Ginger Snap

Thus ends my rewriting of Buffy, Season Three. I've done all the eps I wanted to. Now it's on to s4 and s7. They, too, must be rewritten in the fuffiest manner possible! So, at long last, here's the conclusion to Ginger Snap. (Again, it's unbetaed and rough. Ha!)

Chapter Nine

*

There was a lot of silence the next day. Buffy tiptoed around the house, and Mom was determined to act as if everything was fine. She didn't seem angry any more, or worried, or upset about Faith. More than anything, she seemed confused. At breakfast, she looked up over the edge of her paper and stared at Buffy as though she didn't even recognise her. Buffy glared at her bagel and ignored her. Okay, she'd been under a spell. Buffy understood that. Buffy was the queen of understanding that. She'd been the one to strip down to a raincoat for Xander while under the influence, after all. It wasn't the burning people at the stake that bothered her. It was the fact that her mom's worst fear--the one the demon knew was worth exploiting--was the one thing that made her happy.

Not soap opera happy, either. The real thing. The kind that was less drama and tears, and more actual...well, happiness. Buffy couldn't help smiling into her cream cheese, remembering last night--before all the hurting and the running and the burning, of course.

Mom's paper twitched again. Buffy's smile dropped. She didn't know how they were ever going to get past this. She left the house without a word.

School passed in a blur. People had the dazed, forgetful look they often got after an almost-apocalypse. They knew weird things had happened, but they were determined to pretend everything was just fine. Buffy spent her lunch hour helping Giles reshelve singed books with Willow and Xander. Faith didn't show up.

Buffy spent most of her classes daydreaming. She was going on a date tonight, which everybody knew, because she couldn't shut up about it. At lunch, Xander got caught up in the spirit and asked Amy if near-death experiences made her want to go dancing, and she agreed that it wouldn't be horrible.

Willow was freaking a bit that Oz had to come to dinner with her parents the next week, but Oz just smiled and kissed her silent whenever her babbling got out of control.

So everything was back to normal. Except at home.

Buffy took a long time getting ready. It was difficult, considering she had no idea where they were going, or what they were doing. Faith wanted it to be a surprise. Besides, she kind of wanted to force her mom to notice, and to say something. But Mom puttered around the kitchen and took the Sunnydale mentality to its extreme. Everything was fine. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

The doorbell rang. Buffy raced down the stairs. Mom was in the living room, cleaning away the last traces of her command center.

"That's Faith," Buffy said.

Mom looked up and nodded, then went back to shredding "Never Again!" signs.

"I'll probably be late," Buffy tried again. If I come home tonight at all, she thought. She pretty much hoped that she wouldn't.

"It's not a school night," Mom said. She smiled. As if everything was hunky-dory and peachy-keen.

It made Buffy want to scream. But the doorbell rang again, and there was a muffled "Hey!" from behind the window, where Faith could probably see her standing in the hallway like a spazz.

"I'm coming," Buffy yelled, and opened the door.

"Not enough for my tastes," Faith said with a grin. "You need to relax, girlfriend. Here." She shoved two large pizza boxes into Buffy's arms, then piled on a stack of rented movies.

Buffy stared plaintively at the pizzas. "This is the romantic surprise?"

"Tuck that lip back in, or you might not like what happens to it," Faith said, running her tongue over her own bottom lip suggestively. Buffy raised her eyebrows and pouted harder. Faith laughed. "And no, this isn't the romantic surprise. I'm doing this whole seduction thing, right?" She stepped into the hall and kicked off her boots, dumping a shoulder bag on the floor near the coat stand. She leaned around the corner and waved at Buffy's mom. "Hey, Mrs. S."

"Hello, Faith." Mom folded her arms and regarded Faith affectionately.

"Oh, come on, that's it?" Buffy glared at her mom. "You guys say two words to each other and suddenly everything's fine? I'm a Slayer, you know, I don't just forget all the demons the way everyone else does."

"We worked it out when I called before," Faith said. "Since you were in school, your mom made me promise that we'd do the bonding thing. 'Cause last time things went--well, you know."

"Oh, no." Buffy tried to hold out her hands defensively, but they were full of pizza. She went into the living room and dumped the boxes and movies on the table. "I am not doing this tonight. This is supposed to be our first date. I am not having The Talk during our first date!"

