Ghost
by sailor80
6
[reviews]
"What the fuck?" Buffy asked, and tried to open the door, but Willow had sealed it.
"So, B, where you wanna start?"
Buffy turned to Faith. "You knew," she accused her.
"I guessed. I'm not as stupid as you think I am. "
"I never thought you were stupid."
"Coulda fooled me." Faith stood and stretched and removed her jacket. She walked to the door, where Buffy stood, and put it around her shoulders. She took two steps to the heating unit and fiddled with the buttons and knobs until it was blasting like a furnace.
"That was a long time ago."
"Eleven years, two months and eight days. More or less." Faith sat on the bed again.
Buffy looked at her for the first time since they entered the room. "What?"
"Since we met in the alley outside the Bronze," Faith clarified.
Buffy smiled tightly as she recalled that encounter. "You were such a showoff."
"Yeah, I know. I just wanted your attention. I wanted you to like me."
"I did like you."
"Not enough to let me into your precious Scoobies."
"Faith, you were in from the first minute. You kept pulling away from us."
"Whose life were you lookin' at?"
Buffy's smile was real this time. "My own, mostly. Occasionally, I'd stick my head out to check on Will or Xander, but not often."
"Truth at last," Faith said.
"Ok, now that we've established that I was a self-centered bitch, can we move on?"
"Sure. You wanna talk about Allan Finch?" Faith offered her hands, again coated in dark, wet, blood.
Buffy showed her own hands, the same blood on them. "We did that together."
"My stake."
"That time."
"Angel."
Buffy's eyes lowered into slits. "You have no idea how bad you pissed me off with that little trick."
"That was the idea, B. Needed to get your attention somehow."
"I just got him back."
"He never loved you. He never could, not even with a soul."
"How would you know?"
"Look at me. I know love when I see it. Red loves you. Dawn loves you. Giles loves you. Xander loves you. Hell, even I love you. You were just an obsession to him."
"Faith," Buffy warned.
"Does it hurt?" Faith taunted. "Knowin' that you gave him what was supposed to be someone else's?"
Buffy growled, but Faith sat on the bed and smirked at her. "You don't know anything about it."
"I know all about it, B. Talk is cheap, and pretty words are cheaper. He has lots of 'em."
"They helped you."
Faith shrugged. "He said what I needed to hear. But when it came down to it, where was he? Sittin' in the dark, wantin' what he could never have."
"Just like you."
"Touché'."
"Turtle," Buffy said, the first thing that came into her head. "Do you remember him?"
"Yeah. Cartoon queen here, remember?"
"I remember you and Xander being crazy over those turtles named for painters."
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
"Them. The world was 10 minutes from ending, and you two were swapping comic books."
"The world's always 10 minutes from ending."
"What do you think Will's doing?"
"Getting right with herself." Faith frowned for a second. "You're not allowed to die this time, got it? If one of us has to, it's my turn."
"No."
"All you dyin'll do is destroy her. That what you want?"
"No." Buffy finally moved from the door and stood in the stream of hot air. "All of us or none of us."
"Deal." Faith held out her hand.
Buffy didn't hesitate. She took two steps forward and grasped it.
The connection between them was different this time, and they looked from their hands to the other's face, confusion obvious. Buffy drifted forward, and Faith tried not to panic. "B?" she whispered.
"It's all right," Buffy answered just before her lips touched Faith's for the first time in years. She kissed her gently, and stood up again. She squeezed Faith's hand, warm against her own.
Faith's free hand moved to her lips. "Why did you do that?"
Buffy shrugged. She didn't know why, really. It felt like what she was supposed to do.
Willow felt the shift between them, and pushed a little harder. She didn't need them to resolve everything, but she needed the power their joining would create. She couldn't pull from the earth, as she had learned in England. They were too close to the Hellmouth, and the temple she had once raised, and her own darkness was too close to the surface. Seeing Tara's shade had done something to her. Tara's beautiful face and the ugly hole in her chest, and the thought that her love wasn't able to rest had nearly undone her again.
