decided to get in a punch up with that slug demon he had just expelled. Buffy walked in to a round of applause as Jean cheered that 'his' new girl just bagged her a real nasty son bitch, all she could do was tip her hat to people and put in a bashful face as she wasn't quite sure how to react when a whole Saloon of drunk townsfolk are cheering for you.
"Golden girl, get over here and let me buy ya a drink!" Jean shouted as Buffy walked through tables and dodged slipping accidently into a poker game with some rather mean looking characters. she sat at the bar and the tender asked her what she was having.
"Nuka blueberry with a shot of whisky on the side big man" and moments later he returned with a frosted Nuka Cola bottle and a shot of whisky on the side before wheeling of down the other end with box of cigars. 'Man robot bartenders are neat' thought Buffy as she sipped the new flavour and found it quite agreeable.
"So, how my rising star getting on!" Jean oinked merrily as he puffed on a large stogie but made sure to blow the smoke away from the girl as she downed her shot of whisky and winced at the taste.
"Well now i now that whisky tastes like old wood!" Buffy stifled back a choking fit and quickly tried to take the burning sensation away with some Nuka and it actually worked quite well she realised.
"Haha! never had some aged cask swill before eh!... Faith can knock em back like i knock back beefsteaks!" Jean called back the bartender and told him to mix Buffy a drink that'd be more to her liking and he took her nuka cola and returned moments late with an alcholised nuka cola in a tall glass complete with tiny umbrella. Buffy sipped on the concotion as Jean downed his tall glass of dark ale and she was mind blown with how much better her drink tasted.
"Damn what is that?, that's way better than whisky!" Buffy happily drank more as Jean ordered another ale for himself.
"Just tell the barkeep to 'sunrise' ya Nukas... that machines got a gift i tells ya".
Buffy wisely decided she would drink only this one as she didn't want to get home drunk and dissapoint Faith on her first time alone in Al-Kufir. as she finished her drink Jean spoke up.
"Hows ya first two weeks going in a new world little one, Faiths keepin ya proper an all?". Buffy gave him a hapoy look and motioned for the bartender to take her drink away.
"Yh, she's at home cooking me dinner, i just wanted to check out the bounty board before going back". Jean spat out his drink at the revelation, he couldn't believe his ears at all.
"Wait, you have my toughest bounty huntress cooking you supper? Faith! a girl i watched rip a 20ft demons head off with her bare hands and a jagged old butter knife! that Faith!" Jean was somewhere between giggling and shock but mainly oinking somewhere between confusion and shock.
"Damn! she never told me about that... cool" Buffys admission had actually to turn quite a few heads as even some of the working girls of varying species could believe their ears or ear like equivalents. Buffy shot them a look and they instantly went back to pretending to mind their own buisness.
"God Damn! Goldie ya gotta tell me how ya do it, that girl don't listen to a damn word i tell her!" Jean was oinking uncontrollably as he looked around the room.
"Seems like some people'll be changing their bets soon... mind you after what ya did to that dimension hopper i wouldn't be suprised if some people started thinking you were stronger then our finest girl" Jean lit a second cigar and took a deep breath.
"Nah she's stronger nowadays, i used to be but, she's got me beat hands down in super power department" Buffy admitted as she looked over to the bounty board but it seemed to be completly empty.
"ah, i wanted to talk t'ya bout that... sandworms gonna be rollin in bout mid day tommorow, ya wouldn't mind telling the girl would ya, when ya get home that is" Jean handed Buffy a folded piece of paper and she pocketed it for Faith.
"Yh, no prob Jean, kinda wish you'd stop the bettin on Faiths preferences tho, kinda rude don't ya think!" Buffy shot him a cold look which almost made the poor pig demon fall of his stool but at the last moment he managed to right himself expertly.
His voice went high for a moment but he managed to bring it back down, "Well, if ya know ya could win the bet and make off with alot of cash... but if Faith didn't want us runnin bets she would of stopped us months ago" Jean downed the last of his bear in seconds.
"Fine, but I'm still not gonna tell you anyway" Buffy slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a hug before she turned to leave. "Stay safe Jean, also don't drink too much it's not good for ya" and Buffy exited the Saloon and started making her way back home.
Jean on the other hand felt somewhere between a heart attack and confusion as the bar went completly silent after she had left. it was only broken by Jean laughing at the top of his lungs. "That's girls cute and scary as hell! I LIKE HER! ROUND ON THE HOUSE BARKEEP!" and the entire bar erupted into applause as they ordered their free round and quite a few patrons and whores decided to come and change their bets with Jean as he laughed and changed the betting board for the 100th time since he put it up.
"Can't believe that tiny little blonde things domesticating my best hunter" he chuckled to himself as he accepted another change of bet.
~~*
"HONEY!, im home" Buffy happily chuckled as her senses were bombarded by delicous smells and a beautiful view of a hard working brunette serving up their dinner and gleaming with beauty as her eyes met Buffys and she couldn't hide her glowing smile.
"Welcome home" Faith had just finished laying the table and sauntered over to the happy dame and took her coat and hung it up next to hers before returning and planting a long deep kiss on Buffys lips and tasting whisky and she was pretty sure Nuka cola too.
"is that whisky? since when do you drink whisky, the nuka i expected but whisky?" Faith gave her a quizzical look and a confused smile but she declared in no uncertain terms "I tried it and it tastes like wooden floor polish, oh and Jean gave me a piece of paper for you, says it's sandworm season" Buffy pointed to her jacket pocket and Faith retrieved the folded up paper and brought it over to the table.
She began reading as she leaned against the large dining room table and sighed as she knew exactly 'this' shit would happen when she got home, she had a bad feeling abouf it on holiday every now and then. her eyes went over to Buffy who was now on the sofa and taking her enchanted boots off one by one.
"Let me guess, no bounties on the board twinkie" and Buffy nodded yes as she placed her boots back by the door. "Well, wanna do some work with the town gaurd for the next couple of weeks B?" Faith asked as Buffy returned to the table and began reading the letter for herself.
"Wait, all bounties are suspended until after the sandworms are either destroyed or driven away for the safety of the town and its inhabitants" Buffy seemed confused.
"Does this happen often"? she asked worriedly as she began to fold the letter back up and hand it to Faith again. she shrugged and motioned for Buffy to sit down for dinner, even pulled her chair out for her and Buffy was really enjoying the princess treatment.
"Twice since i got here... Rhinos house about 2 blocks down got trampled in half by a stray" Faith leaned over and kissed her slender tanned neck.
