Fic: The Morning After...

[angelina2006@xxxxxxxxxxx]

TITLE: The morning after?
AUTHOR: Angelina (angelina2006@xxxxxxxxxxx)
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. 
SUMMARY: The morning after homecoming. Short follow up to My Slayer 
Lady (you should read that one first to understand this one)
PAIRINGS: Buffy/Willow & Faith/Cordelia
SPOILERS: None really, set quite near the beginning of Season 3 and 
doesn't fit in with the time line at all.  
DISTRIBUTION ? You want it? It's yours, just drop me an e-mail.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: All feedback welcome. "Mochas?" "Yes please!"

As Cordelia fumbled towards consciousness from the depths of slumber 
she slowly became aware of three simple facts. Fact number 1: she 
was naked. In itself this wouldn't have been so strange, but when 
coupled with fact number 2: she was not alone, it became a little 
more unusual. A warm body, also naked, was pressed tightly against 
her right side. An arm belonging to said body was draped loosely 
over her abdomen. The third and final fact was the most bizarre: the 
body definitely belonged to someone of the female persuasion.

Cordelia gingerly opened one eye and sighed as her foggy mind cleared 
and the events of the previous evening came flooding back to her.  
Homecoming dance, ogling Faith, spiked punch, Faith being sweet, slow 
dancing with Faith, kissing Faith, Faith taking her home, Faith in 
her bed?Cordelia blushed at the memories after this one. Faith's 
head now rested on her pillow. The slayer was still asleep.  
Cordelia smiled as she regarded the vision of beauty that was Faith 
in the morning. Her hair fell in unkempt waves around her face.  
Scrubbed of her make-up she looked young and innocent. And after 
last night Cordelia knew that was not a word to be applied to Faith?
or to herself come to think of it.  

In sleep Faith looked peaceful and unguarded. No pretence, no 
bravado, just Faith. Her lips were slightly parted and oh-so 
inviting. Cordelia reached out and softly ran her thumb over the 
full lower lip. She then took her index finger and lightly traced 
the cupid's bow of the upper lip. The touching scene was shattered 
when Faith suddenly opened her mouth and bit Cordelia's finger, 
causing the cheerleader to shriek something that would not have gone 
down well at a pep rally. Faith kept the finger between her teeth as 
she opened her eyes. Her lips twitched into a smile around 
Cordelia's finger as she watched her recover from the shock of being 
bitten.  

"Morning." Faith said, with some difficulty.

"Morning?!? You nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought you were 
sleeping." said Cordelia indignantly. Faith's only response was to 
close her lips around the digit and suck gently, drawing it further 
into her mouth. Cordelia watched, fascinated, and more than a little 
turned on. When Faith finally released finger her lips were 
immediately occupied once more as Cordelia pounced on them in a 
hungry kiss. When they parted Faith propped herself up on an elbow 
and grinned down at Cordelia.

"You're a horny little thing huh?"

"Less of the little, short-ass."

"What? You got two inches on me at the most."

"They say size doesn't matter." 

"Not sure if I'd agree with them there." Faith's expression suddenly 
changed. "Shit!"

"What?" Cordelia was surprised by the exclamation, fearing it 
signalled realisation of regret on Faith's part.

"I'm late, so are you, it's 9.30! I was supposed to be training at 
8." Faith was out of bed and running around. "Great. Like I'm not 
already `the bad one'." She picked up the dress she'd been wearing 
the night before. "Well I sure as hell can't wear this to train in."

"Yeah, how would you do those high kicks and thrusts in that?"  
Cordelia agreed, distracted by the thought of Faith being all sweaty 
and out of breath and the vision of her muscles working under her 
skin and?

"I'm not talkin' about it restrictin' my movement," said Faith 
holding up the garment so Cordelia could see the huge rip down the 
side. "I'm talkin' about how somebody was too impatient to use 
zippers last night."

Cordelia flushed at this memory. She got out of bed, bringing the 
sheet with her to cover her body. She didn't quite have Faith's 
confidence to strut about in the nude in broad daylight. This seemed 
to amuse Faith quite a lot.  

"Hey C, it's OK, I think I saw just about everything you had to show 
in the shower last night." She wiggled her eyebrows 
suggestively. "And I'd say you got nothin' to be ashamed of."

Cordelia smiled politely at the compliment but still held the sheet 
loosely around her. She had been brought up in a house where one did 
not parade around in front of others with everything hanging out. It 
just wasn't ladylike. Of course, a number of the things she had 
taken part in the previous night were far from ladylike, but that was 
different. Cordelia rummaged through her closet until she found what 
she was looking for. She held up her find triumphantly.

Faith gave a low whistle. "Hey C, any chance of me seeing you in 
that outfit?"

"I wore it last summer when Buffy took off to find her inner slayer 
or whatever and we had to keep the demons under control. I learned 
fast that leather prevents a lot of scraped knees." She handed the 
leather pants and jacket to Faith, "Here, you can wear this, it's 
more you anyway, `slut-bomb' doesn't sit all that well on me."

