Inell's Fanfiction Archive

Faith studied the man in front of her, resisting the urge to lean forward and hit that smug smile off the handsome face of Lindsey McDonald. Instead, she just smiled back, hoping he would not see the disgust in her eyes. She heard Lilah laugh and cringed, covering it by looking at the floor. She had left Sunnydale just three days before, headed to L.A. to get lost. Lost? That was a joke. She hadn't been been in town twenty-four hours before they had found her. Wolfram and Hart. They had approached her tentatively at first, just saying that they had a proposition for her. She had ignored them, claiming she didn't know what they were talking about. But, they had persisted and so now here she sat. Listening to these two morons offer her money to kill Angel. It was rather amusing in a completely unamusing way that she had run away from her past in Sunnydale only to end up in the same town as Fang. Now, these lawyers wanted to pay her to kill him.

While she might have jumped at that chance a year ago, probably paying them for the chance, that was then, this was now. She had wanted him dead a year ago. Now, she didn't care. The way she saw it, he was like her in a lot of ways. They were both survivors. So, she smiled and accepted these fools offer, seriously considering it for only a few moments. When she thought of killing him, she saw green eyes and a shy smile instead. Then, she felt guilty for even thinking about killing someone that Willow considered a friend. Groaning, she ran a hand through her hair, looking up to see both lawyers watching her almost like people would study a wild animal at the zoo. Smiling, she moved quickly, grabbing a can of soda from in front of Lilah. She almost laughed when the woman jumped at her movement, shooting the bitch an innocent smile as she popped the top of the soda and took a sip. Sitting back, she gave them her best bored look and asked, "Are we done yet?"

"Yes, I believe that takes care of everything," Lindsey said, straightening his paperwork to conceal his amusement at Lilah's unease around the brunette slayer.

"Well, I'd say it's been fun, but I hate liars," Faith said, leaving the office and not looking back. She walked into the sunlight, blinking at the sudden brightness. She hadn't realized just how dark they had kept that office. She stopped at the corner, pausing a moment and taking a deep breath. She calmed her nerves, having a sneaky feeling that she was being followed. She glanced behind her, seeing people walking but not seeing anyone watching her. Shrugging, she started off towards the one place she might feel safe.

Two hours later, she stood outside the door to Angel Investigations, feeling something very similar to fear for the first time since she was eight. She turned, her back to the door as she squinted at the sky. Was she making the right decision? Should she really be on the fastest bus out of town instead of getting ready to face yet another enemy? Thinking of running made her remember Willow and the last time she had run away. That had been different though. She hadn't had any reason to stay in Sunnydale. But, did she really have a reason to stay in LA either? She had never liked Angel. It wasn't just because he was a vampire, though that was probably part of it. She just hadn't trusted him. He'd reminded her too much of herself. Rather ironic that she had turned out to be the one no one should have trusted. She turned back towards his door, opening it before she lost her nerve and ran again.

"Fang, love what you've done with the place."

Angel froze, closing his eyes briefly at the familiar voice from the past. Looking up, he said, "Faith."

She frowned, "You look surprised to see me."

"Shouldn't I be?" he asked, having thought he had kept his face emotionless.

"I'd have thought B would have called you," Faith said, shrugging. "Guess she's too busy doing the farm boy to call."

"Did you need something?" he asked, his voice strained.

"What?" she asked, frowning as she found her thoughts wondering what exactly had happened after they had switched bodies back. Did Buffy run right into Riley's bed? And if so, what was Willow going through? Knowing it was really Faith she had made love with and not Buffy as she had thought. She knew Willow would be disappointed. That night had been wonderful, and she had relived it every night since. But it hadn't been her. It had been Buffy.

"Faith?" Angel asked, a slight hint of concern in his voice as he watched her face and saw the emotions flickering in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to kill you," she answered truthfully, pulling her thoughts away from Sunnydale and concentrating on the present.

"It's getting late and I'm not in the mood to play your games," he said sharply, seeing no threat from her.

"Touchy touchy," she said, looking him over. "Looking good Fang. But, you know, there's this nifty thing called color."

"Faith," his tone was warning.

"I woke up last week. Came here to get lost. Instead got found by some law firm that wants your lovely head on a platter. Imagine that," she said sarcastically.

"Wolfram and Hart," he said, running a hand through his hair and cursing. "Damn."

"Yep. Seems someone's been a bad vampy," she said, moving to sit on the edge of the desk. She looked at him, the amusement leaving as she said seriously, "They mean business, Fang. You'd better watch your back."

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked, leaning back in the chair and studying her.

She shrugged, "I dunno. Don't want them to win, maybe. Maybe I don't want you dead. Maybe this is my good deed for the millenium. Who knows why I do anything anymore."

He heard the soft sigh in her voice, raising his eyebrow as she again appeared to drift off into memories. "You said you woke up last week? Did you cause any problems for Buffy?"

She snickered, "Angel, baby, you should know me well enough not to ask that."

"Did you at least leave Sunnydale in one piece?" he asked, studying her intently.

"Don't look at me like that," she said suddenly, picking up his paperweight and tossing it back and forth between two hands.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like I'm some soul you can save," she said, giving him a narrow eyed gaze before turning her attention back to the tossing paperweight.

He snorted, "As you said, I know you Faith. There is no soul there to save."

"Thanks," she said sharply, not letting his words affect her. She could care less what anyone thought. Anyone except Willow, that was. Thinking of the redhead caught her off guard as she found herself sighing.

"Well, since you're here, why don't you come downstairs, have a drink, fill me in on your plans and why you came to warn me instead of finishing what you started last May," Angel suggested.

