“B, is all of this really necessary?”

“Of course it is. We need the extra room for the two new slayers Robin’s bringing in until Xander can finish renovating the soon-to-be dorm next door.”

They’d spent most of that morning packing up Faith’s things in cardboard boxes they’d pilfered from a local liquor store and now Buffy was unloading them in her room while Faith looked on miserably from the armchair in the corner. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to stay with Buffy, even though it was only temporary. Hell, she spent enough time in her room as it was.

The thing was, she’d never had a roommate before. Not in jail, not in Sunnydale, and as far as she was concerned, Boston didn’t count. She’d preferred being alone then rather than having to spend time with her mom.

And as great as her new relationship with Buffy was, the fact remained that she was afraid she’d screw it up somehow if they didn’t have a separate place to chill when needed. Things were going fast – crazy fast – and she wasn’t sure they’d fully thought this one through.

“What are you gonna do if I get on your nerves?” she asked.

“I’ll kick your butt all over the house until you start behaving,” Buffy replied with a grin as she folded one of Faith’s t-shirts and placed it in one of the dresser drawers.

She’d even cleaned out a drawer for Faith. A whole drawer! That was big!!

“I’m serious, B,” Faith said. She stood up from the chair and walked over to the dresser, then removed the shirt Buffy had just placed there and tossed it back in the box.

Buffy took a step back and let Faith put the shirt back in the box. She didn’t say or do anything; instead she waited until Faith looked up at her with a pained expression on her face.

“Sharing a room doesn’t mean we have to spend every waking minute together, Faith. We’ll share a bed, but we already do that anyhow. We also lay in here and watch TV every day. The only difference is that your things are here now too.”

“Doesn’t it freak you out?” Faith asked. “Why am I the only one freaking?”

Buffy laughed and stepped forward, loosely putting her hands on Faith’s hips. When Faith didn’t step away, she put her fingers through her belt loops and pulled Faith forward so that they were pressed stomach to stomach.

“Because you’re thinking about it too much. You’ll be back in your room in three, four weeks at the most. Or at least your clothes will be. And if you need some space, I’ll go camp out with Dawnie for a night or two, whatever.”

“You’d do that for me?” Faith asked, her hands slipping around Buffy’s back to hold her close.

“Yup. And Dawnie hogs the covers, Faith. And kicks. There may be drool, too.”

Faith couldn’t help but laugh softly, her muscles finally relaxing a little. Buffy smiled and looked up at her expectantly so she gave her a quick kiss on her lips and then stepped back so that Buffy could get back to unpacking the last box. When Buffy turned to put the shirt back in the dresser drawer, Faith took it from her hand and smiled before placing it in the drawer herself.

As she laid the shirt in the drawer, a different thought hit her. This one didn’t make her miserable. In fact, it kind of made her smile even more.

“Hey B?”

“Mmm-hmm?”

“. . . what if I don’t wanna go back to my room in three or four weeks?”

Buffy took another shirt from the box and stepped over to the dresser, then placed it gingerly in the drawer. She stopped and looked down into the nearly full drawer for several seconds before finally replying, “Well then we might have to become nudists because there’s no way we’re gonna fit all of our clothes into this small little dresser.”

She smirked and gave Faith a quick kiss before going back to work unpacking the boxes.