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Faith’s quickly redefining the word “fucked.”
It’s Wesley’s birthday, and she’s completely forgotten to get him a gift, so now she’s racing to the nearest bookstore thirty minutes before the birthday party (that she organized) starts. And Wesley, of course, will be at least fifteen minutes early, so she can really just count on having the next fifteen minutes.
Fourteen, now. What did she say? Fucked.
She barrels through the doors of the bookstore, startling the blonde woman behind the counter. She makes a beeline to her, showing her Wesley’s picture and blurting, “I need a book for this nerdy idiot and I have no idea what to get for him.”
The woman had already looked confused, and Faith’s beginning to think she doesn’t work here (why’s she behind the counter, then?), but her eyes widen as her face goes blank. She doesn’t say anything, and Faith’s about to search through the shelves for something (this is her first time actually going to a bookstore alone to shop, so that’ll go great) when a redhead who looks far more knowledgeable than the blonde comes up to the counter.
“Sorry, she doesn’t work here,” the redhead says. “I’m Willow, how can I help you?”
Faith shows her Wesley’s picture. “I need to get a birthday present for him and I don’t read.”
Willow nods, collecting a few books from behind the counter. “This one is-”
“Look,” Faith interrupts, “I appreciate the explanations, but I needed this present, like, yesterday, so I’ll trust you on this.”
Willow huffs a laugh, picking one of the books. “Okay, then,” she says, ringing Faith up.
Faith practically sprints out of the store, throwing a “thank you!” over her shoulder.
She’s only two minutes late to the party. Unfortunately, Wesley was seventeen minutes early.
Fucked.
That blonde chick was kinda cute, though.
This is not how Buffy thought she’d be spending her week off.
She was originally planning to just hang around the bookstore and be a hindrance to Giles and Willow, and she was doing great with that until this woman comes barrelling into the store, generally causing chaos and nearly forcing Buffy into being useful.
And then there’s the additional fun part with this random woman being Buffy’s soulmate. The fun part, she says.
Because, to be honest, she’s not a huge fan of the whole soulmate thing, anyway. Like, look at her parents. They were soulmates, and then her dad went and slept with his secretary and tore their family apart. Or Giles and Jenny? After seeing Giles suffer for so long, soulmates seem like more work than they’re worth. And Giles and her mom are really happy together now, even though they’re not soulmates. So it’s not like she needs this girl.
And yet, she can’t stop thinking about her. She’s definitely hindering now.
It’s finally the end of the day, and Giles and Willow are cleaning up as Buffy lounges and daydreams on one of the couches. She’s definitely not thinking about that girl in any way whatsoever. What would her name be? Buffy’s feeling something like Eliza.
“That woman was in a hurry,” Willow says, sitting on the couch and breaking Buffy out of her reverie. She’s laughing, and Buffy blushes because she’s totally not been thinking about that all day.
“Yeah, she was,” Buffy says, and Willow narrows her eyes.
“Something’s up.” Buffy tries to deny it, but Willow cuts her off. “Best friend intuition. You can’t lie to me.”
Buffy deflates, slumping against the couch. “I think I just met my soulmate,” she mumbles.
Willow’s eyes widen. “You what?” She sits up straighter, squealing as the words set in, and Giles sends them a dirty look from where he’s sweeping. Willow settles down again, dropping her voice with a guilty glance at him. “She’s your soulmate? Why didn’t you go after her?”
Buffy glares at her. “First of all, I don’t want a soulmate. I was perfectly happy without one, and I don’t need any of this ‘one true love’ B.S. And second of all, I couldn’t have gone after her even if I’d wanted to, what with her bolting the second you handed her that book.”
“So?” Willow asks, shrugging. “Nothing stands in the way of true love, and don’t call it B.S., because it’s not.” She holds up a finger to stop Buffy’s retort, and Buffy slumps against the couch again, crossing her arms petulantly. “And I have her phone number, anyway.”
