[fic] something to talk about pt 4
Title: Something to Talk About pt IV
Rating: PG/PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue...
Summary: Faith's got a question and Willow's not sure how to answer...
“Do you think we should get married?” The words were enough to make Willow choke and cough, her cereal sticking in her throat until Faith helpfully smacked her back.
“What?!?” Willow demanded when she could speak. “Are you crazy!?”
Faith laughed, spinning the other chair around and straddling it backwards. “No! I’m not saying we should, I’m just kind of asking, I guess.”
“Asking me…to marry you?” Willow questioned slowly, trying to figure out when the world had suddenly started turning the wrong way. She almost leaned back in her seat to check and see what color light the sun was giving off.
“No. I’m just asking …” Faith groaned, eyes rolling. “You make it damn hard to ask one simple question, woman,” she chided. Willow’s eyes were still wide, her cheeks red from coughing, and Faith continued quickly. “We’ve been together now for two years. Isn’t it time to do…something?” she asked, her voice nothing but mildly curious, though she was starting to sound amused.
Willow let out a breath of relief, slumping weakly into her chair. “Okay, whew, okay…” She swallowed with a dry throat. “So you don’t want to get married… you’re just asking…”
Faith nodded matter-of-factly, smirking. “Yup. Which is exactly what I said before you spazzed out on me,” she teased. Willow shoved her shoulder with as much energy as she could muster, blushing in embarrassment at her overreaction. “I mean, we started screwing, and then we just kept screwing, and then we had all the feelings and stuff, and we’ve been living together for a while, so I just wasn’t sure what was next.”
Willow faked swooning, one arm thrown over her eyes as she sprawled herself back into her chair. “I love when you tell the story of our relationship. It’s like poetry!” She giggled and it ruined the illusion of her pretended breathlessness. “’And then we had all the feelings and stuff,’” she quoted, sniffling exaggeratedly. “That’s beautiful!”
Faith swatted the side of her girlfriend’s knee, laughing. “Smart ass,” she accused. “I’m trying to ask a serious question and you’re being all…”
Willow leaned forward, laughing happily. “You just came in and dropped this on me, Faith. It’s kind of weird. What do you think we should be doing next?” she asked, lilting her voice teasingly, hoping the Slayer would fill in the blank with something that wasn’t a conversation about what they wanted from their life.
“You just want to screw,” Faith said knowingly, tilting her chair forward onto two legs and meeting Willow as the witch leaned forward and kissed her slowly. “Luckily for you, I’m good with that,” she declared, fingers wrapping themselves into the front of Willow’s shirt to tug her closer.
*****
Buffy frowned as she noticed that Faith was lingering in the yard after training, picking over the weapons the Slayers had left in a heap on the lawn. “What’s your deal? You’ve been hanging around the last few days,” she wondered as she started sorting her weapons out. “Is something going on?”
Faith hesitated, rotating the handle of an axe across her palm and executing a series of chops and jabs. She was obviously restless, and Buffy cleared her throat expectantly. “Have you seen Will lately?” Faith asked.
Buffy blinked, eyes wide. “What? This is about Will? I saw her yesterday. She was here for her meditation stuff with her squad, but she left after like normal. I assumed she was just going home to you.” Faith was still slicing down invisible enemies and she didn’t speak. “She didn’t come home last night?” Buffy asked, completely surprised. “Have you seen her today?”
Faith nodded, shrugging. Her eyes hadn’t looked toward Buffy, though. “She came in this morning, but she was in a hurry. She just took a shower and then was back out the door.”
Buffy frowned, putting down the sword she’d picked up and crossing her arms across her chest. “Did something happen?” She’d gotten much more relaxed about Willow and Faith’s relationship in the two years since it had started, able to see that her fellow Slayer was taking good care of her best friend, but the news that witch hadn’t come home was odd enough to be alarming. And the way Faith was acting… “What happened, Faith?” she asked.
The dark-haired Slayer shrugged, still moving restlessly. Buffy let out a breath of frustration and stepped into her path. “I asked her about getting married,” Faith finally admitted, groaning as Buffy’s jaw dropped.
“You proposed?” Buffy yelped. “Are you insane?”
“Why is that the reaction whenever I say that!?” Faith demanded in response. “And I wasn’t proposing! I was just asking… You know what?! I’ll just find her myself!”
She tried to storm off but was caught by Buffy. “No! Hang on! I didn’t mean anything by it, Faith. I was just surprised. I mean, you don’t want to get married, do you?”
“No, not really. I love her and all, but getting married was never real high on my list,” Faith said honestly.
“So what made you think asking her about getting married was a good idea?” Buffy asked her. “Even if it was just hypothetical, you know how she is about stuff like that! It took her a year to admit that you two were doing more than just sleeping together! And it was after she said that she loved you!”
“I remember!” Faith said, able to feel the tips of her ears burning. “I’m just trying to find her.” She swallowed hard. “You don’t think she…”
Buffy shook her head immediately, eyes narrowed. “No. And I know I’ve chilled out about you and her, but if you suggest for one second that Will might cheat on you, I’m going to beat you down.”
“I’m not!” Faith clarified quickly. “It’s just weird that she’s not around. And she’s been acting weird since…”
“Well, you really shouldn’t have said anything about that!” Buffy reminded her. “And I’m sure she was just out training, or meditating, or something like that. Nothing to worry about.”
Faith sighed, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to relax. “Yeah, you’re right. Sure.”
In spite of her claims to the contrary, she still looked tense, and Buffy cracked her neck to either side, bouncing lightly on her toes. “Come on,” she prompted. “Let’s go a round. It’ll make you feel better.” She slugged her fellow Slayer on the shoulder sharply, ducking away from Faith’s retaliatory swipe. “You can do better than that!” Buffy chided as she danced out of range. “You’re telegraphing!”
Faith grinned and let herself go, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the fight. She and Buffy were as evenly matched as they ever had been and they couldn’t help laughing as their scuffle took them all over the yard. It wasn’t long before the noise of their fight drew some of the younger Slayers outside to watch, the girls lined up along the porch and leaning against the railing. The power and prowess of their elders was obvious in each movement, nothing wasted and each blow capable of shattering bone had they been able to land a solid hit against each other.
Willow wandered out to the porch as she arrived at the house, the witch frowning as she noticed what everyone else was watching. She found Xander in the group and she moved to join him. “Are they sparring, or are you scared to try and break them up?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest as she kept a careful eye on the dueling Slayers.
He shrugged, his own hands tucked in his pockets. “I missed the beginning, but I think they’re just goofing around. I think there’d be more cursing from Faith if they were really going at it.”
Willow let out a breath of relief, nodding. “Okay, good.” She glanced up at her friend. “So you’re just enjoying the view?” she asked, leaning her shoulder against the post next to her.
Xander’s single eye blinked widely at her and he swallowed before he answered. “They’re the ones who started fighting! And I’m single, lady! I can look wherever I want to!” She merely lifted an eyebrow slowly and he cleared his throat. “Which most definitely wasn’t at your girlfriend, because, duh, she’s not single! And Faith, I mean…”
Willow rolled her eyes, swatting his arm with the back of her hand. “Please stop before you go any further,” she requested. Xander always seemed to bring up the fact that they’d both slept with Faith whenever he got nervous and the thought was one that she’d rather not have blurted out in front of all of the junior Slayers.
