Ficlet and drabble (Willow, Giles, Buffy/Faith)

[beer_good_foamy]

Two little things... OK, one of them is littler than the other, at least in terms of word count.

First of all, a drabble written for still_grrr's prompt "New Season":

Title: Hanging on in Quiet Desperation Is the English Way
Author: Beer Good (beer_good_foamy)
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 100
Prompt: New Season (001)
Characters: Willow, Giles

"I've brought you an extra blanket." He put it by her bed. "English summers might be colder than you're used to. I'm afraid my countrymen never understood the value of double glazing..."

She just stared into the wall. He fought off a deep-rooted reflex to offer her a cup of tea and turned to leave.

"Giles?" It was the first thing she'd said since they left California. "W-will it... be quick?"

"I'm afraid not. Do you think it should be?"

Willow shook her head.

He was halfway out the door before he realized that she wasn't talking about being rehabilitated.


Plaque by xlivvielockex

---

Second of all, here's a stand-aloneish coda to my previously posted fic "Wow". Hadn't really planned to continue it, but femslash_today's v-day porn battle had the prompt "Buffy/Faith sunshine" which seemed to fit, so... OK, this isn't THAT porny, in fact it's probably one of the schmoopiest things I've written, but still.

Title: Am I The Good Slayer Now?
Author: Beer Good (beer_good_foamy)
Rating: R
Word Count: roughly 750

A/N: This is sort of a coda to my fic "Wow" in which Willow and Tara's spell during "Who Are You" backfires, so rather than returning Faith and Buffy to their proper bodies, it just makes them stop denying their feelings for one another – leading to Faith-in-Buffy's-body/Buffy-in-Faith's-body naughtiness. Until Tara manages to put them back in their own bodies again, though still unable to repress anything. This takes place the next morning.

"Oh God, right there Faith, don't stop don't stop don't..."

Despite Buffy's fingers digging into her scalp, Faith was doing everything right up until that point with both fingers and tongue, but for just a second, she looked up... and lost her concentration completely when the rising sun spilled across the head of the bed, making her lover's hair shine like gold. (Well, that and hours' worth of sweat, but let's be romantic.) Ignoring Buffy's protests, Faith did indeed stop and sat back, shielding her eyes as if blinded.

"No, please, keep..." Buffy grew concerned when she saw Faith's crestfallen expression. "What's wrong?"

"Christ, B..." Faith shook her head, and when Buffy reached out to her she grabbed her wrists and held her off. "Do you realize how fucking beautiful you are?"

"Well... kinda, yeah." Buffy smiled. "I did get a pretty close look yesterday, remember? Not to mention taste... so again with the 'what's wrong?' Don't tell me you're starting to freak out about the whole me-in-you thing, because I think Willow cornered that market already..."

"No. Well, sorta... No. Shit, I'm not saying this right. It's just... it's so easy for you!"

"You're sure calling me 'easy' is the thing to do here?"

"No... I-I mean... OK, coma followed by no sleep at all, plus I probably fried a few hundred brain cells in the last few hours so I may be talking out of my ass here but..."

"As opposed to talking into m-"

"You. Make me. Feel good. About myself." She spat the words out, like pulling teeth. "Better than... better than I should."

"Faith-"

"I mean it, B. When we did the bodyswap thing, and then when we... it's no big deal for you to look at yourself and like what you see. You like you. But me..." Faith gestured at her own face, her naked body, trying to surreptitiously wipe a tear from her eye. "I've always known how to make people want me, but... it's been a long time since I've looked at this and wanted it. Wanted to get inside it. Wanted to love whoever was there. Then yesterday... I... fuck it. I'm never gonna be able to explain to you how much that meant to me. H-how much I don't deserve you."

Buffy sat quietly, looking at her for what felt like forever before speaking. "You know, you're right." When Faith looked down, Buffy reached out and tenderly put her hand to her cheek. "About talking out of your ass - which is stunning, by the way. I know you've been through a lot..."

"I killed people."

"Pffft. I dated Angel. As killers go, you're not even close."

"But why..."

"Maybe because I'm starting to get what this feels like." Buffy traced a finger over the knife scar on Faith's belly. "Maybe because I've missed you like crazy this whole year, and now it feels like half of me is there again. Plus, this night? Kind of the most amazing night of my life, and if anything it's me who should be scared that you wouldn't... I mean, you're the one who's Casual Sex Girl, I'm the stuck-up tightass with no sense of fun, right?"

"Uh... sorry. Spike told, huh?"

"No, you told me a few hours ago. Screamed it, actually."

Faith smiled. "Oh yeah... when you did that thing with your..."

"Point is... I think we deserve each other." Buffy leaned in and kissed Faith softly, wiping the remaining tears from her cheek with her thumb. Then she looked up in surprise as a sunbeam reflected off a mirror and blinded her. "Oh. Sun's up."

"Tell me about it." Faith was only looking at Buffy.

"So how about breakfast? I could eat a horse."

"Me too."

"Oh, darn your nefarious powers of persuasion." Buffy grinned. "Alright. You first, then the horse."

Faith had no objections to that plan.

Comments

[faith-chaos.livejournal.com]

Yay, BF porn!

Or, uh, I hope your working on that thing I'm supposed to remind you to work on, missy!

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I should be, shouldn't I? I need more hours in my week... And it's mister, actually *embarrassed*

Thanks!

[faith-chaos.livejournal.com]

*hee*

My mistaker babe. Thougfh we never really made the real introductions.

Hello, I'm Faith and I'm a girl!

And you totally should, just saying.

Faith, who is very sorry.

Peace Offering: You should totally check out this BF manip (http://marvelgirl-art.livejournal.com/17651.html) I found.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Heh, no worries. I'm getting used to it - after all, most people in the fandom seem to be female and my icon doesn't exactly have stubble. Maybe I should write *burps*, *scratches balls* or *watches sports* more often.

Oh, and I love that manip.

[faith-chaos.livejournal.com]

Uhm... you probably shouldn't, just sayin' but yeah, that icon, it kinda makes me picture 'girl' you know?

You need a super macho icon hon.

[selinamoonfire.livejournal.com]

I love Willow fic. There really should be more Willow fic about her in the U.K.

And Yay! to Wow sequel material. I love how you write Faith.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. I love those few scenes of Willow and Giles in England - just to think that we would have gotten more of that if the weather had been better... Thanks!

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

Aww. Poor Willow (did Giles take off his glasses and say "Oh dear Lord" when he realised what she meant?) and poor Faith (but would you rather eat a horse or a freshly-baked cookie?).

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure he did. Thanks! (Though I don't feel too sorry for Faith... it's not like it's that much of a chore, haha.)

[scarlettlily.livejournal.com]

Woo more F/B porn is always good! And it was sweet and good.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks, glad you liked!

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

Really like Willow's misunderstanding. Seemed very in character. And the Buffy/Faith was hot!

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[fluffybkitty.livejournal.com]

Awesome B/F, one of the best penultimate lines ever.

The Willow and Giles was also great, but sad. Poor Willow thinking she's going to be killed slowly because Giles said so.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That line is really gratuitious, but hey, that's what slightly silly femmeslash is for, right?

I absolutely picture Willow being almost completely catatonic for days after "Grave", hardly aware of anything but her own guilt.