Chapter Text
June 2020, National City
Faith stepped off the Greyhound bus that brought her from Cleveland to National City, and she smiled. She was finally back on the west coast. After more than a decade spent fighting one evil monster after another, averting countless apocalypses, and seemingly endless generic vampires who all wanted to take down a slayer, Faith had finally had enough.
Being one of the two original slayers, the Chosen Two as it were, was starting to wear on her. Now that countless slayers were being activated and trained worldwide, Faith felt like she could finally retire and leave the slaying to the young pups.
Buffy had done something similar, not actively patrolling or fighting but still training the new girls. Buffy also ran the American Branch of the Watcher’s Council, Giles ran the England Branch. Buffy couldn’t walk away from her slayer life altogether, but that was exactly what Faith was doing.
She would be available if needed if another apocalypse came along, but for the most part, Faith was in retirement. She was done fighting vampires and demons and trying not to die. Faith was ready to live a quieter life than she had lived since she was 16.
National City, California, seemed as good a place as any for her fresh start. Los Angeles held too many memories, not all of them worth remembering, plus it already had three slayers to protect it from the vampires and demons that seemed to be ironically drawn to the City of Angels.
Faith was ready for a new chapter in her life. She left the bus station and hailed a cab. She gave the driver the address of the apartment that Buffy had insisted on the Council buying for Faith as part of her “retirement” package. Faith grinned as she remembered her last conversation with the older slayer.
“Retirement? Really Faith? You’re too young to retire.” Buffy said, not believing what she was hearing.
Faith shrugged, “maybe for normal people B, but come on, for a slayer, I’m practically ancient.”
Buffy grimaced because not only did Faith have a point, but she was older than Faith, and if Faith thought she was ancient, what did that make her? “Ancient? I’m older than you; what does that make me prehistoric?”
Faith chuckled, “No, you’re different, B. You love this stuff. I just…I need something different. Something that doesn’t involve violence and death.”
“Okay, I guess I can understand that but, why do you have to leave to do something different?” That was what Buffy was struggling with the most; losing Faith.
They had made their peace a long time ago, and they were friends now, better than ever before, and Buffy had gotten used to having Faith around every day.
Faith sighed, running her hand through her long, dark hair, “because if I stay, I’ll let myself get pulled back in. I need a new place, somewhere without vampires and monsters, at least not as many as a Hellmouth attracts. I need a fresh start, to prove to myself that I can be more than a slayer…more than a killer.”
Buffy was silent for a few minutes as she thought about what Faith was saying. There was a lot of truth to Faith’s belief that being here would pull her back into the slayer life. Buffy sighed, she knew she would never have the guts to leave her slayer life for good, but she would also never stop Faith from doing what she felt was necessary for her own well being.
“Okay. At least let the council help you out, financially.”
Faith smirked, “What, like a pension plan?”
“Something like that, come on, after everything we’ve both been through, you deserve it.”
“Okay, but…only until I get a job and can handle the bills on my own.”
“Deal.”
Faith was brought back to the present when the cab stopped in front of the building Faith had told him to take her. She paid the fare and got out, her duffel bag in one hand and the keys to the building in the other.
Faith made her way into the building and, after checking in with the security desk, entered her new apartment on the 16th floor. Faith took a few minutes to walk around the apartment, learning the layout and mentally planning how she would decorate the place once she had the funds and the motivation. Faith wasn’t one for fancy décor, but she also didn’t want to live with the bare minimum either. Her time in prison, as well as the constant moving around for most of the last decade, was making her want to finally settle down somewhere and create more than a place to sleep…she wanted a home.
Faith stepped over to the large glass doors that led to a balcony and stepped outside. She took a breath of California air and, somehow, finally started to feel like maybe she was finally home. Faith looked out at the city, the skyline making a nice contrast to the brilliant blue sky. Faith made a note of the CatCo building, the LCorp tower, and a building with a strange symbol that she had recently learned was the DEO. Faith had been in Europe for most of the last decade, so she wasn’t as well versed in stuff like aliens and superheroes, but she was determined to stay out of their way. A nice, quiet, normal life was what she was hoping for now. No more end of the world scenarios or fighting monsters, just a nice job, maybe a friend or two, and some peace and quiet.
Faith was 37 years old, still young enough to have a life, but in slayer years, she might as well be 90! No, Faith was ready to just be a normal person, not a slayer.