AN: So this little story of mine is wrapping up and I can't really say anything about my abscene other than the usual suspect excuses...so I'll spare everyone the details and let you get on with the reading!

Chapter 18

Faith's heart was racing and she felt frozen in time as she waited for what seemed like an eternity while she watched Buffy, who at the moment was gazing back at her with wide green eyes. Her hands were covering her mouth and stray tears were running down her face, clearly the other slayer was still in shock from the heartfelt proposal.

This did nothing to help calm Faith's nerves though seeing as she still hadn't received an answer. She felt a tremendous wave of fear and begin to overtake her as her heart pounded so hard and fast that it seemed as if it was trying to make its way out of her chest. The feeling had become so intense that it made her nausea, she felt like she couldn't breathe and like she was choking. Faith knew she was on the verge of having a full blown panic attack if one of them didn't do or say something.

"Uh...B, you're gonna have to give me something here," Faith whispered hoarsely, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she peered up at the still silent woman in front of her. "The elevator floor is killing my knee and we kinda got an audience." Faith croaked out as her eyes briefly darted from the motionless slayer to the scene behind.

There stood about a dozen people that had been waiting for the elevator but when it opened, had found the two women locked in the age-old premarital ritual. The two slayers had been so preoccupied with each other they hadn't realized that the elevator had started moving again and that the door had opened and that they now had an audience. Some people looked impatient, while others looked on expectantly as they too waited for blonde's answer.

This seemed to break Buffy out of her stupor and she blinked rapidly before she quickly dropped to her knees in front of Faith and wordlessly wrapped her arms around her neck in a tight embrace. Faith could only return the embrace as she hesitantly enveloped Buffy's small frame with her own and closed her eyes.

"She said yes!" Was the premature bellow from the crowd, causing a series of clapping and cheering.

Faith opened her eyes immediately and looked out at the crowd in confusion. She watched the exhilarated group standing in the doorway and wondered if the loud and vigorous pounding of her heart had actually caused her to possibly miss the point where Buffy had actually given an answer.

Faith pulled back slightly to look at the woman in her arms. "You said yes?" Faith asked in a small voice that she didn't even recognize as her own.

Buffy looked startled by the question, and her mouth gaped a few times before she finally found her voice and shook her head in the negative, "I...I didn't say anything. Well not until just now, but uh...no, not before," The still stunned blonde responsed.

"O...kay," the brunette began slowly, as she gazed into wide, fearful green orbs. A fresh wave of nausea and panic washed over her as the full scope of what was happening finally hit her. "If you didn't say yes...," Faith paused for a moment as she continued to stare at Buffy and realized the implication of her not having said yes. Her jawline clenched and unclenched as she felt the pain of every single tear in her heart as it shattered to pieces, "Does that means you're saying no?" It came out as a question but Faith already knew the answer, the look on Buffy's face said it all.

"You're saying no," Faith whispered more conclusively and she finally released her hold on the blonde and moved her leg so that she was on both knees now and sat back on her haunches. She closed a tight fist around the ring that was still in her hand and stared stoically at the woman she had just poured her out too only to have it crushed.

The blonde sat back and mirrored Faith's sitting position as she laid her hands in her lap and looked down at them as if they held the answer for her. Her mind was telling her that rationally, she knew she couldn't just say yes, but her heart was screaming at her that she couldn't say no either.

It wasn't until Faith moved with slayer speed and pulled herself up from the floor and made a move for the door that Buffy was compelled to do something.

"Faith wait!" She yelled and raised a hand and placed it on the shoulder of the retreating slayer and stopping her from going anywhere. "This isn't what you're thinking!" Buffy said in way of an explanation.

Faith stopped and looked at the blonde as if she'd grown two heads, "It's not?" Faith asked incredulously. "Well do you care to explain it then?"

"I do," Buffy answered as she stood and look at the crowd that was still gazing at them from the doorway. She turned back to look at Faith, "But can we please not do this here?"

Faith laughed humorlessly as she briefly looked back to the crowd then back at Buffy, "They just watched me make a fool of myself, I don't think it matters if you humiliate me some more."

