Disclaimer:
The following characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Joss Whedon & Co. I'm merely borrowing them for my own amusement. I haven't, nor will I ever, make any profits off of the creation of this story. The scenario, however, does belong in its' entirety to me.
I'll warn you ahead of time that the contents of this story may be considered inappropriate for anyone under the age of eighteen. I'm just that kind of person. I like violence, and I like sex—better yet, I like sex between women and sometimes it's rough. If you don't heed this warning and you continue ahead, I don't want to hear about it if you dislike what you find.
However, if you would like to express your interest in the story, I would love to hear about it—in great detail even. I'm open to suggestions for future reference. Or if you would like to borrow my idea, please e-mail me. Please do not post my work anywhere without my permission.
Any quotes or lyrics used are here without permission. I meant no disrespect to the writers or the musicians. I apologize for not requesting permission to use them beforehand, but please allow me to leave my work intact. No profit will ever be made from the use of your work here.
Song Credits:
Dragonfly – Shaman's Harvest
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Rating: 18-F/F
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer alternative fan fiction
Pairing: Buffy Summers/Faith Lehane
POV: 1 st
Summary: PS7. My heart is racing. The pounding of my blood in my ears is reminiscent of the beating of a dragonfly's wings—hard and anxious. I swallow hard. The look I give Faith is pleading.
AN: This story was inspired by Shaman Harvest's “ Dragonfly ”. Suggest listening while reading. My thanks go out to Eden Lee Raven & Trish for beta reading this piece for me.
When I come
Give me a beat
And take my advice
Just let me be
When the moon
Turns black as night
Beating fast
Oh dragonfly
Fly dragonfly
Dragonfly – Shaman's Harvest
(Buffy's POV)
I quit today. I just... walked into Giles' office and told him I've had enough. I told him I wasn't coming back. Then I left his office and walked out for the last time and I haven't stopped yet.
The last time I remember feeling this free was when I jumped from a lunatic's tower. The time before that was the day I took the hand of my sister Slayer/my enemy/my heart/my soul, and followed where she led. And before that it was when I was freefalling from the top of a cheerleading pyramid. Those moments stick out the most ‘cause those are the moments in my life when every thing fell away—when even my own expectations weren't weighing on me.
This time is different. This time I knew what I was doing. All those other times, I never knew exactly what the consequences would be. Anything could have happened when I took those leaps, but I know exactly what's going to happen now that I've taken this one.
I'm thinking maybe I've lost my mind. This isn't the most opportune moment for me to be doing this. We're right in the middle of an apocalypse. There's a bad guy and he wants the world to run red with Slayer blood—we need every hand on deck for this, so what am I doing right now?
A faint smile creases my lips. I stop in the middle of the street and tilt my head back to glance up at the sky. With the full moon hidden behind the clouds, the sky is almost black as pitch. Nothing less than superhuman sight could make out the glow of the moon. A soft laugh bubbles up.
I'm rolling the dice tonight. He told me to be careful that I don't lose for winning. This big bad likes to play with our minds, and maybe that's all he was doing. But I don't think so, ‘cause I used to know him, and even at his worst, Angel only ever hit my heart when he spoke the truth.
I'm walking away ‘cause that's what feels right to me. I can't kill him again. I think it would kill me if I tried. And if I didn't kill him, he'd kill me, and my friends would never forgive me.
Maybe I'm just being selfish. It wouldn't be the first time I've taken that path. I know that's how they will see it, no matter what the outcome of their battle is tonight. I'm just too tired to care.
Fighting Twilight isn't what did that to me. Life is responsible for that. I've given everything I have to give and until tonight, there was no reprieve in sight. Now all I want to do is find somewhere quiet to sit and rest in peace until this whole thing is said and done.
Something causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end and I know . I close my eyes briefly and drop my head, shaking it as I sigh silently. I knew they would send somebody to follow me. Now that I'm sensing their presence, I pick up on the faint sound of their approach.
I just roll my eyes in response and continue on my walk. I become aware of the fact that I'm nearing the docks as the distinctive odor of salt water, fish, and oil makes itself known. As unappetizing as that sounds, I'm still kinda fond of it. It makes me homesick for Cali .
