Title: A Few Home Truths
Rating: R (For Language)
Relationships: X\F (Friendship)
Story: Angst
Feedback: In lieu of a Faithbot yeah.
E-Mail: [email protected]
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters just worship at their altar.
A Few Home Truths
"I don't see why he has to be second-in-command of our team, he's just-."
"God if Red could hear ya now, you'd be dumped so damn fast your head would spin. 'Course if B heard ya, you'd be spending the next six months learning to walk again. Me, I'm just going to tell you a few home truths."
Kennedy's heart sank as she turned to face the brunette stood in the bedroom doorway. She looked towards the other potentials but saw no possible support there. While Summers was easy to dismiss until you saw her in action, the other Slayer was pure predator. "I was just -."
"I heard what you were saying, now listen to me." Faith moved into the bedroom. "You've been here how long - a few months?" The potential nodded, too intimidated by the fury she saw on the taller brunette's face to speak. "X-Man's been fighting on the Hellmouth for seven years. Hell, two days after he met B he staked his best friend to save a girl. Any of you potentials know why there's two Slayers?"
"Oh I know this!" shouted another potential. "She drowned and Xander revived her!"
"Yep, grabbed Angel by cross point and forced him to lead him into the Master's tunnels. You all know who Angelus is?"
"Oh!" the same potential as before cried out. "The Scourge Of Europe!"
A smile flickered across the Slayer's face. "Score one for the Junior-G in the corner. Yeah, one of the most feared vampires of all time. Angelus, Drusilla and Spike put together the Judge, this demon who could kill just by touch and was invulnerable to any weapon forged by man, so I bet you can guess who sneaked onto the military base, stole a rocket launcher and gave it to B to blow the bastard to bits? One time when B was ill Angelus beat her so bad that Xander had to rescue her, carried her to hospital in his arms. So then Angelus turns up to turn her. Only problem for our friendly neighbourhood vampire was B's own personal bodyguard stood outside her room waiting for him."
"So what happened?" asked Kennedy, interested despite herself. Her Watcher had talked at length about the inappropriate relationship between Angelus and Buffy, but she hadn't heard this story before.
"Well B sure as hell isn't a vampire. Then there was the year I came to town. Me and B were tricked into this big fight over Angel's return from hell," the Slayer paused for a second. "Either of us could have snapped him like a twig, didn't stop him from jumping between us to try and stop us. Then there was the night he saved my ass twice, first by running over a demon that was beating the crap out of me, then by bluffing a zombie into disconnecting a bomb in the school basement while the rest of us were in the library above battling the Sisterhood of Jhe. When I went bad, who turned up all alone to try and talk some sense into me? 'Course I don't listen too well. Then there was Graduation, a real fun party from all reports. While B led the Bo-, the Mayor into a trap planned by Xander, who led the students against the vampire army? Red? Angel? G? No, Xand again. Since then he's helped B take down a demon cyborg, a hellgod and stopped your honey from ending the world after she'd tossed B and G aside like yesterday's news."
"Seems to talk about himself a lot," Kennedy muttered, her face flushed.
Faith laughed harshly. The Slayer stepped towards the Potential, forcing her backwards. "Talk about himself? Far as X-Man's concerned he's just your everyday handy-man with a ready smile and quick joke. I only know this shit 'cause either Angel or B told me, or 'cause I was there. Fact is, Xand's got more battle experience than everybody in this room, including me, put together. Slayer or no Slayer, I'd follow that man into hell. I can count the number of men I like and respect on the fingers of one hand and still have enough left to flip you the bird for all the shit you've been saying about one of them. And," the Slayer's eyes darkened, chilling Kennedy with the ferocity she saw there. "And if I hear you trash- talking X-Man again, I'll spank you like the spoilt little rich bitch you are." Spinning round, the Slayer moved out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
* * *
Faith took some deep breaths to calm herself. Damn, she'd come real close to rearranging Kennedy's features and that would have really got her in deep shit with Red. She guessed her anger came from not only what Kennedy had been saying about Xand, but how closely it resembled her own thoughts about him her first time in Sunnydale. If she'd respected him and the others a little more maybe she'd have been able to accept their help when they'd offered it. Maybe.