Willow knew Tara was her weakness, and always would be, just like Buffy was her strength. Long ago, she thought that role to be Xander's, but she had known for sure after they defeated Adam with the enjoining spell that it was Buffy, who had been the center of her life for nearly all its second half. Xander was nothing more than an afterthought now, and Willow knew that even if they came through this, she wouldn't see him again. He belonged somewhere else, he and Dawn and Giles, and she and Buffy were meant to be far from them. Faith was the wildcard, and Willow wasn't certain how they would deal with all the ripples from their actions today, but they would find a way.
She thought about Buffy naked in her bed, and Faith dancing with abandon, and pushed all those feelings down to them. They could both be so dense sometimes, and stubborn, refusing to see what was right in front of them.
Buffy and Faith, their hands still joined, looked at each other. Buffy realized that she would have to make the first move again. She thought of Willow, and would have sworn she felt the touch of Willow's hand on her cheek. Then she leaned down and kissed Faith again.
Faith still hesitated. She wanted Buffy. She had always wanted Buffy. But she didn't want to wreak any more havoc in her life, and was afraid of what Willow would do when she found out. "B, wait."
"No." Buffy pushed Faith down and straddled her on the bed.
Faith's body, separate for so long from any other, screamed at her to pull Buffy down and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. 'Might not be,' she thought just before Buffy kissed her the third time, and Faith's body made the decision for her.
Willow smiled as she felt it begin. She was as close as she could be without watching, palms flat on the door as she drew in all of the energy they created. When they finished, all three were panting and dripping with sweat. Willow hadn't been so charged up since creating all of the slayers. Her eyes glowed white as she opened the door and entered the room.
Buffy and Faith looked at her from the mess of the bed. When Faith saw Willow's eyes, said, "Holy shit."
"Will?" Buffy said.
"I'm all right," she reassured them, and sat in the chair. "Get dressed. We need to be there before dark." Willow closed her eyes, but saw them anyway, glowing steadily, blue next to green, swirled together in the spaces between them.
Faith drove three blocks and pulled into the gas station convenience store. She worked the pump while Buffy went in and grabbed drinks and snacks. Buffy got into the front seat this time. She passed Willow a bottle of Gatorade®, then opened Faith's soda and handed it to her. Before getting her own drink, Buffy ripped open three bags and aligned them on the console so they all could reach them.
Faith parked 100 feet from the edge of the crater. They sat, looking across the sinkhole, seeing the wavering images of the past. They got out and stood in front of the vehicle, the ticking of its cooling engine the only real sound other than their breath. Buffy and Faith looked to Willow, who stood between them.
Willow blinked, trying to clear away the lives she saw moving in the air before them. It was Sunnydale on fast forward, from the time the first human was drawn there by the seductive dark promises of the Hellmouth. She turned to Buffy and kissed her passionately, then did the same to Faith. They joined hands and began what felt like the longest walk of their lives.
Buffy and Faith made certain that Willow didn't stumble as they moved down through the debris. None of them tried to look much further than a few steps ahead. They felt the Hellmouth pulsing with the power it had gathered, and around them, Sunnydale recreated itself again and again.
They stopped at the same time in the exact center of the hole, and Buffy and Faith wordlessly began to move away bits and pieces of the Hellmouth's trash. Willow called them back to her side, and with a few words cleared everything so they could clearly see the seal. It was barely holding. Power leaked from its edges, bleeding into the air around them as they aligned themselves around it.
'Blood,' Buffy thought, and she and Faith offered their palms to Willow.
Willow brought Buffy's knife from her pocket and silently blessed it before drawing the sharp edge across each of their hands in turn. They turned their palms to the seal, and Willow began to chant in a language as old as the earth itself.
Buffy and Faith stood firm, their eyes glued to Willow. They both wondered whether this was how she looked when she did the spell that changed the world. Willow was surrounded by a brilliant glow, her hair streaming back in a wind that affected only her.
Had they looked around them, they would have seen lives coming and going, beginnings and endings, but never the one that caused the destruction that surrounded them, as if the Hellmouth refused to admit its defeat. But they didn't look. Their eyes remained on Willow, one hand on each of her shoulders, the other dripping blood onto the seal while their fingertips brushed.
Willow's voice rose as she recited the spell for the third and final time. She screamed the last lines, and her head snapped back. White light, as bright as a supernova, flowed from her through the Slayers and onto the seal. None of them saw the reversal of times past, as the memory of Sunnydale skated past them and back into ground, like water going down the drain. Willow looked at the sky, seeing the constellations as Tara named them and feeling the rush of magic as powerful as that that first drew them together.
