AN: Yes, I know it's been one year, 3 months and 9 days since I updated this story. I have no excuses except to say that life got in the way. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. I hope more will come sooner rather than later and that you all don't have to wait another year for the next update. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy! (P.S. takes place mostly during Lovers Walk so there will be some dialogue from the show but hopefully not too much of it. The rest of the episode will be covered in the next chapter.)

Chapter 25

Faith was sitting in her living room watching an old black and white movie that she wasn't really paying attention to; her mind was still thinking about everything that had happened the night before. It was a lot to wrap her head around, but she was slowly processing it all. Shortly before noon, there was a knock on her door. Faith took a breath, figuring it was probably Buffy. She opened the door and smiled at her girlfriend. "Hey, B. Come on in."

Buffy walked into the apartment and stopped next to the sofa. She turned to face Faith as the other girl closed the door. "Hey."

Faith was willing to let Buffy do the talking, it was the blonde slayer who had asked for this meeting, so Faith was going to let her take the lead. It was also a way for Faith to keep the advantage, not showing her own cards until Buffy showed hers.

After a few moments of silence, Buffy said, "Um…Gwendolyn Post, or whoever she was, had us all fooled. Even Giles. But she was wrong about you, Faith, you're not an idiot."

Faith smirked at that, "yeah…I know. But she was able to manipulate me with just a few well-placed words. The fact that I sent Kennedy away to Cordelia's to keep her off of Post's radar only helped that bitch's cause. No one around to talk me down."

Buffy nodded, "Yeah, I get that. But it was the right choice, Faith. Given what we know now about Post, it was a good idea to keep Kennedy away from her." Buffy paused, "about Angel…"

Faith held her hand up, "Don't bother. I had time to think about things, and I realized that holding Angel accountable for what Angelus did…is a little like holding a sober person accountable for what they did when they were drunk. Angelus acted without remorse or conscience. Angel doesn't. He risked his life to save Willow from Post's lightning. So, for that, I guess he gets a pass. But I can't speak for Kenn as far as his role in her mom's death." Faith stopped for a breath then said, "That said, I didn't like seeing you defend him…from me. Taking his side over mine, moments after claiming to love me."

Buffy nodded, "yeah…about that…I wasn't taking his side. I was trying to make sure you didn't do something you might regret later."

Faith was silent for a moment before she nodded, "Okay. I get that, I guess."

Buffy paused for a moment, gathering her courage before she confessed, "I wasn't lying Faith, I do love you. I am in love with you, and it took what happened with Angel to make me see that and to realize that you are the one I want…only you." Buffy waited, giving Faith some time to process what she had just told her.

Faith needed more time to process that part of the whole night, "B, I am gonna need some time to wrap my head around all of this, okay?"

Buffy knew this was the best she was gonna get, so she nodded, "okay. You know how to find me when you're ready. I better get back to school."

Faith just nodded as she watched Buffy leave her apartment. When the door closed behind her girlfriend and Faith was confident the blond couldn't hear her, she let out the breath she'd been holding and flopped down on the sofa. At that moment, Faith really wished she hadn't promised Kennedy she would stop drinking because she could really use a shot of whiskey…or a whole bottle.

The next few days were hard for Buffy to endure, mainly because Faith still hadn't contacted her. Faith had checked in with Giles, telling him she would patrol but not where (or at least making him promise not to tell Buffy where), but she hadn't tried to talk to Buffy. Buffy was trying to respect Faith's need for time and space to process everything that happened with Post and the aftermath, but she was getting anxious. Buffy was wondering if she had lost Faith right when she realized she loved her.

The other reason her life was less than great was the damned SATs. Buffy had, reluctantly, taken them two days after leaving Faith's apartment, and now she was nervously awaiting the results. She didn't know what she would do with the score, it's not like she could ever leave Sunnydale thanks to being the slayer, but she could still hope for a good enough score to let her at least apply for UC Sunnydale.

A week after they had taken the SATs, Willow and Xander were walking towards the school discussing their scores. Willow was being a little extra dramatic because she hadn't done as well as she always thought she would while Xander was trying to cheer her up. His own score was dismally low, but that was mostly because he didn't really test well. Xander wasn't an idiot, nor was he unable to learn. It was just that when he had to take tests, something in his brain froze, and he couldn't come up with all the answers.