"So Faith, want to run for the presidency of my fan club?"
She started at the amused voice. Turning, she saw an outline in the shadows and smiled, couldn't let him get too big a head. "Maybe Xand," she put on her smokiest voice. "From what I've heard from Anaya I could be interested depending on the fringe benefits."
The man chuckled before stepping out of the shadows. "I've never been called a fringe benefit before," his face grew puzzled. "Just how did you know about the stuff at the hospital or the zombie gang? Nobody else knew about them."
"Angel," Faith replied softly. "When you're visiting someone in prison sometimes there isn't a lot to talk about so he filled me in on some Scooby back history. He might not like you Xand, but he respects you a hell of a lot. You might wanna try build some bridges with him."
"Me bond with Deadboy? Not gonna happen." The Slayer shrugged. "Still as mule-headed as ever, uh? Shame, I kinda would have liked the two guys I like best in the world to be friends but your choice."
"Thanks again," the man turned to leave.
Anxious to talk for a while longer, the Slayer spoke up again. "That Kennedy is a real bitch uh?"
"We're all shaped by our circumstances you know that best of all Faith," the man smiled sadly, longing in his eyes. "But she's sure no Tara."
"You miss her a lot uh?" She wondered if anyone would feel like that about her when she croaked.
"She made Will happy. Everybody, even soulless Spike, liked her. She was a damn good listener, with all the tension round here we could really do with that right now."
"You ever need someone to talk to I'm available," she snorted at the man's surprised expression. "Four years inside you get a lot of practice listening. And I'm betting you're a lot more interesting than some of the 'but I'm innocent' crap I've had to listen to."
"Thanks for the offer, Faith. I'll bear in it mind." Xander chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"Just thinking they'd have been a lot less impressed if you'd told them about my dating history," the man smiled at her laugh and turned to leave.
"Xand, I'm sorry about -."
The man turned back to her with a smile. "That's good to know but I forgave you years ago, you were in a bad place, I've been in a few of them, only diff is no super powers. I still feared you, but not after today. So friends?"
The Slayer just nodded but inwardly rejoiced. She didn't deserve friends like Angel, B, Red and Xander. But she was glad she had them
* * *
The brunette wiped away the tears burning at her eyes. It was all her fault, she should had made sure that everyone of her team was out before retreating. She'd screwed up again. Not Xand though and he'd paid for his bravery with his eye. It should have been her facing that crazy bastard.
Except what could she have done against that Caleb fucker? He'd taken her, B and Spike out without breaking a sweat. Not next time though, next time the bastard would pay. The Slayer realised that in her anger she'd crushed the unopened soda can she'd been holding. Cursing, she threw the can in the bin and wiped her hands off on her sleeping bag before heading to the kitchen to replace the drink.
As she neared the kitchen she heard the sound of sobbing coming from the darkened room. The Slayer groaned, she so didn't want to play little miss social worker. Turning the light on, she found Kennedy sat by the kitchen table, her eyes red. "What's the what?"
"I was just thinking about all that stuff I said about Xander and h..he saved my life. I mean what would he'd have done if he'd known what a total bitch I'd been to him."
"He knew," the Slayer smiled at the shock on the Potential's face. "He was stood outside the room the all the time."
"But."
"You could be the person Xand hates the most in the world, you need his help he's there, that's just the man he is. 'Course you hurt Red and you might want to move, somewhere remote, Nepal maybe." Faith glimpsed something shining on a hook by the back door, giving into temptation she grabbed it. "B's car keys," she explained at the other's woman's questioning expression. "There's not many people I like, but X-Man's pretty high up the list so I figured I'd drop in at the hospital, see how he's doing. Wanna come and tell him thanks?"
The potential hesitated before nodding. "Sure." The duo were half-way up the drive when Kennedy broke the silence. "Are you insured for Buffy's car?"
Faith snorted. "Insured? I don't even have a licence, still safer in a car with me than B though."
