The Glitch 2.0

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Taunie growled to herself, halfway dressed for her night out at the Bonze when someone knocked on the door. The only person that had seemed to visit her at the motel was either the greasy manager or Whistler, and as she’d looked in to make sure he wasn’t on shift before taking her shower, it had to be the ghostly-demon spirit-guide. Still growling to herself, Nataunia flung open the door, still scrubbing her wet hair with a towel, wearing only her sports bra and a pair of boy-shorts. Her eyes widened and a blush quickly overtook her features to see Faith standing, looking royally pissed, on the other side. “Uh…”

“Taunie.” Faith greeted, still looking angry, and stepped in, closing the door behind her for the girl. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Should, um, ask you the same thing.” Nataunia mumbled, turning to find herself at least a pair of pants. “So… um… what’re you doing here?”

“Red sent me to check, and she was right. You’re fuckin’ staying at this rat-heap?” Faith growled, arms folded and glaring at the girl as she rifled through her clothes and pulled out a low-riding pair of cargo pants to throw on. “You know how many druggies deal out of here?”

“Because drug dealers and whores are the worst things to worry about in Sunnydale.” Taunie retorted, smirking. Faith didn’t smile back. “Look, I’m sorry. I know you lot seem to like me…”

“We do like you…”

“… but can you really see me living with you guys? Seriously?” Nataunia sighed and threw her towel over the sink absently. “It’s damn crowded in your place already. You’re in the damn basement, and all of the other rooms are taken. Where do you think I’d sleep? And you don’t need another teenage girl, with the number of bathrooms available there. I’m gonna start looking around for a more permanent place soon, it’s just… it’s only been a week, and before that I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to convince her to help me.”

“Yeah, well we are helpin’ ya, and we do like ya, so we don’t want you here.” Faith argued, looking less angry now and more sympathetic. “Wills is really worried, Taunie, or she wouldn’t’a sent me. I don’t like ya here either… I know how lonely… how bad… it can get here. I may not look it, but I’ve seen how ya shy away from touch and things like that sometimes, and Dawn said that much as people try at school, you don’t seem to have a lot of real friends yet. It’s… if you wanted to talk… it’s better if ya talk.”

“I’ll be fine, Faith, thanks.” Nataunia said with a sigh, aching a little at the knowledge that Faith was reaching out to her, and she wasn’t able to take the offered hand. She wanted to, damn how she wanted to. Faith was absolutely gorgeous, and as a person was amazing… and she had a feeling that the Slayer would be able to understand a lot of what she went through on an emotional level… but she wouldn’t risk being thrown back into that old world by telling her. “I appreciate it, but… I don’t think I’m ready to move in with you lot. I mean, at least here I got my own bed.”

Faith just looked at her for a few minutes, silent, before sighing and nodding. “When ya are ready… you think about it, okay Taunie-girl? B an’ I are still workin’ things out b’tween us from… well… stuff that happened, but I’ll fight her blue myself, if you need or want to stay there. Ain’t good to be alone.”

“Thanks Faith.” Nataunia smiled brightly at her, and pushed back a few tears that wanted to leak out at that. If she cried, she knew that Faith would insist on her living with them, and she’d have little choice with a determined Slayer and Willow against her. “What cemetery are you patrolling tonight? I just gotta throw on a top and shoes and I can give you a ride.”

“Nah, finish gettin’ ready. I can wait.” Faith said, looking a little awkward after the emotional words of before, and gave a smile as she settled on the bed. “Um… so you and Red, huh? Gettin’ all witchy with the mojo. You gonna back us up on patrols now?”

“More like gonna learn to grow wings and do the aerial assault with mojo as a secondary attack… but yeah.” Taunie laughed in the same awkward discomfort, and heard Faith snort behind her. “I’m supposed to learn how to fully manifest, like real-life, flesh-bone-and-blood manifest, those wings and claws and stuff. That’s what my, uh, spirit-guide said. I’m still going to learn how to control and use my power, other than that, but we don’t know how much of my ‘power’ is just that I have the wings and such at all, and how much is Willow’s type of magic, yet.”

“Wicked.” Faith smirked at her, and, paranoid, Taunie turned to look at her. “You’ll be our own little Gargoyle.”

