As Faith had cursed, moaned, and grumbled, Buffy did her best not to fall asleep in the plush armchair near the bed. She had apologized profusely and offered to buy Faith a new pair, but Faith had mumbled something about ‘not going to the pound to buy a puppy when your best friend dies.’

Buffy had managed to fall asleep for a few minutes in the chair, ignoring the general fuss that Faith was making as she lay on the floor with her mauled boot. When she woke from her five-minute nap, she realized that Faith, too, had fallen asleep while cradling her boot in her arms.

She stumbled over to the sleeping girl, smiling at how small she looked curled up on the floor. Buffy also realized how much hell she was going to catch in the morning for the maiming of an innocent boot. It wasn’t just any old boot. This boot was a celebrity. It had been around as long as Buffy had known Faith; she didn’t want to even think about what Faith had to do or what demon she had sold her soul to in order to keep the things from reeking.

And then Buffy started to get a little bit scared. What if they woke up in the morning and things were different? No, they hadn’t had sex. But they had done things that were slightly more than friend-ish. Had they not been so clumsy and uncoordinated, they most likely would have finished what they started.

In fact, Buffy was almost happy about the boot-maiming incident, as it might draw some of the attention away from the almost-sex that they had.

Still, they had never established firm rules. Sure, Faith spat out a few guidelines . . . no jealousy, blah blah blah. When Faith brought up the notion of friends with benefits in the club, Buffy immediately thought that it could work if they were both on the same page. She knew that after all that had happened, there was likely no chance that neither she nor Faith were up for big new relationships.

But that didn’t change the fact that they both had basic needs, and seeing as that her life was much less complicated now, she was ready to act on said needs. For the first time in . . . well, a long time . . . she was ready to be a little selfish and put herself, and her own needs, first.

Going out to a club to find a random bedmate hadn’t really appealed to Buffy, but she decided to try it out just to say that she had. When Faith had thrown out the idea of the two of them together, it almost made perfect sense to her. Granted that she had never been with a woman before, the idea didn’t squick her out. That had to count for something.

And the best part was that she knew that neither she nor Faith would get attached to one another, as they had always been like oil and water together: fine while separate, but unmix-y when forced together. At least for long periods of time.

So maybe that analogy wasn’t the greatest. But she knew that there would never be any earth-shattering relationship between herself and Faith, so she didn’t mind leaping in. At least it would be easy to walk away when all was said and done, and that in itself was a big relief for Buffy.

But now she wasn’t exactly sure of where they stood. Had she ruined their friendship and their chances of friends with benefits with her general clumsiness and the maiming of the boot?

Buffy, of course, was willing to give it yet another attempt, but she had to be sure that Faith wanted to as well before she would act on it again. However, she was perfectly fine leaving well-enough alone if Faith dropped the subject. She’d suppressed her needs in the past . . . surely she could do so again. This time seemed especially difficult, but Buffy was adamant about beating the urge if that was the case. If Faith turned her away, she’d just . . . repress, repress, repress.

It was nothing that a few years of therapy down the road wouldn’t be able to fix.

Or at least a small investment in a very durable vibrator.

After much internal debate, Buffy used the last of her strength to pull Faith up and onto the bed, collapsing on it herself after she had situated Faith near the center. Carefully, she pried the boot from Faith’s arms and tossed it onto the armchair, wincing slightly as it bounced off the chair and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

She stole a peek at the sleeping girl beside her and, realizing that she was out like a light, relaxed back into the pillow and temporarily put the memory of the boot and the embarrassing evening out of her mind so that she, too, could sleep.

**********

Buffy awoke to the bright L.A. sun only to realize that she was alone in the bed. She peeked one of her eyes open, taking a peripheral glance around the room to see if she could spot an angry slayer with a pair of scissors and a taste for revenge. Seeing only the mess that they had made of the room the night before, she sat up and glanced more fully around the room.

Faith’s boots, as well as her jacket, had disappeared.

Sighing as she flopped back down onto the mattress, Buffy realized that she had gone and finally driven Faith away. No goodbye note, no goodbye revenge, and not even a goodbye kiss. She couldn’t believe that Faith would leave over something as silly as a pair of boots, but she couldn’t even focus on that right now. The loud banging in her head from her previous night of drinking and ‘debauchery’ was finally catching up with her.