The End
Rating: R (For Language)
Relationships: X\F (Friendship)
Story: Angst
Feedback: In lieu of a Faithbot yeah.
E-Mail: [email protected]
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters just worship at their altar.
A Few Home Truths
"I don't see why he has to be second-in-command of our team, he's just-."
"God if Red could hear ya now, you'd be dumped so damn fast your head would spin. 'Course if B heard ya, you'd be spending the next six months learning to walk again. Me, I'm just going to tell you a few home truths."
Kennedy's heart sank as she turned to face the brunette stood in the bedroom doorway. She looked towards the other potentials but saw no possible support there. While Summers was easy to dismiss until you saw her in action, the other Slayer was pure predator. "I was just -."
"I heard what you were saying, now listen to me." Faith moved into the bedroom. "You've been here how long - a few months?" The potential nodded, too intimidated by the fury she saw on the taller brunette's face to speak. "X-Man's been fighting on the Hellmouth for seven years. Hell, two days after he met B he staked his best friend to save a girl. Any of you potentials know why there's two Slayers?"
"Oh I know this!" shouted another potential. "She drowned and Xander revived her!"
"Yep, grabbed Angel by cross point and forced him to lead him into the Master's tunnels. You all know who Angelus is?"
"Oh!" the same potential as before cried out. "The Scourge Of Europe!"
A smile flickered across the Slayer's face. "Score one for the Junior-G in the corner. Yeah, one of the most feared vampires of all time. Angelus, Drusilla and Spike put together the Judge, this demon who could kill just by touch and was invulnerable to any weapon forged by man, so I bet you can guess who sneaked onto the military base, stole a rocket launcher and gave it to B to blow the bastard to bits? One time when B was ill Angelus beat her so bad that Xander had to rescue her, carried her to hospital in his arms. So then Angelus turns up to turn her. Only problem for our friendly neighbourhood vampire was B's own personal bodyguard stood outside her room waiting for him."
"So what happened?" asked Kennedy, interested despite herself. Her Watcher had talked at length about the inappropriate relationship between Angelus and Buffy, but she hadn't heard this story before.
"Well B sure as hell isn't a vampire. Then there was the year I came to town. Me and B were tricked into this big fight over Angel's return from hell," the Slayer paused for a second. "Either of us could have snapped him like a twig, didn't stop him from jumping between us to try and stop us. Then there was the night he saved my ass twice, first by running over a demon that was beating the crap out of me, then by bluffing a zombie into disconnecting a bomb in the school basement while the rest of us were in the library above battling the Sisterhood of Jhe. When I went bad, who turned up all alone to try and talk some sense into me? 'Course I don't listen too well. Then there was Graduation, a real fun party from all reports. While B led the Bo-, the Mayor into a trap planned by Xander, who led the students against the vampire army? Red? Angel? G? No, Xand again. Since then he's helped B take down a demon cyborg, a hellgod and stopped your honey from ending the world after she'd tossed B and G aside like yesterday's news."
"Seems to talk about himself a lot," Kennedy muttered, her face flushed.
Faith laughed harshly. The Slayer stepped towards the Potential, forcing her backwards. "Talk about himself? Far as X-Man's concerned he's just your everyday handy-man with a ready smile and quick joke. I only know this shit 'cause either Angel or B told me, or 'cause I was there. Fact is, Xand's got more battle experience than everybody in this room, including me, put together. Slayer or no Slayer, I'd follow that man into hell. I can count the number of men I like and respect on the fingers of one hand and still have enough left to flip you the bird for all the shit you've been saying about one of them. And," the Slayer's eyes darkened, chilling Kennedy with the ferocity she saw there. "And if I hear you trash- talking X-Man again, I'll spank you like the spoilt little rich bitch you are." Spinning round, the Slayer moved out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
* * *
Faith took some deep breaths to calm herself. Damn, she'd come real close to rearranging Kennedy's features and that would have really got her in deep shit with Red. She guessed her anger came from not only what Kennedy had been saying about Xand, but how closely it resembled her own thoughts about him her first time in Sunnydale. If she'd respected him and the others a little more maybe she'd have been able to accept their help when they'd offered it. Maybe.
