Summary: A non-sequential series of season 3 short fics. Each one is set immediately following the ending of a different season 3 episode. This means that everything that happened in the episode has happened, but after the cut to the credits, we are in my world where Buffy and Faith are madly in love with each other, even if they don't know it yet :) Each chapter will be a new episode but the episodes will not be in any particular order and I'm not yet sure exactly which episodes I'll be doing. Each chapter can also be read as a stand alone.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Rating: M (for the series; each individual chapter will vary. Chapter 1 is only about a "T" but some later chapters will have more sex).

"Homecoming"

After the winners of the homecoming crown were announced, Buffy and Cordelia walked dejectedly back to the library, closely followed by Willow, Xander, and Giles.

"At least there's no reason for you not to be friends now," Willow tried with a nervous laugh. Buffy and Cordelia momentarily turned to glare at each other, but just shrugged and nodded. Buffy hopped up onto the table, letting out her breath in a huff.

"And you are both alive, which is considerably more important," Giles reminded them as he cleaned his glasses. "Thank God that bloody contest is over" he added in a low grumble.

That earned Buffy's glare, but she couldn't really be mad anymore; she had to admit that it was all pretty stupid in the first place. "I'd say there's always next year, but I guess there isn't... although there is prom," Buffy thought aloud, causing the others to groan.

"At least you got to enjoy the limo..." Xander grumbled.

"Yeah, getting hijacked and left in the middle of a forest to die is really taking advantage. I'm sorry you guys didn't get to join in," Buffy rolled her eyes "'Course it woulda been nice to have Faith there to help fight..."

She looked around the room. "Hey, where is our fiery little slayer friend anyway? I haven't talked to her all night and she's supposed to be my date!" Buffy laughed a little, although her tummy did a little somersault when she thought about Faith; she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she had felt kinda weird ever since Faith had asked her to the dance...

"Not sure Buff; she was here earlier," Willow shrugged.

"Maybe she went home with someone..." Buffy said quietly, frowning a little and feeling her somersaulty feelings come to a grinding halt.

Before Buffy could reflect any further on why that was, Oz walked through the door, his band's set having just finished. As he walked over to Willow, he gave a little nod towards Buffy, "hey, you might wanna get out there. Faith and Scott are kinda getting into it."

"Getting into what!?" Buffy said angrily, assuming Oz meant they were making out or something. Weird thing was, she wasn't feeling jealous of Faith exactly... she had to admit that Scott was kinda boring and the only reason she had dated him in the first place was that she had wanted someone a little boring.

Deep down she knew she was kidding herself, though. She would always be attracted to the dark and mysterious ones, like Fa— she shook her head, clearing those thoughts away. That simply didn't do to think about!

She was about to get up when the object of her recent odd feelings pushed the door open as she yelled "well fuck you too, ya fucking loser!"

The room went silent as Faith strolled in, flipping the bird behind her even though whoever she was yelling at couldn't possibly see it.

Buffy's jaw nearly hit the floor as she looked at Faith. If she had always unconsciously thought Faith was hot in a bad girl, almost skanky kinda way, she couldn't believe how gorgeous she looked all dressed up. Buffy stared appreciatively at her long black dress and her cute little choker necklace. The dress also matched her dark lipstick, which helped to accentuate those pouty lips that Buffy had always noticed.

But above all, Buffy couldn't believe how good her hair looked. While Buffy had always been jealous of how effortlessly wavy Faith's hair had always looked—and she knew the girl never spent a second styling it—the way it looked now, all straightened out and pulled up with just a couple of cute little strands hanging down around her face... Buffy was simply stunned.

She continued to stare, her jaw still open, as she half listened to the others talk.

"You and Scott looked like you were hitting it off," Oz said flatly.

"Yeah, well, he's a little bitch" Faith said a little huffily, obviously still wound up from her argument.

"What were you guys fighting about anyway?" Willow asked.

"Could it possibly have anything to do with you implying that he has a venereal disease to his date?" Giles asked pointedly, lowering his glasses.

Faith smiled sheepishly, "you heard that, huh G-man?"

"You said who had a what now?" Buffy asked, finally shaking herself out of her daze.

