The Glitch 2.0

Yep, this is from some of the stuff that was cut out from the original story… but I -am- expanding on it. A lot of the information that Faith will eventually divulge to Taunie is from Go Ask Malice. I know a lot of fans don’t consider the books to be completely canon to the series… but this story isn’t exactly cannon either, so whatthefuckever. Enjoy ^.^

“So when’s your birthday, Mini-me?” Faith asked, twirling her stake around idly. Much as the Slayers may have claimed that vampire activity was picking up, it had been a slow night. Taunie was perched on top of a tombstone, crouched as if she were a gargoyle, even if her wings and tail weren’t out at the moment. Nataunia didn’t answer. “Helloooo… Taunie? T? Taunie-girl… I asked ya a question.”

“Yeah, I heard you.” She shrugged, eying the fresh grave, and wondered when it was, exactly, that Slayers resorted to grave-watching for their patrols. “You call this having picked up?”

“B and I made a light patrol before Bronzing it, and a lot of vamps kinda turn in once the kids from the club have all reached home. Not a lot of idiots out late at night.” Faith offered, twirling her stake again, then raised an eyebrow. “Ya didn’t answer.”

“Nope, I didn’t.” She smirked at the brunette Slayer, and when she saw Faith move to swipe at her playfully, leapt from the tombstone, rolling on the ground and coming up with a laugh. “Why you wanna know?”

“Because you’re my friend.” Faith snorted, then tackled her. The pair went down in a light wrestling match, Nataunia losing quickly. At least the Slayer was going easy on her, even having to be wary of the claws. She stuck out her tongue when she was pinned, then bucked Faith off, glancing at the grave again as she stood. “I wanneda see how ya did with a light load before I just threw ya at a full patrol, Taunie-girl.”

“Yeah, I figured.” She sighed and leaned against a tombstone, tapping her claws on it instead of digging them in like she wanted to. “I don’t know you’re birthday…”

“December 14.” Faith offered with a cocky grin, and flipped the stake. “1980, if ya wanna be all specific. Oh, and since I know your last name’s Laurant cause’a Red, might as well make us even. Faith Lehane. Now… birthday.”

Taunie blinked a few times, surprised. “Um… you’re going to laugh.” She fidgeted, and watched as the turned earth marking the grave started to shift. They’d have company soon. “November fourteenth.” Faith waited for a moment to see if the girl was joking, and then started chuckling. “Why’d you bother finding out my last name?”

“Cause I was curious.” Faith shrugged, still chuckling, and kicked the hand that was groping around through the dirt, attempting to pull the vampire it was attached to up. “Besides, ya knew the last names of everyone else there. Why not the other way around?”

“How do you know I didn’t know your last name then? I might have mysterious, witchy powers that tell me the names and lifespans of people.” Nataunia smirked and wiggled her claws at the brunette slayer. “They’re in flashing red above your head, and only I can see them.”

“Very funny.” Faith snorted, and then smirked a little. “For all ya knew, I was like Madonna, all one-named and stuff.” Taunie rolled her eyes, and then moved forward and staked at the vampire that the Slayer held out of the ground impatiently. She blushed slightly when she missed the heart initially, and then had to re-stake it. “Nice. So you’ll be, er, eighteen, right? Big party. Only couple-a weeks…”

“How about for your birthday we go cause some mostly-legal havoc and forget about my birthday all together.” Taunie asked, vaguely recalling the horror that birthday parties could be in Sunnydale, if Buffy’s various attempts were anything to go by. “Isn’t the eighteenth the Crusty-mint thingy for Slayers?”

“Right…” Faith winced and wrinkled her nose in distaste. She’d avoided hers simply by not being attentive to her Watchers and going rogue, but she’d heard enough about Buffy’s to know that it wasn’t a pleasant experience. “But you’re not a Slayer… and from the look, ya don’t care. Right, no eighteenth… but I’m getting’ ya drunk on your twenty-first.” She paused, and then eyed the girl. “Unless ya already drink and I needa kick your ass.”

