Five-By-Five
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For the last two weeks before school started, Xander traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, flying into their international airport. Rather than accept Faith’s offer to meet at the airport, Xander took a taxi down to South Boston by himself, enjoying the stark contrast of the locations throughout his vacation. He went from the lush rainforest of Jamaica to the coastal plains of Mexico—both of which had amazing beaches with azure blue waters—to the concrete jungle of Boston. The urban area, filled with tall buildings and Old English architecture, felt harsh and challengingly dense, but Xander gravitated toward that energy.
Xander had talked to Faith before leaving Jamaica, and after checking into one of South Boston’s better hotels, he got ready to meet in one of her favorite tavern. It was afternoon when he entered the Fat Lady, and at the sight of a familiar brunette head in the farthest booth, he lamented a missed opportunity. Having talked to Faith all year, Xander knew a few of her favorite taverns and clubs she liked to frequent, and he could’ve surprised her. But, as he couldn’t be sure where she’d be—or where she might be patrolling—he hadn’t wanted to waste any of his limited time looking for her.
As he walked through the club & restaurant, the interior gave off a rustic feel with its red brick walls and dark wood beams above. The tavern felt very similar to the Bronze, with a dance floor, a stage for live bands, pool tables, and populated with teenagers. Xander moved through the crowd and up the booth she was seated in. Faith was dressed in mostly black, in her leather jacket, leather pants, and boots. Her red top had the Paisley print of a bandanna. She seemed nervous to him, but she was trying to play it off by fidgeting with the salt and sugar packets in front of her. Xander stepped right up to the model-gorgeous brunette and smiled knowingly at her.
She returned the attention cautiously, but after a moment, she slowly asked, “Xander?”
Xander pretended to be shocked by her level of attractiveness, calling out, “Shit! It really is you! I didn’t think you’d be this hot.”
She smirked and nodded in cocky understanding—as if she got that all the time—but the conceitedness only made them laugh. Their small talk was quick: where he was staying, how long he’d be staying, what he did in Jamaica and Mexico, and how he enjoyed them. Faith was awed by his adventures, but in return, she claimed nothing was new with her. He knew she was lying. Faith should be the Slayer now, but Xander didn’t push her. Instead, the teen boy asked for the grand tour of Boston, causing her to snort in disbelief.
“If you think the south side of Boston is going to even come close to the gorgeous beaches of Jamaica and Mexico, you’re either out of your mind or smoking the right stuff, man.”
“Shit!” Xander cursed with wide eyes. “I totally forgot to smoke some reefer while I was there.”
Faith chuckled before stating, “Well, we definitely got that here.”
“I spent two months having a lot of sun and beach fun,” he remarked. “I’m actually kinda over that for now.”
“Well, if you’re in the market for dreary misery, we’ve got that in spades.”
After leaving the Fat Lady, Faith began showing Xander around the touristy spots, which the punk rock girl didn’t care for. She visibly cringed when he took photos with his disposable camera while wearing a white ‘I ❤ Boston’ T-shirt, like all the other tourists.
Unable to leave because she was his guide, Faith glared at him as she noted, “I know you’re doing this to annoy me, but it’s not going to work.”
Xander only smiled wickedly, aggravating her sense of style, but also amusing her.
For the next several days, the pair went to Fenway Park, museums, and aquariums, all the while making fun of everything. They watched movies, went to comic shops and record stores, and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. Their dark humor and cynicism just matched impressively well—so well, in fact, it worried Xander that it wouldn’t last.
‘Because nothing ever lasts,’ he thought, momentarily panicking when he felt the bottle he stuffed all of his hopelessness in nearly burst. However, Xander held on, compartmentalizing what the never-ending time braid was doing to his mental state in favor of having more fun with Faith.
Xander asked to check out a weapons shop in the hopes it might entice her to reveal her new role as the Slayer. As they walked through the moderately sized store, he explained several fun facts about weapons and graded the quality of the shop’s selections. When Xander judged most of them as little more than subpar decoration pieces, she was curious to know what he considered top-notch. They left the store and went straight to his hotel, where Xander unveiled his hand-forged weapons. Faith absolutely fell in love with Dreadnought, expressing her own love for axes. However, she didn’t tell him she was the Slayer.
Mildly disappointed, Xander moved on and asked, “How about you take me to some of your favorite spots? I feel like we’ve been making fun of tourist spots this entire time.”
After a moment of thought, she asked, “It’s no Jamaican rainforest, but have you heard of the BPG?”
Faith didn’t have many places in Boston she truly enjoyed. However, she trusted him enough to bring him to a serene park called Boston Public Garden on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. It was evening when they got there—her favorite time of the day—and Xander felt thoroughly charmed by the large landscape. It was the type of park for picnics, strolls, and riding Swan Boats. The flowers were vibrant against the green grass, and abundant throughout their walk.