"It was nothin', B. I just got him back for dumpin' ya by giving him a little explaining to do to that stuck up looking bitch he brought to the dance," Faith said easily as she hopped up on the table beside Buffy. Buffy felt her heart stop a second as Faith's arm brushed hers and her fluttery feelings returned with a vengeance.

She was also kind of touched at Faith's gesture. "You did that for me?" she asked Faith with a soft smile.

"'Course B, nobody messes with my girl" Faith grinned back, giving Buffy a little punch on the arm.

Buffy's heart now started beating a hundred miles an hour as she quickly tried to repress the thought that she kinda wanted to be Faith's girl. She took a deep breath, wondering how Faith was able to have such control over all of her emotions.

"That was sweet of you...in a very Faith sort of way" Buffy told her, unable to keep from grinning.

"Only way I got, B." The slayers shared another quick smile that Buffy thought to herself carried quite a bit of meaning. She was also still pretty floored at how elegant she looked. As they continued to stare at each other goofily—the butterflies in Buffy's tummy flapping to the rhythm of Faith's breathing—the others became aware that there was suddenly a weird vibe in the room.

Xander cleared his throat. "So... anybody wanna afterparty at the Bronze?"

"Ew, are you kidding?" Cordelia groaned, "look at how gross I look!"

"Yeah," Willow yawned, "I should be going home, too."

"I am pretty much in desperate need of a shower" Buffy agreed, finally managing to look away from Faith. She hopped off the table, but couldn't hep but quickly turn around to look at Faith again. A part of her kind of wished they could go slaying or do something together now... she really wasn't looking forward to leaving her, although she supposed the dark-haired beauty might put in an appearance in her dreams as she had been apt to do lately.

"Hey, I'll walk ya home B" Faith said suddenly, hopping off the table as well.

Buffy smiled, once again picking up on a new vibe from Faith that she didn't think she had felt before. Faith had pretty much flirted with her nonstop in the three weeks she had been here, but Buffy had always felt like it was just a joke; Faith's way of messing with her or something. But now... now Buffy had the weird feeling like it wasn't a joke; like it was never a joke in the first place. Like maybe Faith had meant something else entirely when she has asked her to homecoming and the "studs" comment was just Faith covering in case Buffy wasn't interested...

The strange thing was, Buffy realized she wasn't even that freaked out. Sure, she had never thought about another girl in that way before, but somehow this was different. Faith was different, and it wasn't just the slayer bond thing. Faith made her feel alive—she was such a ball of energy that was always contagious. Buffy had thought that what she needed was someone boring and safe, but what she really needed was someone fun! And the badass thing... that didn't suck either. So who cares if it was a girl that had all this, especially when she was as beautiful as Faith?

Satisfied with her realization, she nodded to Faith; "I'd expect nothing less from my date" she replied, maybe a little more throatily that she had meant to.

Buffy's breath caught as Faith's face lit up in a grin that betrayed some of her hopefulness. The slayers quickly waved bye to everyone else and started towards to door. The others stared until the slayers were completely outside the library, nobody missing the fact that something had just changed between them.

As the slayers walked slowly through the hallway of Sunnydale High, Buffy turning to gaze at Faith's profile. "You look so good..." Buffy let out quickly, not really meaning to be so obvious but still wanting to compliment her friend.

Faith turned a little, her eyebrows raised. "Yeah B? I'm not so sure I pull off the dressy look," she replied, looking herself over, "more of a tight pants and tanktop kinda girl ya know?"

Buffy smiled. "Yeah I know. But you totally pull off the dressy look. The dressiest. You are totally fancy dress girl."

"Well thanks, B. And hey—you look great too, but ya already knew that." Faith ran her eyes appreciatively over Buffy's frame one more time as if to confirm.

"But I never get tired of hearing it!" Buffy giggled, "'course I think the rips and dirt stains would cost me a few points in a beauty pageant."

Faith laughed too; "Nah B, that kinda shit gives you character, ya know? Let's people know you ain't some stuck up rich chick, but someone who's willing to get down and dirty when needed..."

Buffy grinned as the slayers reached to front door, pushing it open to the cool evening breeze of Sunnydale. Buffy breathed deep as the night air made her feel alive, like every cell in her body was buzzing. She looked at Faith and saw she had a similar look. She knew it was a slayer thing and it made Buffy realize once again how close she felt to Faith; how connected they were.

