DISCLAIMER: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and C20th Fox; a News Corporation own the rights to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I have not to my knowledge made any money from this fic.
This Fic concerns a consenting relationship between two females, and is rated PG13 – 15, for language, and sex scenes.
ARCHIVING: Passion and Perfection and Slayer Pride are granted, any where else please ask.
FEEDBACK: I am a feedback junkie, so please fulfill my craving, before I get the DT's!
PAIRING: Buffy/Faith
To Catherine. Happy Valentines Day. With Love Michael
Rekindled Love
By Michael
The woman wearily opened the door to her apartment.
"Hey, B. Happy Valentine's Day!" Faith said, as she pushed her way into the room. She handed the elder Slayer a bunch of flowers. For a woman who had only just turned thirty, Elizabeth 'Buffy' Anne Summers looked at least thirty-five
Faith had seen her sister slayer stagger out of a bar and turn down an alley, and into an apartment block, which Faith was surprised to realize that it was the same place she had lived all those years before while working for the Mayor, only slightly more run-down than during her time.
"What do you want Faith?" Buffy asked as she put down the flowers.
"You know what I want. The same as your sister and Willow, to kick some sense into that thick skull of yours, and get you to retire."
"So I can become a puppet of the Council, just like you, Giles and my former best friend." Buffy sneered.
Faith angrily pushed Buffy up against a wall. "God damn it B! I should kick your sorry hide from here to Hellmouth for what you said to Red.
"The Hellmouth is closed. I should know. I closed it." Buffy flinched as she though Faith was about to hit her.
Faith sighed, and let go of the petite blonde. "You still refuse to acknowledge the truth. Okay the opening to the Hellmouth in Sunnydale may be closed, cause WE (she emphasised the 'we.'), closed it, but a new one has opened up in England, and it cost Giles his wife.
Buffy sighed. "I know. I am sorry about that."
"Buffy, you didn't even come to the funeral."
"Why should I?" Her regret vanished, to be replaced with anger. "You all blamed me for her death!"
Her voice suddenly lost its vitriol as the years of guilt and responsibility battered at her soul. "I'm the Slayer. I should have been there to stop it."
"B, we never blamed you," Faith argued, "and I wasn't there either, remember!"
Buffy sat down on the bed. "But you all left me."
Faith sat down next to her slaying partner, and her mind wandered back to five years ago.
***
She had been released from prison, and had gone to England after receiving an unexpected invitation from Giles. Six months later Giles and Faith had gone returned to Sunnydale to help Buffy stop Willow, who had become addicted to black magic.
While Faith was in prison, Willow had started to visit her, and she had helped to reform the dark slayer. So when her friend got in trouble, Faith knew that she had to do everything in her power to help.
When she saw Buffy, she could sense that there was something wrong with the blonde slayer, beyond what was happening with Willow. So Faith decided to stay in Sunnydale, and bit-by-bit; the chosen two, rekindled their friendship. Much to Faith's relief, Buffy's walls came down, and she more or less went back to her former self.
Gradually, Faith found herself falling more and more in love with her fellow slayer. So on Valentine's Day, exactly five years ago, she finally worked up the courage to ask Buffy out.
After Dawn graduated from high school, however, things started to change. Willow had never properly recovered from Tara's death, and coming back to the Summers' house was difficult for her. As a consequence she was spending more and more time in the U.K, with Giles, until eventually he eventually offered her a job helping him to reform and restructure the Council, of which he was now head.
Willow's leaving, badly effected Buffy, but being Buffy Summers, she did not show it. The only person to realize that Buffy was isolating herself again; was Faith.
The next person to leave was Xander. After he and Anaya finally got married they moved to Seattle, where Xander got a job as a roving site manager for a large construction firm.
Things went down hill from there. Buffy and Dawn argued more and more, until Dawn finally moved out, and into Sunnydale's College Campus. Then the next academic year. With the help of Giles, she transferred to the London Hospital, to study medicine.
Faith stood by Buffy through everything, partly to help her with the slaying, partly to honour a promise she made to Dawn, and the rest of the Scooby Gang, that she would look after Buffy, but mostly because she loved her.
The reopening of the Hellmouth in England, not only cost Sarah, Giles' wife her life, but also that of Angel. When Giles asked Faith to come back to England, she tried to persuade Buff to go with her.
She refused.
***
"Buffy you pushed us all away. You could have come to England with me, but you refused."
