Chapter Six: My First Camping Trip
“So this is camping, huh?” Buffy asks and looks over at Faith. The two are lying next to each other in their tent on a slightly uncomfortable air mattress, huddled under the covers, and feeling a little awkward. ‘But why is it so awkward? We’ve never been like this before,’ the blonde thinks and gives the brunette a little smile.
“Yep, this is camping,” she replies, and returns the blonde’s little smile. After they unpacked all of their stuff they had a light lunch, and took a long walk on the beach. The afternoon flew by with lots of laughter, and some smoochies, but other then that completely uneventful. Their dinner consisted of fire roasted hot dogs, and s’mores, because otherwise it just isn’t camping. Now it’s dark outside, and very cold, and the two don’t really know what to say.
“Is it just me or is this a little weird?” she asks, sounding a little sheepish. She is a little afraid of Faith’s reaction, even though she won’t admit it. She just wants things to go smoothly. The fight that they had before Faith left was brutal, and even though they talked a little about it, it’s going to take a while for the wounds to heal. She hears the brunette let out a very long sigh and she chances a sideways glace at the slightly taller girl.
“I don’t know why it’s like this. We were fine back in Sunnydale. I remember there being kissage action, unless I imagined it.” There’s a moment’s silence and the brunette looks over at the blonde, her eyes a little wide in mock-terror. “I didn’t imagine it, right?” Buffy smiles and scoots a little closer to the other girl. Now that they’re talking, and not just sitting in silence the tension is starting to melt away.
“No, you didn’t imagine it,” Buffy says with a little smile. She slowly searches under the covers and finds one of Faith’s hands. She takes it in her own and gives it a playful squeeze. “There were definitely smoochies.” The two smile at each other and Faith scoots a little closer to the blonde. Buffy looks into the brunette’s soulful eyes and sees the look of contemplation in them. ‘Not exactly the look I was going for, but ok,’ she thinks and turns over onto her side. “What’s that look for?” ‘I hope she isn’t thinking anything bad. I just want to relax with her.’
“I’m just really, really happy. That’s all,” she says and Buffy gets a big smile on her face. She lets go of the brunette’s hand and moves it to her stomach. She slips her hand under the fabric of Faith’s pajama shirt, and lightly strokes the soft flesh. “It just seems like my whole life has been just one big disappointment. I never got to know my dad, my mom was never really a mom, and my brother was taken away from me.” She looks deeply into Buffy’s eyes, as if she’s trying to look into her soul. “You make the hurt go away, and it makes me love you even more.”
Buffy doesn’t respond with words. Instead she leans over and places a gentle kiss on Faith’s lips. It’s slow and gentle at first, but then it grows in passion. Buffy gently rubs her tongue along Faith’s bottom lip, and the brunette instantly responds by opening her mouth just enough for Buffy to slip her tongue inside. The blonde takes her time exploring Faith’s mouth, and is encouraged by the little moans coming from the back of the brunette’s throat. They eventually have to pull back for air, and now that her body head has risen Buffy definitely regrets wearing sweats to bed.
“You’re such a girly-girl sometimes,” Buffy lightly teases. She knows not to take it too far or Faith will feel insecure. “You try to act all rough and tough, but then you go and something so sweet that makes me want you so bad.” Faith smiles and moves some of the blonde locks out of Buffy’s face. She gently caresses her soft cheek for a moment before letting it rest on the delicate skin. Buffy turns her head a little and leaves a kiss on the palm of Faith’s hand. “I love you so much. I really don’t think I could eve live without you.” Faith leans in and places a gentle kiss on Buffy’s lips.
Buffy kisses her back with earnest. She starts to gently rub the very warm skin of Faith’s stomach a little more, and she swears she can hear the brunette purring. She pulls back from the kiss, and smiles up at the love of her life. What she sees isn’t exactly the reaction she was going for, but she doesn’t get mad or upset. ‘Which if you think about it is pretty big of me. I mean, we’re totally making out, and I’m trying my best to turn her on, and she goes and does that,’ she thinks.
She watches as Faith yawns a very big yawn. One so big she can see the little hanging thing in the back of her throat. ‘What is that called by the way? And what is for?’ I don’t know what it’s called, but I think it’s for the gag reflex. Instead of getting irritated that Faith yawned in the middle of their make out session she takes a closer look at Faith’s face. The dark circles under her eyes serve as reminders of how long the brunette has been awake.
“Baby you must be so tired. Wanna get some sleep?” she asks and snuggles up Faith. The brunette wraps her arms around Buffy and nods her head a little. Now that all of the sleeplessness is catching up with her she’s completely exhausted. ‘I have a hot blonde pressed up against me, who’s reading and willing, and I wanna sleep. This is a very fucked up moment,’ she thinks and sighs a little. Since the two have been together for so long, or at least in Buffy’s mind they have, she knows exactly what to do in order to put the brunette to sleep.
“‘Have I told you that I love you?’” she softly sings, and places a little kiss right behind Faith’s ear. She doesn’t think she has a good singing voice, and trust me she’s right, but hearing her sing has always lulled Faith to sleep. “‘That you mean the world to me? And each moment we’re together, it’s like I’m living in a dream. When I’m without you I’m lost at sea. ‘Cause you’re my angel who’s always watching over me.’” She stops to clear the little lump in her throat, and then finishes the song.