The energy flowing through them reached its zenith and exploded. The three of them tumbled through the air.
Buffy felt light and free. The ghosts she had collected fell away from her as she rose above the Hellmouth, their final words lost in the concussion that blew them upwards. Faith's thoughts were disjointed, barely words, but her body knew what to do. She grasped both Buffy and Willow firmly, remembering what she and Buffy had agreed.
They slammed into sand, and lay there trying to catch some air. The familiar sound of surf was the first thing Buffy was aware of. She remembered it from long ago, and it had seemed so important then. She opened her eyes, and took a quick inventory. She wasn't injured, and she wasn't dead. Willow was beside her, Faith on Willow's other side.
Willow was still, too still. Faith, too. Buffy said their names, but neither moved. Before she panicked, she watched their chests rise and fall. Faith sat up half a minute later and looked at Buffy. "Did we win?"
"Don't know." Buffy shook Willow gently. "Will, baby, you need to wake up. Say something."
"I never wanna do that again," Willow groaned.
"Did it work?" Buffy and Faith asked in unison.
"Hope so."
Faith looked past Buffy. "We got company."
Buffy looked over her shoulder. She didn't immediately recognize any of the group advancing on them, and looked back to Faith. "They yours?"
"Yeah." Faith wanted to get up, but didn't have the strength yet.
When she was close enough, Kennedy tossed a phone onto Faith's stomach. "Call Dawn," she ordered.
Faith spun the phone into the ocean. "You don't tell me what to do, Junior. Back the fuck off," she growled, as the others got closer. Faith struggled to her feet. Buffy was right behind her.
Willow sat up. Her head pounded, and her vision swam and she thought she might vomit. "Buffy."
Buffy instantly forgot about the others and knelt beside Willow. "Right here, baby."
"I wanna go home."
"You got it." Buffy picked her up and looked at Faith. "You coming?"
"In a minute."
Buffy nodded, and walked toward the road. The sea of slayers parted to let them through, looking agape at the legends who moved uncaring past them. Before Buffy was out of earshot, Faith was giving orders. She jogged up behind them two minutes later.
"I'm leavin' a team here, just in case," Faith said. She put a hand on Buffy's shoulder, the other on Willow's knee, and fell into step with Buffy. "How's wonder witch?"
"I'll live," Willow answered. "But could you keep it down until then?"
Faith grinned, and Buffy smiled. The car was where they left it, and Faith opened and closed the rear door so Buffy and Willow could get into the back seat. She turned off the road to avoid the vehicles that had carried the others there, and eased onto the concrete as soon as she could.
She drove north, up the coast road until she she saw the Marriott at Laguna Hills, and pulled in there. While Buffy and Willow waited, Faith went in and got the biggest suite they had. It took a few minutes; Faith was grimy and exhausted now that the adrenaline had worn off, and she looked nothing like one of their usual guests. Once her credit card was approved, she took the keycard and returned to the vehicle.
She parked, and they got out and stretched. Willow was still wobbly, even with Buffy's arm around her, so Faith took her other side. They barely noticed the rooms. Buffy and Willow went to the shower immediately. Faith called for room service and ordered two of everything plus a bottle of champagne.
Buffy and Willow joined her in the sitting room, wearing white robes, and Faith showered, then came out in her own robe to wait for the food. She was restless, and gathered their clothes, put them in the laundry bag and hung it on the door.
When the food arrived, Buffy and Faith ate with gusto. Willow picked from their plates, and when they were finished, Faith opened the champagne. She filled the flutes and raised hers in a toast. "Happy New Year," she said.
Buffy and Willow touched their glasses to Faith's and repeated her words. Willow began to fade out, and leaned against Buffy while she and Faith finished the bottle. Faith watched them walk to one of the bedrooms, and sat on the couch, feeling very much the third wheel. A few minutes later, Buffy came out and wordlessly took her hand. She pulled Faith into the bedroom, where Willow slept in the center of the biggest bed Faith had ever seen. She took one side, Buffy the other, and their arms crossed at Willow's midriff, where the robe was tied shut around her. They slept without dreaming or remembering, barely moving, and the world turned around them.