"So we've been drafted but dont worry, pays low but its for the people... and i also love having a small house in the mountain side". Faith began to take the food out of the oven and plate it up carefully as Buffy had no idea what it was but it looked pretty and smelled even better.
"Thank you for cooking dinner, it always looks and smells so good did you take lessons or something?" Buffy waited until Faith had returned to the table and sat across from her.
"I... I spend alot of time with Rubys brood, she's always been a great help, she's like family B" she seemed to be off somewhere in her memories for a moment before snapping out of it and begining to eat. Buffy joined her and savored every bite of Faiths masterful cooking.
"But i have a feeling that while you're here i'm gonna be head chef, we dont exactly do 'burnt pop tarts' in Al-Kufir" Faith gave her a cheeky smile that was returned in earnst.
"You're never gonna let me live down my lack of cooking skill, it's not liked i'd burn the house down..." but Buffy didn't give her most reassuring look as she bit down on some strange colored flesh covered in and even stranger sauce.
Faith put her fork down and rushed over to the refrigerator and produced two ice cold, honey colored nuka colas and brought them over to the table with two long red glasses that looked brand new and topped with triangular ice cubes. Faith popped the caps and poured Buffys First.
"You know if you keep treating me like this, i am literally gonna have to marry you Faith" Buffy gave her a loving look as Faith responded almost giddily.
"We should probably wait a year or three before you get down on bended knee B, you won't like me alot when we're on town gaurd duty 12 hours a day". she moved over to her seat and began to pour herself a glass of Honey nuka.
"Man, i'm kinda looking forward to it though, i met a robot bear working security at the Saloon, he was kicking out a drunk slug demon, AN ACTUAL DRUNK SLUG FAITH!" the blonde became overly animated as she tried to prove with her hands the size of the demon and how drunk it was which made Faith Giggle again.
"Yh, Grigas is a bad drunk but a hard worker down by the blacksmiths, Doni is always chucking him out on his slimy ass every other night". Faith took a few bites.
"Hell i chucked him out once after he slimed a working girl by accident, poor thing was stuck to the wall for hours, thankfully the town doc was in the bordello upstairs or she mighta been stuck there the whole night" Faith mocked the sight by pretending to be stuck to an imaginary wall.
"Why don't they ban him?" Buffy asked innocently and Faith just shrugged dismissively as she took a sip of Nuka Honey.
"Jeans the boss and the slug pays his dues, he aint a bad guy B, lotta people look weird here but most of em have a heart of gold and want a quiet life" which was words Buffy could agree with as she nodded her head in understanding.
"You really like it here, huh... i can see why" Buffy was almost have done with her food as she took her first sip of ice cold nuka honey and her eyes shot open wide.
"Fuck me that's good... i knew the honey one would taste better than the mint" Buffy was in shocked she took another long exploratory sip. her happy squeal over the taste made Faith have to stifle a laugh.
"B... There's like a 100 flavors of Nuka, Jeans gets a huge shipment in every 3 months from the Moja'vela, it's his best seller" the dark haired slayer who was now a little bit more tan had taken another sip and secretly agreed with Buffy that it was indeed the best one she had tasted.
"Wait, i've tried like 6 whole flavors and there's that many more just waiting for me!" Buffys eyes opened wide as she couldn't wait to try them all and Faith knew it.
"Just try a new flavor every day B, hell I'll even take a picture each time if ya want" and Buffy actually seemed to like the idea and began to concoct ways she could annoy Faith with nuka and picture duty.
"Not a bad idea, we can drink em in weird places... maybe on top of a sandworm!" Buffy offered but Faith just gave her a look of absoloute dread.
"So, should i order a coffin from the undertaker for you now or after you fall from a giant ass demon worm?" Faith asked her seriously but Buffy didn't seemed to worry one single bit.
"Do ya think they'll give you a discount cause i'm so portable?" Buffy joked about her size and it made Faith almost spit her food out and her hand gestures hadn't really helped at all, in fact they made it worse.
"Man, that's a question he'd love to answer" her thoughts went over to the dark humoured undertaker who would get a kick out of Buffys sillyness almost as much as she did. "ah, you'll meet him on duty probably, guys a great shot" Faith finished hed meal and Buffy wasn't far behind her.
"That was delicious and i have no idea what it even was or really any food 'is' here" Buffy leaned back against the chair and drank her nuka until it was empty.
"I don't know what i would do without you" she admitted as Faith collected the cutlery, plates and her glass and began to wash up. Buffy herself had stood up and moved over to her jacket and retrieved a red leather book and slowly walked up behind Faith and waited for her to finish up and turn around. the brown eyed girl was dring her hands with a clean rag as she turned to see Buffy standing there with a book in her outstretched hand.
"i stopped by the bookshop and the clerk said you hadn't read this on yet" she handed her the book and Faith looked over the title.
"Seven Suns of Malhakuur" Faith read the title aloud and let it hang in the air.
"The clerk said you would like it, i kinda had no idea what to buy but when i mentioned it was for you he said he had the perfect book ready" Buffy gave her a nervous look and had trouble meeting her eyes.
"It's thoughtful, ya didn't have to B..." Faith opened the red tome and was liking what she saw from the chapter list.
"i hope you like it, I'm not so great with gifts in all honesty" Buffy turned to walk away and was brought back effortlessly with a single hand.
"Would you like to sit with me and read before bed B" and Buffy answered her with a kiss that she happily returned.
"I've never wanted anything more". and they both moved over to the sofa and got comfortable as they enjoyed the evening together in quiet solitude.
~~*
Sina had been run ragged the whole morning as she was waking recruits for the town gaurd and finding any extra weapons or explosives they could use to deter The Sandworms got to town as the longwave radio had made it Known they were definetly on their way to Al'Kufir. Buffy and Faith were sent off to lay high yield neuron disruptors before the sun had even risen as Jean had the town bells rang in order to warn of incoming danger.
The whole town was battering down the hatches and preparing for the worse cause scenario. Problem was that Faith made it clear they didn't have anywhere near enough disruptors to confuse a huge stampede of these things and that was why Rhino and Sina were now looking for any weapons of explosives they could get their hands on.
Jean had info that the stampede was gonna run straight down mainstreet just after 2pm and they had 7 hours to get everything in place and people sheltered or they were gonna be looking at a bloodbath. Faith had layed the disruptors 2.5 miles out as she wanted to cause enough spread and confusion among the worms that they would naturally alter their direction, Buffy had to learn to handle the disruptors quickly as Faith ran her ragged getting everything done.