“I lie away while you are sleeping. And thank the lord for I am blessed. I can’t believe the joy you bring me, with all your love and tenderness. When I’m without you I’m lost at sea. ‘Cause you’re my angel who’s always watching over me.” When she finishes she leaves another little kiss on the back of Faith’s ear. She can tell the brunette isn’t asleep yet just by her breathing, but that doesn’t mother her at all.
“I don’t wanna fall asleep just yet Blondie,” Faith whispers and gives Buffy a little pinch on the ass. “But thanks for trying.” She presses her lips against Buffy’s forehead and lightly kisses the smooth skin. She inhales deeply through her nose, breathing in Buffy’s scent. “Remember where we heard that song?” She gets a big grin on her face as she thinks back on that night. ‘Totally cliché, but we loved every second of it,’ she thinks, and rubs Buffy’s lower back.
“Yeah,” Buffy says with a growing smiling on her face. “It was the first slow song at prom. And I loved it so much I begged the DJ give me a copy of the mix tape just so I could have it.” ‘Yeah right, like the story stops there,’ Faith thinks and smiles even more. She squeezes Buffy a little and she knows the blonde isn’t going to retell this part of the story.
“But he wouldn’t give you a copy, and you were so sad. So we waited until prom was over and he was putting all of his stuff away, and I slipped off my heels and gave them to you. Then I snuck up when he wasn’t looking and grabbed the cd and ran.” They both start laughing a little as they remember the look on the guy’s face, and all of the not so nice things he started yelling at them.
“Then we went to the hotel room you reserved, and made sweet, sweet love until the sun came up to the mix tape we danced to at prom.” They both chuckle a little bit, and Buffy snuggles in as close as she can to Faith. Part of it is because of the cold, but a bigger part is from the fact that Faith was gone for three days. For three whole days they didn’t talk, and they didn’t see each other. For three whole days. It felt more like an eternity for the blonde. Her heart felt like it had been ripped out, and shoved down a garbage disposal. ‘But now Faith’s back, and we’re gonna be closer then ever before.’
“I like this,” the blonde says after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “Just the two of us all cuddled up. I know we’re cuddled like this before, but it feels different. Now that we’re engaged it just feels like this is something that’s going to become a part of my routine, and I love it. I want you to be a part of my daily routine.” She knows that Faith might not be a part of her daily routine for a while. In college she’s going to have a roommate, and things are going to be totally different.
“I just have to suffer through one year of college, and then we can be together every night. You can rub my back while I do my homework so I won’t cramp up, and I can massage your feet after a long day’s work.” Faith chuckles a little at that thought. “We’ll be so frickin happy it’ll make people’s teeth hurt.” Faith laughs at that, and Buffy chuckles a little too. Another comfortable silence falls over them, and the blonde tries her best to fall asleep, but she knows it’s no use.
“I was thinking a little more about the wedding on the drive up here,” she says and gives Faith’s neck a little kiss. The brunette let’s out a little ‘hmm?’ and Buffy smiles. ‘She must be getting really close to falling asleep if she won’t give a verbal response.’ “I was thinking we could have a live band, but not one of the cheesy ones, that’s made up of balding middle aged men. I want a nice one. Even if we have to cut back on the flowers and buy cheap linen.”
“I think a DJ would be better,” Faith says in a little voice. She’s definitely ready to fall asleep, but not enough that she can’t throw in her two cents. “With a band if one person gets sick the whole thing is ruined. And this way we can have all of our favorite songs.” ‘She has a point, but I like the idea of a live band. Much more romantic.’ “Do you want matching bouquets?” ‘Huh?’
“What? I thought the one who walks down the isle gets a bouquet?” Buffy asks, completely confused and now that her brain is starting to do some heavy thinking she’s feeling a little tired. ‘Great, now you wanna shut off. Stupid brain,’ she thinks a little bitterly and tries to pay attention to Faith’s words.
“I know, but I thought my brother could walk me down the isle first, and then I’ll wait for you at the end. Then your dad can give you away.” ‘If he even comes at all,’ Buffy thinks and tries really hard not to ruin this moment with her negative thoughts. ‘Is it too much to ask for him to be the one to give me away at my wedding? Every dad should big at the big events in their children’s lives. High school graduation, college graduation, wedding, and when they have babies. But I’m repeating myself now.’
“That sounds like a great idea,” Buffy says and gets a mischievous smile on her face. Teasing Faith is one of her favorite pass times, and she doesn’t think that’s going to change any time soon, if at all. “That way you can throw your bouquet and I can throw your garter.” She waits for the response, but none comes. “I said, that way you can throw your bouquet and I can throw your garter.” She waits a few seconds, but still there’s no response. She very slowly lifts herself up and looks at her fiancé. ‘I should’ve known she’d fall asleep,’ she thinks and places a soft kiss on Faith’s cheek.