Businesses and sidewalk slowly give way to fenced in warehouse yards, curbsides, and potholed, faded blacktop. Eventually, the road gives way to the parking lot of a dockyard and then the gravel lot gives way to long docks protruding out over the ocean. I'm relieved to find that the traffic in this area is nonexistent tonight. The coming confrontation could get ugly.
I listen as my tail gets closer. The assured, almost silent tread tells me that it's a Slayer long before she ever reaches me. She stops just behind me, though I give no reaction to her presence. Somehow, when she speaks, I'm not at all surprised at who they sent after me, considering.
“You know they ain't gonna let you go that easy, right?” Faith asks casually.
“Tell me something?” I ask, ignoring her question.
“Why not,” She drawls. It doesn't come out as a question. It's just a dry statement, and I can almost hear a sarcastic, ‘am I really supposed to tell you no', behind her words. There's been a lot of that since we brought her and Giles in to help with the Twilight situation last month.
It makes me feel guilty. All she wants from me is a chance. All I ever do is deny her it and take every thing she has to offer but the one thing she wants to give. I can't even give her a reason.
What am I supposed to tell her? That all this aggression and territoriality she always makes me feel freaks me out? Then I'd have to tell her why, ‘cause it's not Faith that scares me. It's me, ‘cause as much as the demon inside me wants to mark her territory, I kinda want it just as bad.
I want to dominate her. Through blood and tears or come and sweat, I want to make her mine. I want to make her give in. But it's not in either of us to give in to someone else's will like that.
That's what makes me hurt her every time she gets near me. Faith isn't someone I could have fallen for if I hadn't been called. And I wouldn't ever call what I feel for her “love”—at least not by human standards—but she puts my heart in a vice-grip and makes me burn in so many ways. And it scares me, ‘cause the way I feel for her is a reminder that I'm not so human any more.
Haunted by those thoughts and feeling so on edge that it's making my stomach hurt, I ask bitingly, “How does it feel , knowing that they're about to slaughter your savior ?”
There's a part of me that still hates her for going to him. And another that hates me just as much. I never tried all that hard to get through to her, but she never would have let me in anyway. Then she turned to him for help. She gave him her trust, something I'll never even see a glimpse of.
She doesn't reply for the longest time. In the span of seconds, the tension rises. It makes the hairs along my arms bristle. It takes a second for me to register that it's not just the situation.
I can feel the power rising, even at this distance. The fight has all ready started and Willow 's hidden away in the castle, starting the spell that's going to make him powerless. That was the plan. Take away his stolen power and then kill him and every single member of his little army.
“That's what you never got,” Faith finally chuckles, startling me. “ He wasn't my savior.”
I snort, ‘cause I knew; I knew that she only went to Angel ‘cause she knew I trusted him and she needed that then. Shaking my head, I drop down to sit on the edge of the dock. I let my legs dangle over the side, feeling the spray of the ocean soak into my jeans. I don't look at her as she moves around to my side and joins me, sitting close enough to make me uncomfortable.
She always has to find some way to do that. That's Faith's way of making sure that I have no choice but to take notice of her. She likes toying with the part of me that made her—the part that called Kendra. One of these days, she's gonna push me just hard enough and I'm not gonna be able to channel all that aggression into my need for violence and she knows it as well as I do.
“Could have fooled me,” I reply flatly.
“Like that's a difficult thing to do,” Faith snorts. “I'd swear that dye's real the way you act.”
“Isn't there someone you're supposed to be screwing right about now?” I snap.
“You're the one with the toys that expect it,” Faith retorts. “I don't screw on demand.”
I let out a shaky laugh instead of responding. I know what she wants. She wants me to give in to that—she wants me to break down and make her mine, make her submit to my will. She wants someone else to be in control and she doesn't want to have to worry about trusting them.
Agitated, I draw my feet back up onto the docks and stand up in the same motion. Sensing the storm of aggression brewing inside me, Faith follows. For a long moment, we both stand there just staring at each other. Her expression is a mask of defiance over need and I know mine is too.
