Complement

XXXIII - Heal Me
(Part A)

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Buffy was pacing back and forth across the length of the living room. Willow, Xander, Anya, James and Furball followed her pacing, their heads swinging from side to side as if they were watching a tennis match and Buffy was the fast-moving, agitated little yellow ball. She had been pacing for the last fifteen minutes, waiting for Faith to get her cute little butt downstairs. She could feel the beads of sweat creeping their way down the valley between her breasts as she paced, she couldn't remember August ever being this hot. But if she was honest with herself she would have admitted that she was sweating not from the heat but from nerves and anxiety. There were only a few things that made Buffy sweat and heat was rarely one of them.

"What is she doing up there? She's been up there for over an hour. She knows! I know she knows!" Buffy asked, snarled at the room in general and after the last few weeks everyone there should have known better then to even try to get a word in edgewise or answer her.

"Buffy she doesn't kno..." Willow tried softly only to be cut off.

"Oooookayyyyy if she doesn’t know you want to tell me why the HELL she's dragging her feet? She knows I tell you! She does! I know it! kno know it! She knows it! The whole goddamn WORLD KNOWS IT!!!! This was a stupid idea. I should have known better, nothing but bad memories for her on her you-know-what!!!"

"Buf..."

"BUT NOOOOO! Not me! I'm gonna change all that. Yep me. Stupid... oh God... I'm so stupid and you... YOU ALL!" Buffy raised her voice and pointed at the four of them, even Dusk who swiftly hid his head under the couch. His Light Slayer hadn't been this bad even when she and his Dark Slayer hadn't played in a while, he didn't like this at all. "YOU ALL!"

"Buffy, lower your voice or she'll hear you," Willow hissed at her best friend in a loud whisper.

"You guys, you're supposed to be my friends! HOW could YOU let me be so stupid? You're supposed to be stop me from doing stupid stuff. It's like in the job description, the handbook, something, isn't it??? I'm canceling the whole damn thing. I AM! I really am! It was a stupid idea anyway. Why did I ever let Lily talk me into it? Why can't I just ever leave things alone? Why? Tell me why? It's canceled, I am canceling the thingy for her you-know-what! All of it, everything, canceled. And... AND... IT the Other thingy, well forget that too! Not happening! No way! No how! IT IS NOT HAPPENING!!!!" Buffy threw her hands up in the air and huffed over to the fireplace.

"Xander, tell her she can't cancel it now." Anya turned and looked at her fiancé, who just gave her his absolutely-no-chance-in-hell-am-I-opening-my-mouth look. "Buffy you can't cancel. I already spent money, a lot more money than I wanted, thanks to Xander who said I had to spend more than ten dollars. He said it wasn't enough, which I can't understand. And I can't return any of it for a refund, just store credit, like I'd ever shop in that store for anything for me," Anya informed Buffy, as if the fact that she had spent money and couldn't get it back resolved the issue. As far as she was concerned it did and Buffy would just have to see that, it was money, her money, after all.

Buffy glared at Anya then stalked over to the bottom of the stairs, "FAITH!!!! COME ON ALREADY!!!!" She stood glaring daggers up the long flight of stairs, hands on her hips, foot tapping impatiently.

Faith practically jumped out of her skin when she heard Buffy screaming on the top of her lungs for her. She tore out of the bedroom and stopped just shy of slamming into the wall opposite the door. She ran down the hall and skidded to halt at the top of the stairs, smirked at Buffy then yelled right back at her, "I NEED A FEW MORE MINUTES THEN I'LL BE DOWN AND WE CAN GO! JUST HOLD YOUR HORSES B!"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID OVER AN HOUR AGO TOO!" Buffy yelled right back up to Faith.

"I SWEAR I'LL BE DOWN IN A MINUTE!" Faith yelled just as loud right back down at her, and even though she should have known better, she mumbled in a normal voice, "Exaggerate much? An hour my ass, B!"

"I HEARD THAT F!!!!" Buffy screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Friggin Slayer hearing sucks!"

"Heard that too F!!!"

The golden-haired Slayer spun around with a loud, long, overly dramatic sigh, which was promptly echoed by the raven-haired Slayer as she too spun around and stomped off down the hallway back to the master bedroom.

