After The Fall
by wolfkin
Chapter 7
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Chapter 7
"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Willow asked as Kennedy stopped eating again to look toward the door. Glancing over herself, she saw that it was just Shannon, Grace and Libby, so she turned her attention back to her Slayer. "You looking for someone in particular?" She asked with a little half smile.
Kennedy's eyes widened slightly in response to the gentle teasing. "No! No, just... I'm still kinda getting used to these new senses, that's all. I keep getting tingles whenever one of the others comes near the door and that causes me to look up to make sure they're friendly."
Willow carefully hid her smile. "Oh, so you're not just checking out the girls as they walk in."
Again, the new Slayer missed the teasing tone in her girlfriend's voice as she vehemently shook her head. "No! I wouldn't do that! I mean, I look, but I wouldn't..." She trailed off as a smile broke out across Willow's face. Kennedy groaned and rolled her eyes, throwing a french fry at her girl. "That was just mean!" She grinned back even as she complained.
Willow's face changed to an expression of incredulous innocence. "You mean, I'm not allowed to pick on you? Even a little?" Then redhead worked hard to keep a giggle out of her voice.
Kennedy's face got a sly look as she grinned at the witch. "Only if I can pick back. And there may be consequences later." She wiggled her eyebrows, letting Willow know exactly what those 'consequences' would be. Willow smiled and winked at her girl, letting her know it worked both ways.
Movement at the door again distracted the Slayer and she looked that way, only to look quickly back at the table. Her thoughts and feelings from the previous night came roaring back and she cringed inwardly as Willow waved excitedly and called, "Buffy! Over here! Sit with us."
Kennedy again turned to look at the doorway as the eldest Slayer and her sister walked in. At the sight of Dawn, all the internal arguments from the night before came rushing back as Kennedy's eyes raked over the younger brunette's svelte form. Suppressing a small growl, the younger Slayer turned back toward the table, glancing at Willow before staring fixedly at the tabletop.
A moment later, Buffy and Dawn were standing beside their table and Kennedy glanced up in acknowledgment, but quickly dropped her eyes again.
Buffy was smiling and her eyes flicked across the younger Slayer before going back to her best friend. Dawn smiled quickly, just a flash, but she also blushed as she looked at Kennedy. Willow noticed that, but just figured it was because of the kiss the night before. She missed, however, the faint blush that flashed across Kennedy's own countenance as the new Slayer looked at the Key and looked away hastily.
"Hi guys!" Willow chirped brightly. She waved her hand at the bench seat across from her and her girlfriend. "Wanna join us for lunch?"
Buffy paused, seeming to consider the offer. "Hmmm. Lemme think about that. Sit with a table full of newbie Slayers, no offense Kennedy, and have them try to pick my brain and listen to them relive yesterday, *or*, enjoy a meal with my bestest friend and her girlfriend." She waited for a second, then smiled brightly. "I'll take 'No-Brainer' for a thousand Alex," she quipped as she pulled out a chair, nodding to Dawn to indicate she should as well.
"Oh, and Kennedy? It's okay if you want to talk shop," Buffy assured the younger Slayer. "I just didn't want to deal with six or seven girls, all trying to get my attention at once." She saw the brunette roll her eyes and chuckled. "That's not ego talking, Kennedy. It's... Have you gotten used to hearing everything in the room yet? Being able to smell things cooking in the kitchen? Not needing a lamp to see in a dark room? Can you say you're used to being able to tell exactly how many regular humans are in this room right now? How many people are of the mystical variety?"
Kennedy got a challenging look in her eye as she stared back at the blonde. "Can you?"
Willow and Dawn both chuckled and shook their heads as Buffy smiled. "You already know that Will and I are magical in nature, so..." She pointed back over her shoulder, but didn't turn around. "Slayer, Slayer, human, human, human, Giles, Slayer." She closed her eyes, but not before she saw Kennedy's getting bigger. Inwardly she smiled but also chastised herself for showing off a little. "Okay, Faith is that way," she pointed toward the back lobby of the hotel, then sniffed. "The waitress is bringing someone's cheeseburger and fries... now. There's a demon in the corner aaaand..." She cocked her head in a classic listening pose, then opened her eyes and blinked, a confused grin on her lips. "Since when are Vi and Rona dating?"