As we stand here, the tension rises further as the power on the air stirs the demons inside of us. Something flashes in her eyes and I know without question that it's echoed in mine, ‘cause it's that part of us that incites us, that makes us act this way with each other. We've never needed much encouragement to get to this point, where it's fight or flight, give in or get out. The darkling energy from the battle being waged not so far away is pushing us beyond that.
We're not gonna be able to walk away from this for once. As I come to that realization, a faintly mocking smile spreads across Faith's lips and I recognize it for what it is. She knows how this is gonna end. That's the reason she agreed to come after me for them instead of staying to fight.
The faint glow of the moon disappears, leaving us in darkness that humans would be blinded by. I don't have to look to know that the moon has turned as black as night. Unnaturally red lightning streaks the sky, backlighting Faith in a fading crimson glow. The bolt is followed by another, and another, and so on, and yet the power continues to rise, making my teeth grind.
My heart is racing. The pounding of my blood in my ears is reminiscent of the beating of a dragonfly's wings—hard and anxious. I swallow hard. The look I give Faith is pleading.
“Just leave me alone, Faith.”
It's meant to be a warning, but the demon is too close to the surface. My words came out as an order and I knew it was a mistake before I finished speaking. The growling words, nowhere near human, could do nothing but write the end result in cement. Her smile is my only warning.
Faith lunges at me and takes us both down. My back hits the planks of the dock and I twist my hips, rolling us over. I shift to pin her and she takes the opening I've left, rolling us back towards the end of the dock. Using Faith's weight against her, I force us towards the opposite end. On and on we go, struggling against each other with both of us trying to come out on top.
We've been here before, her and me. I can see it in my mind's eye; first, her blood was staining my hands and she was falling—another time and place, we were falling and then I was drowning. Why is it that whenever we fight, we always end up taking a dive? Fear of heights, here I come.
Reaching the start of the dock and the end of my patience, I tighten my hands around Faith's biceps and rear back to slam her against the planks. We both pause, the only sign of life in either of us being the heavy rise and fall of our chests. The power continues to build as the storm rages in the background. The wind picks up, whipping our hair around us and pulling at our clothes.
Faith arches up, trying to buck me off of her. I slam her back against the dock again. Her hands squeeze my forearms and if I were human, she would break me. Since I'm not, I just flash a grin that I know holds all the feral intensity of everything inside me now and then slam her again.
As the howl of the wind turns into a dull roar, our gazes meet again. Faith goes still, not even breathing. Then suddenly she lets out a shaky breath and the tension snaps. She surges upward, capturing my lips in a searing kiss that catches me off guard and makes me cry out in surprise.
Faith pulls back. Her eyes search mine for answers to questions she won't give voice to. She's asking me not to walk away again, asking me not to deny her— begging me not to deny us . I sit up, straddling her lap as I grab a fistful of her shirt to pull her up, and my answer is in my kiss.
I suck her bottom lip into my mouth and she finally lets go of my arms. Then I let go of her shirt and loop my arms around her neck, burying my hands in her hair. I tease her lip with my teeth, nibbling then nipping hard enough to draw blood. My tongue soothes the wound and Faith lets out a quiet whimper/moan, giving me a full-bodied shiver as that sound hits me below the belt.
The power reaches a crescendo and the storm clouds break. Before I can react, Faith twists her upper body, rolling us over and angling us towards the side of the dock. I add my own weight to the motion and we fall over the edge, tumbling down onto the half-submerged sandbank that stretches across the width of the dockyard. I grunt as we hit the ground with a light splash.
I roll us beneath the dock we were on and then shift, straddling Faith once again. She sits up and absently wraps an arm around my waist as we look out to our left. The stench of sulfur reaches us before we see the source. Fire rains down, so blue it's almost white and it stings our eyes so bad just to look at it that we have no other choice but to look away before it blinds us.
We're so close that our eyes are almost crossing just so that we can see one another and we're forced to close our eyes. It only seems natural that it leads to another kiss, even if I have no idea who starts it this time. Faith's lips and tongue are demanding as she coaxes my mouth open. She immediately plunges her tongue between my lips and teeth and a guttural moan leaves my throat.