Knowing fully well that sleep was the best thing to clear her head and take the pain away, she rolled onto her side and curled up with the pillow Faith had been resting on, taking in a deep breath and she tucked it under her chin.

She’d deal with the missing slayer in a couple of hours. Maybe by then Faith would come to her senses and make her way back to the hotel.

**********

After another few hours had passed, Buffy awoke this time not to the bright sun, but to the feel of someone yanking the pillow out from her arms. A small grunt escaped her throat as she clung to the pillow, finally letting go as she felt herself being pulled by it towards the edge of the bed.

“Cut it out, Summers. First you kill my boot and now you steal my pillow. What next . . . are you gonna clean the toilet with my toothbrush?” Faith asked sarcastically but without even a hint of malice in her tone.

Buffy knew that Faith was trying to act pissed off but was, in actuality, not.

“Maybe after I use it to clean the lint out of my bellybutton.” Buffy answered with a yawn, trying to pull the pillow out of Faith’s arms.

“That . . . is pretty sick, B. You’re nastier than I thought.” Faith commented as she pulled off her jacket and climbed onto the bed in her tank and jeans.

She slid underneath the covers, fumbling underneath them to pull off her jeans and kick them off to the side. Faith had never quite been a modest person, so Buffy was somewhat surprised to see her acting so reserved while getting undressed.

“Where’d you go anyways,” Buffy asked, “and why didn’t you say you were going?”

Though Faith was now resting back with her head on her pillow, Buffy kept trying to steal it back, knowing fully well that she rested more comfortably with her arms around something.

Faith was amused with Buffy’s actions for a moment, but quickly became annoyed when she couldn’t explain her absence for trying to defend her pillow. In a quick move, she grabbed Buffy’s arm and tugged the girl closer, wrapping Buffy’s arm over her stomach so that she was using Faith like she had been the pillow.

Buffy smiled and rested her head back down on her own pillow, tightening her arm around Faith’s waist just a bit as Faith began her explanation.

“I just went for a walk, B. Needed some air, some time to unwind. And I borrowed a hundred bucks from Big A so that I could get some new boots. No big.”

Buffy frowned a little.

“Did I mention that I’m sorry?” She asked, cringing a little as she said the words.

Faith smiled a little, using her right hand to play with the arm that Buffy had draped over her stomach.

“Yeah, ya did. Don’t worry ‘bout it, B. They’ve been through worse. Maybe it was time for a change. Besides . . . it was an accident. We were drunk and clumsy, and . . . yunno.” Faith said, trying not to look directly at Buffy but focusing more on the way they were now playing with one another’s hands on her stomach.

“Yeah.” Buffy agreed nervously. “We were pretty . . . drunk.”

“Yep.” Faith agreed, the conversation a bit awkward but both girls at ease as their fingertips met again and again.

“That was some crazy string of events, huh? With your shirt, and the bed, and the . . . scissors.” Buffy said with a nervous chuckle. “I guess that was our sign right there, huh.”

“Yeah, totally.” Faith agreed. “That was definitely someone’s way of telling us to stop.”

“Yep.” Buffy agreed, trying not to be too obvious as she snuck a peek up at Faith’s face to see if she could gauge what she was thinking.

Faith had taken the exact same opportunity to glance over at Buffy’s face, both girls freezing a bit as their eyes met. Buffy chuckled nervously as she tried to move her gaze away, but she found that she couldn’t. She was lost in the deep brown eyes that were looking at her with confusion and desire both at the same time.

“So . . .” Faith hedged, “. . . it was a mistake then, right?” Her hand never stopped playing with Buffy’s during the whole conversation, but now her fingertips slowed down so that it seemed as if they weren’t moving at all.

“Oh, totally.” Buffy agreed again, though her head seemed to shake ‘no’ as she said the words. “It was just a mistake, and we were just . . . mistaken,” she continued. “We should totally just forget about it, right?”

“Right.” Faith said with a bit more certainty, not even noticing that her fingertips started moving again and that her fingers seemed to have locked together with Buffy’s now.

“Good. Great.” Buffy said, finally able to move her gaze away from Faith’s. She let a large breath out, almost relieved that the conversation went the way it did.