One of the Slayers let out a cheer as Faith landed a blow that spun Buffy to the ground. The blonde managed to get a retaliating kick up that caught the brunette under the chin. They both ended up sprawled on their backs in the grass with Willow and Xander pushing their way through the crowd to get to them.
Faith rolled and spit out blood from where her lip was now split. She flopped back in the grass, blinking up as Willow’s worried face swam into view. “Hey. I’ve been looking for you,” she said slowly, her head throbbing where she’d hit the ground.
Willow brushed dirt and sweat off the Slayer’s face, on her knees next to Faith. Her eyes narrowed as Buffy sat up gingerly. “You alright, Faith?” Buffy asked, working her bruised jaw with one hand. She caught Willow’s glare and shrugged minutely. “She started it!”
“No, I didn’t!” Faith protested, trying to sit up before she was stopped by Willow’s hand on her shoulder holding her on the ground. “She was…”
“She was all bummed out because you’ve been…”
“Hey!” Faith said loudly, cutting off Buffy’s explanation and then grimacing when the exclamation pulled on her cut lip. “Less helpful, please,” she requested, shooting a look at her counterpart Slayer.
Willow frowned, looking between her girlfriend and her best friend. “You two were fighting because of me? What do I have to do with this?”
“We weren’t fighting, exactly,” Buffy said thoughtlessly. “Just letting Faith work out some…” Faith was glaring at her, and she finished weakly, “Some problems. She’s been dropping her shoulder before she throws a punch. It’s making it really easy to see her moves coming.”
Faith rolled her eyes, schooling her face quickly back to neutral when Willow gave them both suspicious glances. She clearly wasn’t buying it, but she put her desire to question them on hold when she noticed that the other Slayers were still watching. “Let’s get some ice on that lip,” she said, moving her hand to help Faith to her feet while Xander helped Buffy up.
Faith let herself be pulled into the kitchen by one hand, her other hand slicing across her throat in a clear gesture of warning. Buffy shrugged and grimaced apologetically. She had a bruise rising on her cheek and Xander glanced down at her in confusion when she grabbed his wrist to keep him from following Willow and Faith back into the house.
With the fight over the other girls had dispersed, leaving the kitchen empty for them, though Faith couldn’t help wishing one or two had stuck around to keep Willow from pushing about the cause of the fight between her and Buffy. The witch was quiet while she busied herself making an ice pack, the Slayer taking a seat at the kitchen table, her tongue poking at the inside of her busted lip.
“Does it hurt?” The question broke the silence and wasn’t unexpected. Willow was always more concerned about her physical injuries than she was.
“Not bad. It’s deep, though. That was a good kick she landed.” Willow’s pale hand appeared in front of her mouth, fingers curled around an ice cube, and she opened her mouth without thinking about it.
“Suck on this, but don’t swallow the water if it’s bloody,” Willow directed, slipping the ice cube between the brunette’s lips. The ice pack ended up on the back of her head, held in place as she leaned back in her seat. Willow took the chair beside her, turning it to face her, and there’s another moment of silence before she spoke again. “Why were you fighting with Buffy?” she asked, her voice resigned. They both knew there was nothing she could do to keep the Slayers from fighting.
“It wasn’t like that,” Faith said, her voice distorted until she swallowed the melted ice water.
“But it wasn’t what Buffy said either,” Willow stated. “So what’s going on? You’re fighting because of me? What did I do?”
Faith glanced down, avoiding her eyes, and cleared her throat. “It’s nothing. No big deal.” She was starting to feel foolish about the fight, a feeling she distinctly hated, but it had succeeded in getting her mind off of Willow’s curious absence and distance the last few days. That reprieve was clearly over.
“What’s going on with you lately?” Willow asked, sighing as she leaned back in her own chair.
Faith looked up at that, her decision to leave it alone abruptly forgotten. “What’s going on with me?!” she demanded, the bag of ice falling to the floor at her feet as she stood up suddenly. “What about you?! You disappeared on me two days ago! I’ve barely seen you since breakfast yesterday and we sleep in the same bed!” Faith could feel her head pounding, but she wasn’t sure if it was a result of hitting the ground, or the sudden rush of blood pumping in the wake of her rapidly burning temper.
Willow frowned, standing up slowly. “If you’ve got something you want to say, just say it, Faith. We’ve been together too long for you not to be able to say what you mean…”
“You’re avoiding me!” Faith took her up on the invitation, her voice getting louder even as she stepped into the redhead’s personal space. “I said one thing that freaked you out and you’re running again,” she accused. “It was a harmless question, but it’s scared you and you’re trying to leave.”
Willow had to lean her head back just a little to meet her eyes and she felt her own anger rising to answer her lover. “You mention marriage and I’m running… That’s what you think is going on here, Faith? Is that what you want? You want me gone?”
“Of course I don’t!” Faith shot back. “And I don’t really want to get married either, but you didn’t even give me time to say that, just assumed…”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing?!” Willow demanded incredulously. “I’m gone one night and, what, I’m sleeping with someone else? Is that what you think?!”
The air was tense between them, mere inches separating them. They’d gravitated together during their confrontation without realizing it, until their chests were touching, both of them leaning into their argument. Before Faith could answer though, there was an interloper, a cheerful witch-in-training who skipped merrily into the room without noticing her elders’ distraction. It wasn’t until the new arrival spoke that Faith even registered her presence. “Oh, Willow, thank you so much for last night! It was just what I needed and you’re just the best!” Willow was hauled away and into a hug, the new girl not appearing to notice or care that Willow didn’t move to return the hug, just standing stiffly, her eyes locked on Faith until she was released. Then the girl was skipping out the backdoor and Willow was stopping a growling Faith from following her.
“Who’s that girl? And what’s she talking about?” Faith demanded, pointing after her while Willow’s hands on her torso stopped her from running off in pursuit.
Willow shoved her back as Faith kept pressing forward, knowing that she wasn’t strong enough to stop the Slayer if she put more than half an effort into getting away from her. She kept pushing until Faith was back in her chair, picking the ice pack up, ripping it open, and dumping it on her in a fit of frustration. “Are you going to run off and beat up some innocent kid, or are you going to let me talk?!” she demanded, ignoring her partner’s gasp of surprise as her chest and lap was doused in icy water.
“Damn it, Willow! That’s cold!”
“Don’t care! Sit down and shut up, Faith!” Willow ordered, yelling. Faith froze, staring at her for a long moment before she sat stiffly down in her seat. Willow took another moment to take a deep breath, trying not to react in anger. “First of all, jealousy is really not attractive,” she said, counting it off on her fingers. “Two, that girl is a student and a child, Faith!”
“You’re only twenty-five,” Faith pointed out, but she didn’t say anything else as Willow pointed a stern finger at her.
“I’m talking now!” she rebuked her girlfriend. “She’s sixteen and that’s not happening. And not only because it’s illegal.” She took one small step forward, making sure that the Slayer was looking at her. “Because I’m with you, Faith. And I love you.” Faith blinked at the reminder, her anger wilting. “When you’re not being a jealous ass,” Willow added pointedly. “And, okay, you did mention marriage and I did freak out a little bit!” she admitted. “But that is not something I ever expected to hear from you and it freaked me out! The idea that I would cheat on you is just insane, though! And with her?!”
“What were you doing with her last night, then?” Faith questioned, kicking herself before the words were even past her lips. Willow arched an eyebrow at her, obviously surprised that she had been interrupted again. “She said you were the best…” Faith pointed out, deciding to wade on in now that she’d already put it out there.