Buffy glared at the four people sitting on the couch, then tried to glare at Dusk but couldn't because once the yelling started he had crawled completely under the couch, despite the fact that he was too big to actually fit under there anymore. So Buffy glared at his tail instead which was the only part of his body still visible, then turned the glare back on her friends.

"I T. O V E R. C A N C E L E D. Not doing it. Nope. Everything. Not happening. So with the not happening!" Buffy turned on her heels, and started pacing back and forth across the room again, pausing to glare at them every time she passed the couch, mumbling under her breath.

Every time Buffy paused to glare at them, Willow had to cover the small smile on her face with her hand. She knew all the yelling and pacing had nothing to do with the, You-know-what-thingy, and everything to do with the Other-It-thingy. And she couldn't help it, she just thought it was Goddess-damn cute.
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Spike, Tara, Gary and Dawn who were sitting on the bed, weren't faring much better upstairs in the Slayers' bedroom with Faith.

"Ya think she could yell for me one more time? It's not like we're gonna miss a plane or something!" Faith snarled as she continued to throw all the clothes in the dresser drawer up in the air like a lunatic. Her nervousness and anxiety running a very close second to Buffy's, but there was also a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that Buffy wasn't feeling. She pushed it aside and concentrated instead on finding what it was she was destroying the bedroom for in her haphazard, frantic search.

The bedroom was in shambles, clothing everywhere and Tara had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud at the Dark Slayer. Her actions reminding her of the night she and Willow had tried to help Faith get ready for her first real date with Buffy. It was funny but not at the same time.

"Stupid – idiot - lost. How? Tell me how?" Faith ranted disjointedly for the billionth time in the last fifteen minutes. "How am I – friggin' idiot I am - supposed to go there without it? Ass – that's it – I'm an ass! Dog – ate – neck – ring it!" She stormed away from the dresser over to the wardrobe and flung open the double doors almost ripping them off their hinges.

"Try and remember where you put it last..." Dawn said trying to be helpful and almost immediately regretted it when Faith spun around and pinned her with a glare of death.

"Ifffffff I could remember where I put it, then I wouldn't be looking for it now would I Dawnie???" Faith spun back around and began pulling clothes out of the wardrobe.

"I suppose not..." Came Dawn's hesitant reply.

"I bet ya she has it... I know she does. It was like she knew I was hiding something for her. First I put it in with the sweaters and all of a sudden while it's three hundred and fifty degrees outside, your sister is cold and needs a sweater! Then I put it in with my makeup and all of sudden she wants to wear that lipstick that she hates on me, let alone her. She's part goddamn bloodhound I tell you! No matter where I put it in this huge friggin' house she suddenly had a desire to go there. Bloodhound, she probably had Furball helping her."

Faith kept growling and mumbling under her breath as she moved from the wardrobe over to the nightstand next to the bed and almost tripped over the pair of discarded pants on the floor that got tangled up in her feet. Tara watched her, then finally lost it and started to giggle, not only at Faith, but at the play by play she was getting from Willow over Buffy's similar tirade downstairs. She and Willow had discovered over the course of the last few months they had a similar type of bond as the Slayers. The difference between their bond and the Slayers, was that not only could they feel each other's emotions and see the images, they could also speak to each other telepathically. Lilith and Clotho thought the reason they had this added perk was because they were not only soul-mates but totally kick-ass Wicca's as well. Tara started laughing even harder when Faith turned around and growled at her like a rabid dog.

"It's not funny!!!!" Faith snarled at Tara, who just laughed harder at her and pointed up at the chandelier, which had a black satin bra and a black sheer thong hanging from it. As Faith looked up at the chandelier, she had a flashback to the same night Tara was thinking about. She looked at the blonde-haired witch and saw the twinkle in her eyes. Hard as she tried, she couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from twitching up into a smile of amusement. "Come on... You know it really isn't funny!" Despite herself Faith began to laugh, while Dawn, Spike and Gary shot bewildered looks between the Slayer and the Wicca.

Tara and Faith grinned at each other like village idiots for a second or two after they managed to stop laughing. Then Faith's face turned into a look of sorrow, frustration and something else that Tara couldn't put her finger on as her eyes scanned the room and once again didn't find what she was searching for.