Sina had managed to get a few boxes of dynamite and Rhino had called in some favors to borrow some high powered rifles he had seen pierce Sandworm shell before. The slayers had returned 2 hours later on an ugly looking hoverbike and reported in to Jean they had lain the disruptors and Faith marked their positions on Jeans holographic map of the area.
Sina had brought the dynamite and they spent 10 minutes deciding the positions they wanted to place them and in the likely case the lack of disruptors led to a breach that led directly down main street, alot of Sandworms would be blown to high heaven. Sina went to set up the dynamite with a few boys from the town gaurd who knew what they were doing, Rhino on the other hand sought out the towns best sharp shooters and handed them rifles and Jeans showed them the best sniper positions that allow for maximum cover and clear shots to rain down on the wormy bastards.
Faith on the other hand had decided she would help the towns people get to the storm shelters and basements on the far side of town as everyone was sure the sandworms were going to race down mainstreet or another direction entirely.
Buffy had no idea what to do as she was left alone by the bar and Jean had made it clear that their plan was almost perfect and she could grab a drink until they needed her, she knew it was really because she hadn't spent enough time in Al-Kufir to really be of any help unless something needed Physically challenging. she wasn't even sure where everything was as They had spent two weeks on holiday in a completly different town basking in the suns dazzling rays.
Buffy was fully armed and ready and yet she had hours to waste and it was annoying her to no end, but thankfully she had tried a brand new flavour of Nuka Cold called Tropical Sea breeze. she had managed to take a polaroid picture oh herself and the drink and a robot baretender that she thought had come out rather nicely and chucked it in her jackets inner pocket that had a big strong zip.
Jean had taken interest in what she was doing and asked about the picture taking and Buffy told him she was just making memories as he started up another cigar and told her to come take a picture of them together by the holographic map. they both struck a pose and one of Jeans town gaurd had snapped the pic and after inspecting it's quality she eventually placed it with the other in her jacket pocket.
Jean was happy Buffy was taking an interest in a hobby he said was 'good for a persons soul' and photography was an extension of ones inner self. The wily young blonde took what the pig demon had said to heart and had decided to go outside and take some more photos as she had alot of time to kill before all havoc broke loose.
"Hey! you're Buffy right?" a small robed figure resplendant with orange and reds was sparkling under the morning sun. Buffy realised quickly she must of known Ruby because they looked very similar, its just this girl was smaller and seemingly bubblier in the vocal department.
"Yh, that' me little one... but who are you?" Buffy asked as she snapped a photo of the little robed girl with no face and began whipping the picture in the air waiting for it to develop. The small colorful figure didn't seem phased at all.
"Ruby wants to see you, heard you shot a dimension hopper and she wants to know about it... or maybe she just wants to annoy ya, it's 50/50 with ol'Ruby" the little figure suddenly ran off in the opposite direction to rubya shop at such a speed that she had kicked up dust and was completly gone when it dissapeared.
Buffy sputtered and coughed as she had taken in a bit of dust, "Damn speedy gonzales... blerghhh!" Buffy cleared her throat and put her new picture with the others before turning to Ruby's shop and spying the Blue robed figure waiting for her by the door.
"Damn, must be summin serious if she's getting a kid to sand me up and leg it" Buffy spoke to no one in particular as gaurds and towns people passed her in a hurry. She waved and began walking over to the enchantres, all the while wondering what on earth she could possibly want to know about the beachside bounty whose brains she blew out across a poor families living room walls. or maybe she was just being nosy. Everyone always seemed to be all up in Faiths buisness every day, like back in Sunnydale, people were just nosy.
~~*
Faith was directing townsfolk to the nearest shelters and had been for an hour or more, she trusted Rhino and Sina to get the explosives laid and the snipers in position and as long as Buffy didn't find her way into trouble then everything seemed to be going smoothly. she was directing one of the working girls demon children into a newly opened, well fortified bunker as the Madame of the Saloon and Jeans Buisness parter arrived with even more of her girls and boys in tow.
"Oh my Amber Rose! aren't'ya a wee dear helpin us get to shelter during another Sandworm hulapalooza" the top heavy lamia was slithering up towards the girl as seductively as she ever had. Faith told em to get in as there was enough room for everyone and a few gaurds help the girls take their valuables and selves down to the shelter as the madame took her to the side for a more 'private' discussion.
"Mrs Majestus... what's wrong, it's not like you to take me to the side for a discussion... is something wrong?" Faith queried as the woman looked around to make sure no one was listening and they were far from prying eyes. "Your little golden haired fire cracker..." She started. Faith gave her a confused look.
"Buffy? what about her, she's ok right?" the madame saw the panick rise in the brunettes eyes and slapped her on the head with her chinese style fan. "Ow! what the hell Maj! what's that for?" she grabbed her cowboy hat with an annoyed tone and made it clear the lamia hadn't actually hurt her, it had just stung a little.
"She gave Jean a 'little talking too' concerning the little bet our patrons have running over you, told 'im he was 'rude' and scared the demiurge outta him last night" Maj the madame didn't seem annoyed by it at all as she was happily 'spilling the tea' as she used to say when gossiping over things.
"She seems ta have a sweetspot for ya my little chocolate drop". her fan had bopped Faith on the nose very lightly and Faith ignored it after she had heard what she could not believe she had heard, it seemed almost impossible in her own mind.
Faith was shocked to hear Buffy had said something over the bet the Saloon had running, especially since in private she had made it absoloutly clear everyone had bets running over the stupidest things. hell Faith had money on how long it would take Johnny to blow another cadets limb off in a training exercise with the town gaurds again. but she knew Jean wasn't angry or he would of said something to her about Buffys actions and before she had left the cute blonde in the saloon with him. where they were joking about all manner of random stuff and Jean hadn't said a damn thing.
"Buffys, she's a sweet girl Maj, full of morals and junk ya know" Faith forced an awkward smile as Maj tried to read the girls expression as she had never seen this one before on Faith.
"Well... well, it seems obvious now why you've refused my girls and boys services for so long and it's such a shame as well, they all speak so longingly of you" Maj began to shake her head and fan at the same time to show her dissapointment over her internal revelation. Faith however wasn't exactly following the conversation well.
"I'm afriad i don't quite get your meaning Madame..." Faith eyed her suspicously but she rolled her red eyes with a blue point in the centre.
"I spent months trying my hardest to get ya patronage and you had a lover in another dimension the whole damn time, makes me out to be a right fool it does lil one" Madame waved her fan twice as hard and wore quite the sourpuss as she continued speaking and didn't give Faith a moment to respond.