“I love you,” she says to Faith’s sleeping form, her voice is barely a whisper, but it doesn’t matter to her. She rests her head down on Faith’s shoulder again and inhales her scent as she closes her eyes and tries to drift off to sleep. ‘I wonder how much it would cost for a horse drawn carriage? No, that’s probably too expensive, and over the top. But how cool would that be? After we say ‘I do’ and kiss we can make our way back down the isle and be taken to our reception by a horse drawn carriage. That would be so cheesily romantic. Which is perfect because Faith and I can be very cheesy.’ That’s her last thought before she drifts off into a deep sleep.
Chapter Seven: My Stress
The leading lady of this story nervously bites at her nails. Everything so far has gone off without a hitch, but Murphy’s law dictates that whatever can go wrong will. She watches as her mother talks with Faith’s foster mom, and foster dad. Dawn is busy chatting with Natalia, and the younger kids are quietly watching a Disney movie (The Lion King). Noah still isn’t here, but dinner isn’t until seven, so he still has half an hour before he’s officially late.
The two returned from their camping trip a week ago, and as soon as they got back they decided to get the families together and make the announcement. Buffy knew the longer she put it off, the angrier her mother would probably be. Faith has the ring in her pocket, and whether or not the dinner goes well she’s going to put that gold ring on Buffy’s finger, and it’ll be official. The blonde of the two is about to have a heart attack she’s so nervous about tonight. She doesn’t want her mother to hate her, and that’s what she thinks is going to happen.
“They know Faith,” Buffy whispers in her ear. The two are standing a little away from the groups and just watching. It’s been this way for about fifteen minutes now. The blonde is on the verge of a heart attack, but the brunette is having a pretty good time. It’s nice to see her family, and Buffy’s family together like this. “We’ve been dating for two years and we’ve never gotten together like this. They know something is up.” The brunette sighs and gently rubs Buffy’s lower back.
“They don’t know, Buffy. Everyone is having a good time but you. Just relax, ok?” she says in her sweet voice. The blonde sighs, and nods her head a little. She wants tonight to go perfectly, but she isn’t sure how everyone is going to react. She gives Buffy a little kiss on the cheek and then walks over to the younger kids. She sits down on the floor next to them, and as soon as her butt hits the carpet Tanner is in her lap. ‘Seeing them together is so sweet. He loves her so much,’ Buffy thinks and smiles. Then the little redheaded boy looks over at the blonde and glares. ‘Good thing his name isn’t Chucky or I’d be worried.’
“Buffy come over here,” Joyce says and motions for her daughter to join her and Judy. The younger blonde holds back a sigh and stands next to the two women. “Judy and I were just talking about you getting into Northwestern, and we were wondering what your major is going to be.” ‘Crap, I still haven’t picked a major. Great, I knew this night would go bad somehow.’ Images of having a nervous breakdown in the middle of the living room flash through the blonde’s mind.
“Well, I still haven’t decided what I’m going to major in. I have my freshmen year to think about it before I have to pick one, and even then it might change.” The two women nod and sip at their drinks. ‘I really hope they don’t get drunk.’ The door bell rings and it startles the little blonde. She jumps a little and it makes everyone who saw laugh at her expense. “Are you ok dear? You seem a little tense.”
“I’m fine,” Buffy says quickly, and her voice slightly cracks. She glances over at Faith and she sees the brunette smiling very wide, and biting her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing. “I’ll, ah, just go get the door.” She walks away and sighs a little sigh. ‘Ok, this is probably going to be Faith’s brother, which makes everything even more complicated then before.’ She answers the door and sure enough it’s Noah on the other side, dressed in his usual jeans and t-shirt. ‘At least it looks like he washed them,’ she thinks and smiles a big fake smile and lets him in.
“How are you tonight?” she asks just to be polite. She’s been dating Faith for two years and they still don’t like each other. ‘You’d think he’d come around. Seriously, why doesn’t he like me?’ She decides to ignore it for right now because she has bigger issues on her mind. Like what exactly she’s going to say to the group of people when they make the announcement.
“I’m fine. You?” he asks but when they walk into the living room and he sees his little sister sitting on the floor all thoughts of talking to the blonde go right out the window. “Hey Faith.” His voice is a little louder then everyone would like. As soon as she hears him the brunette sets the little redhead on the ground and jumps up. She runs over to the large man, and gives him a great big bear hug. “Haven’t seen you in a while. I got an apartment. You’ll have to come over tomorrow and check it out.”
“Definitely,” she says as she releases him and takes a step back. She notices everyone watching her and blushes. It isn’t her fault that she turns to mush every time her big brother walks in the room. ‘I thought maybe she acted like that because she wasn’t used to seeing him outside of a visitor’s station, but nope. Faith thinks her brother is as good as God or something. It’s so irritating.’
“I better go check on the roast,” Joyce says when she notices her daughter giving the new arrival some serious death glares. She sets her drink down on an end table, and as she walks towards the doorway she puts her arms around Buffy’s shoulders. “Why don’t you help me with that, dear?” She doesn’t give the younger girl a chance to answer as she practically drags her out of the room. Joyce pushes open the kitchen door and the blonde walks ahead of her.