“I don’t know why I like it here,” Faith admitted as they walked. She kept looking forward as she added, “I mean, it could all burn down tomorrow, but, I guess… I wouldn’t like that. It’s nice here.”
Their stroll through the extensive park was a serene experience, and Xander understood why Faith liked it. As Boston Public Garden was in the center of downtown Boston, the tall buildings of the city could be seen surrounding them. They reminded Xander that the dark world was never far, but couldn’t reach him in the peaceful park. He imagined it was a place where she didn’t have to think about how crappy life can be. It made Xander want to hold her hand, but he didn’t want to make light of the moment by diving into some friendly bickering. They simply walked the park for a half-hour before leaving.
Throughout his time in Boston, Xander sprung for taxis often to get around. However, he would always hope to get attacked while they walked from place to place. If she couldn’t confide in him her role as the Sayer, the next best option was to catch her in the act. Faith even made him promise not to go out at night unless he absolutely had to, and if he did, to stay in public areas. Sadly, six days of his two weeks there passed, and they still hadn’t been attacked. Boston had plenty of crime, so Xander wondered where the monsters were.
After the sixth day, Faith hadn’t told him the truth, and he assumed it was because she didn’t trust him, or, more than likely, her Watcher had laid on the ‘Slayers-Work-Alone’ fairly thick. Though Xander didn’t want to freak her out with how much he knew, he also wanted to prepare her and possibly save her Watcher from being butchered by Kakistos.
On the seventh night, Xander asked if she wanted to go to a club. Faith readily agreed, but despite dancing extremely close with such a seductive girl, his eyes were searching for vampires. In his mind, he was eager for one trying to take a potential victim somewhere quiet. He had no such luck, however. Xander didn’t spot a single vampire in the club or even anything suspicious. The teenager was forced to dance with the sexy Faith—dressed in black short-shorts, a black crop top, and knee-high boots—and have normal fun.
Faith insisted on walking him back to the hotel, and he considered that the moment to come clean when he suddenly felt an eerie feeling of being watched, like prey. Even Faith quieted. Then she picked up the pace, taking his hand so they’d walk faster. Xander was hoping for a vampire, but instead, a large green hand at the end of a monstrously thick arm reached out from the dark alley they were walking past and grabbed Faith’s arm. A seaweed green foot kicked Xander away at the very moment Faith was pulled out of sight.
Xander’s body knew how to hit the ground without causing serious injury. Decades of mental conditioning and highly tuned muscle memory made his body react with the momentum, hitting the floor but rolling to his feet. Even so, unbridled pain kept him floored. Red-hot agony flourished up the right side of his body, where its foot had struck him. Whatever ambushed them was strong and surprisingly fast despite its large limbs, but Xander’s ring was already healing his tenderized muscle. The air in his lungs felt hot and his ribs ached with every breath. The teen needed a moment to inhale without tremendous pain, all the while he heard grunting and bottles breaking in the dark alleyway.
“Fuck! Get up you idiot!” he yelled at himself.
Despite the fractured bones that were healing rapidly, Xander rushed into the dark alley and focused on the animalistic brawl between the 5’5” Slayer and the seven-foot-tall, greenish monster. When he recognized the hulking beast, Xander’s gut shriveled. Faith was fighting a Cohgara demon; incredibly strong with thick durable skin, and hard to kill. Its fists were nearly the size of her head and the demon launched them in combos Faith could barely dodge. Xander wanted to help her, but knew better than to split her focus by jumping in.
While she fought, Xander snuck into position with an extended hand. He called Hellguard to him with his hand raised above his head—having left it on the balcony of his room—while observing the monster’s fighting style and waited for a clear opportunity to jump in. Its fast attacks aimed to decapitate her head from her body, making Faith dodge more than she intended. Its large fists cratered several sections of the brick walls. Xander observed the fight and could easily see the failures in both of their styles. It was as if they were both only focused on headshots. Neither of them paid attention to their footwork or countering, which saddened Xander.
‘God, she’s such a noob,’ he thought lamely, though still cognizant of how tough Cohgara demons were. They may not be thinkers, but their kind had killed many—including Slayers—with their brute strength alone. Watching Faith slowly losing ground, he recalled that these demons nearly always were hired muscle. They tended to have a boss, and in Boston, Xander could guess who might command such a dangerous demon.
He wondered if this had any connection to Kakistos when Hellguard finally reached his raised grasp with an audible CLAP. He noted no dust or scratches from buildings—telling him he avoided any serious destruction—Faith’s primitive Slayer instinct must’ve kicked in then. Faith matched its speed, blocking an incoming punch at the same time she sent a punch of her own. She struck him in the chest, neck, and chin, forcing the enormous monster to grunt at the tremendous strength of her punch. With a hard counter to its stomach, Faith brought it down to one knee. Sadly, she got too cocky and stepped in for a wide punch to its hideous face.