Kennedy just returned Buffy's amused look with an incredulous one, her jaw dropped. Glancing at Willow, she saw the witch trying hard to not laugh, though Dawn was chortling quietly, her blue eyes sparkling with merriment in a way that made the Slayer's heart skip a beat. Gathering herself, she finally was able to ask, "Okay, how do you know where Faith is, but couldn't name any of the others? And that guy doesn't look like a demon." She paused, concentrating on her own senses, clearly hearing Vi's answer of yes, she'd like to go out. "Oh, and they kinda got together last night."
"That explains it." Buffy looked over her shoulder at the two girls in question, then glanced at the demon she'd detected. "As for the demon, he's obviously one of those that can pass as human, so he's most likely harmless. Besides," she added, noticing how the guy was glancing around nervously. "I think he knows he's in a room full of Slayers, so he won't try anything."
Kennedy nodded at each point, glancing down as Willow took her hand. "Okay, I get that, but what about Faith? And how did you name off Giles too?"
"Giles used to be a mage, so he reads a little like Willow, just a *lot* weaker. As for Faith, she was called as a Slayer about two years after I was, though if you count off for the almost six months I was dead, it's more like a year and a half. Anyway, she's been a Slayer for five years, so she reads as a lot more powerful than any of you guys."
Willow was nodding her head as Buffy explained. She could sense a lot of the same things through her connection to the magic, just not the enhanced senses stuff unless she cast the appropriate spells. "It's kinda like comparing light bulbs, baby. Buffy's kinda a hundred watt bulb, really bright and everything." She smiled at Buffy's sour look at describing her as a light bulb. "Faith is a seventy five watt and all the newbies are like twenty five watters."
Buffy smiled at the hurt look Kennedy was giving Willow at her last comment. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and let her senses sweep over the room, quickly realizing Willow was right in her estimation. All of the new Slayers were giving off a power reading similar, but a little stronger to a newly risen vampire. Faith, on the other hand, felt a lot like Angelus had, just with the Slayer overlay. No, not Angelus or even Angel. More like Spike. Powerful, with just a touch of badness, but a lot more good to balance it out.
That thought made her smile. Spike, at the end, had been her friend, someone she could count on, no matter what. She had told him the truth. She did love him, but they both knew the whole truth. He was *in* love with her, while she loved him as a friend. Like Willow or Xander or Giles. The thought that Faith was, in some wacky mystical way connected to Spike made her happy. It meant Spike wasn't really gone and that she could trust the dark Slayer again.
As she let her sensory sweep go completely around the room again, she shied away from Willow, trying to turn things off. The witch's aura of power was blindingly incredible, almost overloading everything else for several feet in every direction. She started to open her eyes, when she suddenly sharpened her focus, trying to filter out Willow. "Huh."
The other three at the table looked at her expectantly at the guttural sound. After a couple minutes, when she didn't elaborate, Dawn said. "'Huh' what?"
Buffy opened her eyes, looking toward her little sister. "What?"
Dawn gave her a fondly exasperated look. "You looked all concentrate-y, then said huh, so 'huh' what?"
"Oh, uh right," Buffy blushed a little. "I was just trying feeling out everyone in the room, trying to see if I missed anything and noticed something about Kennedy." The blonde looked toward the younger Slayer and almost laughed at the 'deer in the headlights' look the teen was giving her. "Nothing really bad," she soothed. "It's just, if we use Willow's light bulb analogy, you're not a twenty five watt bulb like the others. More like a forty watt. Like you've been a Slayer for a year or so. I was trying to figure that out when Dawn said something."
