Faith was wandering around her proposed new home, slightly nervous. Xander had dropped her off before going to school early, leaving her alone in Casa Summers except for Joyce, who had made her comfortable before going off to shower. After seeing the rat hole she lived in he had insisted she be found something better, NOW. Only Giles and Buffy had both spare rooms and no need to hide the slayer secret, and the watcher thought it was 'more appropriate' for her to live with two women than a middle aged man.
That left her with a problem, because of the unconscious assumption built into that. One she was in no hurry to explain to anyone, but at the same time, couldn't leave to be discovered later. Or at least she didn't think it would be a good idea to leave it to be discovered later. She had never told anyone, not after her mother's reaction to Sissy Connolly. She had looked at her room, what was supposed to be her room, torn between wanting to move in immediately and the need to avoid a shouting match later. The sound of Mrs. S in the shower drew her; maybe she should tell her now, get the yelling out of the way so they could just move her stuff back to the motel before she lost her room.
The bathroom door was not closed; Joyce Summers apparently being used to being alone in the house at this time of day didn't bother during showers. So when the dark slayer reached it she had a gap of several inches to see her fellow slayers mother drying herself off. She was beautiful; her breasts sagged a bit but not still good enough to draw her eyes, more than good enough. Looking further down she saw a good, mature woman's body, and that the older woman did not have her bikini line waxed. She should not be doing this, but she was mesmerized, she couldn't look away. The other woman turned to face her and spoke.
"Faith if you want to you can come in you know." 'Oh god, that's torn it, she's going to kill me', Faith thought, standing rock steady as the other woman advanced towards her and hauled her into the room. Sitting her in a chair Joyce Summers went back to drying hers hair, giving the slayer an even better view of her nude body than before. Eventually the older woman smiled, wiped the drool from the younger's mouth and spoke. "So Faith, I take it we have two women in the house who can't work out how to tell Buffy they play for the other team occasionally?"
"You like girls too, as well, I mean as well as…" Ok, so this was not how she usually was. The last time she had been this inarticulate was, come to think of it; it was when Sissy had come out to her. And come on to her, teaching her all sorts of things she had had not chance to practice with anyone else.
"I think you should shower and change and come to the gallery with me, we have an hour before it opens. Oh, and while I'm complimented by the way you look at me you really will have to learn to tone it down in public." Buffy in particular.
"Faith, I'm sorry about the shower thing but I had a feeling about you and I needed to be sure." They were sitting having coffee, Joyce had an espresso machine and several varieties of top quality coffee that she served as part of creating what she felt was the proper mood. The gallery drew an 'arty' crowd, professionals and university types, which were the principal market anyway.
"It was a test?" The Boston slayer had had a few hours to process what had happened this morning. They were sitting on one of the large, deeply cushioned backless bench type seats in the middle of the room that allowed visitors to relax and enjoy the works for sale. "Did I pass?"
"Faith, relax, I'm not coming on to you or anything." Because the possibility that this poor girl might think she was going to be expected to 'pay rent' with her body had just occurred to her. It was not a natural suspicion for her, but the child's nerves were clearly shot and not just by apparently nearly killing the deputy mayor the previous night. "I remember what it was like to be young and gay and not have anyone I could talk to about what I was feeling. I'm still in the closet myself after all."
"You're a lesbian?" Faith had heard about the 'band candy' incident, if her 16 year old self had been drawn to Ripper than there had to be a guy orientation in there somewhere. "I appreciate the attractions of both sexes. If that's a problem for you, because I know it is for some lesbians, than I hope we can at least live and let live." The gay community is not without its own set of prejudices, and the gallery owner had a date turn nasty in college when the woman she was with started calling bisexual women 'traitors' and 'cowards'. It was a long time ago but it still stung.
"No that's cool, its just wicked strange." Seeing the look on Joyce's face she added. "I mean I've been grab a guy, use him and dump him, 'cause men are animals ya know. Then Xman comes on all noble and 'we screwed so there's a connection between us' and starts this 'save the Southie' campaign."
