Adult-FanFiction.org : Buffy

Heart's Desire	By : PencilNeck Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > FemmeSlash - Female/Female > Buffy/Faith Views: 9582 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Chapter 18: Thorn In My Side

�Tara?� Willow
loses her knees, and she starts sinking.
�Baby?�

Faith catches her and gently lowers
her to the floor, saving Willow
some serious bruising.

�Emma!� Dawn says emphatically. �This is Emma.�

�Tara.� Willow�s
whimpered note stings the air.

�Willow!� Kennedy stands back. Looking like she�s been stabbed.

�Ken�� Faith tries to fix it.

�Don�t!� Kennedy won�t let her. �Don�t you dare defend this.�

�Excuse me?� Emma ducks out from behind Dawn. �I-I��
And the veil slips as she moves. Tara�s
face fades out, leaving only Emma.

�Probably best if you�� Dawn wants
to protect her new friend from the crazy.

�Tara?� Willow
blinks up at Emma. Stunned and confused
at the new face she�s seeing.

�No, Willow. Not Tara.� Faith says it gently, carefully.

�Not again!� Kennedy glares at everyone, especially the
tear streaked woman on the floor. �I
won�t do this again.� And she turns and
runs away before her tears can fall.

The sound of Kennedy�s boots
hammering against the floor breaks Willow
out of her shock.

�Kennedy?� She tries to stand. Follow.
Do something.

�Don�t.� Faith stops her. �She won�t��

�Please, Faith?� Willow gestures. �Can you?�

�Sure.� Faith kisses Willow
on the forehead. Looks at Emma
apologetically. At Dawn
meaningfully. Then tears off after
Kennedy.

Dawn moves to Willow�s side. Makes comforting noises, petting her head and
holding her close. Like her mom did for
her. Like Tara
did after.

She helps Willow
to stand. Breathes an apology to Emma,
and slowly helps Willow back to her
room.

Leaving Emma alone, across from a
masterpiece. In some random
hallway. In a completely foreign castle. Totally lost.

�What the hell was that?�

***********************************************

Buffy hums to herself. She doesn�t know the words. Or the tune, really. But it doesn�t matter. It�s been a good day. She slept, she ate, and by golly she
shopped. Her new clothes tucked safely
away in her room, just waiting for some convenient occasion to justify them. But her day off is over. She�s meeting Will and Faith for another
exciting episode of �Who�s Mind Is It Anyway?� and if she�s honest with
herself, she�s looking forward to it.
She�s been getting better at the blocking, although Faith is better. Which is good� for the oversharing problem.

But it�s the other stuff that makes
her giddy. When they work on the
control. Letting each other in by
stages. They can do it now, without
touching. It�s not as deep. Not as intimate. But it makes Buffy�s step a little
bouncier. Makes her eyes a little
greener. Makes her smile as she reaches
to open the door.

�They�re not there.�

Buffy searches for the owner of the
voice. She sees a girl sitting on the
floor, knees tucked into her chest.
�Hey� Which way did they go?�

�Two went that way. It�s a very nice way.� Emma points one way down the hall.

�Huh?�

�The others went that way.� She points in the other direction. �Pleasant, I�ve heard.�

�What are you talking about?�

�Of course, seemed to me like some
of them went both ways.� She points in
both directions, arms crossed over each other.
Leans back with a giggle.

�Are you alright?� Buffy walks up to the girl.

�Nope. Seems I�ve landed in Oz. I showed up, and killed the w-witch. And now I�m not sure how to get home.� Emma laughs roughly at her analogy. She stands up, and makes her way over to
Buffy.

�We haven�t been introduced. You must be Buffy.� Emma makes a sweeping bow. �I�m Emma.
Dawn�s new assistant.� She raises
herself up. The light catches her just
right�

�Tara!� Buffy gapes.
And stares.

�Wrong again.� Emma steps forward. �Emmmma. Say it with me��

�Oh. For a second you looked��

�I know!� Emma can�t help her frustrated sigh.

Buffy looks at her carefully
now. Sees the subtle differences. Her shoulders un-clench in relief. �So, Emma�
What�s going on?�

Emma tries to explain. Buffy catches something about Willow
freaking. Kennedy storming off.