Willow rolled her eyes, one hand on her hip. “Best teacher,” she said from between gritted teeth. “And one who goes way over the call of duty!” Faith refrained from speaking, but her expression was expectant, waiting for an explanation. “Her boyfriend has been acting weird, can’t imagine what that’s like, and she needed to talk to someone, so I stayed out after training to talk it out with her. Imagine my surprise when I saw the clock and it was morning.” She smirked, groaning. “Were we so dramatic when we were that age?” she asked hypothetically, both of them laughing as they thought back to when they were that young. It felt much longer than nine years ago. Their eyes met and she sighed, smile still on her lips. “Nothing happened, Faith,” she said softly.
The Slayer got slowly to her feet, but didn’t come closer, hands out to either side. “I’m an idiot,” she said simply.
“True,” Willow agreed immediately. “But I do love you.”
“We good?” Faith checked.
Willow hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip as she stepped forward to check on Faith’s lip. The Slayer didn’t flinch when Willow touched her jaw gently and let the witch turn her head for inspection. The soft kiss was unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. Willow’s lips were gone before she could react and she took a deep breath. “We’re fine,” Willow said quietly. “I’m thinking we should talk about the whole ‘getting married’ thing, though.”
“I don’t want to get married,” Faith said simply. “And you don’t either.”
“No, I don’t,” Willow agreed, smiling as Faith’s arms wound around her waist. “But you obviously had a point asking me about it. The rest of it just got kind of…misunderstood. So we’ve been together for two years…but we don’t want to get married.”
Faith nodded her agreement, grinning as Willow started to lean into her only to pull back suddenly. “What?”
“Your shirt’s all wet,” Willow reminded her.
“Whose fault is that?” Faith asked her pointedly. “Pouring water on me!”
“And you’re obviously cold,” Willow pointed out with a downward glance and smirk.
“Perve,” Faith accused with a laugh. “Always bringing up sex when we’re having a serious conversation.”
Willow blinked, realizing suddenly that she had done that the last time Faith had brought this up. “Okay, you’re not wrong about that, but we’re doing it this time!”
“We did it last time,” Faith said, smirking.
Willow shook her head quickly, taking a rapid step back. “No, not that,” she disagreed quickly. “We’re going to have this talk.” She promptly sat down at the table, gesturing for the Slayer to retake her seat.
Faith looked down at her empty arms in dismay, but sat down willingly. “So we’re not getting married and we’re both good with that. And we’ve got a place together that’s not my shitty apartment.” She frowned in thought, obviously at a loss on the next step. “Got any ideas?”
Willow leaned forward, elbows on knees as she thought it over. “I’m assuming kids are just…”
“Yeah, no,” Faith agreed. “That’s…no.” Their eyes met and they both laughed, shaking their heads in denial. “No.”
“I’m guessing you’re thinking ‘no’ on that one,” Willow teased. “Which is more than fine with me!”
“What’s your opinion on cats?” Faith asked.
Willow had a sudden burst of déjà vu, Faith’s voice sounding soft and tremulous in her ears, and it took her a long moment to realize that the voice she heard in her head wasn’t Faith’s at all. The Slayer could see it on her face and she took a deep, steadying breath.
“You and Tara had a cat?” Faith questioned. “I didn’t…I forgot, babe.”
“You didn’t know,” Willow corrected her with a smile. “It’s fine, Faith. Just some déjà vu.” She reached forward and took her partner’s hand gently, squeezing her fingers.
Faith smiled at her. “Well, what’s your feeling about dogs?” She smirked to break the lingering oddness in the air between them. “You did date the wolf.”
Willow laughed, digging fingernails into the Slayer’s palm warningly. “Well, then we know how I feel about dogs, don’t we? Because of course having a dog is just like dating a boy who happens to be a werewolf,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “What do you think about a dog?” she asked, smiling as she thought about it. They lived in a small duplex, but it had a yard and Buffy’s house had a yard, so a dog wasn’t a completely unreasonable idea.
Faith shrugged. “I always wanted one, but living in little apartments in Boston, it never happened. My mom always said no.” The Slayer grinned, starting to get excited. “Are we serious about this? We want to get a dog?”
Willow could see her girlfriend’s hopefulness and found herself completely unable to deny her. “Yeah, I think we do,” she agreed happily.
“And we’re all made up and everything? No more fighting?” Faith checked. “Cause, as you pointed out, someone poured water on me and I’m a little bit cold.”
Willow blushed, biting her lip. “You weren’t listening,” she said sheepishly. “But I’m sure Buffy has some clothes you can borrow.”
Faith stood up, grimacing at her wet jeans, the water soaked in enough to be sticking as she moved. Willow leaned her head back as Faith stepped up between her knees, accepting the kiss gratefully. She craned her head up to get closer, Faith’s hands curling under her jaw to keep her there. They separated when Buffy cleared her throat from the doorway. “Everything good?” she checked, laughing as she noticed the obvious wet spot on Faith’s chest.
“We’re getting a puppy!” Willow announced cheerfully, her excitement almost childlike, and the Slayers exchanged smiles.
“That’s great, Will!” Buffy said earnestly, glancing between the pair. “What kind of dog are you thinking about?”
The couple looked at each other, Faith shrugging. “I guess we should just go to the shelter and see what we see,” Willow said, giving her a questioning look. “I’m guessing you like big dogs, don’t you?”
Faith grinned, shrugging again. “I just like a dog that can take care of itself,” she said. “And I don’t want to smash it if I stepped on it,” she added thoughtfully.
“Fine,” Willow agreed with a smile. “Can we go today? After you change? Or are you two going to fight again?” she asked pointedly, looking between the pair of them.
Buffy and Faith exchanged looks, Buffy raising a questioning eyebrow. “We’re good,” Faith said. “Can I borrow a change of clothes, B? Somehow mine got all wet.”
The blonde Slayer nodded easily, gesturing toward the stairs. “You know where it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t some of your clothes up there already. You guys know how the laundry is here with so many girls around.”
“Thanks, B,” Faith said, holding the wet edge of her shirt away from her skin. “Chilly,” she said, giving Willow a chiding look as she turned and jogged up the stairs.
Buffy kept her silence for a moment after her counterpart left the room, Willow looking over at her from her chair. “Go ahead and ask,” the witch prompted. “I know you’re going to.”
Buffy didn’t bother to deny it, just crossed the room to get a bottle of water from the fridge. “She was worried. I told her she was being crazy to even think anything was going on.”
“We talked about that,” Willow said, smirking. “It was a misunderstanding.”
“Because she mentioned marriage and you disappeared for two days. She was worried,” Buffy said and Willow would have sworn that she was being chided. “But of course you would never!” The witch took her rebuke without argument, and Buffy hesitated. “Are you guys getting married?”
Willow sent her a look, shaking her head. “You know we’re not.”
“Not ever?” Buffy asked, curious.
Willow shrugged, hands playing restlessly with wrinkles in her skirt. “I don’t know, Buffy. Probably not. It’s not really Faith’s style to settle down.”
The Slayer snorted, rolling her eyes. “Because she hasn’t been living with you for the last two years? You two have a lease together!”
“I didn’t saw we weren’t committed! We’re just not big on the ceremony part of it,” Willow tried to explain. “We’re doing great just the way we’re going. We’re getting a dog, and no marriage and no kids!”
Buffy laughed, nodding as she opened her water and took a long sip. “And that’s what you want? No marriage and kids, just a dog?” she questioned, voice quiet.