"Southie?" Said the businesswoman, as much to keep the other speaking as anything else. She needed to know what was going on, ignorance had nearly cost her Buffy last summer after all.
"South Boston, where the poor people are, ya know?" And with that she seemed to have run out of things to say, the line of reasoning went here and then just stopped.
"So do you want to know some places to meet nice girls?" Joyce asked pleasantly.
Xander had no idea why he was the one who was supposed to come and find Faith here. He just knew that Joyce had told him that if either she or the dark slayer were needed tonight to come alone, and under no circumstances tell Buffy where they were or what he saw. From his perspective that meant not telling anyone else, because the Buffster would get it out of Willow, or Giles. So right now he was a little lost, having had to ask several people for directions and getting some funny looks in the process.
As he walked down the corridor he noticed various posters for the Lesbian Collective, only really seeing them because since the Vamp Willow incident it had been on his mind. Finally he found the place, one of the smaller lecture halls, with music playing and a desk siting across most of the doorway with three women sitting behind it looking at him suspiciously.
"Are you lost?" One of them asked.
As Xander looked around the room for either of the two women he noticed that he was the only male present. Most of the people in the room seemed to be girls in their teens, dancing together, talking, holding drinks, kissing…Kissing, ok that explained all the posters, now what was Faith and Joyce doing here?
"I'm looking for Faith and Mrs. Summers, ah, Faith is maybe 18, black hair, Joyce is more like 40."
"Are you a brother or something? We have security to deal with trouble you know, you can't just barge in here and drag people away." This being said with a raised voice and an angry tone by an older woman who was standing to one side, looking like an organizer or chaperone or something.
"Whoa, hold it, Joyce gave me and only me this address so presumably she trusts me, why don't you ask her quietly about it?"
There was a quick conversation and one of the girls behind the desk was sent, which proved unnecessary. His arrival and the 'confrontation' had drawn attention, and he was sad to see the looks of fear from some of them. Buffy's mother came up to him looking concerned, with Faith in tow who looked like she was about to face a firing squad.
"Xander, is there a problem?"
"Gman wanted to arrange tonight's, ah schedule, for that thing, you know."
"What thing?" The Gallery owner asked.
"The ah, thing Buffy and Faith do together thing." Which he suddenly realized made a whole different sense in this context than it would have otherwise. Still, he was nervous and not good at lying about slaying; most people just ignored them, which was so much simpler. "Something's come up and, like…"
"You already have a girlfriend?" a hurt voice asked from a few yards away. She looked 15 or 16, not the youngest here, actually about average.
"No, B's not a girlfriend, she's just someone I work with." Faith said to the hurt sounding girl, who looked Hispanic, and there was an exchange of phone numbers. "Do I have to go now?"
"No, its just we couldn't reach you and I was the one with this address." And hadn't persuading Buffy to not come with him been a test of patience. Her mother had been insistent when giving him the details though, so he did it. "Meet at the library at 8 ok? And Faith, have fun ok."
Faith nodded and looked at him relieved. He smiled at her and at the girl who had taken her hand and tried to look supportive. He continued to smile at them as they went back to dancing. Joyce went over to them and had a quick word with the slayer, who nodded agreement to something, and then the older woman walked over to the only male present and led him away.
"Xander, you can't tell Buffy."
"What, that Faith's gay? And isn't it a little early for the dancing an music?"
"It's a mixer for teenage lesbians and bisexual's the Collective puts on every Saturday. And it has to be at this time because if it was at night it would be harder to hide from their parents." Joyce had been hoping not to have this happen, hoped that she could keep living the lie, or something. She wasn't sure what was right about this anymore. "A lot of them have supportive parents, but some of them, well Conchita, the girl Faith is dancing with? Very strict Catholic family, her mother told her that gay's are 'tools of Satan'."
He had no idea what to say about a thing like that. No idea at all.
"I'm bisexual, like Faith, that's why I didn't pursue Mr. Giles after the band candy fiasco. Margaret, the woman who mentioned security? We're in love, she's the woman I love." The last being said in an increasingly raised voice. "I, Joyce Summers, am in love with Margaret Townsend."
