Ski Trip

Joyce glanced up from the romance novel she was reading and gave them a single long look when they came in. "I'm guessing I don't need to know?" she asked mildly.

"Snowball fight," Buffy answered, kicking off her shoes. "So do we get the tour or what? I need clothes from suitcases one, two, and five."

"Five?" Faith asked. She shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it on a stand near the door. "You mean there's more?"

"I packed stuff for you too." Buffy gave her a stern look. "You didn't dress for the weather. I'm not going to spend my weekend waiting on a sick Slayer."

"Nor am I," Joyce called, her nose buried once again in Brazen Desire. "I've had enough of that to last a lifetime."

"Thanks muchly, Mom. Making all that effort to survive the flu seems so worth it now." Buffy rolled her eyes for Faith's benefit and they shared a grin. "The bedroom's upstairs, right?"

"Actually..." Joyce smiled to herself. "I think you'll find what you need down here."

Buffy grabbed Faith and dragged her into the living room in front of Joyce. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" she asked, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"What?" Faith asked.

Joyce shook her head ruefully. "I know you're going to want to stay up late and talk about boys and give each other makeovers. And I know that you'd argue about who got the air mattress on the floor. So..."

"Um, I don't--" Faith said, intending to set the matter straight on her participation in these little sleepover rituals of Buffy's, but before she could finish, she got an elbow in the ribs. Buffy glared at her. "Hey--"

"So...?" Buffy lead her mom. "You were saying...?"

"Girls, why don't you two take the master suite? I'll just take the twin bed downstairs. Certainly I don't need the king-size to myself."

"All right! Thanks, Mom," Buffy said, and rushed away to check out the room.

"Yeah, thanks," Faith mutt. T. The floor sounded safer. But who was she to complain? If this is how B and Red spent their nights...

Joyce patted her shoulder absently, still reading. "You get settled in, and then we can see about dinner," she said.

There was was a sudden high-pitched squeal from down the hall. "I think that's my cue," Faith said. She followed after Buffy. Suddenly, an arm snaked out of the room and dragged Faith in by the elbow.

"Look," Buffy cried. "The hot tub is on our balcony." She let go of Faith and bounded across the room. She yanked open the glass doors and danced out, barefoot. "Faith, come on, take a look at this view!"

Faith grinned. There was just no way to not get excited when B was this happy. She sauntered out onto the balcony and aimed a test kick at the hot tuber. er. The view was amazing. Buffy was leaning out over the railing, bouncing up to see the road below better, her wet jeans clinging to her, the thin sweater and cold weather leaving very little to the imagination. Which had never stopped Faith before; her imagination immediately went into overdrive.

She laughed. Buffy turned around, surprised, and Faith just shook her head. "You're like a little kid," she said. Then, with a significant look, "You cold, there, B, or just glad to be my roomie?"

Buffy's face became a very amusing shade of red. "I am going to change," she said with as much dignity as she could muster. Which wasn't much, considering how fast she'd crossed her arms.

"Right, you do that." Faith looked up at the stars. She could pick out Orion and the Big Dipper from her time hitchhiking, but out here they seemed so much closer. She looked after Buffy as she passed to go inside. "Hey, B?" she said quietly.

"What, you want to compliment my ass next?" Buffy asked, exasperated, then mumbled, "I knew should've brought a muu"
"

"No." Faith smiled into the dark. "I just wanted to say thanks. For inviting me. It's pretty much the best vacation I've ever had."

Buffy turned back, silhouetted in the doorway. Faith thought she could see an answering smile, and a hint of Buffy's eyes glimmering in the starlight. "Already? We just got here."

"Yeah. Already."

"Well, good. I'm glad you came." Buffy shivered. "But I really am going to change now."

"Okay. And B?"

"Yeah?"

"You've got a gorgeous ass."