Faith gave her a pleading look that was way too cute to be fair. "But, B, if we don't, then I won't get to give you the romantic surprise."

"You realize that you're cheating," Buffy said, unable to stop herself from smiling like an idiot.

"Yep," Faith said easily. Her smile was pretty goofy, too, showing off her dimples and the sparkle in her eyes. "Now. Come on. I got one pizza for me, one for you two. Let's eat before the cheese congeals."

Buffy eyed her mom before joining Faith on the couch. "So..." she started.

Mom nodded. "So..."

Faith handed Buffy a slice of pizza after taking an enormous bite from her own. After a long space of silence, Faith finished chewing. "So," she said. "I'm not a vampire, I don't have any diseases, I can't get Buffy pregnant, and I love her."

Buffy blushed. "No, really, Faith, don't hold back," she said.

"Hey," Faith said, standing up and patting Mom on the back, where she was coughing after getting pizza down the wrong tube. "I'm just trying to be reassuring here. I never got taken home to anyone's parents before, y'know."

"I know," Buffy said softly. Love welled up inside her. Faith had chosen her to be the one she'd open up to. She wasn't just some random date. This was the real thing. Faith met her eyes over Mom's head, and she tried to send every ounce of her feeling across the space. Faith was probably nervous, after all. "Okay," Buffy said, taking a deep breath. "The same goes for me. Plus, we know that we're going to protect each other, no matter what happens. And, you know, Mom, Slayers...I mean, I know you don't want to think about it...but they don't live that long..."

Faith nodded. "I nearly didn't even get here from Boston. This, it's for keeps."

Mom set her pizza down on a napkin. "Girls...it's not up to you to convince me. I'm the one who should be explaining."

Faith sat down on the couch next to Buffy. Buffy rested her hand on top of Faith's.

"I was nervous when you said that you were..." Mom cleared her throat. "...together. But I don't want to split you apart. It wouldn't work, anyway. The last few days--that wasn't me. I'm not that monster. I want you to be happy, that's all."

Buffy smiled. "We are."

"In that case...I'm just going to go out. Mark's in town, did you know?"

"Yeah," Buffy said. "Have a good time."

"I'm going to trust you two while I'm gone." There was a warning implicit in Mom's tone--one that said they'd better not get up to anything she'd disapprove of. Or at least, nothing that would wake her up.

"G'night, Mrs. S," Faith called dutifully, watching her as she headed out the door. As soon as she was out of sight, Faith pounced on Buffy and kissed her, using her weight and the blanket tangled around both their legs to press Buffy into the couch. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she whispered into Buffy's ear.

Buffy shivered at the feel of her breath and pressed upwards, trying to claw the blanket out of the way. "Probably. But why would Amy agree to go on a date with Xander if she wasn't possessed?"

"Wrong..." Faith kissed her again, longer, deeper. "Guess I'm just gonna have to show you what I'm thinking..."

Buffy moaned at the thought, and buried her hands beneath Faith's shirt. "So--hmm--what's...what's my surprise?"

"You know I'm not into all that romantic stuff..." Faith sat up, enjoying Buffy's fingers brushing higher under her shirt.

"I don't know anything of the sort." Buffy pulled Faith down again, devouring her mouth, licking the cleft in her bottom lip, then sucking her tongue into her mouth. "See?" she panted. "Very romantic."

"Okay, you asked for it," Faith said. She leaped off the couch and gave Buffy a hand to pull her to her feet. "Go on up to your room. I'm gonna surprise the hell out of you."

Buffy went, watching over her shoulder as Faith made little shooing gestures. This was going to be good. Images of Faith in underwear...or lingerie...or, well, nothing at all...assaulted her brain. She stripped to nothing as soon as she was in her room and waited.

After a minute, Faith's voice came from outside the door, pitched for her Slayer hearing. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Buffy grinned. "Promise."

The door swung open, and Faith walked in.

Wearing flannel pyjamas covered in skiing penguins. The same ones she'd been wearing on the ski trip, the first night--their first time.

Buffy felt her mouth drop open.

"I look ridiculous," Faith said.

Buffy shook her head. "That...is pretty much the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

Faith leered at her. "Says you when you're spread out...naked...all over your bed..."

"Come here and ravish me," Buffy said.

And Faith didn't need to be asked twice.


*

The end. Hope y'all enjoyed!


NOVEMBER 27, 2004 -- It's really finished this time, I swear.