They sat down on a nearby bench, and Xander tried to console her. It was hard to control himself for a moment, and he stroked her hair. "Willow, you did great on that test. Trust me, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

Before he could say or do anything to give away their recent illicit activities, Oz and Cordelia walked up to the bench.

"You guys get your scores?" Cordelia asked, eager to share her excellent score.

Xander moved away from Willow a little too quickly to be casual, but luckily, no one commented on it. "Willow is worried about her academic future. How did you do?"

Willow, with a glum look on her face, handed her letter to Oz, "my life is over."

Oz looked at the score, confused about why his girlfriend was so sad, she had done better than he had last year. "I can see why you're upset." He was being sarcastic, but apparently, it didn't come across in his tone as Willow just looked at him.

Xander grabbed Cordelia's letter to see her score as a way to distract everyone. Surely, Cordelia hadn't done better than Willow. When he saw the score, he was let down. Not only had Cordelia done well on the test, but she had also gotten a higher score than Willow. He knew he couldn't reveal her actual score, but he still felt the need to inject some humor into the situation. "Oh, this isn't good."

"What's not good?" Cordelia asked as she took back the paper from him.

"Well, I'm just worried it may hurt my standing as campus stud when people find out I'm dating a brain."

"Please. I have some experience in covering these things up." Cordelia had always managed to play the ditzy popular girl, and she was fine with keeping up that persona. It helped make high school just a little more bearable. She saw how Willow and other smart kids were treated, and she would do anything to avoid that.

Oz took that moment to say, "well, we should celebrate, do something."

"The four of us?" Cordelia asked, not liking the idea of a double date.

"Yeah, a double date. It should be fun!" Xander chimed in, thinking it might be the only way he'd get to go on a date with Willow, not thinking about the dangers of being found out by their significant others if they slipped up on the date. He wasn't one to think things through, and this was no exception.

Before they could all agree, Buffy joined them, her mind torn between thoughts of Faith and the implications of her SAT score. "Hey, guys."

"Buffy! Hey! Did you get your SAT scores?" Willow asked, excited for the distraction. She didn't want to think about a double date with Xander and Cordelia just then.

Buffy gave her a weak nod.

"By the look on your face, I'm guessing you and I are gonna be operating the drive-through window side by side."

"They're just test scores, right?" Buffy handed her paper to Willow for her to see it. "What do they really mean, anyway?" Buffy didn't want to face the reality of her score just yet.

Willow unfolded the letter and read the score. She got excited for her friend, "1430! Buffy, you kicked ass!" Buffy raised her eyebrows at her friend's reaction. Willow calmed down a bit as she handed the letter to Xander, "Okay, so academic achievement gets me a little excited."

Xander read her score and smiled, "Buff, that's amazing."

Cordelia needed to see it for herself, "Let me see that." She yanked the letter out of Xander's hand and checked it out.

"Yeah. With scores like that, you can apply pretty much anywhere you want." Oz chimed in, silently wondering how Buffy managed to do better than he did.

"Buffy, this could, like, change your whole future," Willow said, being the supportive best friend. She had momentarily forgotten about her own disappointment over her score.

"The thought had occurred to me." Especially after her mom had made such a big deal about her score that morning.

"Then, why the sour puss?" Xander asked, confused. A score this good should be worth at least a smile.

"I don't know. I guess... my future. I never really thought about it. I wasn't even sure I was going to have one." Buffy explained. She always thought, being the slayer, that she wouldn't have much of a future to think about. She was abundantly aware of the fact that most slayers don't live past 21. Having Faith around had given her a small glimmer of hope, but she knew it wouldn't be fair of her to skip town and leave it all on Faith's shoulders. She also realized, after falling in love with the dark-haired slayer, that she wouldn't leave Faith behind even if she could. Buffy knew that if she did have a future to plan, it would always include Faith, one way or another.

"Well, I think this is great! Now you can leave and never come back!" Cordelia said, smiling. The looks she got from the others prompted her to add, "Well, I mean that in a positive way. Get out of Sunnydale. That's a good thing. What kind of moron would ever wanna come back here?"