"That's not what I'm doing...at least not on purpose. Just let me explain okay?" Buffy pleaded but Faith just stared blankly and made no motion to move again which Buffy took as a sign that she was at least going to listen to her. "But really Faith, can we please not do this here?" She asked again. Buffy wasn't sure how much of what her and Faith had said to each other was overheard by the crowd, but she knew that she didn't want to continue to put her love life on display in front of strangers.

"Yeah sure, whatever B," Faith replied indifferently as she shrugged Buffy's hand off her shoulder and was allowed to stand this time. "You can say whatever you need to say on our way to L.A."

"No!" Buffy yelled as she now quickly stood to stand in front of the now masked slayer.

"She took it back...she just said no!" Came another yell from the crowd then a series of mumbling could be heard afterwards.

"Will you shut the fuck up already?!" Faith turned to yell at the unsuspecting crowd standing in the doorway. A series of gasps echoed from the group which caused Faith to scowl menacingly as she turned back to face the blonde.

Buffy was staring at her with a look she couldn't decipher and suddenly the elevator felt as if it was closing in on her, it felt stifling and she needed to get out of it and as far away as possible from Buffy as she could. "I'm outta here," She mumbled as she shoved the ring that was still trapped in her hand in her front pocket and turned to make her way over to the doorway to push through the crowd with a disheveled Buffy hot on her heels.

"Faith, please...will you just wait!" Buffy yelled at the once again retreating slayer and took off after her. "We're supposed to be going back to Cleveland...not L.A.!"

"That was before you just had me make an ass out of myself!" Faith yelled and threw her hands in the air out of frustration as she turned around.

"I did no such thing! You haven't even let me explain yet!" Buffy yelled back in an equally frustrated tone.

"Which part do you need to explain B? The 'n' or the 'o', I'm not a fucking genius, but it doesn't take a rocket science to figure that one out." Faith yelled, becoming angrier the more she thought about the whole situation. She had finally found the courage to tell Buffy how she felt about her and everything seemed like it was going well and she would finally be able to be with the women she wanted...really get to be with her without the pretense of being 'just friends' masking their desire for one another.

Now she didn't know what to think. The previous night Buffy had explained that she would've at least like to have been given an option on the whole marriage deal, but now that Faith had given her one Buffy had stood there and remained silent. To Faith, it was clearly a sign of uncertainty on whether or not Buffy had really wanted to be with her, which to Faith, it ultimately meant no and that she didn't.

Even with Buffy admitting that she loved her wasn't enough for the brunette. It obviously wasn't the all-consuming, everlasting true love that she had for the blonde and she'd clearly misunderstood Buffy's confession for more than what it was intended for. With a dishearten shake of her head, Faith slowly turned and once again began to walk away.

"I didn't say no!" Buffy yelled at Faith's back.

This caused the brunette to stop once again, but she didn't turn to face the other slayer. "Then just what are you saying Buffy?" Faith shook slightly with anger, with a hurt so deep that it made her afraid to turn and face Buffy once again knowing that if she did, she'd probably break down and start sobbing in the middle of the hotel lobby.

Buffy sighed, grateful that the brunette had halted in her retreat, but she still didn't know how she would approach the hostile slayer. She knew that she had to approach Faith carefully and word what she wanted to say just right because if she didn't, Faith would run again, and that was the last thing that Buffy wanted.

"We don't need to go to L.A. for anything," the blonde replied and gently laid a hand on Faith's shoulder and moved closer.

"Why not? You didn't say yes so isn't that what you want? To put this whole mess behind you," Faith responded bitterly and shrugged away from the touch with her back still to the blonde slayer.

Buffy sighed and dropped her hands to her side, "I think we both know there's no putting what happened last night behind us. Not...not that I would want to anyway, last night was...it was...it was definitely of the good," she said.

Faith scoffed and finally turned to face Buffy at the use of the modest statement to describe their night together. "Of the good?" Faith repeated mockingly with a raised brow.