In the distance, a howl rends the air as the fire serves its' purpose. Anyone inhuman and stupid enough to be out in the open tonight will be consumed by Willow 's rain of fire. I just hope Giles was right and it won't destroy anything else. The only protection we have right now is wooden.
One of Faith's hands slips underneath my soaked tank top and the moment her skin touches mine, I'm suddenly wishing that we were both a little less “protected”. Heat radiates out from the point of contact to my center and I hiss in response. Faith chuckles against my lips and retreats, pulling back just enough to give me a knowing smirk. I glare and jerk her back for another kiss.
“Bitch,” I mutter against her lips and she laughs again.
One kiss leads to another and another and another and so on. Then I'm pushing her away by her shoulders. Before Faith can voice the protest on her lips, I reach down and grasp the tail of my tank top to pull it up over my head. The moment the material passes my mouth, her lips are on mine again and then she pulls the tank top out of my hands as she trails kisses along my jaw.
Faith somehow ends up with her face in the crook of my neck and I have no idea where my shirt went. My hands are buried in her hair and her lips are latched onto my pulse point as she sucks and I really don't care where it went as long as she keeps that up. The pleasure blurs with pain as her lips are replaced by teeth and suddenly I know what she's doing. She's trying to make The Master/Angel/Dracula's marks hers and her nerve leaves me torn between amusement and anger.
In the blink of an eye, I make a decision. Instead of shoving her away, I pull her closer as I tug her hair back from her throat. Against my will, my hand reaches out to caress the raised, scarred mound of tissue above her pulse point. I've heard the story behind it, and even now, I feel a pang of jealousy at the thought that Angelus got to do this to her, and it makes me shake with anger.
A wordless snarl tears from my chest as I lunge forward to sink my teeth into the exposed flesh. A guttural moan reverberates against my neck even as Faith's teeth clamp down on my scar in response, tearing the skin open. The metallic taste of blood floods my mouth and I suck hard, feeling Faith mimic the action before we both finally pull back to look at each other.
The eerie bluish light of the fire raining down around the docks shows a morbid picture. Blood slowly trickles from the jagged wound at her neck and her mouth and chin are stained with it. I don't have to look to know that I'm the same. I can feel the blood pooling in the grooves of my scar and the wet heat drying on my face, along with the tell-tale jolts of pain in my neck.
My body's screaming at me with the want to touch, the desire to explore, the need to claim. I'm trembling inside from the effort to hold back and I'm not entirely sure why I'm bothering. The hands kneading my ass and the tension coiling under Faith's skin are proof enough of her want. I take a deep breath and the smell of her arousal greets me, making me lick my lips in hunger.
Faith pulls me into a hard kiss and thrusts her tongue inside my mouth. Our blood and saliva mingles as our tongues dance together and my insides convulse in pleasure. The demon inside me growls loudly as my body's urgings grow more demanding. Then I'm pressing her back into the sand and Faith's body is straining up against mine as I lay myself between her thighs.
Our lips never once lose contact during the rearrangement. I brace my elbow in the sand by her head and grasp a handful of her hair, forcing her to tilt her head back. I chase her tongue into her mouth and then she suckles mine. I groan into the kiss in appreciation of the action.
Suddenly, I'm all too aware of her breasts pressing up into mine and I want skin. She seems to want the same as she fumbles with the clasp at my back. Fortunately for me, I don't have much work to do to get what I want. I just shove her T-shirt up above her breasts and she's bare.
My nipples are already hard and aching in anticipation before the heated air hits my skin. Faith arches up against me and our nipples scrape against each other. It sends heat rippling through me, making me whimper into Faith's mouth as my body tightens. It feels so good.
I tear my mouth from Faith's and slip down her body, letting my breasts brush over her skin as I go. When I reach my goal, I stop and gaze up at her, taking in the view. Droplets of sweat and water make her tan, olive-tinted skin glisten in the shadowy firelight. Specks of sand stick to her skin from our earlier activities and her chest heaves with each desire-laden breath she takes.
Her chest... Okay, if I were self-conscious, I'd so be trying to cover up right now. Breathtaking is an apt description of Faith's body. She's soft in all the right places but beneath that, you can see the hard-earned ridges of muscle and sinew. I reach out to touch the scar on her stomach.