"Imagine me tryin ta force my services on you cause you looked so down in the dumps and it turns out you were longingly waiting for that pretty, cute little spitfire the whole time" Maj produced a long cigareete from what seemed like thin air and began toking on it as she spoke.
"No wonder you keep to yourself so much, my little lamia heart breaks thinking about how hard it must of been for you" Her face sunk at the thought but as hastily as Faith tried to speak she cut her off again with a firm but extremly dramatic voice.
"My poor girls are heartbroken, 'specially when ya disappeared to the beach for two weeks... but ah, young love is such a beautiful thing" she cooed and took a long drag and puff of her cigarette, she was silent and Faith took that as her chance to finally respond to the calliope of her sudden words.
Faith breathed in nervously as she responded but tried to seem confident as she spoke. "I think you've misunderstood Maj, i'm just a private kinda lady and Buffy's... well, she is a... an old friend" Faith knew she sounded unconvincing as she said it.
"I don't know where you got this idea from but if you could please forget about it and leave me to my own, that'd be great... grand even" Faith tried her hardest to sound earnest and put her hands up in mock surrender as she said the next bit.
"plus i aint judging but paying for a good time just aint my style ok, just like sticking my nose in other peoples affairs" Faith gave Maj a look that told her enough is enough and she should butt out of her personal life and the Lamia madame who ran the more sexual side of the saloons buisness understood her meaning immediately and turned to looks at the last of her girls entering the shelter.
"I'll break it ta the staff that your both spoken for little one... but before i go just a piece of advice, one girl to another" Maj's eyes seemed to soften.
"learn to be more honest with ya'self, best thing ya can ever do in life for ya'soul is ignore the bullcrap that bubbles up from within. it aint worth lying ta the voice in ya head for any longer than you have to" she flicked her cigarette a few yards away and made her way down to the shelter and watched the gaurds close up the hatch for the hopefully temporary guests. and Faith was absoloutly dumbstruck by the conversation she had just experienced.
Thankfully a group of gaurds had appeared to make a report and she was happy to avoid any discussions about her love life. she was even more pleased when she heard that all the civilans and Buisness owners were stored safely away inntheir shelters and the town was pretty much empty apart from bounty hunters and town gaurds whom were currently awaiting orders from Jean at the homebase (saloon). she also got word that both Sina and Rhino had completed their tasks and were returning as quickly as they could to make final preparations before engaging the enemy.
The brunette slayer had decided to make her way back to base and join the team as her work had taken longer than she had expected and she needed to hear any changes or problems before she could protect the town to the best of her ability. Her love for Buffy was a given but she was begining to be annoyed by everyones constantly butting in and giving their two cents in her private life.
She was reminded of how Willow and Xander had always done the same with Buffy and she had always thought it was weird back then and now she was slowly realising that it was maybe that way because her friends cared for her like she cares for the people in this town.
~~*
Ruby had invited Buffy inside her shop wordlessly and as the petite blonde closed the door behind herself she felt it lock magically and reacted by placing her hand on the Mauser at her side and keeping her sharp eyes trained on Ruby as she walked over to sit at her enchanters table.
"I looked the door so no one would disturb our talk" Ruby cleared her table magically and motioned under her robe for Buffy to sit down and begin their discussion and the Slayer decided to do just that as she covered the length of the room in seconds and sat herself down without reservation. she wasn't scared of Ruby but she also wasn't stupid enough to underestimate here either, the little blue robed mage obviously had powers that made Willow seem magically illiterate compared to her.
Ruby pointed her robed hand to a piece of paper Buffy hadn't seen materialise in the centre of her enchanted table "A little piggy juet happened to mention you collected the bounty on that dimension hopper who was trafficking children in Kal'Mahin while you and Faith were supposed to be on holiday" Ruby pointed to the pointed and she showed Buffy a picture of what looked like the portal she had destroyed but a little different in size and shape.
"was he carrying a portal per chance? these things are worth an arm, leg and a head to the right people you know". Ruby noticed Buffys eye twitch and her demeanor change as she obviously recognized the object. "I see... and what did you do with it, do you still have it?" she asked in a questioning tone.
Buffy shot her a worried look but had decided to tell her the truth "I shot it to pieces... i had my reasons" and she mimed herself shooting it and the small explosion it made which turned the room dead silent as Ruby was trying to come to terms with what she had just been told. her voice cracked as she spoke.
"You destroyed an interdimensional portal... which could have sent you home in an instant... because you had your reasons?!?" her voice got higher at the end. Buffy cringed at the words. "Well, it makes me seem like an idiot when you put it like that Ruby" The small girl nervously chuckled as Ruby used a magical hand to slap the slayer in the face.
Buffy winced in pain and cried back "What the hell was that for?" and Ruby responded "Cause you're a damn fool blondie!" Ruby used the same magical hand to slap her across the other cheek but this time Buffy blocked it.
"Faith had refused to let me search for one for over a damn year! when you popped up she became desperate and finally took me up on the offer and you... you shot it to pieces, a priceless magical item!" Ruby was angry and she could hear it in her voice but Buffy remained silent and blocked another magical slap which forced her out of her chair and onto the floor.
"Why? she wants to help you and ya just what! piss it up a wall! why would you shoot a portable portal! what on the third moons desert planes would possess you to be so dumb!" Ruby was now throwing magical slaps her way in a flurry of glistening hands and Buffy had trouble dodging and blocking them all and if she was completly honest with herself, they stung like hell.
Ruby clicked her fingers and the magic halted instantly, Buffy was still standing but stung all over and furious at what had just occured. "She won't leave with me Ruby, she wants to stay here..." Buffy heavily breathed the truth into Rubys shop.
"Then why didn't you just take the portal and run... there's nothing here for you anyway aren't your friends and family waiting for you back home?" Ruby asked with a hint of wonderment in her voice.
"It's complicated, i'm just not leaving right now and anyway my friends are smart... they'll figure something but maybe..." Buffy didn't sound a hundred percent sure they would but she had hope anyway.
Ruby was still angry but she was now interested more in Buffys reasoning then the destroyed portal, "Is it our Faith, is she the 'complexities' of which you speak" and Buffys cheeks flushed Red and betrayed herself as Ruby had hit the nail swiftly on the head with extreme precision.
"Well, isn't that a twist... i wonder how Faith would feel about that, maybe i should tell her" Ruby was quick to react as Buffy lunged forward only to be met by an invisible wall and slammed to the floor instantly.
