Title: Erase/Rewind (5/?)
Authors: Dolores and Faithtastic
This part: Faithtastic
Email: dolores_l@h... & faithtastic@j...
Summary: Faith adjusts to life after jail and meets a familiar face.
Rating: R for strong language, f/f slash, mention of m/m slash and
drug-taking. 
Spoilers: If it happened to Faith or Oz, it's probably here. So 
general season three Buffy, season four episodes up to 'Wild At 
Heart', then 'This Year's Girl,' 'Who Are You' and 'New Moon Rising' 
plus first season Angel episodes 'Sanctuary' and 'Five by Five.'
Distribution: UCSL, Dolores's Domain. Anywhere else, ask and you shall
receive.
Feedback: Good, bad, ugly we don't care, we just want it.
Disclaimer: Faith and Oz are copyright to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 
Kuzui Productions, Warner Brothers and presumably numerous other 
faceless corporations. We intend to make no gain from this fic, we're 
just trying to redress the balance of the fates of, in our humble 
opinion, the most neglected Buffy characters.
Notes: This is a joint effort, our first such project so please be 
kind. Set about six months after Faith's 'Angel' episodes. The title 
is from the Cardigan's song on the Gran Turismo album.

****


B just looked at her with shame. Like when they'd been caught 
breaking into that weapon store by the cops. Only multiplied by a 
factor of ten. The ambiguous thing was that she couldn't figure 
exactly why. Was it because of the knight in shining fangs or because 
Buffy was supposed to be as straight as they come? See, in Buffy's 
little self-involved world there was nothing beyond the non-stop 
angst fest that was her look-but-don't-fuck relationship with Angel. 
Buffy in her self-imposed martyrdom couldn't see that there was 
whole line of people who, wow! did have souls and could hold hands 
with the intent for more without turning evil. Faith was one of those 
people and, yeah, she'd elbowed her way to the front of the line.

Faith was also a glutton for what she couldn't have. She leaned in 
again to kiss that angry, pouty little mouth but B turned her head 
away. "Don't."

With one hand, Faith pushed away from the wall, shoving down the urge 
to lash out. She walked a few paces away, squinting at the moon 
before turning on her heel. The blonde was still huddled against the 
wall, watching her like a caged animal. "What is it with you anyway? 
One minute you want it, then next you don't. Make a choice, B." She 
waited, and Buffy said nothing. "Well, guess that says it all."

When she turned to walk away this time, she heard the approach of soft
footfalls behind her and felt Buffy's hand on her upper arm. "I don't 
want to be alone tonight."

Faith turned to face her. "Alone? You have Angel, your friends and 
family," the brunette said with open scorn. "You got no idea what 
alone is."

"Alright! I get that you're some world expert on loneliness, Faith," 
Buffy snapped. She looked away, sighing, annoyance warring with 
apology on her face. "It's just, okay, I have these people around me 
but sometimes. I wonder if they know me at all. They see me as this 
perfect being, on call to save the world 24/7. Sometimes I'm selfish, 
sometimes I don't want to avert the end of the world, sometimes I'd 
like to stay in bed." The slayer laughed despite herself. "And I can 
just see Giles clucking with disapproval as I'm saying this, I didn't 
*ask* to be a slayer. It was thrust upon me and a lot of the time I'd 
like to throw it back."

Buffy was watching Faith closely for her reaction. "You're the first 
person I've ever said that to."

Shit. Faith didn't know what to say. She knew Buffy wasn't the most
enthusiastic person about her calling but… For Faith slaying was 
life, for B it was death. She'd never seen so clearly that they were 
the flip side of the coin for each other. The brunette couldn't 
imagine not loving the buzz that she got from slaying, there was 
nothing else for her.

She was surprised when Buffy took a step closer, staring back at her 
with sincere green eyes. "Again I say, I don't wanna be alone 
tonight."

The soft admission hung in the air between them and Faith took the
initiative, because, if she misjudged the situation, the worst B 
could do was kick her ass. So she reached out with one - fuck - 
slightly shaking hand and touched the blonde's cheek. With her heart 
in her mouth she watched B's eyelids slide shut, fanning cheeks with 
dark lashes.

