Hear No Evil

And so our story concludes.

Chapter Eight

"So why'd you do it?" Buffy asked. They were walking side by side down Revello Drive, not touching--Faith had dropped her hand when they passed through the crowd of reporters in City Hall. She still looked too pale--she wasn't even wearing any of her dark cherry lipstick, because she'd been too sick. The pain-lines had left her face, though, and that was definitely of the good. But that didn't the the question from slipping out--why?--because Buffy might be in love but she wasn't stupid.

"Why'd I go back, you mean?" Faith gave a humourless laugh. "Hey, I didn't know what you meant. Must mean I'm getting better, right, girlfriend?"

"Faith." Buffy stopped and waited until Faith turned around and looked at her. \'d 'd you break your promise?"

Faith shrugged and looked away. "It's not much of a promise if no one believes you when you make it."

"I did--"

"You didn't." Faith met her gaze, then, and Buffy saw the hurt in her wide dark eyes. "Even if you thought you believed me, you really didn't--'cause the whole time you were worried that Xander and Red were right and I was gonna squeal on you the second I got the chance."

Buffy looked down at her feet. How dare Faith use what she'd been thinking against her? "And that's exactly what you did do, so I guess they were right after all."

"And you don't believe that either," Faith said. "Or you'd have shot me instead of the Mayor. I know you got no problem killing lovers who go all Dark Side on you."

Buffy glared at her and shoved past her, continuing down the street. Bringing up Angel like that was just not fair.

"So you wanna know why?" Faith asked from behind her. "I did it 'cause I love you."

Her voice seemed incredibly loud on the empty street. Buffy spun around on her heel. Faith was standing where she'd left her, looking cocky and proud and…sexy as hell, damn her.

"You were never gonna trust me," she said. "Even if I stayed and got all happily-ever-after with you. You'd always wonder, and so would Xander, and so would Red. Thinking I'd leave whenever things got rough, or worse, that I was playing you the whole time."

Buffy shook her head, feeling tears pushing up in her throat, not because of Faith's accusations but because she feared they might be true. And no matter what kind of good intentions either of them had, they wouldn't stay together if they didn't trust each other. "That still doesn't answer why," she said.

Faith walked up to her, until their faces were inches apart. "And it's not like I blame you," Faith said softly. "Hell, after what I pulled, I wouldn't trust me either."

"But I want to," Buffy said. "You probably think I'm a sucker."

"Nah…just…good," Faith said. "Like, you trust people cause you expect them to be worth it. And that's why. I went back cause I had to prove myself to you. Show you I was worth it. I could hear his thoughts, you know. So I went and asked him about his plans--no way he was going to tell me, of course, but it's like saying don't think about the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man."

Buffy smilt tht that--she couldn't help it. "So pretty soon all of downtown Manhattan is covered in s'mores goo?"

"It's like you read my mind," Faith answered, grinning. "I got most of it, I think, what he's up to. With Giles and Red doing the research bit, I bet we can put one gigantic kink in his plan."

Buffy's smile widened. That, she could trust. Because if anyone knew their kinks, it was Faith.

"You thinking something dirty, B?"

Buffy blushed. "How would yoow?\ow?"

"I may be cured, but I'm not dumb," Faith said. "Besides, last night…I think I got a pretty intense crash course in What Buffy Summers Thinks. It was very enlightening, believe me."

"I do." Buffy grabbed Faith's hand and dragged her down the street. "I believe you, Faith."

"Want me to guess what you're thinking now?" Faith asked, laughing as she ran behind Buffy up her front walk.

"No." Buffy opened the door, and nearly ran into her mom. "Hey, Mom, guess what? Faith's cured. She needs to rest, though. Rebuild her strength. It's all very complicated. Well, it sure is getting late, don't you think? Yep. Late. That's what it is. Well, I'll be turning in, then. Hitting the hay. Grabbing some Zs. Raveling up my sleeves. Good night."

Without pausing to see what her mom thought of her babbling, Buffy pulled Faith up the stairs and into her room. Faith was still laughing, even as she shut the door behind her. Buffy pushed her up against it, using her whole body to pin Faith there, and Faith's laughter cut off abruptly. Buffy reached up and pressed her lips against Faith's, moving her hands down to hold Faith's hips. Faith opened her mouth immediately, and Buffy closed her eyes and fell into the kiss. Even through their clothes, Faith's body was incredibly warm, and Buffy just wanted to sieepeeeper into her. She pushed forward, moving her hips, loving the sound of Faith's half-swallowed sigh.

