After taking Xander to the hospital and making sure everyone else was unharmed, it was decided that they could hold off on celebrating for a day. Everyone was tired and Galen's clan was mourning the loss of one of their brothers. It seemed now was the perfect time for rest.

Willow and Oz stayed at the hospital with Xander, both insisting they were fine and that they could meet up with everyone in the morning. No one argued when it was suggested that the rest of them leave and get some rest. Buffy knew she looked like she could use a good night's sleep.

She figured she would be making a quick stop at Giles' and then be walking home alone but Faith had quickly told their watcher she would be walking her home. Buffy was whisked away moments later and they walked to her house. They weren't more than a block away from the condo when Faith took her hand and held it tightly.

They didn't talk the entire time and Buffy wondered what was going through her head. She knew Faith didn't have the greatest self-esteem and those last words Devon had uttered had had to have cast some doubt. The other slayer always tried to look like she had the confidence to overcome words like that but Buffy knew better.

"So," Buffy started once they were inside her house, "are you okay? You know, after what Devon said?"

"It's fine, B."

Buffy smiled as Faith put her arms around her but she knew she needed to stay on topic. "No, it's not, Faith. You know it's not true, right? No one believes what Devon said. I don't believe it."

"I know, B."

Their eyes met and Buffy knew Faith was far from fine. What Devon had said had gotten to her and that was just what he wanted. It was one last strike that they had to deal with. She knew there wasn't anything she could say, at least not tonight, that would make Faith get over what had been said so she only pressed Faith against her.

Faith rested her forehead against hers. "I wanna stay with you tonight."

Buffy knew she did without her having to say anything. Faith had made no move to leave and after last night she knew both of them would be okay with a repeat performance.

"We don't have to do anything," Faith explained quietly. "I just wanna be with you."

She couldn't think of anything to say so Buffy only took Faith by the hand and led her up the stairs to her room. The house was dark and she was positive her mother was asleep given the late hour but none of that was really in her head.

Her mind kept going back to the dreams she'd shared with Faith. There were two things that never happened in the ones she'd visited and it wasn't a stretch to think that the ones Faith had without her were the same. All of them had her stating that the two of them would never fool around in her room and that she seemed to be ashamed to tell her mother that she was falling in love with Faith.

If they were going to continue being together, dating and being a couple, Buffy didn't want to follow with what the dreams had shown her. She didn't want Faith to think she was ashamed of their relationship and that she was afraid to tell her mother about them. Once they talked about what future they had together, she intended to be upfront with everyone about it.

Buffy pulled Faith into her room and closed the door, locking it for good measure. She slowly wrapped her arms around Faith, a small smile on her face. "Didn't think you'd ever be up here, did you?"

Faith slowly shook her head. "Kinda thought it'd be too risky for you."

She leaned in and kissed Buffy lightly, keeping it chaste much to Buffy's surprise. It didn't last too long either, causing Buffy to wonder if Faith really didn't want to have sex. From what she had always bragged about, it had seemed sex was the one thing she thought about above all else.

"We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with." Faith tightened her hold slightly, keeping Buffy pressed against her. "I know your mom is in the next room."

The other girl looked both sweet and nervous, making Buffy think of how cute she looked. It wasn't something people probably ever thought when they looked at Faith but right now that was all she looked. Buffy thought she looked pretty damn sexy, too, and she knew Faith would agree with that. That was one area where she never seemed to lack for confidence.

"You're really cute when you have that look," Buffy said quietly, thinking Faith should get used to her saying things like that.

"Don't think anyone's called me cute before." Faith smiled nervously and Buffy thought if it was lighter she might have been able to see her blushing. "Not even when I was, like five or something."

"You are." Buffy slowly pushed Faith back towards her bed. "I want you to realize that I'm not ashamed of us. I know in the dreams . . ."

"That's okay, B. I get it."

"You don't have to 'get it' though," Buffy said, trying not to raise her voice. "I don't want you to keep your hands to yourself just because we're in my room and my mom might be in the house. And if we're serious about being together I'm not gonna hide that from my mom. I don't wanna have to hide that from anyone."

Even though it was dark and the only light in the room was from the streetlight outside, Buffy could see Faith's face light up. It made her sad to think that her new girlfriend wouldn't automatically think she would be able to tell everyone they were dating.