Willow nodded slowly, reassuring her friend with a smile. “That’s exactly what I want.”
“And you’re happy….”
The witch stood up from her chair and walked to stand in front of the Slayer. “I’m happy,” she promised softly, standing up on her toes to press a kiss to Buffy’s forehead. “But you’re sweet to ask me every month.”
Faith cleared her throat from behind them, her eyebrows raised. “See how I’m not getting jealous even though you kissed another woman?” she pointed out with a smirk on her lips. “I’ve grown, I think.”
Buffy rolled her eyes but made a show of putting her arm around Willow’s shoulders as the witch turned around to face her girlfriend. “That’s important since you’re going to be sharing her with a cute little doggy from now on,” she said mock-seriously. She squeezed Willow teasingly, grinning as the witch rolled her eyes.
“Very mature, Faith,” Willow agreed, moving to curl an arm through Faith’s and kissing her cheek. “Thank you.” She giggled suddenly. “Now let’s go get a puppy!”
The Slayers exchanged glances, Buffy smiling fondly. “Sure thing, Will,” Faith agreed. “Thanks for the clothes, B,” she said as Willow pulled her toward the door by the hand. Behind the witch’s back, her free hand was pointing from Willow to the blonde Slayer and then dragging across her own throat in a clear gesture of warning.
Buffy rolled her eyes and made an exaggerated kissing face back at her. She wasn’t interested in Willow like that, but if it got under her counterpart’s skin so easily she knew she could have some fun acting like she was.
In front of Faith Willow rolled her eyes as well, having caught the gesture from her girlfriend out of the corner of her eye. She knew Faith would never really change all that much, but she had come to realize sometime in the last two years that she didn’t really want her to. She hadn’t been lying to Buffy before, Faith and their life together was exactly what she wanted. She knew it looked like a strange partnership from the outside, but they were more well matched than she could have ever imagined when they’d started their relationship. What had started as a physical escape from coping had become something neither one of them had expected.
Faith looked surprised when Willow hugged her arm, glancing down at her girlfriend with a confused expression. “What’s that for? I figured I was still in trouble for fighting with B, and being a ass and everything.”
Willow giggled, pulling Faith’s arm around her shoulder as she wrapped an arm behind the Slayer’s back. “I guess I’m feeling forgiving.” She smiled up at her, standing on her toes to kiss her cheek. “And you’re really sweet sometimes.”
Faith blinked, surprised and touched. Neither one of them used the three little words all that much, but they were both fine with that. They had other ways of expressing the sentiment. “Well, I guess I’m really not in trouble!” she said, obviously pleased. She leaned forward and kissed her, not caring that they were on the sidewalk in front of Buffy’s house. “Which way’s the animal shelter?” she asked when they separated, not surprised when Willow provided a direction immediately. “How do you know that?”
The witch giggled cutely, shrugging. “I like learning things. You know that.”
“Yeah, but where the animal shelter is?” Faith questioned as they set off in the direction Willow had indicated. “It’s just random.”
There were dogs barking audibly as soon as they came through the doors, all of them jumping excitedly around in their fences. Faith grinned as a half-grown chocolate lab puppy hit the fence and flopped to the floor for a split second before he was back up and jumping at the barrier again.
“Already got a winner?” Willow asked, squeezing her fingers as they strolled over toward the edge of the pen. “He is cute.”
“He’s a fighter,” Faith said, reaching into the pen with one hand to pet him, merely laughing when he turned his head to try and chew on her thumb. “None of that, bud,” she chided, pushing him down off the fence with her hand. “We can look around some. Want to make sure we get the best one.” Her eyes lingered on the little brown pup, though, and Willow knew they’d be back.
There were all kinds of dogs and they diligently wandered around to each pen to look at the squirming, playful puppies and dogs. Every time they walked near that first pen the little chocolate lab was pacing them on the inside of the fence, and Willow smiled as they got the attention of a worker.
Some paperwork and a few shots and fees and they were out the door, their new friend straining at the end of his leash and trying to smell everything he could get to. Willow let Faith hang onto the leash, giggling as the dog pulled the Slayer along, his long tail wagging happily as they walked. “What are you thinking for a name?” she asked, the pup pausing on the sidewalk to listen to something with his ears perked up.
“Not anything stupid like Cocoa or Brownie,” Faith said immediately.
“Okay, then I’m vetoing Killer or Kujo,” Willow countered. “He looks too sweet for a name like that.”
“Let’s give it a few days and come up with something good,” Faith reasoned. “And B and Xand can meet him and maybe they’ll have a good idea.”
“That’s smart,” Willow said, nodding.
The walk back to their apartment didn’t take long with their puppy dragging them along. Faith let him off the leash once they were inside, the little dog taking off to explore his new surroundings while the girls went to the couch. There was some lingering hesitation between them as they settled on opposite sides of the couch and stretched out. Faith surprised Willow by pulling her feet into her own lap and untying the witch’s shoes without speaking, knowing how her partner felt about shoes on the furniture. She had just started to rub her thumbs into Willow’s soles before they both leaned over to watch their new puppy trying to drag Willow’s sneaker away by the shoestring.
Faith caught him before he got too far away, freeing the shoe and lifting the pup up with one hand under his chest. “Don’t do that,” she warned him, trying for a stern tone until he wiggled forward in her grip to lick her face happily.
Willow giggled from the other end of the couch, bouncing her foot against Faith’s leg. The sound drew the dog’s attention and his whole body squirmed in Faith’s hand as he tried to turn and get to her. She was still laughing when Faith let him go, the Slayer laughing herself as Willow was caught off-guard by the puppy’s eager assault. Willow managed to push him back, the dog sliding off of her to settle between her side and the back of the couch, his whole body wriggling in his excitement. His head settled on her chest and he sighed.
“We can’t let him get used to sleeping on the couch,” Willow said, but she was smiling down at the dog’s face as she scratched behind his ears. His tail was swinging quickly on the other end and Faith curled the closer knee up so that he would hit her leg instead of hitting Willow.
“It looks like he sheds,” Faith agreed with a laugh, both hands rubbing Willow’s feet. “I guess we should get him a bed of his own and some toys, stuff like that.” She shrugged as Willow smiled down the couch at her. “Aren’t there stores where you can take the dog in with you? I don’t think we should leave him here alone his first day.”
The witch nodded, her eyes sliding closed as Faith’s thumbs worked the arches of her foot. “Yeah, there are pet supply stores where we could bring him in with us, but I’m really enjoying that, what you’re doing there,” she said, taking a deep breath.
Faith smirked and kept rubbing. Their dog’s tail was thumping more softly against her leg as he started to settle down and the Slayer knew that as long as she was massaging her foot Willow wasn’t going anywhere. And from the limp, heavy feeling of her legs laying on her body, the witch was only a few minutes away from falling asleep. So she kept Willow’s foot between her hands, stroking gently until her red-haired partner was unconscious.
She hadn’t counted on the fact that putting Willow to sleep would leave her pinned underneath the witch’s legs. It would be easy to get free but she didn’t really want to, and she pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and spread it over their legs. Her other hand found the remote and she clicked on the television, muting it immediately so it wouldn’t disturb her sleeping girlfriend. There was a basketball game on and she settled in, content to wait for Willow to wake up. This wasn’t what she’d ever expected from her life - a girlfriend, a dog, hell, even a stable home wasn’t anything she’d ever expected to have, but this moment, quiet and peaceful with the girl who’d snuck her way in and stolen her heart, at this moment, she knew that she didn’t want it any other way.