"Don't you dare... she doesn't need to know!" Buffy rose from the floor on wobbly feet and was starting to get annoyed with how easy Ruby was flinging her around.
"And, why shouldn't I... give me a reason as to why i shouldn't tell Faith you're an idiot who blows up her only chance to get home?" Ruby was staring the Slayer down as if she was a battle hardened warrior and it was quite a feet considering she hid her entire face behind that robe.
"I... look you can tell her i'm dumb as fuck all ya want, but there's no way in hell im going anywhere without Faith!" Buffy flipped her the middle finger in defiance. Ruby began chanting and Buffy instantly responded by getting into her fighting stance but nothing came. in fact a large wooden crate appeared on the table and Buffy nervously moved forward to inspect what Ruby had conjured from the ether.
"She told me, not long after we met that you hated her, despised her even... and she hurt you deeply and that she knew you could never forgive her even if she wanted you too... it wasn't long after she saved my family from a very nasty demon". Ruby magicked the box open and Buffy peaked inside but was hanging on Rubys words.
"If she doesn't want to leave Buffy, respect her decision and find a way to fuck off" there was a tinge of venom in her voice but it was barely noticable unless you were expecting it.
"Although, if you really want to stay and remain by Faiths side... i won't stop you, hell i'll even help you" Ruby spoke in a happy tone. Buffy had her eyes on two large hunting rifles that Ruby had obviously enchanted.
"But i want to know... why? and if you tell me the truth i will hand you these rifles and even keep your little portal destroying secret" Ruby sang almost in a jovial Voice.
"And what if i lie?" Buffy joked but she soon wished she hadn't as the whole shop began to shake and she heard the screams of the damned howling in torment as Ruby began to Vibrate with energy that Buffy could taste in her mouth like putrid metal.
"If you lie... Faith'll just be told you fell through another portal... if you catch my meaning" Ruby threatened as the screams seemed to hit a crescendo and stop abruptly as the taste drenched her tongue and she was force to cough and sputter out spit on the floor of Rubys shop. Ruby was her claw at her mouth and throat as she kept trying to spit and cough up the taste but she didn't help the struggling blonde girl, she just watched her struggle for a few pained minutes. Buffy slowly recovered an stumbled to her feet and continued spitting the taste away as her mouth flooded with saliva in response to the magical taste of acrid, outrid metal that had invaded her mouth.
"So why, why don't you want to leave without her, what is keeping you here?". Ruby handed her a canteen of water and washed her mouth out thoroughly and drank it all as the taste slowly dissapated fully from her mouth.
Buffys eyes were red and filled with tears from the sheer vulgarity of the painful experience, she chucked the canteen back with a little too much force and layed her feelings on the line.
"She loves me...she told me so in Kal'Mahin... she didn't even want me to say anything back, she just wanted me to know but that was after i... shot the portal" Buffy wiped her mouth and coughes again as Ruby sat completly still in place, eyeing Buffy from her chair.
"I panicked Ruby, i saw an opportunity to leave and i got scared she wouldn't come with me... and if i'm honest with myself... i didn't really wanna go back to Sunnydale anyway" Buffy walked closer and leaned against the back of the chair as she tried to catch her breath.
"She spent over a year here Ruby, i cant blame her for changing or getting stronger than me... but she's different... since i came here she layed it all out on the table".
Buffy managed to catch her breath and slowly place herself down on the chair but she was still holding her throat as if burned a little. "She killed a man i thought i was in love with, i wanted to kill her and hell she didn't even apologise for it, she made some good points that i had ignored for way too long". She looked away from Ruby as her veiled face seemed to repel her, she couldn't bare to have her look into her eyes.
"I wanted to be normal... do what was expected of me but Faith, she was always so... confusing and she made things 'harder'... more complex" Buffy found herself rubbing her eyes and removing tears from them.
"But here... we can be ourselves and it's amazing... so amazing i blew that god damned portal to smithereens and i dont feel sorry about it" Buffy finished wiping her eyes and looked straight into Rubys Veil.
"I... I love her Ruby and i'm scared that one day my friends will drag me back to that dry empty hell i called my life and it'll be without her..." Buffy let her tears freely flow now. "She's everything I've ever wanted and needed, how can i leave her? tell me Ruby! How can i go back when the only place i feel safe is in her arms! in her bed!" Buffy was almost screaming as her voice rose sharply. Ruby was deadly still and unreactive.
"Do you know what we did last night? we just sat together reading a book... and i've never been happier, she cooked us dinner, waited on me hand and foot and i found myself unable to picture a future without her.." Buffy threw her cowboy hat to the ground as the emotions of her words were overwhelming her.
"i thought i knew what love was with Angel... and now i know for a fact just how childish that shit was... i wasn't in love with him, it was the idea of romance that i was obsessed with. i wanted normality and something greater than anyone could ever provide at the same damn time".
Ruby appeared in front of the girl on the table and was embraced by an impossible number of warm blue hands and Buffy just let it out and sobbed in her embrace.
"I love her Ruby and i've barely scratched the surface, i want to know who she realliy is... who i really am!" and Buffy cried in her arms as she confided how she felt in the many demonic arms of the robed enchantress.
~~*
The Saloon was filled with the sounds of a war room as Jean bellowed orders and double checked positions with the town gaurds, seventy odd fully armed demons of varying forms and ethnicities double checking their gear and grouping up with the towns 67 bounty hunters who Faith had never seen all in one place before. It was crazy how easily everyone was actually getting along when the town was in danger, we even managed to wrangle in some volunteer snipers from the civilians. Faith was thankful everyone had their rifles on hand, last time a lack of rifles led to a bad time and alot of deaths until Faith herself and a gaurdsman who was currently checking his grenade pouch had managed to set off an ungodly amount of dynamite on the south side of town and send 3 sandworms to their wormy grave.
She slipped through the old and fresh meat and made her way to Jean, "Hey bossman! civs are in the shelters, are the bombs and disruptors online?" Jean gave her a hoofed hand in the air and a nod which meant 'yes' and she ran into Sina who was manning the bomb detonators and a walkie talkie whilst looking out one of the curved windows with binoculars, she was keeping a close watch as she received periodic updates.
She handed Sina a gatling gun she had just taken off the town armorer and laid it next to her with an extra ammo belt. Rhino was staying in the hills to lay down rifle fire, she heard him on a seperate radio channel and decided to grab a multi channel radio for herself and found one a few minutes later from a Bounty hunter she nad never seen before.