Buffy leaned in and put her lips to Faith's ear. "If you can be quiet, so can I."

She didn't wait for Faith to say anything back, instead placing her hands inside Faith's coat, encouraging her to shrug it off. The other girl did and Buffy took it and tossed it to the side. Then she carefully pulled Faith's shirt off and once again did it without any resistance. Buffy smiled at that Faith wasn't wearing a bra.

"Last night I didn't have a chance to really do this right," Buffy said. "I was too caught up in everything, maybe a little overwhelmed."

Faith sighed out as Buffy placed her hands on her sides, moving them up until they were just below her breasts. "I didn't want you to feel like that."

Buffy leaned in and kissed her, smiling as she left Faith's hands move over her back. "Doesn't make last night anything less than amazing."

"I think we can top it."

Even though Buffy was completely distracted by Faith's now naked breasts it wasn't enough to make her not help Faith in taking off her shirt and bra. She closed her eyes as Faith began to move her insistent yet soft hands over her. At that moment she knew that like the night before it was going to be hard to stay quiet.

Buffy wanted so desperately to take charge this time. The need to make Faith know that she was quickly falling for her and that she wasn't scared of what was happening was the most important thing right now. She'd given her some very vague answers earlier in the day but that was only because she couldn't translate her feelings into words. She could try to show her though.

They moved to sit on the bed, carefully kissing as their hands moved over any exposed skin. First, Buffy's hands moved over Faith's back but once she got the courage to really explore her front she wondered why she hadn't done so earlier. The feel of her hands on Faith's bare breasts was something she wanted to experience over and over.

When they broke apart Faith began to kiss down her neck. "I love that your hands are on me, B."

"I like it."

Faith moved back up and they kissed again before moving so they were lying down. Buffy ended up on her back and Faith more on her side as the kissing became more passionate yet still slow. There wasn't a need to rush through anything. It felt as though they had all the time in the world.

Buffy felt Faith's hand leave one of her breasts and move down until it reached her jeans. She popped open the top button and easily zipped her zipper down before starting to ease her hand inside. It was something Buffy really wanted but there was something else she wanted more so she placed her hand over Faith's, stopping her progress.

"Are you okay?" Faith asked in a whisper as they broke away. "I thought . . ."

"I wanna do something first, okay?"

Faith smirked and Buffy smiled as she could see her visibly become more relaxed. "You can do whatever you want, babe."

Those words meant so much to Buffy and she lightly pushed at Faith until she was completely on her back. Then she started to unbutton her jeans and slide them off. She tried to keep eye contact with Faith the entire time but once she started to get her completely naked she became distracted by that.

She was amazed by her body, even more so than the night before. Faith helped her get her jeans and panties off then looked to be content to lie back and watch whatever Buffy intended to do. She even placed her hand on her arm and gave her an encouraging smile, like she wanted Buffy to be completely relaxed.

Buffy moved over her hands over Faith's legs, reveling in how soft her skin was everywhere. She lowered her head and placed a few light kisses on her thighs, wondering if she had the confidence to move her kisses just that small amount higher.

"B, you should take your jeans off, too," Faith said, her hand still trying to stay in contact with any part of Buffy's skin. "I wanna see all of you."

That was all she needed to hear and moved to lie back beside Faith so she could wiggle out of her jeans and panties without needing to get off the bed. Even though the thought of stripping for Faith was incredibly hot she knew they could do that another time. Hopefully, that time would be when the other girl had her own apartment so they could be completely alone.

As soon as she kicked the rest of her clothes off Faith pulled her close and Buffy moved so she was on top of the other girl. They both sighed at the contact and kissed passionately. Buffy felt that Faith was trying hard not to flip them and take control so she knew that she should do what she wanted now. The woman underneath her wasn't known for her patience.

Buffy broke away and began to kiss and lick her way down Faith's neck. She felt Faith's hands move over her back as she did, almost as though she wanted to make sure she wouldn't get scared and stop. That wasn't something she was thinking though. The only thought in her mind was about what she wanted to do.

She kept moving down, kissing past her neck to her collarbone. She placed light kisses there, too, smiling as she heard the quiet sighs coming from Faith. It gave her a little boost of confidence to know that she was doing something Faith liked and continued lower.