The Cohgara demon surprised the Boston Slayer with an unexpected uppercut to her pretty face, sending her flying headfirst into the brick wall opposite Xander, making her grunt sharply before hitting the floor. Xander saw her, beyond the demon, try to get up before falling limp and unconscious. It took a step toward her, likely to finish the job or possibly kidnap her. Xander couldn’t be sure, but he also didn’t want to risk her life.
Spinning Hellguard in his hand with ease and confidence, a highly enhanced Xander—his nutrient and oxygen-dense blood pumping into his entire musculature—charged forward. The hulking beast reached down to grab the unconscious Slayer at the moment Xander tossed the magical blade. It sank into its back, making the monster pull its thick arms back in pain as Xander ran ten-feet up the brick wall—parkour-style—in an arc. The screeching demon thrashed around, trying to grab the magical blade embedded in its back as Xander landed between it and Faith.
The monster thrashed wildly as Xander waited for his chance. Its swinging fists destroyed sections of the wall before the hulking thing finally faced him. Xander extended his hand and summoned Hellguard, hoping his magical blade would bulldoze through its muscular body and burst out through the front. The monster planted its size twenty feet and tried to fight being pulled toward Xander for several seconds before the blade ripped through its right pectoral, splashing out greenish blood.
Xander caught the gore-covered blade, turning away to avoid most of the splattering of the thick fluid on his face. The Cohgara monster stood still a moment, as if shutting down, with its right pectoral popped out like an arrow had punched through paper. Its viscera was streaming down the meaty flaps of hanging muscle, but it hadn’t fallen over yet. Cohgara demons were notoriously difficult to kill. Thus, Xander wasn’t surprised when it stood straighter, as if it had finished rebooting.
Xander didn’t hesitate to toss his magical dagger at the beast before breaking into a sprint. As if nothing had happened to it, it swatted the Viking dagger away—getting a finger cut off in the process—before attacking Xander. Losing to its longer reach, the skilled, super-powered teen slid low, calling Hellguard to his hand before slashing its arm and leg before rolling to his feet.
The beast ignored the hemorrhaging cuts to attack Xander with blazing speed. The teen could barely keep up with the three punches it threw per second, getting grazed with every other punch. However, Xander’s footing was masterful, so even as he stepped and evaded the punches, it didn’t take the teen more than a few seconds to be in a position to dodge and stab at the beast’s center mass.
Once again, it stilled, as if shutting down, but it hadn’t fallen. Ignoring the radiating heat and stench of the hulking monster, Xander’s heightened sensory perception could tell from the micro-vibrations traveling through his dagger that he hadn’t punctured its heart yet. As Xander couldn’t recall where its heart was, he pulled his dagger out, splattering more green blood on him, and quickly tried to stab its veiny head.
Before he could bury his blade in its brain, the Cohgara beast caught Xander’s wrist. It was the hand that was missing a finger—dripping even more blood on him. Xander yanked twice but couldn’t pull away from its insane strength, so he tossed Hellguard so his other hand could summon it. However, before Xander could do any damage, the beast’s grip easily broke Xander’s forearm, ripping a scream of pain from his throat.
“AAHHHH!! MMMNNnnnnnnnnnnn,” Xander groaned, holding in the immense pain.
Xander quickly ignored the pain that was already being healed to slice at its stomach, chest, and neck. With its other arm, the monster smacked Xander in the face. Unable to avoid it, he moved with the hit, to avoid getting his neck snapped. This sent the teen eight feet away, and knocked Hellguard out of his hand. Xander hit the stone floor head and torso first, using his arms and bodily rotation to land as well as any martial artist. He rolled to a stop, but his nose felt broken and his vision didn’t stop spinning. Aside from the terrible disorientation, his nose felt clogged with blood, and his wrist and forearm were in terrible, throbbing pain. The injured teen saw the monster sluggishly step toward him, and with all its injuries and blood loss, Xander couldn’t believe it was still moving.
Dirty, covered in red and green blood, Xander summoned Hellguard to his hand and was planning on lighting the monster up with millions of volts of electricity when, suddenly, a form leaped onto its back. Faith wrapped her arms around its neck, putting it in a chokehold, and squeezed for all she was worth. The monster tried to rip her off, but she avoided its desperate hands. After a minute of frantic struggling, Xander heard a muffled SNAP, and the monster’s head bent horizontally back. Faith eased her grip up as the large Cohgara monster dropped to its knees before falling chest first.
Xander relaxed and concentrated his ring and dagger to heal him double-time. At the sound of honking, they recalled the public street wasn’t far, and they rushed out of the alley. Though Faith was worried about his broken forearm—actively insisting they go to the hospital—Xander assured her he’d be alright and had them return to his hotel instead. They caught a lot of attention, walking through the elegant lobby covered in dirt and blood. However, with a lot of thumbs ups and affirmative nodding to the worried staff, they made it to his room without incident.
