Faith, Hope & Tirck, Part One
Faith could get used to the California sun, she decided as she sat beneath a tree on the grass outside of Sunnydale High School. Buffy had arranged some kind of... lunch thing for her friends, as she seemed to be going slowly crazy without some kind of regular non-slaying activity to spend her days on. Faith was perfectly happy to just kick back all day, slay all night, and generally refuse to be a productive member of mainstream society, but Diana had made worrying noises about how Faith really should be in school.
"Do you think they'll like it?" Buffy asked Faith, as she laid out the last of the feast-like spread. Faith didn't recognise half of the stuff Buffy had laid out, and the stuff she did recognise only served to remind her how different Buffy's upbringing had been from her own. But she could hardly call her a spoilt rich girl, not after seeing her do better at living like an ordinary person than Faith had ever managed. So she forgave the hand-cut fancy Italian meats.
"What, you think they'd rather whatever shit they serve at the cafeteria to your... whatever it is. Look, B, I'm fairly certain this costs about as much as they spend on feeding the whole school for a day; and you give way more of a shit than any lunch lady I've ever heard of," Faith said, and then she popped a cheese-stuffed pepper into her mouth. It was, she had to admit, pretty tasty.
"Hey, no eating before everyone else gets here! I know all about Slayer appetites," Buffy said, crossing her arms, and Faith grinned.
"Oh, you know all about Slayer appetites, huh? I wonder, you tell the dorks about how slaying makes you hungry and -" Faith began, but she was interrupted by the arrival of said dorky friends.
"Slaying makes you hungry?" Willow asked, standing very conspicuously not near her boyfriend. Her boyfriend the werewolf-guitarist, who was two whole levels of bad boy above what she'd have expected of Willow.
"I do enjoy a non-fat yogurt afterwards, sometimes," Buffy said, cheerfully.
"I mean, have you seen how much she eats afterwards? What else does it make you, though?' Cordelia said, and Buffy went a very cute shade of red. Her face pleaded with Faith, but it was just too fucking funny for her not to finish her sentence.
"Well, you know. Slaying makes you hungry and horny," Faith said.
"Oh. Well, you know, I'm sure it differs from slayer to slayer," Willow said, going pretty red herself. Buffy just seemed to bury her face in her hands.
"Well, now I'm interested," Xander said, and Cordelia reached over past Oz to elbow him. "Hey! So, Buffster, what for lunch?" Xander continued, rapidly changing the subject.
"Oh, just a few things I threw together," Buffy said.
"Since when did you possess taste like this?" Cordelia asked.
"I worked at one of those tire-company-approved restaurants whilst I was living in a cardboard box this summer," Buffy said, completely straight-faced. Faith tried not to burst out laughing and was mostly successful.
"Really? They let homeless people work there?" Cordelia asked, and then she saw Faith's attempt at not laughing. "Oh, very funny,"
"She was a waitress, at a shitty diner though. Had one of those uniforms and pigtails and everything," Faith said.
"That's a respectable occupation. Not that we thought you were doing something unrespectable!" Willow said, her voice turning into a squeak as she finished.
"Hey B, was the food there any good? I never got to try it, 'cause of the Nazi vamps," Faith asked, mild curiosity playing across her mind.
"Oh, it was awful," Buffy said, then she bit into a little sandwich she'd made out of her various picnic items.
"Wait, did you say nazi vampires - as in both at once?" Xander asked.
"Yep, they were pretty nasty. Apparently vamps up in LA pack heat and are also racists," Faith said, shrugging.
"Okay, I'm never going to LA," Willow said.
"Vampires and guns? That just seems... wrong," Oz said, putting an arm around Willow.
"You're telling me, man. I'm just glad none of the local vamps has figured out they're the ones who are mostly immune to bullets," Faith said.
"Mostly? I thought they were, you know, magically immune or something," Xander said.