“I’ve only ever drank under silent protest.” Nataunia offered, confusing the brunette and smiling as a result. “No worries… and no getting drunk on my twenty-first either… unless, saying I survive in a place like Sunnyhell for the next three years, you plan to babysit my drunk ass and make sure I don’t decide to do fly-byes on Bronze-goers that night.”

She expected a laugh to echo hers, but instead felt a thump on her shoulder. It actually hurt, and she turned a shocked frown on Faith. The Slayer was scowling at her. “Don’t you ever fuckin’ joke about dyin’ like that again, got me T? Never. Ain’t fuckin’ happenin’.”

“Um… right…” She absently rubbed at her shoulder, not really paying enough attention to not snag and rip her shirt sleeve a little. They walked through the cemetery in awkward silence for the next few minutes before they began to banter just as awkwardly. By the time they’d reached the house again, Faith had managed to fish a few brief bits of information out of her about her life before Sunnydale, though not anything particularly specific or significant. Nataunia was surprised that the brunette Slayer was so willing to part with details about herself in return for those small bits of information, considering how closed off she’d been with the rest of the Scoobies when they’d been getting to know each other. True, Faith was in a much healthier place than she had been when first coming to Sunnydale, but it was still more than Taunie expected. Willow’s light was still on, but she didn’t come downstairs when they returned, and it looked like Buffy had already returned, so neither really lingered upstairs long. As she curled under her blankets on the cot, she eyed over at where Faith was getting comfortable. “Faith… it’s not that I don’t appreciate it and all. I mean, I’m honored and, yanno, stuff… but… you’re awefully share-girl with me.”

Silence reigned for a moment before Faith finally sighed and rolled over, not really sitting up to face Taunie, but positioning so that it was easier to hear her. “T… you’re different than the rest of ‘em here. I… we didn’t really tell ya all what’s happened in the past. A lot of shit went down. I was wicked messed up, Taunie-girl. I… I screwed up with the gang. I look at them, and good as it is now, they’ll always have that other shit colorin’ what they think of me. It’ll always be there, in th’ back of their heads, knowin’ what I did… what I can do. You weren’t there, ya didn’t have to feel it, see it. I mean, someday, you’ll probably get the whole story and shit, but ya didn’t experience it first hand. You’re… like a fresh start, as friends go… the closest thing I got to a best friend. I figure, I tell ya what ya ask, cause that’s somethin’ I never offered people before.”

Taunie swallowed and clutched the blankets around her tightly. She hadn’t experienced it, true, and hadn’t been there to see anything first hand… but she knew a lot more than Faith could ever really know. She felt guilty not telling Faith, not just about knowing, but about herself. “Faith… you’re… you’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a best friend. I… um… thanks. I… I still can’t tell you everything… I just can’t… but if you ever wanna know something, I’ll tell you if I can.”

She could practically hear the smile in Faith’s voice as the dark Slayer answered. “Thanks T… but ya tell the gang that I got all mushy with you and I’ll clobber ya.”

“Fuck, same here!” Taunie agreed, and the pair laughed. After a moment, when they’d calmed down, she smirked into the darkness. “You know we have to do a girlie sleepover thing now, down here, just us two shitheads, to confuse the fuck out of the rest of them.”

“I’m not braidin’ your hair, T, and you sure as shit ain’t painting my nails.” Faith growled, barely keeping back her laughter. Nataunia had the sneaking suspicion that the Slayer was blushing, though.

“Fuck that shit. I might make you let me brush your hair, and then make you do that too… but other’n that we’re playing poker or blackjack, eating pizza, and listening for when they try to listen in to say things that will make them gag or faint.” Taunie laughed, and heard the other girl join her. “Fuck I gotta go to the Magic Box with Willow tomorrow at like… ten. Why the hell is it even open that early?”

“Get to sleep, wuss.” Faith commanded from her bed, and Nataunia snorted at her. “I’ll teach ya how to use your big blade tomorrow, if ya can get away from Red at some point… once I’m awake.”

“Lucky brat.” Taunie grumbled good-naturedly, rolling over again and trying to get comfortable enough to go to sleep.

“Night, T.”