"Faith why don't you grab your stuff, put your shoes on and go with Buffy before she gets anymore frazzled and starts yelling again. We'll look for you, I think there is a spell that Willow and I can do to help us find it. Once we do, we'll call Lilith or Clotho to come get it for you. Okay?" Tara asked her gently.

"Fine..." Faith mumbled under her breath, she bent over and grabbed one of her Doc Martins. She was frustrated, pissed, and worried that they wouldn't find her anniversary gift for Buffy. She kept mumbling under her breath, berating herself as she shoved her foot into her boot with almost enough force to rip through the leather. "Mother-fu...OW! Shit... goddamn – son-of-OWOWOW!...." she yelled out as her toes slammed hard into whatever rock-hard object was in the front of her boot.

She tore her foot out of the boot, turned it upside down shaking it and stared openmouthed at what fell out.

"Looks like we won't have to do that spell after all," Tara snickered then gave Faith a goofy-ass smile.

"Let me guess you put it in your shoe so you wouldn't forget it..." Gary added sarcastically.

"Good one Infant! Find the gift and break your toes. Can't wait to see you explain this one, luv." Spike chuckled then ducked as a sneaker came flying at his head.

"Oh this is going to be too good!" Piped in Dawn, as all four of them started to giggle – even Spike - while Faith huffed, pulled on her Doc's, threw the gift in her backpack and started limping towards the door.

"HA HA! Real friggin' funny. Regular bunch of comedians you are. Much easier being evil and orphaned. Get some, get gone - no friends – no family – no gifts - no anniversaries - no teasing - no whining, oh god I whine now – no blushing – no nothing – no fear and no damn broken toes..." Faith growled under her breath as she made her way out of the bedroom.
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"It's about damn time. At the rate you were getting down here..." Buffy started as she heard Faith making her way down the stairs. She turned around and immediately noticed both the pained expression on Faith's face and that she was limping. She had been so caught up in her own little panic attack that she had completely missed everything that Faith was feeling via their bond. She immediately rushed over to the stairs, getting there just as Faith made it to the bottom step, followed by four suspiciously smirking family members.

"Faith, what happened? Are you all right baby? Why are you limping?" Buffy looked passed Faith to the four behind her on the stairs, "Why is she limping? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER? WELL?!!? IF YOU HURT HER I'M GONNA..." the rest of what she was shouting got lost in the half growl, half rabid snarling that started to mix in with her words.

Nine pairs of astonished eyes focused on Buffy, she could feel them burning into her skin. She was in a fine rage – reminiscent of her Hurricane Buffy days - and taking out her anxiety and nervousness on them.

"B..." Faith tried, then tried again when Buffy ignored her and continued to growl at their family. "B!!! Enough already! They didn't do anything! I slammed my foot into the corner of the nightstand while I was trying to get my favorite bra?" Faith sighed inside at her pathetic lie. She glared at the gang over Buffy's shoulder when she saw them smirking at her, she just wasn't good at lying, never really had been. She sighed again when her little support group behind her on the stairs scooted around her and joined the rest of the gang in the living room leaving her alone to deal with her overly protective and somewhat rabid mate.

Buffy's face turned beet-red when she became conscious of the sounds that were actually coming from her. She heard Willow and Tara both stifle a giggle from behind her and her face got hotter as she realized what an ass she was making of herself. She gave Faith a sheepish grin as she stood in front of her fidgeting.

"Ooops?" Buffy whispered hopefully to Faith, who just lifted an eyebrow at her. "Sorry? I'm being over protective again aren't I? I just well... when I saw you limping, I lost it... went into rabid, mama-bear mode again and well I just..."

Faith just watched Buffy as she went into full-scale babble mode, making absolutely no sense whatsoever. She had the distinct impression that the over-protectiveness – which gave her the warm fuzzies – the yelling and now the babbling ranting had absolutely nothing to do with her limping. Something was making Buffy a nervous wreck and Faith wanted to know what it was. Buffy had been acting this way for the past few weeks and it had gotten increasingly worse the closer they got to leaving for the Cottage at the Lake. She had been stumbling over her words, babbling incessantly - even in bed – pacing, twitching and avoiding having anything that even remotely resembled a coherent conversation with Faith at all costs.