When they woke, more than 24 hours had passed. Faith got out of bed first, leaving Buffy and Willow buried in blankets. She found their clothes, now clean, and dressed before calling room service again. While she waited this time, she thought about everything that had happened. Sunnydale no longer had any claim to her, and she would be happy to leave California behind.
She and Buffy had made their peace, and Faith hoped it would last this time. She knew there would be no repeat of their afternoon interlude. Faith doubted that they would ever talk about it, either, and that was fine, too.
She ate quickly, from habit, then searched the room until she found a notepad and pen. "Your keys are at the front desk. Stay as long as you want. See you around," she wrote, and left it on their clothes.
She grabbed her jacket and went to the parking lot. Her bag was still in the back of Willow's ride, and Faith locked it again after getting it. She left the keys at the front desk and walked out into the weak January sunshine.
Buffy woke up warm for the first time she could remember. Willow was beside her, but Faith was gone. Buffy knew she was fine, and didn't worry. She rearranged her pillow so she could watch Willow wake up. It didn't take long for Willow to turn to her and open her eyes. "Hi."
"Hey."
"How are you?"
"I'm good," Buffy said, smiling. "How are you?"
"I'm good, too." Willow smiled back.
"Ready to head home?"
"Whenever you are."
Buffy smiled again and leaned over to kiss Willow. "Might be a while," she murmured. "You, me, big bed."
"Less talk, more action."
Buffy hurried to oblige her, each kiss followed by, "I love you," and another day slipped away, and then another.
The drive home was three days of junk food, too much caffeine, and singing along with the radio. The sedan with its Ohio plates surprised them, but they looked at each other and shrugged, and went into the house.
They were ambushed in the kitchen by Dawn, who launched herself at them and hugged them both at once. Xander piled on, and over Dawn's shoulder, Buffy saw Giles looking at them with obvious relief.
"Oxygen," Willow squeaked, and they let go.
"Glad to see you, too," Buffy said.
"What happened?" Dawn asked.
"Let us get cleaned up and we'll tell you everything," Buffy answered. She and Willow shared a look that said, "Not everything." They paused at the table, on either side of Giles. They leaned down and both of them kissed one of his cheeks at the same time, flustering him.
When they returned to the kitchen, food was waiting. Buffy and Willow agreed in the shower that the others would have to leave tomorrow. There had been enough excitement in the past two weeks to last both of them several more years, and they needed to decompress.
Conversation flowed around the table while they ate, and Dawn jotted notes while Buffy and Willow spoke in turn about what the they and Faith had done to truly collapse the Sunnydale Hellmouth. Giles listened, the look on his face telling them he knew there was more than they were telling. Xander sat back in his chair and watched at them. Buffy was better, and Willow was talking a mile a minute, Buffy finishing some of her sentences. It reminded him of other days, and he smiled. Buffy saw, and punched his shoulder lightly. "None of that, perv."
"A guy can dream," he teased her back.
"Not right in front of us."
He shrugged, wearing the same goofy Xander grin he always had when he was happy.
Giles watched Buffy and Xander squabble, and Dawn and Willow bent over Dawn's notepad, and thought that he hadn't done a bad job with them.
The Cleveland crew left after lunch the next day. Buffy and Willow spent the rest of the day going through the house together, returning things to their proper order. Willow's bedroom was their final stop. 'Our bedroom,' Buffy corrected herself, and smiled while helping Willow adjust the clean top sheet.
"Penny for your thoughts," Willow offered.
"I'll bring my stuff in here tomorrow, ok?"
"Absolutely." Willow beamed. "I am so glad to be home."
"Me, too."
They left the covers folded down, the bed ready for them to slip into when they were ready.
"I love them, but they make me tired," Buffy said.
"The weight of history and its expectations."
"I guess." Buffy crossed the room and sat in one of the chairs she hadn't noticed before.
Willow sat in the other, sighing as she sank into it. "Aaah. A chair that doesn't move."
"Yeah, I'll be glad to stay in one place for a while."
Willow raised an eyebrow. "A while?"
"C'mon, I spent seven years chained to the Hellmouth. There's places I wanna go. Eventually."
"Where?"
"I dunno. I heard there's other continents and stuff."