Everyone else at the table reacted with varying degrees of astonishment, then confusion at the senior Slayer's explanation. "Maybe... Maybe it's because she was right there with Willow when the spell was cast," Dawn offered, causing Buffy and Kennedy to look at her. The doe eyed brunette blushed lightly and shrugged. "Maybe she kinda got like an extra dose of Slayer-ness?"
"Maybe yeah," Willow agreed slowly, her cheeks turning an interesting shade of reddish-pink. "Um, there's also that Kennedy is next in line. If there was still a line, that is." Buffy's face cleared with a 'that explains it' expression, while the two teens still looked confused. The redhead rolled her eyes and explained further. "She's the Slayer after Faith? You know, if Faith had died before the spell, Kenn would've been called next."
"You mean I was always going to be a Slayer?" Kennedy asked, wonder in her voice.
Buffy nodded, while Willow winced a little. "Maybe," she hedged. Both Slayers looked at her. "Well, I'm pretty sure there was an age cut off built into the original spell. In other words, so that everyone who was called as a Slayer would be young enough to survive the initial learning stage." She sighed at the blank looks the Slayers gave her, but winked at Dawn when she rolled her eyes at their denseness. "Buffy, when you first became a Slayer, you were a cheerleader, yeah, but other than that, you weren't very athletic, right? Didn't know how to fight?"
Buffy's expression cleared. "Oh, I get it. If I became a Slayer now or worse, a few years from now, I'd probably get killed before I learned how to *be* a Slayer, right?"
"Exactly!" Willow smiled and nodded. "Kennedy would probably have a couple more years than you since she trained for years, but even she would eventually be unable to do the job. So, I figure the old guys who started all this probably put an age cut off, most likely twenty at the top. Since Kennedy's almost nineteen and Faith was supposed to be in jail for at least twenty five years, she would've never been a Slayer if not for my spell. Well, unless something happened to Faith in prison, that is. Which it almost did, to be honest." Willow chuckled at Buffy's look of alarm. "The First."
"To change the subject," Dawn said, just a little louder than she really needed to, seeing the stricken look on her sister's face and wanting to stop it. "I was thinking we could go shopping. Really go shopping and pick up more than a change of clothes. Like maybe several outfits. And other stuff, too. You know, like shoes, maybe. Can we, Buffy?" She smiled broadly, innocently, but hopefully.
The blonde felt a knee jerk reaction to the idea of shopping, the thought of getting a new pair of boots appealing. More appealing, though, was the thought of finding Faith and telling her she was in charge, then going back to her room and vegging in front of the tv and not worrying about anything harder to think of than should she order a pizza for dinner or go out to a restaurant. "I don't know, Dawnie. I kinda wanted to stay here. I'm still kinda tired and my side's still a bit sore, even with all Will's help. I was thinking we could have a lazy day instead."
Willow watched as Dawn pouted and Buffy began to waver. She had to admit, the teenager did have a really good "Pleeeease, can I have my way?" pout going. It reminded her of some of the rather adorable ones she'd seen Buffy use over the years, which was probably where Dawnie had learned it from, she mused. Chuckling, she drew the attention of the senior Slayer. "Come on, Buffy. Let her go. She'll be with a bunch of Slayers, so I'm pretty sure it'll be okay."
Buffy cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you mean a bunch of Slayers and a kick ass witch?"
Willow shook her head. "Nope. I'm not going either. Still pretty tired from yesterday and *some*one," the redhead looked at her girlfriend with a fondly exasperated look, "kept me awake half the night!" She chuckled at Kennedy blushing lightly, but still managing to look smug at the same time. Glancing at her table companions, she saw the lightly embarrassed expression from Buffy she was expecting, but Dawn surprised her. Oh, the teen was blushing, like she'd known she would, but the weird thing was, she looked a little angry, too. Well, maybe not angry but definitely something she wasn't figuring on.
[Weird.] Willow shook her head a little, rearranging her thoughts. "Anyway, I thought maybe I'd stay behind and catch up on my sleep while you," she lightly poked her girlfriend in her ribs, "go run up your dad's credit cards."