Not to mention Buffy had been doing her utmost best to avoid being alone anywhere with her except in bed and it was making Faith nervous, insecure and scared. She felt the nagging knot in the pit of her stomach make itself known again as it twisted tighter. It wasn't that she doubted that Buffy loved her, was in love with her, but Buffy's behavior over the last few weeks made her wonder if Buffy hadn't grown tired, was losing interest in her, was second guessing their being together as lovers, instead of just friends. She began to wonder if Buffy wasn't just trying to find some way to let her down easy, let her down without hurting her. On one hand, Faith was eagerly looking forward to spending time alone with Buffy at the Lake and on the other hand, she was dreading it with a passion, thus her semi-reluctance about going. She was hoping that their time there could repair, fix, bring to the surface whatever it was that was making B act act the way she had been acting, but she was also terrified of what the problem actually was.

Why was she having all these thoughts now? Why after two years – both mortal and hell dimension time combined - was she being so insecure about her relationship with Buffy? Everything was going their way, they were happy, the Dojo was doing great, she was now a full time councilor at the center and Buffy was working full time at the Dojo. Classes were starting in another few weeks and she was still having a hard time believing that she was actually going to college, it was another of her dreams she had thought would never come true. She had a family who might not be blood, but who loved her, would do anything for her, would lay down their lives if need be and who she loved and would do no less for in return. She had an amazing, caring, warm, fiercely protective, beautiful -both inside and out - passionate, funny, sexy, sensual, shy, gentle, lovable woman who loved her with everything that she was and who she loved in the same way.

So what if Buffy was acting a little strange? It wasn't like Buffy had never acted strange before, well, not quite this strange but... Still and all, after all the years of being alone, with no one to love, to trust or love her in return, of feeling empty inside and lost in a sea of hate, fear and abuse, was she now going to spend the rest of her life waiting for the other shoe to drop and always looking over her shoulder? Or was she going to finally, finally after all this time, let all the pain and insecurities go and believe what she saw everyday with her eyes, heard with her ears and felt with her heart and soul? Was she finally going to just simply live life, be happy and enjoy what was right there in front of her for the asking, a family, love, a life, a future, her soul-mate?

As Faith continued to watch and listen to her babbling mate she felt echoing to her through their bond, still strong, still complete, the underlying unconditional love Buffy felt for her amidst the confusion, the nerves, the self-doubting - the fear? - and the anxiety. Whatever it was that was causing Buffy to act this way, they could work out together. Because now after all this time, after all they had been through, she wasn't going to start doubting what they had built, what they had together, how they felt about each other because she was feeling a little insecure and needy and Buffy was acting a little bit strange lately. She had made a promise to Buffy a little over a year ago in the kitchen of the cottage and she had every intention of keeping it.

With the will made out of steel that had served her so well throughout her life, she squashed underfoot the nagging doubts and insecurities twisting the pit of her stomach into chokehold knots. She crushed them beneath her mental boot heel with a vengeance, far beneath the ground and instead concentrated on the love, the happiness, the joy that being with Buffy and her family made her feel. She smiled softly as she waited for Buffy to finish her babbling.

"...Okay well... we're gonna go now, we'll see you all in three days." Buffy ended her babble, grabbed Faith's hand and began pulling her towards the garden doors. They only made it a few steps when Buffy realized that Faith was still limping a little. "You really stubbed your toes hard didn't you?"

"Yep... Thinkin' I might of jammed my big toe. No biggie, be fine in a little Sla Slayer healin and all." She ignored the snickers from the four people who knew how she actually jammed her toes.

"Ow..." Buffy gave Faith a sympathetic look, "Are you going to be able to walk to the cottage?"

"Sure if we go slow." Faith just shrugged, it wasn't that bad, just hurt like a bitch was all.

Buffy squinted her eyes a little as she looked at Faith, she cocked her head to the side then an idea came to her. She gave Faith an impish grin, "Want a piggyback ride?"

"A piggyback ride?" Faith asked as if she had never heard of it before and Buffy had spoken to her in Japanese.

"Yeah, a piggyback ride." Buffy responded with a smirk.

Faith couldn't remember the last time she had a piggyback ride, in fact, she couldn't remember if she had ever had one at all. The idea of Buffy giving her a piggyback ride began to have a certain appeal as she visualized it. Her body, her breasts, pressed tightly to Buffy's b her her legs wrapped around Buffy's waist, her arms around Buffy's shoulders, Buffy's neck within kissing distance and Buffy's breasts within hands reach. Oh yeah, a piggyback ride definitely had a certain type of appeal for her and especially for her overactive libido, though Buffy certainly was no slouch in that department either.