"Oh yeah, Faith decapitated this one vamp and he went poof," Buffy said happily, making a little exploding motion with her hands. Fuck was she cute, Faith thought.
"So, are we expecting a Slayer-free semester? 'Cause I'm getting a little afraid to go near the lunch lady without you to back me up, Buffster," Xander said.
"Mom and I are talking to Synder tomorrow. I hope whatever Giles was working on, uh, worked, because otherwise, Mom has made it clear I'm off to the land of tartan skirts and no boys," Buffy said, and Faith tried not to think about her being straight. Or to think about it enough that she lost interest. Or maybe she tried both at once and ended up just thinking about Buffy in a catholic schoolgirl outfit.
"Oooh, speaking of boys, Scott Hope at eleven o'clock. He likes you. He wanted to ask you out last year, but you weren't ready then. But I think you're ready now, or at least in the state of pre-readiness to make conversation, or-or to do that thing with your mouth that boys like," Willow said, and everyone turned to stare at her. Either Faith had deeply misread her, or...
"Not that bad thing! The cute little smile thing you do..." Willow said her face about as red as her hair. Judging by the way she looked at Buffy when she said that, though, she was crushing about as hard on the Slayer as Faith was. Which, well, Faith couldn't blame her. "You're supposed to stop me when I do that," Willow continued, turning towards Oz.
"But I like it when you do that," Oz said fondly.
"I dunno, Will. I'm feeling kind of... boyed out, you know? Maybe I'm still on a dating vacation after Angel," Buffy said, and Faith could feel the mood in the group drop like a drunk with a glass jaw after she'd punched him. Faith wondered what the fuck Buffy's last boyfriend had done to earn that reaction.
"Well, you know, he's different. Different can be good if you, you know want to move on," WIllow said.
"Yeah, he's alive for one," Cordelia said, and Faith started to get a bad feeling about the direction of the conversation. She'd gathered that Buffy's stint in LA had been related to this guy, but...
"Thanks, Cordelia. You're just the mistress of tact, aren't you?" Buffy snapped.
"What? Everyone knows your vampire boyfriend turned evil and you killed him, duh. Oh, wait... did you not tell the new girl?" Cordelia asked. Faith felt like someone had punched her. She'd thought Buffy's boyfriend had been turned, and she'd had to put him down. She couldn't square the girl she knew dating a vamp. No way.
"Yeah, I was waiting for the right moment to discuss the most traumatic event in my short life so far; above even that time I died. I was just waiting for a nice picnic in public to discuss it," Buffy said.
"Look, B, we can talk about it later. Go do that thing with your mouth on Scotty-boy or something," Faith said, and she hoped that would work. Fuck, she was encouraging her straight-girl crush to go flirt with a boy to make her feel better. That was some serious superhero shit. Maybe it was infectious, she thought.
"Maybe I will. Maybe I'll give him a naughty little half-smile," Buffy said, standing up.
"Damn girl, you're bad," Xander said.
---
"It won't be that bad," Diana said, demonstrating her remarkable ability to lie with a completely straight face.
"Boss, it's high school. On a Hellmouth. Run by a man I'm still not certain isn't a demon," Faith said, as the two of them walked towards the principal's office at Sunnydale High.
"You already have friends here, Faith. And I'm sure you'll get to slay significantly more monsters during school hours than you would in Boston," Diana said.
"Well, when you put it like that... the Hellmouth part starts to sound like a plus. But I still reserve the right to skip enough to maintain my badass delinquent cred," Faith said.
"Goodness knows I wouldn't want to interfere with your reputation - oh, hello Buffy," Diana said, turning towards two people walking out of the office. Faith grinned when she saw Buffy and her Mom, who both seemed very satisfied with yourselves.
"Oh, hey Ms Dormer, Faith," Buffy said.
"I'm Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother. Is Faith your..." Joyce started to say, then she looked at Faith.
"I am Faith's watcher, as well as her guardian. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms Summers," Diana said.