“Ow, Mom, you’re hurting, let go.” She doesn’t understand why she was dragged in here, but oh she is going to find out. “I really don’t think you need help checking on the roast, so what’s up?” She rubs her shoulder where her mother’s talon like finger nails had dug into to make sure there wouldn’t be a lot of resistance.
“Honey, if you keep shooting daggers with your eyes at Noah whenever he’s around Faith you two are never going to get along. And we never really got the chance to talk about the Faith situation.” ‘Oh God, please don’t start asking questions now. With all this pressure I might crack, like a little chicken egg, and spill my yoke all over the place. Ew, that was way more disgusting then I intended it to be.’
“Well, what do you want to know about the Faith situation?” she asks in a somewhat nervous voice, and leans against the breakfast bar. She watches as her mother puts on the oven mitts before opening it up, and looking inside. The smell that comes from the hot oven makes Buffy’s mouth water and stomach growl. She hears her mother chuckle a little, and she’s just glad no one else was around to hear that.
“Have the two of you worked everything out? I’m not trying to be nosy, but when you two were fighting it just seemed like there was a lot of…repressed emotions coming out to play. I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life, but honey if you want a relationship to work then you have to get out all of that negative energy. If you let it build you’ll be fighting all of the time.” ‘She’s right, but I’ll never admit that,’ she thinks and takes a seat on one of the stools.
“Yes, we’ve talked about a lot of things. We’re still trying to work through most of them.” ‘I can’t believe she wants a DJ at the wedding. Everyone knows a live band is more sophisticated. And yet she’s being totally stubborn about it.’ “But we love each other, and we’re going to try as hard as we can to make this work.” She watches as her mother puts the mitts back where they go, and sits down across from her at the island.
“I know you two love each other.” Buffy gives her a skeptical look. ‘Last year she was telling me that it isn’t going to last forever, and that I don’t really know what love is. Can’t she make up her frickin mind already?’ “Now don’t give me that look. I may have doubted it before because you two are so young, but I’ve paid closer attention to the way you act around each other, and it’s very clear to anyone who’s willing to take a deeper look that you love each other.” Buffy gets a little smile on her face, and hope starts to rise within her. ‘Maybe Mom won’t hate me after all.’
“But honey,” her mother says and pauses. Buffy can tell by the look on her face that she’s trying to find the right words. “Sometimes love just isn’t enough. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but Illinois is a long way from here, and long distance relationships are very hard to manage. And you’re going to be a freshman in college, and that’s going to take up a lot of your time.” Buffy opens her mouth to protest, but Joyce beats her to the punch. “I’m not telling you to break up with her. I’m just trying to warn you about what might happen. You leave for college in two months.”
“I know when I’m leaving,” she tries as hard as she can to keep the irritation out of her voice. “And I know it’s going to be really hard, but I think…I mean, I know Faith and I are strong enough to survive my freshman year.” ‘Oh shit, I didn’t mean to say just my freshman year. Fuck, now she’s going to know something is up. She does think something is up. I can tell by that look on her face.’ Buffy hears the timer on the oven go off, and she instantly jumps off the stool. “I’ll go tell everyone dinner is ready.” She rushes out of the room before her mother can say anything.
Once everyone is informed that dinner is ready everyone goes into the dinning room and sits down. That little bit of information was given a little too soon because Joyce doesn’t have the food on the table yet. Dawn helps her mother with the food and soon everyone has generous amounts of pot roast, caramel glazed carrots, buttermilk rolls, mashed potatoes and beef gravy on their plates. Joyce is at the head of the table with Dawn to her right. Buffy is sitting next to her, with Faith and Noah also on that side of the table. Bill is at the end of the table, with Judy to his right and Natalia sitting next to her. The younger kids have their very own table not far from the ‘grown up table’.
Not all is well for Faith at the moment. She has two people competing for her attention. Her fiancé, who is currently running her fingertips along her thigh. She chose to wear a nice dress since this is a special occasion, and Buffy is taking advantage of that. Her brother is trying to tell her about the motorcycle he’s thinking about buying, and she seems really interested in that but she’s having a hard time concentrating since Buffy’s hand is slipping higher and higher up her thigh.
Buffy watches as the two families, and Noah, talk happily amongst themselves. They all seem to be getting along, although that probably has something to do with the amount of wine the adults have consumed. Buffy takes her hand off Faith’s thigh, and brings it up to her hand. She gives it a gentle squeeze and the brunette looks over at her. In Buffy’s mind this is the perfect moment to tell everyone about their news. She gives Faith this little ‘it’s time’ type of look, and the brunette just nods her head.
They look out at the other people, and even though they’re sitting at the same table they all look so far away. At least they do to Buffy. She picks up her fork off of her empty plate, and taps the side of her glass with it. It takes her a few seconds to get everyone’s attention, especially that of Dawn and Natalia who are busy talking about the latest Brad Pitt movie. Once all eyes are on her she feels her stomach drop, and her throat dries out like the Sahara.
“I’m sure you’re all wondering why we asked for this little get-together.” She pauses and looks over at Faith with a big smile on her face. The brunette gives her a little wink, and gently squeezes her hand. “Faith and I have some news that we want to share with the rest of you.”
