Squeaky Clean

TITLE: Squeaky Clean

AUTHOR: Midknight

CHAPTER: 1 of 1

FANDOM: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

SHIP: Xander / Faith

RATING: NC-17

CATEGORY: Romance and Erotica

SPOILERS: A couple, Season Three and Seven

UNIVERSE: As per cannon, with one small change: Wood never, ever, ever existed. Ever.
Life after Sunnydale. There might be a whole lot more Slayers in the world, but there's also a hell of a lot more (pun intended) evil in it too. The surviving Scoobies have set up camp in L.A. at Angels old digs, the Hyperion. They run a kind of Slayer academy and help-line funded by the newly resurrected Watcher's Council.

DISCLAIMER: None of these characters belong to me. They belong to Josh Wedon and whoever else does. I pay homage to them and I make no profit from this story in any fashion, way or means.

AUTHORS NOTE: I apologize before hand and hope you will forgive any errors or blatant discrepancies.

FEEDBACK: Yes Please. It helps. It really, really helps. - Deton8@mweb.co.za

Faith was unhappy, really unhappy. She dropped the battleaxe and wiped luminescent green daemon gunk out of her eyes. She was covered in it. The damn thing had erupted when she killed it. She couldn't walk back to the Hyperion looking like this. Granted it was L.A. but she'd still attract attention they didn't need.

She'd have to call Xander, that's of course, if the gunk hadn't got into her cell phone. He wasn't going to be gracious about this, but he would be more manageable than Willow or any of the other Slayers. With, a sigh of resignation she dug into the pockets of her skin tight, and possibly completely ruined, leather pants for her phone. It had indeed survived and she hit her number one speed dial. She pulled her gunk-covered hair away from her ear with disgust and raised the phone to her ear.

After a few rings he picked up. "Hey Babe. What's shaking?" he greeted cheerfully. "Nothing much. I just need you to come fetch me." She replied. "You okay?" he asked, his tone immediately becoming serious and concerned. "No... I mean yes. I'm okay. It's nothing like that. I'm fine." She assured him. "I just need you to come get me. I'm in no fit state to walk back to the Hyperion." She continued. "I thought you said you were fine." He replied unsatisfied. "I'm not hurt, X. Just come get me. I'm in that park off Marino, not far from the west gate." She insisted. "Faith?" he questioned. She sighed. "I'm covered in daemon gunk from head to toe, Okay?" she said softly. "What?" he asked. She barely stopped herself from crushing the phone in her hand as she repeated herself loudly and slowly. She let him stop laughing before she continued: "Could you bring some towels and something clean for me to wear, please? And, Xander, be a dear and hurry, this stuff is really starting to stink." She wrinkled her nose as she snapped the phone closed not giving him a chance to retort.

She looked around and realized that the rest of the daemon's carcass had dissolved. At least she didn't have to clean up after herself, just herself. She sniffed again and pulled a face in disgust. About fifteen minutes later she saw him enter through the gate of the park. She had waited in the shadows of the nearest stand of trees and stepped out just enough for him to see her. It was late, but there were still people around, not many, but she didn't want the hassle of explaining her appearance.

He had a bag with him. Thank the lords she would at least be able to get some of the gunk of right now, but he stopped a few meters away from her. That's when she noticed the crossbow in his other hand. "Sorry. Don't take this the wrong way, but are you... well you. No hearing peoples thoughts or having thoughts you shouldn't or growing any appendages you might want to tell me about." He asked cautiously. She wanted to think he was joking. Wanted to tell him he was, but he'd grown up in Sunnydale. He'd fought with Buffy from the beginning. Been in 'The Life' even longer than she had. She knew he was deadly serious as was the unmoving crossbow he had trained on her.

She slowly and deliberately raised her arms, hands open to show him she was unarmed before answering: "I'm me. I'm filthy and I smell, but it's me. No side effects besides disgust. I didn't get any in my mouth and as you can see this stuff does not disappear into your skin. As, a matter of fact, some of it just started trickling down her back under her tank top and she barely managed not to react to her revulsion. "How can we be sure?" he asked unmoved.

She was having a bad night. She was covered in daemon gunk that felt slimy and stank and it was starting to cool and congeal and drip into places things shouldn't drip. She really didn't have the time for this shit, even if she knew he was doing the right thing. "We can't, but here's the thing. I told you so, now you're gonna believe me. You're gonna open that bag and make my night by producing at least one towel and something else for me to wear or I swear I will tell everyone at the hotel about your little Dark Angel role playing suggestion from last night. Understand?" she told him in the calmest tone she could muster.

