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theajaheira · 6 years

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imperfections (61/?)

read it on ao3!

only took us two fucking years to get to this point ig (and even THAT is too big of a spoiler for this chapter.)

Jenny woke up feeling sore and stiff, and it took her a moment to realize why. Blinking in the sunlight, she curled further into Rupert’s arms, tracing quiet circles on his chest as she looked around the hospital room. Buffy and Faith were curled up together on one of the uncomfortable-looking chairs, Xander was snoring in a nest of jackets and blankets on the floor, Joyce was asleep in the other chair, and Willow was lying on the bed, snuggled into Jenny’s side, mumbling something about gummy worms and sparkle dust.

Rupert made a soft noise, his hand brushing against her hair, and Jenny realized that he was awake too. She looked up at him, about to say something soft and loving, but seeing him—the bandages around his neck, the dark circles around his eyes—brought out her delayed realization that she might never have seen him in the morning light again. She felt her face crumple, and swallowed, trying to regain control; she didn’t want to wake the kids up with her crying.

Rupert reached out and kissed her, a sturdy, reassuring press of his mouth against hers. As clearly as if he had spoken, she heard him: I love you.

Faith woke up and noticed two things: that she was snuggled so close to Buffy that she could feel B’s soft breath on her shoulder, and that Giles and Jen were kissing in the way that meant they both kind of needed to be comforted. As carefully and quietly as she could without jostling Buffy, she got up, tiptoeing out of the room and down the hall.

She wasn’t super sure where she was going until she saw the vending machines near the end of the hallway. Digging in her pocket, she found a handful of crumpled bills from that time Jen had given her milkshake money. She didn’t think Jen would mind her using it to buy everyone snacks, even if they weren’t super healthy.

“Hey.”

Faith jumped, turning. Buffy was standing there, still wearing that weird, ridiculous combo of her mom’s jacket, pajama bottoms, a hot pink bra, and the most adorable bunny slippers in the world. “Oh,” she said, blushing. I like you, B had said last night. I liked Angel. Past tense. “Hi. Uh. I’m getting everyone snacks, you want—”

Buffy gave her this tiny, shy smile. “Okay,” she said, following Faith over to the vending machines. Then, “So, um, are, are we dating now, or—?”

Faith blinked, only barely managing to not drop the milkshake money. “What?”

“I mean, I kinda just told everyone about how much I liked you—”

“You said you weren’t ready, right?” said Faith, turning to give Buffy a small, encouraging smile. “Just ‘cause everyone knows we have the hots for each other doesn’t mean you’ve gotta jump headfirst into a big romantic thing. Look, you’re important to me, B, and I don’t wanna start a relationship till you feel—”

Buffy kissed her.

Faith dropped the milkshake money, her knees giving way as she fell against the vending machine. She raised shaking hands to cup Buffy’s face, returning the kiss with clumsy tenderness. All things considered, it wasn’t a very long kiss, but it felt like it could have gone on for years and Faith would have still be disappointed when Buffy pulled back.

Buffy’s eyes were bright and a little wet. “So you didn’t turn into a vampire,” she said with a wobbly laugh. “That’s cool.”

“Man, Angel set the bar real low,” said Faith with a weak laugh. “I’m not gonna even have to get you a birthday present, huh?”

Buffy sniffled, then grinned. “You’re not getting off that easy,” she began.

“Lookin’ forward to your help, then,” said Faith significantly.

Buffy burst into violent giggles, winding her arms around Faith’s neck and hugging her tightly. Halfway through, the giggles turned into tears, which Faith had kinda figured might happen. You don’t just shake off walking into a room and seeing your Watcher dead, even if it turns out he’s okay. “Hey,” she whispered. “Hey, Buffy, it’s cool. You wanna go back and check in on Giles?”

“I really want to be ready!” Buffy sniffled. “You’re, like, an actual normal person and I like you so much and I wanna be just magically okay enough to date you!”