[part 5 here]
Rating: PG/PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue...
Summary: Faith's got a question and Willow's not sure how to answer...
“Do you think we should get married?” The words were enough to make Willow choke and cough, her cereal sticking in her throat until Faith helpfully smacked her back.
“What?!?” Willow demanded when she could speak. “Are you crazy!?”
Faith laughed, spinning the other chair around and straddling it backwards. “No! I’m not saying we should, I’m just kind of asking, I guess.”
“Asking me…to marry you?” Willow questioned slowly, trying to figure out when the world had suddenly started turning the wrong way. She almost leaned back in her seat to check and see what color light the sun was giving off.
“No. I’m just asking …” Faith groaned, eyes rolling. “You make it damn hard to ask one simple question, woman,” she chided. Willow’s eyes were still wide, her cheeks red from coughing, and Faith continued quickly. “We’ve been together now for two years. Isn’t it time to do…something?” she asked, her voice nothing but mildly curious, though she was starting to sound amused.
Willow let out a breath of relief, slumping weakly into her chair. “Okay, whew, okay…” She swallowed with a dry throat. “So you don’t want to get married… you’re just asking…”
Faith nodded matter-of-factly, smirking. “Yup. Which is exactly what I said before you spazzed out on me,” she teased. Willow shoved her shoulder with as much energy as she could muster, blushing in embarrassment at her overreaction. “I mean, we started screwing, and then we just kept screwing, and then we had all the feelings and stuff, and we’ve been living together for a while, so I just wasn’t sure what was next.”
Willow faked swooning, one arm thrown over her eyes as she sprawled herself back into her chair. “I love when you tell the story of our relationship. It’s like poetry!” She giggled and it ruined the illusion of her pretended breathlessness. “’And then we had all the feelings and stuff,’” she quoted, sniffling exaggeratedly. “That’s beautiful!”
Faith swatted the side of her girlfriend’s knee, laughing. “Smart ass,” she accused. “I’m trying to ask a serious question and you’re being all…”
Willow leaned forward, laughing happily. “You just came in and dropped this on me, Faith. It’s kind of weird. What do you think we should be doing next?” she asked, lilting her voice teasingly, hoping the Slayer would fill in the blank with something that wasn’t a conversation about what they wanted from their life.
“You just want to screw,” Faith said knowingly, tilting her chair forward onto two legs and meeting Willow as the witch leaned forward and kissed her slowly. “Luckily for you, I’m good with that,” she declared, fingers wrapping themselves into the front of Willow’s shirt to tug her closer.
*****
Buffy frowned as she noticed that Faith was lingering in the yard after training, picking over the weapons the Slayers had left in a heap on the lawn. “What’s your deal? You’ve been hanging around the last few days,” she wondered as she started sorting her weapons out. “Is something going on?”
Faith hesitated, rotating the handle of an axe across her palm and executing a series of chops and jabs. She was obviously restless, and Buffy cleared her throat expectantly. “Have you seen Will lately?” Faith asked.
Buffy blinked, eyes wide. “What? This is about Will? I saw her yesterday. She was here for her meditation stuff with her squad, but she left after like normal. I assumed she was just going home to you.” Faith was still slicing down invisible enemies and she didn’t speak. “She didn’t come home last night?” Buffy asked, completely surprised. “Have you seen her today?”
Faith nodded, shrugging. Her eyes hadn’t looked toward Buffy, though. “She came in this morning, but she was in a hurry. She just took a shower and then was back out the door.”
Buffy frowned, putting down the sword she’d picked up and crossing her arms across her chest. “Did something happen?” She’d gotten much more relaxed about Willow and Faith’s relationship in the two years since it had started, able to see that her fellow Slayer was taking good care of her best friend, but the news that witch hadn’t come home was odd enough to be alarming. And the way Faith was acting… “What happened, Faith?” she asked.
The dark-haired Slayer shrugged, still moving restlessly. Buffy let out a breath of frustration and stepped into her path. “I asked her about getting married,” Faith finally admitted, groaning as Buffy’s jaw dropped.
“You proposed?” Buffy yelped. “Are you insane?”
“Why is that the reaction whenever I say that!?” Faith demanded in response. “And I wasn’t proposing! I was just asking… You know what?! I’ll just find her myself!”
She tried to storm off but was caught by Buffy. “No! Hang on! I didn’t mean anything by it, Faith. I was just surprised. I mean, you don’t want to get married, do you?”
“No, not really. I love her and all, but getting married was never real high on my list,” Faith said honestly.
“So what made you think asking her about getting married was a good idea?” Buffy asked her. “Even if it was just hypothetical, you know how she is about stuff like that! It took her a year to admit that you two were doing more than just sleeping together! And it was after she said that she loved you!”
“I remember!” Faith said, able to feel the tips of her ears burning. “I’m just trying to find her.” She swallowed hard. “You don’t think she…”
Buffy shook her head immediately, eyes narrowed. “No. And I know I’ve chilled out about you and her, but if you suggest for one second that Will might cheat on you, I’m going to beat you down.”
“I’m not!” Faith clarified quickly. “It’s just weird that she’s not around. And she’s been acting weird since…”
“Well, you really shouldn’t have said anything about that!” Buffy reminded her. “And I’m sure she was just out training, or meditating, or something like that. Nothing to worry about.”
Faith sighed, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to relax. “Yeah, you’re right. Sure.”
In spite of her claims to the contrary, she still looked tense, and Buffy cracked her neck to either side, bouncing lightly on her toes. “Come on,” she prompted. “Let’s go a round. It’ll make you feel better.” She slugged her fellow Slayer on the shoulder sharply, ducking away from Faith’s retaliatory swipe. “You can do better than that!” Buffy chided as she danced out of range. “You’re telegraphing!”
Faith grinned and let herself go, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the fight. She and Buffy were as evenly matched as they ever had been and they couldn’t help laughing as their scuffle took them all over the yard. It wasn’t long before the noise of their fight drew some of the younger Slayers outside to watch, the girls lined up along the porch and leaning against the railing. The power and prowess of their elders was obvious in each movement, nothing wasted and each blow capable of shattering bone had they been able to land a solid hit against each other.
Willow wandered out to the porch as she arrived at the house, the witch frowning as she noticed what everyone else was watching. She found Xander in the group and she moved to join him. “Are they sparring, or are you scared to try and break them up?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest as she kept a careful eye on the dueling Slayers.
He shrugged, his own hands tucked in his pockets. “I missed the beginning, but I think they’re just goofing around. I think there’d be more cursing from Faith if they were really going at it.”
Willow let out a breath of relief, nodding. “Okay, good.” She glanced up at her friend. “So you’re just enjoying the view?” she asked, leaning her shoulder against the post next to her.
Xander’s single eye blinked widely at her and he swallowed before he answered. “They’re the ones who started fighting! And I’m single, lady! I can look wherever I want to!” She merely lifted an eyebrow slowly and he cleared his throat. “Which most definitely wasn’t at your girlfriend, because, duh, she’s not single! And Faith, I mean…”
Willow rolled her eyes, swatting his arm with the back of her hand. “Please stop before you go any further,” she requested. Xander always seemed to bring up the fact that they’d both slept with Faith whenever he got nervous and the thought was one that she’d rather not have blurted out in front of all of the junior Slayers.
One of the Slayers let out a cheer as Faith landed a blow that spun Buffy to the ground. The blonde managed to get a retaliating kick up that caught the brunette under the chin. They both ended up sprawled on their backs in the grass with Willow and Xander pushing their way through the crowd to get to them.
