The two slayers stayed at the Bronze for another couple of hours before Buffy decided she should show Faith the sights of Sunnydale. Or to put it another way. . .she was going to take her around the many cemeteries, as Buffy wanted Faith to join her for her patrol. It was fine with Faith; she was all worked up and needed some kind of release. Dusting a few vamps would do the trick. Although then there would be the post slayage hungry and hornies to work off. She decided to cross that particular bridge when she came to it, so they left the two scoobies at the Bronze as they made their way out for some slayer type fun.

It was a clear night with the moon just big enough to see by, and warmth in the air trapped from the heat of the day. Faith removed her jacket, tying it around her hips. Buffy kept hers on as the tiny top she was wearing left her completely exposed to any breeze that happened by.

“So, this is the main cemetery. As you can see it’s suitably spooky.” Buffy glanced about her, keeping a look out for any vamps in the area as she pointed it out to Faith.

Faith hopped up onto a large tombstone and lit a cigarette. It was obviously not to Buffy’s liking judging by the look on her face. Faith thought it was weird how quickly she was getting to know the other girl’s expressions. But then they were the chosen two. It might have just been the way it was.

“Sorry. Bad habit I know.” Faith flicked the cigarette far into the distance. She certainly didn’t want to irritate Buffy.

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” Buffy said, smiling sweetly.

“I know, but I wanted to.”

Buffy gave Faith a slightly puzzled look, like she was questioning her motives without actually saying anything. The smaller girl settled for leaning lazily on a nearby headstone as they waited for the prowling undead to come to them. They’d had a fruitless search so far, the heat in the air no doubt discouraging too much vamp action.

Faith thought it would be a good idea to attempt to put her mind off the fact that Buffy was looking really good right now. The moonlight bathed her in silver, almost making her glow like some kind of angel. Faith shook her head slightly at how disgustingly goofy she sounded to herself.

“What?” Buffy had noticed Faith’s wry grin.

“Nothing, just throwing myself for a loop here. So anyway, what’s it like living by a hellmouth?” she questioned, attempting to get her mind back on track.

“Oh you know, vamps, demons, an apocalypse here and there. It can be pretty busy I guess.”

The younger girl couldn’t help but laugh at how nonchalant Buffy was about all the life and death situations she must have been through.

“What? Why are you laughing?” Buffy questioned, looking genuinely at a loss. She had the sweetest pout going on.

“Damn, you’re cute.” The words had slipped, or rather leapt out of Faith’s mouth before she could stop them.

Faith fidgeted a little and looked away, running a hand through her luscious hair, waiting for some kind of ‘get the hell away from me’ comeback.

“Thanks,” Buffy responded shyly, a slight blush to her cheeks.

Thankfully, before things got too awkward, two vampires decided to make their presence known.

“Looks like we’re up, girlfriend.” Faith jumped down from her perch and settled instantly into a fighting stance, and Buffy instinctively did the same.

They moved in unison as they rounded the doomed vampires. Faith got the first hit in, sending her unlucky challenger reeling.

“Shit, she’s a slayer too,” the vampire whined.

“Ya got that right, dusty.” Faith traded blows just as much as banter as she made short work of her opponent.

Buffy was having a harder time of it. Her guy was obviously older and stronger and they were knocking each other around quite a bit. Faith wasn’t too worried about Buffy’s ability to dust her vampire though, as she knew she was an awesome fighter.

Faith finished off her foe with the minimum of effort before turning her attention to the battle going on in front of her. She was in awe of the other slayer. Buffy moved with such grace considering she was beating the hell out of a dead guy. But then the vampire seemed to get the upper hand as he slammed the small slayer to the ground, causing her to drop her stake. Faith was loath to help Buffy out, not wanting to piss her off or steal her kill, but as the robust vampire straddled the blonde girl Faith decided to make a move. She rushed towards the pair just before white fangs got dangerously close to their target.

Faith slammed her stake into the vampire’s back, then promptly fell forward onto Buffy as her momentum carried her through the cloud of dust left behind. She ended up sprawled on top of the slighter girl, her leather clad body lying salaciously between Buffy’s thighs. They both just lay there, seemingly unable to move. Faith looked deep into Buffy’s eyes and she was sure she saw something akin to desire, but not sure enough.

She pushed herself up off the ground, slightly pressing into Buffy as she did so. She knew she heard Buffy take a sharp breath - it was unmistakable - but she didn’t want to go ahead and make some kind of huge mistake and act on her own attraction to Buffy. So she stood up, brushing vampire grime off herself.

“Sorry about that,” Faith apologised.

“It’s ok,” Buffy said, and took Faith’s helping hand, pulling herself up.

She made no move to distance herself from Faith. So there they stood, practically toe to toe. Eyes questioning. Tension charging between them. Until Faith took the initiative and turned away. She bent down to retrieve Buffy’s stake, wondering just what had passed between them, if anything.