"'Cause I was needed here." The blonde replied petulantly.
"Bollocks Buffy!" As her anger grew Faith unconsciously began to mimic the language of her adoptive home, even as her Bostonian accent claimed them as her own. "You've flittered from one city to another, killing demons and avoiding everybody who cares about you. And now you're back in Sunny-D!"
"That is my job."
"No it isn't B. The Council has operatives around the world, working to keep the vamp population in place. Your job, our job, is to protect the world from the Hellmouth. To come to a place where you are needed, to people who love you and care for you."
Buffy looked dejected, and tearful "Please, Faith, just go; leave me."
Faith grabbed hold of Buffy "No, B, not this time. I love you too much to see you waste your life like this. I don't want to get a phone call from Gunn, saying that you're dead. I couldn't live with myself."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Simple, B, come to England with me, To the people who love and care for you." Faith lightly kissed Buffy on the lips. "So I can love and care for you."
Buffy closed her eyes as she felt Faith's kiss. It was so good to feel those lips again, and she started to respond to the kiss.
She pulled away. "I'm sorry Faith. I can't do this, I'll get hurt again."
Faith gently cupped Buffy's face between her palms. "No Buffy." She kissed her again. "I would never hurt you again," And laid her down on the bed.
***
Buffy could not sleep. She carefully got out of bed, trying not disturbing her love, grabbed a sheet, and sat outside to think.
She started to think about all the things Faith, Dawn and Willow had told her over the last week or so. She could feel her joints ache every morning now when she woke up. She was not as young as she was. Well she was only thirty, but physically she was virtually spent. She knew that she could not last much longer.
If she went to England she would have to somehow make it up to Willow, Dawn, Giles, and the rest of her friends, who she had let down badly with her selfish isolationism, but mostly to Faith, who she had let down the most.
She began for a moment to feel jealous of Faith, who had not only apologised, and repaired the damage she had caused, but had gone further, replacing Buffy as an elder sister to Dawn, and best friend to Willow.
She also felt angry at Faith. Valentine's day was so hard for her. It was the day on which the only person she truly loved had asked her out. It was days like these that she felt truly alone, and now Faith was back, and the hurt and loneliness had intensified a hundredfold.
However it did not last long. She finally figured out that Faith cared a lot for people, and she was desperate to find someone or some people to care about her, that's. It was what had driven her to the Mayor in the first place. The Mayor convinced Faith that he cared about her, and Buffy and the rest of them had helped him by not caring enough. Particularly Buffy.
Faith once confessed that she had always loved and cared about her, so when they were finally together, she had found what she was looking for, someone who loved and cared for her back.
Buffy discovered that she was more in love with Faith than she had ever been, making sense of the large amount of Slayer dreams they had been sharing over the last few months.
Buffy was startled from her thoughts. "Penny for them B?"
"What?"
"A penny for your thoughts."
"Oh I was just thinking, about anything and everything."
Faith sat down with her back resting against the outside wall of the apartment. She pulled Buffy between her legs, and wrapped the blanket around the both of them.
"You know B," she said plucking the cigarette Buffy had between her lips and taking a drag, "smoking will kill you."
Buffy smiled and lent back against Faith, and closed her eyes. She hadn't felt this good in a long while, and she knew that she needed Faith, and the others, as much as Faith needed her and the others.
Buffy Summers was retiring as the oldest Slayer in Council history.
"So F." Buffy smiled. "Are you going to sit there and wait for the sun to come up, or are you going to fill me in on the news."
Faith beamed a full force 'Faith' smile, and as usual Buffy was caught in the intensity of it, like a rabbit caught in the glow of headlamps.
"Well where do you want me to start?"
Buffy laughed, for the first time in a long while.
Faith was confused, but was glad that her love was laughing.
"Well silly, it's usually good to start at the beginning."
Faith just nodded. "Not long after I arrived in England an Immortal came to see Giles. God B he was over 3000 years old. Anyway he was having trouble with another Immortal, who had ganged up with a couple of Vamps, and was causing havoc in London." Faith's eyes gleamed. "You should see Immortals in combat B, it's well wicked." the excitement in Faith's voice was contagious and earned a smile from the woman in her arms. "After the battle he began to tell us some of his adventures. It turned out that he had set up the Council, and helping the slayers was not its main task!"
Buffy looked at Faith with surprise. "You're kidding me right?"