Faith rolled and spit out blood from where her lip was now split. She flopped back in the grass, blinking up as Willow’s worried face swam into view. “Hey. I’ve been looking for you,” she said slowly, her head throbbing where she’d hit the ground.
Willow brushed dirt and sweat off the Slayer’s face, on her knees next to Faith. Her eyes narrowed as Buffy sat up gingerly. “You alright, Faith?” Buffy asked, working her bruised jaw with one hand. She caught Willow’s glare and shrugged minutely. “She started it!”
“No, I didn’t!” Faith protested, trying to sit up before she was stopped by Willow’s hand on her shoulder holding her on the ground. “She was…”
“She was all bummed out because you’ve been…”
“Hey!” Faith said loudly, cutting off Buffy’s explanation and then grimacing when the exclamation pulled on her cut lip. “Less helpful, please,” she requested, shooting a look at her counterpart Slayer.
Willow frowned, looking between her girlfriend and her best friend. “You two were fighting because of me? What do I have to do with this?”
“We weren’t fighting, exactly,” Buffy said thoughtlessly. “Just letting Faith work out some…” Faith was glaring at her, and she finished weakly, “Some problems. She’s been dropping her shoulder before she throws a punch. It’s making it really easy to see her moves coming.”
Faith rolled her eyes, schooling her face quickly back to neutral when Willow gave them both suspicious glances. She clearly wasn’t buying it, but she put her desire to question them on hold when she noticed that the other Slayers were still watching. “Let’s get some ice on that lip,” she said, moving her hand to help Faith to her feet while Xander helped Buffy up.
Faith let herself be pulled into the kitchen by one hand, her other hand slicing across her throat in a clear gesture of warning. Buffy shrugged and grimaced apologetically. She had a bruise rising on her cheek and Xander glanced down at her in confusion when she grabbed his wrist to keep him from following Willow and Faith back into the house.
With the fight over the other girls had dispersed, leaving the kitchen empty for them, though Faith couldn’t help wishing one or two had stuck around to keep Willow from pushing about the cause of the fight between her and Buffy. The witch was quiet while she busied herself making an ice pack, the Slayer taking a seat at the kitchen table, her tongue poking at the inside of her busted lip.
“Does it hurt?” The question broke the silence and wasn’t unexpected. Willow was always more concerned about her physical injuries than she was.
“Not bad. It’s deep, though. That was a good kick she landed.” Willow’s pale hand appeared in front of her mouth, fingers curled around an ice cube, and she opened her mouth without thinking about it.
“Suck on this, but don’t swallow the water if it’s bloody,” Willow directed, slipping the ice cube between the brunette’s lips. The ice pack ended up on the back of her head, held in place as she leaned back in her seat. Willow took the chair beside her, turning it to face her, and there’s another moment of silence before she spoke again. “Why were you fighting with Buffy?” she asked, her voice resigned. They both knew there was nothing she could do to keep the Slayers from fighting.
“It wasn’t like that,” Faith said, her voice distorted until she swallowed the melted ice water.
“But it wasn’t what Buffy said either,” Willow stated. “So what’s going on? You’re fighting because of me? What did I do?”
Faith glanced down, avoiding her eyes, and cleared her throat. “It’s nothing. No big deal.” She was starting to feel foolish about the fight, a feeling she distinctly hated, but it had succeeded in getting her mind off of Willow’s curious absence and distance the last few days. That reprieve was clearly over.
“What’s going on with you lately?” Willow asked, sighing as she leaned back in her own chair.
Faith looked up at that, her decision to leave it alone abruptly forgotten. “What’s going on with me?!” she demanded, the bag of ice falling to the floor at her feet as she stood up suddenly. “What about you?! You disappeared on me two days ago! I’ve barely seen you since breakfast yesterday and we sleep in the same bed!” Faith could feel her head pounding, but she wasn’t sure if it was a result of hitting the ground, or the sudden rush of blood pumping in the wake of her rapidly burning temper.
Willow frowned, standing up slowly. “If you’ve got something you want to say, just say it, Faith. We’ve been together too long for you not to be able to say what you mean…”
“You’re avoiding me!” Faith took her up on the invitation, her voice getting louder even as she stepped into the redhead’s personal space. “I said one thing that freaked you out and you’re running again,” she accused. “It was a harmless question, but it’s scared you and you’re trying to leave.”
Willow had to lean her head back just a little to meet her eyes and she felt her own anger rising to answer her lover. “You mention marriage and I’m running… That’s what you think is going on here, Faith? Is that what you want? You want me gone?”
“Of course I don’t!” Faith shot back. “And I don’t really want to get married either, but you didn’t even give me time to say that, just assumed…”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing?!” Willow demanded incredulously. “I’m gone one night and, what, I’m sleeping with someone else? Is that what you think?!”
The air was tense between them, mere inches separating them. They’d gravitated together during their confrontation without realizing it, until their chests were touching, both of them leaning into their argument. Before Faith could answer though, there was an interloper, a cheerful witch-in-training who skipped merrily into the room without noticing her elders’ distraction. It wasn’t until the new arrival spoke that Faith even registered her presence. “Oh, Willow, thank you so much for last night! It was just what I needed and you’re just the best!” Willow was hauled away and into a hug, the new girl not appearing to notice or care that Willow didn’t move to return the hug, just standing stiffly, her eyes locked on Faith until she was released. Then the girl was skipping out the backdoor and Willow was stopping a growling Faith from following her.
“Who’s that girl? And what’s she talking about?” Faith demanded, pointing after her while Willow’s hands on her torso stopped her from running off in pursuit.
Willow shoved her back as Faith kept pressing forward, knowing that she wasn’t strong enough to stop the Slayer if she put more than half an effort into getting away from her. She kept pushing until Faith was back in her chair, picking the ice pack up, ripping it open, and dumping it on her in a fit of frustration. “Are you going to run off and beat up some innocent kid, or are you going to let me talk?!” she demanded, ignoring her partner’s gasp of surprise as her chest and lap was doused in icy water.
“Damn it, Willow! That’s cold!”
“Don’t care! Sit down and shut up, Faith!” Willow ordered, yelling. Faith froze, staring at her for a long moment before she sat stiffly down in her seat. Willow took another moment to take a deep breath, trying not to react in anger. “First of all, jealousy is really not attractive,” she said, counting it off on her fingers. “Two, that girl is a student and a child, Faith!”
“You’re only twenty-five,” Faith pointed out, but she didn’t say anything else as Willow pointed a stern finger at her.
“I’m talking now!” she rebuked her girlfriend. “She’s sixteen and that’s not happening. And not only because it’s illegal.” She took one small step forward, making sure that the Slayer was looking at her. “Because I’m with you, Faith. And I love you.” Faith blinked at the reminder, her anger wilting. “When you’re not being a jealous ass,” Willow added pointedly. “And, okay, you did mention marriage and I did freak out a little bit!” she admitted. “But that is not something I ever expected to hear from you and it freaked me out! The idea that I would cheat on you is just insane, though! And with her?!”
“What were you doing with her last night, then?” Faith questioned, kicking herself before the words were even past her lips. Willow arched an eyebrow at her, obviously surprised that she had been interrupted again. “She said you were the best…” Faith pointed out, deciding to wade on in now that she’d already put it out there.