Once she was face to face with Faith's breasts she became nervous for only a moment before she began kissing over them. The sighs coming from Faith increased and she let out an almost too loud of a groan when Buffy took a hard nipple into her mouth and lightly sucked.

"Damn, baby . . . that feels so good."

Buffy smiled against her skin once again and continued with what she was doing. She kissed and sucked on her, loving how she didn't feel the need to rush. Faith wasn't rushing her either even though she knew the other girl was getting more and more turned on. She could feel it against her thigh.

Even though she wanted to stay there longer, Buffy decided she should continue to work her way down and began kissing her flat stomach. Faith kept her hands on her shoulders as she did, still lightly massaging her shoulders. It felt so good it was almost distracting but it wasn't enough for Buffy to stop from moving to where she wanted.

For a few moments Buffy moved past Faith's pussy to place kisses on the insides of her thighs. She knew she was really working Faith up, as evidenced by the fact there were hands gripping her shoulders. It made he feel a little prouder.

She looked up and locked eyes with Faith. Buffy saw so much in them, some things that she couldn't even bring herself to think about. It was still too early for them for her to decipher all of the emotions she saw. But that didn't mean she didn't like seeing them.

Buffy winked at her before lowering her lips, giving Faith's clit a light kiss before taking it into her mouth and sucking.

"Shit," Faith hissed out. She sounded like she was struggling not to cry out.

Making sure Faith stayed quiet wasn't the first thing on her mind, not while her tongue was currently exploring her pussy. It was definitely a new experience since she hadn't done anything like that to Faith the night before. Sure, Faith had put her tongue to good use but she had been a little nervous and the other girl had steered her away from doing it. Tonight was different and Faith wasn't stopping her from eating her out.

There was still a small amount of nervousness because of her inexperience but that was easily forgotten as she continued to hear Faith struggle to keep quiet. She moved off of Faith's clit and moved down to her wet hole, teasing it with her tongue. That was something she thought Faith might like: teasing. From the muffled moan she heard she thought she was right.

"Baby," Faith gasped out, "I need you in me."

Buffy didn't waste any more time, slowly pushing her tongue into her. She felt Faith's hand grip her head hard, dipping her short nails into her scalp, but that didn't stop Buffy from beginning to move her tongue in and out. After a minute she moved her hand and began to rub her clit as well. She was sure Faith was having a hard time keeping quiet now.

After only a couple minutes she knew Faith was already so close so she picked up the pace with her tongue, wanting the other girl to come with her tongue inside her. She tried her best to keep Faith where she was, too. There was a danger of her falling off the bed if Faith kept thrusting into her as hard as she was.

Faith let out a grunt. "I'm gonna come, B."

It sounded strained and it was easy for Buffy to notice that Faith was still struggling with being quiet. She almost wanted to stop and give herself a little congratulatory pat on the back but Faith was already so close and she didn't want to delay that. Her tongue moved as fast as it could until she felt Faith come all over her face. It was a feeling she knew she'd never forget.

Faith sounded muffled but Buffy didn't have much opportunity to stop and look at her. Instead she wanted to make sure she kept her orgasm going for as long as she could. She hungrily drank down all of liquid flowing into her mouth, instantly loving it. It seemed she was starting to love everything about Faith.

It was another few minutes until Faith's body seemed to relax a little and her hands gripped at Buffy's arms, attempting to pull her back up. Buffy had been licking the wetness off her inner thighs but decided she wanted to see Faith's face. She hoped it would show her that Faith had enjoyed every second of what she'd done.

She lighted placed kisses on Faith's skin as she quickly moved back up until she was able to look into her eyes. They looked at each other for only a moment, Buffy seeing everything she wanted and more, before kissing again.

While they were kissing Faith took the opportunity to flip them so she was hovering over Buffy. It was a move Buffy had expected but she thought she had tired her out enough that she wouldn't take control so soon. She wondered how much it would take to tire her out.

"You're so beautiful, Buffy," Faith said as she began to thrust down. "I still need you so much."

It looked like she wanted to say something else but she held back and kissed her again. Buffy held onto her tightly and returned the kiss as with as much passion as she felt Faith giving her. It seemed that all she could really do was hold on and move with the other girl as she felt her orgasm fast approaching.

