Evolution

Buffy is standing at the door, all red leather and long blonde hair. Faith’s reading The Last Day, flipping the pages but only really concentrating on the art work, not the words. Never the words, they mean shit anyway. The actions are what interest her.

“Thought I’d stop by.” Buffy ejects the cd, placing it back into its case. Faith has made a study of people. Their facial expressions, their body language, the tones they use when they talk. Everything about people fascinates her. She can know any person she meets after just ten minutes with them. Can read them better than anyone she’s ever met. She knows some things about Buffy that she doubts even the little blonde knows.

“Anything I can help you with?” she continues flipping the pages, her eyes skimming over the images as she tries to ignore the presence standing in them middle of her apartment.

“Few questions I guess.” She drops the comic to the bed, stretching before meeting Buffy’s eyes, seeing the twinkle in them. Oh yeah, faith knows this one. Words full of goodness, of virtue. Of a hero. But her body screams with violence and rage, of places teenaged girls shouldn’t dream of when they sleep. Of things they shouldn’t do when darkness falls.

“Shoot.” She pulls herself to the edge of the bed, reaching underneath and grabbing the duffle bag that’s been sitting there, ready and waiting until this moment, this second right here. She stands, tossing the duffle over her shoulder and nodding towards the window behind her. In silence they turn up the small walkway, and Buffy hands her the cd she took from the stereo.

“This gonna hurt?” faith shrugs as she pulls open the windows, stepping out onto the roof and waiting for Buffy to join her. The sun has just about given up its hold over the sky, submitting it to the moon as it gently drops down below the horizon.

“Dunno. Maybe.” They walk towards the northern edge and faith leans over, looking down at the truck that’s parked there. Nods at Giles as he stands beside it, looking awfully stupid in custom trucker wear. Flannel shirts and baggy jeans don’t suit him, and faith can tell by the frown on his face that he hates wearing it almost as much as she hated seeing him wear it.

“Do you think he’ll figure it out?” faith turns back to Buffy, locking eyes with her and gracing her with one of her small, custom smirks.

“Doubt it. Dick ain’t so full up in here,” she taps the side of her head with a finger tip, her smirk widening as Buffy stands closer. “If you know what I mean.” She drops her hand over Buffy’s head, draping her arm over the blonde’s shoulders and pulling her into a crushing hug. One that tells the blonde to not hurt her too much. To remember her when this is over. To find her when she’s been lost for long enough. “Guy’s too chock full of cheer to think such nasty, under handed things are going on behind his back.”

Buffy nods, pulling away and sniffling. “Hey. No’a that. It’ll be done in no time, it’ll all be over, and then I’ll be home again.” she wipes a tear from Buffy’s cheek with her thumb and kisses it from her skin.

“There should be a better way.” Faith shrugs, carefully tossing her duffle bag over the roof, watching it’s decent as it lands without hardly a sound, in the flat bed of the truck.

“Yeah, but he knows I won’t go down without a fight. It’s gotta be this way.” She turns back to Buffy and gestures back inside the apartment. “I got one of this lackey’s locked up in the closet in there. Let him out and have a good rumble. Try throwing him through the window, it’ll make for a more dramatic ending.” Buffy nods and takes a step back. “You ready?”

Silently Buffy reaches behind her back and pulls out the knife. Faith’s knife. She doesn’t want to do this, it’s written across her entire face. But she’s the only one that *can* do it. Not another person they know has the strength to push a blade through the body of a slayer. Too hard, to strong, too built to withstand it all.

“Ok then. Give us a kiss.” Buffy smirks, lifting her eyes to meet faith’s, and finally faith can see what the blonde has been avoiding all night; an apology. I’m sorry for having to do this. I’m sorry for making you think I didn’t care. I’m sorry for getting you to play double agent to a demon. I’m sorry for not taking what you offered me months ago.

She leans forward, standing up straight to match faith’s height and presses her lips softly, yet solidly, against the brunette’s. The first kiss. Maybe the last if this didn’t work out like it was supposed to.