My fingers trace the edges of the old wound. I should feel regret, and normally I do when I think about that night. But right now, all I can think is, “mine”. Then Faith takes my hand and replaces it on her breast. Confused, I glance up to find her looking down at me over the rise of her chest.
Her eyes are dark, almost completely engulfed by her pupils. Her lips quirk at the corners and my gaze drops back to my hand. I slip my hand down and cup the side of her breast, rubbing my thumb over the crinkled skin of her areola as my body's urgings grow louder. A growl escapes my lips and I give into my wants, swooping down to wrap my lips around her nipple.
I tease the tip of her nipple with my tongue as she moans. Her hands fly up to clutch my head, fingers entwining in my hair. Her nails scrape my scalp and I shiver as I feel myself letting go. My hand tears at the buttons and zipper to her jeans and there are no more thoughts; it's just the insistent hunger to claim her as mine and the craving making my body ache for her touch.
I slip my hand inside the opening of her jeans and sink two fingers into her tight, hot depths, knuckle deep. Her desire soaks my hand and she's so wet that I almost slip out completely when I withdraw. Faith spreads her legs wide and surges up onto my fingers, hard. I roll my shoulder forward to meet her thrusts and Faith starts to grunt with every invasion of my fingers.
I pull my mouth from Faith's breast and she growls in annoyance. The growl is cut off by a squeak mid-utterance when I slide my tongue around her other nipple. The sound sends a jolt straight to my clit. I squeeze my thighs together to get a little friction and my pussy clenches.
I wrap my lips around Faith's nipple and hum against her breast, making her jerk against me. She shifts, bringing one of her knees up to rest against the outer side of my thigh. Then I straddle the conveniently bent limb and lower myself to sit on her thigh. The contact makes me moan and I press my center harder against her even as my arm starts a faster rhythm against Faith's thrusts.
“Fuck, B,” Faith groans. “Your pussy's burnin' up.”
Yeah, I really don't need her to tell me that. I'm soaked, too, and it's got nothing to do with the cold ocean water that's crashing against the bank we're sprawled out on. I need her—need her to fuck me until neither of us can move. Just the thought of it makes my inner walls convulse.
She lets go of my hair and I lose track of one hand when the other finds my breast. Her fingers tease my nipple, tugging and twisting to make it hurt just right. I snap my head up when I relocate her other hand. She rips open my jeans and slips her hand between my thighs.
Then she drills three fingers up inside me and I scream in pleasure as my eyes roll up. My pussy clamps down hard around her fingers and for a long moment, we both freeze. When it finally lets off, I'm throbbing in time with my heartbeat. And now Faith's fingers are moving inside me.
It starts off slow. Her fingers are just barely sliding against my walls and then her thumb starts caressing my outer lip. I inhale sharply and lift my eyes to meet her gaze. Her lips curve up into a devilish grin as she slides her fingers almost all the way out, almost daring me to say something.
I kinda want to kill her when she stops. Her fingers remain on the outer rim of my pussy, teasing me. I have to force my hips to stay still, ‘cause I'm so not interested in playing any games now. When I finally start to speak, Faith drives her fingers into me to the knuckles and doesn't stop.
She feels so fucking good inside me. I'm stretched tight around her fingers and every time she enters me, her fingertips pound into that spot inside me. I don't wanna think about any of my exes, but none of them could hit my spot every single time. I was lucky if they hit it once.
“Mmmm, Faith... oh yeah...”
I'm moaning almost non-stop now. I shift forward slightly and she chokes out my name almost inaudibly. I blink down at her, dazedly wondering what the problem is. That's when I remember where my hand is, where my fingers are buried. I'm quick to pick up the slack, matching her rhythm as the loud clicks of our fingers slicking through wet heat reaches my ears.
Faith scrapes a nail over my nipple and the tingles of pleasure are followed by goose bumps. I'm thinking maybe I wish I was the one on the bottom instead of her, ‘cause yeah. Use of both hands would be nice right about now. Since I'm not, I'll just make good use of my mouth.
