One Night In Italy
It's a shock to see her like that. Faith, sitting on the picnic table, all loose limbed, sultry, surrounded by guys and so...Faith-y. Dawn almost drops her books.
"Uh, yeah, I'll see ya later, Becca." Dawn says, her eyes never leaving the Slayer. Becca says something before she leaves, but by the time Dawn realizes her friend's talking to her, Becca's gone. Shaking her head and sighing, Dawn goes to see what Faith wants.
She has to want to something if she's here. They'd left her in Cleveland, with Robin, before going to England with Giles and then coming to settle here. Faith hadn't contacted them once, even though she kept in touch with Giles. She had to, after all, with the Council paying for her housing and giving her the start up money for a dojo.
Giles keeps telling her how much Faith has grown up, all the while saying 'she's still Faith, of course', but Dawn is a bit nervous to be meeting this 'new' Faith...she kinda liked the old one. She's heard about the break up with Robin, though Giles couldn't tell her what it was about. She's heard about a lot of what's happening in Faith's life.
Giles thinks it's cute that Dawn always asks about her. He thinks she's trying to let Faith know that she's made friends and that she doesn't have to go solo again. Giles doesn't get it, but then that's the way Dawn wants it. She doesn't want anyone to get it, though she's come close to talking to Willow once or twice. Just, she's not sure what the other woman will say and it's not so much the girl part as the Faith part that she worries over.
"Heya, Faith. What'cha doin' here?"
All the guys glance at Dawn, but most of them look back to Faith immediately. A few, Dawn notices with a roll of her eyes, give her the once over...before turning back to Faith.
"Hey, Brat. Your big sis around?"
"Nope." Dawn says, shaking her head. "Madagascar, or...something. Blah, blah. Couldn't do without her. Blah. Most experience. Blah."
"Huh," Faith shrugs, standing and jumping to the ground, all but ignoring the guys as they try to talk to her. "Guess it's just you and me for my stay in Rome."
Dawn stiffens as Faith throws an arm around her shoulder, her hand squeezing Dawn's upper arm. She's surprised when the woman starts walking, all but dragging her along before her feet get the idea and cooperate.
"Sorry, boys," Faith calls over her shoulder. "I got a date. Maybe next time."
"Your stay? What are you doing here?" Dawn clutches her books tighter, trying to remain stiff and rigid and resist the temptation to lean into the other woman. Finally, Faith lets her go, shrugging.
"Oh, just picking up a talisman or somethin'. Technically illegal, can't be mailed. That sorta thing. I was wondering why they didn't just have Buffy take it to England. Figured she was determined to stay here with you. Guess I was off on that one."
"Yeah, a bit," Dawn grumbles. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know; you live here. I'm starved, so, dinner?"
"Dinner?" Dawn glances over, feeling her eyebrow rise.
"What? We're on the same side. I'm not one of those strangers I bet Buffy's still always warning you about."
Dawn snorts, shaking her head. Her voice might be a little bitter when she replies, "Buffy's not warning me about much of anything these days."
Faith gives her a sidelong look, but doesn't say anything. The silence gets too heavy and Dawn shrugs.
"All right, so...what do you want to eat?"
"I don't know. Feel like something spicy."
"Oh, I know this great Thai place!" Dawn smiles, nodding down a side street. "They even deliver. We can go back to my house and watch a movie or something." Quickly realizing how that might sound, how much might come through in those hasty words, Dawn adds, "At least then we won't have to come up with conversation."
Faith snorts, a smile tugging at her lips. ""Kay. Thai food and no talk, I can do that." She leans in a little bit, her tone conspiratorial. Dawn would never admit to the shiver the other woman's voice sends through her. "But, you have to tell me why, in Italy, the home of pasta, we're eating Thai."
Dawn swallows hard, shrugging. "Uh, cause it's good?"
"Right. So, back to your place."
Tossing her books on the coffee table, Dawn leaves the door open for Faith, the 'no invitations' habit asserting itself even though they'd both been walking around in the middle of the day. Faith kicks the door shut behind her, wandering around as Dawn picks up the phone and plops down on the couch.
She feels weird about getting what she and Buffy normally order, but Faith hasn't said what she wants. Her eyes flicking toward Faith as the woman prowls around the living room, Dawn orders spring rolls, satay and green curry and decides that if Faith doesn't like it, oh well.
"Nice place," Faith says as Dawn hangs up.