Xander walked straight to the bathroom, with a concerned Faith on his heel, asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?” He ignored the question to step in the tub and turn on the shower, spraying a cold jet of water over him—clothes and all. The blood and dirt washed off, adding an extra sense of relief to the healing his ring was doing. Faith watched him for a moment before asking in disbelief, “Hello? Earth to Xander. Come in, Xander!”
Swiveling his head to steer the water to either side, Xander slowly answered, “Don’t worry. I’m getting better.”
Grabbing the folded towel on the counter, Faith pressed it against her bloody nose. She wiped her face of blood, but she seemed to care more about her questions, anxiously asking, “Can you please tell me why you’re not freaking out right now?”
When Xander felt more mobility in his wrist, he turned off the warming water. After a long exhale, he answered, “I’m not losing my marbles right now because I see stuff like that all the time.”
Drawing her nice eyebrows in disbelief, she gasped, “Really?”
“Oh, yeah,” he replied, grabbing a towel from the hanger. “Sunnydale’s a veritable cornucopia of vampires, demons, monsters, werewolves, and poltergeists. Hell, I’ve been possessed a few times. It’s hard for any of this stuff to get to me anymore.”
“Are you serious!?” Faith called out in disbelief. At his nonchalant nod, she yelled, “Why didn’t you tell me?!” Xander stopped drying his wet hair as Faith continued asserting, “You’ve been holding out on me this entire time? I thought we were friends!”
Mildly surprised by her stance, Xander cautiously replied, “We are, but, like, how exactly do you explain to someone that you fight the supernatural on a nightly basis?” Recalling her secret, he clapped back with just as much fervor, “Besides, you didn’t tell me about your superwoman powers! You cracked that thing’s neck like it was a twig!”
Faith balked at this and hesitated to point out, “Uh, well… in my defense... you never asked.”
At her sheepish wince, Xander smirked before asking if they could get cleaned up. They showered separately, and Xander lent her some of his clothes. Before they could continue the conversation, though, the tired Xander fell asleep while she was in the bathroom, and rather than wake him, she went to sleep in the king-sized bed as well. Healed and rested by mid-morning, Xander ordered breakfast for them and they ate as he explained how Sunnydale was like Grand Central for everything ugly that goes bump in the night.
After he was done giving her the broad strokes of his world, he asked her, “What about you?”
Taken aback by his question, her brows drew in as she asked, “What about me?”
Xander nodded before clarifying, “Uh, your whole ‘I Am Wonder Woman, Hear Me Roar,’ act.”
Growing concerned, Faith set her plate of Belgium waffles to the side, and in all seriousness, asserted, “Listen, you have to forget about that.”
“Why?”
With a long exhale, the Bostonian cautiously replied, “I have someone—who’s kinda like a teacher—and she’s been showing me the ropes for all of this.”
Xander snapped his fingers, and pointed as he proclaimed, “So you really are a Slayer, aren’t you?”
Faith’s brown eyes bulged as she began to ask, “How-”
“I know the Slayer in Sunnydale,” he interrupted with a smile. “And the one in Jamaica, too. They have Watchers that guide them through all the madness. Think of them like the tweed-wearing conductors of the Crazy Train.”
Stunned by the revelation, Faith leaned forward as she asked, “There’s more than one Slayer?”
“You didn’t know?” he asked.
Shaking her head slowly, Faith retreated into her thoughts as she slowly replied, “She never told me. Uh, Dormer, my Watcher.”
“Well, you’re still new,” Xander reasoned.
“How do you know?” she asked in surprise.
“I was there when the last one died for a minute,” he dolefully shared.
“…How’d it happen?” she cautiously asked.
“A lot of vampires,” he simply answered. Elaborating on Dormer’s decision, he added, “It’s probably why Dormer wanted you to get used to the life first. Other than avoiding Kendra and Buffy’s mistakes, you really don’t need to focus on them. You got to learn your way of being a Slayer.”
“Maybe,” a bewildered Faith slowly voiced. Suddenly becoming more attentive, the brunette asked him, “So, you really do know, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” he huffed lazily with a nod. “I know a lot. I could even patrol with you if you want.”
“I think I should run it by Dormer first,” Faith replied. “Not that I don’t trust you or anything. It’s just… she’s been watching out for me: talking to my parents; trying to get me out of that school.”
With confident eyes, Xander asserted, “Well, Faith, you have another friend here, too.”
Faith seemed touched but also shook her head, saying, “You may want to reconsider that. A Slayer’s life is dangerous for anyone around her. That’s why Dormer says Slayers work alone.”
