Work Text:
"Is this your dream or mine?" Buffy asks.
"Yours," Faith says, looking around. Sunnydale High School, as it stood, back when it, well, stood. "Why'd you wanna come back here?"
"I'm not sure," Buffy says. "I can't actually control the dreaming thing, you know."
"Well, yeah. I wouldn't be here if you could," Faith says.
Buffy considers this, then says, "I like that you're here."
"No, you don't," Faith says.
Buffy smiles. "I was going to say, it's nice that we don't fight here, but now it sounds like you want to."
Faith does laugh at that. "That's kinda the only way we ever communicated."
Buffy takes her hand. "Doesn't have to be like that."
"Not here," Faith agrees. She doesn't look down to where Buffy's hand is holding hers. If she acknowledges it, Buffy might let go. "Next time I see you..." She thinks she means in the real world, in the waking world, but Faith is pretty sure Buffy isn't ever going to see her again, not really. Probably for the best.
"I will visit," Buffy promises. "I just have a lot going on."
"Sure, sure. Little sister coming," Faith says, and then wonders why she said that.
---
Faith dreams a confusing mess of glowing green energy. Buffy's there, she thinks, except she usually remembers her dreams clearer when Buffy's there. She doesn't remember any of it when she wakes up. Doesn't know that Buffy didn't have a sister before she woke up. Buffy's always had a sister.
---
"Is this your dream or mine?"
"Mine," Faith says, definitively. She throws a punch, and Buffy dodges, easily. "See. You're never this fun in your dreams."
"I don't have time to be fun," Buffy says, swinging a fist back. "Things are going to get way worse."
"Another day, another apocalypse?" Faith laughs, also dodging, easily. "Isn't that kind of your thing? Saving the world, and all that?"
"I think this one's bad," Buffy says, seriously, and Faith stops herself short before bringing her fist back up.
"...Sorry I can't be there," Faith offers. She doesn't really think she could help, and even if Buffy seems ... okay? to share this dreamspace with her, there's no way the real Buffy, let alone her friends, would ever accept her back into their lives.
That's okay.
"You could," Buffy counters.
"Twenty-five to life, remember?" Faith says, with a grin to show she's not mad about it.
Buffy says, "Three," and kisses her.
"Told you this was my dream," Faith says.
"I'm here, too," Buffy insists, and kisses her again.
---
"This one is gonna be really bad," Buffy says. "This apocalypse. I'm sorry you're gonna miss it."
"Send me a postcard," Faith says.
"It was supposed to be us, you know," Buffy says, sounding ... sad? "The Chosen Two. You and me, against the whole wide... interdimensional... everything."
"It was only ever supposed to be you," Faith counters. "Pretty sure it's a Chosen 'One' thing."
"If I'd stayed dead..." Buffy starts.
"Don't," Faith says.
---
Buffy makes her way to Faith's bed. Faith's had this dream before - more than once - okay, a lot more than once - but now that she's sharing her dreams with Buffy pretty regularly, she hesitates. She can't believe this is happening.
Not that it's actually happening. She's still dreaming, obviously. But -
"You're never like this," Buffy says, frowning.
Faith can't decide between Never like what? and How would you know? so she just says, "Huh?"
"I see. This is my dream, so I gotta do everything?" Buffy says, and pushes Faith back on the bed.
---
"Is this your dream or mine?" Buffy asks, and Faith has dreamed this so many times that she's mouthing Buffy's words along with her.
"Does it matter?" Faith asks.
"I guess not," Buffy says.
She updates Faith on her life. It almost feels normal, like old friends catching up, but Faith can't ever forget that it's a dream. A shared dream, sure, but Buffy probably wakes up and forgets. She's got a lot going on.
Faith's got nothing.
"Mom's sick," Buffy says. "I don't know how bad it is. No one will tell me anything."
"Shit," Faith says. I never apologized, she thinks, and Buffy seems to know, even though she doesn't say it out loud.
"I think she forgives you," Buffy says.
Faith can't tell if Buffy means that, but she doesn't want to argue. "Sure."
"I forgive you," Buffy adds.
Faith doesn't know what to say to that. She holds onto those words even as she wakes up, thinks about the way they sounded coming out of Buffy's mouth.
She wonders if Buffy meant to say that, in her half of the dream.
---
"Will you take care of Dawn?" Buffy asks.
"I'm in prison, and your twelve-year-old sister hates me," Faith reminds her.
"She's fourteen," Buffy says. "Faith, promise me. If something happens..."
"Yeah, B. If something happens that's so fucking apocalyptic even for us that it turns out a convicted murderer is the best choice to protect your kid sister, I'm your girl."
"I knew I could count on you," Buffy says, sincerely.
---
"Do I know you?" Faith asks. It feels like a shared Slayer dream, but Faith doesn't recognize this woman.
"We've met," she says. "When you were her."
"Shit," Faith says. "Tara. Hey, I'm s-"
"No, I'm sorry," Tara says. "Faith. Please. I don't have a lot of time. I'm not really supposed to be here. I was borrowed."
"Helpful," Faith says. "Hey, whoever's in charge of mystical dream bullshit, have you ever considered just fucking saying what you mean?"
"She's going to die," Tara says.
Faith doesn't need to ask who.
"I'm sorry. I thought you should know. You're going to feel it. It's going to hurt."
"What the fuck is happening in Sunnydale right now?"
"I'm not there, either," Tara says. "Not really."
"Again, helpful," Faith says.
"It's why I can be here," Tara says. She takes Faith's hand, gently. "I'm sorry. I know..."
"I don't think you do," Faith says. "Fuck, I don't think anybody does."
Tara says, "Close your eyes," and Faith does. She doesn't know why she listens, but Tara leans in and kisses her, and Faith lets her. Tara's nothing like Buffy, but with her eyes closed...
It's a dream, anyway. If she just thinks it, hard enough...
"I have to go," Tara says, in Buffy's voice. Faith opens her eyes. It is Buffy. They're standing there, atop a tall, metal structure of some kind, and there's a big swirling something and Dawn's there, too, Dawn's crying and screaming and bleeding and there's -
Faith knows, now, that that's it, this is it, this is where it all ends -
Buffy, looking out ahead, looking down, looking determined -
"...wait..." Faith says, too late.
---
end.