"Okay then. You're definitely you. Not even The First could have come up with a threat that diabolical or effective." He said lowering his crossbow. "Thanks. I'll consider that a compliment and seeing you find it so effective consider it re-issued if you make one wise crack about this. Understand? Just one." She threatened. "Me? Would I do that." He said with butter-couldn't-melt-in-my-mouth sweetness. She gave him a warning look. She could see his lips literally twitching to make a comment. With, a sigh, she relented and shook her head. "Okay. Go ahead. Take your best shot. You're liable to bust a gut if you don't." she conceded.

She watched him open his mouth and then shut it again. "Nah. Why don't I just make your night instead?" he told her reaching into the bag and tossing her a towel. She must really look miserable. She gave him a grateful smile before starting to wipe some of the gunk off her face and arms. He tossed the bag at her feet. "There are some bottles of water and sweats in there you can change into after you've cleaned up as best you can." He said still keeping his distance. "Xander. It's me. I promise." She said when he didn't come closer. "I know, but I'm downwind and this is as close as I can get without gagging. She looked at him suspiciously and he shrugged. She had to admit the stuff she was covered in reeked and it was only getting worse.

"Sing out if anyone comes this way. Will ya?" she tasked him as she stepped further back into the trees. He nodded and turned to keep an eye on the gate and the path. She stripped down to her underwear quickly, using the towel and the three bottles of water in the bag to try and wash some of the stuff off. She felt eyes on her and looked up just in time to see Xander wave and then turn back to watch the gate. Despite her situation she smiled, appreciating the attention. She held up her leather pants contemplating whether Willow might know of someway to rescue them. She took another sniff and knew it was useless and tossed it on top of the rest of her clothes. Damn, she'd just gotten them broken in. She tried to rinse the stuff out of her hair, but without much success. She would never be so grateful to see a shower or take one for granted again. It was getting a bit nippy to be standing around in wet underwear so, she pulled on the sweat pants he had brought and the hooded top as well. The hood would cover the mess her hair and face were in. She tossed the towel on top of the rest of her clothes.

"Xander!" she called to him and after a moment he headed over. "You Okay?" He asked. Even after all these months she still found his concern for her a little disconcerting, if sweet. "I'm fine, but my leather pants, the black ones I just broke in... They paid the ultimate price." She said nodding at the pile of clothes. "Got any matches." She asked glumly. The requested matches were produced and he cleared a space around the pile of smelly, gunk-soaked and encrusted clothes with his foot and then stepped back beside her. "Would you like to do the honours? You can say a few words if you like. I think the pants would like that." He asked, handing her the matches.

She couldn't help but chuckle. Somehow he always knew how to make her laugh, no matter how bad her mood or inappropriate the situation. With, a sigh she took out four or five of the matches, struck them and threw them on the pile. They both jumped back as the pile went up in a whoosh of flame. When they could see again, all there was left was a small pile of ashes that quickly disappeared on the late night breeze.

"I'd hug you to make it all better, but you still stink a little." He told her wrinkling his nose. "Nice." She replied archly punching him lightly on the shoulder. "But, thanks for the sentiment. Now, take me home, Xander. Take me to a hot shower with nice smelling soap and shampoo. Do that, and who knows what Dark Angel may visit you at some point in the future." she told him with a wink and they headed to his jeep.

The lobby was mercifully empty. The Summers sisters were the only ones besides them from the original Scoobies that was actually in L.A. at the moment. Giles and Andrew were in London, while Kennedy and Willow were in Tibet. She was grateful that she wouldn't have to explain her appearance and odour to either. She hurried up to the suite she shared with Xander and headed straight for the shower. She tossed the sweats and her underwear in a pile as far away from her as the room allowed. They'd most likely have to be thrown away. She turned the water on as hot as she could stand and stepped under the spray. She could have swore she heard a angelic choir sing out a hallelujah as the hot water hit her hair and body starting to sluice away the dirt and stench from the daemon's blood.

Where the water slid off her body carrying the filth with it, the heat soaked into her muscles relaxing them. She put her hands on either side of the showerhead leaned forward and closed her eyes, letting the spray beat down on her shoulders. Four months ago she had found herself in a very similar position, just in a Holiday Inn room shower and in a very different mindspace.

