title: A Christmas Story
author: cheebs!
email: chbkamen@optonline.net
summary: a moment from "Amends" after the credits rolled
rating: PG
characters: Faith, Buffy
improv # 50: crisp, fall, return, ending
disclaimer: characters aren't mine, or the show would be a
lot slashier. ^_^
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She waited by the window until well past the time dawn came, grey and overcast, watching the snow fall. With each
hour that Buffy did not return, her doubts nagged just a little more. 'She lied,' they whispered in a voice too much
like her dead mother's, 'she's with him and she'll say anything to be with him. She doesn't care about you. Why
should she? Nobody else ever did.' Faith forced the thoughts away as best she could, aiming to leave them in the darkest
recesses of her mind.
A blast of crisp wintery air hit her cheek, which leaned against the frosted glass, and she shivered as it ran down
her neck and tickled the hairs there. The voice changed suddenly, turning proper and English: 'You're still an idiot,
Faith. Still so eager to please, and play the watchdog while she consorts with a demon you don't dare slay because she'd
hate you for it.'
Her mouth was suddenly terribly dry, and her throat felt like it held a lump the size of a golf ball. She closed her eyes
and swallowed, shifting her face to a cooler section of the pane. When she opened them again, /they/ were there, and
those doubts came that much closer to taking hold as she observed their body language. Their kiss, tender and
passionate as anything in the old movies, turned her qualms into a keen blade which not only buried itself in her heart
but twisted roughly. Her eyes burned with tears she refused
to shed, and she felt as if the world was ending. 'Why should I expect anything different?' she thought. 'She never gave
me any reason to think I was anything to her. She only invited me because her mom made her.'
They separated, and Buffy walked towards the tree she often climbed to get back into her room. The bounce in her step
did not go unnoticed by the younger girl, who flew from her window perch to her prearranged side of the bed, drew the
blanket up over her head and sunk her face in the pillow, fighting the urge to cry. She had barely settled when she
heard the window slide open, then a light thud which she presumed was Buffy's feet hitting the floor; the window slid
shut. There was near-inaudible rustling as she changed into her nightclothes, and the mattress sank to one side as she
lay down.
"I know you're awake."
Faith slowed her breathing, thinking the rise and fall of her chest had given her away.
"Nice try," Buffy said in a playful tone. A second later her fingers found Faith's side and tickled her ribs. She
kept up her attack until the covers were thrown over her head and she was tackled, blinded. She now found herself
on the receiving end of a similar assault. Shrieking with laughter, she struggled to disentangle herself, finally
doing so and kicking the bedclothes to the floor. Unhindered,
she gained the upper hand. She straddled the other girl's hips and trapped her hands against her abdomen. "Give?"
Tired as she was, Faith didn't trust herself to speak without saying something incredibly stupid, so she nodded her head
quickly. Her silence signalled the older girl that something was wrong, and Faith's unusually bright, red-rimmed eyes
confirmed the suspicion. She swung her leg over to an empty spot on the bed, setting it bouncing. "Faith, what's wrong?"
she asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.
Faith sat up, crossing her arms and ankles as she directed her gaze out the window. "Just thinking about home," she
lied, her voice cracking, "what with the snow and all."
Buffy accepted the response; in the time she'd known the other Slayer, she'd been secretive about her home life,
and asking questions didn't seem appropriate. Now she realised she didn't even know if Faith had any siblings."You miss your family?"
"Nobody to miss," Faith mumbled in reply, her brow furrowing angrily as she realised she _did_ miss South Boston, though
her life there had been anything but happy. "Always wanted a sister, though," she continued, letting a minor truth slip,
not adding how many times she'd wished for an older relation to protect her.
"I used to ask Santa Claus for a sister," Buffy confided.
Faith laughed explosively. "You actually believed in that?"
Buffy pouted petulantly. "Of course. Oh, let me guess, you were too cool for Santa," she mocked, eyes twinkling.
"Yeah, that's it exactly, B," Faith answered in a quiet tone that belied her inner turmoil. She didn't want to shatter
what remained of the blonde's innocence as her mother had hers, one Christmas morning when she'd innoxiously asked why
she hadn't gotten what she'd asked for. She shook off the melancholy and smiled, unconvincingly, forgetting the other
could read her like an open book.
"Hey...." Buffy cursed inwardly; she hadn't meant to further upset the younger girl. She pulled Faith into a hug and felt
her stiffen. "It's better than believing in him until you're 12," she added, blushing.
Something between laughter and a strangled sob burst forth, and tears trickled from Faith's eyes. She decided on laughter
and relaxed into the arms that held her. "You didn't."
"I did." Buffy smiled warmly at the brunette, whose head was leaning back on her shoulder. "I wouldn't believe the other
kids, 'cause I figured my parents wouldn't have lied to me." Her comment was meant playfully, but was delivered bitterly.
"At least they cared enough to lie to make you happy," Faith rejoined before falling silent.
A palpable stillness fell over the room as both girls lost themselves in unhappy musings of betrayals by parents and
authority figures. It went unbroken for some time, until a slow smile crept over Buffy's face and she spoke at long
last. "You know...I think Santa does exist." The statement was met with silence, so she continued. "He finally brought
me something I asked him for for years, even if it was a few months early."
"What's that?" Faith questioned finally.
"A sister, of sorts," Buffy explained with a yawn, embracing her sister-in-arms more tightly and snuggling against her
side. " 'Night, Faith. Merry Christmas."
Faith looked down bemusedly at the petite and seemingly fragile girl for whom she was a pillow. Something inside
her changed and was reflected in the now-tranquil expression on her face. "Merry Christmas, B," she murmured, taking her
into her arms and canting her dark head against the blonde's. 'Sister...yeah, I can handle that.'
Exhausted, the Chosen Two took comfort in each other and slept away the last few hours before Sunnydale awoke to its
first white Christmas.
~end~