"It's okay. We've got a guest room," Dawn volunteers and then starts to wonder what Faith might think. "I mean, it used to be Andrew's room, but he moved in with Mike and Charlotte and so it's empty now, if...uh, if you don't have a hotel."
"Cool. You don't mind if I crash?" Faith sprawls on the couch next to her, relaxing back into the cushions. She looks over at Dawn's head shake and shrugs. "Great. One less thing to do. Only gonna be here one night. So? Andrew? Mike and Charlotte? Which one's he doing?"
Dawn laughs, shaking her head. "You can never tell. I swear. Willow says he's dating both, but Buffy says she can't imagine two people of any gender willing to date Andrew."
Faith raises an eyebrow at that, snorting.
"That's just her being mean, though," Dawn hears herself going on, wondering why she feels all antsy with Faith looking at her like that. "She really doesn't hate Andrew, just thinks he's kinda..."
"Annoying?"
"Yeah." Dawn nods, brain churning in an attempt to come up with something to say. Anything. "Uh, drink? We've got soda, milk, wine, and--"
"Wine?" Faith gets a wicked look on her face, her smile tilting slightly.
Standing up, Dawn points to the DVDs. "Pick a movie. I'll be right back."
Once in the kitchen, she stands in front of the refrigerator and contemplates banging her head into it. "Soda, milk," she snarks quietly to herself. "Yeah, just remind her that she knew you when you were twelve and even stupider than now. Great."
Shaking her head, Dawn retrieves a bottle of red wine, two glasses and the corkscrew. Then, realizing they'll need plates, grabs those as well. She stares at it all for a few minutes, trying to psych herself back up. The knock on the door almost has her jumping out of her skin. She hears Faith's footsteps and hurries the wine into the living room.
Faith returns a moment later, setting the food on the table and then flopping back onto the couch. She glances at the wine and the grabs the corkscrew. "I put in a Jackie Chan. That good with you?"
"Jackie Chan?" Dawn groans, sinking down onto the coach and sorting out the boxes. "Please tell me you're not going to tell me how everybody's doing it wrong and how you could do it better and then regale me with tales of past glory."
Faith stops, glancing over at her with a smile on her face. "Buffy habit?" I'm not Buffy."
Dawn opens her mouth and then realizes she's not sure what to say. "Uh, actually," she finally begins, "Buffy hasn't done that in years, but I figured...dojo owner, Slayer, martial arts instructor, I'm probably in for it."
Faith's expression changes and Dawn has the urge to backpedal, though she's not even sure what she's said to cause that confused look in the first place. Damn it. Things had been going well and there'd been smiling and...damn.
"Dojo owner. How'd you know about that?"
Dawn shrugs, looking quickly back to the boxes. "Uh, Giles told me."
"Why?"
"I, uh, might've asked," Dawn admits, taking her food and retreating to the corner of the sofa. Faith's still watching her, but Dawn reaches for the remote and starts the DVD. She tries to ignore the little smile that lifts Faith's lips, hell, she pretends she's not even looking, but it proves to be infectious and she feels her own lips curving when Faith hands her a glass of wine.
"Well, I don't do that. It's just a movie." Faith curls her body up onto the sofa, closer than Dawn had expected. She can feel the heat from Faith's body and swallows hard, turning to the TV and trying not to think about it.
It doesn't work and Dawn turns to the wine. The first glass is gone way too quickly. She's got a good start on the second before the silence between the two of them begins to seem stretched too thin and not even the shouting on the TV can make up for it. The silence makes her feel open, like a book on a table with pages fluttering all about, as if her every move is speaking volumes and there's nothing to distract Faith, nothing to keep her from reading the words.
"So, what's this talisman thingie?" Dawn says, glancing over to find Faith already looking at her. There's something about the smile on the Slayer's face that makes Dawn feel like squirming and she's not sure if it's good or bad.
"Talisman? Oh, yeah. I've got to pick it up in the morning. Some kind of ancient evil releasing piece of junk." Shrugging, Faith slides lower on the couch, bringing her body just a bit closer to Dawn's. "So, what's this with the sister thingie?"
"What?" Dawn blinks, surprised to hear her own words thrown back at her like that and more so to realize Faith's picked up on her slight bitterness toward Buffy. Surprised that Faith even cared to ask."
"What's up with you and your sister," Faith says, more slowly now, sarcastic, but not as if she's talking to an idiot or a child. She hasn't treated Dawn like a kid all this time and Dawn's just glad that Faith hasn't decided to start now.
"Uh, we're...well...it's nothing," Dawn finally says, knowing she's slipped into that slightly superior tone that always gives away her lies.
