We Need Each Other

~~Indicates song lyrics~~

--



"So where are we going, baby?" Faith asked.

Buffy was busily searching through her closet, tossing clothes here and there. "It's a suprise." Was the only answer she had given.

After alot more prodding, Faith finally resigned herself to the fact that Buffy wasn't going to crack on this one. She'd just have to wait and see. So Faith got up from the bed that they shared, gave her girlfriend a quick peck on the cheek, and went downstairs to wait.

-

"Fuck!" Buffy exclaimed, throwing clothing from her closet to the floor.

"It's ok, Buffy." Willow said. She sat on the bed just watching her friend, more than a little amused. It wasn't like Buffy to be so nervous. "I'm sure Faith will love whatever you wear."

"No!" Buffy said, still searching for the outfit she wanted. "Everything has to be perfect. This is our first night out together since she's been back. All we've done since she got here is slay and screw. Not that I mind either of those things, but still."

Willow gave her a knowing smile and waggled her eyebrows.

"Can we even be a real couple, Wil?" Buffy asked, as she finally laid her hands upon the dress she wanted. "Aha! I knew you were in there!"

Willow's brow furrowed. "Of course you can. You guys are great together. Why would you even say something like that?"

"I dunno. " Buffy said, as she slipped her jeans off and began to pull the blue, skin tight, mini-dress on. "How do I know how to act around her? Should I be shy? Maybe cocky. No, no…not cocky. She might find that threatening..."

Willow stood up, put her hands on her friend's shoulders, and smiled. "Buffy...duh! She loves you. Just be Buffy for crying out loud. Besides, all the rest of us are gonna be there. We'll our rousing moral support artillery."

"Ok.." Buffy smiled and continued to get ready.

-

"How the fuck do I know what I'm s'posed to do, Runt?" Faith said as she paced back and forth across the living room floor. "I've never been on a real date before."

"Faith calm down. You guys have been back together for a month now, and you still don't know what to do? C'mon.." Dawn smiled in serious amusement. Was this the same girl that she had gotten to know over the past four weeks?

"I know that! Don't you think I know that? Fuck!" Faith sighed heavily and sat down.

Both Dawn and Kennedy were downstairs with her, listening to her rant. Kennedy sat next to her.

"Hey. Don't you think that everyone sees how hot for each other you guys are? Don't worry about it girl.."

Faith reached out and gave Kennedy a quick pat on the leg. "I know. I'm just all nervous...shit, I don't even know why."

Faith's breath caught in her throat, and at that moment she knew exactly why she was so nervous. Buffy was standing at the base of the stairs, in her blue dress and black high heels. Her makeup was expertly applied as just a hint of navy blue above each eye.

Faith stood and crossed the room, bringing her girl into a soft embrace. She was still searching for words. "B..you look..I mean.."

"Shhh.." Buffy smiled. "You look great. Is everyone else ready to go?"


-


"This was your big suprise, B? The Bronze?"

"Just shut up, ok?" Buffy told her. "I've got this all planned out."

Buffy giggled and took Faith into the club, paying the cover charge and leading the brunette through rows of tables and chairs toward the main area of the club.

As Buffy led her girlfriend out onto the dance floor, she gave a nod and wink to the guest DJ, and he started the song that Buffy had arranged for him to play. Expertly mixing it in, the music gradually changed to `Chinese Burn'. Buffy began to dance to the music, and her brunette companion wasn't long to follow.

"It's our song." Faith winked, as she began to move her body in time with the fast rhythm. Only then did she see the entire gang watching them from the tables that outlined the dance floor. Gradually they all filtered into the dance floor. Xander and Anya, who seemed to be getting along suprisingly well. Willow and Kennedy weren't far behind. Even the Potentials spread out onto the floor, finding dance partners where they could.

The two Slayers moved together under the multi-colored lights that streamed from every direction and reflected off the dance floor. They were slaves to the music and totally lost in each other.

-

When the song ended and mixed into the beginning of another, Faith noticed something from the corner of her eye.

"B, you wouldn't mind if I danced with someone else would you? Just for this song, ok?"

Buffy gave her a sly wink. "Don't be too long, ok?"

"I won't be."

-


Faith moved across the floor, wading through the sea of people who were beginning to get into the rhythm of the current song. She pushed her way past more than a few dancers, before taking Tiffany's hand. The blonde had been sitting alone at her table, nursing a drink.

"Hey girl.." Faith took the blonde's hand and led her out onto the floor and began to move her body against her blonde counterpart.
s.
Tiffany wasn't sure what was going on, but she was sure that she liked whatever it was. Though she knew that she shouldn't be this excited by the presence of the dark Slayer, the movement of the brunette's body was eliciting some undeniable responses from her.

"What are you doing?"

"Me?" Faith answered into her ear, her voice nothing more than a ragged whisper. "I'm dancing. What about you?"

Tiffany was moving in rhythm with Faith and the music. This was like a dream for her, and her body responded moreso than she would have liked. Add to that the slight buzz of the alcohol, and she was in heaven.

"Why are you doing this? You're..ow!" The blonde jumped as Faith pinched her.

"I ask the questions, from now on. Understand?" Tiffany only nodded in acknowledgement. The surreal eroticism that the younger girl saw in the eyes of the Slayer was unlike anything she'd ever been close to. She felt herself begin to tingle, as Faith leaned closer.

"Are you excited?" she closed her eyes, feeling each small gust of breath as Faith spoke, and nodded again in supplication.

"Do you want it?" Faith whispered to her, as they moved together.

"Y-yesss..." the blonde stammered. She was so turned on just by the presence of the brunette that she had lusted over from afar that her body flushed and she felt the heat spread through her, all the way down to her center. What was Faith hoping to accomplish? Tiffany had kept her crush on Faith in check, as much as she possibly could. But now...