After a short conversation and many well wishes Faith realised that Buffy wasn't in the Saloon and she felt a slight pit of panic rise in her chest, she searched the room from afar before bolting outiside and searching right to left. She felt a great sense of relief when she spied Buffy walking out of Rubys with two rifles in her hands and rushed across the dusty main street road. her worry subsided and she caught up to the cute blonde cowgirl who hadn't seen her yet.
"B, where were you!?" Faith loudly shouted as she got closer and the girls eyes lit up as she spied the brunette making her way over.
"What ya got there? Ruby giving out rifles now?" Faith asked as Buffy chucked them to the floor and flung herself into the Brunettes open arms. she kissed her long and passionately as she didn't care if anyone saw them, she just wanted to feel her warmth and soft but strong touch.
"That's a pretty neat way to say hello B, did ya miss me that much?" Faith chuckled weakly as Buffy tighened her hold on the smaller slayer.
"every second you weren't here dummy" Buffy whispered into her chest which began to race as Buffy kissed her collarbone before letting go and leaning over to pick up the rifles she had chucked to the ground.
"Guess i'll have to dissapear more often if this is how you greet me when i return" Faith was handed a rifle that looked eerily close to her uncles winchester 1866 lever action, although the wood was an odd dark swirly red color and the golden metal complimented it brilliantly. Buffys on the other hand was closer to a browning lever action but also underhanded, the green was also swirly but the metal was a strong silver hue.
"Don't get me wrong Faith, i love watchin you go... but its the waiting for ya to come back that does the most damage" Buffy giggled as she cocked and aimed her rifle towards the far end of town and fired at a stray barrel. the barrel exploded into a million pieces as The magical green bullet shot through the air with such a velocity that it left a large crater in the ground behind the barrel and went 6 ft deep minimum.
"Holy shit let me try!" Faith cocked the underhand lever and aimed towards the open area of desert which the Sandworms were known to be comin from and aimed low to purposefully hit the ground sooner. she fired true and was shocked to see shoutgun like balls fire at high spped and leave 7 or 8 large craters 450-770 yards out from their position. As she turned back to face Buffy she had a large smile on her face like a kid who just shot off her first firework and couldn't believe her eyes.
"B... this is so fucking awesome! were gonna fucking have so much fun with these!" Buffy was also giddy as Sina ran out of the saloon and screamed over to them to make sure they were alright and Faith fired the rifle in the same direction again and Sina realised everything was fine afterwards and went back into the Saloon to go back on sandworm watch.
"So... d'ya think Sina, saw me kiss you?" Buffy asked in an awkward tone as she had no idea she was using binoculars from the window to search for sandworms. Faith grinned and decided to crudely joke.
"What, scared of being known as a rugmuncher B... ya didn't seem to hate it this morning in the shower" Faith watched Buffy walk off but not before her face went tragically red at remembering what they had done in the shower before work.
"It's not that... you don't want anyone to know your, buisness... do you?" and she turned back to Faith, rifle in hand and stomped her right foot like an angry child.
"I don't want people to think badly of you cause, cause i can't keep my hands off you!" Buffy proclaimed as Faith simply walked past her and motioned for her to follow her over and into the home base Saloon.
Halfway back Faith spoke plainly to Buffy who was easily keeping pace with the taller dark slayer. "Buffy, if they find out it doesn't matter ok..." And Buffy gave her a skeptical look as she questioned if that was entirely true considering how much Faith enjoyed her privacy.
"I'm not going to say it outright that i'm gay for a beautiful short blonde girl... but i am gay and it ain't something that keeps me up at night, ok" Faith tone was strong but sweet and deep as Faith made it clear to the smaller Slayer that she was a whole lot more comfortable with her sexuality than Buffy currently was. But Buffy had also realised that for Faith, these feelings weren't new and she never hid them from anyone. she flirted with her like crazy in Sunnydale so it made sense that Buffys repressed sexuality didn't exactly come naturally when she tried to express it so openly.
"I wish i could be so open... this is all so new for me, wonderful but also sometimes confusing, ya know" Buffy playfully elbowed Faith and she was nudged back as they made it to the Saloon stairs.
"Yh... i remember the first time i saw you at the bronze, flipped my world upside down!" Faith had let a secret slip and Buffy couldn't believe what she was hearing, had Faith just admitted to Buffy being her realisation, her gay awakening. Faith had also realised what she had said and placed her hand over mouth faster than she had cocked her new rifle.
"Don't say a word, B..." Faith angrily mumbled clearly from behind her hand as she opened the Saloon door for the cute blonde.
"lips are sealed..." Buffy grinned with a dopey look pasted across her bubbly form as Faith held the door open for her and she entered the Busy home base for the upcoming town defense.
~~*
"Sina... you got five minutes until disruptor contact, there barreling down that straight... keep the Dynamite primed till we see how many get through" Faiths walkie talkie clicked and high sounding static ran through the air. she had positioned herself on top of the Sugar boy, her enhanced slayer powers had made it easy to leap the distance and lift herself up and over onto the dirty wooden roof where she plopped herself into position. the mix of gaurds and bounty hunters had positioned themselves all over mainstreet as the plan had become to concentrate a hail of bullets both magical and high caliber upon any unlucky sandworm that wandered down the dusty old strip. every roof had a sniper or two and the windows of every shop were wide with the end of several rifles and a few grenade launchers that were primed to strike at a moments notice.
Suddenly her Radio clicked on and through the static she heard Buffy loud and clear. "I'm in position, left side, last building and that dust cloud is getting a whole lot bigger all of a sudden". the radio clicked off and Faith noticed that not only was Buffy already aiming towards the dust cloud but the dust cloud was definetly increasing in size. Faith opened all channels on her radio.
"Wait until the dynamite goes off after the disruptors do their job! then we will concentrate our fire on any son bitch that sneaks through" Faith switched to Rhinos frequency as he was higher up in the hills with some long range snipers and alot of patience. "Hey big man how we looking out there!" She was waiting onnthe static for a ling while until she fjnally heard the click and he respinded pointedly.
"17 worms all large, about 12 to 16 ft high and maybe 150 to 230 yards long... Faith they're a little bigger than normal and these ones look mean" Rhino cut the radio and waited for her response. "Rhino, eta 3 minutes till first contact, fire after 2nd and keep us posted on the stragglers if ya can ok". Faith placed the radio down in the sandy roof and focused down the length of her new rifle barrell.