I press my lips to the swell of her breast and tease the flesh with the tip of my tongue. And hey, at least I'm not sounding so much like a porn star right now. Then Faith's hand leaves my breast and I groan in disappointment. She grabs my chin and lifts my head to kiss me.
Faith lets go of my chin as I get fully involved in investigating her mouth. I tease the roof of her mouth and she lets out this squeaky whimpered moan that makes me smile. I like that, so I do it again... and yup, there's that moan. Then she shifts her hand and her thumb brushes my clit.
“Oh, God,” Oh fuck—oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, “Faith.”
Her thumb keeps slipping over and around my clit and I have to keep my hips still so I don't lose that delicious contact. Her thrusts have shortened but haven't lost any of the force. I slip my tongue back into her mouth and she sucks on it again. I grind hard against her next thrust just ‘cause I need the contact and she curves her fingers inward to slide against my spot more.
Thank God she's a Slayer. It's all I can do to remember to keep fucking her, much less to check my strength. She's started grunting again and it's making our kisses get real messy. I don't care.
Then Faith presses her thumb down on my clit firmly, grinding her fingers into me as she slides them over my g-spot again and again. And now I'm coming—hard. My one hand regains its' grip on her hair and I'm kissing her deeply to muffle my cries. My back arches as she flicks her thumbnail over my clit and I'm coming a second time as my pussy grips her fingers tight.
Oh, fuck, Faith, you fucking... Oh, Jesus, that feels... Oh God, that's so good...
Now I'm collapsing on top of her, struggling to catch my breath. My eyes are still squeezed shut tight when my world finally rights itself. Her hands are stroking over my back, and I think it's supposed to be soothing, but she's needy and it shows in the unnecessary strength she's using.
I shift up on shaky knees and an elbow and lift my head. I flash a half-smile at her and her hands clutch my shoulders as her body responds to the look. Then I pick up where I left off before she put her fingers in me. I'm making it my mission to make her scream my name until she's hoarse.
My fingers are still snug in her pussy and I can tell it's taking everything she's got to keep from humping my hand. Then I start moving inside her, rolling my shoulder so that I'm fucking her with my whole arm behind it and her nails are digging into my back as she starts grunting again. That sound makes my whole body flush with heat and I think somehow I've always known that was what she'd sound like, ‘cause when she used to tease me with it, it made me want her more.
I never thought I could want her more than I did back then. Her eyes would light up with mischief and her whiskey-soaked voice would utter guttural grunts that made me feel things I didn't think existed outside of trashy romance novels and B-grade porno flicks. But now, looking down at her sweat-slicked, flushed features and feeling her from the inside...I do. I still need her.
I don't stop when she starts to come the first time, or the second, or the third. I'm too lost in the sensation of her pussy grasping my fingers so tight like they belong there. The sticky wetness that floods my hand is too heady. I'm too caught up in the sound of my name on Faith's lips.
“Buffy...Buffy...God—please, B,” She cries out, even as her body arches up into mine.
It's not until her voice breaks that I finally start to force myself to withdraw. And she clamps her thighs closed around my hand to keep me inside. I shoot a questioning glance up at her and my heart slams against my ribcage. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her face is a picture of agony.
“What the Hell, Faith?” I choke out, tugging gently at my hand. “Come on, let me go.”
“Stop,” She grinds out, clenching her thighs tighter around my wrist.
“God—I was too rough, right?” I'm on the verge of panic. “I'm sorry. Tell me how I can help.”
“Just...don't...move,” She replies slowly and I nod even though she can't see me.
Now that I'm paying attention, I think I know what's wrong. She's still pulsating pretty strongly around my fingers and she's really tight. Considering the fluid streaming fairly steady from her pussy, every move probably sets her off again. I cringe in sympathy and settle in to wait.
Several long, antsy minutes pass before the tension drains from Faith's body. She lets out a deep moan before she spreads her legs, releasing my hand. I slowly draw my fingers out, feeling the tiny after-quakes that run through her as I dart a quick look up at her. I smile as I cup her center.