"Well???" Buffy questioned with a sigh of impatience and nervousness that escaped her before she could stop it.

"Why not." Faith shrugged trying to appear casual as a trillion different images filtered through her mind. The room suddenly became insufferably hot and the crotch of her button-fly leather pants became almost unbearably tight. She could feel the sweat begin to slide down her back and pool between her breasts and like Buffy, there were only a few things that made Faith sweat and having these kinds of thoughts was definitely one of them.

She slipped her arms into her backpack while Buffy turned around and presented her back to her, squatting down a little. She hopped right up onto Buffy's back exactly the way she had pictured it, a slight gasp escaping her as the seam of her leather pants pressed hard into her very moist, warm center as it came into contact with Buffy's back. Her legs instinctively tightened around Buffy's hips as Buffy's hands came up to grab the underside of them supporting her, burning handprints right through her leather with their heat. She knew right then that more piggyback rides were going to be in her future. A silent chuckle echoed through her head at the thought and the fact that despite how much she had changed, grown as a person, just like her love of Slaying hadn't changed or the physical consequences of a good Slay, another thing about her that hadn't changed was the fact that she truly did have a sinfully, wickedly evil mind. A mischievous light started to twinkle in her eyes and being who she was, she couldn't have stopped the impish words from falling from her mouth even if she had been gagged.

"Getty-up! YEE-HAA! Ride'em cowboy! HI-HO Silver, and away!!!" she reached down with one hand and gave Buffy a firm smack on the ass and dug her heels in as if she were really riding a horse. When Buffy didn't move right away she reached down again and gave her another very loud smack on the ass.

"HEY!!! I'll give you getty-up all right!" Buffy screeched, "Just keep it up oh Miss Smart-Ass and this here horsey isna bna buck you right off her back!!!"

Faith leaned down and brought her mouth close to Buffy's ear and blew softlyher her neck, she purred out in a husky tone, "You can try Giz. 'Sides I like it when you buck underneath, into and on me. Like it when you're writhing, squirming against me, like it too when you thrust into me, on me, like too when I'm riding you, like it when you..." To emphasis her words, Faith thrust her pelvis against Buffy's back and tightened her legs around her hips, squeezing Buffy, letting her feel their strength, the movements though were so faint that only Buffy would have noticed or been able to see them.

"Okay! Okay I get it, I get the picture!!!" Buffy hissed, oh boy did she ever get those pictures, her whole body clenched in desire, zinged with heat, from those pictures. Her body shuddered when she felt the tip of Faith's tongue sneak out and trace the shell of her ear. She started walking towards the garden doors on legs that grew steadily shakier as Faith kept sneaking quick tastes of her neck with the tip of her tongue.

The rush of arousal was almost instantaneous for both Slayers and further compounded by the fact that they hadn't made love in almost three full days, which to both of them felt like the equivalent of a lifetime, rather than seventy-two hours.

"Dusk, come on, let's go!" Buffy choked out harshly, trying to stifle the moan that tried to escape as she felt that same pink tongue that had tasted her neck just seconds ago trace along the shell of her ear again. She had never known her ear was such an erogenous zone for her, until Faith that is, then again with Faith there wasn't a part of her body that didn't become an erogenous zone, Faith made sure of that. She stopped halfway to the doors when she realized that Dusk wasn't following. "DUSK!!!" she yelled again. She really wanted, really needed to get away from everyone as fast as possible, her mission in life at that second was to taste the insistent pink tongue of her Dark Slayer's with her own.

Buffy turned around back towards the living room, when she realized that the soft whimpering sounds she was hearing weren't her own or Faith's, but Dusk's. It suddenly dawned on her the last time she had seen their puppy he had wedged his whole body underneath the couch and then she remembered that it had been a month or two since Dusk had been small enough to fit under there.

"Dusk?" Buffy called softly again. Her eyes widened a little when she saw the tip of his tail ing ing from under the couch and the whimper came once again from him. She walked back over to the couch and started to bend down then stopped when she realized her bending over would only topple her and Faith right onto the ground. She waved her hand indicating to those on the couch to get up.