“Yeah yeah… night F.” Taunie growled, smiling to herself.

~

“So how did patrol with Faith go last night?” Willow asked with a sly grin as she picked through some of the spell supplies available, Xander yawning over the counter. Anya had scurried off, saying something about money, when they’d entered. Taunie was barely paying attention, though she was supposed to be learning how to pick out proper herbs; she was exhausted.

“Hmm? Patrol? It was a patrol.” Taunie yawned, the action drawing another out of Xander. “I staked wrong, but he was still in the ground, so I just tried again.” She sighed and stretched again. Willow giggled, and slowly what she’d said filtered in. “Fuck… I didn’t mean to admit that. Why do we needa be here this early?”

“Because I’m backing up and securing the school’s computer system this weekend as an independent contractor. I have to be there at twelve.” Willow said, frowning at some sage that had to have been there when Giles first purchased the place… it almost powdered in her hands. “Eugh, either Anya’s not checking her stock as it comes in, or she refuses to throw it out for fear someone will buy this. Even rubbed sage as a cooking seasoning doesn’t powder like this, Taunie, don’t buy it when it does that.”

“Eh… right.” She sniffed and sighed again, trailing along after her. “Patrol was kinda… dead. They went before Bronzing, and I went out with her as a trial, when it’d be slowest… which she only told me after making me sit around waiting for a fresh grave for a while. She was all talkative, though, and there was minimal grunting, so it wasn’t too boring.”

“Didn’t relish the time alone with her then?” Willow teased.

“Ugh, thanks, I need to think of that this early. Really.” Taunie grumbled, then picked up a bag of dried elderberries. “These good? They smell fine.” Willow glanced at them, took a whiff, and then finally picked up one to roll between her fingers, nodding. “Do we not remember me talking about the knowing I have no chance? I’m very firmly in friend category, someone we both know is very firmly not there, and I accept this. There is acceptance and… eugh this smells nasty… acceptance and lack of concern. There was much with the looking happily, and a little wrestling because I’m not just sexy but also a genius… but that’s pretty much it. I’m trying not to think of it too often.”

“Sexy and a genius. I’ll have to remember that.” Willow blushed, but laughed, teasing. Taunie stuck out her tongue and wiggled her piercing at the redhead. Willow blushed more, barely remembering that something about the piercing was involved with the description previously given to Buffy. “That stuff’s supposed to smell like that.”

Taunie cringed and laughed, handing the twisted, nasty root-thing to her mentor and moving over to the lavender bundles to clear her nose, glad that Willow had decided not to continue with the subject. “So what’s going on for Halloween?”

“Really small patrols, supposedly, to make sure no vamps are trying to feed on unsuspecting children, and then a quiet night in, far as I know.” Willow called, picking through the herbs again to find some decent examples for Taunie. The girl was too tired, and too disinterested, to really be paying much attention, though, and it was the kind of thing that required time and experience to pick up. “Why?”

“Eh, no reason.” Right… Halloween is supposed to be the night off for Slayers. Maybe next year I can see what it’s supposed to be like for normal people. Taunie glanced over at Xander, and smirked at him sleeping on the counter. They were the only ones in the shop, though, so he didn’t really have to watch out for anything. Likely, the bell on the door would alert him to anyone else. “Doing anything for Samhain then?”

“A small ritual. Did you want to join me?” Willow actually sounded excited, and Taunie smiled. With a soft nod in the redhead’s direction, she crept over to where Xander slept. Willow was quiet, going along with it, and Taunie smirked in tired mischief, raising her hands near is head. Then, smile broadening, she clapped once, as loudly as she could, right by his ear. The man jerked, jumping back and flailing as he fell from the school he’d been perched precariously on. Willow giggled lightly as Taunie laughed to herself and ran back to her mentor to avoid too much of his grumbling and glaring. “You’re mean.”

“Yeah, but he’s watching the shop… which means his eyes need to be open.” Nataunia shrugged, still smiling mischievously and turning back to the morning of herb selections. Maybe she’d catch a nap before admitting to Faith that Willow was busy for the afternoon.

TBC