Kennedy kept looking smug for a moment, until Willow's statement that she wouldn't be going shopping sank in, then the teen frowned. "But, I thought we were gonna go get you that new laptop today for, y'know, that project of Giles'? Not to mention, new clothes does sound like a good thing and maybe the mall here has a Victoria's Secret." Kennedy leered playfully, already imagining the redhead in something lacy and *very* skimpy.
Willow made a sympathetic face. "Sorry, sweetie, but I'm just too pooped. We can go get the laptop later this evening or tomorrow morning, okay? I mean, it's waited this long, it'll keep a few more hours." She stifled a small yawn, then smiled at her girl. "And hey, you can surprise me with clothes, if you want. Dawnie and I are mostly the same size and she knows what's different, so she can try on stuff that you want to get me. I'll even model whatever you get later, if you want." The redhead gave the new Slayer a sultry, 'I wanna eat you alive' look.
Kennedy felt her body respond to Willow's expression, but her mind's eye was busy picturing the younger brunette beside her in some of the lacier, skimpier things she'd seen in Victoria's Secret on previous visits. She managed to suppress a whimper at the pictures flashing through her mind, but only barely. She dropped her eyes to the table and kept them there, knowing Willow would see the desire coursing through them, but also knowing there was no way she could look at Dawn and stay silent.
For her part, Dawn's mind instantly flashed back to her dream from the night before the second Willow mentioned trying on clothes that Kennedy picked out. The thought of the two of them in various stores dressing areas, clothing being changed, the way she kept thinking of the new Slayer, her memories of their kisses the night before. Maybe this shopping trip wasn't such a good idea. Dawn wracked her brain, trying to come up with a way out of or around the whole her and Kennedy alone for several hours plan, but nothing was really occurring to her... "Xander!"
Buffy and Willow stopped talking and Kennedy jerked her eyes up and toward Dawn as she shouted. Buffy frowned slightly, glancing around. "What about Xander?" She finally asked.
Dawn tried for nonchalance, blushing slightly nonetheless. "I was just thinking, I should go ask Xander to come with us. To the mall, I mean."
"Yeah," Kennedy picked up on her idea immediately, her thoughts running parallel to Dawn's. If the male Scoobie was with them, she couldn't flirt with or ogle Dawn, right? Looking at Buffy and Willow, she smiled. "She's right. I mean, he needs clothes and stuff too, right?"
"And besides, Buffy," Dawn added quickly. "You said if he hadn't come out of his room by lunch time today, I could go and talk to him. This is even better, cause it'll mean he has to come out and we can cheer him up and everything. So, I can go ask him, right? I mean, I miss Anya too, but she wouldn't want him to just lock himself in a room and die, would she?"
Buffy felt her eyes slide back and forth between the two teens as they explained their idea, finally stopping on Dawn. She glanced at Willow, to see what the redhead thought about this idea, but Willow was already looking at her. She smirked ever so slightly and raised one eyebrow, clearly deferring to the Slayer for the decision.
Willow was willing to let Buffy decide this, though she herself thought it was probably a good idea. For the most part, she vividly remembered her own feelings and reactions after Tara's death, both before and after the whole 'If she can't be here, I'll just destroy everything' episode. After Xander had talked her down and she'd started grieving, her memories were a little fuzzier, since she'd spent entire days asleep or trying to be. She'd absolutely refused to even look into the room she'd shared with Tara and being in the upstairs of Buffy's house was nearly as bad, so she'd returned to her parents place. Once again, it was Xander who'd saved her when he'd come into her room at her parents, forced her to eat and clean up and start functioning again.
Buffy rolled her eyes a little at Willow's attitude, then returned her attention to her sister. "I don't know, Dawnie. I know I said to wait 'til today, but... I don't know, it just seems... wrong or something. Maybe we should wait a little longer, okay?" Seeing Dawn's somewhat hostile look, she offered instead, "Or maybe just wait until dinner, then ask him to join us?"
"Or," Kennedy said, her attention once more drawn to the entrance of the dining area. "We could just go over and ask him if he wants to go to the mall with us." When her table companions looked at her for an explanation of her words, she nodded across the room where a waitress was showing Xander and Faith to a table.