Willow laughed.
"Hey, no making fun. You know I had problems with geography."
"I remember them well. And your problems with math, history, chemistry, physics, psychology, English," Willow ticked off, smiling.
"Ok, maybe I should have done some of my own homework," Buffy conceded, grinning.
"Now's a fine time to realize it."
"Better late than never," Buffy answered, and they both laughed.
Willow got up and held her hand out for Buffy. She didn't hesitate to take it, and pulled Willow into her lap. "Hey, you."
"Hey, yourself."
"Did I tell you today how much I love you?"
Willow pretended to think for a second. "I'm not sure. Wouldn't hurt to tell me again."
Buffy smiled. "More than the universe," she said, and kissed Willow like it was the only thing she ever had to do.
EPILOGUE
Buffy was weeding one of the new flowerbeds when a something in the distance caught her eye. At first, she thought it was plants moving in the breeze; it was the same shade of green. It continued to move toward her, and she kept an eye on it as she worked. As it got closer, the colors changed, and it resolved into Faith, wearing black jeans and a red tank shirt, a bag slung over one shoulder.
Buffy finished weeding and brushed the dirt from her hands as she stood. She waited for Faith, who quickly covered the ground between them without seeming to hurry.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"C'mon inside." Buffy turned away and Faith followed her into the house. Willow was in the kitchen, pouring lemonade into three glasses.
"Hey, Red." Faith dropped her bag at the hallway.
"Hey, trouble. What brings you out here?" Willow turned and gave Buffy two of the glasses. Buffy put them on the table and pulled out a chair for Willow.
Faith turned a chair around and straddled it. She drank down half the glass. Buffy got the pitcher from the counter and refilled Faith's glass before setting it in the middle of the table.
"Need some peace and quiet."
"I thought you liked being around all those girls," Willow said.
"They give me a headache," Faith answered. "Especially Ken."
Buffy and Willow looked at each other and smiled. "Control freak," they said in unison.
"Don't start that shit all ready," Faith said, but she was smiling, too. She finished another glass of lemonade. "Don't suppose I could get a shower."
"You even get a real bed to sleep in this time," Buffy said. "You know where everything is. Make yourself at home."
"Thanks." Faith got up. She returned the chair to its place under the table, and grabbed her bag before disappearing into the hallway.
"You all right with this?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah. I'd rather have her here than wandering the roads."
"Oh." Buffy frowned. "She doesn't look like that."
"She always looks like that, honey. It's all right."
"You're sure?" Buffy asked.
"Positive." Willow leaned over and kissed Buffy. "Maybe you can get her to help you pull out those stumps."
Buffy brightened. "Good idea."
"I'm full of 'em." Willow grinned at Buffy.
Buffy looked at her and smirked. She rested her hand on Willow's forearm. "You're fulla something."
"Wanna find out what?"
Buffy didn't need to be asked twice. She got up and pulled Willow along to their bedroom. Willow barely remembered to close the door.
Standing under the shower, Faith felt them begin, and smiled. She hurried to finish and dress, and headed down to the basement so she didn't feel like a voyeur. Willow's work room called to her, and Faith passed through the gym. She put her palm against the door before opening it.
The blue-green circle of light was still in the center of the room, and Faith stepped into it carefully. She sat down cross-legged, and relaxed completely for the first time in months. Cleveland was too busy for her any more. The organized chaos of Slayers coming and going; the constant schooling of new Slayers, Watchers, and witches; and always being on display left her tired and out of sorts. On top of that, her reflexes were slowing and Faith wasn't willing any longer to die in a fight that wasn't hers.
When she felt recharged, she got up and stretched. The house was quiet, and she found Buffy and Willow sitting in the twilight on the lawn. She sat beside them, and they watched fireflies flicker.
"Welcome to retirement," Willow said softly.
"I thought there's be a parade or something."
Buffy snickered. "We can bronze your favorite stake."
"You're a funny girl, B," Faith groused, and they all laughed.
There was no one to see them glowing under the sky like a small solar system, blue and green circling white. Buffy leaned against Willow and they traded kisses while Faith lay on her back and watched falling stars. In time, they went in, Buffy and Willow to their bed, Faith to hers, and dreamed that light flowed through them, one to another, until it covered the world.
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