"How the hell did he get under there?" Faith asked from over Buffy's shoulder, giving up for the moment the meal she was making out of Buffy's sweet skin.

"He forced his way under there to get away from Buffy's yelling – babbling – yelling – glaring – babbling – pacing - babbling..."

"Enough we get the point Anya!" Buffy shouted at the blonde ex-demon. She grabbed the arm of the couch with both hands and lifted it like it weighed nothing and she didn't have a one-hundred-twenty pound well-muscled, hot, luscious raven-haired Slayer on her back. "Come out of there you goofball," she chuckled at Dusk.

Dusk sprang up to his paws with a half sighed-woof. He thought they had forgotten about him. He scrambled out from under the monster that had been holding him captive – the rose-colored couch that was now a demon in his mind – eternally grateful that his Light Slayer had Slayed the demon-couch for him. He barked up at his Slayers', wagging his tail like an over-wound toy top, happy to see them and happy at the scent they were giving off. He gave them his goofy-puppy-dog smile, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, barked at them one more time then tore up the stairs.

"DUSK GET BACK HERE NOW!!!" Buffy screamed after his fast retreating furry back. "DUSK!!! GET DOWN HERE NOW! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE YOU LITTLE FURBALL!!!"

"Sure yelling at him is gonna' work like a charm B, considering that's what made him squish himself under the couch in the first place. Wonder where he's gonna try to squi..." Faith trailed off as Dusk came streaking back down the stairs, the black and white stuffed panthers held securely by their ears in his mouth. They were his friends, it wouldn't be right to leave them at home – now would it?

Dusk sat down in front of his Slayers. His tail once more going a mile-a-minute, he was ready to go now. He couldn't wait to get to the Immortals' domain. Couldn't wait until he got to see his mate, Cinder, a silver-gray, indigo-eyed female Husky who was two months younger then him and belonged to Lily, the Green Mother.

"I guess he felt he might need some backup just in case you started doing the whole babbling-yelling-babbling - did I say babbling? - thing again Buffy." Willow snickered at Buffy who chose to pay no heed to both Willow and the comment for the moment.

Buffy turned around, ignoring the eight people who were snickering at her, headed back towards the garden doors, nose in the air arrogantly with Dusk trotting next to the heel of her right foot like he had been taught and Faith on her back getting a piggyback ride. Their snickering quickly turned to out and out belly laughs. She tried too, without success, to ignore Faith's renewed nibbling along her neck and the hot flush of arousal that it caused. She dramatically threw the doors open wide, step outside and shouted over her shoulder, "FOR THE RECORD I DON'T BABBLE!!! EVER!!!"

"Right... And Willow and Fred don't either... Buffy..." Came Tara's smirked reply.
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Buffy gave a grateful sigh as she stepped out of the portal onto the dirt path that neither Slayer had seen in almost a full year and then she began again to do exactly what she had told the gang in Mansion she didn't do. Babble. She went from babbling about missing the cottage, to the kid with the broken glasses that had come into the dojo last week, to the funny smell that she had noticed out by the garage the week before, to...

And Buffy kept right on babbling about nonsense and every other stupid, idiotic, dumb thing she could think of as long as it didn't relate to them and their relationship. Babbled like the village idiot because she was afraid if she didn't babble inanely about everything and nothing at all, she would just give into her fears and nerves and blurt out her plans for Faith, for herself and spoil it all. Leave it to her to plan not one, but two things that concerned not just Faith, but herself as well, for their twenty day stay - though it was only two and a half days Earth time - at the cottage by the lake.

'That' right leave it to me and my limited intelligence not to mention my poor imagination to pick two things that would leave me not only nervous, but fearful, anxious, full of self-doubt and totally insecure!!! Score one for me Elizabeth Anne 'B – Giz –Buffy' Summers the mental giant of all Slayers and so not the sharpest crayon in the box. Oh, for Christ's sakes, now I'm friggin babbling in my head too. Got diarrhea of the mouth. I wonder if they make a Pepto for this?'