"Well it was more than that, it was...," Buffy trailed off and looked away as she scrambled for the right words to describe the amazing night they'd had. Finally looking back into amused brown eyes Buffy continued. "It was a whole lot of something that I can't describe or even say right now if I could describe it because it would definitely cause a lot of babbling and possibly blushing...yes, definitely blushing, because yeah," Buffy pointed to her face in way of an explanation, "already feeling the flush."

"Oh for fucks sakes Buffy, just say it already...last night was wicked hot," Faith exclaimed. "And I don't know about you, but it was the hottest sex I've ever had, and that's saying something."

Buffy frowned slightly at the implication of the latter statement, but she knew that in Faith speech, it was considered a compliment. "Okay so that's more along the lines of what I was thinking, but with a lot less of the comparing" she explained.

"But that's not enough, is it?" Faith asked dejectedly.

Buffy's face grew serious at the question and she stepped closer, "Faith," she started and brought her hands up slowly to cup the brooding slayer's beautiful but sad face. When Faith didn't turn away from or shrug her off this time, Buffy was encouraged to continue, "It was more than I ever imagined it would be and for the record, I'd like to keep doing it."

Faith snorted and then chuckled humorously. "You wanna fuck me but you don't wanna marry me. Figures."

"We are married Faith," the blonde clarified.

"And that can be easily fixed because all it's gonna take is for you to go to L.A. and sign on the dotted line, Princess. I'm sure your evil law firm owning souled do-boy will have this taken care of before the ink dries."

"Angel isn't my anything Faith; you are! And it's why I won't be going anywhere and signing anything right now," Buffy huffed as she dropped her hands to take a few steps back and brought a frustrated hand up to rub roughly at her brow as she watched the scowling slayer. She didn't understand how Faith went from one extreme to the next. Only a short moment ago, the brunette had gotten down on one knee and said the most wonderful, sweetest things and offered her a world full of love and devotion only to let her anger take over and turn her into the insecure, doubtful person Buffy was dealing with now.

"So if it makes you feel better to keep the documents that you went to Angel to have drawn up in existence with your signature on it, then fine keep it, I don't care...so long as I never have to look at them or ever hear about them, but I'm not going to L.A. and annulling this marriage Faith. Story. End of." Buffy stated with an air of finality as she crossed her arms over her chest, adopting her infamous slayer in charge stance.

Faith was quiet for several seconds as she just stood staring into defiant green eyes. Her first instinct was to wrap her arms around the fuming blonde and tell her how she looked both sexy and insanely adorable when she was mad and then kiss her with for all she was worth. However, she knew she had to rein it in seeing as she'd already made a fool of herself more than she cared to admit for the day and because she just didn't go around saying things like 'adorable' out loud and in front of other people. Plus, and probably the most important fact she could think of at the moment was that she was confused.

"Why not?" Faith finally asked with a small frown. She was a little taken aback that Buffy was so damn adamant about not going to L.A. especially after she had just rejected her marriage proposal. Then something Buffy had said during the course of the conversation hit her, she wanted to keep doing it. Which to Faith, it meant that Buffy was now more accepting of their sexual attraction to each other and wanted to explore more of the joys of what she had to offer in the bedroom every now and again.

That, Faith could understand because the sex was hot, but it didn't mean she was happy about it. She knew there was no way she could carrying on a strictly sexual relationship with her heart's desire and feel good about it no matter how good she knew it would be.

"Why not?" Buffy repeated the question as she stepped closer to the clueless slayer. "Because if we go to L.A. and annul our marriage, it's like saying that the things that happened between us doesn't exist and...and that they don't matter," she explained in frustration and hoping that she was making sense to the other slayer. "And is that what you really want Faith?"

"C'mon on B, it's your perfect get out of jail free card," Faith answered, treating the question as if it was a rhetorical one, because honestly, Buffy already knew what she wanted. If the proposal and her heartfelt confession in the elevator didn't make it clear then she would have to entertain the idea that Buffy really was a true blonde even though she knew better. "Besides," Faith continued and folded her arms across her chest smugly, "you know what they say B...what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

"Why are you doing this?" Buffy asked with a dejected tone and expression as disappointment laced her voice. "Are you not the same person who only minutes ago told me she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me?"