“Did Faith knock you up?” Dawn says, and she and Natalia share a laugh. “Are you two gonna have a little rugrat that acts all bratty and wears leather?” The two younger teens start laughing even harder, but Natalia stops as soon as she sees Judy’s warning glare. ‘Oh God, don’t tell me those two are going to become best friends and plot to ruin my life,’ she thinks and gives her sister a death glare. Before Joyce can reprimand her youngest daughter the oldest butts in.
“No Dawn, she didn’t knock me up,” she says and gives her another glare. Once Dawn sees the look her mother is giving her she stops laughing and decides if she wants to live then she needs to be quiet while Buffy is talking. “I don’t know exactly how I should prepare you guys for this, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it.” She looks into Faith’s eyes again, and bites her bottom lip for a few seconds. Then she turns back to the others with a nervous smile on her face.
“Last week before we went on our camping trip Faith proposed.” Everybody in the room goes completely silent. Except for little Tanner. He’s whining because he needs to go ‘potty’ but his mother is too stunned at the moment to even think about her little boy’s bodily functions. “And I said yes.” Faith reaches into her pocket and pulls out the ring. Buffy holds her left hand in front of Faith, and gets a big smile on her face when she slips the ring onto her finger. Buffy looks at the others, and feels like she’s being suffocated by the silence.
“Who needs more wine?” Joyce says and pours herself a glass. She passes it to Judy, when she’s done she passes it to Bill, and even Noah refills his glass. Buffy’s eyebrows furrow a little and she looks at her mother with some confusion. ‘I tell her that I’m engaged, and her reaction is to drink? This isn’t off to a great start.’
“Mom?” she asks. Her voice small and with a slight tremble. The older woman takes a very long drink from her glass, and avoids all eye contact. Even Dawn is extremely tense, and can’t wait to see what her mother’s reaction is going to be. Buffy watches as her mother sets her glass down, and then stares at the red liquid. If she were to look up she’d notice everyone at the table staring at her, waiting for an answer. ‘Why won’t she say anything?’ All of the hope that was created earlier is now gone.
“Mom, please say something.” She’s on the verge of a breakdown when her mother finally looks up. Teary hazel eyes meet teary hazel eyes. For a second, Buffy thinks her mother is going to start yelling at her. That she’ll tell her to get out and never come back, but that doesn’t happen. Instead Joyce blinks back the tears, and gets a little smile on her face. Buffy takes it as a good sign but she doesn’t allow her hopes to get too high in case they’re snuffed out again.
“Congratulations sweet,” she says and lifts her glass in the air. The others take their cues, and lift their glasses in the air. “To Buffy and Faith.” Everyone repeats it and takes a long sip of either wine, or water depending on the age of the person. With all of the food consumed everyone moves back out to the living room except for Joyce and Buffy. These two are clearing off the table, and Buffy is a little nervous. When they’re in the kitchen with all the dishes in the sink Buffy just stands there, staring at her mother.
‘Was she just putting on a happy face because we have company? Is she going to start yelling now? Oh God, she hates me. She hates me, and she’s going to tell me to either break up with Faith and get out of her house and never come back. I honestly don’t know what I would do. I love Faith more then anything, but I need my mom. I even need Dawn, but I’ll never tell her that.’ But her mother doesn’t start yelling. Instead she gets a big smile on her face and stands a little closer to Buffy.
“Let me see the ring,” she says and the younger of the two instantly holds up her hand. Her mother gently takes a hold of it, and pulls it a little closer to her face to get a better look. “It’s beautiful, sweetheart.” The older woman pulls her daughter into a warm hug that lasts a minute or two. “Really, Buffy, congratulations. I had a feeling something like this was going to happen.” Buffy gets a little frown on her face, and she pulls back from the hug.
“You’re not mad?” she asks and tries not to get frustrated when her mother lets out a little laugh. ‘Ok, I take it she isn’t mad. Then what the hell is going on?’ “Because you’re always telling me that first loves never last, and that I shouldn’t get too involved because I’m going to get my heartbroken.” Joyce gets an odd look on her face and Buffy can’t quite place it.
“Do I really sound that depressing?” she asks with a little laugh. ‘Jesus, how much wine did she have?’ the younger blonde thinks. “I’m sorry for saying all of those things Buffy. I saw you taking the same steps that I took when I was your age, and I wanted to spare you the heartache.” ‘Huh?’ The littler blonde gets a very confused look on her face, and she doesn’t even have to ask. “I was in a very serious relationship before I met your father.” Before she can continue they hear Dawn calling out for her mother.
“I’ll tell you about it another time, sweetheart. Let’s get back to our guests ok?” she asks and Buffy nods her head. ‘Ok, so Mom dated someone before she met Dad? Just the thought of that is a little weird. And I don’t even want to know what they did together.’ Really? ‘Cause I can go inside her head and find out. ‘Don’t you dare! That’s my mother you pervert. What are you some kind of peeping Tom or something?’ Hey, those charges were dropped, asshole. ‘Are you serious?’