*

Faith rummaged through the suitcase Buffy had told her was hers. After a late dinner at a restaurant in town, they'd spent some time checking out the closed stores before returning to the chalet. Buffy had immediately grabbed her bags and rushed for the shower, instructing Faith to find the pajamas she'd packed for her.

She found a pair of thick flannel pyjamas with cartoon penguins on snowshoes. "No way," she muttered. "She has got to be kidding me." She pawed past the ski gear in the bag and came up with a dark red bikini that looked like it would be a bit on the skimpy side. "Okay...this is more like it...I guess..."

Buffy came in, her hair loose, wearing an identical set of pyjamas, except hers had pictures of polar bears wearing earmuffs. "Bathroom's yours," she said.

Faith held up the penguins. "Uh, B? These aren't really my style, you know?"

Buffy pouted. "They're cute."

"I'm not sure 'cute' is the word I want the docs to be thinking when I'm brought into the ER dying of heat stroke."

"I suppose you've got something better?"

"Well--" Faith stopped. Buffy was right that she hadn't brought much, and pyjamas were one thing that hadn't made the list. "I don't really wear..."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You sleep nude. Skin and sheets. Bare is better. I know, you've told me. On at least one occasion, in a lot more detail than I really needed. Ergo, penguins."

"Ergo?" Faith echoed weakly.

"It's a Giles word." Buffy crossed her arms. "In my bed, we wear clothes. Now, go change."

Faith snorted. "Fine." She grabbed the pile and went to the bathroom. When she was ready, she took one last doubtful look and ed ted them on. "Cute," she sneered at her reflection.

She walked back to the room, picking at the sleeves. When she looked up, Buffy was lying on her side in the bed, propped up on her elbow. She was biting back a smile, her eyes sparkling.

"If you say one word..." Faith said, leaving the threat hanging. She could feel herself blushing. B could really pull off this look, but as for her, she felt more naked wearing flannel penguins than when she'd skinned completely out of her leathers.

Buffy nodded, gave her a weird, almost embarrassed look, and patted the side of the bed next to her. "Time for all that girly sleepover stuff," she said. "Like Mom expects."

Faith turned off the lights and sat beside her, hugging her knees. "Like you finally telling me exactly what went down with Deadboy on Christmas?" she asked. Anything to put off the actual sleeping part. The best defense is a good offense.

Buffy frowned. "He was going to kill himself."

Faith raised her eyebrows. "Angel?" She didn't add that she figured he was so committed to brooding that he could never make a decision like that.

"Yeah..." Buffy sighed and lay back. "He was giving up..."

"But it was the First doing that to you you said."

"I wasn't t abt about that. It's--he didn't want to fight." Buffy looked up at her. "I killed the Bringers. We stopped the First. Angel's fine. But..."

Faith looked down at her toes. "But now you're back to all that you-and-him cursed vampire soap opera stuff," she said roughly. What else? Second verse, same as the first. A little bit louder and a whole lot worse.

"I don't think so." Buffy let out a breath that was almost a laugh. “I really don't, this time. We were walking through all that snow, hand in hand, and all I could think was, how could I still be believing in him when he'd almost given up on me?"

"So what did you do?"

"With Angel, there's always so much drama. Love isn't supposed to be that depressing. And I told him so. I'm not going back."

Faith sat up straight. The room's darkness didn't mean much to her Slayer's eyes, and Buffy's gaze was clear and direct. "Yeah?" she said, keeping her voice as empty as possible. Because she didn't care. Because it didn't mean a thing. This week apart, next week endless love. Already she could see Buffy getting upset, her eyes bright with tears. She's just sorry she's going to have to apologize before she goes running back to him this time.

"Yeah," Buffy whispered. "I thought you'd--"

Faith interrupted, "So why didn't you tell Red about all this?"