Buffy sits up, staring at her in surprise. “Willow!” Willow just shrugs, and Buffy sits back, shaking her head and laughing. “Doesn’t that break, like, a ton of privacy laws?”
Willow waves her hand dismissively. “Eh, it’s for a good cause.”
“True love?” Buffy asks, arching her brow.
Willow nods sagely. “True love.”
Faith somehow survived Wesley’s birthday (barely), so she feels that some thank yous are in order. And maybe she wants to get the blonde girl’s number. Two birds, one stone and all that.
There’s a middle-aged guy behind the counter this time, and Faith can see him feeling at home in a stuffy museum or library in Britain. He gives her British vibes, with the tweed suit and glasses that are way too clean.
“Welcome in, how may I help you?” And bingo, British guy.
“Hey,” Faith says, sidling up to the counter and propping her arms on the surface. She pointedly ignores the disdainful glance he sends her way. “I’m looking for the redhead who works here. Willow?”
The British guy sighs, and Faith half-expects him to start polishing his glasses or some shit. “Just a moment, please,” he says, and he heads to the back, leaving Faith to wander around the bookstore.
She hadn’t gotten to look around the first time, but it’s a cozy place, filled with books and comfortable furniture. There are so many hidden reading nooks in little corners of the shop that Faith thinks she could spend days exploring this place and still not find them all. And it’s funny that she finds this place so… welcoming when she despises reading with a passion.
And then she pulls back a hanging vine draped over the entrance to one of those nooks, and who does she find but that blonde girl that she’s been looking for. Funny how things work out sometimes.
She was relaxing with a magazine, but she sits up so quickly that Faith steps back, the vines swishing back into place and partially obscuring her.
“Easy there, blondie,” Faith says, laughing softly. The woman’s eyes are wide, and they dart around as she steps out of the nook, looking for an escape.
Faith’s brow furrows. “I was actually looking for you.” Crickets. “I’m Faith,” she says, putting her hand out, and the woman’s gaze follows the movement, staring at Faith’s outstretched hand for a solid ten seconds before reluctantly shaking it. And it’s cliché and weird and Faith hates herself for even thinking this, but it feels like little firecrackers going off as their hands slide together, fitting perfectly as if they’re made for each other.
The woman clearly feels it too, pulling back hastily. And that’s a good sign. Faith waits for a bit longer until it’s clear that the woman’s not going to say anything. And Faith’s never been the most… subtle, so she asks, “Do you not talk or something?”
The woman’s eyebrows raise, and something shifts in her expression as she nods.
Faith nods back, and she’s not exactly sure what to do now. Because she’s hot, that’s undeniable (it’s the whole reason Faith’s here), but Faith isn’t sure that she wants to put in the effort to date a mute chick. (Does that make her a bad person?)
Thankfully, she’s saved from saying anything else by Willow’s appearance. And then everything gets worse.
“How is everything?” Willow asks, smiling way too brightly for this to be normal customer service. The blonde girl’s clearly freaking out, and she makes a very unsubtle (and that’s coming from Faith) gesture to get Willow to go away. Willow does not take the hint. “I see you found some of our nooks!” She continues with a pointed glance at Faith, “We call this one our lover’s nook, because it’s great for curling up with your soulmate!”
What the fuck?
If it’s possible, the blonde’s eyes have widened further, and she looks about two seconds away from murdering Willow. So Faith does some damage control.
“That’s really cute,” she says, nodding as she screams internally.
“You should bring your partner…” Willow trails off, waiting for a name, and Faith reluctantly provides it. “Faith. It’s such a great, comfy place to relax with a book and a loved one!”
Faith laughs awkwardly. “Thanks, but I’m not a huge book person.”
Willow looks put-out for a moment before perking up again. “I’m sure we can fix that! I can show you around a bit, and Buffy can also help out!”
The blonde’s (Buffy?) eyes widen even further, and Faith takes pity on her. If she wants to avoid Faith that badly, Faith’s not about to force her presence on her. “I thought… Buffy,” she looks at her to double-check and gets a nod in return, “doesn’t work here, though?”