Faith was uncomftorble in her current position but it was the best she could do considering she was part of the last line of town defence, those worms were tough but as she learned last time she encountered them, enough bullets can turn even the biggest desert monster to mushy swiss cheese. she looked down into the Saloon and saw Sina with the massive gatling gun she had given her, she was in the zone and it made the brunette thankful Sina wasn't a bounty mark, that barbarian girl was tough as hell. last time she had chucked a bag of grenades into a sandworms mouth and it covered the desert in disgustingly blue viscera which Faith thought was strange since on the outside they were a multitude of brown hues ranging from light to dark and everything inbetween.
Buffy Was was waving and pointing to her walkie talkie, Faith spied what she was doing and clicked over the switch a few times to their previously designated private signal.
"Hey, Faith... you sound really cool, all boss like and in charge!" Buffy was back to aiming but kept her rifle trained on the dust cloud growing in the distance. "Is it doing anything for ya?" Faith jovially chuckled as she flirted back but was shocked when Buffy followed suit.
"Never seen you take charge like this before... they say power corrupts ya know". Faith was begining to feel a little hot under the collar. "B... please, we have a job to do... focus kay" Faith said with a soft breathy inflection. Buffy didn't repond for a moment but she turned to blow her a kiss before responding.
"When were done here, can i buy you a drink?" she asked with a wavy unsure tone in her voice.
"Nuka wild sunrise... and B, switch back to the main channel before i spring over there and spank your tight little ass" Faith heard her chuckle first before she responded and then switched channels back.
"Only if i can bite yours back baby". Faith bit her lip and gripped her rifle tighter as she was loving what she was hearing right up until Rhino was on all channels and she spied a bunch of blue flashes in the distance.
"We got Contact, they look like their changing direction, not sure yet keep ya posted" Rhino sounded calm until only 20 seconds later and he was screaming down walkie talkie.
"7 sandworms in bound, long range will begin firing, explosives will fire on my mark!" and as he said it a magnificent rain of brightly colored rounds began hailing down on the far off sandworms. but the closer they got the louder the worms became and then as they were 900 yards out and could be seen taking an insane barrage of rifle volleys.
"Mark!!!" and they dynamite went off a second later and created a wall of brown sand and intense fire.
Moments past and then the Worms emerged from the dust cloud and continued on to town at insane speeds whilst sounded as if they were screaming horrifically.
"3 MORE ON ROUTE 4 DOWN, TOWN GAURD OPEN FIRE IN RANGE!!!" Rhino bellowed as his own long range snipers continued to rain down hellfire uoon them with deadly accuracy. the bullets chipped the hardened scaly skin but barely did any real damage as an explosion would. in fact only one sandworm had a multitude of bloody wounds and it began straggling behind. Buffy began firing with everyone else and her rifle was tearing large chunks off the leader of the pack and they were only 600 yards out and still barreling towards town as the gaurds began lighting up main street with a cacophony of sounds and schrapnel. Sina was half in and out of the window with her Gatling gun ready, she was planning to jump out and fire when it got within 400 yards of her.
Faith was raining a multitude of explosive shot which were detonating on impact and managed to flip one of the worms with the help of a well placed blast from Buffys rifle and a lone grenadier standing on the last house on the strip. he continued loading and firing like a mad man as Buffy switched targets to the second and last sandworm behind the leader as she could see Faith and the grenadier had the leader dead to rights. the 3rd sandworm was already a shot up and half opened carcass as the snipers in the mountains had absoloutly decimated the 12ft monstrosity and continuing to absoloutly pummel the monster into the hot sands.
Buffy who was also positioned atop the last building but on the left side across from the grenadier had to bail and jump as the sandworm barrelled into the building she was standing on. the last thing she saw before jumping was the wide open maw aiming directly for her with an unholy amount of cylindrical teeth giving her the creeps.
Faith finished shooting the leader and sprang from atop the sugar boy, hitting the floor and bouncing off her landing with ease, she sped of instantly and rushed over to Buffy who had hit the floor and barely escaped the carnage the demon worm was causing as it began striking and crushing the building in front of her. Sina had also threw herself out of the saloon window the moment she saw Buffy hit the ground, her gatling gun started revolving and seconds later she was shredding the screaming beast as he attacked the next building and crumpled it into dust. Buffy recovered herself slowly and spun her rifle around to fire at the enraged beast as Faith was now beside her and cocking her rifle and firing at inhuman speeds.
"B, you good?" Faith also unloaded her rifle into the foul beast and it was shedding scaly hard skin like crazy.
"So many teeth! kill it!" Buffy screamed as the grenadier who was a member of the town gaurd came up behind them and saw an opening, the beast was now facing them and being torn to shred as the gaurdsmen let fly an entire pack of live grenades into the gaping maw of the beast. Faith stopped firing and grabbed Buffy by the color as all of them got clear before the grenades exploded and tore the beast to gooey shreds. Buffy was the only one still firing as Faith used her supernatural strength to drag the girl over to the right side of the street. As she hit the wooden steps behind her the beast exploded and Buffy stopped firing as Faith threw herself over the girl to protect her, Chunks of sandworm and parts of decimated building flew in every direction.
Sina was already hidden behind cover as the grenadier had dragged her off since she wouldn't stop firing at the demon and almost got caught up in the blast.
Faith felt the debris fall by her and thankfully miss them both as she realised the firing had stopped she looked up and around to make sure everything was in order. she noticed the gaurds cheering as they all bounded out of the storefronts and buisnesses firing into the air and cheering all around them, Faith searched for her waklkie talkie and realised she had left it on the roof in her panic and she sighed deeply on top of Buffy.
"Left my walkie on the roof... you good blondie?". Buffy just stared at her in a state of shock, as if she was shocked she had survived at all. "ummm, no... so many rows of teeth" Buffy stopped looking at where the worm was mangled and still and instead looked into Faiths warm dark eyes.
"Maybe you should pinch me so i know i'm not dreaming or something". But Faith just rolled her eyes and kissed her long and deep in the lips.
"Maybe just jump out the way quicker next time, works wonders B". Faith smiled happily as Buffy dropped the rifle in her hands and wrapped her hands around the Dark slayers head and pulled her in deeper for another kiss.
"SandWorms are going east towards the deeper desert! no more have passed through the disruptors! we're in the clear guys!" Rhinos voice could be heard screeching through everyones wakkie talkie and the town cheered harder than before. Faith and Buffy were now both to their feet and walking through the crowd with their hands covering their ears as a hail of Bullets were being shot up into the air in celebration.