"No seriously B, the main task of the Watchers Council is to record history, particularly that of Immortals. They were meant to assist the Slayers, not try and control them.
When he discovered how much the Council had been corrupted he got wickedly angry, and went off to confront them. Oh I forgot to say, his is also a wickedly powerful wizard.
A couple of days later Giles heard on the grape vine that Travers and the leading members of the Watchers Council had disappeared. That's when you phoned, and we came to help Red. While Giles was away from England the Immortal had taken control of the Council."
"And Giles became the new Council head when he arrived back, I know all that. What is happening now?" Buffy interrupted.
"B if you let me finish I will tell you." Faith said with a mock glare. "While we were closing the Hellmouth here a new one was opening at Glastonbury, which cost the lives of Sarah and Angel."
Faith closed her eyes for a moment, she too had felt guilty over their deaths, but both Giles and Willow had persuaded her that it wasn't her fault, but it still hurt.
"I too felt responsible for their deaths B, that's why I went back to England. To kill the Demon that had killed them." Faith looked deep into Buffy's eyes. "We were both wrong. You ran away, and all I wanted was revenge."
She sighed, and continued her story. "When Angel died; Spike, Wesley, Queen C, and Kate came to Glastonbury. They were there for revenge as well. Fuck B, you should seen what we did to that demon when we caught up with it. I never want to see or do that again. It nearly sent me and Spikey over the edge again. If it wasn't for Giles and Willow we would probably be fish bait by now."
"They never left." She lit two cigarettes and handed one to Buffy. "With W& H destroyed they weren't needed in L.A. "So now they're all teaching the new generation of Watchers. You should see Spike, that souled one certainly knows his stuff. Kate and Red are an item!"
Buffy looked at Faith in disbelief. "You're serious?!"
Faith nodded. "Kate's been good for Red; she needed another woman to be complete again."
"I always thought that you and her were an item."
"Fuck B, no way, Red's like my older sister. I would never been unfaithful to you."
Buffy looked at Faith, and realized she was telling the truth. "I love you, you know?"
"Yeah B; I have always known."
"So how did you get retirement? I mean, if I am going to retire I want to know what the deal is."
Faith hugged Buffy tight. "You mean it B; you're coming back with me?"
"Yes Faith, I am coming back with you. You have been right all along. I can't do this any more. I am glad you stuck by me F."
"When you love someone as much as I love you B, you'll stick by them through thick and thin."
"We will have to get some tickets tomorrow to fly from LA."
Faith started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Buffy asked indigently.
"You B. Firstly it's good to see a flash of little Miss Organized again. I miss that old B, and secondly, there is an extra ticket in the middle of Willow and Dawn's luggage, back at Angel's old hotel."
"How did you know I was going to come?"
"Slayer dreams B, you asked me to drag you to England, remember?"
"Yeah, I kind of know that now." She changed the subject. "So how did we get retirement?"
"Oh that was Queen C's doing. I got badly injured," she replied, unconsciously rubbing a long scar on her arm. "It took a long time for me to recover. Giles realized that we were getting too old for this and Cordy negotiated with the Powers and got a rather good retirement deal. All we have to do, in return for us retiring and keeping some of our slayer skills, is to help the new slayers."
Buffy thought this was a good deal, considering what she and Faith had been through. Giving her replacement a helping hand. "So what do you do now?"
"I am Charlotte's, that my replacement, Watcher! I wanted to pay back Giles for all he had done for me while I was inside, and when I was released. Giles suggested it. At first I thought he was taking the piss, but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that he was right. Who would make a better Watcher than an ex-Slayer!"
"Catherine, your replacement is being trained in LA with Wesley. I've met her, and she's five by five, in fact if you are going to come back to England with me, you'll meet her, as we have to stop off there…."
At that point, Faith looked down at Buffy, to find one half of the chosen two, asleep. "Come on B wake up!" Faith said gently shaking her beloved.
"What?" Buffy asked sleepily.
"Come on sleepy head, let's go back to bed."
"So we can sleep Faith?"
Faith laughed, and picked her up and kissed her. "Yes B so we can sleep."
Buffy Summers curled up against Faith. She was happy, the happiest she had been since she discovered she was a Slayer.
She was going to be reunited with her sister and her best friends, Willow and Giles. She had rediscovered and deepened the love she had for Faith, but most importantly she had a future.
The End