The other three women at the table spun and looked where Kennedy was indicating, all displaying varying degrees of shock and disbelief. Sure enough, they saw Xander just sitting down at a table across from Faith, his lips moving as if he was talking to the dark Slayer. Buffy and Kennedy could hear him saying something about some sci-fi show, but the blonde had never seen it, so she had no idea what he was talking about. Kennedy just rolled her eyes at the man's words, but was faintly surprised at Faith's response, indicating the brunette's familiarity with the show.
"When did...?" Dawn asked, confused, a little pout on her face. Kennedy turned as soon as she spoke and groaned at the expression. It was so much worse the second time. "What the frilly heck's going on over there? Why would he come out of his room for Faith but not me?"
Kennedy caught herself before she reached over and ran a comforting hand down the younger teen's arm. Blushing at the impulse, she glanced at Willow to see if the redhead had noticed, but Willow's attention as still on the other table. Glancing around, Kennedy noticed that the other Slayers and Giles had taken note of Xander and Faith's entrance, but were going back to their own meals and conversations just as quickly. Well, except for Giles. He looked quickly toward their table, like he was expecting some kind of reaction.
Buffy took her sister's hand and gave her a little squeeze. "It's okay, Dawnie. I mean, the important thing is, he's out here with the rest of us, right? Not locked in his room like he was." She smiles reassuringly, then frowns just a little. "I don't mean he shouldn't grieve, cause we all know what Anya meant to him, but," she sends a little apologetic look at Willow. "We all know that you should turn to your friends and family when this kinda thing happens, so we should support him and would you please go over there and ask him about going to the mall before I swallow my whole leg?" The blonde's babble grinds to an embarrassed, blushing halt. She quickly takes a sip of water, fighting the burning sensation in her face and neck.
Willow smiled at her best friend, suddenly understanding why all of her lovers found her babble so adorable, though that thought was followed immediately with one wondering why she thought that about Buffy. She shook her head and looked at the younger brunette. "Go on, Dawnie. And see if you can find out what's up with him and Faith hanging out together, okay? Not that it's not okay, but they didn't really talk all that much in Sunnydale and now they're acting like study buddies or something."
Dawn nodded and stood, glancing around the table as she did, fighting down a feeling of longing as she looked at the brunette Slayer and her dream once more thundered through her mind. [No!] she snarled to herself. [I said I was gonna stop obsessing about this and I am. Kennedy's just a friend, the girlfriend of someone who might as well be my other sister, so I'm gonna just forget it now.] Taking a deep breath, she forced the images of her dream and the feelings she'd had from the night before from her mind and turned toward Xander.
Walking over, she passed the waitress, who's apparently already taken Faith and Xander's lunch orders. Absently flashing a smile at the woman as she avoided her, the teen walked up to her friends and smiled warmly at Xander. "Hey, guys. Can I join you?"
Xander looked up at the young brunette, hesitating a second before pasting a wan smile on his face. Faith, on the other hand, gave Dawn the hairy eyeball before commenting. "Dunno, Squirt. Depends." She glanced at Xander and winked with the eye Dawn couldn't see. "You buyin'?"
Dawn's temper flared. "You want me to buy you lunch? Just so I can talk to *my* friend?!" Her voice dropped half an octave and took on a slightly growly texture. "Listen, Faith, if you think..."
"Whoa! Easy, Dawnie. She was just messing with you, I promise." His eye cut over to the now sheepish looking woman. "*Right* Faith? You were *not* being serious with Dawn, were you?"
Faith shook her head. "No, I was just pullin' your leg, kid- Dawn." The Slayer hastily changed what she said when the teen glared at her. "Seriously, pull up a rock. D'ja eat yet? I'll buy to say sorry, okay?" She glanced at Xander, noting his raised eyebrow and she grinned. "Okay, G-Man's buyin', but hey, it's the thought, right?"