She looked at Xander and seemed to have shed years with that statement. That loud announcement to Xander, the university lawn and various passers by.
"Xander, you have no idea how good it feels to finally say that in public. Twenty seven years in the closet Xander, god you have no idea how good it feels to come out to someone."
Harris the younger was speechless, so he just hugged her. He had just been paid the greatest compliment in his life. He, above even her own daughter, had been trusted with this.
"So, are you telling everyone now?" The young man asked.
"No, although it might be best in the long run, I don't know what Buffy would think, she's so conventional. She needs her nice, safe, conventional mom to come home to, a safe harbor."
"A: She's in love with a man who's been dead for 243 years. B: She loves you, she'll understand, and C: Don't you have a right to a little happiness in the sunlight instead of hiding in the shadows?"
"Xander, you would die for Buffy without a second's hesitation wouldn't you."
"Yes, of course I would." The idea of NOT sacrificing his life to save his friends never would have entered his head.
"How could I not sacrifice a little happiness for Buffy's sake then?"
Xander didn't agree but was not going to argue with the determined mother. He had been ready for his own death since dusting Jessie, but this was her happiness, it was important. His chances of living to see 30 were lower than his chances of climbing Mount Everest, it was the life he had volunteered for. That the woman who meant more to him than his own mother could never sit with her family and tell them who she was in love with, that was unacceptable.
"I'll keep the secret but promise me you'll think about how you would tell Buffy. She'll keep asking where you were and I'm a terrible liar."
"I promise I'll think about it, now you go so I can go back and chaperone the party."
As they went their separate ways the young man turned and spoke again.
"Mrs. Summers, remember to kiss your girlfriend, ok. You deserve some happiness too, ok."
Xander looked up from the library floor and saw an enormous sword held at his throat. He was aware, of course, that there was someone holding the sword and it really was not the size of a guillotine, but any weapon pointed at you at this distance looks huge. As his soldier memories told him, a pistol pointed right at you from two feet looks like a howitzer. So it was just the sword he was seeing.
Not Buffy, who was holding it, or Giles, who was standing well back, trying to calm her down. The Giles who clearly was doing a less than stellar job of calming the slayer, given the large piece of sharp steel at the dark haired boy's throat.
"Ok, so, what has loserboy done to deserve this, not that I don't think he does, but, what exactly is it that has driven you to be psycogirl Buffy?" Cordelia asked, from her position just inside the library doorway. Willow and Oz walked in behind her. This being lunchtime the hall was full of people, who looked into the library curiously. They usually only got to hear the freak show, but with the geek twins holding the door open they got to see it too.
"He's lying about something about mom and Faith and I need to know what." Ever since the dark slayer moved in the two had been disappearing to places that only they and Xander knew about. At first she hadn't even noticed, since it didn't involve her directly and therefore was not important. But the muttered 'what are those three up to' comments had finally gotten her attention, and Xander wanted to spar with her and one thing had led to another.
"Buffster, kinda hard to talk with the four foot kitchen knife at my throat, ya know."
"And it will be hard for him to perform oral stimulation on me this afternoon with his throat cut." Anya said after pushing in past the others. She went straight to the fallen sparing partner and pushed the sword out of the way. She examined the cut in his neck before glaring up at the slayer. "You've cut his throat, which is bad because injuries always make sex less fun, and good because now we can go to the school nurse. I will get him released for the afternoon to have it seen to, and the two of us can go back to my home for extreme sex."
"What, dare I ask, is extreme sex?" The former watcher asked from his office doorway, a question he instantly regretted.
"It's like extreme sports, but with interlocking body parts." They had seen very little of Anya at this stage, but all knew she was a former vengeance demon trying to learn how to be human again.
There was silence for a second.
"You've been taking etiquette lessons from Faith." Oz pronounced.