Faith just gives her a look, one that says she doesn't believe a word Dawn is saying, but she's not going to push it.
"That's good, then," Faith shrugs, but she's still not looking at the movie. Dawn can feel the woman's eyes on her, can see--not that she's looking--that weird smile on Faith's face.
Faith opens her mouth to say something and Dawn's suddenly all but crushed under the need not to hear whatever Faith's going to say.
"Uh, why don't I get some napkins." Dawn moves to stand up and feels a hand on her arm. Deep breaths. Just breathe, she tells herself, turning to look at Faith with what she knows has to be a deer in the headlights expression.
"How long you been crushin' on me?" Faith asks, that simple, as if she's asking Dawn to pick up another fork while she's in the kitchen.
Dawn feels her eyes go wide, her heart pounding so hard she's half certain it's going to leap out of her chest. "What? I'm not." She pulls her arm out of Faith's grasp, unable to look away as Faith slinks to her feet.
"Oh, come on. I'm not that dumb, Dawn." Faith steps toward her and Dawn can't bring herself to back away. She feels frozen, eyes going wide as Faith is suddenly in her personal space. "You've been staring at my lips since I got here, for one."
Dawn swallows hard, forcing her eyes up to meet Faith's. "Uh, you're--"
Then Faith is kissing her. Dawn can't move, can't process what's happening as Faith's lips settle against hers, as Faith's tongue sweeps out. Dawn parts her lips automatically, her eyes closing and a small sound slipping out only to be muffled.
Melting into the kiss, Dawn feels her own hands moving to Faith's waist, feels herself responding to the insistent thrusts of the other woman's tongue. A moan slips from her lips and she gasps when Faith pulls away, surprising even herself with her whimper of disappointment.
She stares at the other woman, that smile pulling at things deep inside her, sending heat coursing underneath her skin. She's breathing hard and can't seem to stop and her ears are filled with the pounding of her heart.
"What? Were you going to say I was wrong?" Faith's still so close, her voice just a hair from cocky as she twists her fingers and Dawn realizes that they're firmly entrenched in her hair.
"Uh...what?" Dawn swallows, trying to get her mind to stop spinning. Because, as amazing as the kiss was, she knows Faith's messing with her, that this has to be some kind of big joke to the other woman.
"You were gonna say I was wrong, huh?" Faith's smile grows wider and the woman leans in close, Dawn's breath hitching. "You got a thing for me?" She asks softly and Dawn's not sure what to say, or not to say.
The room's spinning with Faith so close and Dawn can't help but notice everything at once. The way Faith smells--like sandalwood and earth, musky, deep and dark--and the heat coming off her skin. It's all intensified with the woman's taste on her lips and...
"Uhh..."
Faith's tongue darts along her ear and Dawn gasps, arching her body against Faith's without a thought. "Yes," the word seems ripped from her, breathless and husky in a way she never knew her voice could be.
Faith tugs lightly at her hair again and Dawn lets her head fall back, looking up into dark, smiling eyes. They seem so wide now, from this close up and heat pools low in Dawn's body.
"Where's your bedroom?"
Dawn nods toward the correct door, unable to form words as a hundred fantasies spring to life in her living room. Faith's hand slides out of her hair and moves down her arm, calloused palm over soft skin, leaving gooseflesh in its wake. Faith intertwines their hands, pulling Dawn toward the door.
Dawn lets herself be led; her eyes focused on her hand in Faith's, that kiss replaying itself over and over in her mind. "Faith?" And again her voice is breathless and just...different.
"Yeah?" Faith turns, dropping her hand and leaning against the door jamb, her long body lean and relaxed. Dawn has to force herself to hold the other woman's gaze.
"I, uh, I've...I've never...with, um...another...yeah." She's almost holding her breath, waiting to see what Faith will do, what she'll say and Dawn fears laughter more than anything right then. Her stomach knots and still there's that warmth riding her skin.
"I figured." Faith shrugs, moving to stand in front of her, those hands on her arms again. "Don't worry," Faith murmurs, those lips so close to her ear she can feel them brushing it lightly with each word. "It's old hat to me. I'll, uh, guide ya around the curves." Faith laughs and it's not all humor, but Dawn gets the strangest feeling that the tinge of bitterness is directed inward and has nothing do with her. She hesitates then, tempted to ask Faith what's on her mind and yet...god, she's flushed now, warm and there's a tingle in her blood, pouring through her body.
