Buffy watched Faith sleep, wondering about her feelings for the other girl. Xander was sleeping with the dark slayer, and the usual background lust she felt in the presence of a handsome young man with a good body was there, but it was her reaction to the naked body of the other slayer that concerned her. She was finding it very peaceful and pleasant to look at, to see the normally dynamic, hard charging girl resting.
Fine, that was acceptable to her, sleep as peaceful, cool; it was whether she should find the soft curves of the other so fascinating that was the issue. Especially as, this being a very warm evening, both were sleeping naked ON TOP of the bed, with everything on full display. She had been invited to share the bed with them, among other invitations, so she was not intruding on anything she shouldn't be, but still...
Since starting treatment with Theona she was questioning the assumptions of her life, and why she kept being attracted to men she had not long term hope of a relationship with was a big one. One reason, gently hinted at, was that maybe she was fighting an attraction to the same sex.
So now here she was, at whatever time in the morning it was, unable to sleep in the spare bedroom at Faith and Xander's, watching the two and wondering if she was feeling more than she should when she watched the other woman's chest rise and fall. Buffy looked fascinatedly at the swell of Faith's hips that were slightly turned towards her, noticed her eyes drifting towards the dark bush between the others legs, and the large, dark area around the nipples. She looked, and wondered if she was feeling lust for the other girl, or if it was just the unsatisfied post-slayage urge driving it. She went back to her room and handled the problem with one of the vibrators thoughtfully placed in the cupboard for just such situations, and then she slept.
Faith and Xander were conducting a sweep of the area, while Buffy, Kennedy, and Willow waited for the new undead to rise. Kennedy and Willow had teleported in, as they did regularly, to back up the blonde slayer. It was just a question of adjusting for time zones and organizing in advance, as when they got Buffy to help them on occasion. Willow was scanning the area, extending her senses to detect any vampires and demons in the area, then relaying the information to the appropriate slayer.
The more organized approach was a Faith and Xander thing, and the new Watchers council had commenced field testing it. Results so far were very good, dramatically improving the results of potential slayers in particular. The traditional method of relying solely on the slayers enhanced powers and leaving her to fight alone were, from the organizations perspective, as dead as the Brontosaurus.
"Faith, a pair of vampires has entered the graveyard at the north entrance, unarmed, they seem to be heading directly toward us." Willow's voice was inside the dark slayer's head, from the outside it was still total silence as the pair walked along. The dark slayer took her partner to a position between the entrance and the grave Buffy was watching. It was a pre-surveyed ambush position, chosen in daylight as part of the more methodical approach. "They are about 100 yards north of you, inbound to your position, you should be able to see them now."
"We are in position and can see them red, anything else happening?" Xander has been trying to get everyone to use proper radio procedure, since it was developed to allow clear communication in similar circumstances. Success has been less than total, but at least now everyone knows what 'five by five' means.
"No Faith, nothing much else within reach." Which was a fair distance these days, since the coven in England had been teaching the witch as part of her control training. Scanning an area like this is not something that sounds exciting, and most people have no pressing need to learn it, or interest. But the Scooby's have found it incredibly useful and the Watchers Council, as usual, had simply not bothered to study it, since it involved the Slayer working with others, and 'the slayer must work alone', etc. etc. The new council is actively studying this as future standard procedure too, witchcraft being a teachable skill, after all.
The telepathy the red head uses to relay messages is actually far harder to learn, but radio's can be substituted for it, and will be. The actual human search radar part is simple white magic, since it does not, of itself, harm anyone or anything. It is just looking around at the world much more thoroughly than normal and all potential slayers and watchers will be taught it in future.
Faith and Xander stepped out from behind the crypt that had been providing cover, the breeze in their faces to put them downwind of the vamps. The dark slayer takes off the hand of the closest vamp, and it steps back in horror at the stump, so transfixed by the loss that it does not even notice Xander beheading it.
The second vamp has a few seconds warning as its companion is maimed, less than two seconds actually since Faith did not stop moving when she maimed number one. Two steps, slice the hand of No. 1, step, step, take the arm off No. 2 that has been raised automatically in self-defense. Second vamp - Virgil in life, and yes, he copped a lot of teasing for the name - again barely has time to notice he is under attack and has been mutilated when the dark haired boy separates his head from his neck.
"Faith, that's all I have for you, return to your sweep." Willow, of course, followed the whole fight and does not have to be told it was successful. When everyone is on a radio net - they are thinking of the headset arrangements many western armies seem to use these days - proper procedure will have to be used, since everyone will hear everything said by anyone and it would otherwise be hopelessly confusing.
Still, right now they have a tremendous edge, and the people who would have forbidden it as contrary to tradition are too dead to be problem. Things were getting better.
Buffy walked out of the shower, her second of the evening, and started drying herself, as Faith and Xander headed in for their own turn. Her first threesome and it had been fun, if strange and slightly icky in some of the girl/girl parts. Was that simple unfamiliarity, or was it that she was basically heterosexual and never would be comfortable with her tongue on another woman's genitals?
Was it the medication that made all her emotions so flat these days? Some times she wondered about that, and then remembered how flat ALL her emotions had been since coming back from the dead for the second time. She was in her pink elephant pajamas as they came out, Buffy slept better wearing something, and anyway Dawn had walked into Buffy's bedroom with friends to wake her up so she could make them breakfast before now.
While little sister would, in fact, probably enjoy a chance to see Xander in 'the glory of his nakedness', big sister would not co-operate. The couple would sleep here, door locked from the inside, she in her own bed, Willow and Kennedy had gone back to England, where it was already daytime and they had work to do.
When Buffy had asked Faith if she was going home after sex, she said she was already home.
"Faith, how is this your home." She had asked, hoping to sound curious rather than annoyed. The dark slayer still remembered her ugly past, and was haunted by it. The Boston slayer had just hugged the former Zeppo.
"Home is where Xander is."