The half-lidded look she responds with tells me that she's more than fine. That's all the warning I get before she flips us over. A wet, sticky hand runs up my thigh and then all I can do is lay there as she teases the soaked curls at my apex but my surprise doesn't last long. As I arch up against her, I'm faintly aware of the furious beat of the dragonfly's wings resuming in my ears.
***
Sunrise finds us sitting on the edge of the dock once more. The tide forced us to find higher ground not long after we finally fell asleep earlier. We won't be able to stay here for much longer, but we're both too exhausted to move yet. We'd have just gone back to sleep if it weren't for the fact that it's pretty obvious by the state of us that we've been having sex out here.
There's sand in places sand has no place being and our clothes are drenched. My pants are missing a button and the zipper is warped, ‘cause Faith and patience just don't go together. And yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy of that statement, ‘cause her jeans aren't in much better shape than mine. And that's not even mentioning the—ahem—“battle wounds” we left on each other.
Faith has bruises in the shape of handprints around her upper arms and my forearms match. Her lips are swollen from kissing and I don't even have to look in a mirror to know mine are too. The reopened scar on her neck is red and surrounded by shades of purple and red. And the throbbing in my neck tells me more of the same, but I can't stop grinning every time I look over at her.
Neither of us has spoken a word since we moved off of the quickly flooding sandbank, and it's a little weird even though this silence between us has been comfortable so far. It just seems like maybe we should talk after everything we did last night. I always thought that if I ever gave in to this thing between us, that there would at least be an argument immediately following. Instead, we're basking in the afterglow and watching the sun rising behind blood red clouds.
There's no need to speculate the outcome of last night's battle. We both knew how that was going to turn out. I think that's the reason why neither of us really wanted to be there last night. Despite everything Angel put us through, we both still felt too much for him to kill him.
I look over at Faith again. It feels wrong to think about him when I'm sitting next to her after last night. She glances back up at me, brown eyes shaded red by the sunlight, and I smile. So, if it feels wrong, I'm not gonna do it—‘cause there's something else we could be doing instead.
“Y'know...” I start speculatively. “I was thinking...”
“What?” Faith prompts after a few seconds pass.
“I want to get a tattoo,” I finish decisively.
“Uh, okay?” Faith asks, confused.
I stretch my arms up over my head and the wet material of my tank top stretches tight across my shoulders. I smile as the salt water makes the scratches on my back burn and I feel my nipples tighten in response. I leap up to my feet and start walking towards the parking lot. I don't have to wait long before she starts after me and then my smile widens when she catches up to me.
Neither of us is gonna be able to walk right for a while. That's a very good reason to smile. And Faith has a little more sway to her hips than I do. That right there is an even better reason.
“So, you got any place special in mind to get it done at?” Faith asks.
“Mmmm,” I murmur as I reach out to grab her hand. “I was thinking, “ Maui ”.”
I know I'm gonna have to deal with the fallout from yesterday eventually. I just have no intentions of doing it now . And I'm definitely not gonna do it on their terms. I wasn't lying when I said that I'd left for the last time, ‘cause I think it's time I took another leap.
“Uh...”
“And I think it would look good between my shoulder blades,” I continue.
“What kind of tat?” Faith finally asks, exasperated.
“A red and black dragonfly,” I reply, satisfied.
We've never been this relaxed with each other. Last night was good for us... in more ways than one. I'm sure she'll start pushing my buttons again sometime soon, just ‘cause she likes to, but I'm happy with that thought for whatever reason. Maybe it's because I like the results?
“Uh, okay...” Faith repeats, and then asks, “And the reason you decided this just now?”
“Who said I just now made the decision?” I ask teasingly. “Maybe I've been thinking about it.”
“Uh-huh,” Faith says doubtfully, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. “And I'd believe that if you hadn't just blurted it out like a spastic eighteen year old on spring break.”
“Their wings kind of remind me of last night,” I finally reply, turning to walk backwards just in time to see the myriad of emotions that cross her face in response, “beating hard and anxious.”
Faith finally settles on an emotion—smug amusement. I flash a quick smile at her as I turn back around to walk at her side. I think she can understand the reference. Faith squeezes my hand.
“So—a dragonfly,” She says thoughtfully.
“A dragonfly,” I confirm, cheerful.
The End