That was that. What had happened wasn’t meant to, and the whole crazy idea of ‘friends with benefits’ was now thrown out the window.

“Or maybe we shouldn’t.” Faith suddenly added, squeezing Buffy’s hand a little bit as it still lay draped over her stomach.

Buffy had just about realized what Faith said when she felt her body being moved back a bit and Faith’s lips pressed softly against hers.

The kiss took them both by surprise; Faith because she didn’t actually know what her body was doing, and Buffy because she genuinely thought that they had missed their chance.

But as their soft lips pressed together once and lingered, it was almost impossible to stop them from moving again, lips parting further to taste and feel more. Their slow kisses remained soft but the urgency behind them increased even more as both girls began to fill with excitement.

This was it. It was now or never. Do or die. Hot wet sex or a trip to the sex toy shop.

The choice was apparent as Buffy parted her lips, allowing Faith’s tongue to enter her mouth. It wasn’t their first kiss. They had kissed in the club after being spurned on by the group of men, and there was that time that Faith had kissed Buffy on the forehead before running off to the Mayor.

And through all that time, Buffy had never quite forgotten exactly how soft Faith’s lips were, and how she had secretly yearned to feel them as they were now, soft yet insistent against her own.

It didn’t take long before the slayers were breathing heavy into one another’s mouths, all of the days of sexual frustration coming to a head now. They kissed as if they had done so a hundred times before, yet their hands roamed each other’s bodies as if it was their first time touching. Like they were desperate to feel more, to know every curve and secret that their clothes had hidden for so many years.

Buffy found herself scooting up a bit more to be even with Faith, raising her arms up over her head so that Faith could finish pulling off the shirt that her hands had been so busy roaming under. She heard Faith snigger a bit as she pulled the shirt off of Buffy without a hitch, reclaiming some of the cool that she had lost the night before.

The blonde slayer couldn’t help but smile at Faith’s reaction to her seemingly simple feat. Before Faith could lean in to kiss her again, Buffy lowered her arms from above her head and held Faith’s face in her hands, stroking her thumb over Faith’s dimples before leaning in to kiss her soft lips yet again. There was no doubt that a moment had passed between them as the two girls had made brief eye-contact, both Buffy and Faith feeling a tiny flutter in their stomach before Buffy ended the moment by leaning in for another kiss.

There would be time to ponder the flutter later. Now was time for sex. Sex that seemed to be getting closer and closer to happening as Faith pulled back to lift off her own tank top. She tossed it across the room before taking a moment to sit back and appreciate Buffy’s nearly-naked form, grinning as she watched Buffy doing the exact same to her.

“Not bad, right?” Faith asked with a grin.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” Buffy responded, trying to hide her own grin as she pretended to be unimpressed.

Faith scoffed. “Don’t make me put the shirt back on, B.”

Buffy laughed and put her arms around Faith, pulling the girl down with her so that she laid half on top of her body.

“You better not. If you do, how am I gonna do this?” Buffy asked as she gently cupped Faith’s breast in her hand, letting her thumb roll ever so lightly over Faith’s hardened nipple.

“Right.” Faith answered as she peppered small kisses over Buffy’s lips, down to her neck, and across her collarbone. “Shirts are definitely of the bad right now.”

Buffy smiled and let out a small laugh which was quickly followed by a moan as Faith began to suck and kiss over her pulse point. That was it . . . Faith had found her weak spot. She’d never let Angel kiss there after he had drank from her, Riley was too busy slobbering over her to notice her neck, and there was no way that she was even going to let Spike there. Her sweet spot had gone unloved for so long, and now Faith was focusing all of her attention on it as Buffy moaned in appreciation.

Faith continued to kiss and suck on Buffy’s pulse point as Buffy held her loosely against her neck with a hand tangled in the back of her hair. She loved that Buffy actually seemed into this . . . was actually enjoying herself. She found that she had to pinch herself once or twice to see if this was really happening, but she didn’t wake up from some hot and horny dream. She was very much awake, with a very hot and horny Buffy playing with her nipple.

Faith kissed her way over Buffy’s neck, up behind her ear, and then she finally kissed the shell of Buffy’s ear softly, loving the small gasps and moans that the girl was making.

“B,” she whispered against Buffy’s ear, “I want you to come for me.”