Faith shrugged and climbed into the pants. Cordelia was secretly 
thrilled at the thought of Faith going `commando' in a pair of her 
pants.  

"Come on, come on, we have to get to the school before Buffy gets two 
gold stars and a lollypop and I get to stand in the corner."

Cordelia started to get dressed. "Buffy was pretty far gone last 
night. What makes you think she'll be able to function at all this 
morning?"

"It's a slayer thing. We don't get hangovers. Which is cool."  
Faith looked at the clock pointedly.

"Alright, alright." Cordelia sighed, she wasn't used to being 
ordered around like this. "I'm coming for God's sake."  

"Hmmm, that phrase sounds familiar." Faith said grinning.

Cordelia fumed silently at Faith's uncanny knack of being able to get 
her to blush. But then, Faith had a number of uncanny knacks, not 
all of which were quite so annoying. She slipped into a skirt and 
top and tried to produce some semblance of a hairstyle and make-up.  

"OK, let's go."

*****

In the car, both girls were quiet. Neither quite knew how to bring 
up the subject of what had happened the previous night and what it 
meant for the future of their relationship. Relationship, funny, up 
until a few days ago their relationship had mainly consisted of 
avoidance and the occasional pointed comment. How did things get so 
complicated so fast?

"Look, Cordelia?" Faith began uncertainly.

"Uh huh?" Cordelia was interested to hear what Faith had to say.  
And she knew it was something serious as Faith had used her whole 
name.

"I just want you to know that?well, I know that you think I'm kind of 
a?ho?" She paused here, expecting Cordelia to refute this claim.  
When no protest was offered she continued, slightly miffed. "?so I 
wanted to tell you that I wasn't just using you last night, I mean?if 
you wanted to forget it that's fine?but if you didn't, well ?that's 
OK too?shit, you wanna cut in any time soon? I'm not real good with 
this kind of stuff."

Cordelia hadn't spoken because she was in shock more than anything 
else. She has expected Faith either not to mention what had happened 
or to pass it off as a one-night stand. She even had answers 
prepared to a few of the scenarios she had envisioned. One thing she 
had not expected was the heartfelt little speech she had just heard.

"I?uh?" Wow, way to be articulate Cordy, she thought to herself.

Taking this as a negative response, Faith immediately interrupted. "I 
mean, it's no big deal?I know you're this popular chick and you've 
got a boyfriend and stuff and let's face it?why the hell would you 
want to get involved with someone like me right? I?"

Again Cordelia was surprised at Faith's outburst. She thought she 
wasn't good enough for her or something. And although she had said 
it was no big deal, it was obviously important to her or she wouldn't 
have bothered with the offer of?what had it been an offer of? A 
relationship? A chance? Cordelia decided that she'd better say 
something quickly before Faith talked herself out of whatever she was 
feeling.

"Faith."

"Yeah?"

"I?I have no idea what this is between us, I mean, neither of us have 
ever been into girls before?so this is a bit of a shock to both of 
our systems, but I'm not going to deny that there is something 
there. Last night, when you kissed me, I felt something I've never 
felt before?and I've done my fair share of kissing. And then later 
when we were?you know?I never wanted it to end. OK, so I've got zero 
experience in that area but it felt pretty damn great to me?"

"No experience?you mean, even with guys?" Faith's eyes were wide.  
Cordelia shook her head, embarrassed. "Shit C, why didn't you say 
something?so I was your?wow?I don't think I've ever been anybody's 
first before?if you'd told me I wouldn't have?"

"No, I wanted to?I've never wanted to with anyone else?so you 
couldn't tell?" Cordelia was pleased that she hadn't blatantly been 
a virgin.

"No way! You were really good. Sorry, that sounds like you got an A 
for math or somethin'." Faith smiled apologetically.

"So, what I was trying to say is that I like you?and I think there's 
something there that I'd like to pursue?God knows what it'll do for 
my reputation but what the hell." Cordelia, tactful as ever.

Faith chose to ignore the reputation comment. "So what about 
Xander?"  

"I'll have to tell him I suppose?don't know what I'll say. God, he's 
going to start getting a complex, he was totally obsessed with Buffy 
and she turns round and tells him she's in love with Willow. Then he 
switches his obsession to me, although who could blame him right?  
And now I have to tell him that I'm sorta into you. I don't think 
it's going to go down well. Maybe if I fixed him up with someone 
else?"

"Kinda runnin' low on girls in your little group huh?" Faith asked, 
wondering how she herself had managed to get involved with another 
girl. "Well, Larry seemed pretty interested in Xander last night, 
kept insisting they were `two of a kind' or somethin', maybe that's 
someone to think about."

"I seriously doubt that?I would have known." Cordelia said, with 
conviction.