"Of course I am," Faith responded weakly, the look on Buffy's face making her immediately regret the comment. She dropped her defensive stance and shook her head in disgust at herself.

"Then why are you trying to push me away right now?"

Faith knew the answer to that without even having to think about it but thought better of it before putting her feelings on the line again. She was heartbroken, plain and simple, and that made it easier for her to rebuild the walls she'd cautiously let crumble when she and Buffy decided to put the past behind them and began building a friendship that quickly turned into something more for Faith.

"Look B," Faith began with a heavy sigh as she raised an arm and rubbed at the back of her neck, "what I did...it was impulsive...fuck, it was stupid even and I don't know what I was thinking when I did it. So can we just forget it happened and move on?"

"No Faith we can't! No matter how you want to downplay this right now, we can't just act like nothing happened between us. If we try to pretend that it didn't, it'll eat at us both and eventually drive us apart. Everything we've worked at since we moved to Cleveland will all have been for nothing because I know there would be no getting passed this for us. So no, we can't just move on, at least not in the way you're suggesting because I'm not letting go of you. So please Faith, let's just go home and figure this whole thing out together, because you were right," Buffy let the statement hang in the air and smiled adoringly at the confused expression Faith wore because of it.

The brunette's frown had deepened and her head was tilted to the side slightly as she wracked her brain to figure out what Buffy was referring to.

Deciding to take pity on the confused slayer, Buffy explained herself. "Hot sex and pretty words aren't enough. It's all or nothing now Faith and I for one would like to give my all where we're concerned and I hope you want that too."

Buffy watched as Faith seemingly processed what she'd just said, and despite their surroundings and the already sly looks they were getting, before the other slayer had a chance to do any type of protesting, Buffy pulled her into a passionate, needy kiss.

The action caught Faith off guard and naturally, her first instinct was to kiss Buffy back. Their mouths collided clumsily and their hands desperately sought out one another trying to find the right place to hold onto. In an effort to slow it down and get things under control, Faith's hands made their way to Buffy's face to cradle it between her palms and she pressed sweet open mouthed kisses against the addictive lips.

Faith pulled back slightly and ran her thumb over Buffy's pouting lips. As her eyes roamed over her lover's delicate features, Faith's mind was once again starting to betray her and it began to struggle with the turn of events. It was screaming at her that she was once again being set up for failure and demanded that she get as far away from the enticing figure as possible. Her heart, on the other hand, wouldn't allow her to move an inch.

So when Buffy's brilliant green eyes fluttered open and innocently stared deeply into her own, instead of fighting with making a decision and not caring that they were in the middle of a busy hotel lobby being watched, she did the only thing she could in that moment. She never took her eyes off of Buffy's as she slide her arms around the petite waist and pulled her closer and kissed her again with as much passion as she had been previously shown.

Her mind was reeling at the range of emotions that was hitting her all at once, but the only thing Faith allowed herself to feel was the woman she loved in her arms. All she could feel were Buffy's arms that had slid around her neck and the hand that was grasping the back of her head and tangling itself in her hair to keep her in place. A low groaned rumbled in her throat when she felt Buffy's warm tongue make its way inside of her mouth and wrap around her own. She made an attempt to pull Buffy impossibly closer when she felt the warm tongue slip in and out of her mouth and dance around her own.

Finally, Buffy pulled away with her arms still wrapped around Faith's neck and placed a soft kiss on her nose then against her mouth. "Last night wasn't enough because I want so much more from you," she whispered against Faith's full lips then pulled back to look into her expressive brown eyes. "I want all of you Faith."

Once again, a frown marred Faith's beautiful face, clearly indicating she wasn't fully understanding what Buffy was saying to her. At first she'd left her hanging with her proposal, and then she was saying that last night wasn't enough. Faith felt like she was being pulled into so many different directions that she didn't know which way to turn. What she did know was that she was sick of having her head fucked with and she needed the blonde to lay it all out for her once and for all. "I don't understand," Faith finally voiced her thoughts, hoping to get some clarification, "Was that not what I was offering when I asked you to stay married to me?"