Buffy’s nodding in agreement, glaring at Willow with enough force that Faith already knows she never wants to be on the other side of that glare.
Willow deflates. “Fine, I’ll just show you around.”
So that’s how Faith ended up getting a tour of a bookstore against her will when all she wanted to do was ask out a hot girl who ended up to be mute.
She’s curious about that, and she probably shouldn’t be asking, but she does anyway. (Does that make her a bad person?) “So, what’s the deal with Buffy?”
Willow lights up again. “Buffy teaches MMA, actually. She runs her own gym, and she’s so awesome. We’ve been best friends since high school, and Buffy’s so kind and supportive and such a good friend, and-”
“That’s cool,” Faith interrupts, “but I more wanted to know about the mute thing.”
Willow stops walking, turning to Faith with a frown. “What mute thing?”
Faith furrows her brow. “Y’know, the thing where she can’t talk?”
“Buffy can’t talk?” Willow snorts. “Sure, Buffy doesn’t talk. And oh, look!” She points out the window. “A flying pig!”
Faith can’t help but laugh. “So she can talk?”
Willow’s face drops. “She told you she can’t talk?”
“Yep,” Faith says with a loud exhale. “Was pretty clear about that.”
Willow sighs. “She gives me a headache.”
Faith arches her brow. “What happened to ‘amazing and spectacular and the bestest friend in existence?’”
“What are you doing?”
Buffy’s retreated back to her reading nook, and her reading’s just been disturbed by Willow. In the form of her best friend ripping the magazine out of her hands and looming over her with her hands on her hips.
“I was trying to read about Britney’s new diet, but that’s not happening, I guess.”
“Don’t sass me, missie,” Willow says, jabbing the rolled up magazine in Buffy’s face.
Buffy’s eyebrows shoot up. “‘Missie,’ huh?”
Willow narrows her eyes. “Your soulmate almost walked out that door today thinking that you’re mute and uninterested until I saved your ass.”
“You saved my ass?” she whines, slumping with a dejected look. Unfortunately, it’s hard to slump when you’re already fully reclined, so she just ends up sliding down the side of the nook awkwardly. “You could’ve just let her walk away, but no. You had to do something.” Her chin’s resting on her chest now, and her neck’s definitely going to hate her for this later, but she hopes it looks pathetic enough to sway Willow’s heart.
It does not sway Willow’s heart. “I’m not going to let you just throw the love of your life away because you’re scared. And I am sure as hell not letting you pretend to be mute around your soulmate.”
Buffy sits up, cracking her neck. “I’m not pretending, I am mute to her, because she is never going to hear those words, and she is never going to know that we’re soulmates.”
Willow huffs. “We’ll see about that.”
Faith never thought she’d voluntarily go into a bookstore for non-sex related purposes, and here she is, going into a bookstore to buy another book. How does Willow do this, finding these perfect books to get customers hooked?
“Faith, you’re back!” Willow exclaims as the bells on the door ring. “Buffy’s not here today, unfortunately.”
“That’s fine,” Faith says, surprised to find herself only a little bit disappointed. She wasn’t kidding when she said she was here for the books. “I loved the book.”
Willow lights up, and it’s a bit infectious as Faith feels herself smiling too. “I knew you’d be a thriller girl,” she says. “You here for another?”
“I’m here for another,” Faith says, nodding, and she’s still smiling over buying books and Wesley’s never gonna let her live this down, will he?
Willow leads her to the thriller section, giving recommendations until Faith picks one to buy, and she’s ringing Faith up when she adds out of nowhere, “Buffy does like you, y’know.”
Faith arches an eyebrow. “Does she always show that she likes someone by pretending that she can’t talk to avoid them? Or am I just lucky?”
Willow sighs. “She’s just… a bit weird when it comes to relationships. She gets really stressed. But she does really like you. She asked for your number, and I said I’d ask you the next time you come in.”