“Hey B, what’s with the weird look?” Buffy is pulled out of her mental insanity by the sound of Faith’s voice. She shakes her head a little and smiles pretty at the brunette. She wraps her arms around her and rests her head on her shoulder. She wallows in the comforting feeling, and she doesn’t want to leave this spot, even though she knows she has to. “Is your mom really ok with it?” Her voice is barely above a whisper. Buffy nods her head yes and leans back enough to look into Faith’s eyes.
“You two aren’t gonna kiss are you?” they hear a little voice and look down at the intruder who just popped their personal bubble. They see Brian looking at them like they have a contagious disease or something. “‘Cause that’s gross. Do you have any idea how many germs are in the human mouth?” They look back into each other’s eyes and they both have very mischievous glints in them.
“So it would be totally disgusting if we did something like this?” Faith asks and then kisses Buffy square on the mouth. They instantly part their lips and let their tongues come out to play. They hear the little boy squeal, yes I said squeal, and run away. And even though they heard him leave, they don’t stop kissing. At first it was fun, and playful because they were just trying to gross out Brian. Now it’s growing in passion, and becoming extremely sexual.
“Jeez are you two always sucking face?” they hear a deep voice say right next to them. It pulls them out of their little world and back to reality. Buffy looks over Faith’s shoulder and sees her mother, and Faith’s foster mom watching them and giggling like a couple of school girls. ‘Ok, no more wine for them. They’re officially cut off,’ she thinks and looks over at Noah. He has a weird look in his eyes that Buffy’s never seen before. ‘He’s probably drunk too. He had four glasses of wine.’
“Can I talk to you outside?” he asks the blonde. He sees his sister tense up a little bit and he knows he’s going to try to follow. “Alone, please?” Buffy nods her head, and she stares into his eyes for another minute. She nods her head again, and gives him a little smile. Then she leans over and gives Faith a little kiss on the cheek.
“Ok,” she says, and lets go of Faith’s hand. She can feel Faith tense up a little and she gently rubs her arm. “Baby, we’re just gonna talk. Don’t worry, if I need someone to come and save me I’ll yell as loud as I can, ok?” The brunette smiles and nods her head a little bit. Then she leans down and places a little kiss on the blonde’s lips. Mostly for territorial purposes. “Now why don’t you go stop Judy from putting the lamp shade over her head?”
“What?” Faith asks and spins around. Sure enough the woman is laughing very loudly and placing a floral shade lamp over her head. Faith runs off and Buffy laughs a little. She looks over at Noah and he has a little smile on his face. She follows the large man out onto the front porch and closes the door behind her. She watches as he leans against the porch rail, and lights up a cigarette.
“So she proposed to you, huh?” he asks and she nods her head a little. He takes a drag, and slowly exhales the smoke. “She told me she had some big news, but I didn’t even think of this.” Buffy isn’t too sure how she should take that, but she’s keeping her mouth closed for now. He does notice her slightly confused expression, and explains. “The last time she said she had big news she told me she gotta tattoo. I figured it was something like that.” Buffy slowly nods her head in understanding.
“She’s gonna move with you, isn’t she?” he asks and Buffy tenses up. She looks away from him because she knows this is the part where he’s either going to get very mad, or very sad. And considering he’s had a couple drinks his emotions will be even more on display then usual. “She’s all I got, ya know?” Buffy looks up at him, and instantly feels guilty. ‘Sadness it is,’ she thinks, and sighs. “She’s the only person who doesn’t take one look at me, and instantly think I’m some fuckin loser.”
“You’re not a loser, Noah. Nobody here thinks you’re a loser.” He raises an eyebrow, and she furrows hers. “Well, Bill does, but he can be an ass. My sister has a huge crush on you, and my mom thinks you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. Judy spoils you to death, and the kids are always trying to get you to play with them. I know Faith is the only one who really matters, and I’m sorry you feel like I’m taking her away from you. But we love each other. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” She takes in a deep breath of the warm night air, and exhales very slowly.
“You’re an important part of her life,” she says slowly. ‘I can’t believe I’m about to say what I’m going to say,’ she thinks and holds her breath. “She thinks the world of you. You walk into the room and suddenly it’s like ‘Buffy who?’ When we move to Illinois it’s going to be really hard for her. She doesn’t know anybody there, and I have to live on campus my first year, and she’s a little reluctant to put an add out for a roommate. So if it’s not too much to ask do you think you can drop everything here and go with us to Evanston?”
They stare at each other for the longest time without saying a word. Noah has this intense look in his eyes and his entire body is stiff. Then without warning he tosses the cigarette to the ground, and scoops Buffy up in a big hug. She’s surprised at first. The only time they’ve ever touched was when they shook hands, and when Faith was in the hospital and they shared a tender moment. The blonde hugs him back and tries not to gag at the very strong cigarette smell. After a few minutes his grip doesn’t loosen, and the smell doesn’t get any less worst.
“Ok, I need to breathe,” she says and he lets her go. She looks up into his eyes and smiles a very gentle smile. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He nods his head and pulls out another cigarette. “Don’t tell Faith though. I want it to be a surprise.” He just nods his head as he takes the first drag. She goes back into the house and subconsciously tries to smell her shirt, but it isn’t working too well. She goes into the living room and stands in the doorway. She just watches the scene before her, and smiles a very happy smile.
