Fate

Buffy was sitting in the middle of her bed, flipping through a magazine when the sound of a light knock at her door drew her attention.

“Yeah?”

The door swung open a few inches and a red head popped in.

“Hey,” Willow breathed, smiling. “I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna spend the night at Kenn's. Are you gonna be okay?” The witch's voice dropped and her brow rose slightly. “Because if you need me, I'm sure Kennedy will understand.”

“Will,” Buffy smiled softly. “Go. I'm a big girl. I think I can handle it.”

Willow nodded and smiled. “I-if you're sure, then I'm gonna head out. We're gonna catch a movie and maybe some dinner...”

“Whoa there missy,” the slayer teased, throwing the magazine onto the bed beside her. “If I didn't know better, I'd assume this sounded an awful lot like a date.”

The witch blushed and turned away slightly. “It's not. Well, it is, but it's not what you think.” Willow's face lit up with a bright smile. “She said that she loves me and she wants to make up for all the lost time we could've had.”

The witch paused before squealing. “Isn't that romantic?!”

The blonde chuckled and shook her head. “Yes, Will. That's very romantic.” She sighed, a distant look clouding her eyes. “You better go. You don't know how long this romantic thing is gonna last, so you better soak it for all it's worth.”

Willow pondered the advice for a short moment. “Bye.”

And then she was gone.
n
Buffy smiled to herself and shook her head once again. She reached over for the discarded magazine and pulled it into her lap as she relaxed back against the pillows.

The peaceful moment was short-lived at the shrill sound of the ringing phone. Buffy looked over when it stopped almost instantaneously.

“Ah, the joys of having a teenage sister,” she smiled to herself as she went back to reading her magazine.

“Buffy! Phone!” Dawn's voice screeched up the stairs and floated into the slayer's ears.

The blonde sighed and shook her head as she reached over and lifted the receiver to her ear. “I got it!” she yelled back over her shoulder.

“Hello?”

“Buffy?” the voice drifted through from the other end. “I'm sorry to call you at home, but something's come up and I need to talk to you as soon as possible.”

It took a moment for the slayer to place the voice. “Faith? Is that you?”

“There's no time,” the vampire insisted. “Can you come to the mansion?”

“What? Now?” the slayer asked, still a little shocked.

“Yes,” Faith's voice answered. “It's urgent.”

“Umm...okay. I'll be there soon.”

Not another word was spoken between the two as the slayer placed the phone back on the hook and quickly left the room.

***

“Dawn?” Buffy called out to her sister as she flew down the stairs. “I gotta go meet...Giles. I'll call Xander and tell him to come over. Try not to kill and/or burn anything while I'm gone.”

The teenager came around the corner at the top of the stairs, ready to lay in on her sister, but the slayer was already out the front door and gone.

***

Faith was seated in the large chair facing the fireplace. She held a goblet of dark red liquid in her right hand and the cordless phone in the other. Her eyes were trained on the cackling fire as she sat in silence.

The soft knock at the door pulled her out of the moment. “It's open.”

The heavy oak door swung open and Buffy quickly entered. She made sure to shut the door behind her before making her way over to where the vampire was seated.

“What's so urgent that I had to rush back over here? I thought you didn't want to be around me?”

“Darla's here,” Faith answered calmly then lifted the goblet to her lips and drained the red liquid in one gulp.

Buffy's eyes shot around the room nervously.

The vampire looked up at the blonde as she placed the glass on the table next to the chair. “Not here as in this room, but...she's in town.”

The slayer's eyes shot down to Faith and her brow furrowed. “How do you know?”

“I can feel her,” the vampire answered solemnly. “I can smell her.”

Faith chanced her first glance at the slayer. “That's kinda the trip between sire and chylde. I thought it was strong when I was...” She trailed off and shifted in her seat. “It's even stronger now. It's like...it's like this burning in my chest that I know won't go away unless I'm with her.”

Buffy eyed the brunette intently. “You sure that's not something else?”

Faith sighed and averted her eyes from the slayer as she slowly rose to her feet. “I'm not going to do this with you, Buffy. You can believe what you want, but I meant what I said. I want to help you defeat her.” She reached down for he goblet, but her hand was stopped in mid-air by the slayer's hand on her wrist.

“I believe you,” the slayer whispered softly when the vampire's eyes met her own. “I do, and I'm sorry.”

Faith gently pulled her hand from the blonde's grip and turned her back to the slayer. “I don't want anything from you, Buffy. I'm just trying to make things right.”

“Faith,” Buffy's voice cracked as she lifted a hand towards the vampire's back, but dropped it at the last second. She cleared her throat. “I think that living with what you've done is more than enough atonement.”

The vampire sighed and walked over to the fireplace. Her eyes locked onto the flames of the fire. “You have no *idea* what I've done.”

The room fell into silence as both women reflected in the moment.

Buffy finally took the few steps forward to bring herself by the vampire's side. She reached up to run her fingers through unruly locks and spoke in a soft, gentle voice. “Then tell me.”

Faith's eyes drifted over to the blonde. “You wouldn't...you couldn't understand.”

Buffy cracked a tiny smile. “Y'know, I may be a blonde, but I do grasp the basic concepts of human communication.” Her brow furrowed and her smile faltered just slightly. “Well, I guess in this case, it would be vampire communication, but...you get the point.”

Faith couldn't fight back a light smile of her own. “I never was much of a communicator even when I was alive. I doubt I've gotten any better now that I'm dead. Well, I guess technically I'm *un-dead*...” The vampire trailed off before a slow grin spread across her lips. “Sounds like some of that blonde babble of yours is rubbing off on me.”

“It tends to do that from time to time,” the slayer replied with a laugh. “I guess I should learn to control it better, huh?”

Faith's grin turned gentle. “I like it,” she admitted softly.

Buffy looked up at Faith through her hazel eyes as she took the last step forward to bring their bodies to a light touch. Her hand wondered from it's place in soft auburn hair to an inviting cheek. “You're so...”

Faith gently turned her head away, breaking the contact with the blonde's hand. “Cold. Yeah, I know.”

Buffy placed her hand back on the vampire's cheek, forcing their gazes to meet once again. “Soft,” she whispered gently. “I was going to say soft.”

A sudden desire flamed up inside the vampire and she lost all control.

Reaching out, Faith wrapped an arm around Buffy's waist and pulled her body forcefully against her own. Their lips smashed together in a heated kiss and it took all her slayer coordination for Buffy not to fall over backwards from the shock.

It didn't take long for the blonde to adjust and return the vampire's passionate kiss.

Buffy suddenly found herself falling backwards, but a strong arm held her securely as her body was lowered to the floor. Her back was met with the feel of impossible soft carpet.

Faith finally managed to pull back out of the kiss. She gazed down into Buffy's eyes, the flames from the fire flickering in her own. “We have to...we have to be careful not to...I can't...”

Buffy saw the anguish in the vampire's eyes and heard it in the cracking of her voice. She reached up to thread her fingers through the tender locks at the base of the vampire's neck. “Don't worry,” she soothed. “I won't let you.”

Faith smiled softly before leaning back in to reclaim the slayer's lips.

“How sweet.”

Both women's heads jerked over at the sound of the sickly sweet voice drifting through the darkness. A low rumble resounded in Faith's throat.

“Darla,” she growled as her eyes instantly focused in the darkness.

The blonde vampire stepped out from her hiding place and smiled over at the couple.

“Hi, honey. I'm home.”