"Oh, call me Joyce. I, ah, might have to apologise if Principle Synder is in a bad mood. I'm afraid we may have... gloated, a little," Joyce said, and Buffy grinned.
"It was one of the highlights of my life. Right up there with the world-saving," Buffy said.
"From what I've heard from Faith, I'm sure it was deserved," Diana said.
"Oh, Faith - you wanna hang out afterwards? I heard there's a new frozen yogurt place near the magic shop," Buffy said.
"Sounds good, B," Faith said, and then it was time to face the demon.
Synder was a short, squat man with a perpetual scowl and a particularly annoying voice. His suit was desperately trying not to be cheap and failing, his office was decorated solely with the sort of prestige-less accolades every small business owner or mid-level bureaucrat seemed to gather like a dragon's horde, and he look like someone had just taken a shit in his cornflakes. Which, Faith thought, Buffy probably just had. Metaphorically.
"Miss Lehane, I have recently been... reminded that Sunnydale High is obligated to provide an education to all children within its local area. Let me be clear that any of the behaviours your previous school informed of will not be tolerated," Synder said, crossing his arms and taking a weirdly wide pose.
"Crystal, dude," Faith said.
"What?"
"We're five by five,"
"Clearly, you're in dire need of remedial English class. I trust you've instilled more discipline in her than her mother could?" Synder asked Diana.
"Oh yes, I'm very firm with discipline," Diana said, putting her poker face to good use. Faith had to struggle not to start laughing madly right then and there.
"That's good to hear. We're prevented by departmental policy - well, I'll be sure to keep you very well aware of her behaviour," Synder said with a nasty grin, and then the interview was over and Faith could pretend she wasn't now a high school student for a few more hours.
"Go have fun, dear," Diana said, and Faith nodded. Buffy was waiting around the corner from Synder's office.
"How'd it go?" Buffy asked.
"Oh man, it was fucking hilarious. And I don't remember shit from the small amount of high school I did attend instead of bailing on, so I'm probably gonna fail out. Anyway, lead the way B. I wanna see if this frozen yogurt thing is any good, or if it's more of your weird East-Coast food," Faith said.
"Our food is not weird," Buffy said, defensively.
"Who the fuck freezes yogurt?"
"Lots of people freeze yogurt. It's a delicious low-fat snack," Buffy said.
"I struggle to eat enough to not feel hungry all the time. How the fuck do you manage?" Faith asked. Slayer metabolisms seemed like they were always on insane overdrive, let alone all the exercise being a slayer entailed.
"Oh, you know... juice helps. And always go for non-diet Soda," Buffy said.
"How are we here already?" Faith asked, as they arrived at the frozen yogurt place.
"Sunnydale's a pretty small town. You have the mouth of hell, the bronze, the magic shop, and the frozen yogurt shop. That's about it,"
"Isn't there, like, a zoo, and an army base, and an entire fucking college?"
"I don't think they teach fucking at UC Sunnydale. Although maybe they do. You never know what those college boys are like. Did I tell you about the time Cordelia and I went to a frat party and nearly got sacrificed to a giant lizard?" Buffy asked.
"I mean, who hasn't nearly been sacrificed by a fraternity/cult?" Faith said, and Buffy ducked inside to get their food. It was a tiny place, and Buffy emerged proudly holding two serves of frozen yogurt. Faith was unsure if any of the supposed health benefits remained after all the toppings Buffy had added, but she tactfully remained mute on the subject.
"So, uh, you probably want to ask me about Angel," Buffy said, quietly. She seemed to be drawing herself up, ready for a fight.
"Look, B, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it now -" Faith said, although she really needed to fucking know what had gone down. She just couldn't square Buffy, who had still been a Slayer's Slayer in the midst of a fucking depressive episode, with the kind of girl who'd date a vampire. It seemed like the kind of stupid screwup that, well, that someone like Faith would make.