And then she felt it, the coolness of the blade as it brushed her side, as Buffy searched for the area that would cause the less damage, yet would bleed the most. The blonde was trembling until finally faith took hold of her wrist, keeping their lips locked together so as to not break her hold on Buffy’s wrist. A change of direction, a sharp movement and it was done.

Buffy staggered backwards, her hand releasing the knife and leaving it there, sticking out of faith’s side like a hood ornament. Looking down faith watches as the crimson tide soaked through her top, covering her clothes and skin with the warmth of her blood. There was so much of it, and it didn’t seem to want to stop.

“Come on, help me up.” Her voice sounded huskier than it was a few moments ago. But then, she didn’t have a knife sticking out of her then. They struggled to get her on the ledge, and even through the haze of her blood loss, she could hear Giles’ gasp from five stories below. “We did it B.” a small trickle of blood came out of her mouth, causing Buffy’s tears to run faster. Maybe she’d nicked her stomach. Oh well, wouldn’t matter in a few anyway.

“Faith..” she teetered toward the edge, praying she was gonna land in the truck and not the pavement below.

“Gotta go girlfriend. Quite a ride huh?” she coughed, bringing up more blood as her face drained of all color. “Catch you later B.”

And then she was gone. Feeling free as the entire universe tumbled faster around her, and as she passed out, she saw Buffy’s face appear over the side of the roof, tears glistening over her smooth skin, her eyes begging for a time rewind.

She heard, more than felt, the huge cracking sound her body made as it hit the flatbed, and knew, as blessed darkness swallowed her, that she was gonna hurt when she woke up.

~ ~ ~

“Nearly that time.” She stood next to her bed, looking out through the broken window. Her stuff was scattered everywhere, boxes piled here and there and her cat. Roaming free around the apartment and wondering why her mistress hadn’t changed her litter box in almost eight months.

“About damn time you mean.” Buffy sat on the bed, her back resting against the wall as she looked at the sun, same as faith.

“Something like that. You guys missed me?” she could feel Buffy’s smirk, even though she wasn’t watching.

“Something like that.”

“You gonna be there?” faith turned, looking at her blonde counterpart and tucking her hands into her pockets.

“Already there.” She stood, walking to where faith was standing and looking down at her stomach. “You ever gonna take that thing out?” faith looked at the knife, still plunged deeply into her body and shrugged.

“I kinda like it. It’s my war wound.” Buffy smirked, glancing behind her towards the open door, as if she could hear someone calling for her.

“I gotta..”

“I get it. Lots to do. Little sister’s coming. Little miss muffet counting down from seven-three-oh.” she reached up and cupped the side of Buffy’s face, smirking into the hazel vista she found waiting there for her.

“Being dead didn’t stop you talking in riddles.”

“Nothing ever will. You ready?” Buffy nodded, tilting her head upwards to receive the kiss that’d sent her back to reality with a jolt.

~ ~ ~

“You realise the implications of this right?” Buffy awoke to the sounds of willow and Giles talking. “Crossing those two herbs will ultimately..”

“Don’t you guys ever shut up?” faith’s husky voice rang through the room, startling everyone but Buffy. They didn’t know this was happening. Buffy got it straight from the source.

“Welcome back.”

“Yeah, but I miss my war wound.”

“You’ve been awake for maybe a minute.” Faith sat up in the bed, pulling herself upwards to lean against the pillows as she smirked at the blonde.

“Well I had that thing for eight months. Feels like I lost an arm.”

“Well I’ve still got it. Could put it back if you wanted.” The eyebrows on faith’s face nearly shot off her forehead. She shook her head.

“Guess I’m livin’ without it.”

“But you’re living at least.”

“I do try.”

“You’re very trying.”

“Hey!”

~ ~ ~

The world spun and shifted around her, images dropping away like liquid crystal, bleeding back into her subconscious as she re-joined the waking world. The room was completely dark, not even a shimmer of the sun broke through the heavy curtain in the room. She wondered where everyone was, wondered when the sounds of bodes pleasuring bodies faded into the darkness.

Wondered where the body that had pleasured her own had disappeared to.