Xander smiled as he assured her, “They don’t always. I’ve worked with Buffy and Kendra.”
“Buffy and Kendra,” Faith repeated slowly, as if to commit the names to memory. Xander then explained why Faith wasn’t the only Slayer. “Holy fuck… So, you revived both of them?”
Never having thought of that, Xander hummed a moment before nodding, saying, “Huh. Yeah, I guess I did.”
“How’d you miss that?” she bellowed.
“It’s not really something I think about,” he honestly replied. “Besides, they’ve saved my life loads more than I saved theirs. So, I still owe. Hell, you saved my life last night.”
“You saved mine first,” Faith quickly pointed out. “Shiiii, maybe keeping you around is a good idea,” she drawled with a grin.
“You won’t hear me complaining,” he teased with a hint of a smile. “Being a Slayer is a dangerous gig, and I definitely don’t want to lose you.”
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Faith leaned back, looking at him with humored, yet suspicious eyes as she asked, “What are you getting all sappy on me for? Don’t you know how much ass I kick?”
“I don’t, actually,” Xander flatly answered. “If you want to show me though, I wouldn’t mind sparring.”
Faith snorted, holding back her amusement before joking, “You sure that’s how you want to cop a feel? It might not end so well for ya.”
Xander smiled at her sensual cheekiness, remarking, “Someone’s a little cocky.” Faith only shrugged—not at all denying it—before he asked, “Care to make it interesting?”
The sexy girl tilted her head and her lustrous brown hair cascaded to the side with a healthy bounce. She quirked her brow before stating, “You can’t possibly know Slayers if you think you actually stand a chance of beating me.”
Playfully, he responded, “If it’s such an easy win, then name your price.”
“Fine,” she said with a saucy grin. Faith nodded over to his weapon case and declared, “I want Dreadnought.”
“No can do,” Xander said.
“You said to name my price,” Faith returned with a smirk. “Backing out already?”
Xander rolled his eyes before getting up and walking over to his weapon case. He took out Dreadnought, then handed it to her before walking to the other end of the room. When he demonstrated how he summoned his magical weapon to him, Faith was thoroughly amazed, hopping off the bed. With wide eyes, she looked back and forth between her empty hands and his.
Xander then explained, “Dreadnought will only follow one master. So even if I gave him to you, the most you can do would be to swing it-”
“Then tell me how to get one!” she quickly interrupted, rushing to him. “I have to have one!”
With a proud smile, he replied, “I can make one for you. I made Dreadnought, Hellguard, Slaymore—that’s Buffy’s sword—and Ordermír. That’s Kendra’s Crusader-style sword.”
“So, all I have to do is wipe the floor with you and you make me a badass axe?”
“Essentially, yeah, but-”
“Oh, that’s five-by-five,” she happily cooed. “Five-by-five all day!”
“Keep in mind, we’re just sparring,” Xander reiterated. “You’re not trying to kill me. Also, it takes at least three weeks to properly make a weapon like this. The process is super tedious, so don’t expect anything right away. But most importantly, you’re counting your chickens way the hell before they hatch, little missy. If you want one of my super-duper awesome magical weapons, I’m going to need you to put up something of equal value.”
Faith turned on her sex appeal in an instant, becoming incredibly alluring as she stepped very close to him with a light bounce in her step and sweetly asked, “I don’t have a lot, but if I can, I’ll give it to you as often as you want.”
Xander didn’t retreat when she pressed up against him, feeling her soft, sexy body lean into his. Looking into her sexy eyes hungrily, he playfully asked, “Promise?”
Reading his agreement in his eyes, she replied in her husky voice, “I’m a Slayer of my word.”
Xander and Faith went to the hotel’s gym and asked the concierge for blue mats to practice on. Their gymnasium was fairly spacious with a small cardio section on the left, their weights section on the right, and a square for stretching or free-motion training in the middle. There wasn’t more than an elderly couple, and a balding man on the treadmill talking to someone on his phone. Xander set out the thick exercise mat as Faith lazily stretched. The beautiful Bostonian clearly wasn’t worried about losing. They both wore his clothes, gray sweats, and an undershirt, though they were baggy on Faith. She had to tie her white tee just under her breasts, showing her toned stomach.
“Hope you’re ready to eat mat,” Xander called out as he moved to the center of the mat.
Walking to the center, she returned with a sly grin, “Ready to name my new kickass axe.”
Xander smiled before saying, “Ding, ding.”
Eying her like a hawk, Xander immediately surprised her by blitzing ahead. Faith wasn’t expecting the burst of speed and was forced to block the first punch by raising her forearms. Her balance wasn’t great, and Xander focused a second and third punch to her solar plexus and stomach. Her eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t stop. Xander threw out punches in combination with foot swipes to keep her off balance. When Faith became too frustrated, she threw out a punch Xander immediately caught, pulling her in, and flipping her over his back. She landed on the mat, but he hadn’t let go. Xander locked her arm between his legs and pulled her limb with all his strength. He understood how durable Slayers were, and thus didn’t fear breaking her arm.