Then she kissed her and Buffy opened her mouth to deepen the kiss 
almost immediately, making Faith think that she hadn't been the only 
one who'd imagined and plotted this moment. She felt B's arms around 
her back and B's tongue touching and coiling around her own.

There was cool, dirty concrete against her back, soft curves and hard
muscles pressing against her. Damn, wasn't she supposed to be the one 
in control here? B's hands had wormed their way inside Faith's jacket 
and were now moving deliberately over her breasts, skimming the hard 
nipples that poked through the thin material of her tank top.

Faith broke the kiss. "Much as I'm getting' off on this, can we take 
this someplace less public? I got a perfectly good motel…"

"My place is nearer, c'mon," Buffy interrupted and sloped off, not 
looking back. Running a hand through her hair, Faith took a moment to 
catch her breath before following the blonde.

They didn't talk at all as they power-walked to the Summers house and 
B remained a couple of paces ahead so it didn't actually look like 
they were together. Funny how some things don't change even when it 
comes to screwing. The blonde climbed up the tree in the garden and 
disappeared through the window to her bedroom. Obviously, B had done 
this before. With a smirk, Faith followed. Almost as soon as she got 
one leg over the sill, Buffy grabbed her and tossed her onto the bed.

"Wow, B," Faith drawled, not entirely a taunt, "I never figured you 
were so wicked butch."

Buffy just smiled this cryptic little smile and threw her jacket onto 
the floor. Next off were her shoes and B stalked towards the bed, 
climbing on and crawling over Faith's body. The brunette watched, 
mouth dry, as B pulled her top up and over her head, casting it onto 
a nearby bookcase. Small but perfectly formed breasts were just 
*there*, the way Faith had pictured them countless times. Kinda 
tanned and petite like the rest of B's body.

Grabbing a handful of jacket, Buffy pulled Faith into a sitting 
position. "This isn't right. I mean, here I am all semi-naked and…," 
the blonde paused to glance down at Faith, a mock pout on her 
lips, "you're not."

Faith just grinned and shirked her jacket, quickly followed by her 
tank top. "There. We're even now, girlfriend." B was just staring at 
her chest like she'd never seen a pair of tits before and Faith had 
to bite her lip when one small hand curled around her breast.

Suddenly B was kissing her again, almost fiercely, as she stroked and
caressed Faith's flesh. A thumb brushed tentatively against Faith's 
nipple and she groaned, the sound echoing in her ears. Her own hands 
moved down Buffy's spine, playing over the ridges like some musical 
instrument.

Buffy ended the kiss with a tease, drawling lingering kisses before 
finally pulling away. The lust in Buffy's eyes burned like a fucking 
blast furnace. She smiled shyly as if it'd only just hit her that 
they were on her bed, naked from the waist up. Faith watched as Buffy 
slid off the bed to lock the bedroom door and slip out of her jeans. 
Wouldn't do for dear old mom to walk in on her daughter fucking 
another girl, much as that mental image cracked the brunette up.

Faith used the respite to peel off her leather pants and dislodge the
stuffed toy she'd been sitting on, flinging it across the room. It 
knocked over a photo frame with a snapshot of the Scoobies but B 
didn't seem to care. That was B, always wicked focused, and at this 
moment she was focused on Faith.

The blonde returned to her place on the bed, those wise green eyes 
never leaving Faith's dark ones. "Make love to me?" B asked quietly.

For once, Faith didn't make a smart-ass response. She just cupped 
Buffy's face and kissed her, 'cause she craved those lips much more 
than she wanted to admit. Fingers curled around her wrist, guiding 
her hand to that much fantasised place between B's thighs and B 
shivered against her.

"Buffy," Faith said, something between a groan and a whisper.

"Please," Buffy whimpered.

Without needing any further encouragement, Faith's hand slipped under 
the waistband of the blonde's underwear. "Oh, God, B," she said, 
feeling just how desperately the other girl wanted this.