You'd think with two hundred years to practice, Angel could have learned how to do this. And she was so glad Faith couldn't hear her think anymore.

The kiss grew hotter, faster, harder, and now Faith was the one pushing, her hands running over Buffy's body, just a little rough. Buffy whimpered and let herself be urged backwards until her knees hit the bed and she fell back on her elbows, breathing hard. Faith stood above her, her eyes dark and predatory.

"Hey," she said, her voice at that deep, rough pitch that sent shivers down Buffy's spine. "What happened to resting?"

"Well, if you want to rest," Buffy said, "be my guest. I'll just lie here, watch you sleep, maybe braid your hair…"

"Like hell," Faith said, and leapt on the bed so that she was straddling Buffy's hips. "You wouldn't stop now."

"I might," Buffy said, trying for indifference. She made an effort to even out her breathing and ignore just how close Faith was and if she shifted just so they would be pressed together…

"Oh, yeah?" Faith sat down and rolled her hips forward. Buffy gasped and returned the thrust before she could think about it. "That's what I thought."

Before Buffy could think up a suitable retort, Faith was kissing her again, and thinking seemed like a pretty stupid waste of time considering where she could be focusing her attention. She pulled off Faith's shirt and cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples until they peaked in her hands and Faith was rubbing against her.

"Mmph," she said into Faith's mouth, and Faith looked up for a moment.

"What?"

"Resting…bad," Buffy clarified. "You…good."

Faith grinned. "You ain't seen nothing yet." She kissed her way down Buffy's body, throwing her clothes away as she went, mouthing her nipples and swirling her tongue in Buffy's bellybutton. Buffy sighed and let it happen, tracking Faith's progress with one part of her mind, the rest of it occupied only in enjoying the sensations.

Faith was kissinr inr inner thigh, long, sucking kisses that started down near her knees and ended before they got anywhere fun. Buffy moannd snd shifted and still Faith refused to go any higher.

"Ah…please, Faith…"

Faith sniggered. "I'm not a mind-reader, B. You want it, you gotta say it."

If Faith thought a little embarrassment was going to stop her, she didn't know much about Buffy's thought processes after all. Buffy smiled, glad enough of that, because even if they weren't keeping secrets, a few surprises now and then could really liven things up. She met Faith's eyes and said, very seriously, "I want you to go down on me, Faith. I want you to eat me out, I want to feel your tongue on my clit, I want you to suck and bite and lick until I'm begging you to make me come, and then do it some more."

Faith's jaw had dropped slowly throughout this speech, her eyes going wide, and she licked her lips before she spoke. "Oh, shit, that is not fair. That is way too fucking hot."

"And," Buffy said, enjoying Faith's reaction, "I want to do the same to you. At the same time."

Faith grinned. "I love it when you talk dirty."

She shifted quickly, until her knees were on either side of Buffy's head, and without a pause, she buried her face between Buffy's thighs. Buffy nearly jackknifed off the bed, it was so sudden, and then attacked Faith with the same enthusiasm, tasting the slick saltiness of her arousal. Faith stiffened for a moment, moaning, the vibrations of it shivering through Buffy. Buffy raised her hands and put her fingers to work, too, using everything she'd learned last night and mirroring Faith's actions, trying to set aside her own pleasure and focus on making Faith come harder than she ever had before. Faith was squirming above her, hot and sweaty and frantic, and Buffy figured that meant she was doing good. She nibbled and thrust her fingers a little harder, a little rougher, and Faith shuddered at her touch. She slowed her own movements as Buffy drove her towards orgasm, and it was maddening and amazing and she was so close…

She stopped caring about who came first because all of a sudden it didn't matter, all that mattered was this wash of exquisite feeling that started in her thighs and spread through her entire body and Faith was pressing into her hands and she was sucking on Faith's clit and Faith was wet and making strangled noises deep in her throat. It faded, slowly, and Faith gasped and rolled over on her side. Buffy realized she'd somehow managed to end up witr fer feet on the pillows, and wriggled around until she was laying next to Faith.

"So…" Faith said finally, her breath slowing. "How long do you think I'll be sick for?"