When they broke apart again Faith put her lips to her ear, placing light kisses on it and whispering softly. "You feel incredible against me, B. I've wanted this since the first moment I saw ya. You're the only one I'll ever want."

"Faith, I'm so close. Kiss me."

She did and they kissed sloppily as they moved against each other faster. Buffy felt like she could feel every part of Faith and it was almost too much for her to comprehend. The fact that every time Faith looked into her eyes she could see everything in them was beyond words. Faith wasn't like that with anyone except for her. It made her feel so special.

Buffy was determined to make the sex last longer but the way Faith moved against her, the way she kissed and touched her, was making her come faster than she wanted. She wondered how long Faith could go before she was exhausted. All this was so new to her.

Faith rested her forehead against Buffy's, continuing to thrust hard. "Let go, baby. I know you want to. You don't need to hold back. Come for me, B."

"You need to keep kissing me, Faith. It's getting . . . hard to . . . keep quiet."

Faith smiled before covering her mouth with her own, giving her a kiss that was both tender and passionate at the same time. It was only a few more thrusts before Buffy felt herself both come and scream into Faith's mouth. Only a few seconds after that she felt Faith do the same, feeling a gush of fluid mix with her own. The feel of it almost made her come for a second time.

Over the next few minutes they slowed their movements until Faith finally collapsed on top of Buffy. She took the opportunity to wrap her arms tightly around the girl on her, trying to keep her right where she was. The feel of Faith's weight on her, her sweaty skin still lightly sliding against her own, was too good of a feeling for it to end too soon.

Eventually she loosened her grip to the point where Faith rolled them so she was on her back again and Buffy rested against her. She moved a little off to Faith's side so she wasn't completely on her but stayed in her arms. The other girl wasn't exactly letting her move very far.

Buffy draped an arm over Faith's stomach and placed a light kiss on her shoulder. "I like being in your arms," she admitted quietly, becoming nervous almost instantly because of how it sounded.

Faith didn't say anything for a moment causing Buffy to dare to look at her face. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a smile on her face. "I like it, too. Never really did this before, except for last night of course. It's new."

"What, the after sex cuddling?"

She nodded. "I never wanted to with anyone else before. I only wanted to get off and get out. That's something I never want with you."

"Yeah?" Buffy moved so she could see Faith's face better. They ended up facing each other with their arms around each other. "I can't say I have much experience with all of this but I think you're a natural."

"Don't know about that, B." Faith leaned in and kissed her nose. "I think you make me want to me better. I wanna be a better person for you."

Buffy grinned at that but she didn't want Faith to only be a better person for her. She wanted her to know she was a good person regardless. "You don't need me for that, Faith. You're an amazing person. Someone I'm really falling for."

They kissed softly again and Buffy was sure Faith didn't want to respond to that. For someone who acted like she had all the confidence in the world, in reality that wasn't the case. It was something she'd definitely have to work on with her. Faith needed to see how amazing she was even though she was still trying to get over her past mistakes.

"Are you always gonna try to change the subject by doing that?" Buffy asked.

"Baby, when you're naked I don't think we'll be talking a whole lot," Faith answered with a dimpled grin. "If I didn't need a little breather, or if we were completely alone, we wouldn't be talking right now."

Buffy knew she was blushing and she shivered at the thought. Faith seemed to take that as a cue and she let go of her only enough to cover the two of them with blankets. They snuggled against each other a little more and Buffy liked how it felt to be pressed against the other girl. She wished it could happen every night.

"How close are you to getting an apartment, Faith?"

Faith grinned. "Almost got enough but I'll work extra shifts if I have to. I wanna find out what will happen once we don't have watchers and parents to think of."

"And I can't wait for that to happen but I think I need a little sleep first," Buffy said, finally feeling the exhaustion from the battle.

"Should we put some clothes on? Maybe Mrs. S will check in on you in the morning. I don't want her to find out that way."

Faith moved to get out of bed but Buffy stopped her. "Door's locked, Faith. Don't worry about it. I just want to sleep in your arms, okay?"

The grin on Faith's face made her heart melt a little. "Anything you want, baby."