�Hey. You didn�t do anything wrong. You know that, right?� Buffy goes to her, taking her hand. �You just got caught in the middle of some
big stuff.�

�Like a tornado!� Emma makes the connection.

�Sure. Just like a tornado.� Buffy patronizes. �Let�s get you to your room.�

�I�m not usually this
strange.� Emma tries to explain. �It�s my first day.�

�Don�t worry about it. Dawn�s gonna get it for leaving you
alone.� Buffy steers her through the
corridors and into the elevator.

�Actually, she was really
nice.� Emma smiles. �Best boss ever. Until the weird started. But it�s cool. That girl, Willow, she was really torn
up. Y�know?�

�Yeah. I should go see her� Make sure she�s OK.� Buffy waits for the doors to open, and steps
out. �Unless you want me to stay until
you�re de-spooked?�

�Nah. I�ll be OK.
Lots of unpacking to do.� Emma
walks the hall, inspecting every door. Looking
for the number that matches with her key.
Yay! Kansas!

She hesitates. �Maybe��

�You want Dawn.�

�I wha-! Oh.
Right.� Emma covers. �Yeah, sure.
If that�s OK. We kinda bonded.�

�Sure. I�ll go see Willow,
and send Dawn over.� Buffy watches Emma
fumble with the lock.

Eventually, the key does its
job. The door opens, showing off the
sparse room filled with boxes.

�Thanks.� Emma turns back to Buffy. �I�m sorry I caused��

�You didn�t cause anything.� Buffy reassures her. �You remind us of someone we lost. Someone we loved a lot. That can�t ever be a bad thing.�

And watching Emma smile, Buffy
knows that finally she�s said something right.

***********************************************

Dawn hates being late. She really hates being really late. Most of all she really hates waking up alone
in a strange place, and then realizing that she�s really late. She looks down at her wrinkled clothes. Crap! Swings her legs off the bed and storms in
front of the mirror. Looks at her
tangled bed-head, and the exhaustion in her eyes. Double
crap! She can�t go into work
looking like this. She�s going to have
to make a pit stop at her place for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Crap
times infinity!

The room is empty now of the
mountains of cardboard boxes. They spent
hours unpacking and talking. Dawn trying
to explain the whole Tara thing, and Emma apologizing
for it every fifteen seconds. Not the
best start for a sleepover. But it
improved over time. They talked about
other stuff. Girl stuff. It was cool.
Almost normal.

Dawn locks herself out. Stops in the hall for a moment, feeling
strangely embarrassed. Like,
walk-of-shame embarrassed. Weird.

She turns the corner, only to see
Buffy gently closing Willow�s
bedroom door.

�Hey Buffy.�

�Hey!� Buffy looks as scraggly as Dawn feels. �How�s your patient?�

�Gone.� Dawn shrugs.
�Probably at her desk right now, translating her little heart out. How�s yours?�

�Still sleeping. It was a long night.� Buffy pulls at the knots in her hair. �I had to get up. I got a crick.� She twists her neck to prove it, wincing a
little.

�So, is she gonna be OK about
Emma?� Dawn gestures at Willow�s
door. �Cos I just got her all moved in��

�I think so. I mean�
What are the odds?� Buffy looks
like she�s trying to calculate them.

�About a bazillion to none.� Dawn nods.
�But it�s not the freakiest of the freak, right?�

�Pretty close, though.� They walk the halls together.

�Yeah.� Dawn smiles a little. Then she gets a thought. It makes the smile wider. �Do you think� maybe she�s a gift? From the PTB?�

�I don�t think they�re taking over
Santa duties, Dawn.� Buffy raises her
brow. �And their gifts are more the
double-edged and painful kind.�

�And your point is?� Dawn puts her hands on her hips.

�Yeah, I guess it fits.� Buffy yawns.
�Which means we have to be careful. The PTB don�t do freebies. There�s always a price.�

�I know.� Dawn stops at her door. �But it�s worth it, right? It�s always worth it?�

Buffy waves, and continues to her
own room. Throws her words over her
shoulder.