She sees Faith on the floor wrestling around with Lauren. Brian and Tanner are on the sidelines cheering them on, and the adults are standing back just watching. Buffy doesn’t see her sister or Natalia, but she has a feeling that they’ve retreated to Dawn’s room to get away from the noise. ‘They’re probably up there talking about boys,’ she thinks, and sighs a deep sigh. She laughs a little too herself when Faith pins Lauren to the ground and does a three count. ‘She’s so goofy and immature sometimes,’ she thinks and rubs the golden band with her thumb. ‘I can’t wait to marry her.’
Chapter Eight: My Best Friends
“So Buffy Summers, you only have one month left before you and Faith road trip it across the country to Illinois, do you have any thoughts about that?” Xander asks and holds a French fry close to Buffy’s face as if it were a microphone. Last night went way better then expected, and now that her family knows about her engagement she’s now going to tell her best friends. Faith is also off hanging out with the guys.
“I’m a little nervous actually. I know it’s going to be fun, but Faith is going to have to do most of the driving, and I’m afraid it’s going to be too exhausting for her.” She takes a bite out of her burger and watches the little look that falls over Willow’s face. Buffy and Faith have been dating for two and a half years now, and Willow has come to like the brunette girl, but would it kill Buffy to talk about something else for five minutes?
“Are you two taking a video camera to record those ‘special moments’? And if so can I see the tapes?” Buffy reaches over the table and gives him a little punch on the arm. He pulls his appendage back, and rubs the now sore spot. “You know for a skinny girl you hit pretty hard.” Both Buffy and Willow glare at him and he put his hands up in mock surrender. “Ok, I didn’t realize you two had become feminists while I was in LA.” He picks up his cheeseburger, and takes out half of it in one bite.
“We’re not feminists. We’re just pro active women who don’t believe in gender roles,” Buffy says and then starts to zone out. ‘Although I think falling into a gender role wouldn’t be so bad. Faith off at work bringing home the thinly cut slabs of pork, while I stay at home with our kids. I’d totally dress like Donna Reed every day, and Faith would be in nicely tailored suits. She’d come home to me cooking dinner. We’d kiss each other hello and talk about the goings on at the office, and I’d tell her all about my day.
‘Then we’d sit down to eat, and afterwards give the kids a bath. Then we’d read them bedtime stories, and tuck them in. Then we’d go downstairs and relax. We’d cuddle up on the couch and share a glass of wine or two, and watch the fire make the room glow. Then after a little while when we’re both sure the kids are in bed, I’d unzip her pants and give her head. That’s what a marriage is supposed to be like,’ she thinks and gets a dreamy smile on her face.
“Ok, now I would have told you guys this sooner, but Faith and I went on our camping trip the day after it happened, and we had to tell our families first, or we would have burned in hell. At least that’s what Faith said, so I’m sorry it took me this long to tell you,” the blonde babbles and her friends become incredibly serious. “You both know that Faith and I have had some problems, and we got into a huge fight, and she took off for three days.” The two teenagers nod their heads and Xander pops another fry in his mouth.
“Well, the night Faith came back she climbed through my bedroom window, and apologized to me for all of things she said, and all of the stress she put me through. She said that the thought of losing me was just too much, and it was ripping her up inside.” ‘Ok, so maybe she didn’t say that exactly, but they get the general idea.’ “She told me that she knows I’m supposed to go to Northwestern because it’s a great school and if I go there then I’ll have a really bright future.” She pauses to figure out how she’s going to say the next part, but the other two misinterpret her actions.
“Buff, you don’t need to say anything else. I’m so sorry. You must be hurting so bad right now. But it’s good that you two went on that camping trip. You had a whole weekend to say goodbye,” Willow says in a sympathetic tone, and gently rubs Buffy on the back. ‘Say goodbye, what the fuck is she talking about?’ she thinks, and gives the redhead a strange look.
“Will, we didn’t break up. She said that I belong at Northwestern, but then she said that she wants to go with me. Then she got down on one knee, and opened up this little black box, and said ‘Buffy Anne Summers will you marry me?’” She gets a big smile on her face and she holds out her left hand for the other two to see. “I said yes, obviously. Faith and I are engaged!” She lets out a very girlish squeal that catches the attention of a few other people. But they go ignore as the two friends try to recover from this shocking news.
“You two are getting married?” Willow asks. She sounds stunned, and she doesn’t know what to say. Buffy nods her head, and smiles when Xander gently holds onto her hand so he can pull it a little closer and get a better look at the ring. “But, but you’re going to college in a month Buffy. You can’t be married and be in college. College is a time for schoolwork, and learning, and exams, and term papers, and meeting new people. How are you going to fully experience college if you’re tied down to someone?” ‘Ok, I expected this from Mom. What the hell is wrong with her?’
“We’re not getting married yet, Willow. We’re going to wait a few years after I graduate to get married. That way we can save up enough money to pay for our own wedding. I have no idea how my dad is going to react to it, and he wasn’t very supportive of me when I went to LA so I doubt he’ll be willing to shell out a couple thousand dollars to pay for a wedding that he doesn’t think should be happening.” ‘Did any of that make sense?’ I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention.