"It was baby, and thank you for being brave enough to come back and put yourself and your feelings on the line for me like you did, it means everything which is why I can't just sign it all away when I know it means so much more," Buffy explained.

Faith shrugged like it was no big deal, when really it was the scariest thing she'd even had to face in her life. Demons and vampires she could handle with no problem, it was her calling, what she was born to do and she fearlessly shouldered the responsibility night after night. However, love was something she wasn't familiar with, something she had no experience in fighting so when she had fallen head over heels for Buffy, she knew she didn't stand a chance at beating it. So she finally took the chance and embraced it instead only to have it thrown back in her face.

"It was no big deal B, I figured after you gave up the goods it was the least I could do."

Buffy rolled her eyes but it wasn't with malice intent because she knew that it was in fact a big deal for Faith, but she also knew that that was all the thanks she was going to get from the guarded slayer right now and it was more than enough so she continued.

"If me not giving you an answer hurt your feelings then I don't think I can tell you enough just how sorry I am for honestly? It surprised me...caught me off guard I guess you could say so I couldn't say anything at the time. I...I was in shock. I'm still in shock," Buffy admitted.

"And now?" Faith asked as she held onto Buffy tighter and allowed herself to hope for the first time.

"I'm saying that that proposal? I want to know that you really mean it Faith that we both do...," Buffy was going to explain further but was interrupted.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't mean it!" Faith bristled as she released her hold on the blonde and made an attempt to dislodge herself but to no avail because Buffy wouldn't let her go.

"That's not what I mean!" Buffy yelled and her arms dropped from around Faith's neck and she placed her hands on her shoulders keeping her in place. She was being pushed to her limit with Faith misunderstanding her without giving her a chance to explain. "Now will you please stop interrupting me and just let me finish?" She asked, and watched as Faith made a motion for her to continue.

"What I'm saying is I want to earn that proposal and that big, pretty shiny diamond ring from you Faith and I know I haven't yet."

Faith opened her mouth to make some type of protest but Buffy narrowed her eyes indicating that she was not finished with what she needed to say and fierce look was enough to make Faith snap her mouth shut and continue to listen.

So Buffy continued. "When we look back on this whole thing and think about why or how it happened, I want us both to know that what we have is real and that this means something more than a weekend full of magic and one night filled with hot, sexy goodness." Buffy brought her hand back up to wrap around Faith's neck and looked her in the eyes.

"If it's one thing I know, it's that an attraction to each other doesn't make a commitment, and even though I know I can count on you and I trust you with my life, I just need more Faith...more than one night, more than one weekend. I need a lifetime...the whole nine yards from you and I want to give it in return and not have what happened here in Vegas define our whole relationship and possibly turn into a big mistake we may end up regretting later."

"That's not gonna happen B. I would never think that anything that happened between us or anything I've said since we've been here was a mistake because it's all true. With who and what you've been to me for so long makes you more than deserve the ring and what it means because whether you see it or not, you already have all of me. I'd do anything you ask and I'd give you whatever you needed if it means you're happy...and there's no regretting that."

With a dreamily look, Buffy leaned up once again and pressed her lips Faith's go give her a soft, lingering kiss before she pulled back. "I know you would, and I'd do anything to make you happy too," she added before placing another kiss on the brunette's lips. "But the whole nine yards means I want to go out on dates as more than just friends. I want to be able to kiss you when I want or make out in a dark movie theater like teenagers. I want to hold hands when we're walking through a cemetery on patrol." Faith shot Buffy a curious look at that last part. "What? Can you think of anything else more romantic we could do when patrolling?" Buffy said in way of explanation. When a devilish look crossed Faith's features she added, "I said romantic not dirty and...and completely sexy and X-rated."

The corner of Faith's mouth upturned in a slight smirk and she allowed herself to fall back into Buffy's embrace. "But, seriously Faith...do you understand that I'm not saying no? That it's just...not now? I just think we should wait until we're sure it's what we both want and that it's the right time to fully make that kind of commitment to each other."