�Depends on who gets stuck with the
bill.�

***********************************************

Dawn rushes past the cubicles. So very
late. She trots up to her office door, and stops. In place of the grimy nothing that was there
before, there�s a shiny new name plate.
�Dawn Summers: Translations
Department Head�. It makes her squeak
with glee. But then she opens the door.

And her squeak turns into a
shriek. Everything�s so pretty. So pretty, and so perfect. Every surface has been scrubbed and
swept. Without the dust, the tiny window
shines in all its stained glass glory. A
small bookshelf is already filled with her reference materials. The wobbly old desk has been replaced with a
beautiful antique writing table. On the
walls are framed pictures of her friends and family, the largest being a
beautiful portrait of her mom. There�s
even room for a comfy looking chair and a plant. Dawn starts hopping up and down with
joy.

�I�m guessing she�s OK with the
re-design.� Xander�s voice behind
her.

Dawn turns, still hopping. She sees Xander standing proudly in the
doorway with Emma, who smiles her shy smile.
�You guys? When did you��

�While you were out.� Xander smiles at his little joke. He�s the only one that gets it anyway. �I ran into the Emma-natrix
in the hall after my shift. She came up
with the scheme, and roped me into the heavy lifting.�

Dawn grabs Xander into a big
hug. There�s more hopping. �You guys are the best!� She lets go of Xander and flies at Emma. Gives her the same bouncy treatment.

�I just w-wanted to do something�
nice.� Emma�s ears are bright red all
over.

�This isn�t nice! This is beyond nice. This is� super-nice!� Dawn smiles wide and giggly.

�Psst. Emma�
This would be a good time to ask the boss for a raise�� Xander fake-whispers.

�No� No. I
don�t want anything.� Emma glows
happily. �It�s like a gift.�

�Thank you.� Dawn looks briefly over at Xander. �I mean it, thank you.� He catches the meaning.

�You deserve it. Now I�ve got a touchy British man waiting for
me�� Xander stretches his tired muscles
as he walks away. �And Emma, remember
what I told you!�

�What did he tell you?� Dawn is curious. She watches Emma grin, and the blush spread
from her ears to the rest of her face.

�Don�t speak Latin in front of the
books.�

***********************************************

Buffy pulls her wet hair into a
loose ponytail. It�ll get all kinky, but
she doesn�t have time to blow dry it. What
with morning being all afternoon-y by the time she woke up.

She steps out of her room, letting
the door close on its own. She should
check in on Kennedy. See if she�s
OK. Maybe she�ll be ready to talk to Willow. And then Buffy can collect the bonus best
friend points. Sounds like a plan.

She takes the stairs down to the
lower floor. Turns left, toward Faith�s
room. Kennedy must have stayed with her
last night.

As she gets closer, she hears
yelling. Kennedy.

�What�s the point? I�ve had it with her!�

And some low mumbling. Must be Faith.

Buffy stops. Unsure of the line between overhearing and
eavesdropping.

�What is there to say? It�s not love? It never was?
It was all a big joke?�

Another muffled response.

Buffy quietly creeps closer to the
door. Knowing that she�s definitely
tripping over that line.

Kennedy�s voice again. A little quieter. It�s hard to hear, even with the slayer
advantage.

�I can�t fight it - - - more,
Faith. I want - - - so much. But she�s always in the way. �

Faith�s voice gets clearer as Buffy
gets closer.

�- - - can�t compare to you. She�s - - - past. You�re here, now.�

Buffy reaches the door. Decides it�s not snooping if she knocks. It�s polite, even.

�Can I stay with you?�

No response. She knocks again. Still nothing. Buffy turns the handle. She�s just going to pop her head in. Say hi.

�Whatever you need, Junior.�

Buffy stares through the little
crack in the doorway. Not a sound
escapes her. She�s in shock, or
something very much like it.

Because it�s Faith. And it�s Kennedy. And they�re standing too close. And there�s hands on
skin, and not enough clothes. No.No.No.NO!
The wailing note repeats in Buffy�s head as she watches.

Watches Kennedy place a tender hand
on Faith�s dimpled cheek.

Watches her lean up on her toes.

Watches her tilt her head and wrap
Faith�s lips in a scorching kiss.

Buffy holds it together. Quietly closes the door on the scene. The cry in her mind has gone from pleading to
raging.