"I'm not gonna kill ya, Fang," she said, putting the paperweight back on the desk and staring at it for a full minute before looking at him. "I'll come downstairs just cause you seem lonely. Wouldn't want to leave you all alone with the brooding."

"Thank you for the concern," he said, his lips twitching.

"Yeah, whatever," she said, snorting as she followed him towards the elevator.

Three hours and a bottle of wine later, Faith set her glass down and looked at a surprised Angel. "So you see why I had to leave."

Angel just looked at her, not able to speak. He had no idea what to say to the drunken slayer. For the first time in his active memory, he was honestly speechless.

"Whas the matter, Fang? No stoic words of wisdom?" she asked, staring at him. "Can't you make it better?"

"You really changed bodies with Buffy?" he asked, wondering if this was an alcohol induced story.

"Yep," she said, seeing his disbelief. "She has a small birthmark on the left cheek of her ass."

"Fuck," he hissed, shaking his head slightly. "Wait, you could have known that."

"Trust me when I say that I never checked out B's package," Faith said, disgusted at the very idea she had found that bony bitch attractive. "My taste ran to redheads."

"Willow," Angel sighed. "You really seduced her and then just left Buffy to deal with it all? You claim you care about Willow, but I don't see that in your actions. I see a selfish girl that decided that it didn't matter who got hurt as long as she got what she wanted."

"Fuck you," she said, looking at the floor and frown. "You don't get it. You can't tell me that if the opportunity arose and you could fuck B again without that damn curse you wouldn't."

"I," he started to argue that his feelings for Buffy were gone, which was the truth, but he flashed back to Thanksgiving and couldn't deny her words. "I wouldn't just leave her afterwards."

"You don't get it, do you Fang? Red's not mine. She was never mine. She's always been hers," she spat out the last word as she looked up and glared at him. "I was in her body, Angel. I felt what she had felt, saw what she had seen. She loved you, but it was never anything like what she felt for Willow."

"I know," he said softly, seeing the widening of her eyes at his words. "Faith, I'm not an idiot. I could smell the soft hints of her arousal even when she didn't realize she was aroused. And she did love me, probably loves me even now in her own way, but she and I don't work. We can't be together and it wouldn't be fair of me to try to keep hold of something that isn't mine."

"I know," Faith said, sighing as she took a sip directly from the bottle. "You'd probably run away if you knew a big confrontation was coming and that you'd lose, wouldn't you?"

"It isn't the same," Angel said. "If Buffy does have feelings for Willow that extend beyond the physical, well, that is something she needs to deal with. You are what concerns me at the moment. How could you experience the obvious pleasure you had with Willow and then just leave without resolving anything?"

"What's the use in resolving anything?" she asked. "She wanted Buffy. She made love to Buffy. It was never me. It was always her."

"You were too scared to let Willow make that choice," he said. "Why? Was it because you knew she'd choose Buffy or because you thought she just might choose you?"

"I'm not what she needs," Faith said. "Hell, her little blonde witchy friend would even be better than me."

"Where did your self esteem go," he wondered softly, watching her retreat into her memories again.

"What?" she asked, looking at him and focusing on his face. She saw the obvious concern in his eyes and frowned, not used to anyone really caring. She yawned, putting the bottle on the table and snorting, "Damn, I'm drunk. Forget anything I said, Fang. I didn't know what I was saying."

"I think for the first time since I've met you, you actually finally spoke the truth," he said quietly.

"Truth, smuth," she said, looking at him again. She smiled slightly, "It hurts, you know? To want someone that bad, to finally get them just to lose them the next morning."

"I know," he whispered, flinching slightly.

"Yeah, you do, don't ya?" she said, sighing. "You're over her, aren't you? You say her name and don't get all broody and mushy."

"I'll always care for Buffy, but it's the past. We've both moved on. Time heals," he said.

She laughed weakly, "Does it? That's good to know. It should only take me what? Two, three years tops?"

"More like fifty," he said, smiling.

"Damn, I must be drunk. I could have sworn you just smiled," she said, laughing again.

"Faith," he warned again, seeing her yawn for the tenth time in the past half hour. He had deliberately gotten her drunk, wanting to test her to see if this was yet another game. Faith had shocked him though with her story of unrequieted love for Willow of all people. Thinking back, he could see the small signs. While he hadn't wanted the vivid pictues of Buffy wanting Willow, he couldn't deny that he had not seen that before. Again, small things that had made him wonder but that he had chosen not to explore. Now, he had been forced into exploring them. He had no idea if Buffy cared about Willow as anything other than a friend, and it wasn't really any of his business. But, he could see clearly that Faith did care about the quiet redhead and he felt sorry for her, knowing exactly what she was feeling. Stirring from his thoughts, he saw her close her eyes briefly. Smiling he said, "Come here."

Faith looked at him and chewed on her bottom lip, not sure if she trusted him. Sure, she had spilled out the entire sordid story of her lust for Willow and everything that had happened in Sunnydale plus the entire meeting with Lilah and Lindsey, but she didn't know if she trusted him. Finally, she decided fuck it. She moved onto the couch and settled between his legs, laying her head on his large chest. She felt the softness of his black sweater against her cheek and snuggled closer. "Color, Fang. It's a nice thing."

Angel smiled slightly, running his hand over her head as he brushed her hair slowly. "We'll see."

She laughed softly, "Yeah, I've heard that before." She was quiet for a few minutes, listening to her own heartbeat and not hearing his. She closed her eyes, saying what was on her mind, "I wonder what Willow is doing right now."

"Why don't you call her and ask?"

Faith shook her head as she felt sleep start to claim her. She mumbled, "Nah...she's not mine. Was never mine. Always Buffy. Willow's hers."