When she couldn’t get out of the armbar easily, she used more strength to break it. He immediately knew he wouldn’t be able to make her submit, so he used her pull to make him roll them over so she was on top and he was on the bottom, disorienting her and keeping her in the lock. When she tried to break out again, he let her arm go and instead wrapped his muscular legs around her neck, shoving her bicep against her throat. Straining his legs, the intense pressure of her arm and his legs around her neck was cutting off the blood circulation to her brain. Frustrated, Faith used her other arm to pull him off as she lifted them both on her strong legs. Xander easily shifted his body around to put her in a rear-naked choke hold. She fought him for several seconds, but he only let go when she nearly passed out.
“One - zip,” Xander called as he stepped back. “We’ll do best out of five.”
On one knee, Faith massaged her neck as she eyed him cautiously. Xander had an easygoing expression as he waited for her, which annoyed the hot-blooded girl. She got to her feet before she was fully ready and darted toward the boy. Xander thought she would be more hesitant after the consecutive submission moves, but the brash girl didn’t seem to be the cautious type when fighting.
Faith was a brawler and led more with her fists, so when she was within range, Xander went low, attacking with a low kick he knew she would dodge. However, Faith wasn’t expecting him to continue the spin and leap into a roundhouse. She put up her guard, but the force of his kick pushed her back, though not far enough. Faith stayed on her feet, and with her strength, speed, and durability, she was on him as he landed. His footwork helped him avoid a flurry of punches, zipping left and right.
It wasn’t that Xander was stronger than her. It was that he had more experience, and thus could guess her attacks accurately. He dodged, blocked, and evaded her punches and kicks until Xander countered. He parried her straight punch into a grapple, snatching her wrist and flipping her on the mat. Immediately, Xander put her in an arm bar, which made her panic to get out of. However, no matter what she did, Xander would counter from submission hold to submission hold until she wasn’t sure what to do and tapped out.
“Two - zip,” Xander gently said, annoying her. He could tell she was only getting angrier—for her lack of skill, for losing to a human despite being a Slayer, for tapping out—and Xander added fuel to the fire by cockily asking, “You planning on showing me something anytime soon?”
Faith’s face morphed into barely restrained anger. Her competitive Slayer spirit drove her to angrily grumble, “Oh, I’ll show you something,” while coming at him with clenched fists.
The third round was much harder for Xander. Faith was angrier, faster, stronger, and even her instincts were sharper. It was like she absorbed his style and was moving differently. He was watching her supernaturally adaptive ability alter her offense in progress, and it was amazing to see. If Xander hadn’t had his ring’s strength and his vast experience, he would’ve buckled under her fast onslaught of punches and kicks. Her diamond-hard fists were flying right by his head, grazing his cheek and popping his ears with the gust of wind. They were a blur to the three people working out in the room, and Xander was always on the verge of a one-hit knockout.
However, Xander wasn’t capable of being worried anymore. He’d long passed that limitation. For a fraction of a second, he thought about the times he’d sparred with Buffy and Kendra. Buffy was a much more adaptive fighter, and he couldn’t tell what she might do next. The blonde Slayer always capitalized on weak spots in creative ways, which made her dangerous to fight. Kendra’s combat style was far more straightforward—very angular and by the book—which he’d informed her of in Jamaica, and though she had the potential to be powerful, she was also too predictable. If an opponent could predict her moves, it would be hard for her to win.
Of the three Slayers, Faith was the weakest overall fighter. She was a brawler; all thrill and no forethought. Xander could trick her with feints easily because she fell for everything. A juke to the left had her punch to the left, missing him completely when he dodged to the right and countered with a blow to the body. A slight lift of the knee had the reckless fighter block low, but then he threw a straight punch to her unsuspecting face. Xander sprinkled these feints in so she wouldn’t expect them when they happened, and it all angered her more and more.
Thus, despite Faith’s superior strength, speed, and durability, Xander’s experience kept him just ahead of losing to her. After connecting a spinning kick to her solar plexus, Faith lost all composure and charged at him, trying to tackle him to the floor. Xander’s body reacted without thought—as if he’d done this motion millions of times—lowering his stance. His right forearm knocked hard against her trapezius and his left arm hooked around her right elbow. With her momentum, Xander easily flipped her on her back, and with her right arm still in his left arm’s control, Xander aimed a surgical strike to her chin, knocking the strong girl out.
The elderly couple and the businessman had stopped working out and Xander only then noticed they were watching the entire fight. The teen smiled and waved, but it only frightened them, showing him, once again, how out of touch he was with normal people. Xander sat near Faith, but he didn’t have to wait over twenty seconds before she woke up with a start, backing away from him in a panic. Xander immediately backed away and raised peaceful palms to show he meant her no harm. After taking a moment to gather her bearings, Faith settled down and nodded to him before quickly rubbing her jaw.