“Hate to point it out,” said Faith, stroking Buffy’s hair and feeling vaguely surprised that she was actually comforting someone, “but starting something up right after your Watcher almost gets murdered is kinda the kiss of death for a new relationship.”

“I kno-ow,” Buffy sighed, raising her head to look at Buffy. Her eyelashes were all wet, her eyes all soft.

Faith gave in. Leaning in, she kissed Buffy again, softer and slower than their nervous first kiss. Buffy kissed her back, a fact that sent warm fuzzies through Faith from head to toe. The fuzzies got warmer when Buffy snuggled into her with a sweet little sigh, like Faith was someone she was safe around. No one had ever kissed Faith like that.

There was a clatter and a yelp from the hallway. Hastily, Faith and Buffy broke apart, turning to face a furiously blushing Jen.

To Faith’s complete surprise, Buffy gave Jen an extremely smug grin. “Turnabout’s fair play, Ms. Calendar,” she said. “How many times have I walked in on you and Giles playing tonsil hockey in the weirdest of places?"

“Oh my god,” said Jen, burying her face in her hands, and headed back into the hospital room.

Faith and Buffy exchanged a look, and then both of them started giggling.

Jenny entered the room with her face flaming red, stepping over Xander and squeezing in between Willow and Giles without a word. After she had settled herself firmly back in Giles’s arms, she looked up, then said, “From now on, we kiss strictly in the bedroom.”

Giles raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“God,” said Jenny. Her smile wobbled. “I keep on forgetting you can’t talk back.” She sniffled. “Now’s where I make some joke about how I would have just loved this two years ago, right?”

Giles had only seen her looking at him with such exhausted guilt after Angelus, and he didn’t like seeing it now. Gently, he reached out, stroking her cheek and wishing that he could smother her with endearments.

Jenny exhaled, resting her forehead against his. “We got so lucky,” she whispered. “I don’t know how you’re alive, Rupert, but I’m so glad you are.”

Giles kissed her nose. A small flutter of a smile crossed Jenny’s face.

Willow stirred, then yawned, throwing an arm across Jenny’s stomach as she woke up. Blinking sleepily up at both of them, she mumbled, “Jenny are we gonna go home?”

“Probably as soon as everyone’s ready,” Jenny agreed. “I think Xander and Joyce are still napping.”

“Where’s Buffy and Faith?”

Abruptly, Giles realized why Jenny had been blushing, as well as the nature of her statement. Reminding himself that he didn’t want to further damage his throat, he bit his lip, making a strangled noise in his efforts not to laugh. “Stop,” said Jenny. This didn’t help Giles’s predicament. “Stop,” she said again, grinning reluctantly.

“Oh,” said Willow significantly. “Are they still—”

Buffy and Faith chose that moment to enter, laden with vending machine snacks. “We are here way too often,” said Buffy, handing Willow a packet of M&Ms. “I should not know what everyone’s favorite snack from that thing is.”

“Buffy, I like girls too,” Willow blurted out.

Buffy blinked. “Oh!” she said, and then giggled, looking a little relieved. “So you’re cool with me and Faith?”

Giles gave Jenny a wide-eyed look. She gave him a shh look back, which rather strongly indicated that Willow had told her this the night before.

“Yeah, I,” Willow rubbed at her eyes, giving Buffy a nervous smile, “I just was a little…thrown, ‘cause when you told us about you and Faith, it made me realize some stuff about, uh. Me. So. I’m kind of a whole lesbian.”

“As opposed to a half lesbian?” said Faith, but shut her mouth at Jenny’s quelling look.

Buffy frowned a little. “But you’re—”

“Dating Oz,” said Willow, her smile fading. “Yeah.”

“And you—”

“Think he’s super amazing and one of the best people I’ve met,” said Willow a little miserably. “Just maybe not in the way I should.”

