TWICE CHOSEN
Part 01
By DragonWriter17
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated with their creation. I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below. No copyright infringement is intended.
My Website: http://www.dragonwriter17.net/
Feedback: Yes, but only if it’s of the non-flamey variety: DragonWriter17@aol.com
Distribution: The Watchers Forum, The Mystic Muse, and my personal site (If you are interested in posting my story on your site, please contact me first for permission.)
Spoilers: BtVS Season 3’s “Faith, Hope, and Trick” (and maybe beyond)
Pairings: Buffy/Faith
Author’s Notes: This story was written for Lilly as part of the Watchers Auction for WriterCon 2006. Lilly and I had been chatting for some time about a possible Buffy/Faith story idea of mine which basically rewrote Season 3 to put the two slayers together (’cause, hey, Fuffy is hot!). When Lilly won me at the auction, she said that I could use that same story to fulfill the bid. So this is the first part of that story. Hopefully, the story will go beyond this point one day, but I have no idea when that might be. As for setup, I’m assuming that “Anne” and “Dead Man’s Party” have happened exactly as aired and that “Faith, Hope and Trick” has happened exactly as aired up until the point where my story begins. I’ve rehashed the Kakistos fight at the very beginning just as a reminder. Thanks to Isis for the cool banner!
Number of Chapters: 1 for now (but may have more later)...and it did end up being more. Current Plan = 18 chapters
Complete: 11
Chapter Summary: What happened after Buffy and Faith fought Kakistos?
PART 01 PART 02 PART 03 PART 04 PART 05 PART 06
PART 07 PART 08 PART 09 PART 10 PART 11 PART 12
Faith froze. Though she could hear Buffy fighting near her, her eyes were fixed on the figure approaching her. Kakistos!
“Faith! Don’t die!” she heard Buffy yell to her.
She turned just in time to catch the crowbar Buffy had thrown to her. She raised it to strike, but Kakistos was too fast and too strong. He punched her hard, knocking her into a row of wooden beams leaning against the warehouse wall. Both Faith and the beams went tumbling to the floor.
As Kakistos drew near, Faith scrambled back against the wall, cowering in fear, her mind overcome by the reality of the nightmare before her. She screamed “no” as the vampire jerked her off the floor by her shirt, but any further outcries were stifled as Kakistos began mercilessly pummeling her face. With a final, massive punch, he made her see stars, and she barely felt the floor as she slammed into it.
When she came to, Faith saw Kakistos looming over a dazed Buffy.
“I guess you need a bigger stake, Slayer!” she heard Kakistos say to the blonde.
In a blur of action, Faith grabbed one of the wooden beams near her, leapt to her feet, and shoved its broken end into Kakistos’s body, dusting him instantly.
The next thing Faith knew, Buffy was beside her. They were breathing hard as they grimly looked down at the vampire’s ashen remains.
“You hungry?” Buffy asked flatly.
“Starved,” Faith answered in the same tone.
Then they both headed out of the warehouse.
* * *
A short time later, Buffy and Faith were at a late-night diner, with a table full of food before them: several hamburgers, with the works; three large orders of fries, one of which was topped with chili and cheese; two side salads heaping with dressing and croutons; and a couple of chocolate shakes.
Faith watched Buffy take an especially large bite out of her second cheeseburger. Then she gave a small laugh. “Glad to see your whole post-slayage-nonfat-yogurt thing was a buncha crap.”
Buffy laughed too as she finished chewing. “If my friends knew how much I really ate, they would die. They have no clue how much it takes to keep a slayer running.”
“Bet your mom has a cow every time she adds up the grocery bills, huh?”
“Are you kidding me? I’m sure she thought I had an eating disorder till she found out I was the slayer. Now she understands.” Buffy got a confused look. “At least I think she understands.”
“Your mom seems cool.”
“I guess,” Buffy said. “She’s thrilled beyond words about you being here. I think she thinks I can retire or something.”
Faith was silent a moment. Then she asked, “And what do you think?”
“About retiring?”
“No,” Faith said, lowering her gaze to her hands. “About me being here.”
Buffy ducked her head and thought then looked back up with a smirk. “You’re a pain sometimes,” she said, which caused Faith to look up too and flash a grin. “But I have to admit…I like the idea of there being another slayer here.” Buffy’s light tone vanished. “It’s like…I’m not so alone anymore. There’s somebody out there that knows—really knows—what I’m going through, what it’s like. You know?”
Faith looked back at Buffy as if she did indeed know exactly what the other slayer was talking about. She didn’t allow the serious expression to remain long, though. Instead, she laughed and leaned back in the booth, resting both arms on the back of the seat. “That’s us,” she said with a broad smile. “The Chosen Two.”
Buffy smiled back, but the somewhat somber mood descended once again, and the two slayers remained silent. They picked at their food and took a few drinks of their shakes. After a few minutes, Buffy asked softly, “What will you do now?”
“Not go back home, that’s for sure,” Faith replied. “It totally sucks.” Faith gave what she hoped was a nonchalant shrug. “Watcher’s dead. Can’t go back to her place.” Just for a second, Faith allowed a deep sadness to show on her face, then it was gone. “She mighta been an uptight Brit like Giles, but at least she got me outta that hellhole called home.” Faith flashed an impish grin at Buffy. “Maybe I’ll just stay here and give you a run for your money for Slayer of the Year.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Give me a pain in the neck is more like it,” she teased.