It screams at her from the inside.

***********************************************

�Can we handle it?� Xander looks worried. �We�ve never done this before��

�Because we�ve never had to.� Giles
looks weary.

Xander paces, working out the
logistics in his head. �Everyone?�

�Everyone we can spare, yes.� Giles watches him move back and forth. �How long do you need?�

�Gimme three days. I�ll get Andrew to work on things from his
end. That�ll save some time.� Xander stops pacing. �It�s gonna be bad. Isn�t it?�

�I�m afraid so.�

�Me too.� Xander gives himself to the count of three to
be a big �fraidy-cat. It lasts �till
about twelve.

�So, three days.� Giles clears his throat.

�God, it�s gonna be hell.� Xander checks his math, and his phrasing. Nope, he�s right. �Hell� is the word.

What else would you call four-hundred
and eighty-seven-girls under one roof?

***********************************************

Buffy kicks viciously at the
dummy�s head. She pummels her fists into
the padded wood, hearing it crack.
Nothing is stronger than a pissed off slayer. One last brutal kick, and the dummy breaks in
two. The torso flies out and hits the
wall, splinters showering the floor.

�Dammit!� Buffy puts her hands at her hips. Breathes out her aggravation in a quick
rush. It doesn�t help, but it�s better
than screaming.

�You�re wound pretty tight.� Kennedy�s voice behind her.

�Now is not the time.� Buffy spits through clenched teeth, trying to
be civil. �I just killed one dummy�� She fails.

�Ouch!� Kennedy leans against the wall. �I�m just the messenger. Don�t be a clich�, Buffy.�

�Just say what you came to say and
get out.� Buffy moves to the speed
bag. She starts punching, getting into a
smooth rhythm.

�You�re dropping your
shoulder.�

�Thanks. Was that the message?� Buffy speeds up, adjusting her shoulder
accordingly. �Does that mean you�re
leaving?�

�No such luck.� Kennedy watches her. �What�s with the rage fest?�

Buffy turns and stares at Kennedy
with all the venom she can muster. �None
of your concern. Yet.�

�You know, that�s the second time
you�ve threatened me. I�m
not liking it much.� Kennedy
lifts her back from the wall, and takes a few forceful steps toward Buffy.

�Let�s go for three, shall we?� Buffy takes a step forward. �Back. The hell. Off. Bitch.�

Kennedy puts her arms up with a
roll of her eyes. �You wanna try
it? Go ahead. God knows I owe you at least one good ass-kicking.�

Buffy laughs without any humour. �Willow
is the only thing that ever kept me from re-arranging your face. But you�re done with her now, right?�

Buffy watches with satisfaction as
her words break pain over Kennedy�s face.

�I always knew that when things got
rough, you�d bail on her.� It�s almost
better than a bruise. Almost.

�You don�t know what you�re talking
about.� Kennedy drops her head. Looks away.

Buffy can�t hold herself back
anymore. She swings out with two swift hooks. Both land, and Kennedy flies back from the
impact.

�Right. I don�t know anything. I don�t know that you�re breaking her heart,
and you don�t even care!� Buffy grunts
it out as she keeps up the attack.

�Don�t you dare tell me how I
feel!� Kennedy blocks the barrage, and
parks a fist deep inside Buffy�s ribcage.

�I HEARD YOU!� Buffy slams her elbow into Kennedy�s
face. The crunch is satisfying. �I SAW YOU!�

�You saw me what?� Kennedy wipes the blood off her lip. Recoups.
Spins a flying kick into Buffy�s jaw.

�You�re denying it? That�s cute.�
Buffy sweeps Kennedy�s legs. As
she goes down, Buffy swings her leg up and catches Kennedy under the chin. �I�m sure Willow
will think it�s just adorable when I tell her.�

�Tell her what?� Kennedy grabs Buffy�s shoulders and throws
her against the vaulting horse. �That
you�re a total nutcase?�

�That you never loved her! That you were using her! That it never meant anything to you!� Buffy leaps over the wreckage of the vaulting
horse, and tackles Kennedy to the ground.