"Yes, and she has been very helpful with all of the confusing human rituals." The zeppo was on his feet now, holding a clean piece of cloth Willow had given him to the cut. Having been thrown down onto the floor from three feet BEFORE the slayer jumped over him with the weapon had in itself resulted in injuries, of course. It just the kind that he usually shrugged them off as being part of the demon hunter thing. "I was trying to think of a way to start an involvement with Xander, as a prelude to becoming orgasm friends. She told me I was being far too subtle, that the way to win over a man was to take him home and ravish him till he's too exhausted to do anything but co-operate. Expect to see us sometime Monday morning."
And with that the sore and sorry Scooby and his soon to be girlfriend hobbled out the door, with a large part of the school watching.
Xander looked, if anything, worse than he had on Friday. He had walked slowly to the desk, hobbling really, sat down gingerly, and fallen into an exhausted sleep. Anya by contrast was preening and smiling and looked extremely pleased as she deposited him and walked off to the girls room, chatting to all about her in great detail about the weekends activities. A few minutes later a certain red headed geek walked in, eyes huge, with the general air of a stunned ox as she slowly and almost unseeingly stumbled to the chair next to her friend.
"Wow." She muttered quietly, looking at him with eyes as big as saucers. "Oh wow."
She could see bite marks and scratches on the few parts of him that showed, and from Anya's vivid descriptions knew there were more and more serious marks on the covered parts of his body. She had also had a description of those parts, including, before she fled the ex-demon's presence, descriptions of his 'hidden assets' that were probably doing wonders for his reputation right now.
It was what they had been doing rather than what he had been doing her with that amazed the girl though. She was reasonably sure that some of that stuff was illegal, most of it was immoral, and the rest was fattening. As to the latter, the former demon had detailed a certain honey/yogurt mix, how much they had gone through on the weekend, and exactly what she had been eating it off. Or licking it off, as the case may be.
"Hey boytoy, heard you got lucky on the weekend." Faith said in her usual loud, cheerful manner before slapping him on the back. His scream of agony caused her to step back and Giles to leap out of his office and look around for the attacking demon. Xander had jumped out of his chair, sending it flying, and Buffy, who had come to school with Faith of course, was now looking around for the same nonexistent demon attackers as her Watcher. "Sorry."
"Lets have a look at it Xander." Buffy said. The younger Harris started taking his pants off, and the Boston slayer grabbed his hand and spoke.
"Maybe later for that big boy, I think she means the back injury you presumably have." Said an amused younger slayer.
The tension between the two women vanished for the moment in their concern for the injured man. Buffy had been mortified when she had cooled down and realized what had happened on Friday. Her mother and the slayer were both hiding something, and Xander knew what it was, but that was no excuse for hurting him as she nearly had.
"Oh." He muttered, too tired to think. He took his shirt off, in no mental condition to challenge either slayer's right to make demands of him. He moved very slowly to remove the shirt, wincing occasionally. The elder slayer was shocked at what she saw, Buffy was instantly convinced that the pair must have been kidnapped and tortured all weekend.
"My god, what did this too you, I mean, what hideous beast tore you up like that.." The bottle blonde began, noticing in particular what looked like multiple sets of claw marks running down his back.
"And then I showed him what I learned from a sword swallower in Morocco three centuries ago…" The dark haired ex-demon was saying to a red faced Cordelia as they entered the room.
"That would be her." The zeppo said as he slowly put his shirt back on. Fortunately, at this point the bell indicating the start of classes rang, and they all walked out. Or most of them walked out, and Xander hobbled out leaning on Willow, who had the same first class he did.
Giles had detained Faith, who of course was not a student. He led her into his office and sat her down before polishing his glasses, sipping from his tea, and then looking at her with his sternest visage.
"Faith, will you please tell me WHAT IS GOING ON!" The dark slayer was dealing with Ripper now, and the difference showed.
"Well, it began with hearing the sound of a shower running…"
As Buffy walked towards the house she noticed a van parked in front with 'Townsend Electrical' written on the side. It was earlier than usual, Giles had asked her to be here about 8.30 and she was only a little late. As she went inside she saw everyone was there, and some she didn't know as well, specifically a Latino looking girl next to Faith and a fit looking woman next to her mother. The four were looking extremely nervous, actually. Actually everyone but Xander was looking either nervous or expectant.