Faith guides her hands and suddenly Dawn's fingers are pressed firmly against the other woman's hips. Dawn looks up as Faith leans in, wicked tongue darting out along her lips once again.
"You can touch," Faith whispers and Dawn inhales sharply, her fingers pressing against firm muscles and well-shaped bone. She slides her hands up, tentative, brushing lightly over the thin strip of flesh showing between Faith's pants and her shirt. Her eyes skim down Faith's body focusing on the skin beneath her hands. She rubs her fingers over it, gasping at the humming moan her touch elicits from Faith.
"Nice," Faith says and her hands are moving up Dawn's arms, fingers dipping just barely under the straps of Dawn's tank top. Feeling her whole body tighten, nipples hardening, Dawn lets her eyes fall closed, lets her hands slip up under the edge of Faith's shirt. "That's it," Faith coaxes, her lithe body arching against Dawn's hands.
With her eyes closed, it's all feeling. All smooth skin and tight muscle, Faith's fingers playing over her shoulders, her neck, her face, slipping through her hair. Dawn feels the heat building between her thighs and tilts her head as Faith's lips brush over her neck again, delivering soft kisses, quick, darting licks and every once in a while a nip at her skin.
Her hands slide up Faith's sides, thumbs brushing along the bottom of the woman's breasts. Soft, slightly heavy, the weight against her hands makes Dawn smile and she feels a little braver. She opens her eyes, leans in to lick at Faith's ear, her hands surging up to cup the woman's breast. Faith groans and the sound sends a shiver along her body.
"Very nice," Faith whispers as she presses their bodies together, her hands sliding down Dawn's back. "You ready to go into the bedroom?"
There's none of the laughter Dawn had expected in Faith's voice and that's what finally gets her feet moving. Faith slides out of her arms, takes her hands and leads her into the bedroom. Dawn swallows hard again, but she's not about to let this chance slip past. She's already more than half convinced that it's a dream and she's going to wake up alone on the couch, again.
Faith moves to the bed, body seemingly completely relaxed. The woman pulls her top off easily and Dawn's mouth goes dry. She swallows hard and moves to take off her own shirt. Faith's there in a moment, her hands sliding over Dawn's.
"Oh, no, let me do that, but not yet. Slow down."
Dawn nods, licking her lips and trying to think of anything to say. She should say something, shouldn't she? Or maybe she shouldn't. She might say something stupid, might ruin everything and all she can really think about at the moments is the way Faith's brushing her fingers along the collar of her tank top.
She opens her mouth, not completely sure what's going to come tumbling out, and can only sigh her relief when Faith's finger touches her lip. "No. Don't say anything unless it's, 'okay, changed my mind, Faithy. Let's go back to Jackie Chan and Thai food.'" Faith looks completely serious, as if she thinks those words might actually pass Dawn's lips.
"That's not gonna happen," Dawn can't help but mumble and the smile that Faith gives her is...beyond her description. Faith leans in, pressing their bodies together and it's electric, all Dawn's nerves standing up to take notice.
She's lost then. Her brain fogged with the feeling of hands and lips all over her body, the sensation of touching that soft, lithe frame in return. Faith lays her down on the bed, takes her shirt off slowly, kissing each bit of exposed skin. Dawn never expected, never fantasized it would be this way, so soft and slow. Not from Faith, and yet it's good that it's not the wild passion because she's pretty sure that would scare the hell out of her right now.
Instead, the slow pace lets her relax into the touches, so she barely notices when her shirt's on the floor and her bra's hanging from the headboard. She gasps at the tip of Faith's tongue dipping into her navel, Faith's nails dragging over her exposed nipples, tight and tingling.
Faith's fingers pop the button of her slacks and Dawn arches her hips up, gasping, as Faith draws her pants over her hips. Faith talks to her, now and then, when she isn't licking or sucking some bit of skin. Dawn's not sure what the other woman says, though; her mind's too caught up in the slight nip of teeth against her inner thigh, the scrape of nails as her pants are slipped over her feet and tossed away.
Then Faith crawls up her body and Dawn reaches out to her, slipping her hands into wild black hair and then lower, reveling in the arch of shoulder, the smooth expanse of Faith's back under her finger tips, the curve of the other woman's ass.
Faith's lips are on her again, moving over jaw line and neck, slipping lower to suck at one nipple and then the other. Dawn's body responds without anything from her--which is good as she's not sure she can hold a thought just then--arching up into the other woman's mouth and hands...Hands that are sliding down her body, one slipping between her thighs.