She holds her still with her body,
slamming her back against the mats again and again. �That you just couldn�t wait to get back to
the one person you DO want to be with��

Kennedy looks stunned for a
minute. Then she gets a big grin on her
face. �Faith!�

�HA! So you admit it!� Buffy wipes it of her face with a cracking
backhand.

Buffy�s not letting her up, so Kennedy
cheats. She pushes her hand between
Buffy�s legs and well� thrusts.

It works. Buffy leaps away, a look of disgust and
surprise on her face.

�Don�t pretend this is about me and
Willow! This is about you not getting what you
want. This is about you being jealous.� Kennedy has the advantage now, and she takes
it.

�I�m jealous? Of you?
As if!� Kennedy�s boot hits Buffy
hard on the shin. Her knee wobbles a
little.

�You wanna know what it is about
you? Why I give you such a hard
time?� Kennedy ducks a wild fist, and
sets a solid hook into Buffy�s side.
�Because you�re always right.�
She follows with another fist to Buffy�s gut. �Especially when you�re so completely wrong.�

��I saw what I saw. You can�t tell me I�m wrong about that.� Buffy turns and rams the back of her head
into Kennedy�s nose.

�No. Nobody can tell you anything.� Kennedy backs off. Pulls her thumbs down on her nose with a snap. Spits out the blood. �You still think you�re better than us? Braver, stronger� smarter? The only thing you got on me is older,
Buffy. Not wiser.� She gets back in it, arms up and knees
bent. Nose still trickling blood over
her swollen lips.

�It�s nice that we can talk like
this.� Buffy locks her hands and wallops
Kennedy with a heavy blow. �But I
don�t��

�Hey B, have you�� Faith struts through the door. Looks at the scene. And dives in.

Faith grabs Buffy by the collar and
throws her back. She puts a strong hand
on Kennedy�s shoulder and pushes her down to the mats.

�What the hell are you doing?� Faith shoots daggers at Buffy.

�Just getting started!� Buffy sends them back.

�Not a chance!� Faith puts herself in between the two, arms
out. �You�re out of line, Buffy!�

�Me? What about your girlfriend over there?� Buffy growls out. �She wouldn�t leave me alone!�

�So you pound on her face?�

�Works for me.� Buffy tries to push through Faith to
Kennedy. Kennedy�s up for it. Faith struggles to hold them.

She turns to Kennedy. �Go.
I�ll deal with you later.� She
shoves Kennedy toward the door. Follows her
with her eyes, making sure the door closes behind her.

She turns, and her eyes drill
through Buffy. She holds her gaze, and
waits.

�You expect me to pour my heart out
and show you my boo-boo so you can kiss it all better? Fat chance.�
Buffy turns away with a huff.

�No, I know better than that.� Faith keeps her eyes steady. �And honestly, right now, I don�t care.�

�I already got the memo on
that.�

�Damn it, Buffy! I don�t know what the hell you�re talking
about.� Faith walks around Buffy,
forcing them to be face to face. �I
don�t think you know either. This is the
kind of crap� God, I can�t deal with you
when you�re like this!�

�So don�t �deal with me�.� Buffy makes air quotes. �Go �deal� with poor little Kennedy.�

�She�s got hers comin�.� Faith growls at the door.

�I�ll bet.� Buffy breathes it.

�Since you�re not gonna talk, I�ll
lay it out for ya. I got three things to
say.� Faith has that look. Sad, empty.
�One. This never happens
again. So whatever got stuck up your ass
this time, you better yank it out. Cos
if you don�t, I will.�

Buffy rolls her eyes.

�Two. I thought we were getting somewhere. But I can see now that we�re just stuck on
the same track we�re always on, and it never ends up good for me. So if you can�t get over this new� thing��
Faith turns and walks away. She stops at
the door. Quietly, and with regret, she
finishes. ��you need to stay away from
me.�

Buffy feels that in her chest. In her legs and stomach.

Faith opens the door�

�What�s the third thing?� Buffy manages not to choke on it.

�Right. Three.�
Faith doesn�t even turn.
�Kennedy�s message. Giles wants
to see you.�

And then the door closes,
softly. And Buffy�s alone.

Well, she asked for it.
- 17
- 18
- 19
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Heart's Desire