Sina was up by the Saloon steps and welcomed them inside the building as the commotion outside wouldn't calm down anytime soon. thanfully the Saloon managed to drown out most of the caliope going on outside. Jean was chugging a tall dark ale on top of the bar and cackking heartily at their victory today.
Faith just shook her head as she spied the pig man dancing atop the bar for joy, "Hey Jean, order bigger and better disruptors next time! i don't fancy waking up at the crack of dawn to do all that again". Faith handed Buffy her rifle and jumped behind the bar in search of something as Buffy put hers and Faiths rifles on the counter further away from Jean who was spilling dark ale everywhere as he danced through his happiness.
"I ordered new ones months ago and they're coming with the next alcohol shipment!" he sang as Faith appeared from behind the bar with 2 open and ice cold Nuka Cola wilds and jumped back over the bar to hand one over to Buffy. she happily accepted the new flavor and clinked it together with Faiths before taking a swig and being pleasently suprised by the taste.
"Barkeep! sunrise those colas for the ladies will ya! the towns safe!" Jean screamed as one of his many robot bartenders came and took the drinks from both girls and returned a minute later with two tall glasses in his cold metal hands.
"Thanks robo! hey Faith, this ones not as good as the cherry but still pretty good!" Buffy sipped the now alcohol infused beverage and moaned a little too loudly as she enjoyed the dark root beer like taste. "ah cherry nuka's fine as fuck! wait till you try the wildberry" Faith downed the entire drink and got instant brain freeze. Buffy hurriedly put her drink down and put her hands on the taller girl to make sure she was ok.
"Brain freeze B, or a sugar rush, probably both!" Faith chuckled as Buffy put her hand on her forhead. "you idiot why did you drink it so fast, there colder than a nuns tit!" Faith was still in pain as her ice cold headache began to subside but she still gave Buffy an odd look at what she just said. Buffy realised why she looked confused instantly.
"I heard it from an english vamp once! i'm still woozy from the jump, be kind" Buffy pouted adorably.
The saloon door swung open as the madame and her workers returned to the Saloon, "Amber eyes put the little gold one down for a second and come give me a big old kiss!" the Madame bellowed cheekily as the bar began to fill up again. Faith ignored Madame Majestus and just waved her off as Buffy continued rubbing Faiths brow tenderly with the thumb on her right hand and holding her shoulder with her left. The madame was most certainly not a fan of being ignored she realised.
"Oh my! young love makes all blind to those looking within and not without!" she bellowed as her long snake like tail slithered across the floor and came up besides both Slayers waving her fan with such ferocity that both girls felt their own hair sway in the wind.
"I have spoken to my guys and girls, they will leave you be from now on, since you obviously have no interest in the services we provide". she stuck her nose in the air but Faith just sighed happily and responded with
"Thanks Maj, just make sure to remind em to leave Buffy here alone too while you're at it". she couldn't take her eyes of the smaller Slayer emerald orbs.
The madame slithered away in a huff and began talking to a group of towns gaurd, most likely trying to drum up buisness for her working girls or boys. Faiths headache was slowly fading and she jumped up on a stool and patted her face to try and gain some focus. Buffy seemed confused as she spoke.
"What was that about... guys and girls... services?". Faith let the annoyance at what the madame had said rush across her face and sighed deep.
"They're working girls B, sex for cash... Madame Majestus over there has been trying to get me upstairs since day 1" Buffy seemed angry at the thought it seemed and Faith couldn't understand why since Buffy wasn't exactly the judgemental type.
"And they're never going to try it again, to sell you their 'services'..." Buffy dropped her face low and was obviously thinking about something.
"Well some just throw themselves at me and i chuck em off, but they think i'm single so... can't blame em for trying" Faith leaned back and cracked her neck.
"So they think you're single..." Buffy whispered to herself more than Faith but as she stretched her arms and neck out Buffy appeared between her legs while she sat on the stool. Faith was now face to face with the beautiful blonde girl as she slammed her cowboy hat down on the bar with one hand and Took out her camera with the other.
"I don't share Faith! you know that!" and the moment she said it she pulled Faith in for a long and deep kiss which Faith didn't even think about stopping as she just accepted the girls plump, lucious lips and so lost herself deep within the girls passionate ministrations she didn't even see Buffy extend her hand and snap a quick picture.
As Buffy slowly pulled back Faith lightly moaned low and tried to recapture her lips and barely missed. she opened her eyes to Buffy seductively licking her smooth wet lips.
"You're mine Faith..." Buffys dreamy eyes seemed to out Faith in a trance as she responded with a dreamy, breathy "Always B...".
"BEEEETTTTTSSSS CLOSED!" screamed Jean who was no longer ontop of the bar and was standing with a beer and cigar on one of the many poker tables before he sprang away with a bunch of people who were obviously happy to collect their winnings. Sina was on the radio with Rhino and you could hear him audibly cheer through the static as he had just won a bunch of cash and she went herself to go and collect their winnings from Jean who was now behind the bounty desk with a large money box and a board filled with names. there were also a few people who were annoyed by the fact the girl they fancied was kissing the cute new blonde who had barely just rolled into town from the dusty trail.
Buffy was inspecting the photo of them kissing as Faith was now looking towards the bar with a flushed face.
"So... we're together B, here or Sunnydale... we're a thing" her mind was confused and racing, her voice would've cracked if she hadn't forced it not to. Buffy pushed the barstool closer and sat down together.
"Of course, if you'd like to" she showed her the picture and she took it in hand and inspected it closely before drinking some of Buffys drink and nervously saying.
"So Buffy Summers is my girl, officially no joke or trick, holding hands, dates and loads of hot and steamy kisses anytime of the day and night?". Buffy giggled and put her left hand in her right and kissed the back of her hand.
"Ya don't have to sell me on it Faith, you're my girlfriend". Faith couldn't hide her smile anymore.
"And yes... if we ever go back, they'll just have to get used to the fact i'm gay and happy with you, in fact they don't have a damn choice since i already made it!" Buffy sipped her drink with her free hand and leaned against her girlfriend.
"But i could spend my whole life with you here Faith, adventures, fun... hell we'll probably fight and scream at eachother at one point and it won't change how i feel, i'm just scared you'd get bored of me after awhile..." Faith leaned against her and kissed her hair.
"And how could i get bored of you, i was here alone over a year and i'm still whipped... not loving you is impossible B" Faith admitted softly.
"Well... you fell in love with me at first sight..." Buffy giggled and Faith held her tighter.
"well yh, you're my first love... B... just don't tease me about it ok!" and they kissed deep as the world went on around them and the future was unknown and full of wonders.