"Well, I don't ever want to talk about it. It sucked. But, you know, if we're gonna fight the forces of darkness together, you probably deserve to know," Buffy said, as the two of them sat on a bench outside the magic shop. Faith tried her frozen yogurt. It tasted like less good ice cream hidden by an overload of good toppings.
"Know what? I mean, dating a vampire? How the fuck is that something you can just... explain?" Faith asked.
"Angel was... he was different," Buffy said, trying and failing to keep her voice steady.
"He was different? Come the fuck on, B, no way you fell for that bullshit. Every third vamp in Boston tried that line,"
"I know it sounds - I know it's hard to believe. But he really was different - in, like, a metaphysical sense. Soul stuff,"
"Uh, B, vampires don't have souls. They're demons puppeting dead people around," Faith said, feeling a little like she'd just fallen down the rabbit hole.
"Yeah. Only, Angel had been cursed - Angelus attacked the wrong people, one day, and the survivors cursed him in revenge,"
"How the fuck does a curse make dating a vamp okay?"
"By giving him back his soul. They ripped his soul from the afterlife and shoved it back into his corpse. Only the demon was still there, just... locked away," Buffy said, and Faith started to understand. Started to understand why Buffy had thought it was okay. The first time she'd seen a vampire, she'd seen a person. It had taken Diana explaining what they were - how they weren't really a person anymore because the bit of them that made them a person was already gone - to make her okay with the whole concept. Then she'd seen more of them, and it had been easy to see how nothing of even the best people remained after they rose again as a vampire.
"Fuck," Faith said, softly, and Buffy gave her a look. She hadn't seemed bothered by a little profanity before.
"Sorry, it's just... there was a way for the curse to fail, only they never told Angel or the woman they sent to monitor him. If he experienced a... a moment of true happiness, where he stopped feeling any guilt for what had happened," Buffy said, speaking slowly and carefully.
"And, uh, you gave him a moment of true happiness?" Faith asked, trying to be delicate on account of how Buffy seemed like that kind of girl.
"Yeah. Afterwards, Angel was gone and Angelus was back. Things... things went really badly, and then - and then I had to kill him," Buffy said, and Faith knew that there was more there. That there was something Buffy was holding back, something that had been the cause of all her jagged, broken edges in LA.
But Faith had gotten her answer, and she mostly just felt like shit for making Buffy explain it to her. She'd had bad boyfriends, sure, but none... none of them had turned quite that fast afterwards. She'd seen how broken Buffy had been even months after she'd killed him, and she'd seen how hard she'd fight to protect a stranger. Faith felt like she'd just made Batman explain why he hated guns or something.
"I - shit, B, I guess... I guess either the soul thing matters or we're both fucking serial murderers," Faith said, and Buffy looked like she'd slapped her. She tried to think of something to say, but she didn't know what the fuck she'd done -
Something hit her, very hard. Faith went flying, as did her frozen yogurt, and the two of them smashed into the road. She groaned in pain and shoved whatever had hit her off, standing and wiping the yogurt off herself. It was only then that she noticed what had hit her - a corpse. A man, perhaps sixty years old, in a cheap suit with his neck bloodied and his skin drained of all colour. Buffy was rushing over to her, but Faith waved that she was okay and stood the rest of the way up.
"I'm - I'm fine, B. Do you know this guy?" Faith asked as she looked into the broken window of the magic shop. A dark purple curtain had been drawn tightly across it.
"Owns the magic shop," Buffy said grimly, all her bubbly fake sun and melancholy fading away into steely professionalism. Both of them drew stakes from hiding places and advanced cautiously into the magic shop.
Inside was a wreck - full of broken glass and overturned furniture. All the curtains were drawn, and if Faith's night vision hadn't been better than any normal human's, she wouldn't have been able to see the things moving in the dark. She was a Slayer, though, and so she saw the vampires picking through the wreckage. They were dressed in rags and dirty clothes, the sort of disposable minions any wannabe master vamp could whip up in a weekend. One of them stood out, though, a black dude in a fancy suit who looked a lot less fresh out of the grave.