"You could get away with Mom bringing you chicken soup for two days--three, tops," Buffy answered, her voice muffled by the pillow. She couldn't move. She would never move again. Okay, maybe she would, and maybe she'd even feel as good as this at some point in the future, but there were no guarantees, so that was a big 'no' to the moving. "Bed rest? Probably a week."

"If I follow your rules about resting for a week, I'll probably die," Faith mumbled. "And what a way to go."

"This has been very stressful for me," Buffy said. "I think I'll need a lot of rest too."

"Good," Faith said. She grabbed the covers and pulled them over the two of them. "In that case, I think I'll recover. Eventually."

"Very eventually," Buffy said, and snuggled closer to Faith's warmth even as she was falling asleep.

*

"So let me get this straight," Xander said for the fourth time. He slung his backpack over one shoulder as they waited for class to end. "Faith is really good now?"

Buffy nodded solemnly. "Yes. Yes, she is really good."

Willow rolled her eyes and smacked Buffy's arm. Buffy grinned at her. Willow had been pulling double shifts on best-friend duty, listening to Buffy for hours on the phone, describing in perhaps too much detail just how good Faith was. Xander, on the other hand, had no clue, and Buffy was having a hard time holding back her giggles every time he asked again about the status of Faith's evil tendencies. It wasn't exactly going to stay a secret long, she knew, since Faith was meeting them for lunch; but until then, she was having fun speaking in double entendres that only Willow understood.

"What Buffy means," Willow said now, "is that Faith went to the Mayor because she knew she could hear his thoughts."

"So she stole my idea!" Xander said, pushing open the classroom door as the lunch bell rang. "I'm the one who was worried that she'd hear all our plans."

"We're already having one 'Xander Was Right Day'," Buffy said as they headed down the hall to the doors. "The calendar couldn't stand another one."

"Anyway," Willow continued, "now we know more about the Ascension. We figure that if we can stop the Mayor from getting this Box of Gavrok, we'll be able to stop him from turning into a demon at Graduation."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find another way to liven up the ceremony, then," Xander said, sighing. "Because, you know, I could have been a key guy. We could have gotten everybody armed with crossbows and flame throwers…"

"Dream on, Xander," Buffy said. "Who would you ask to help with that? Larry? Harmony?"

Xander shrugged easily. "You never know."

"I'm just glad we won't have to," Buffy said. "Faith and I will get the box. No box, no demon. The end."

"I guess that means you and Faith are doing okay again," Xander said.

"Oh, we're doing great," Buffy said, with another grin at Willow, and got a second eye roll for her trouble. She was beginning to think that Faith's tendency to think only in terms of sex was rubbing off on her. Hmm…Faith…sex…rubbing…yeah, she was diseased, all right.

They left the school and skipped down the steps, heading for their lunch spot across the street. Faith was leaning against a tree, waiting for them. When she saw them, she came sauntering across the lawn to meet them, her thumbs hooked in her back jeans pockets, her dark hair waving over her bare shoulders. She grinned and licked her lips as she looked Buffy up and down. Buffy smiled shyly at her and held out her hand. Faith hesitated for only a moment before taking it and falling into step beside her.

"You're turning me into a mushbrain," she said, stroking her thumb over the back of Buffy's hand.

"That's my plan," Buffy said. She turned in front of Faith, blocking her path and pulling her close for a kiss. She'd meant it as a brief hello, but she'd forgotten that with Faith involved, "hello" was likely to turn into a conversation of great length and depth and…mmm.

When they broke apart, Xander was staring at them, his mouth hanging open. Willow waved a hand in front of his face.

"I think you broke him," she said. "You couldn't have warned him first?"

"This is way more fun," Faith said. "Sorry, Xandman, but you knew I liked the ladies, didn't you? You were sure thinking it enough the other day."

"Yes, but, you--Buffy--and--huh?"

"He might babble for a while," Willow said. "Come on, let's go."

They continued across school grounds to their lunch spot, Xander trailing behind them and muttering things to himself.

"I guess this means we shouldn't tell him that we've had the mad sex," Faith said loudly.

"Twice," Buffy agreed.

Xander walked into a tree.

*

finis

Yes, yes, you love me, I know. Write lots of reviews and I will love you too! Be sure to tune in next time when I rewrite yet another season three episode, because apparently I'm obsessed. Yours fuffily, Zulu.