“Call me that and burn, Slayer. I know where you sleep.” Nataunia narrowed her eyes and pointed at her accusingly, playfully growling. Faith laughed. “Callin’ me ‘Mini-me’ and ‘Kid’ and stuff is bad enough. I know what Dawnie feels like now.”

“Ah, the Squirt doesn’t mind too bad.” Faith laughed. “And I won’t call ya Gargoyle… unless I really wanna piss you off.”

“Good.” Taunie laughed and held up two shirts to her. “Which one?”

“Ooh, I like that tank that laces up the front. It’s sexy.” Faith purred, smiling broadly, making Nataunia blush. “Go with that. Dawn’ll drool all over the Bronze with you in that.”

“Yeah, that’s an encouragement.” She grumbled, rolling her eyes, but went ahead to pull it on, along with an underwire bra instead, in the bathroom, just leaving the door cracked for Faith. “Because really, I need her to act more weird around me. Gives me the jitters already.”

“Better you than me, Taunie-girl.” Faith chuckled again, and Taunie rolled her eyes, finishing getting ready to the mutual banter and teasing of the dark Slayer. When she’d finally gotten everything together and ready, and gave Faith the promised ride out to the cemeteries, they barely caught Buffy on her way out of Restfeild. “’Kay Faith. I’m gonna drop by the house to pick up my helmet. Left it there after my lesson with Willow. See you at the Bronze.”

“Hey Taunie… you were with Faith?” Buffy asked, walking up and looking curious. She noticed the barely damp hair still, and frowned slightly. “What were you two up to?”

“I was just taking a ride around, and ran across her.” Nataunia smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. “Offered to give her a ride. You coming tonight?”

“Yeah, we’ll see you later.” Buffy nodded, and as she rode off, looked at Faith suspiciously. “Just ran into each other?”

“Yeah, I was checkin’ out some stuff over in the grodier end of town, and happened across her. No big.” Faith shrugged, pulling out a stake and twirling it as she and the blonde walked along. “Anything so far?”

“Right… nothing yet.” Buffy eyed her, then continued along patrol.

~

The previous night had certainly been an experience. Buffy, Faith, and Dawn had all been there, and it had been one of the nights with a live band, so she wasn’t entirely surprised at how packed the place got. Miraculously, they still managed to get one of the tables with a couch and chairs nearby, as the group had always done in the show, and Dawn had separated to dance and have fun with a few of her friends from school more than once. She’d only ever danced with one other person before, experiences she tried to forget, and had otherwise only goofed off alone in her room, dancing where no one could see her when the mood took her. She was surprised that it was so easy when Faith and Dawn got her out onto the dance floor, and Buffy even, a few times.

The night hadn’t been too late, with Dawn out with the group, and Buffy even admonished her that she should worry about the time too, still being in high school as well. Faith’s support of laughing and asking if Buffy had obeyed curfew in high school had bet with a tense glare, and the announcement that they were leaving anyway. So, she’d managed to get to bed by at least two, but was still tired when a knock, again, alerted her to someone at the door. She’d only just barely started to wake up, and only groggily remembered the previous night, and Faith’s visit. A knock meant that it was either Willow, come early before the lesson to add her own insistence to Faith’s, or the brunette Slayer changing her mind about letting Taunie stay at the motel. Or maybe even Whistler for some odd reason. She doubted it would be the grease-stained manager as early as ten, and yawned, groaning to herself, as she shuffled to the door so she could peak through the peep-hole, and figure out if she needed to yell for whoever it was to go away.

“Buffy?” Taunie grumbled, confused, to herself, and then unlocked the door to crack it open and look blearily at the blonde. “Buffy? What’re you doin’ here? It’s only ten in the mornin’.”

“You’ve been living here?” Buffy asked, pushing in and looking around the room in barely visible disdain. “Does Willow know?”

“Eh… prolly by now.” Taunie yawned, not fully registering what was happening and wanting mostly to crawl back into bed for another hour. How had Buffy found out? “What’s up?”

“Pack your things. I’ve got the Jeep with me.” Buffy insisted, poking at the sheets of the bed with the same, barely visible disdain. “I can’t believe you’ve been living in this dump.”

