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The Weirdest Perfect Gift
By Babydykecate
She was pretty sure the day couldn't get any worse, with the betrayal, drugging, and mom-kidnapping. Then she found Faith in her bedroom.
"Faith, whatever it is, can we talk about it some other time?" Buffy asked with a sigh, shutting her bedroom door and leaning against it.
Buffy's eyes were closed, so she didn't notice Faith walking toward her. It wasn't until Faith's fingers traced along the gash on her forehead that Buffy realized she was there. Buffy's eyes snapped open. This wasn't like Faith at all.
"What-?" Buffy started to ask.
"I felt it," Faith says softly, her dark eyes looking into Buffy's. "I felt your powers fading."
Buffy closes her eyes again, embarrassed and baffled. A moment later she finds Faith's arms around her. This night had gone from dreadfully awful to dreadfully weird at an alarming rate. Buffy tensed, not sure how to respond to this person who did not in any way resemble the Faith she knew. Faith let go, and stood in front of Buffy looking oddly nervous.
"You should, um, get ready for bed and stuff, you look really exhausted," Faith said awkwardly. "I'll be right back."
With that Faith was gone, and Buffy had nothing to do but change into her yummy sushi pajamas and brush her teeth while she pondered what the hell had happened to Faith's sanity. Once she finished, she sat on her bed, her legs curled to her chest, temporarily lost in her head. The sound of the door brought her back, and she found Faith had returned, this time with an assortment of medical supplies.
Faith sat down on the bed in front of Buffy, and began to clean and bandage the gash on her forehead. At this point weird didn't even begin to describe Faith's personality change, and Buffy was too exhausted to keep trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Everything hurt, so whoever it was in Faith's body that was taking care of her, she liked them.
Buffy finally allowed herself to give in to everything that had happened today, a tear slipping down her cheek. Faith's arms wrapped around Buffy again, and this time she let Faith hug her, wrapping her arms tightly around the brunette. Faith gently guided Buffy until they were both lying side by side on her bed, with Faith's arm resting over her waist. As Buffy was drifting off to sleep, she heard Faith's voice, and she made herself wake up enough to listen.
"Happy Birthday, B," Faith said softly.
In that moment, Buffy could hear hints of the old Faith mixed with this new one. For her birthday Faith had given her a glimpse of the other Faith, the one Buffy guessed not many people had seen. It actually almost made up for all the the betrayal, drugging, and mom-kidnapping. Her birthday still sucked epically, but she'd ended up getting a pretty awesome gift. Buffy let herself drift to sleep as she smiled to herself, actually liking the feeling of Faith's arms wrapped around her.
Buffy was asleep before Faith managed to say the words she'd wanted to say all day.
"I love you, B."
The End