She'd just made love to Xander or he'd just made love to her. They'd made love. She admitted that much and that was a lot of the problem, she didn't make love. Faith fucked. She got some and got gone, but for the first time in ages she had found unconditional peace and it had been in the arms of Xander Harris after one of the most intense orgasms she had ever experienced, and she'd had some woppers.

She'd actually allowed herself to hope, to dream, while lying there in his arms, but now reality was starting to rear its ugly head. She was a fugitive and for good reason. For all her good intentions and repentance, she was still a murderer. She made sure never to let herself forget that. She had to hand herself in. To start something now, would be unfair to him. She was thinking of him. It hit her like a fist to the stomach. She knew what she wanted and the potential for it was so close, but she knew that to have it, even for a fleeting time would hurt him and she also knew with an unwavering certainty that it was a cost she was not willing to pay. If she left now she might still be able to slip away before he woke up. Find Giles. Tell him what she was doing and be on her way. It was the right thing to do. It was best for both of them in the long run. She made her decision.

She'd showered quickly after that. Her clothes had dried and she dressed quickly. It was stupid, but she stuffed his shirt into her knapsack all the same. She opened the door from the bathroom as quietly as she could and made her way to the door of the room. Her hand had touched the doorknob when he spoke.

"Not even going to say goodbye, Faith?" he asked, but continued before she could turn and answer. "I got it. Get some and get gone. Isn't that what you always say? But, then you were in the shower for nearly an hour and I got to thinking. This can't work right? There are all these obstacles. You have issues. I have issues. You're a fugitive from justice. The only place I know and grew up in is a large crater. Etc... etc... etc... After twenty minutes I started to think you'd just left the water running and absconded through the bathroom window. The door even looked tempting for me, for a moment, but then I thought about last night and I thought: Fuck that. I called Giles. He called Angel. Did you know he's running Wolfram and Hart now? And, Angel put him in touch with some guy called Gunn and apparently barring some paperwork and a few signatures from you, your legal issues are well, shall we say, like a vampire in the sunlight. Poof. Gone. Dust. And, honestly let's face it... I never really liked Sunnydale all that much. So, that leaves us. That's my issues and your issues, just you and me and we're the only people that can deal with those. Still want to leave? Then go." He finished.

She turned slowly. She had never heard him use such a serious tone of voice. She should leave. He had told her she could, but still she turned. She kept her knapsack in her hands and couldn't quite bring herself to look at him. She felt small and uncomfortable, her usually limitless confidence dwarfed by the enormity of the emotions boiling up inside her.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed watching her. She hadn't even looked when she left the bathroom. "Xander. I don't want to leave, but I should. That would be best for everyone. Wouldn't it?" She said softly, her voice sounding fragile and brittle even to her own ears. "Last night, last night was something amazing, something so new to me, but it's also scary and confusing. I don't regret it. I told you so, but I will hurt you, Xander. I've hurt everyone that's ever tried to be close to me. I'm dangerous. I'm a murderer. Fuck, X. I've already tried to kill you once. I'm wrong... Broken... I'm... I'm bad, Xander. I can't... I want... I don't deserve..." her explanation trailed off. She couldn't understand why her vision was going blurry or why it had become so hard to breath or why her voice sounded so strange.

She didn't see him move, but suddenly her head was resting on a broad shoulder and strong, warm arms were wrapped around her and she realized she was crying. She clutched at him as she shook with sobs. A large hand cupped the back of her head and began to stroke her hair gently. "Shhhhhhh. There, there." He whispered. It still took her awhile to get herself under control. "Sorry. I..." She started to apologize, sniffling.

"Don't apologise." He said from above her. "Faith. I'm not proposing marriage here. You and me for some kind of reason have a connection. I can't say how long it will last because I can't even tell you exactly what it is, But here's the thing: I want to find out and I think you do too. As to, being hurt? I've left a woman I thought I loved at the altar, so I don't think I have the moral high ground there. Yes, you did try to kill me, but so has pretty much every women I've ever dated so sorry, babe. That doesn't make you all that special. About you being bad? Wrong? Or broken? Once, maybe but, people change Faith, people grow, people heal and you're people Faith, whether you admit it, like it or not. You've always been a fuckable girl, but the women that came back to Sunnydale with Willow is loveable and I'd like to be the one who does. What do you say?" he finally asked.