Xander was sleeping next to Anya. The former demon woke him up as the blonde walked into the room.
"Giles, what's up?" She knew what was supposed to be up, so why were these people here with them.
"Buffy, you hurt Xander on Friday, in fact threatened his life with a lethal weapon, because you think he is keeping a secret." The Englishman said, and his first slayer could only look ashamed as he did so. "He was allowed into a secret that was not his to tell, and you have been leaning on him to make him tell it to you rather than ask your mother or Faith, whose secret it is. Why?"
And the elder slayer was really at a loss to answer. She had been thinking about it since Xander was led out of the library, and she realized she had nearly killed a valued friend out of rage. She had asked the question of herself eventually, it had been 2.15am Saturday night actually, why don't I just ask Mom and Faith? Why am I so focused on Xander, I know he won't ever betray a promise?
"I guess because I knew deep down he wouldn't tell me." She answered slowly. "I was thinking, I don't know but I remember that all the women in Sunnydale were after him that night, you remember the night, and I remember Mom was one of them, and I kept thinking maybe she still was, was that it, was he sleeping with Mom?"
"You thought I was having an affair with Xander?" Joyce Summers asked incredulous. "And Faith?"
"Yeah I thought it had to be something like that, I mean if it was just Faith he could tell us without all this secrecy, so I figured it had to be you or you and Faith, or I DON'T KNOW, IT WAS STUPID BUT I WAS SCARED, ALLRIGHT!"
"This is a mistake, we shouldn't be doing this, if Buffy can't handle this then we shouldn't press it onto her and…"
"No." Xander said, wincing as he stood up. His voice had cut through the elder Summers nervous babble, stopping the movement to the door that had started. "No, damn it, we don't do this. If she can handle Willow dating a werewolf and me with a former demon than she can handle this."
"You mean you WERE screwing my mother?" The Blonde asked.
"Buffy, Xander isn't your mothers lover." Margaret Townsend, Licensed Electrician said. "I am."
"And I am Faith's." Conchita Gonzalez added. You could hear a pin drop in the room, and see the looks of fearful expectation in the four women's eyes. They were well and truly out of the closet now, if anyone in this room wanted to make an issue of it. Conchita was terrified, but she had talked it over with her girlfriend earlier and decided that they could not keep the secret at the cost of the risk to Xander.
And Buffy being impulsive and somewhat self-centred, and the youngest male Scooby being an honorable man, she would keep pushing, and he would keep not telling her. He had actually HAD HIS THROAT CUT or at least nicked, a few days earlier, and kept silent. Their silence was risking his life.
"You're a lesbian?" The blonde said as she looked from her mother to the woman holding her hand. "What about dad, did he find out, is it why you divorced?"
"Buffy, I am not a lesbian but the woman I love with all my heart and soul is." The gallery owner responded. "Your father knew about my bisexuality before we married, and no, it was never a problem with us. I never betrayed your father, you have to believe that."
The two oldest women hugged each other and then, for the first time, kissed in front of a group of straights. Margaret had been discrete, having children too, if older now and gone to live their lives elsewhere. When they had been small, on the other hand, it had been hard. The courts were still routinely awarding custody of divorced couples children to alcoholic wife-beaters rather than to lesbians in those days, so 'discretion' was needed. Being in a trade where it tended to be assumed she was probably 'a dyke' certainly had not helped.
"I love you Maggie."
"I love you Joy of my life." And another first was set. They were hugging tight because how Buffy, in particular, handled this was crucial. Xander had kept saying that 'coming out' would be a liberating experience, but it was also terrifying. What if Buffy couldn't take it, what if she was homophobic, about her mother if no one else? It's often different when it's a personal, about all sorts of subjects.
"Faith, is this why you act so uptight around me?" Faith always knocked before entering Buffy's room, looked away if the other slayer needed to change, and generally was totally unlike the wild child public persona around her. Of course, that had been changing lately anyway.
