“Enemies” 5/14

[sroni]

They made a stopover in L.A. before going the rest of the way to Indiana, so that everybody could have a chance to recuperate from the battle and recover from the loss before going halfway across the country. On that bus ride, after bandaging everybody who needed it (which was another way of saying “everybody“), she curled up against him and they stayed that way for the next hour. She didn’t sleep, but she rested. It was nice.

Nice until Scarlet confronted her at the hotel.

Scarlet had somehow managed to get her into a room alone, where she demanded, “What’s going on with you and Xander?”

Faith affected an attitude of not caring. “Chill, Scarlet. If you’re that hot and bothered by it, ask him yourself.”

The redhead’s shoulders slumped. “I did. He told me to ask you, because it didn’t involve just him.” She looked at Faith, her eyes all big and adorable. Faith resisted the urge to laugh or roll her eyes. Scarlet had never grown out of the cute stage. What had been endearing for a 17-year-old simply wasn’t for a 22-year-old. “He tells me everything.”

The words were out of her mouth before she thought. “Bullshit.” Scarlet glared at her, but she kept going. “He doesn’t tell you everything. He never did. Nobody ever tells anybody everything. Even when they’re telling the truth, they’re still holding something back, some flimsy scrap of protection to shield themselves with. He might tell you more than he tells anyone else. That, I would buy. But everything? No damn way.”

Scarlet drew herself up and tried to look as threatening as possible. Which really wasn’t very threatening. For someone to be afraid of her, they’d have to know what she was capable of. Her looks weren’t threatening at all. Her power was something else entirely. “If you hurt Xander, I'll —”

“I can’t,” Faith interrupted her quietly. “I told Cyclops that I would never hurt him. Ever.”

“Stop calling him that!” the redhead screamed. “He lost an eye and you’re making jokes about it!”

Faith shook her head. “I ain’t joking, Scarlet. I know that he’s missing an eye. That realization never leaves my head. But everyone else is treating him like he’s made of glass, B ain’t even looking him in the eye anymore. He needs someone who acts halfway normal around him.”

“And it’s going to be you?” She had never heard the witch sneer before.

“Nice to know you’ve finally learned the use of sarcasm.” Faith took a step in. “Do you see anyone else treating him even remotely like they used to? Nope. It’s just me. So, tell you what. You have a problem with me and Cyclops, take it up with him.”

Willow glared at her and huffed, but left.

A few minutes later, Vi burst out laughing when she saw Faith.

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