“What’re you talking about?” Taunie yawned again, stretching as she started to wake up more. “What’re you doing here? How’d you figure out where I was?”

“I’m not that blonde, thanks.” Buffy scowled. “After I saw you drop off Faith with wet hair last night, it kind of clicked. I mean, you’re enough like her, after all.”

“I’m gonna consider that a compliment, instead of an insult.” Nataunia growled at her, and rubbed some sleep from her eyes. “What do you want, Buffy?”

“I told you. Pack your things, I brought the Jeep along. I guess you can sleep on the couch for now, until we find somewhere to make more room for you.” Buffy looked to be in frustrated thought, and Taunie just glared at her. “Come on… Willow really likes you. I haven’t seen her as happy as she is when she’s teaching you since… well since before someone important to her died. Dawn adores you, and Faith practically considers you a partner in crime by now. You’re not going to stay here.”

“Right…” Nataunia grumbled to herself, standing to move into the bathroom and brush her teeth, mumbling beneath her breath and not caring about Slayer hearing, “Didn’t seem so damn eager when Faith first got into town and everyone else liked her, did ya…”

There were several moments of silence as she carefully brushed her teeth, figuring on getting rid of her morning breath because Buffy wasn’t likely to let her get back to sleep any time soon. Finally, as she was brushing her hair and pulling it back, she heard the Slayer speak. “You know… I didn’t really want to leave her in this damn hole in the ground…” Buffy said softly, sounding ashamed. Taunie didn’t comment. “At first I didn’t really care… but… well… after a while I wanted to ask her to… but I never got up the courage to say anything. She was always going off on her own, doing her own thing. I didn’t know what to say, to do. We both made mistakes.”

“Ya ever tell her that?” Nataunia asked casually, leaning in the bathroom doorway. Buffy looked up at her. “That ya know you made mistakes, both of you… not just her.”

“I… How do you know any of this, anyway?” Buffy pouted slightly, that frown-pout that Nataunia had always thought funny and cute on the TV. It had a similar effect now, but didn’t change her mood from one of frustration.

“She didn’t tell me about it, if that’s what you’re asking.” Taunie shrugged, then bent to pick out some clothes for the day. “Does it really matter? Won’t change anything.”

“Why does your attitude and personality seem to shift so much?” Buffy asked, eyeing her. “I mean, one minute you sound almost exactly like Faith did when she was younger… all attitude and cool… and the next minute you’re almost so nervous and evasive that you sound like Willow does when she starts babbling.”

“I…” She hedged, getting nervous again at the questioning, and lifted up a shirt, eyeing it as an excuse to have a minute to think. “Well… um… what do you expect? I mean, you’re the Slayers. How can I not be all nervous and star-struck around you? You’re like, the ones that save the world. And then… then she’s Willow, like the Willow. She’s the most powerful witch in this hemisphere, if not the world. It’s starting to go away, all that nervousness and babble and stuff… cause, yanno, I’m getting used to it… but… well… fuck, just forget it.”

Buffy was smiling fondly at her, and Nataunia frowned again when she noticed. “You sound even more like her when you’re frustrated. It’s sweet… if you ignore the cursing.” She was still smiling, and Taunie blushed as a reaction, grabbing a pair of pants to go with the shirt she’d been holding and stomping into the bathroom. “So anyway, once you’re dressed, finish packing everything else you have, and we’ll go check you out of here.”

“Right… and I thought we’d covered that.” Taunie grumped out at her, throwing the clothes on quickly. Buffy grunted back. “It’s my decision, and I don’t think it’s time yet. You got a lot of people in that house already, you barely know me, and… I don’t think I’m ready for it yet. I got two more weeks here, no worry, and am lookin’ for a more permanent solution. I’ll be fine as I am.”

“This isn’t any place for someone to live, and a teenager shouldn’t be out on her own.” Buffy reiterated, frowning back. The two of them just glared at each other, before Buffy pointed at her stubbornly. “You’ve got one more night. I want you moved into our house by the time the weekend’s over.”

“Right.” Taunie growled back, just as stubbornly.

TBC