“What is the big deal? It’s not like people never marry their high school sweethearts,” the now angry blonde says and pulls her hand back. She’s feeling a little defensive and is tired of having to defend this. ‘It’s like we’re back at square one. First they hate Faith, and I have to defend my decision to date her. Then they start to like Faith, and they get along better once they get to know her. And now they hate Faith, and I have to defend my decision to be engaged to her. What is wrong with them?’
“It’s not a big deal,” Xander says and gives a ‘what gives?’ look to Willow. “If this makes you and Faith happy then I say congratulations. You two have your problems but I’m sure you’ll work them out.” Buffy looks into his eyes expecting him to be thinking off all the different ways they can ‘work things out’ but all she sees is sincerity. She turns to goo inside, and a very warm smile creeps onto her face. ‘Well, at least I have Xander’s support,’ she thinks and reaches across the table and gently rubs his arm.
“Thanks Xander. That really means a lot.” She glances over at the redhead, and she still looks upset. ‘I don’t get it, why is she so upset? I thought this was a good thing. Everyone else but her thinks it’s a good thing. Well, Willow and Bill, but he’s an ass sometimes.’ She doesn’t know exactly what she’s going to say to her friend now but someone needs to say something before Willow’s ears explode. ‘They are getting really red, aren’t they?’ “Willow, why are you getting so…angry?”
“Sorry, I just don’t think people our age are old enough to make a decision like this. Look at the divorce rate, Buffy. Most of the marriages that end are couples aged from eighteen to twenty-four. But you said you’re going to wait, so that’s good. As long as you’re not rushing into anything.” Buffy can’t help but feel slightly offended by that, and also relieved that Willow isn’t going to argue with her about this. “Sorry for the freak out. It was just a shock. I never really thought of Faith as the marrying type of girl. And I’m not trying to say anything bad about her. There are just some people who don’t want to get married, and I thought Faith was one of them.”
“Well you thought wrong. Faith wants to get married. She already has designs for what her dress is going to look like, and she already has a bunch of ideas about the wedding. She thinks we should have matching bouquets, and we’re both going to walk down the isle. She’s going to go first, and her brother is going to walk her down it, and then I’m going to go next, and hopefully my dad will give me away. We agreed on having it in the summer, and we’re going to have it outside, like in a park or something. She wants to have it in a church because she was raised catholic, and that’s important to her, but like that’ll ever happen.”
“So I take it Faith is a lot different with you then she is around us?” Xander asks, and Buffy nods her head. She would verbally answer, but she has a large amount of cow, bread, and condiments in her mouth at the moment. Before he can say anything else the brunette boy spots someone walking towards them, and he leans a little closer to the blonde. “Heads up, here comes Scott Hope.” Everybody knows that Scott has a huge crush on Buffy. He doesn’t believe that Buffy and Faith are actually dating since he’s only heard rumors, he’s never seen the two together.
“Hey,” he says and looks at the blonde girl. “I’m not sure if you remember me but I’m Scott. We had a few classes together.” Buffy nods her head and starts chewing very slowly. The slower she chews the less she’ll have to talk to this guy. “I know this is going to seem out of nowhere, but I was wondering if you’d like to go out sometime.” ‘He’s got balls I’ll give him that,’ she thinks, and holds up her left hand. He looks very confused and she’s about to swallow her bite of food and explain but someone else speaks up before she can.
“Hey, buddy, are you blind or something? Don’t you see the engagement ring on her finger? How many people have to tell you that she’s already dating someone before you’ll understand the meaning of the words? She’s already taken. You better get out of here, and pray Faith’s doesn’t find out about this or she’ll beat you senseless,” Xander barks and Scott’s eyes become very large. He mumbles out an apology and scampers off back to the table with his friends. Buffy smiles at Xander and just smiles right back.
“Thank you for that. I really didn’t want to talk to him. I hate telling guys that I’m dating another girl. They either think I’m lying and I just don’t want to hurt their feelings, they want to have a threesome, or they think they can cure lesbianism. I really hope it’s just this town because if guys in Evanston act like this I might go insane,” she complains and looks into Xander’s brown eyes. “Please don’t ever become that big of a pig.” Ha, that rhymed.
“Don’t worry Buff, I won’t. What a woman chooses is her own right, and I shouldn’t get butt hurt about it,” he says in a very serious tone. Buffy nods her head a little, and takes the last bite of her burger. Then Xander gets a playful smile on his face and he just can’t resister. “Although if you and Faith ever feel the need to experiment I really won’t mind being the filling in a Fuffy sandwich.” Buffy picks up a handful of fries and throws them at the boy. He blocks as many of them as he can, and starts laughing.
“I’m gonna tell Faith you said that,” she says and tries not to smile at the look of fear on Xander’s face.
“Please don’t. I really don’t want to be in a body cast for the rest of the summer. Besides I really don’t think I’ll be able to hand out the hotdogs on a stick if I can’t move any of my body parts.” Both Buffy and Willow start to laugh at his fear, and he calms down when he realizes the blonde is just joking around. The rest of the afternoon is spent goofing around, and talking about nothing in particular.