Xander rolled his eye and looked toward the girl he thought of as a little sister. "Have a seat, Dawnie. I'll keep the big bad Slayer under control." He ignored Faith's derisive snort. After their talks this morning, the things she'd opened up to him about, he was fairly sure she'd stop teasing Dawn if he asked her to.
Dawn gave Xander a dubious look for his statement, but quickly sat down. Reaching across the table, she laid her hand atop Xander's. Looking directly at him, her voice thick with worry and concern, she asked, "Are you okay? Do you feel any better?" The anxious teen noticed the signs that her first crush was still upset, even if he was trying to hide it. "Can I do anything to help?"
Xander smiled, not knowing how heartbreaking it was. "I'll be okay, Dawnster. It's just..." He shook his head and forced another smile. "So, how about some lunch?"
Dawn hesitated. She really wanted Xander to reassure her he was *really* okay, but.... Squaring her shoulders, the teen resolved to be there as much as possible for Xander, so when he did want to talk, he'd have a friend to listen, not someone who was practically a stranger like Faith. Smiling, she shook her head. "No thanks. I already ordered over there," she pointed at the table she came from. "Can I have them bring it over here?"
Xander took in her hopeful look and chuckled. "You think I'd say no? Two beautiful ladies want to keep me company for lunch and you think I'd run you off." He flashed a smile, then signaled the waitress. When she got within hearing range, he told her to bring whatever Dawn had ordered to this table. She nodded and continued on her way.
"So," Xander said, a little louder than he really needed to. "What's been happening out here while we were watching bad vampire movies?"
"Hey!" Faith protested. "Blade was pretty good even though a vampire that can be out in daylight ain't ever gonna happen." She gave Xander a playful scowl. "And I *still* say there's a way for wood bullets to work."
Xander ignored Dawn's shocked expression. "Okay, one, I agreed with you about the bullets, I just don't know how we could do it without them blowing up the gun or burning up when they're fired. And two, I know of two vamps that could be out in the sun. At least, until Buffy and Angel fixed things. You know 'em both too."
Dawn's eyes shifted back and forth between her table mates, listening to their conversation. That they had spent the morning together was obvious from what they were saying, they were simply continuing a previous conversation. The other things that she couldn't wrap her brain around was how easy Xander seemed to be in Faith's company now. Like all the Scoobies, he'd been a little wary around the dark Slayer ever since Willow had brought her back, but that seemed to be gone now.
"*Two* vamps? And I know 'em?" Faith stopped and shook her head. "Only vamp I know that ain't dead is Angel and last time I checked, he's still sporting that tanless look."
Xander glanced at Dawn, flashing the teen a grin. "Well, it was only for a day. A few years back, just before you woke up from your nap, Spike found a magic ring that made a vampire impossible to kill. That was before he started working with us. Right before they put the chip in his head, really. Anyway, Buffy kicked his ass and took the ring and sent it to Angel. Angel kicked his ass when he tried to get the ring back and destroyed it, but not before he spent a day in the sun."
"So see?" Xander smiled at her smugly. "You know two vamps that were out in the sun without doing a roman candle impression." The man almost laughed at the thoughtful, kinda pouty expression the Slayer wore.
"Huh. Y'know, Fang never said nothin' about all this. Wonder why not?"
Dawn cleared her throat, then blushed slightly when the other two looked at her. "Um, I think that was about the time his friend Doyle got killed, so he probably doesn't like to think about it."
Faith nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, if you haven't seen the sun for two hundred and fifty years, then you're not gonna forget the one day you get to go out in it, right?"
Xander leaned forward, then back as their food arrived. "I'm sure Dawnie's right and so are you," he says diplomatically, not wanting to mention anything in front of the waitress.
Faith poured about half the bottle of ketchup over her fries as she asked, "Hey Squirt. B tell you if she's got anything official planned for today?"
Chewing her bite of salad and swallowing quickly, the teen shook her head. "No," she coughed lightly, then cleared her throat. "I mean, a bunch of us are going to the mall in a little while, but nothing else until tonight, I don't think. You'll have to ask her about patrols though."