“Didn’t think you’d be awake so soon.” And there it was now. Standing back in the shadows of the room, next to one of the windows, peeking around the curtains to look at the darkness that the night had to offer. Darkness that was no longer safe for a slayer to be out in. not with the uber vamps and the first roaming freely, just waiting to pick them off one by one.

“Need a bell for you neck.” She could feel Buffy’s smirk through the darkness, feel the tingling of the blonde’s mist as it twirled around the room.

“Been taking stealth lessons from soul boy junior.”

“Where’s everyone?”

“Sleeping. Must’ve tired themselves out.” Faith smirked, sitting up in the bed and letting the sheets fall down and pool in her lap, showing Buffy her smooth, porcelain skin with a smirk.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“I’m not the one that passed out.” Faith raised and eyebrow and smirked more. No, probably true. She did pass out, but then, who knew that the little blonde could be so vicious and thirsty in bed?

“You gotta plan.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement of truth. She could read Buffy like an open book, could see the violence that tainted her soul, the singing of her blood in a fight. Knew what kept the slayer awake on nights just like this one, when the exhaustion of sex should have knocked her clean out.

“They always go where the power is. Caleb said it was the seal.”

“But he ain’t staying there. He’s somewhere else.”

“He’s where the power is. They always go where the power is.” Buffy pushed away from the wall, removing her dressing gown as she approached the bed, offering up her naked flesh to faith’s hungry eyes.

“Recon?” she crawled up the bed, smirking as she straddled her lover’s waist, wrapping her arms around her neck and twisting her fingers into tangled brunette hair.

“Recon. But not right now.” Faith leaned back on her hands, her smirk re-appearing as she took in the look in Buffy’s eyes.

“You ready?”

“Aren’t I always?”

~ ~ ~

“Go. Get out while you can. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re on fire dude.”

“Astute observation faith. “

“We can’t leave you here spike.” He smiled at her, his fingers tightening against each other as he held on for his dear undead life. He just needed to hold it a little while longer, just a few more minutes to let them get far enough out.

“We gotta b. William, pleasure knowing you.” faith nodded at him, grabbing Buffy’s wrist and literally yanking her up the stairs.

“You take good care of her firecracker!” he could hear her laugh as they disappeared out of the seal. The last things her heard were their foot falls, as they pounded out of the building until he finally, with a deep breath, let it all go.

~ ~ ~

The incessant ringing broke through her dreams, forcing her to awaken once more. “Turn it off.”

“You set it.” Buffy sounded far too awake for this time in the morning. Rolling over, faith spotted that she was actually dressed, sitting on the bed reading a book.

“You are so wrong.” She dropped a pillow over her face and muttered some expletives towards Buffy, who finally shut off the alarm.

“And yet so right. Come on, we gotta go. Giles has called a council meeting.”

“Still don’t see why I gotta go.” She threw back the covers and wandered into the bathroom, turning on the shower as she stripped herself of the shorts she managed to put on last night, before she passed out in a drunken haze.

“You’re the leader of the slayer division. Who else is gonna go?”

“Don’t see why I got the job when you’re here.”

“Quite happy just being a trainer thanks.”

“Some slayers get all the luck.” Buffy appeared in the doorway, leaning against the jam as she smiled at the naked wet faith in the shower.

“Some slayer’s aren’t slayers anymore either.” Faith brushed water out of her eyes and smirked at the blonde.

“Forgot you were too old now.” A towel slapped her in the butt and she turned to see Buffy stood there smirking in triumph.

“You know it didn’t happen like that.”

“Yeah yeah, big evil, big mojo. You lost half of your power. Whatever. You’re such a faker.”

“Not my fault they fell for it.”

“You are evil and not to be trusted.”

“But you still love me.”

“Always will.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

“Can’t play hooky?”

“Not unless you wanna be taken off active duty for a month or so.”

“I forgot you were a watcher now.”

“Don’t forget I can still kick your ass.”

“Whatever miss half power.”

“It’s all just evolution.”

“How’s that?”

“My power started all this. Seems fitting that my power should finally get to rest.”

“Evolution of a slayer? Sounds like a book title.”

“You never know..”