"Yeah B, I think I get it. You want me to be sure I can put up with your hideous bed head and your drooling night after night," Faith grinned which caused Buffy to gasp in faux horror and swat Faith on the arm.

The brunette laughed and continued. "And you're saying that you want to get your naughty on in public places and get all cute and coupley when we we're having dinner or while we're supposed to be teaching the juniors how to be all responsible and not get distracted while hunting and killing shit." Faith said with an amused raised brow as she gave her own rendition on what she thought Buffy was trying to tell her. "Am I right?" She asked with a smirk.

"Well yes, but when you put it that way, it makes me sound all irresponsible and perverty," Buffy pouted.

"Yeah B, you sound like me," Faith joked and as if she couldn't help herself, she leaned in and planted a kiss on Buffy's pouty lips.

"Exactly!"

Faith chuckled and wrapped her arms back around the blonde slayer waist and dropped another kiss on her lips and smiled. She'd never get use to being able to do that whenever she wanted, and now that she could it was like she couldn't get enough of kissing Buffy. "Well it doesn't matter how either of us puts it or how it sounds, as long as it means I get to keep having sex with you then I think I can handle the cute and cuddly," she added with a wiggle of her brow.

Buffy couldn't help but laugh as she pulled Faith into a hug, "Well we've had the cute and cuddly part down for a while now according to anyone you care to ask back at home, but I think adding sex with my beautiful wife on a regular basis into the fray can definitely be arranged."

"Wicked," Faith said and wrapped her arms tighter around Buffy. She closed her eyes and placed a kiss against the side of her temple before she rested her forehead against it before growing serious again. "If you're sure you want to do this B, I need you to promise me something, okay?" Faith asked as she pulled back to look at Buffy.

The blonde pulled back and looked deep into Faith eyes at the uneasy tone she'd heard in her lover's voice and nodded. "Promise," she whispered before she even knew what was being asked of her.

"You know I'm not the easiest person in the world to live with. I hate doing housework, you know you're always complaining about me leaving my clothes in the dryer because I hate putting them away and you end up having to do it. You won't let me use paper plates because you think 'it's tacky, especially during dinner,' Faith mocked in her best faux Buffy voice, "but you turn around and complain when I don't help with the dishes."

"I don't talk like that," Buffy interjected with a scowl that was ignored as Faith continued her rant.

"I use your bathroom towel and it's always wet when you need it. You're always complaining about how I squeeze the toothpaste at the top or in the middle instead of from the bottom like you've asked and how I put the toilet paper on so that it rolls under instead of over. I don't see what your deal is about it though," Faith shrugged. "Does it make your ass feel any different if it's not rolling the way you want?"

"Okay I get it, you're a pig," Buffy stated matter of factly.

"Or it could just be that you complain to damn much," Faith countered.

Buffy rolled her eyes at the rebuttal but let it pass. "Okay so we've lived together for over a year now so I already know most of your annoying habits and most of them I'm sure you do on purpose because you know just how much that it annoys me. What's your point?"

A slight smirk crossed Faith lips, "My point is I know I do a lot of shit that drive you crazy, so I'd get it if you didn't want to stick around after you have to deal with them for so long. I guess I just need you to promise me that if at any time you realize that this isn't what you want...that I'm not what you want in a girlfriend...in a wife, you'll just come right out and tell me instead of dicking around until we become that bitter couple that argues all the time and can't stand to be around each other and you start hating me again."

"I never hated you Faith. Even when things we're...rough between us, I never hated you. So if that's the promise you want me to make then I'm unpromising my promise because I'm sure that if anything goes wrong between us I know we'll be able to get through it, we always do."

"You don't know that B...shit happens you know, so how can you be sure?" Faith argued.

"I'm sure because whether I remember it or not, we promised each other for better or worse. We've already been through the worse and we forgave each other, so if the worse we have to deal with right now are your annoying habits, then I think we doing pretty good. It just means we're buying extra towels so you can always have a choice of one that is not mine...oooh, we can get them monogrammed to say 'hers' and...well um, I guess 'hers'."