“So you wanna go get something to eat, B? I’m wicked hungry.”

“Yeah, sure.” Buffy had a distant look on her face, but Faith thought better than to push it.

They left the vamp dust settling as they made their way to the nearest place to eat; it was a bit of a dump - a cheap café - but it would do.

They ate their fill, then Faith offered to walk Buffy home. At first Buffy turned her down but Faith wouldn’t take no for an answer. Already she was feeling the need to protect the other girl, to keep her safe. It was unsettling.

She knew she was attracted to Buffy, she knew she already wanted her in a big way, but actually giving a damn about anything else was new to her. It was normally always about the sex to Faith. She slapped down any other thought and just concentrated on the overwhelming urge to get into Buffy’s pants; at least she understood that feeling.

Then of course there was the need to keep her on side, in as platonic a way as possible. That latter part she knew was going to be difficult, especially with the post-slaying itch running through her.

As they reached Buffy’s front door Faith became fidgety, running her hand through her hair the way she always would when she felt that way, and generally seeming unnerved.

If Buffy had noticed however, she hadn’t let on. “Do you want to come in?”

Faith could swear Buffy actually looked nervous. It was sweet, and incredibly enticing, but she knew it was best to turn her down. Faith was far too worked up already.

“Nah. . .think I’m just gonna head back to the motel and get some sleep. Thanks anyway.” She smiled genuinely at Buffy before turning to leave.

“Faith, I. . .um, guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Faith paused. She hadn’t really expected Buffy to want to hang out with her again or anything. She wanted to but her solid defence mechanism hadn’t allowed for the possibility.

Buffy must have caught the confused look in Faith’s dark eyes as she continued, “I mean, if you want to meet up or something. . .maybe for lunch?” Buffy asked, awaiting Faith’s reply with her usual gentle smile.

“Sure.” It was all Faith could think to say; she didn’t want to seem over eager after all.

“Cool. You can meet me at the library if you want at about 12. Oh, and if anyone asks what you’re doing there just tell them you know Giles.” Buffy’s cheerful exuberance at the prospect of meeting Faith for lunch the next day was obvious.

It took Faith a little by surprise, but then she realised that Buffy seemed to approach everything that way. It probably wasn’t anything to do with Faith and their plans for tomorrow. It was just who Buffy was.

Faith nodded in agreement, and then made her way back to the street. She turned to check that the little blonde was safely in her house only to find that Buffy was watching her departure. Buffy even offered Faith a little wave goodbye, and despite her cool exterior persona Faith found herself waving back.

It was puzzling to say the least. Never before had Faith thought of herself as the waving-sweetly type. It just wasn’t something she did. But around Buffy. . .well, around her newfound friend she was different. In more ways than she could describe, or explain.

* * *

Over the course of the following week, Faith spent more and more time with Buffy and the scoobies; but mainly with Buffy. They had begun to train together after Giles had insisted. They were still waiting to hear from the council, who were dragging their feet over what to do with Faith.

There really was nothing for Faith to do but train and patrol with her fellow slayer. She spent most days waiting around to meet the gang for lunch, and most evenings hoping Buffy would want to hang with her after slaying whatever unfortunate vamp or demon crossed their paths.

The chosen two were an awesome fighting team. They seemed to be able to read each other’s moves and time their attacks perfectly. It certainly made for interesting sparring. They were well matched, although Buffy did tend to get the upper hand now and again.

Faith busied herself with tidying her motel room, which was pretty sparse, so didn’t take long. It was a Saturday and she was waiting for a call or visit from Buffy. At least she hoped the other girl would want to do something with her involved. She tried not to get her hopes up; after all Buffy did have a life before her arrival. She had friends and a family to spend time with.

Just as Faith reached the conclusion that Buffy probably didn’t have the time or inclination to spend any of her weekend with her, she heard a soft knock on the door. Folding the last of her clean laundry Faith straightened out her white tank top and answered the intrusion.

“Hey.”

It was Buffy.

Faith attempted to kick her brain into gear and say hello to the little slayer, but she couldn’t get past the thought that Buffy looked especially beautiful standing there bathed in the summer sunshine.

“Faith? Are you ok? I’m disturbing you aren’t I. Sorry, I should have called.”

Faith snapped herself out of her reverie, blinking away the thought of Buffy naked and hers. “No, it’s fine. I wasn’t busy.” Faith stood aside a little way in a gesture for Buffy to enter, which she did. “Sorry, it’s pretty shitty in here,” she said, feeling the need to excuse the pitiful room.

Buffy just smiled at her cheerfully and made her way to sit on the double bed. “It’s not so bad. Do you want to do something today? I mean, with me.”

Faith resisted the temptation to say what had sprung into her mind. She would like to do something with Buffy all right, especially with her sat demurely on her bed.