Buffy shrugged and looked away. When she spoke, her voice was under control again. "Willow is my best friend, she's always been a big Angel-and-me-together fan. But that's partly because she was supporting the idea of me in love, or the thought of love at all. She's a huge romantic. She wants it to work out. And after Christmas--" She paused, then said almost to herself, "There were things she wouldn't understand."

Faith nodded. "And you didn't want a cheerleader anymore." Well, there was no danger of that here. She'd listen, but she wasn't waiting with bated breath for the next guy to walk into Buffy's life. Like Scott Hope take two.

"Yeah." Buffy glanced up at her. "If I told her about--everything, I'd feel ooky because of how it'd make her feel. Crazy, huh?"

"Nah." Faith twisted around and lay down, away from Buffy's strangely significant stare. She laced her fingers together behind her head, feeling the heat of Buffy's body through their mutual layers of flannel. "Maybe it's just time for you to do what's right for you--what makes you feel better." She pushed away the bitterness that came with the words. "When you worry too much about how everyone else is doing, pretty soon you're mad at them because they'll take advantage of you if they can."

"That's not true. Not everyone's like that, Faith." Buffy's voice was soft again, trying to convince her.

"Yeah?" Faith felt her anger building. "Angel kissed you as soon as he thought he could get away with it. Xander pu the the I-told-you-so card practically the minute he found out. That's people for you."

"You didn't--"

"I wasn't there, remember?" Faith rolled over, away from her. Still feeling Buffy's nearness against her back. It was a fucking king-size bed. Why were they all scrunched together in the middle?

Buffy shifted, as if to reach out and touch her. Faith waited, wondering, but at last she heard Buffy's arm drop back to her side. "I'm sorry about that, Faith. I want you to be there--I mean, not at my personal inquisition, but whenever we meet. You don't have to be your own team."

Faith rolled back. Buffy was watching her closely, her green eyes wide and serious. She'd tried to push away the memory of what that bitch Post had done by blaming Buffy for everything. And it didn't help. People hurt you when they could. But this was one dead horse that didn't need another kick. And there was something in Buffy's face--

"Yeah, okay. Flying solo's not always what it's cracked up to be. I know." She sighed. "Habit, right? Maybe I'll get over it someday."

Buffy nodded. "I hope so. Anyway, that's not what I meant. When I had to go to Angel, you understood. And you haven't been all judgy tonight. You've never taken advantage of me."

Faith couldn't help it. She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "Not yet, anyway."

Buffy managed a wry grin and a disapproving glare all in one look. "Okay, I walked into that one."

Faith gave an innocent half shrug. "Hey, you're the one who was so psyched about us sharing a bed."

Buffy's grin turned evil. "Yeah, only so I could get my revenge for you dumping me in the snow. I'm whacking you with my pillow as soon as you fall asleep."

"Right, because we're not fulfilling enough of Xander's fantasies just by doing the girly sleepover thing--we've got to fit a pillow fight in somehow."

"It's a busy schedule, but we wouldn't want to disappoint him when we get back. He needs new material--the alligator story is wearing thin."

"I'll just have to find something else to wrassle naked," Faith said, filling her voice with suggestion.

Buffy just nodded, that sheepish look back on her face. Faith gave herself points for winning that exchange. It was easier to get back into the rhythm of their joking than to accept what Buffy was saying. Sure, they were okay for now--friends--but sooner or later one of them would mess up, and it'd be gone...probably she'd be the one moving on. Buffy rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, and Faith wondered what she was thinking. Probably about Angel. It wasn't so easy to give up the brooding the instant you said you were moving on.

She sighed and closed her eyes. It was weird trying to sleep next to someone instead of giving them the heave-ho. The pyjamas were itchy. And hot. And she could feel Buffy watching her. She tried not to flinch under the weight of that stare.

Several minutes passed. Buffy whispered, "Faith?"

"Hmm?"

"You asleep?"

"Yes."

"Oh." A pause; the sheets rustling. Then: "Me too."

"Goody for you."

"Yeah."

It was going to be a long night.

*