"Well how will I know which is mine?" Faith asked amused at the thought.

"Hmmm," Buffy thought for a second. "Oh! We can have them initialed and get them in different colors," she exclaimed excitedly. "As long as they match the bathroom décor which means we'll probably have to redecorate because I'm sure you'll want something dark." Buffy added as an afterthought.

Faith couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face at her wife's reasoning while still able to think about accessorizing to fit her style as well. "Okay, well what about the other stuff?"

"Well...," Buffy looked off as if she was thinking over the question and laced her fingers together that were resting at the nape of Faith's neck. "You can always wear less clothing that way they'll be less to wash and less to put away," the blonde remarked suggestively and with a smirk.

Faith grinned and nodded her approval of the idea. "Okay...nothing but commando from here on out for me. Keep going B, I think I like where this is leading."

Buffy laughed at the other slayer's enthusiasm, she then brought a finger to her mouth and tapped on it and made a sound to indicate that she was thinking. "Well...I guess we can start buying the toothpaste pumps, the ones that sits upright and you don't have to squeeze so we don't have to worry about a slayer sized dent in the middle of the tube. And we can buy one of those stand-up toilet paper holders and make sure you never get to fill it that way I know they'll all be placed the same way." She explained with a brilliant smile in place, quite pleased with herself.

"Looks like you have it all figured out then B," Faith grinned and leaned in for a brief kiss and placed her forehead against the other slayer's.

"I do" Buffy nodded slightly, her smile growing impossibly wider. She was happy that Faith was now listening to her and seemingly agreeing to give them a chance. "And annoying habits or not, I'd still want this with you."

"So we're really gonna do this then?" Faith whispered, her lips brushing softly against Buffy's.

"Yeah, we're really doing this," Buffy assured as she leaned in and pressed another soft kiss to Faith's lips. "We'll be fine baby, I promise."

"No unpromising on this one?"

"Slayer's honor," Buffy replied and brought her hands up to gently cup Faith's face and leaned in to place a sweet and gentle kiss against the full lips, but before she could make contact, Faith unexpectedly pulled back at the last minute.

"Hold on B, there's something else I need to ask," Faith said while her eyes darted to the floor bashfully before hesitantly bringing them back up to meet Buffy's.

"Of course," Buffy answered instantly, wanting to know what was on Faith's mind that would make her pull away again.

"Before, when we were back in the elevator, you didn't have to say it just because I did, ya know. I mean I know that you care about me and I'm getting that you want to see where this thing will go between us...but I don't want you lying to me to spare my feelings because you think it'll make me feel better, okay?"

"What?" Buffy asked puzzled and took a step back from the brunette. "Faith, what are you...I...I haven't lied to you about anything so I'm not exactly sure what you're asking me here."

Faith sighed and ran a hand back through her dark locks as she prepared herself to ask the very thing she'd wanted to know since she'd first heard it. "Look B...I just need to know if you really meant it or if you just felt obligated because I said it first, ya know?" Faith asked, or more accurately stated as she looked back into gorgeous, curious green eyes and it was in that moment that she forgot how to breathe as she once again waited for an answer to a question that could turn her world upside down.

A frown made its way across Buffy's face as she stood in bewildered silence while her brain and her mouth struggled to come up with a suitable answer for a question she honestly wasn't sure of what was being asked. She'd said a lot of things back in the elevator, some things she didn't really mean because she was still extremely upset when she'd first encountered the dark slayer, but ultimately saying what she truly meant and how she felt when she'd told Faith that she...

Buffy's mouth parted with a slight gasp as the proverbial light bulb went off in her head. She gazed into the dark, pleading eyes that looked back at her as if she held the meaning of life, she knew what it was that Faith wanted, what it was that she needed and there was no way she was going to deny the woman standing in front of her anything right now, or ever. She slowly brought her hands around to cup Faith's face and started a soft back and forth caress with her thumbs across her cheeks.