Buffy moaned at Faith’s words, and then again as she felt Faith’s wandering hand stop between her legs, letting a single finger trace upward once over her already moist panties.

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Buffy responded, turning her head to the side so that she could capture Faith’s lips with her own. They kissed yet again, their lips becoming more insistent as the moments went by. Buffy pulled back after a few moments, just enough so that her lips brushed against Faith’s as she spoke: “But I want you to come for me too. With me. I want you to come with me, Faith.”

Faith smiled against Buffy’s lips before kissing her with everything that she had been holding back up until that point. They kissed hard now, deep and quick as Faith’s hand began to fumble with Buffy’s panties.

She fumbled for a moment or two, even trying to rip the side of the panties for easy access. The panties, however, refused to tear, a seemingly quiet oath to protect the goods that lay underneath. Undeterred, Faith simply slid her fingertips underneath the side of the steadfast panties, almost losing herself when she felt exactly how wet Buffy was.

Buffy shuddered with the contact Faith made with her, her shaking body giving up the cool façade that she was trying to keep on at all costs. This was good for her, but it was also a bit scary. It was new, and . . . she didn’t want to screw up. She didn’t want to let Faith, or herself, down.

Faith must have felt Buffy shaking after the initial shudder and she pulled back from the kiss so that she could look into Buffy’s eyes.

“Are you okay?” She whispered.

Buffy nodded, trying to shake off her sudden unease. “Yeah, just . . . new at this. Big with the intimidation.” She had no doubt in her mind that she was blushing now. She almost wanted to crawl off somewhere and be embarrassed when she saw a warm smile spread on Faith’s face.

“Don’t be intimidated. We’re friends, B. Adult friends. And we’re giving each other what we really, really need.” She said with a small chuckle. “Yeah, it’s new. But just go with it. Who knows . . . ya might like it.”

Buffy smiled at her, feeling her inhibitions shed almost immediately.

“Besides,” Faith continued, “if it’s not feeling ‘right’, just say the word and we stop. End of discussion. ‘Kay?”

Buffy nodded her head, then brought her hand up to Faith’s cheek again as she looked into her deep brown eyes. Faith smiled and leaned her head into Buffy’s hand before turning to kiss her palm. Neither girl had planned on tenderness, but it was there, no matter how you at it.

Without hesitation, they started kissing again, eager to finish what was started the night before. They kissed a bit softer now, lips and tongues touching and tasting and enjoying every moment.

Throwing caution to the wind, Faith began to move her fingertips, sliding them around Buffy’s wet folds within the confines of her tight panties. They basked in the slick heat, feeling as if they belonged there. As if they had been there before. As if they would never leave. She teased her fingers softly over Buffy’s hardened clit, teasing Buffy’s tongue with hers in the exact same way.

Buffy gasped at the contact, her hips involuntarily bucking so that she pushed right against Faith’s eager hand. She didn’t care that it was Faith’s hand. In fact, she was rather enjoying that fact. She hadn’t felt this wet . . . this excited in longer than she could remember. It felt a bit risqué and a bit . . . naughty, at least as far as the ‘history of Buffy’ went. No, she didn’t mind that it was Faith’s hand in her panties at all.

And she certainly didn’t mind that she’d be coming all over it soon if Faith kept circling hard over her clit like she currently was doing.

“Oh god.” Buffy moaned as Faith’s mouth left hers and began to kiss a hot wet trail to her neck. The brunette made her way to Buffy’s pulse point and began to lick and nibble on it again as her fingers expertly circled over and around Buffy’s clit. Buffy’s hips began to move in time with Faith’s motions, causing Faith’s center to press down against Buffy’s thigh again and again.

It didn’t matter that Faith was wearing panties. It didn’t matter that she was coming into contact with Buffy’s muscled thigh only now and again. The fact remained that her panties showed the evidence of her need, leaving a slight hint of juices on Buffy’s thigh.

Buffy was intrigued. She hadn’t thought that she could ever make that happen to someone. Men were different. Show them a picture of a nipple and they’re ready to go. This was different. This was Faith. And Faith was dripping wet and waiting to be fucked by her.