All this went through her mind as she tried to ignore Faith's insistent nibbling of her neck. Harder still, she tried to ignore Faith's hand, which had made its way under the neck of her shirt and was currently torturing her nipple. Oh and lest she forget she tried to ignore without success, Faith's hot core which was lightly grinding, preg, cg, circling into her lower back and burning a hole right through her. She had to admit though, that Faith was doing a good job of replacing her nervousness, fear, anxiety, and self-doubting with emotions of a whole 'nother kind all together. And they were quickly burning a path through her mind, heart, body and soul with their intensity.

'I wonder if Faith would notice if I started running towards the cottage like Satan was nipping at my heels? Oh shit! That doesn't work anymore, Luc's one of the good guys. OH GOD!!! She's gonna give me a heart attack! Don't care, it'd be worth it as long as she doesn't stop what she's doing. NAKED! Naked would be good now, bed too, forest floor, up against a tree... Wanna be naked, naked with a naked luscious, tasty Faith. Yum, yum! Me, Faith, naked, hands, tongues, sweaty, kissing, touching, cumming... OH cumming would be good too, lots of that, yep and I so didn't just think that did I? Blushing now... Oh GOD does she even realize what she's doing to me? Gonna melt right here, right now into a big, babbling, begging, pleading, very wet, hot, Slayer – OH GOD - puddle of need!
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Faith was enjoying her piggyback ride immensely! She had tuned out Buffy's inane babbling the second she had started again. Instead, she concentrated on listening to the echoes she was getting from Buffy via their bond and on finding all of Buffy's sensitive spots. She was humming lightly as she nipped, tasted, licked, and sucked her way over all of Buffy's deliciously exposed – not to mention tasty - neck and shoulders. She couldn't, even if she lived a million lifetimes, never, ever, get enough of the taste of Buffy. Buffy had her own unique flavor, not quite sweet, but not quite spicy either. It was both earthy and tangy-sweet, like peaches, or berries that were almost, but not wholly ripe yet and as far as Faith was concerned, it was a taste that surely rivaled the nectar of the gods itself. Then again, who was she kidding, she would think the same thing if Buffy tasted like old shoe leather and worn out car tires, simply because it was Buffy.

As she let her mouth and tongue stroll over Buffy's neck and shoulders, she let her left hand start its own meandering path down Buffy's throat. Her fingertips gliding lightly, pausing briefly to dawdle in the hollow of Buffy's throat, then move to whisper across her collarbone. She paused again briefly in the hollow, then followed to capture the beads of sweat that blazed a trail downward between Buffy's breasts.

She smiled around the bit of flesh she was teasing with her teeth when she felt Buffy's hands that were holding her thighs tighten and the cadence of her babbling speed up, her voice getting slightly deeper, throatier. She idly played with the top edge of the spaghetti-strapped lycra top Buffy had on, tracing along the neckline, letting a single finger occasionally sneak under the material to graze the top of Buffy's breasts. Finally, she gave into her own need to touch, to elicit a response from Buffy other than babbling and to appease her own need for reassurance that her earlier fears were not coming to fruition. She slowly slid her hand beneath Buffy's shirt, her fingers tingling with anticipation as she climbed the slope of Buffy's breast. She didn't have to look to know that Buffy's nipple was already puckered, waiting, begging for her touch and her own nipples grew hard in response.

Unconsciously she began to rotate herself against Buffy's lower back, her legs tightening just a bit more as her fingertips lightly grazed the uneven but still silky soft skin of Buffy's aureole. She circled Buffy's nipple like a vulture, then veered off and made her way downward towards the underside of her breast, smiling again as she heard the disappointed moan mix in amid Buffy's nonstop babbling, she felt it too, echoing to her through their bond. Instinctively, or innately Faith let her love, her passion, her need, her devotion for Buffy flow back to her.

So much had changed for her over the last two years, she couldn't imagine now ever going back to being the, get some, get gone or want-take-have girl. What once had made her feel unclean, degraded, helpless, sullied, violated now made her feel beautiful, respected, clean, cherished, loved, no matter what the context or how she and Buffy touched each other and it was Buffy who had done that for her, unselfishly and with nothing but the purest intent. And over the last year Faith had finally started to truly see in the mirror the person that everyone else saw.
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Ain't it crazy ~ For a moment there ~ This felt just like dying ~ But now I see that something inside ~ Is coming alive ~ Ain't it crazy ~
~ No use running from a revolution ~ I just surrender to this evolution...
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Continued in Chapter XXXIII – Heal Me (Part B)