Moving closer, Xander gently asked, “How’re you feeling?”
“Ugh,” she groaned before answering, “Like they’re going to revoke my Slayer’s license.” Faith eyed him curiously before asking, “You… You are human, right?”
“One hundred percent,” he replied with an affable grin that only pissed her off.
“Then how-”
“I do have a little help from this ring I made,” he confessed as he playfully extended his hand, wiggling his fingers as if he were showing off a wedding ring. She barely huffed in amusement before focusing on Odin’s Ring of Power. “It enhances my strength, speed, yatta, yatta, yatta. Basically, it helps me to not die so easily.”
Realization struck her so hard, her head slunk back before demanding to know, “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?! All this time, I’m, like, struggling when I should’ve been wiping the floor with you-”
“Faith,” Xander interrupted. “You didn’t lose because I was physically stronger.” She eyed him curiously as he explained, “In fact, even with this ring, you’re still stronger and faster than me. You lost because you lead way too much with emotion. It was comically easy to trick you and get you mad. And once you lost your head, you were done.”
“UUGGGHHH,” she groaned in embarrassed defeat, rubbing her face intensely. After a moment, she asked through her hands, “Can we go again?”
Xander smiled and answered, “We can go as many times as you want.”
Looking up with a hint of hope, she asked, “And you’ll still make my axe?”
“Nope!” he loudly proclaimed, making her squint in annoyance at him. “Sorry. When I see you’ve made some progress in using tactics, technique, and awareness, then I’ll make one for you. In the meantime, you lost.” He eyed her hungrily when he reminded her, “Which means… you know.”
Faith expressed disappointment, which she then tried to mask with a weak smile before replying, “Uh, y-yeah… I guess. No, right, of course, you’d want… Want to go to your room?”
With an eager smile, he shook his head before stating, “Here’s fine.”
Faith was confused, drawing her brows together before warily noting, “Uh, unless you want to give that old couple a heart attack, we should go to your room. Plus, I’m not in the mood for public play.”
“Well, too bad,” he asserted, continuing his fun. “Because I want this to happen in public.”
Surprised by the teen boy in front of her, Faith leaned back and asked, “You’re… you’re a bit of a freak, aren’t ya?”
Xander smiled broadly before dropping the teasing and calmly asking, “Faith… what do you think I want from you that’s worth a magic axe?”
The sexy girl sighed and shrugged before timidly answering, “You know… the same thing other guys want.”
“So they want your friendship, too?”
Confused by him yet again, she gasped, “The fuck?”
“Asking you to trust me is obviously more valuable than any axe, no matter how magical it is,” he asserted, as if it was the obvious thing every guy wanted from the brunette beauty. “So, I’ll just ask for your friendship instead, with the hopes that one day we’ll know each other so well you can trust me.”
“…Friendship?” she repeated in disbelief. She leaned forward and punched the blue mat before yelling, “You idiot! We’re already friends!”
“And now it’s official,” he said with a smile.
“My bad, you’re not a freak. You’re a special kind of idiot,” she hotly stated. “God, you made me think… I thought all you wanted was…”
“Sorry, not sorry,” he teased, making her relax some. “Maybe I went a little far with the teasing.”
“Nah, it’s cool,” she said, waving him and his little prank off. “I just didn’t want to think you were like… that.”
“I get it,” he assured her. “I’m no stranger to casual sex, but my advice: save it for someone special; someone worth it.”
Turning on the charm, the seductive brunette leaned closer with half-lidded eyes and a knowing smile—her lustrous hair flowing down with a healthy bounce—and she asked in her husky voice, “Aren’t you someone special?”
Xander felt her sex appeal hit him like a shockwave, raising his eyebrows and drying his throat in mild surprise. However, with his experience, he regained control and playfully responded, “Me? Why no. I’m just your typical seventeen-year-old monster-slaying, magical-weapon-forging teenager with a big dick. Nothing special about me.”
Faith burst out in laughter before eventually settling down to ask him to teach her one of the moves he had used on her. She picked up most of what he taught her, and they both enjoyed how intimate their physical grappling, holding, and choking was. At the end of their sparring session, the pair were drenched in sweat, but jovially laying on the mat, catching their breath.
Xander sat up and explained to the equally gleaming girl, “Luckily, Slayers can pick up combat techniques pretty fast. What would take me weeks to master; you could figure it out and use it in combat in a day or two, if that.”
Sitting up, Faith replied, “Dormer said the same thing, but she can’t spar with me since she’s too old. I gotta pick it up by fighting.”
“Hmm, that makes sense,” Xander noted before suggesting, “You should introduce us.”