Slowly, with much curiosity, Buffy ran her hand down Faith’s side, loving the soft feel of every inch of her skin. There were no rippling muscles, or unruly body hair. It was soft, and tantalizing, and Buffy suddenly felt the need to chart every curve of Faith’s body. But that could wait. Now, she wanted to make Faith feel as good as Faith was making her feel. She wanted her to come . . . she wanted them to come together.

She felt Faith’s lips pause for a moment on her neck as she cautiously slipped her fingers into her panties, taking a moment to feel the liquid heat of Faith’s arousal.

Faith moaned a little as Buffy’s fingertips gently made contact with her hard clit. She began to kiss Buffy’s neck again, trying hard not to pin Buffy’s hand underneath her so that she could slip and slide all over it until she came nice and hard.

But Buffy didn’t give her that chance. Her fingers already coated in Faith’s juices, she cautiously slid one long finger into Faith’s dripping hole. She wasn’t exactly sure of herself. She wasn’t stupid . . . she knew the female anatomy, and she knew what she liked herself. She just . . . wasn’t sure that it was what Faith would like.

Faith, however, made no secret that she liked what Buffy was doing.

“Yeah, that’s it, B.” Faith whispered into the crook of Buffy’s neck, closing her eyes tight as she tried her hardest not to start riding Buffy’s hand like crazy and scare the girl away. She wanted the experience to be mutually satisfying.

This was, after all, about mutual satisfaction.

Buffy became more confident as Faith’s gasps and moans became louder and more strained, knowing fully well that the brunette was probably as close to coming as she was herself. She had two fingers in Faith’s pussy now, sliding them in and out of her tight hole as her palm was trapped quite hard against Faith’s clit.

There was no more uncertainty about it now. Faith was going to come for her, and she was going to come for Faith.

Buffy began to shake, her hips thrusting hard against Faith’s hand as she felt herself succumbing to her orgasm. Spurned on by the shuddering girl beneath her, Faith’s gasps turned into muffled moans as she moved her lips back to Buffy’s, their mouths meeting in a flurry of soft but deep kisses.

Buffy came first with Faith trailing right behind her, both girls breathing hard into one another’s mouths as they recuperated from their much needed release. After a few moments, Faith was going to roll off to the side of Buffy, feeling like she couldn’t hold herself up much longer. Buffy, however, pulled Faith down fully on top of her, using her free hand to brush a few stray hairs away from Faith’s sweaty brow.

Faith smiled and caught Buffy’s thumb between her lips, kissing it softly before leaning down and giving her a heart-stoppingly tender kiss on her lips. Buffy tried not to smile into the kiss, but she couldn’t help it. The tension was gone. The frustration was gone. Her body was buzzing in a way that she didn’t realize was possible, and Faith was treating her in a way that Buffy didn’t know the girl was capable of.

Faith smiled too, finally breaking the kiss and resting more fully down onto Buffy.

A few moments of comfortable silence passed between the two slayers as they tried to calm down and rest a bit.

“So . . .” Faith began.

“So . . .” Buffy responded with a smile.

“ . . . are you a big raging bull-dyke now?” Faith asked tongue-in-cheek, ducking her head down into the crook of Buffy’s neck as the girl grabbed a spare pillow and clunked her on the back of the head with it.

“Your powers are strong, Fai, but not that strong.” Buffy giggled.

They settled back down again, basking in the pleasant warmth they were currently sharing.

“Seriously though,” Faith began, “are you okay? Was that . . . okay for you?”

Buffy tilted her head to the side a bit, resting her cheek against the top of Faith’s head.

“I’m good. That was good. We’re . . . good. Right?” She asked.

Faith chuckled. “We’re five by five, B, and then some. No guilties then?”

Buffy thought about it for a moment, feeling out her emotions as best as she could.

“Hmm. Nope, no guilties. Sleepies. Hungries. Maybe even some more hornies. But definitely no guilties wandering around in the Buffy-psyche.” She stated matter-of-factly.

Faith looked up ate her and smiled.

“Good. How about . . . we get some sleepies,” she stopped and kissed Buffy’s forehead, “take care of the hungries,” she kissed her nose, “and if you’re still up for it later, maybe we can have another go at those hornies.” She grinned before giving Buffy a soft, languid kiss that seemed to go on for hours.

Buffy broke the kiss with a smile, nodding as Faith rested her head back on her shoulder.