Willow rolled her eyes, one hand on her hip. “Best teacher,” she said from between gritted teeth. “And one who goes way over the call of duty!” Faith refrained from speaking, but her expression was expectant, waiting for an explanation. “Her boyfriend has been acting weird, can’t imagine what that’s like, and she needed to talk to someone, so I stayed out after training to talk it out with her. Imagine my surprise when I saw the clock and it was morning.” She smirked, groaning. “Were we so dramatic when we were that age?” she asked hypothetically, both of them laughing as they thought back to when they were that young. It felt much longer than nine years ago. Their eyes met and she sighed, smile still on her lips. “Nothing happened, Faith,” she said softly.
The Slayer got slowly to her feet, but didn’t come closer, hands out to either side. “I’m an idiot,” she said simply.
“True,” Willow agreed immediately. “But I do love you.”
“We good?” Faith checked.
Willow hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip as she stepped forward to check on Faith’s lip. The Slayer didn’t flinch when Willow touched her jaw gently and let the witch turn her head for inspection. The soft kiss was unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. Willow’s lips were gone before she could react and she took a deep breath. “We’re fine,” Willow said quietly. “I’m thinking we should talk about the whole ‘getting married’ thing, though.”
“I don’t want to get married,” Faith said simply. “And you don’t either.”
“No, I don’t,” Willow agreed, smiling as Faith’s arms wound around her waist. “But you obviously had a point asking me about it. The rest of it just got kind of…misunderstood. So we’ve been together for two years…but we don’t want to get married.”
Faith nodded her agreement, grinning as Willow started to lean into her only to pull back suddenly. “What?”
“Your shirt’s all wet,” Willow reminded her.
“Whose fault is that?” Faith asked her pointedly. “Pouring water on me!”
“And you’re obviously cold,” Willow pointed out with a downward glance and smirk.
“Perve,” Faith accused with a laugh. “Always bringing up sex when we’re having a serious conversation.”
Willow blinked, realizing suddenly that she had done that the last time Faith had brought this up. “Okay, you’re not wrong about that, but we’re doing it this time!”
“We did it last time,” Faith said, smirking.
Willow shook her head quickly, taking a rapid step back. “No, not that,” she disagreed quickly. “We’re going to have this talk.” She promptly sat down at the table, gesturing for the Slayer to retake her seat.
Faith looked down at her empty arms in dismay, but sat down willingly. “So we’re not getting married and we’re both good with that. And we’ve got a place together that’s not my shitty apartment.” She frowned in thought, obviously at a loss on the next step. “Got any ideas?”
Willow leaned forward, elbows on knees as she thought it over. “I’m assuming kids are just…”
“Yeah, no,” Faith agreed. “That’s…no.” Their eyes met and they both laughed, shaking their heads in denial. “No.”
“I’m guessing you’re thinking ‘no’ on that one,” Willow teased. “Which is more than fine with me!”
“What’s your opinion on cats?” Faith asked.
Willow had a sudden burst of déjà vu, Faith’s voice sounding soft and tremulous in her ears, and it took her a long moment to realize that the voice she heard in her head wasn’t Faith’s at all. The Slayer could see it on her face and she took a deep, steadying breath.
“You and Tara had a cat?” Faith questioned. “I didn’t…I forgot, babe.”
“You didn’t know,” Willow corrected her with a smile. “It’s fine, Faith. Just some déjà vu.” She reached forward and took her partner’s hand gently, squeezing her fingers.
Faith smiled at her. “Well, what’s your feeling about dogs?” She smirked to break the lingering oddness in the air between them. “You did date the wolf.”
Willow laughed, digging fingernails into the Slayer’s palm warningly. “Well, then we know how I feel about dogs, don’t we? Because of course having a dog is just like dating a boy who happens to be a werewolf,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “What do you think about a dog?” she asked, smiling as she thought about it. They lived in a small duplex, but it had a yard and Buffy’s house had a yard, so a dog wasn’t a completely unreasonable idea.
Faith shrugged. “I always wanted one, but living in little apartments in Boston, it never happened. My mom always said no.” The Slayer grinned, starting to get excited. “Are we serious about this? We want to get a dog?”
Willow could see her girlfriend’s hopefulness and found herself completely unable to deny her. “Yeah, I think we do,” she agreed happily.
“And we’re all made up and everything? No more fighting?” Faith checked. “Cause, as you pointed out, someone poured water on me and I’m a little bit cold.”
Willow blushed, biting her lip. “You weren’t listening,” she said sheepishly. “But I’m sure Buffy has some clothes you can borrow.”
Faith stood up, grimacing at her wet jeans, the water soaked in enough to be sticking as she moved. Willow leaned her head back as Faith stepped up between her knees, accepting the kiss gratefully. She craned her head up to get closer, Faith’s hands curling under her jaw to keep her there. They separated when Buffy cleared her throat from the doorway. “Everything good?” she checked, laughing as she noticed the obvious wet spot on Faith’s chest.
“We’re getting a puppy!” Willow announced cheerfully, her excitement almost childlike, and the Slayers exchanged smiles.
“That’s great, Will!” Buffy said earnestly, glancing between the pair. “What kind of dog are you thinking about?”
The couple looked at each other, Faith shrugging. “I guess we should just go to the shelter and see what we see,” Willow said, giving her a questioning look. “I’m guessing you like big dogs, don’t you?”
Faith grinned, shrugging again. “I just like a dog that can take care of itself,” she said. “And I don’t want to smash it if I stepped on it,” she added thoughtfully.
“Fine,” Willow agreed with a smile. “Can we go today? After you change? Or are you two going to fight again?” she asked pointedly, looking between the pair of them.
Buffy and Faith exchanged looks, Buffy raising a questioning eyebrow. “We’re good,” Faith said. “Can I borrow a change of clothes, B? Somehow mine got all wet.”
The blonde Slayer nodded easily, gesturing toward the stairs. “You know where it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t some of your clothes up there already. You guys know how the laundry is here with so many girls around.”
“Thanks, B,” Faith said, holding the wet edge of her shirt away from her skin. “Chilly,” she said, giving Willow a chiding look as she turned and jogged up the stairs.
Buffy kept her silence for a moment after her counterpart left the room, Willow looking over at her from her chair. “Go ahead and ask,” the witch prompted. “I know you’re going to.”
Buffy didn’t bother to deny it, just crossed the room to get a bottle of water from the fridge. “She was worried. I told her she was being crazy to even think anything was going on.”
“We talked about that,” Willow said, smirking. “It was a misunderstanding.”
“Because she mentioned marriage and you disappeared for two days. She was worried,” Buffy said and Willow would have sworn that she was being chided. “But of course you would never!” The witch took her rebuke without argument, and Buffy hesitated. “Are you guys getting married?”
Willow sent her a look, shaking her head. “You know we’re not.”
“Not ever?” Buffy asked, curious.
Willow shrugged, hands playing restlessly with wrinkles in her skirt. “I don’t know, Buffy. Probably not. It’s not really Faith’s style to settle down.”
The Slayer snorted, rolling her eyes. “Because she hasn’t been living with you for the last two years? You two have a lease together!”
“I didn’t saw we weren’t committed! We’re just not big on the ceremony part of it,” Willow tried to explain. “We’re doing great just the way we’re going. We’re getting a dog, and no marriage and no kids!”
Buffy laughed, nodding as she opened her water and took a long sip. “And that’s what you want? No marriage and kids, just a dog?” she questioned, voice quiet.
Willow nodded slowly, reassuring her friend with a smile. “That’s exactly what I want.”