"So Faith, want to run for the presidency of my fan club?"
She started at the amused voice. Turning, she saw an outline in the shadows and smiled, couldn't let him get too big a head. "Maybe Xand," she put on her smokiest voice. "From what I've heard from Anaya I could be interested depending on the fringe benefits."
The man chuckled before stepping out of the shadows. "I've never been called a fringe benefit before," his face grew puzzled. "Just how did you know about the stuff at the hospital or the zombie gang? Nobody else knew about them."
"Angel," Faith replied softly. "When you're visiting someone in prison sometimes there isn't a lot to talk about so he filled me in on some Scooby back history. He might not like you Xand, but he respects you a hell of a lot. You might wanna try build some bridges with him."
"Me bond with Deadboy? Not gonna happen." The Slayer shrugged. "Still as mule-headed as ever, uh? Shame, I kinda would have liked the two guys I like best in the world to be friends but your choice."
"Thanks again," the man turned to leave.
Anxious to talk for a while longer, the Slayer spoke up again. "That Kennedy is a real bitch uh?"
"We're all shaped by our circumstances you know that best of all Faith," the man smiled sadly, longing in his eyes. "But she's sure no Tara."
"You miss her a lot uh?" She wondered if anyone would feel like that about her when she croaked.
"She made Will happy. Everybody, even soulless Spike, liked her. She was a damn good listener, with all the tension round here we could really do with that right now."
"You ever need someone to talk to I'm available," she snorted at the man's surprised expression. "Four years inside you get a lot of practice listening. And I'm betting you're a lot more interesting than some of the 'but I'm innocent' crap I've had to listen to."
"Thanks for the offer, Faith. I'll bear in it mind." Xander chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"Just thinking they'd have been a lot less impressed if you'd told them about my dating history," the man smiled at her laugh and turned to leave.
"Xand, I'm sorry about -."
The man turned back to her with a smile. "That's good to know but I forgave you years ago, you were in a bad place, I've been in a few of them, only diff is no super powers. I still feared you, but not after today. So friends?"
The Slayer just nodded but inwardly rejoiced. She didn't deserve friends like Angel, B, Red and Xander. But she was glad she had them
* * *
The brunette wiped away the tears burning at her eyes. It was all her fault, she should had made sure that everyone of her team was out before retreating. She'd screwed up again. Not Xand though and he'd paid for his bravery with his eye. It should have been her facing that crazy bastard.
Except what could she have done against that Caleb fucker? He'd taken her, B and Spike out without breaking a sweat. Not next time though, next time the bastard would pay. The Slayer realised that in her anger she'd crushed the unopened soda can she'd been holding. Cursing, she threw the can in the bin and wiped her hands off on her sleeping bag before heading to the kitchen to replace the drink.
As she neared the kitchen she heard the sound of sobbing coming from the darkened room. The Slayer groaned, she so didn't want to play little miss social worker. Turning the light on, she found Kennedy sat by the kitchen table, her eyes red. "What's the what?"
"I was just thinking about all that stuff I said about Xander and h..he saved my life. I mean what would he'd have done if he'd known what a total bitch I'd been to him."
"He knew," the Slayer smiled at the shock on the Potential's face. "He was stood outside the room the all the time."
"But."
"You could be the person Xand hates the most in the world, you need his help he's there, that's just the man he is. 'Course you hurt Red and you might want to move, somewhere remote, Nepal maybe." Faith glimpsed something shining on a hook by the back door, giving into temptation she grabbed it. "B's car keys," she explained at the other's woman's questioning expression. "There's not many people I like, but X-Man's pretty high up the list so I figured I'd drop in at the hospital, see how he's doing. Wanna come and tell him thanks?"
The potential hesitated before nodding. "Sure." The duo were half-way up the drive when Kennedy broke the silence. "Are you insured for Buffy's car?"
Faith snorted. "Insured? I don't even have a licence, still safer in a car with me than B though."
The End