TITLE: Secrets and... 5/?
AUTHOR: Claudine
EMAIL: claudine423@yahoo.com
PAIRING: W/G
RATING: PG
FEEDBACK: Yes, please...I am a junkie.
NOTES: AU - This story takes place in the future, when the majority of the gang has reached the age of 30. Buffy died at the end of "The Gift" but she was never brought back to life. The explanation of what happened between that year and the time of this fic will unravel in the story. It starts off a little slow, but I promise all the characters will be introduced.
DISCLAIMER: Permission to use these characters relating to BtVS & AtS has not been given. Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy own TM and copyrighted them. This is purely for fun, and no copyright infringement is intended. Oh how I wish Giles was mine, though. Sigh...
“Wes?” Faith knocked softly so as not to disturb the others in the house.
Wesley had been reading, his nose lost in an ancient text when he heard the Slayer calling to him. He made his way to the door and pulled it open. “Faith, what is it?”
“Just thought we should talk,” Faith said as she casually pushed her way in.
The Watcher was surprised given their history. He closed the door and then sat down at a long table across from her.
The room was large, one of the largest in the mansion. It was full of books and weapons and other magic supplies. Wesley was involved in combat from time to time, but he spent the bulk of his days locked in his room researching and translating any prophecy he could get his hands on. He liked having a lot of space to himself.
"I assume you're staying?" Wesley shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It wasn't that he feared Faith, but their relationship had never been a healthy one. They had never really had long, meaningful conversations unless it involved slaying. So he stuck to what worked. Besides, what else was there to talk about? Sharing his feelings wasn't exactly Wesley's forte.
"Giles gave me the gloom and doom." She eyed him up and down. He was handsome. She'd never really noticed before just how attractive he was. Sure Cordelia got all swoony over him the first day he showed up in the Sunnydale High library but that was back in Wes's Pierce Brosnan-y days. He had grown since then, had seen so much in his travels. Faith could see the depth of the differences in his eyes.
"You must be a glutton for punishment," Wesley said. He never smiled when he spoke, even when he was exercising that dry, British wit. Truthfully there wasn't anything to smile about these days. Had there ever been?
"It should have come from you," she said, her voice tinged just slightly with anger.
"What?" Wesley asked.
Faith summarized Giles' speech to her, "Buffy's gone, you're our only chance, we're out of ideas." She got up and stormed over to him, mad at him for a reason she couldn’t discern. "You were my Watcher...you should be the one telling me this shit."
Wesley was startled by her outburst but he did not stand up or back away from her. "That was another lifetime, Faith. In case you've forgotten the things I said never mattered to you. Besides, this is Rupert's town. It always has been." He surveyed her for a moment – she was breathing heavy, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Did you tell him?"
"Tell him what?" She backed off and sat on the table in front of him, her legs dangling, the outside of her right ankle resting against his left knee.
He looked away, not wanting to make eye contact. "That you're frightened." It was a statement, not a question. He wasn't asking.
Faith knew he'd just called her, had just seen right through her into the core of her very soul. She slid off the table and into his lap, quickly leaning in to kiss him in one fluid movement.
But Wesley pulled away and lifted his arms, afraid that any contact from him might be misconstrued as reciprocation. Had she forgotten? Had she really forgotten the last time their bodies were like this?
Faith just smiled, almost crushed by his actions but trying to pretend as though it wasn't such a big deal. "Was hoping you'd forget," she whispered. Hero to skank in less than ten minutes, a personal best. She got up and left the room without saying another word.
If she hadn't just spent the last ten years in jail Wesley might have been flattered. He waited until the door closed and then got up to lock it.
Faith was embarrassed. She'd never admit it out loud, but she admitted it to herself. Ten years ago she'd never have even done that. But she'd grown, like the others. She wasn't even sure why she went to Wesley like that. If she wanted sex she should have just gone to Xander. Right? Maybe she needed something more. Maybe she needed to be turned down.
She stopped by her bedroom but she was too antsy to sleep. Besides, her buzz was wearing off. So she grabbed her jacket, a stake, and a battle axe from a rack on the wall and made her way to the front door. When she stepped out into the courtyard she saw Angel coming down the steps heading toward the house. "Oh, great.” Busted.
"Going somewhere?" He asked as he drew closer.
"Out."
"Giles said you were staying."
"I am, but I'm not officially on 'Buffy's gone and everyone with half a brain has tried and failed so let's use Faith as a last resort to save the world' duty until tomorrow morning," she said with a smug smile.
"And now?" The vampire asked.
She raised the battle axe, "Now, I feel like killing something." Faith took a step to walk around Angel but he grabbed her by the arm.
"Not alone you're not."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," he said, still holding onto her.
"Why don't you go and baby sit the Brady Bunch inside...I'm a big girl...I can take care of myself." She tried to take another step but Angel would not let go.
"Faith, this town is not like it used to be. Trust me. We've been fighting for so long I forget how it was," he said.
"How it was when B was the potentate?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Big word," he said.
"I had a lot of time on my hands, picked up a few things inside," she said.
"I'm not trying to pull rank or insult you or anything like that. The fact is we need you. Alive," he said. He let his grip go and looked her in the eye. "Come back inside. Shower. Sleep. Tomorrow you get a brand new life. This is your town, now. Remember that." Angel nodded toward the house.
Faith looked off into the distance as another feint cry for help came floating in on a breeze. Deep inside she knew she couldn't help anyone. Not tonight. Not alone. She sighed and turned around to follow Angel back into the house. "I'm killing something tomorrow."
"I know," he said.