Dawn gasps, all breath rushing from her body as Faith's fingers slip between her lips, brushing over her clit. Her body goes rigid, all her muscles tightening, bowing her back as her hands tangle in the sheets.
Faith's lying beside her, lips brushing her ear, though it takes a moment for the murmured words to penetrate the fog in her skull. "Relax, girl, or your spine's gonna pop." There's amusement in the other woman's voice, but Dawn can hardly care. Faith's fingers slide inside her, thumb keeping up a steady stroking over her clit.
Dawn tilts her head automatically as Faith's lips brush her shoulder and the woman thrusts her fingers deeper, driving the air from Dawn's lung on a moan. She can feel her orgasm building, the sharp jolts of pleasure driving her to clench tight around the other woman's thrusting fingers.
Her body tightens until her legs are shaking and she's pushing against the sheet as if she's trying to climb up the bed. Her breathing's loud in the room and then the orgasm breaks, washing over her and drowning everything else out for a long moment. Her muscles clench and she shudders, groaning loudly.
When her body once again relaxes, Dawn feels liquid and heavy, her entire body pulsing and tingling.
Faith laughs, propping her head up on her elbow and looking down at Dawn. "Wanna go again?" Faith brushes lightly over Dawn's clit, making her cry out and nearly jump off the bed.
"Uh, not...not yet," Dawn pants out, smiling at the woman. "Think it's your turn though." She didn't feel so self-conscious now, though she was still nervous. "I...I want to try," she said with a shy smile, turning to face Faith.
Dawn sighs, curling herself around Faith. She feels languid, relaxed, so much so that when Faith asks about Buffy again, Dawn doesn't remember that she doesn't want to talk about it.
"Oh, she's in Madagascar."
"Right. And?"
"And what? She's never here anymore." Dawn feels her eyes trying to close and fights it, wanting to stay awake as long as she can.
"You really want her around all the time? Think of all the things you couldn't do with her looking over your shoulder." Faith runs her hand down Dawn's back and Dawn knows the point the woman's trying to make. "You're not a kid anymore," Faith snorts.
"Doesn't mean she can't call to make sure I'm okay. Not been eaten by vampires or...eaten by demons."
"Or fucked by Slayers," Faith puts in with a snort. "Do you really want her checking up?"
"I want her to give a shit," Dawn says, suddenly not nearly as comfortable as she had been. Sitting up, she reaches for her shirt, but stops when Faith's hand lands on her arm and the woman's naked body presses her from behind.
"You know she does. God, she cares about everybody, most of all you."
"Yeah. That's not exactly obvious," Dawn mutters, though she drops her arm and leans back against Faith.
"Might be," Faith says close to her ear, those wonderfully rough hands coming up to wrap around her. "If you knew all the facts."
"What facts? Giles calls, she goes. Barely says goodbye...forgets my birthday."
"Or...sends me to pretend to pick up an artifact, talk you into coming to London with me, and lead you, all unknowing, to your party," Faith chuckles, shaking her head.
Dawn blinks, turning to the woman. "What? Who...whose idea was it to send you?" she asks, suddenly feeling as if she's not the only one that's 'been had', so to speak.
"Giles. He said you'd buy me trying to talk you into it easier than him."
"He knew!" Dawn shouts, shaking her had. "All along! He never told you I'd asked about you? He said he thought it was 'cute' that I wanted you to know you had a friend...which," Dawn rants, suddenly up and pacing her bedroom floor, "was what he thought, but how could you know if he never told you? He knew!"
"What?" Faith's eyes are wide and she shakes her head. "Uh, knew?"
"The crush," Dawn says before she thinks better of it. Her back to Faith, she stops dead in her tracks, feeling her face scrunch up. Great. It seemed like Faith knew anyway, but...it feels different, saying it out loud like that.
"Well, we had fun," Faith offers and Dawn turns, sighing.
"Yeah. We had fun." And she knows that's all it's going to be. She's always known that if anything like this actually ever happened...Faith would go back to Cleveland, where her life was. Dawn really doesn't expect more.
"Wait. So, you're saying the old Watcher knew that you...and sent me because...well, I think I'm one hell of a birthday gift!" Faith strikes a sultry pose and Dawn can't help but laugh.
"Well," she blushes, but forces herself to keep her eyes locked with Faith's, "I enjoyed you." She bites her lips, feeling shy again.
"Good." Faith pats the bed beside her and then slips under the covers. "Now, we have a ten a.m. flight and you've still gotta pack. I recommend getting your tight little ass in bed."