Faith freezes. “You have my number already.”
“That’s a huge breach of privacy,” Willow says, frowning. “I wouldn’t do that to a customer.” She slides a piece of paper to Faith. “But if you want to… no pressure.”
It kinda feels like there is, though.
Faith sighs, writing her name and phone number down and passing it back to a beaming Willow.
“She wanted to ask you herself, but she’s at work again,” Willow says. She pauses, making eye contact with Faith, and this is quickly becoming really awkward again. “Trust me, I’m her best friend. She likes you. You’d be perfect together.”
Faith shakes her head, looking away, and in her semi-discomfort, she blurts the first thing that comes to her mind. “How d’you know I’m even into her?”
Willow scoffs. “Please.”
Well, okay, then.
Buffy’s back at work and she couldn’t be happier to stay away from the bookstore. She never thought she’d go back to work early, but here she is, because she’s going to do something stupid if she has to keep seeing that woman. And Willow did her Willow thing and got a personalized book recommendation that the woman’s obviously going to love, so she’s going to go back sooner rather than later.
And Buffy’s trying to avoid thinking about her name because it’s way better than Eliza.
Of course, Willow shows up at her apartment as soon as she gets off work, and there goes Buffy’s peace and quiet. She loves Willow, she really does, but this is not going well in any meaning of the word.
“Guess what happened today?” Willow asks, practically vibrating in excitement, and Buffy groans internally.
“I don’t wanna know,” she says, collapsing on her couch, and Willow follows her, sitting on the edge, and Buffy finds out that Willow actually is shaking because the couch quickly follows suit. Buffy lifts her head up. “That can’t be healthy.”
Willow glares, falling still. “Faith wanted me to give you her number.”
And this is why she didn’t want to go to the bookstore today.
“What?” Buffy exclaims, shooting upright, her eyes wide and probably manic. Because she can deal with running into her soulmate and all of that, but she’s going to combust if she has Faith’s number. And she can’t go on a date with her. It’s all over if they go on a date.
“You have your soulmate’s number now,” Willow says, sliding a piece of paper to Buffy and looking exceptionally smug. She adds, “Thank me later,” as she saunters out of the apartment, leaving Buffy with a name, a phone number, and the last dregs of her sanity.
Buffy picks the paper up, fully prepared to rip it to shreds, but something in her doesn’t let her go through with it.
Faith Lehane, huh? Pretty name.
Faith’s back at the bookstore, and so is Buffy. And Faith has no idea what to do now.
“Hi,” she says lamely, waving awkwardly and hoping that Willow will appear and save her.
Willow does not appear and save her.
Buffy looks around, clearly hoping for the same thing, and then she sighs, giving up. “Hi,” she says. “Sorry about the whole… thing. It’s complicated.”
And everything makes sense all of a sudden, why Buffy avoided talking and why there’s been all of this chaos and confusion and most of all, why Faith feels this strange pull to this bookstore and the random blonde girl that pops up sometimes. Because Buffy is Faith’s soulmate.
Yeah, she did not see that one coming.
“Huh,” Faith says, and she desperately wants to say more, but nothing’s coming to her mind right now.
Buffy laughs, and Faith’s already halfway in love with her and it’s not okay. “Yeah,” Buffy says, and they stare at each other until Buffy breaks the silence. “Sorry, I just have… stuff that I haven’t really dealt with, but…” She hesitates, and Faith’s practically holding her breath as she waits. “Maybe we could, y’know, talk about it over coffee or something?”
Faith smiles, almost without realizing. “Yeah, coffee sounds amazing.” Like you.
And then, out of nowhere, Willow pops up. “See, I told you! True love!”
Buffy and Faith look at each other, and then they both burst into laughter, and the British guy pokes his head in from the backroom to see what all the commotion is. And somehow, Buffy’s hand ends up in Faith’s, and the little firecrackers start going off again.
True love, huh? Faith can get on board with that.