Title: The Life For Faith
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Faith, Faith/Kennedy, Willow/Kennedy, Willow/Tara
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: Faith is presented with an offer she can refuse.
Word Count: 1,354
Written For: Fan FlashWorks 388: Chase, Nekid Spike Mini Nekid Guest: Faith, and 100 Ships 6. Lust
Warnings: Future Fic
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.









"Well, that was fun," Faith snorted and rolled her eyes, "while it lasted." She nodded to her companion. "You didn't do bad, kid." She was actually breathing hard. Although it hadn't taken them long to dust the gang, the fight had been fast, ferocious, and fun. She rolled her shoulders. "Too bad it's over. You want a -- "

The stake was suddenly knocked from her hand. She caught it before it could hit the ground but quirked an eyebrow at Kennedy in surprise. "You got game or something, kid?"

Kennedy shrugged. "You seemed upset it was over." There was something about the way she was speaking tonight, and Faith could smell the alcohol on her. But Kenn usually handled her liquor well. Slaying did also have a tendency to make a girl horny and hungry, but Kennedy was Willow's girl.

"Thought you might like to get in some more action. We can always spar. I'd like to learn from the best."

"I'm not the best -- "

"Please. You're better than Buffy. I've watched you both. You're way better than she is."

"Excuse me?" Faith pulled away, doubt shadowing her beautiful, sweaty face.

"Well, you are," Kennedy insisted. "You don't hold back. She does."

"It takes a stronger person -- "

"Feed that garbage to somebody else, not me." She shrugged again and turned her back on Faith. "My bad. I thought you might want to play some more. I'm sure we can find something else to kill."

Faith stared at her retreating back. "Are you kidding me?" she whispered in disbelief, but Kennedy heard her words.

"Nope. Not gonna bother you though."

Faith felt the old familiar pang of someone who wanted to be involved but wasn't. She had been that girl once. She still was sometimes, when Buffy was surrounded by so many other people. She didn't have a man of her own, or a woman, and she knew with it being Halloween, Willow was busy. She was always busy on Halloween ever since she'd learned she could talk to the dead. Kennedy had to feel lonely, and Faith knew way too damn well what it felt like to be alone while being surrounded by other people.

"Hey, kid, wait up." She chased after her, but just before she could reach out and touch her elbow, Kennedy spun around to face her, her stake held high. Faith reacted swiftly, knocking the stake from her hand. Kennedy let it clatter to the ground and jabbed her own fist against Faith's arm. Faith blocked and brought her other arm down hard, her tightened fingers jabbing into the small of Kennedy's elbow. Kenn swung again. Faith blocked once more, then caught her hand with her next swing, and yanked Kennedy's arm behind her back. "If you wanna play with the big girls," she said as she pulled her arm back, "you've gotta be prepared for the burn."

"I am," Kennedy growled, and Faith felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. It had been so long since she'd just toyed with someone like Kennedy was offering to let her do. No, she quickly corrected herself, not toyed, sparred, but that, too, had been a long time ago. She helped to train the new Slayers still of course, but she couldn't let herself loose with them. She couldn't let herself loose with anyone.

Faith had allowed her thoughts to wonder; Kennedy suddenly flipped her over her head. She landed hard on her back, and the other Slayer came down on top of her. Faith rolled out just before she could be pinned and shot her fists into Kenn's gut. She doubled over, and Faith was just getting concerned when she looked back up at her with a grin. "You done?" she asked cautiously.

"Only," Kennedy hiccupped, once more making Faith quirk an eyebrow at her, "just beginning." She wiped sweat from her face and then darted toward Faith again. Faith neatly backed out of the reach of her swinging punch but wasn't prepared for the booted foot that came up between her legs. She backed away a couple of inches. Kennedy sprang again, but this time, Faith caught her foot in both hands and swiftly spun her around.

Kennedy started to fall but regained her balance. She sprung again for Faith, but Faith grabbed her left arm and spun her around her. "You're not bad, kid, but you wanna play with the big girls, you need to sharpen up your game."

"Teach me," she said, grabbing Faith's long, dark hair and snatching her to her.

It was at that moment that Faith smelled the whiskey on Kennedy's breath. Kennedy's fingers tangled in her hair, and suddenly her hand was on her neck and her mouth was angling for hers. Without a thought, Faith's fist shot straight into her mouth. "You're Willow's girl," she snarled.

"So?" Kennedy swiped blood from her mouth. "She's busy tonight. She's busy every Halloween. She can't get over -- "

Faith shocked her in the mouth again. "What the fuck?! Everybody says you're -- "

"What? A whore? Easy? A killer? I've got respect, and so should you! Hell, she's your woman! She's hurting, and it's not like she's fucking a ghost! She's visiting with a woman who used to be her best friend, a woman you used to claim you respected!" She struck her, hard, across the cheek.

Kennedy gingerly rubbed her mouth. Anger was flooding her dark eyes, but Faith understood, suddenly, the girl's issue. She wasn't really mad at her. She was pissed at Willow. She was hurt, because Willow never had any time for her. She made time for Tara every Halloween, but between schooling the Slayerettes and running the new Watcher's Council, she had very little time to actually build a life with the living woman she claimed to love.

"Look, kid, I know it sucks, but I'm not the one to be taking your problems to, not like this. You want to really spar? I'm good with that, and I won't beat your ass too hard. You want to get stinking drunk? I'll watch out for you, make sure you don't do anything too stupid, but tried to ride this bitch? You can't handle me. Nobody can, and I'm not second to anyone."

"And if you're tired of being second to a ghost? Well, for one, you shouldn't have fallen for essentially a widow and told her you'd wait for her to get over her dead lover. But either talk to the Witch or get out of her cauldron." She lifted her muscular, lithe shoulders in an easy shrug. "But I am nobody's second," she growled. She turned and started to stalk away.

Kennedy ran up to her side again. "How do I not be somebody's second?" she asked.

"I can show you that," Faith answered, "but first, you gotta go talk to the Witch."

"You have a lot of respect for her, don't you?" Kennedy asked softly, watching Faith walk away while she stood, paused, in reflection.

"Willow and Buffy both have earned my respect. You haven't. Acting like a common whore damn sure isn't going to get you there either. You need to go sober up and do some thinking. Talk to Willow tomorrow, and then if you still want to learn how not to allow yourself to become anybody's second, I guess I can do some teaching and maybe some matchmaking too. But make things right first."

She walked on into the night, still rolling her shoulders. She was glad the girl hadn't followed her yet again. Kennedy bragged about being a woman, but she had a lot to learn. Of course, Faith had been there once herself. "Not tonight," she muttered to herself, turning at the end of the road and heading, instead of to another cemetery, to the Friendly Society. She was done fighting for the night. Now, with so much lust still pounding through her body, she needed to find somebody else, somebody with no strings and who wasn't already taken, to fuck. Fighting and fucking. She smirked. Now that's the life for me!




The End