Before anyone could say anything, the bell rang, and they had to go inside the school. Buffy was the last one to walk in, but before she did, she heard a car pull up. She turned to look and saw Faith dropping Kennedy off at school. Before Faith could drive off, Buffy was off and running. She made it to the passenger door before Kennedy could close it as she got out.

Buffy slipped into the seat and closed the door, she smiled and waved at Kennedy, motioning for her to get inside the school.

Faith looked at the blond slayer with a look of disbelief on her face, "B, what the hell?"

"Drive Faith." Buffy sat there, looking out the windshield as she locked the door and shooed Kennedy away.

After a brief exchange with Faith, Kennedy turned and walked towards the school. She really hoped Buffy knew what she was doing because confronting Faith before she was ready could be a dangerous thing. Then again, it had been over a week now, and Kennedy was getting tired of running interference for her sister. They needed to talk, and maybe this was how it had to be.

Kennedy put her phone on vibrate, knowing Faith would call her if there was any problem. She walked into the school, smiling at the thought of seeing Willow again.

In the car, Faith still hadn't moved the car. She just looked at Buffy, waiting for an explanation.

Buffy stared out the windshield for a few more moments before she finally broke down and turned to look at her girlfriend, if that label was still even valid. "We need to talk Faith. You've been avoiding me for over a week, and while I was willing to give you space, enough is enough."

Silence settled over the car for a few moments as Faith processed Buffy's words. She knew it was inevitable, and, frankly, she knew Buffy wouldn't last much longer before she confronted her. Faith put the car in gear and drove off towards the Espresso Pump. She was going to need coffee for this conversation…and maybe a pastry or two.

Back at school, Xander caught up with Cordelia at her locker, trying to convince her to agree to the double date, they had even decided on an activity, bowling. Cordy was the only holdout, and it was up to Xander to change her mind.

"Come on, it'll be fun. I promise."

"There's nothing fun about bowling. Besides, a double date? That's so seventh grade! We're seniors for crying out loud." Cordy opened her locker to exchange her books.

Xander was about to say something when he noticed the pictures on her locker door. They were from their date at the pier over the summer. There was a small picture of Cordy and Kennedy, but the rest were her and Xander. "Hey, those are from the pier."

"Yeah. Uh, I just got them developed."

"There's pictures. Of me. In your locker. I never knew I was locker door material." Xander didn't know what to make of this newest facet of their relationship, so he just followed Cordy down the hall after she closed her locker and began walking to class.

"Well... just barely. Besides, I look adorable in those pictures."Cordy smiled, not wanting to look too deeply into her motivation for putting pictures of Xander on her locker. There was one of her and Kennedy also, so it wasn't like it was exclusively Xander.

They were met by Oz and Willow coming the other way in the hall.

"Hey. So what's the verdict? Do we bowl? " Oz asked, curious to see if Xander could convince Cordelia.

Xander turned a pleading look on Cordelia. With a sigh, Cordy gave in, "We bowl." She shook her head softly at the things she was willing to do for Xander.

"Great! Double bowling date. I'm on Oz's team."

"Yeah? Well, prepare to be crushed." Xander said before taking Cordy's arm to lead her away, "Maybe we should practice."

"Yeah."

They parted ways, and Oz walked Willow to her locker.

"They don't stand a chance. I'm really good. Or I used to be when they had the inflatable things in the gutters." Willow said as she opened her locker door. Oz chose that moment to hold up something small wrapped in newspaper. Willow noticed it and asked, "What's this?"

"It's a gift."

"What's the occasion?" Willow asked as she opened the gift.

"Pretty much you are." Oz could be a charming boyfriend when he put in the effort. Sometimes his laid back attitude came off as unaffected, but he noticed more than people gave him credit for. He knew he was lucky to have a sweet girlfriend like Willow, and he was determined to do anything he could to keep her happy. Wrapped in the paper was a PEZ candy dispenser with a green witch's head on top, complete with red hair and black hat.

"It's a little, uh, PEZ witch!" Willow said, excited.

"It's kind of a theme present. Do you like it?"

"I like... I-I more than like. Oz, this is probably the sweetest... We have to find a little PEZ werewolf, so little PEZ witch can have a boyfriend."