Shrugging, Faith looked at her blond counterpart. "Hey B!" She called, in just a little louder voice than she'd been using to talk to Dawn and Xander. When Buffy looked toward her, she asked, "What time and where you want everyone together to set up patrols?" The brunette cocked her head, then nodded. "Okay. I'll be there."
"Not sure I'll ever get used to that," Xander observed, shaking his head. "What did she say?"
"Her room after dinner or about eight, whichever comes last." She took a huge bite of her first cheeseburger. "So, what's at the mall?" she asked, somehow managing to speak mostly clearly with her mouth full at the same time.
Dawn made a little "ew" face and looked at Xander, but had no help there. He'd just taken a bite as well and was looking at her. Suppressing the urge to use one of her mother's favorite sayings, Dawn replied, "Oh, a bunch of us wanted more than a single change of clothes, since we're gonna be here a few days and everything. Maybe pick up a cd player and some music, that kind of thing." She looked slyly at Xander and smiled. "There's a comic and hobby shop there."
Dawn was prepared for the sudden interest in Xander's eyes, but not the even more intense light in Faith's. Then she remembered how much the Slayer had loved comics when she first came to Sunnydale. Even if it was an implanted memory, she figured the monks put it there based on the other's observations.
Feigning nonchalance, Xander asked, "So, Buffy and Will going along too?"
Dawn shook her head. "Nope. As far as I know, Kennedy is the oldest person going. They both said something about wanting to sleep."
Faith looked at Xander, a concerned expression on her face. "Hey, y'know, X-Man, we can't let all these teenyboppers go to the mall by themselves. 'Specially not a mall they've never been to before. Since it looks like G-Man, Buffy and Red have punked out of the job, we should probably go with 'em. Y'know, just to keep 'em out of trouble."
"Uh huh. And the fact that you haven't been in a comic shop in three years or so has nothing to do with your sudden interest in shopping?"
Faith took in the almost angelic expression on the man's face, even though it was kinda spoiled by the eye patch. Scowling playfully, she replied, a light growl in her voice, "Okay, fine. Maybe I wanna check out the books, but hey, I'm a little behind, so cut me some slack, okay? 'Sides, some tunes'd be good, so the music store is a good stop too. Clothes, though. We're gonna need a Goodwill store for that."
Dawn gave the Slayer with a puzzled look. "Goodwill? Why get your clothes there? I mean, I get cheap, but why go there if you don't have too?"
Faith shrugged. "Simple, kid. Slayin's hard on clothes, so why spend a lot on 'em? If a pair of jeans I paid two-three dollars for gets shredded, I don't give a shit. If a pair of leathers I spent forty-fifty dollars on gets wasted, then I gotta *hurt* whatever fucked 'em up. Simple, see?"
The Slayer watched as the teen worked her way through that idea, trying not to think about the real reason, that Goodwill was simply where she'd always gotten clothes. She'd never had much money, so why spend a lot at some fancy store at a mall when that same store would donate what was left over after a particular season to Goodwill and they'd sell them for a tenth of what they cost originally. Besides, she'd never been a big fan of shopping as a hobby. Certainly not like Buffy, so thrift stores let her get clothes and get on to something important.
Faith shrugged and took a bite of her second cheeseburger. "So anyway, yeah, I'll tag along and help keep the baby Slayers outta trouble if Xand's in." She shoved several fries in her mouth while asking, "Well, you comin' along?"
Xander returned the calm look of the Slayer with a slightly amused smirk, more sensed than seen. Carefully schooling his face to an expression of reluctant acceptance, he released a long suffering sigh. "Well, I guess I better, since Buffy's not going. *Some*one's gotta keep you outta trouble, right?"
Faith gave an insulted squawk of protest. "Me in trouble? Hey, I don't do trouble nomore, okay?"
Dawn frowned and tensed at Faith's tone, but then looked more carefully at the older brunette. While her expression did seem to convey anger, her eyes sparkled playfully and, now that she was looking closer, the teen noticed the Slayer seemed to be fighting to not smile.