He seemed to notice the two Slayers as they stepped through the curtains, and started a little.
"Well, to what do we owe the pleasure? I wasn't aware that any Slayers were in town, let alone both," he said.
"I was on vacation," Buffy growled, and then she ripped the curtains right off the broken front window. Afternoon sunlight streamed in, and several of the minion vamps screamed as they began to sizzle. All of them dived for cover, but the guy in the suit just stopped back a little.
"Didn't know that the Watchers offered vacation days. How's the dental?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah, it's great. I don't think they offer fang-care, though" Buffy quipped.
"Pity. Ah, not that I'm in the mood for a new job. For Kakistos we live, for Kakistos we die and all that. Well, it's been a pleasure girls, but I think I'll have to head out," he said.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to say that's not gonna happen. See, your dudes just ruined this top and my afternoon, so I think there's gonna be a little staking involved," Faith said.
"Ah. These locals, they've got no manners. Still, up an at 'em boys and girls," he said, gesturing the minions forward.
"Uhhh..." one of them started, but Faith wasn't gonna let them get ready. She moved forward, slamming her stake through the heart of one vampire before whirling around to stake another before they'd even noticed anything had happened. She sank into the battle, letting the predator instinct guide her. The vampires were fresh - untrained and weak. They moved like the pizza delivery guys and poor housewives they'd been, utterly unprepared to face the sort of furious, focused violence a trained Slayer dealt out. One of them came at Faith with a baseball bat, but she launched into a high kick that shattered it in half, and then caught one of the larger fragments and thrust it right through his heart.
Buffy was like some kind of killer robot, all her moves precise and deadly. She moved just out of each blow, her counterattacks taking a vampire out with each blow. This was the girl who'd killed the Master, who'd slain Angelus - this was the girl vampires had nightmares about.
The minion vamps lasted about ten seconds, and the one in the suit had only just made it to the door by the time the last of his minions burst into dust. He looked around the magic shop, sighed, and drew something out of his coat as Buffy and Faith moved towards him.
"The help in this town is just not up to standard," he said and pointed the boxy handgun he'd drawn out of his coat towards them. It had a long magazine sticking out of it, and as Faith started to dive out of the way the vampire opened fire. Fire blossomed from the front of the gun, as the vampire fired on full-auto one-handed, his inhuman strength allowing him to control the gun.
Faith's reflexes went into overdrive, power surging through her body as she moved out of the way of the vampire's aim. Even a slayer wasn't fast enough to dodge a bullet, but she was fast enough to dodge the vamp's aim. Most of the gunfire went wide in a hailstorm of bullets and noise, shattering any glass that remained intact. Something hit Faith as she moved, but it didn't hurt all that much and so she kept going.
A second or so after it had started, the gun clicked empty and Faith looked up. The vampire was gone, and her ears were ringing just like they had after the diner. Fucking gun nut vampires, she thought to herself. There'd been none of this shit on the East Coast. Boston vamps had stuck to baseball bats and battleaxes when they'd gone in for weapons at all.
"Faith! Are you alright?" Buffy asked, rushing towards Faith.
"Yeah, I'm five by five, B," she replied, her hand touching the place she'd been hit. There was blood, but not a lot, so she'd probably just been nicked by a bit of flying debris. She stood up, and something fell through her fingers, hitting the floor with a distinctly metallic sound. She and Buffy both looked at each other, and they looked at what had clearly once been a small bullet. The tip was smashed up, and Faith did have a small wound in her arm, but it clearly hadn't gone all that deep into her - barely breaking the skin.
"Well damn. I guess that's why they don't use guns more often. I mean, I guess it makes sense - we gotta be just as tougher as we are stronger or we'd hurt ourselves punching shit. Newton's whatever. The noise is a bitch, though," Faith said, as a little blood seeped out of the flesh wound.
"Hey, you do remember something from school," Buffy said, and Faith groaned.