Without letting herself think about it, Buffy reached her hand out and took Faith's. Faith looked puzzled at first, but quickly relaxed her hand and let her fingers entwine with Buffy's. The contact made Buffy's skin sizzle and hum, and she was surprised at how soft and warm Faith's hand felt in hers. The slayers exchanged a smile and continued walking towards Buffy's house.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to hang out more tonight, Faith" Buffy said "I was looking forward to it."

Faith nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I was too B. But hey, slayer duty calls"

"Yeah..." Buffy paused. "Faith?"

"Yeah B?"

"So you really told Scott's date that he had an STD?"

Faith laughed, "Yeah, had to B. He pissed me off, ya know? I mean how stupid can he be to dump the hottest chick at Sunnydale High?"

Buffy had to stop a moment to fully process Faith's statement. Once she had, she squeezed Faith's hand and they started walking again. "You really think I'm... hot?"

"Don't be dense B—you are without a doubt the hottest," Faith said easily, "and hey, for what's its worth you had my vote for homecoming queen."

Buffy smiled, pushing down the butterflies that were threatening to fly up from her tummy and leave through her mouth, "I appreciate the support," she joked, "although I think if you had run wearing that dress, you would have won. At least gotten all the male votes. ...And probably most of the female ones too."

"Hey, I just wanted to wear something that wouldn't look all shitty next to my date, and as we've established, she's kind of a looker." Faith wiggled her eyebrows a little, a move that Buffy knew meant she was trying to get a rise out of her. Faith was definitely flirting unabashedly tonight, Buffy thought, something she decided she was a pretty big fan of right now.

"Well aren't you little miss compliment girl tonight," Buffy teased, "if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to seduce me!"

"Who says I'm not?" Faith grinned.

Before Buffy could answer, she realized that they were about at her house. She groaned inwardly, not wanting the night to end.

"Well Faith, if you are, I'd say you better come up with an excuse to come inside pretty quick, cos otherwise I am going to bed." She grinned at Faith in a silent challenge.

"Well B, I'd say getting all dressed up entitles me to at least one dance with my date, right?" She smirked, obviously pleased with Buffy's total lack of freaking out about how blatantly she had been hitting on her tonight.

"Alright F, that sounds fair." She smiled coyly at Faith and opened the door, inviting her in. They climbed the stairs to Buffy's room quietly so they wouldn't wake Joyce. Once they were in Buffy's room, she grabbed a clean pair of clothes; "I'm gonna go shower real quick, I'll be right back" she grinned at Faith again, realizing she was having a really hard time not doing that.

Faith grabbed Buffy's arm, "Nuh-uh. I wanna dance with you in your dress first," she said, moving her hand up to grasp Buffy's.

"But there's no music," Buffy protested.

"Don't need it, B." Faith said, tracing an invisible pattern on Buffy's back through the thin fabric of her dress.

Buffy just nodded as Faith pulled her closer so that their bodies fit together snugly. The slayers each wrapped an arm around the other girl's waist and began to sway gently together. Buffy sighed happily and let her head drop onto Faith's nearly bare shoulder, feeling the skin warm as it came into contact with her cheek.

The slayers danced like this for several minutes, just holding each other and swaying to a silent melody. Buffy felt like she was melting into Faith and nobody had ever made her feel quite so wonderful before. Faith's body was so soft and warm, and Buffy felt so comfy with her that she couldn't believe it. While her heart had starting beating really fast when Faith had pulled them together, that was all gone now; in fact, it was as if the slayers' hearts had synchronized. Buffy could feel both of them beating out the same gentle rhythm as they held each other close.

Finally they stopped swaying, but continued to hold each other close. Buffy eventually lifted her head up, brushing her lips almost imperceptibly across Faith's shoulder. As the slayers continued to hold their bodies together, Buffy reached out a hand to gently tuck one of Faith's loose strands of hair behind her ear. Buffy let her hand softly graze Faith's ears, feeling Faith shiver when Buffy slid it down across her pulse point and back up to her chin.