She stepped away from him so that she could look at his face. "I must look like a mess." She said wiping her eyes and sniffing loudly. "Yes, but a pretty mess." He replied lightly. She smiled and took a deep breath. "Yes, Xander. My answer is: Yes." She told him surprised by the delight in her voice feeling that somehow she should have been more somber considering the weight of her decision. Yet, she laughed openly when he swept her up in his arms before they ended up kissing passionately.

She started when she felt hands on her shoulders and thumbs on her neck before relaxed as they kneaded her muscles. She murmured her approval, surprised that she had been so wrapped up in her memories that she hadn't heard him join her in the shower. She loved the way his hands felt on her skin and she was a little disappointed when he stopped his massage. She felt him lean forward and then his voice was in her ear: "Let's get you cleaned up. Shall we?" he asked rhetorically and then she felt the coolness of shampoo being poured on her hair.

He washed her hair thoroughly. Massaging her scalp with strong, sure fingers relaxing her even more. She gave herself over to him letting him position her as necessary or following his soft commands. He rinsed the shampoo from her hair and the smell of vanilla completely replaced the indescribable stink of the daemon's blood. He turned her around to face him and told her to open her eyes, which she did with a smile bowing her lips.

She watched him soap up a sponge and let her eyes drop lower. He was hard. Her smile broadened. Despite her crappy night so far, she had the distinct impression things were about to start looking up, in a major way. He sponged her down from head to toe, spending a long time at her breasts and between her legs, not that she complained. Even though the water was still hot her nipples were hard and she hadn't been shy about fondling his erection with a soap-slicked hand whenever it came within reach.

He turned her in a complete circle under the shower to rinse and once he was satisfied he pushed her backward until her back met the tiled wall under the showerhead. The tiles were cool against the skin of her back creating a stark contrast with the heat from Xander's body as he pressed himself against her. She could feel his erection trapped between them.

"Hi there, Lover." She playfully greeted him, her mood fully restored by his tender attentions and wrapped an arm loosely around his neck. "Hey there, yourself. Feeling better?" he enquired. "Heaps and heaps. Thanks, but I think you missed a spot... Right here." She told him tilting her head to the side and lightly tapping the side of her throat. "How neglectful of me. I'd better get that. Don't you think?" he asked with amusement tingeing his voice. "Yes. I rather think you should." She replied. "I rather think you should?? You've been spending too much time with Giles." He playfully chided her and she laughed.

Her laughter died to a satisfied murmur as his head sunk to the juncture between her shoulder and neck. His lips sucked, his teeth nipped and his tongue swirled as he kissed his way to the hollow at the base of her throat and then up the side of her neck. She lifted and wrapped one of her legs around his thighs and ground against his erection rubbing her inner thigh along his outer. The water continued to cascade over their bodies. The bathroom was thick with steam softening edges and keeping the air comfortably warm. She closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensation of touch when his lips found her jaw and then her lips.

They kissed and she let herself melt into it. She did the one thing she could only allow herself to do with him. She surrendered control. He plundered her mouth and she gave him willing access. Their tongues danced as he hungrily explored her lips and mouth. He stepped back a little so that only her shoulders were against the tiles. He lightened the kiss, but did not break it. His hands wrapped around her waist and she tightened her hold around his neck, taking some of her weight when he lifted her. She felt his shaft slide down her belly, through the curls of her pubic hair and then free of her body as he lifted her.

She crossed and locked her ankles behind his butt after she wrapped her legs around his waist. They found a comfortable balance with her suspended just, but not quite above his erection. She could feel the head slide through her engorged nether lips and even catch against her exposed clit as they shifted while they continued to kiss. The kiss created a steady background hum of energy inside her while the touches of his sex to hers made sparks arch through her spine and charge the dynamo building in her belly.

He nipped at her lower lip as he finally broke the kiss. "Open your eyes." He whispered right in her ear before lightly running his tongue along the shell of her ear. She complied and then her eyes widened as he relaxed his hold on her waist and she slid down slowly onto his hard shaft. Their gaze locked and he watched her intently as her breath hitched when her body resisted with tensing muscles and welcomed him with copious lubrication, letting him inside her in pleasurable increments. She let out a sigh on a long, slow exhalation of breath as he bottomed out inside her and their connection was complete. He filled her completely and her clit rubbed against him even though he didn't move. The simple act of breathing was enough to create that stimulation. Her eyes fluttered closed as her body relaxed, but her sex clenched around him. He supported her with his forearm below her butt and an arm wrapped around her waist.