"I don't think they make a werewolf PEZ. You might have to settle for a wacky cartoon dog." Oz gave a small grin at the thought.

"This is... just so thoughtful."

"Well, I think about you."

Willow was suddenly disappointed, "Oh... I don't have anything to give you."

Oz just smiled at her, "Yeah, you do." He gave her a small kiss on the cheek before he turned to head to class.

Willow followed him with her gaze for a moment, her expression showing her worry about the levels of complexity this just added to her life. She looked down at the PEZ dispenser.

Willow was pulled from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She jumped a little before turning to see who was standing next to her. She smiled when she saw it was Kennedy. "Hey Kennedy, what's up?"

Kennedy smiled at Willow, "not much, I was just on my way to class when I saw you standing here. I wanted to say hello and make sure everything was okay."

Willow nodded, "everything's great." Willow held up the PEZ witch, "look what Oz just gave me!"

Kennedy looked at the little witch toy and smiled, "it's cute, but why a witch?" Kennedy wondered if Oz was somehow insulting Willow, and the girl just couldn't tell because of the sweetness of the gift.

Willow smiled as she began walking with Kennedy to the class they shared. She explained about her foray into magic. "Actually, it was Jenny who got me interested in it in the first place…" Willow trailed off as she remembered not only those dark days surrounding Jenny's death but also Kennedy's connection to her old teacher and magic mentor. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kennedy. I wasn't thinking."

Kennedy waved her off as they approached the door to their classroom, "Don't sweat it. I know she was important to you. It's not your fault that I never got to know her."

Before Willow could say anything more, they had to walk into class, and their conversation came to an end.

At the Espresso Pump, Faith and Buffy were sitting in a booth having coffee in silence. Neither girl knew how to start the conversation they knew they needed to have so neither said anything.

Finally, tired of the silence, Buffy said, "Faith, I need to know if we're still…together."

Faith looked at Buffy, just stared into her eyes for a long moment. She was trying to find the words to say what she was thinking, but it was harder than she thought it would be.

"I don't know, B. I want us to be, but I'm not sure I can trust you. You kissed your ex-boyfriend, then you protected him from me. I know what you told me last week, how you explained it, but I can't get around that one fact. You kissed him. Even after what we've been through, knowing that you had a girlfriend, you still kissed him." Faith's voice gave away the hurt and confusion she was feeling, and she wished she was still the same hard-ass she was when she first came to town. Before she had fallen for the blonde slayer and let her heart start making decisions for her instead of using her brain. She wanted to go back to being that girl, but at the same time, she wouldn't give up what she had with Buffy for anything. It was making her one perplexed girl, and that confusion was causing her to lash out and hang on to the one clear thing she had in this whole mess. Buffy had kissed Angel. She had kissed him of her own free will, no one had forced her to do it.

Buffy looked down at the table between them. She knew it would come back to this, and she hoped she had the right words to fix the mess she'd made. "Yes. I kissed him. I can't change that, but it made me realize a few things. The biggest one being that I don't love him like that anymore, not since I fell in love with you. I knew, at that moment, when I kissed him, that I didn't want him like that anymore. I only wanted you. I still only want you." Buffy paused a moment to take a breath, "Faith, I want a future with you. I know slayers don't have a long life expectancy, but I want whatever years I have left on this planet to be spent with you."

Faith listened to Buffy and realized that she wanted the same thing. Faith wanted to spend the rest of her life with Buffy, but the only way that was going to be possible was for her to get past this bump in the road. She needed to find a way to be okay with Buffy kissing Angel, especially if that kiss was what led Buffy to realize she loved her. "I want that too, B. I just don't know how we can get past you kissing him." Faith was done saying his name out loud.

Buffy smiled at Faith's admission that she wanted a future with her. She took a moment to think about what Faith had said about getting past what Buffy had done. "Well…you know I can't let you stake him now that we know he came back with his soul. But…maybe there's another way for me to show you that you're the only one I want."

Faith grinned, curious, "What did you have in mind?"

Buffy stood from the booth and walked around to Faith's side. She leaned down close to Faith's ear and whispered, "take me back to your place, and I'll show you."