"Yeah, like you would have known that you would end up taking another 
girl home from the dance last night, right C?"

"Shut up." They were drawing up to the school gates. "OK, now if 
anybody sees us arriving together, what are we going to say?  
Actually, it probably already looks suspicious that we're both late?
we should have some kind of story ready."

"Right, how `bout we say that I left my panties at your house last 
night and I had to come by this morning to pick?owww" Faith rubbed 
the spot on her thigh where Cordelia has slapped her.

"That's not funny. And anyway, you weren't wearing any panties."  
Cordelia thought for a moment. "OK, we'll just say that you walked 
me home last night due to my date getting completely inebriated and 
that it was too late for you to walk home alone so you just stayed 
over."

"That might work if I was a normal girlie girl, but somehow a slayer 
afraid to walk home after dark ain't gonna be very convincin'."

"That's true?OK, how about we say that while you were walking me 
home, we were attacked by vamps and you were wounded and I had to 
tend to your wounds? Will that work do you think?"

"What if they want to see the wounds?" By now they were out of the 
car and on the way to the library.

"Just tell them they're?in a very private place."

"Private place? I don't know if I'll be able to say that without 
laughin'."

"Well, you'll just have to. God, you'd be no good as a double agent, 
would you?" Cordelia observed, irritably. She took a deep breath 
and pushed through the swing doors into the library with Faith at her 
heels.

"Well, well, how are we all feeling this fine morning?" Cordelia 
asked, deciding that acting like her normal self was the best course 
of action. The state of the room's occupants answered her question 
for her. Willow was seated at the table, wearing a pair of 
sunglasses and cradling a cup of coffee. Her hands were shaking 
slightly. Her face was a kind of greyish white. She didn't even 
acknowledge the new arrivals, afraid to move too much in case the 
contents of her stomach decided to put in an unexpected appearance.  
Xander was in much the same state, his head was on the table, 
cushioned on his folded arms. He sat up slowly at the sound of his 
girlfriend's voice.

"Cordy, I?what happened to you last night?"

"What happened to me? Nothing, no thanks to you. Anything could 
have happened to me, I could have been attacked by vamps or abducted 
by aliens for all you cared. But thankfully Faith walked me home 
when you proved that you couldn't hold your liquor."  

Xander looked at Faith with bleary, blood-shot eyes. "Thank you."

"No problem Xand-man, it was my pleasure." She emphasised the word 
pleasure while looking directly at Cordlelia. Cordelia once again 
cursed the blood that rushed to her cheeks when subjected to one of 
Faith's innuendoes. Luckily Buffy and Giles came in at that point, 
sparing Cordelia's blushes. Buffy looked full of life, the only sign 
of the previous night being the rather large hickey on the side of 
her neck. Giles, although completely out of breath, still managed 
make a show of looking at his watch and then at Faith who had the 
decency to at least look sheepish.

"Where've you two been?" Buffy asked.

"The two of us? Been? Together? Why do you say that?" Cordelia 
for some unexplained reason went into panic mode.

"Weeeeelllll, you both weren't here this morning and we saw you 
arrive in your car, so I figured that you'd been somewhere 
together." Buffy was confused by Cordelia's reaction to a perfectly 
innocent question.

"No big deal B, I walked Cordy home last night after you all got 
wasted on the punch and we were attacked by some wicked rowdy vamps.  
I got a bit beat up and she fixed me up. I stayed over there."  
Faith looked at Cordelia with an expression that said `see, I can lie 
when I need to.'

"Are you alright? Were you badly wounded?" Giles asked, concerned.

"It's not that bad, C here saw to it just fine."

"Cool." Buffy and the rest seemed satisfied with that answer.  
Cordelia sighed with relief. Buffy approached Willow nervously.

"Hey, you feeling better yet?" she asked quietly.

"Go away, I hate you. How can you be so bright and breezy? It's not 
fair." Despite her rantings Willow allowed Buffy to massage her 
temples, alleviating some of the pounding in her skull. Xander 
thought he'd better get up and make some sort of gesture. He stood 
unsteadily, leaning on the table for support. When he was sure he 
wasn't either going to fall or vomit he made his way shakily towards 
Cordelia who looked at Faith ominously.

"Cordelia, I am so sorry I ruined your big night, I know how much the 
whole homecoming thing meant to you. And then I go and get drunk and 
you're left to clean up the mess. Twice in one night?"

"It was more than twice, right C?" Cordelia stepped on Faith's foot, 
hard, causing the slayer to hop away from the couple.

Xander didn't pick up on Faith's meaning. "?first in the gym and 
then with Faith. I guess it wasn't all you hoped it would be huh?"

"Well, not quite what I had envisioned, no."

"I'm so sorry?"

"Don't apologise, it wasn't a total blow-out?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. But I'd totally understand if you 
want to kick my ass, or hurl abuse at me, or dump me."

"Actually Xander, about that?what do you think of Larry?"

THE END