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The Summers' apartment smelled of cinnamon and roast turkey, the kind of warm, inviting scent that made even a Slayer feel like she could let her guard down. Except, of course, Buffy didn't feel particularly relaxed. She paced the kitchen, fidgeting with the hem of her sweater, while the pie she had definitely not made from scratch cooled on the counter.
Faith sat on a stool by the counter, her boots propped up on the bottom step, swirling a soda in her hand. Every once in a while, she'd take a sip and then hand it to Buffy, who'd take an absent-minded sip before handing it back. This cycle had already been repeated three times, and Faith was pretty sure she wasn't going to get her drink back at this point.
"Should I just get you your own?" Faith grinned, watching as Buffy raised the can to her lips again.
Buffy blinked, as if realizing for the first time what she was doing, then made a face. "Oh. Right. Sorry." She handed the can back sheepishly.
Faith took a long sip before handing it back to her. "Nah, keep it. You obviously need it more than I do."
Buffy huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm not stressed."
Faith raised an eyebrow. "B, you've been pacing for twenty minutes, staring at that poor pie like it's a personal insult.”
Buffy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I just... what if this goes horribly? What if everyone looks at me like I'm crazy? What if Xander makes some stupid joke and Willow starts stuttering and then Giles does that thing where he polishes his glasses for, like, ten minutes?"
Faith rolled her eyes. "Come on, B. It's not like you're confessing to murder. You're just telling them about us."
"Exactly! Us! The big, scary us!" Buffy gestured between them. "Five months, and I still haven't figured out how to say, 'Oh, hey, by the way, Faith and I are totally a thing now,' without my brain imploding."
Faith chuckled and reached across the counter to take Buffy's hand, her thumb lazily tracing circles on her wrist. "You told Dawn."
"She walked in on us!" Buffy deadpanned.
Faith grinned. "True. But she took it well."
Buffy groaned. "She teased me about it for weeks. Every time I even looked at you, she would sing a stupid overdramatic jazz song and whisper 'forbidden romance’."
Faith burst out laughing. "Okay, I have to admit, that's pretty damn funny."
Buffy shot her a look. "You're enjoying this way too much."
"Hey, you gotta find joy where you can," Faith said with a grin, squeezing Buffy's hand. Then, softer, "Look, B, I understand why you're nervous. You want them to be okay with it. But believe me, you being happy? That'll mean more to them than anything.”
Buffy took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay. Okay. We can do this."
Faith smiled and tapped her knuckles against Buffy’s. "Damn right we can."
Just then, the front door opened, followed by the unmistakable sound of Xander’s voice. "I come bearing cranberry sauce and a weirdly shaped loaf of bread!"
Willow’s voice chimed in. "Tara and I brought sweet potatoes! They’re extra sweet, because Tara made them!"
There was an affectionate ‘aww’ from Tara, and Buffy heard Giles mumbling something about "American holiday excess."
Buffy shot a wide-eyed glance at Faith. "Showtime."
Faith exhaled dramatically. "Cool. No pressure or anything."
-*-*-*-*-
Dinner started off surprisingly normal.
Buffy sat at the head of the table, Faith next to her, with Dawn across from them, smirking knowingly every time Buffy and Faith turned in each other’s direction. Willow and Tara sat on one side, whispering to each other and sneaking little kisses, and Xander was halfway through an elaborate retelling of how he nearly burned his apartment down trying to make stuffing.
Giles was at the other end, his expression somewhere between amused and exasperated as he swirled the glass of wine Tara had poured for him.
Everything was fine.
Until Buffy cleared her throat.
"So, um... I have something to tell you guys…" she started.
Faith stiffened beside her. Instinctively, Buffy reached under the table, her fingers brushing against Faith’s. Faith didn’t pull away.
"I-uh. Okay… Well, you know how sometimes people go on dates?"
Willow snorted into her drink. "We remember the concept, yeah."
Buffy shot her a look before continuing. "Right. Well. This is... something I'm doing. With someone." Buffy said her voice quieter.
Xander frowned. "Buff, are you alright? You sound like someone has a gun pointed at you."
Dawn groaned. "Oh my God, just say it!"
Buffy clenched her fists. "Fine! Faith and I are together. Like, together 'together'. Like, dating. Girlfriends. Romantic shenanigans and all."
Silence.
Giles blinked, then reached for his glasses and started to polish them.
Buffy groaned. "Knew it."
Willow was the first to speak. "Oh! Wow. That's... that's great! I mean, I thought maybe, but then I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to assume, because assuming is..."
"Bad," Tara finished for her, rubbing her shoulder affectionately. "But we're happy for you."
Xander was still blinking. "Faith. As in... Faith?"
Faith sighed. "Look, if you need a moment to process, go ahead, I'll wait."
Dawn leaned forward. "It's been five months, Xander.”
Xander's eyes widened. "Five-wait, what?! How did I not know about this?"
Buffy gave him a sharp look. "Because I was afraid you'd react like that."
"Or maybe because you only have one eye. Which doesn't work to your advantage in this case, by the way." Faith muttered under her breath, making Dawn laugh.
Xander held his hands up, not having heard what Faith said. "No, no, I'm fine! I mean, sure, if past me had a bingo card of unexpected developments, 'Buffy dating Faith' would not have been on it, but hey, who am I to judge?"
Buffy frowned. "That... almost sounded supportive."
"Look, I like Faith. I mean, I tolerate Faith in a friendly way." Xander quickly corrected when Faith raised an eyebrow at him. "But if you're happy, Buff, then I'm happy."
Buffy exhaled, relief washing over her.
Then Giles put down his glass and looked earnestly at the couple. "I'm proud of you two."
Buffy blinked. "What?"
Giles adjusted his glasses. "Buffy, Faith, you two have taken on a lot. And while I cannot say that this is the news I was expecting today, if this is what brings you joy, then I support you both wholeheartedly."
Faith sat up a little straighter, clearly taken aback. "Huh. I guess I won't be getting a Watcher lecture today.”
Giles sighed. "I don't think it would do any good anyway."
Faith grinned. "Nope."
The room settled back into a pleasant buzz of conversation, the tension finally broken.
Buffy turned to Faith, who was now casually playing with one of Buffy's rings, turning it between her fingers.
Faith grinned. "I told you we could do this, B."
Buffy leaned in and whispered, "Yeah. Guess you were right, F."
Buffy squeezed her hand under the table.
Faith squeezed back three times.
And just like that, their little secret was definitely no longer a secret.