Her body felt hypersensitive. The heat of the steam enveloped her much like she enveloped him. Each drop of water hitting her skin tingled her nerves. The tiles against her shoulders were no longer cool, just smooth. She could feel the lines of grouting against her shoulder blades. She felt a bemused smile slide onto her kiss-swollen lips when she felt his forehead come to rest lightly on hers. She opened her eyes to look at him through wet, heavy lashes.

"I love the way you look when I enter you, the way you sound, the way you feel. Do you know? Just before I'm all the way inside you there's this look on your face: part surprise, part disbelief and part awe. For that moment, just that moment, I get to see you in a way that no one else has and it makes me love you even more." He said softly. His words fell on her like the hot water from the shower had. The words slid off her consciousness, but the sentiment and emotion sunk into her soul.

Her smile quirked and she shifted to find his lips kissing him softly, only lightly probing between them with the tip of his tongue. "I love the way you look at me when you enter me, the sounds you draw from me and the way you feel inside me and I love you." she answered. She'd said it. She'd said the words. She'd said it before, but for the first time she's said them without the stain of doubt or taint of fear. "I love you, Xander Harris!" she repeated emphatically and kissed him hungrily.

Time had seemed to stand still as their words mingled with the sound of the water from the shower, but her kiss unfroze it. They began to move with thrusts and rolling hips, with arching back and straining legs to build an ever-increasing rhythm. He moved back a bit more and she grabbed the tile behind the showerhead to steady herself. His head fell to her chest and his lips formed little circles of heat on her skin. She clenched and released around him as his tongue drew a snaking trail between her cleavage before moving first left then right to capture and suck, nip and lick at each of her nipples.

His shaft stoked the furnace of her core drawing flames from embers and making them roar. Each thrust and pumping stroke was driving her closer to exploding like a boiler that is too hot and has built up too much pressure. She gave little cries on heavy breaths every time she was filled. As, if they were, a release valve that vented some of that pressure, but it didn't help. Her firm stomach muscles rippled and fluttered, no longer under her conscious control. The energies inside her were roiling, pooling in her belly and every move spiked them, taxing her nerves, running that fine line between pleasure and pain. Taking her to the point where she didn't know whether she was hoping for the release or begging for the build up to never end, and then it happened. She came.

She experienced a moment of perfect calm as her focus was brought to a single spot, a single purpose. Everything seemed to shrink to a pinpoint and then mind and body reconnected and she exploded. Her orgasm ripped through her nervous system as she threw her head back, mouth open wide and screamed wordlessly. White light blossomed behind eyelids she didn't remember lowering while her sex clamped down on the hot, hard shaft buried in its depths. She felt him jerk, expanding, pressing against her clenching muscles followed by the hot, thick spray of his seed. He lifted his head from her breast and threw his head back, gasping loudly. Once, twice, three times and then once more she milked him with her grasping tightening pussy, feeling him shoot thick ropes of sperm into her.

After, a time, the bow of her back finally straightened as tensed muscles relaxed. Her mind continued to float for a few moments more with small tremors of pleasure still traversing her body. His head fell heavily to her chest and he lightly kissed her breast. He lifted his head and shifted forward pinning her up straight against the wall and she rested her head on his shoulder until their breathing returned to normal and his exhausted penis slipped out of her. She could feel their combined juices trickle down her inner thigh before being washed away by the spray from the shower. It was about then that the water started to cool markedly announcing it's imminent loss of heat entirely.

She kissed his neck lightly. "I can definitely tell you, there wasn't a spot you didn't get that time." She whispered in his ear and then lightly nibbled on his ear lobe. She let her feet drop to the floor and he supported her until she could take her weight on them. "You're telling me, I think I'm still seeing spots." He replied pulling a wet tendril of her dark hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear and grinning at her. "I think we've pretty much used up all the hot water here, Faith, and I really don't need a cold shower. So, what say we get on outta here... Hmm?" he suggested and opened the shower door and made a gallant motion to usher her out. "Why thank you, sir." She said in a fake, heavy southern belle accent. "I believe I'm as squeaky clean as a girl can get. Well... bodily anyway." She continued as she stepped past him with a sly wink, a quirking eyebrow and a leering grin.

THE END