Buffy held Faith's chin in her hand, loving how soft and smooth it felt, as she fell into Faith's deep brown eyes. Buffy wondered how she had never noticed them before; she felt like she could spend a lifetime just getting to know their depths.

Not able to resist any longer, Buffy gently guided Faith's mouth towards her own, only able to concentrate on the task at hand once Faith closed her eyes. Buffy paused briefly, savoring the moment and making sure she was doing the right thing. Her feelings for Faith kind of scared her, but they also exhilarated her in a way that she had never felt before. Faith was wild, fun, and unpredictable, and that really excited her. But Faith was also strong, beautiful, and— although most people wouldn't know it—sweet. Buffy smiled when she thought of Faith's flirty compliments or how quickly she had made her feel better after Scott dumped her. Buffy finally realized that Faith wasn't just what she wanted, she was also what she needed.

And with that realization, Buffy closed the final distance between them, letting her lips press against Faith's. The tingles started in her lips as they connected with Faith's full, pouty ones, but quickly spread throughout Buffy's body. After just a moment, it wasn't enough anymore. Buffy opened her mouth, needing to feel and taste Faith's tongue. Faith didn't disappoint, and quickly accepted Buffy's invitation, sliding her wet tongue into Buffy's waiting mouth.

They were nearly gasping for breath when they finally stopped kissing. Buffy smiled when she tasted Faith's lipstick on her lips and smiled wider at the girl. "Faith, I..." she paused, realizing there was no way to put what she was feeling into words. She finally settled with "you're a really good kisser."

"You have no idea how much I've been wanting to do that, B" Faith breathed in reply, still holding onto Buffy tightly.

Buffy grinned, nuzzling her nose against Faith's cute little one. "So you did mean this to be our first date, didn't you?"

"First?" Faith smiled.

Buffy nodded shyly. "First of many...I hope," she added quietly.

Faith laughed, pressed a soft kiss against Buffy's lips, and replied happily "first of as many as you want me for."

"I'll hold you to that, Faith" Buffy smiled and drew Faith into another kiss, "'cos I'm falling for you faster that I thought was possible."

"Tell me about it," Faith breathed, kissing Buffy's jawline up to her ear and then down to her neck. Buffy couldn't help but moan when she felt Faith's tongue working its way up and down her neck.

Faith was definitely what she needed. Right now.

Buffy began to maneuver them over to the bed, making sure that Faith was still kissing up and down her neck. She fell backwards onto the bed, dragging the dark haired slayer down with her. Buffy loved how snugly Faith's body fit pressed up against hers; like they were made to go together.

Faith worked a leg in between Buffy's, which caused the blonde to light up with desire. Quickly feeling herself loose control, Buffy pulled Faith's mouth onto hers so she could taste her again. Buffy could tell Faith was getting heated up too by how hungrily she kissed her; how insistent her tongue was.

As they continued to kiss, Buffy tentatively reached out a hand to graze Faith's breasts. Faith's immediate reaction was to groan hungrily into Buffy's mouth, but then Buffy could tell she was worried about something. Faith separated from Buffy's mouth to say something, but, as to be sure Buffy didn't think she was going to ask her to stop, she also placed one of her hands over Buffy's.

"B...I want this, I mean I want this wicked bad, but are you sure? I don't wanna feel like I'm pushing you or whatever or if you're just horny from all the slaying... And I can't believe I'm even saying that, but this just feels different ya know? Because I really do care about you B." Faith's brown eyes looked hopefully at Buffy, seeking confirmation that she felt the same thing.

If there was any part of Buffy's heart that didn't already belong to Faith, she had just claimed it with those words.

"I'm sure, Faith... and I care about you, too," Buffy nearly whispered the last part as she smiled up at Faith's eyes and pressed their lips back together.

The next morning, Buffy sighed with pleasure as she woke up to the feel of Faith's warm body curled up in her arms. Catching a glimpse of their clothing strewn about, she thought to herself that as good as Faith's homecoming dress had looked on Faith herself, Buffy liked it even better all crumpled up on her floor. Smiling to herself, Buffy gave her sleeping partner a series of kisses before snuggling back into her arms, a strand of Faith's soft hair tickling the tip of her nose.

The End