With the mood lightened, the two slayers returned to their eating with gusto and soon finished off their meal.
* * *
Buffy and Faith came out of the diner with satisfied looks on their faces. They both looked refreshed and rejuvenated by their meal. They stood outside, not quite knowing what to do next.
“So…what do you wanna do now?” Faith asked.
Buffy looked around. “It’s kinda late,” she said. “I should probably go home.”
Faith scoffed loudly. “It’s way too early for that,” she said. “Come on, I know where we can go.” She started walking down the sidewalk, and Buffy went along. “It’s this cool bar I found. Really rocks. Way cooler than the Bronze.”
Buffy stopped walking. “A bar bar? As in we’re-too-young-to-get-in bar?”
“Ah, don’t worry about that,” Faith assured her. “I can get us in.”
Buffy hesitated. “I don’t know…”
“Oh come on,” Faith persuaded. “We slayed the bad guy, we deserve to celebrate!”
Buffy looked unconvinced at first, but she was eventually swayed by Faith’s insistent and utterly irresistible smile. “Okay,” she said with confidence. “You’re right. We saved the day. A little fun is definitely in order.”
At that, the two of them headed down the street, ready to party.
* * *
A couple of hours later, Faith and Buffy were in the bar, heating up the dance floor. They danced with half a dozen different guys and put on a show dancing with each other. They never paid for a single drink the entire time. After they finally grew tried, they headed for the exit, much to the dismay of most of the patrons.
* * *
As Buffy came out of the bar, she giggled and swayed a bit on her feet. Faith followed, seemingly as steady as she could be.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into drinking alcohol,” Buffy said, the rhythm of her words slightly off. “How did you get it anyway? How come we didn’t get carded or something?”
Faith just gave her an I-have-my-ways smile.
Buffy grinned and pointed accusingly at Faith. “You let me get drunk.”
Faith smirked but shrugged innocently. “Hey, how was I supposed to know you couldn’t hold your liquor, B? ’Sides, you needed to loosen up.”
Buffy put on worried look. “Oh…Giles will be so ashamed of me.” She didn’t sound particularly repentant.
“Only if you tell him,” Faith pointed out.
“Well I guess I won’t tell him then, will I?” Buffy announced as she gave Faith’s arm a goofy poke.
Faith grabbed Buffy’s hand and swung her around in a sort of dance move before pulling her close. She released Buffy’s hand then put her own hands firmly at Buffy’s waist. Buffy laughed and rested her arms on Faith’s.
Faith caught Buffy’s eyes and said, “Stick with me. I’ll show you how to have a good time.”
Buffy just giggled.
Faith tightened her grip on Buffy, running her hand along the blonde’s back. She leaned closer, letting her gaze drop to Buffy’s mouth for a moment before meeting her eyes once again. “Yeah…I bet there’s a lot I can show you…”
“Yeah…” Buffy said, leaning unconsciously forward until her lips were just inches away from Faith’s. “I bet there is…”
They stood there, practically frozen—glances darting from eyes to lips and back again, breaths growing heavy and husky—until Buffy slowly closed her eyes.
At that, Faith blinked. And blinked again. Then she cleared her throat and put a little space between herself and her fellow slayer.
Buffy opened her eyes. She seemed a little confused until Faith put on a sparkling smile and teasingly linked her arm in Buffy’s.
“Come on, let me get you home, Little Miss Tipsy,” Faith said.
Buffy’s momentary confusion was gone, and she snickered. “But it’s your fault I’m tipsy.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Faith said as she led the drunken slayer away from the bar.
* * *
Once Faith had gotten Buffy safely home and in her room, she slipped back down the stairs and out the front door. She walked down the sidewalk but stopped when she reached the curb. She looked back at the house, gazing up to the second floor.
For a moment, her expression was troubled—sparks of happiness tinged with longing, followed by flashes of fear and doubt. She frowned and looked away.
Without another glance at the house, Faith strode away.
* * *
Early the next morning, Buffy lay a bit sprawled in her bed. The covers were slightly askew, and she turned her head from side to side, clearly dreaming.
In her mind, she was with Faith again, outside the bar. Faith was holding her. She was laughing at something Faith had said, but when she stopped, she found herself just inches away from the dark slayer. She could feel the other woman’s breath on her face, the heat rising between them, and although she tried to keep her gaze on Faith’s eyes, she was drawn repeatedly to the slayer’s full, red lips. Before she knew it, they were kissing.
Hungrily, desperately…
Arms pulling tighter and tighter…
Open mouths, tongues exploring…
Hands caressing backs and necks then tangling in hair…
Fingers aching to roam elsewhere, not enough skin…
Yes, touch me there, for god’s sake don’t stop, don’t—
With a gasp, Buffy awakened from her dream, snapping to an upright position. Her chest was heaving, and sweat covered her body. She glanced around the room in a panic as if she were unsure how she even got there. Her right hand went to her heart, and she left it there until she finally got her breathing under control.
She looked out her window, her brow furrowed deep in thought. She lifted her hand to her lips and gently touched them with her fingertips.
Was it real? Did it happen?
Buffy didn’t know. She quickly dropped her hand.
But when her thoughts returned to the details of the dream, she found her heart racing once again.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 02...