"I meant it...and no I didn't just say it because you said it first," Buffy explained, but then a thoughtful looked crossed her features as she thought back to the previous night and how she had actually spoken the words out loud when she had returned back to their room after their fight. Even if it was to Faith's slumbering figure, Buffy conceded that she was indeed the one who had told Faith she loved her first.

However, there was no way she could explain that, or even if she could there was no way for her to actually prove it. Deciding to choose her battles, Buffy didn't see any damage in letting Faith have this one. "Okay, so maybe it was because you said it first...but...but isn't that usually how it works when saying the L word for the first time though?" The blonde asked hoping she at least sounded rational. Before Faith could respond Buffy continued.

"I mean someone says it first and the other person actually hears them...then the other says it back? Not saying that that's the only reason why I said it...and that's not saying that I wouldn't have said it first because I definitely would have had it been at some other point when you weren't in the middle of saying all of those really pretty things you were saying. Plus, I didn't want to interrupt you because hello, rude much! But yeah, definitely would've been numero uno girl here if you were awake and I..." Buffy's rambling was cut short and she let out a surprised squeal and her eyes widen as she was pulled forward and a pair of soft, full lips were being pressed firmly against her own.

She instantly relaxed and her arms slowly came up to slip around Faith's neck, one hand sliding up to tangle into thick, wavy locks as she pressed her body tightly against the other slayer's and allowed her words to be swallowed by the delectable mouth.

"Doesn't matter," Faith pulled back slightly and said in a whisper against Buffy's kiss swollen lips. She laid her forehead against Buffy's and tightened her arms around the small waist of the blonde slayer and basked in the feeling of relief her heart felt. "As long as the feeling behind it is real and not made up, I don't care who said it first, as long as you mean it." Faith told her with an expectant look.

A small smile crossed Buffy's lips at the look Faith kept giving her. Even after what they'd just talked about, it amazed Buffy that Faith would have any doubt in her mind that she was anything but head over heels in love with her. She guessed it was one of those things she would have to work on with her lover and newly minted wife.

However, as of the then and now, Buffy knew she needed to do or say something to start the process because the look on Faith's face was one full of fear and doubt. She moved her hands back down to place them over Faith's cheeks to slide her thumbs slowly across the attractive dimples that had deepened because of the look of worry displayed on Faith's face. Buffy then stood on the tip of her toes in an effort to bring herself at eye-level with the slightly taller slayer and gazed into the stormy dark orbs that looked deeply into her own and placed a chaste kiss against Faith's pouty lips.

"I love you, Faith." She whispered across the warm, full lips before she leaning in with another kiss. "I loved you before." Another kiss. "I love you now." Kiss. "'And I'll love you always." With that said and one last kiss, Buffy planted her feet fully back onto the floor and leaned back slightly to gauge the other slayer's reaction.

Faith remained still and quiet as she stared blankly at the woman in front of her. She rolled the words that Buffy had just said to her around in her head and began to let them fully sink in. Never in her lifetime did she think she would be hearing her heart's desire say those very words to her. But more importantly, Faith actually felt like she could believe in them. It could've been the way Buffy had caressed her and never took her eyes off of hers as she spoke, or the way she softly kissed her every time she said it. Whatever it was, Faith was more than ready to accept that the words were true and that Buffy was really in love with her.

"Faith?" Buffy's voice broke Faith out of her thoughts. "Did...did you hear me?" Buffy asked apprehensively, wondering where Faith's frame of mind was at the moment seeing as the brunette hadn't gave her any indication that she had been indeed listening to her.

"I heard ya, loud and clear babe," Faith responded as she blinked rapidly a few times to clear the love daze she seemed to have been stuck in.

"And?"

"And..." Faith trailed off as she let the single word hang in the air and slowly snaked her arms around the girl of her dreams and held onto her, "and I love you too Buffy," she told her seriously and then placed a sweet, gentle kiss on her wife's lips. When she pulled backed and stared back into happy, gorgeous green eyes, a dimpled, mischievious grin broke out across her face, "but you just remember who said it first, B!"

Buffy rolled her eyes playfully with a knowing smile, "Oh I wouldn't dream of it, F!"