Xander's eye opened a little wider in feigned astonishment. "Oh really? Then it was another dark haired Slayer I was hearing about who got into a fight with a half dozen cops in Sunnydale?"
"That so totally doesn't count! They were the ones who started that," Faith assured him. "*I* was just looking to dance and help the newies blow off steam. How is it my fault those hellmouthed cops wanted to start something?" Faith just looked at the male Scoobie for a moment, then gave a growly sigh. "You're gonna be a pain in my ass, ain't'cha?"
Xander smiled beatifically. "Seems only fair. You've been a pain in mine for the last day or so."
Dawn suddenly felt torn. If Faith had indeed been annoying Xander for the last day or so, she was going to get Buffy to help stop her. What was keeping her from yelling for her sister, though, was that, even though the words of her table mates were seemingly harsh, even accusatory, they were said playfully, almost... affectionately. Like Faith and Xander had become the best of friends overnight. [That's it,] she thought. [She sounds like Buffy or Willow would in a mock argument with Xander. But... I thought Xander didn't like her. He told me just a couple days ago he'd be glad when everything was over so she'd go away. How'd they become friends so fast?]
Faith maintained her scowl for another few seconds, then smirked. "Yeah? Well, get used to it, X-Man. You're the one who said I get to be, so suck it up and deal!"
Xander rolled his eye and Faith laughed before tearing into the remainder of her lunch. Xander tried to glower at the Slayer, but the smile that kept twitching his lips took most of the power out of the expression.
Dawn looked back and forth a couple times, then quietly asked. "What's going on here? Are you guys friends now or something?"
"Workin' on it, Squirt."
Xander looked sideways at Faith, then smiled slightly for Dawn. "We decided to bury the hatchet, Dawnie. Somewhere besides in each other's heads, I mean." He looked at Faith, calculating what it would cost him, then smirked. "'Sides, she likes Farscape. How bad can she be, right?"
"Hey!" Faith snarled, her manner turning embarrassed. She glanced at Dawn, then back at Xander. "What happen to 'I won't tell.'?" She turned back at the teen, wincing as the look of astonishment turned to one of grinning delight. "Hey, it's no big deal. A girl I knew inside loved the damned show and wouldn't shut up about it, that's all. Really, it's no big deal."
Dawn just kept grinning. "Oh, but it is. See? I knew you couldn't be all badass!" She giggled at the Slayer as Faith goggled at her. "Who's your favorite character? Lemme guess, Crighton, right? I like Tianna best, but Crighton is cool."
Faith hesitated, then shook her head. "Nah. I mean, yeah he's cool, but his girl, now... Love how Aren'll just slap him down when he gets all fulla shit. Gotta love a girl like that!" She smiled, then narrowed her eyes at the Key. "Tianna, huh? Why? Cause she's a bad girl or somethin'? I mean, she's okay, but nothin' really special."
Xander smiled and resumed eating as Dawn defended her choice of favorite character, watching as Faith gradually got the girl he thought of as his baby sister to forget who she was talking to and just become friends. From the few hints the brunette had dropped, he had figured out that the Slayer had never had many friends growing up, and pretty much hadn't wanted any when they'd known her years before. Clearly, she wanted to change that now.
Considering everything she'd done for him in the last twenty four hours, Xander resolved that she'd have all the friends she could handle this time. This time, there'd be no doing evil stuff for Faith because she felt it didn't matter, that no one cared about her. Because this time, at least one person did, at least one person was her friend and Xander Harris didn't give up on his friends. No matter what.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Hope you like this one. The way they always talked about the Slayer's senses being sharper than the average human's, I was thinking that that would be one of the weirder things to get used to. And so, we see Kennedy getting used to hers! :)
Next chapter is, so far, shaping up to be the one that shakes things up a bit. Working hard on it now, with most of it done, so hopefully the rest'll fall into place quickly. Please, if you like this, lemme know, okay? Please review and tell me what you think.