In the middle of her reverie, Tiffany felt Faith's hands on her shoulders spinning her around and holding her, back against front. Faith pointed across the floor, and Tiff followed her finger all the way across the room to little Vi who sat swaying to the beat. The shy redhead was oblivious to everything but the swirling lights and music.

"There's your girl..." Faith whispered to the blonde.

Tiffany looked over her shoulder at the brunette who was holding her around the waist. "Really?"

"Oh yeah..." Faith said into her ear, so that she could hear over the loud music. "I've seen the way she looks at you. Go and get her, girl."

With that Faith shoved the young blonde in Vi's direction, and Tiffany continued to walk toward the redhead. Tiffany was licking her lips seductively, and Violet caught her gaze.

The smaller girl's eyes grew wide, when she saw the look of pent and restrained desire in her fellow SIT's eyes. She pointed to herself and looked to either side. Was Tiffany really looking at her like that?

Tiffany just nodded her head in acknowledgment as she closed the distance between them. Vi felt her heart beat hard against her chest, as the blonde got closer. Then she totally blanked out as Tiffany took her hand and led her to a darkened corner at the back of the club.

Strangely, noone saw either of them for the rest of the night.

-

Faith danced her way back to her girlfriend, running her hands through her hair and down her body. She finally stopped when she was in arm's length of Buffy and pulled the blonde to her and caressing her back.

"So what was that all about?" Buffy asked with a knowing smile.

"Oh nothing. I was just seeing if I still had my touch."

"Oh really?"

"Yup. I do, by the way. I can still turn `em on, then turn `em in any direction I want." the younger girl smiled as she continued to dance. After a few minutes she took her eyes off of Buffy and looked around. They were attracting an audience.

You people need to get out more, Faith thought. If a little girl on girl dancing was enough to get them all flustered, then they had better buckle up.

-

The next song started, and everyone's movement slowed. Willow put her hands gently on Kennedy's hips and swayed slowly to the music. Looking into the brunette's eyes, the witch saw something that she had hardly ever seen. Vulnerability.

~~How can you see into my eyes,
Like broken doors?
Leading you down into my core,
Where I've become so numb? ~~

The lovely redhead looked into the face of the girl that had shared her bed for the past 3 months. They had been an item for longer that Buffy and Faith, but Willow realized that there was a part of both of them that refused to let the other into their most intimate space. The part of themselves that was vulnerable to pain, hurt, and heartbreak. Kennedy played the aggressor all the time.

~~Without a soul,
My spirit is sleeping somewhere cold.
Until you find it there in me,
And lead it back home. ~~

Meanwhile, Willow didn't play any role, in their relationship. She had merely been the willing partner in the lashing out of pent up fear and loneliness. And after what the two of them had been through, the Wiccan knew that they both deserved much more.

The song picked up its pace into a hard rhythm and both girls separated. Their bodies rode the rhythm of the music, but their eyes never left the other's. Something that was both beautiful and invisible began to pass between them.

~~ Wake me up inside.
Wake me up inside.
Call my name and save me from the dark.
Bid my blood to run,
before I come undone.
Save me from the nothing I've become. ~~

Never breaking eye contact, the brunette mouthed the three words that she had never been able to say aloud. She punctuated them with a nervous smile and a wink. Willow's eyes grew wide for a moment and her heart skipped. Then her features softened into a glowing smile.

Willow usually preferred her naughtiness behind closed doors, but at this moment she didn't care if they were in public or not. She launched herself into Kennedy's arms and kissed her, almost knocking the younger girl off balance.

Willow had accomplished something that few people, under her circumstances, ever do. She was able to love someone, again.

~~Frozen inside without your touch,
without your love darling.
Only you are life among the dead.~~

-

"So what are you guys gonna do now?" Spike asked as he filled his own shot glass. Then he filled both Angel's and Giles', in turn.
The three had been sitting at a table together for sometime, seeing who would pass out first.

"Going back to L.A." Angel said as he brought the glass to his lips. "I figure I've done all I can here."

"Oh yeah...Mister Good Deeds. I almost forgot." the blonde vampire quipped, watching Giles drink his own and then following their lead.

"Hey, don't knock what you don't know. From what I hear, you're all soul-having now, too. " Angel said, as he reached for the bottle. "There's a lot to be said for redeeming yourself."

Giles just watched the two vampires bantered back and forth, and he reached for the bottle himself. It was a party after all, and he was beginning to be very amused by the two commiserating ex-demons.

"Redemption?" Spike asked, drinking another shot. "Look, Angel. You need to realize that the demon inside you...it ain't you. Whatever it did, you weren't in control."

"Hell yes, I was!" Angel retorted as he brought the shot glass to his mouth again. Draining it, he said "You think that the demon is capable of anything that you weren't as a person? The only difference is that, as a human, you had a conscience to control your impulses. Those things that you did as a vampire...they never would have manifested if they hadn't been in your mind already."

Spike sat for a while, mulling over what he had been told. After a while, and a few more drinks, he finally spoke.

"Do you want any help? Helping people that is..."

Angel gave a small smirk, knowing he had gotten through to his fledgling. "Yeah. Sometimes it's all we can do to keep up."

They shook on it, and then returned to their own reveries.

"Well, I don't give a sod about either of you." Giles said, as he struck back his current glassful of alcohol. "I'm going back to England."

-

"B.." Faith whispered as she lifted her leg into her girlfriend's crotch. "We need to go home. I'm not gonna make it much longer.."

Buffy could feel the waves of her girlfriend's excitement, driving into her. And she knew that if she didn't get Faith home soon, then noone in the club would be safe. So, with a satisfied smile, the blonde Slayer led her lover out the door and back to their home.

-