“There’s no should or shouldn’t about it, baby,” said Jenny immediately, turning away from Giles to squeeze Willow’s shoulder. “And if Rupert had his voice, he would be saying, uh—” She cleared her throat, then said in a surprisingly spot-on British accent, “You’re a lovable, loving girl, Willow, and you thinking of Oz as only a friend doesn’t make you any less of a person, or make your affection for him any less valuable.”

Giles pressed a hand to his temple, exasperated and amused all in one.

“But was I right, thought?” Jenny persisted.

Picking up the pad from the nightstand, Giles wrote, Frustratingly, yes.

“Score one for Calendar,” Jenny announced, snuggling back into Giles’s arms.

Willow’s tentative smile had returned. “Okay,” she said unsteadily. “I’ll—I’ll tell him—today?”

“Tomorrow,” said Buffy decisively. “Today was totally crazy. I think we all need to go home and watch bad TV and nap somewhere that isn’t a hospital bed or a hot Slayer’s lap.” She coughed, blushing, as Faith beamed. “Uh—”

“Practice safe sex, kids,” said Jenny helpfully. Willow giggled.

They all piled into Joyce’s car and she drove them home. As Jenny was watching Xander and Faith head up the stairs, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and saw Joyce looking at her sympathetically. “Do you remember much of last night?” she asked.

Jenny didn’t. The entire night had been something of a blur until she’d reached Rupert in that hospital room. “Um—” she began, flushing.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’ll always be there as a shoulder to cry on,” said Joyce gently. “You and your Rupert lead dangerous lives, and if anything ever—”

The memories hit Jenny unexpectedly. She’d killed a master vampire, hauled her bleeding boyfriend out of the boardinghouse, sobbed unceasingly into Joyce’s shoulder, and— “I stabbed Travers?” she said very loudly, eyes wide.

“It was the best,” said Buffy as she got out of the car, beaming at Jenny in a way she never had before. “And then you tried to kill him and Willow had to, like, physically haul you back, and the look on his face—”

Jenny buried her face in her hands.

“Oh, no, don’t be embarrassed!” said Joyce, distressed. Jenny raised her head to stare at her, and Joyce said, a hard glint in her eyes, “That man would have had my daughter killed to serve his ridiculous cause, and he’d have taken you and Rupert down with her. We were all a little too overwrought to pull it off, but every single one of us wanted to do a lot worse than stab him.”

“Yeah, Jenny, you kicked ass!” Xander added from the porch.

Jenny recognized the use of her first name with some surprise. And it hadn’t been the first time, either—Willow had started calling her Jenny too. Something had changed between all of them the night before, she realized. Something incredibly important, though she wasn’t yet sure how to articulate what it was.

“As long as you know you’ve got me,” said Joyce, squeezing Jenny’s shoulder. “And that goes for Rupert, too.”

Jenny hugged Joyce again. “Thank you,” she said softly. “So much.”

“Jen, come on,” said Faith impatiently. “You’re the one with the house keys!”

Jenny turned, hurrying up the stairs, and was gratified to see Buffy and Joyce follow. “Okay,” she said to the group. “Rupert’s voice is out of commission, which means I get to boss everybody around.” As Rupert opened his mouth, she silenced him with a quick, graceless kiss, pulling back before he could deepen it. “I know, right? I love you too, sweetheart.” Turning back to the children, she said, “Everyone is going to change into pajamas while I drive out to rent a movie to watch, and then we are going to kick back, relax, and do nothing related to world-saving for the entire damn day. Got it?”

“Yes Jenny!” sang out Willow, looking absolutely delighted.

That kissing thing will only work for a few months, you know, read Rupert’s pad.

“That’s more than enough time to take charge of this entire household,” said Jenny, giving him an open-mouthed smile. “Wanna marry me, England? Was that a yes? Oh, look, now I’ve manipulated my way into your finances, too—what?”

All the children, and Joyce, were staring at her with wide eyes. Wordlessly, Willow gestured to Rupert’s pad.

Yes.

#fic #imperfections #i feel so goddamn accomplished right now

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