"I didn't want ya to think I was coming on to ya." The younger slayer confessed. "Some day like this might happen, and I didn't want you to feel like I was some guy who had been leering at you all this time without you knowing."
Meanwhile Oz was totally without change of expression, and Willow was uncertain, if only of whether any of this would apply to her some day. She vividly remembered Vamp Willow, and how Angel had at first started to agree that it meant she too was 'kinda gay.' Buffy had silenced him with a look, and she was devoted to her boyfriend, but still, it might be her hoping for support on an occasion like this some day.
"So, I take it we have you to thank for Faith's improved fashion sense." Cordelia said to the younger slayers lover. Because Faith was, almost unbelievably, in a dress tonight. Pale blue, and not restrictive of her movements in any way, but still a dress.
"Yes, my mother has her own boutique, do you like it?" The girl had brightened considerably. Being nearly ignored after coming out was nearly as bad as the shouting she had expected.
"I love it, you really have to take me there some time."
"It is one of my own designs. Would you like me to do something for you, I would be honored if you wore something of mine?" Her mother mainly designed all the shops items herself, but several of the younger Gonzalez's works were selling quite well.
The conversation went on from there, Queen C taking it for granted that OF COURSE any designer would be honored to have her wear their hand made originals. Giles was sipping tea, grateful that the whole scene had not, at least yet, turned nasty. Anya was wondering if she could talk the fashion designer into opening her own shop in competition with her mother, and how much managing it would add to her bank account every month. High School was over soon, after all.
Buffy sat down hard, looking at the whole scene and trying to think. Faith was right, she would have majorly freaked if the Bostonian had actually been taking her up on the offer to come in and talk to her while she dressed because 'we're all girls here, aren't we.' She would have taken it the same way as if Giles or Xander had spied on her naked. God no, bad image there, naked in front of Giles, never go there again. Naked in front of Xander, well, no this would be like him tricking her, wouldn't it. Not quite the usual thing.
"Mom, I don't know how I feel about all this, how long have you been with her?"
"Since we had the house wiring checked just after Ted." Ah yes, the evil food drugging serial wife killer robot. Let's not forget Ted, and the many joys of living on the hellmouth.
"And the band candy thing?" Immediately she regretted her words, seeing Margaret stiffen and the apologetic look to her from her lover. 'Mom, mom is her lesbian lover, mom I someone's lesbian lover' the vampire dating one thought.
"Buffy we were all behaving like 15 year olds that night, and I have already offered my apologies to Ms Townsend." Giles said, rather formally.
"And I told you neither of you had anything to apologize for, I was doing what I did as a 15 year old that night too." Which was seducing a straight woman she met that night for the first time, as it happened. "Joy had never met me at that age, and you were just showing you have good taste in women."
There was a pause.
"Of course, if you ever try it again you'll die in an unfortunate electrical fire, ok?"
"Ok." And it was, he could never have a relationship with the mother of his slayer anyway. Not when it was his duty to send her daughter on nightly patrols that could only lead to her death, after all.
Meanwhile Xander Harris was not quite asleep next to the budding businesswoman. He was listening carefully, and it seemed hopeful. Buffy was a little thrown, but not into panicsville. Everyone else was handling things. He was actually watching the news, which was on with the volume turned down, since they had been looking at it while they waited for Buffy to return from early patrol. There was an item and he reached for the remote to turn up the volume again.
"…and in local news the Mayor of Sunnydale, Richard Wilkins the III, was arrested for 'electoral irregularities and fraud' today. Apparently Deputy Mayor Finch went to the FBI some weeks ago with records proving what are characterized as 'startling and disturbing allegations.' We will have more on this story as details become known. Jason Howland with the weather will be right after this break…"
The girl Xander referred to as Connie, or C-Girl, didn't understand why everyone but Margaret was cheering at this news. But her girlfriend was kissing her, Faith's friends had no problem with it, and the world seemed a slightly less hostile place than it had been. That was progress.