She swallowed any lascivious comment down before opening her mouth. “Yeah, sure.” She couldn’t hide the wide smile on her face at being asked so invitingly by Buffy to spend time with her. She was almost positive Buffy had blushed a little as she too allowed her lips to curl up into a smile at being accepted, but Buffy looked away before Faith could be sure.

“Do you wanna go grab something to eat?” Faith asked and picked her denim jacket up from its place on the chair, heading for the door.

“Is there no point that you’re not hungry, Faith?” Buffy couldn’t help but laugh it seemed.

Faith shook her head, laughing along side her friend. It was true after all, she was almost impossible to fill up.

The two slayers made their way into town. Between the companionable silences they mainly just made small talk. Faith didn’t think she had ever felt so comfortable with somebody she barely knew before, especially considering the fact that she was becoming ever more attracted to Buffy. After having breakfast and lunch – in one sitting - Faith decided she was full. Buffy suggested that they go to the beach, which wasn’t too far out of town. It was a particularly nice day after all.

After stopping off at Buffy’s house to pick up swimwear for them both - Faith needing to borrow something of the smaller slayers - the chosen two made their way. Buffy had been given permission to use her mom’s jeep, and Faith decided as soon as they’d gotten out never to get back in it again with Buffy behind the wheel.

Buffy luckily knew of a fairly secluded spot on the coast that most people didn’t bother trekking to. It was further away from the main road, and less child-friendly. Most residents knew of the scattered rocks that were closer to shore than at the more popular beaches, but it suited the two girls just fine. They arranged themselves at the far end of the beach, far enough away from the handful of people further down. It certainly seemed like an ideal spot to Faith as she didn’t like the idea of too many guys ogling her cute little blonde friend. She wanted her all to herself. As stupid as she knew that sounded it was the truth.

The sun was beating down on the little bay, bathing it in luxurious warmth and glinting off the gently rolling sea. Being from Boston the California sun was a nice treat for Faith, and she loved the heat. Especially right now, because it was causing Buffy to strip down to the bikini she’d slipped on earlier. Faith almost felt like looking up to the clear blue sky and thanking whoever had sent the sun that day.

Buffy was wearing a skimpy white bikini with thin ties at the sides of her bottoms that were just about keeping them on. Faith was finding it extremely hard not to just pull on one to see what happened. Her temperature was on the rise, without any help from the sun.

Her own bikini was a red one she had borrowed from her fellow slayer. And even skimpier than Buffy’s due to the fact she was taller than the other girl, and more blessed in the breast department. As she pulled her tee shirt over her head to reveal the small item of clothing barely covering her, Faith could have sworn the manner of Buffy’s gaze was one of obvious attraction.

She wasn’t naïve of the effect her body could have on people. Granted, most of her admirers were men and they were useless at hiding their approval, but she was still pretty sure when someone was checking her out. And if she wasn’t so sure that Buffy was straight, Faith would have staked her favourite leather pants on the fact that she was doing that very thing and checking her out. She threw the unwarranted tee shirt to the sand as her full round breasts seemed to swell with the knowledge that Buffy was staring at them. Faith didn’t know whether or not she should say something, she was biting her tongue so much it felt like her head might explode. She couldn’t hold it in. Not when Buffy was doing such a crappy job at being subtle.

“Like what ya see, girlfriend?” Faith lifted her arms in a pose, instantly causing Buffy to blush.

“I. . .err, you have a great body,” Buffy said coyly. “I wish I. . .looked as good as you.” Buffy had so obviously thrown that last comment in to disguise the less than platonic undertones of her admiration.

“I wouldn’t worry about that, B. You look just fine to me.” Faith put particular emphasise on the word fine, because she meant it.

She openly looked Buffy up and down, an unchecked wicked grin playing on her lips. Faith loved Buffy’s cute little body. It was strong and toned; slim, but soft looking in all the right places. She would have liked nothing more than to get better acquainted with it, but she couldn’t and she knew she should stop flirting.

For the past week Faith had done her best not to flirt openly with Buffy, but it was hard. Not only because she was so attracted to Buffy, but also because it was just who she was, always pushing and daring for reactions. So far, Buffy seemed to be taking it in her stride, either just smiling coyly at Faith or just plain ignoring it. Faith could see though, that it wasn’t grossing her new friend out at all, which was certainly encouragement for her one-track mind.

Before Buffy could grow uncomfortable with her little display Faith laid out her towel and proceeded to lie back under the scorching sun. Settling down to enrich the colour of her already fairly naturally tanned skin.

Buffy did the same beside her, closer than was probably necessary given the fact they were virtually alone on the beach. It only served to keep the little spark of hope inside Faith to keep burning. She knew it was stupid of her to have any hope at all that she might one day be more than Buffy’s friend, but she just couldn’t help herself.