“And you’re happy….”
The witch stood up from her chair and walked to stand in front of the Slayer. “I’m happy,” she promised softly, standing up on her toes to press a kiss to Buffy’s forehead. “But you’re sweet to ask me every month.”
Faith cleared her throat from behind them, her eyebrows raised. “See how I’m not getting jealous even though you kissed another woman?” she pointed out with a smirk on her lips. “I’ve grown, I think.”
Buffy rolled her eyes but made a show of putting her arm around Willow’s shoulders as the witch turned around to face her girlfriend. “That’s important since you’re going to be sharing her with a cute little doggy from now on,” she said mock-seriously. She squeezed Willow teasingly, grinning as the witch rolled her eyes.
“Very mature, Faith,” Willow agreed, moving to curl an arm through Faith’s and kissing her cheek. “Thank you.” She giggled suddenly. “Now let’s go get a puppy!”
The Slayers exchanged glances, Buffy smiling fondly. “Sure thing, Will,” Faith agreed. “Thanks for the clothes, B,” she said as Willow pulled her toward the door by the hand. Behind the witch’s back, her free hand was pointing from Willow to the blonde Slayer and then dragging across her own throat in a clear gesture of warning.
Buffy rolled her eyes and made an exaggerated kissing face back at her. She wasn’t interested in Willow like that, but if it got under her counterpart’s skin so easily she knew she could have some fun acting like she was.
In front of Faith Willow rolled her eyes as well, having caught the gesture from her girlfriend out of the corner of her eye. She knew Faith would never really change all that much, but she had come to realize sometime in the last two years that she didn’t really want her to. She hadn’t been lying to Buffy before, Faith and their life together was exactly what she wanted. She knew it looked like a strange partnership from the outside, but they were more well matched than she could have ever imagined when they’d started their relationship. What had started as a physical escape from coping had become something neither one of them had expected.
Faith looked surprised when Willow hugged her arm, glancing down at her girlfriend with a confused expression. “What’s that for? I figured I was still in trouble for fighting with B, and being a ass and everything.”
Willow giggled, pulling Faith’s arm around her shoulder as she wrapped an arm behind the Slayer’s back. “I guess I’m feeling forgiving.” She smiled up at her, standing on her toes to kiss her cheek. “And you’re really sweet sometimes.”
Faith blinked, surprised and touched. Neither one of them used the three little words all that much, but they were both fine with that. They had other ways of expressing the sentiment. “Well, I guess I’m really not in trouble!” she said, obviously pleased. She leaned forward and kissed her, not caring that they were on the sidewalk in front of Buffy’s house. “Which way’s the animal shelter?” she asked when they separated, not surprised when Willow provided a direction immediately. “How do you know that?”
The witch giggled cutely, shrugging. “I like learning things. You know that.”
“Yeah, but where the animal shelter is?” Faith questioned as they set off in the direction Willow had indicated. “It’s just random.”
There were dogs barking audibly as soon as they came through the doors, all of them jumping excitedly around in their fences. Faith grinned as a half-grown chocolate lab puppy hit the fence and flopped to the floor for a split second before he was back up and jumping at the barrier again.
“Already got a winner?” Willow asked, squeezing her fingers as they strolled over toward the edge of the pen. “He is cute.”
“He’s a fighter,” Faith said, reaching into the pen with one hand to pet him, merely laughing when he turned his head to try and chew on her thumb. “None of that, bud,” she chided, pushing him down off the fence with her hand. “We can look around some. Want to make sure we get the best one.” Her eyes lingered on the little brown pup, though, and Willow knew they’d be back.
There were all kinds of dogs and they diligently wandered around to each pen to look at the squirming, playful puppies and dogs. Every time they walked near that first pen the little chocolate lab was pacing them on the inside of the fence, and Willow smiled as they got the attention of a worker.
Some paperwork and a few shots and fees and they were out the door, their new friend straining at the end of his leash and trying to smell everything he could get to. Willow let Faith hang onto the leash, giggling as the dog pulled the Slayer along, his long tail wagging happily as they walked. “What are you thinking for a name?” she asked, the pup pausing on the sidewalk to listen to something with his ears perked up.
“Not anything stupid like Cocoa or Brownie,” Faith said immediately.
“Okay, then I’m vetoing Killer or Kujo,” Willow countered. “He looks too sweet for a name like that.”
“Let’s give it a few days and come up with something good,” Faith reasoned. “And B and Xand can meet him and maybe they’ll have a good idea.”
“That’s smart,” Willow said, nodding.
The walk back to their apartment didn’t take long with their puppy dragging them along. Faith let him off the leash once they were inside, the little dog taking off to explore his new surroundings while the girls went to the couch. There was some lingering hesitation between them as they settled on opposite sides of the couch and stretched out. Faith surprised Willow by pulling her feet into her own lap and untying the witch’s shoes without speaking, knowing how her partner felt about shoes on the furniture. She had just started to rub her thumbs into Willow’s soles before they both leaned over to watch their new puppy trying to drag Willow’s sneaker away by the shoestring.
Faith caught him before he got too far away, freeing the shoe and lifting the pup up with one hand under his chest. “Don’t do that,” she warned him, trying for a stern tone until he wiggled forward in her grip to lick her face happily.
Willow giggled from the other end of the couch, bouncing her foot against Faith’s leg. The sound drew the dog’s attention and his whole body squirmed in Faith’s hand as he tried to turn and get to her. She was still laughing when Faith let him go, the Slayer laughing herself as Willow was caught off-guard by the puppy’s eager assault. Willow managed to push him back, the dog sliding off of her to settle between her side and the back of the couch, his whole body wriggling in his excitement. His head settled on her chest and he sighed.
“We can’t let him get used to sleeping on the couch,” Willow said, but she was smiling down at the dog’s face as she scratched behind his ears. His tail was swinging quickly on the other end and Faith curled the closer knee up so that he would hit her leg instead of hitting Willow.
“It looks like he sheds,” Faith agreed with a laugh, both hands rubbing Willow’s feet. “I guess we should get him a bed of his own and some toys, stuff like that.” She shrugged as Willow smiled down the couch at her. “Aren’t there stores where you can take the dog in with you? I don’t think we should leave him here alone his first day.”
The witch nodded, her eyes sliding closed as Faith’s thumbs worked the arches of her foot. “Yeah, there are pet supply stores where we could bring him in with us, but I’m really enjoying that, what you’re doing there,” she said, taking a deep breath.
Faith smirked and kept rubbing. Their dog’s tail was thumping more softly against her leg as he started to settle down and the Slayer knew that as long as she was massaging her foot Willow wasn’t going anywhere. And from the limp, heavy feeling of her legs laying on her body, the witch was only a few minutes away from falling asleep. So she kept Willow’s foot between her hands, stroking gently until her red-haired partner was unconscious.
She hadn’t counted on the fact that putting Willow to sleep would leave her pinned underneath the witch’s legs. It would be easy to get free but she didn’t really want to, and she pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and spread it over their legs. Her other hand found the remote and she clicked on the television, muting it immediately so it wouldn’t disturb her sleeping girlfriend. There was a basketball game on and she settled in, content to wait for Willow to wake up. This wasn’t what she’d ever expected from her life - a girlfriend, a dog, hell, even a stable home wasn’t anything she’d ever expected to have, but this moment, quiet and peaceful with the girl who’d snuck her way in and stolen her heart, at this moment, she knew that she didn’t want it any other way.
[part 5 here]