****

"Buffy," Faith said in protest at the hand that was shaking her 
elbow. Her eyes snapped open, and she stared straight ahead, knowing 
immediately that this wasn't Buffy's bedroom, hell, it wasn't even 
Sunnydale. It was raining now, spots of drizzle streaking the 
windshield and obscuring the view of an alleyway at the back of an 
apartment block.

Just for a moment there she'd actually believed that she was with B 
still, that they were really... It made her want to scream and shout 
and break things, not necessarily in that order. But she controlled 
that urge, like she controlled all her urges now, under a blanket of 
regret and medication.
 
She was aware of Oz sitting next to her, silent and watching her 
carefully.

"We're here," he said in a tone that never strayed far from neutral.

She looked at him, at what was visible of his usual blank expression. 
"Cool." She hoped he didn't hear the catch in her voice and plucked 
the gum out of her mouth for something to do. She shoved his thigh 
playfully. "So, lead me to the weed, man."

After locking up the van, Oz led her round to the front entrance of 
the building and up the two flights of stairs to this Eve chick's 
apartment. The sounds of blaring TV sets, stereos and crying kids 
filtered through the paper thin walls as they climbed the stairs. 
There was a loud argument going on in one apartment, some guy 
freaking at his wife or girlfriend, followed by the sound of a slap 
and a slamming door. So, this place wasn't exactly a condo near the 
beach but she'd crashed in much worse dives. A ten by ten cell with a 
toilet in the corner being one of them. Comparatively, this was 
a slice of paradise.

Once inside Oz's place, Faith shirked her jacket and kicked back on 
the couch. There were rips down the sides, the stuffing seeping 
through torn fabric, and mysterious stains on the upholstery. Looked 
like they'd hauled this couch from a skip or something. "Got any 
beer?" she asked Oz when he returned with his stash, kept in an 
innocuous cookie tin with cartoon characters on the lid.

He nodded. "Couple of Buds in the fridge." He tossed the tin to her 
and disappeared into the kitchen, returning moments later with the 
beers.

Taking a slug of the sweet, malty liquid, Faith watched as the bassist
expertly rolled a couple of roaches, passing one to her when he was 
done.

"So," Oz said calmly, taking a long toke on the joint, watching the 
thin plume of smoke rise towards the ceiling, "that dream seemed 
pretty intense."

Damn, she hadn't expected that. She took a quick drag on her roll-up, 
washed down with a gulp of beer, and tried to avoid his too-damn-cool 
stare. "Just crazy shit that was in the past."

"About Buffy," Oz said and it was a statement of fact not a question.

She nodded slowly. None of B's friends had known what really happened 
back then, stuff that she hardly knew herself. They'd fucked one time 
and afterwards B had acted like it hadn't happened. Hell, she was 
used to that kinda shit, she was get some, get gone girl but she 
never saw it coming from Buffy Summers. And, damn, if she hadn't 
already let B get to her and she was left with feelings that weren't 
reciprocated or acknowledged in any way. So she wanted to hurt B like 
the blonde had hurt her. Only Faith was more creative, giant snakes 
and all.

"You can tell me," Oz prompted and she stared at him, his head 
resting on the back of the couch, flattening bleached spikes, his 
lazy eyes rooted on the burning embers of the joint in his hand. She 
knew that she could trust him because he didn't want anything from 
her. If he helped her, he wouldn't gain anything from it, not like 
Angel who was looking to score points with some higher authority she 
knew jack-squat about.

Faith hung her head. "Ever screwed someone and regretted it?"

Oz considered that question for the longest time and Faith wondered 
if he'd dozed off or something. She was about to nudge him when he 
answered. "I've had sex with someone I maybe shouldn't have, if 
that's what you mean."

"Yeah?" she grinned. "Who?"

"Devon. Sings with the Dingoes."

"No shit?" Faith whistled low. "I love watchin' two guys goin' at it. 
And dogs," Faith deadpanned.

Oz just raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I'm joking, man," Faith said and 
pulled a leather clad leg up underneath herself, making herself 
comfortable. "So, spill dogboy."

The bassist took a swill from his bottle and sighed. "Well, it 
happened before I started dating Willow."

****

Continued in Part 6