“Who? You and Dormer?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “I mean, I only want to help, and I have other Watchers that can vouch for me if she needs it.”
Faith agreed and introduced him to Diana Dormer later that day. The elder Watcher wasn’t what Xander had expected. She was old—practically at death’s door—bone thin, with white hair in a tight bun, and wrinkled with patchy skin. Wearing a long-sleeve purple dress with a gray cardigan, Dormer looked regal with high cheekbones and green eyes, but also incredibly frail all around. She seemed hard-nosed and caring, and her guidance of Faith was very dated. After the elder Watcher got off the phone with Zabuto, she accepted Xander’s claims.
For the rest of his short time in Boston, Xander tried to open up Faith’s combat proficiency to be more strategic and tactical. They sparred every day under Dormer’s keen observation. She may have been impressed with his ability, but he couldn’t be sure. The senior Watcher only spoke about what Faith could do better. She paid him very little attention, but he was ultimately fine with that. Faith was the most important thing there, and Xander wanted her and Dormer to be prepared as much as possible for Kakistos without outright telling them about what awaited.
As the days passed, Xander wondered if he should just tell her about knowing what may happen. The three talked often about evil activity happening all around the city, but none of the vampires and demons seemed to be related to Kakistos. Xander hoped the Cohgara demon they killed was linked to Kakistos, but even that led nowhere. The teenager wasn’t sure why that was, but he wanted to take care of the ancient vampire before he left Boston.
The pair were inseparable for the remainder of his trip. She even slept in his hotel room. They sparred and patrolled every day, and the entire experience was more than fun. It was titillating. Of the three Slayers, Faith was far more honest and straightforward with her sexual desires, often making sexual innuendos and explicit jokes. Two nights before his departure—and after a tough night of slaying—Xander was going to enter the shower after Faith got out when she pushed him into his king bed and started making out with him.
When their lips broke apart, he tried to ask, “Wha-wait… what about-”
“Just shut up,” the horny girl quickly interrupted. “We’ll still be friends after.”
The pair made out on the bed, their lips locked as their hands caressed the other. Fresh out of the shower, Faith smelled sweet, and though he was still dirty, she didn’t seem to mind as her hands deftly unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. Xander’s tongue fit comfortably in her mouth as he kissed Faith passionately. With the sexy brunette on top of him, his hands massaged her lower back and round ass. She moaned softly, letting him roll them over, so he was on top of her, his erect cock pushing out his boxers.
“You’re so hot,” Xander groaned as he nibbled Faith’s neck.
Faith turned her head and spread her legs, offering him all the access he wanted. She loved the feel of his weight pushing down on her and his cock throbbing against her melting cunt.
“Take your pants off,” she ordered impatiently.
Xander moved off her and the bed, giving her a close-up view as he removed his dirty t-shirt, revealing his chiseled chest, abs, and arms. Faith bit her lip when he dropped his jeans and underwear, and stood before her with an eight-inch cannon jutting up between his legs.
After swallowing a sudden buildup of saliva, Faith asked, “Well? What are you waiting for?”
With a wolfish grin, he leaped onto the bed, kissing her hotly. Raising his body temperature with his ring, his warm right hand stroked her pussy over her panties. She moaned in his mouth, letting the experienced boy have his way with her. As his left hand caressed her B-cup breasts, Xander’s right hand moved the front panel of her panties aside and rubbed the wet entrance of her pussy.
“Mmnn… Don’t stop,” Faith moaned, her blood boiling with lust.
“I’ll go until you beg me to stop,” he teased, stoking her slippery slit.
She returned with a cocksure grin, “Challenged accepted, Sweet Stuff.”
Xander kissed her, his experienced tongue exploring her wanton mouth as she wrapped her creamy thighs around his waist. Faith moaned into his mouth when his finger pushed inside her sex as his thumb fondled her pulsing clitoris. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for more as he fingered her wet cunt. He inserted a second finger, coating them in her essence as he brought her closer to the edge. His left hand covered her right breast, squeezing the supple flesh and pinching her sensitive teat.
At the delicious mixture of pain and pleasure, Faith moaned blissfully, breaking their kiss. His mouth moved down to suck and nibble on her neck before slowly making his way down to her left milk mound. Faith squirmed under his expert ministrations, her sex-starved flesh burning with desire. Xander switched to her right tit, sucking and lightly nibbling on her pert nipple as he rapidly pumped three fingers inside her drenched cunny. He could hear her heart racing against her ribcage as her breathing quickened.
Faith’s hand dropped to Xander’s crotch and gripped his throbbing cock. His meaty pole was hard and large in her small hand. She slowly rubbed the head and fondled the veiny shaft to greater and greater pressure, finding just the right amount to make Xander groan happily. Then she began jerking him off. However, it wasn’t enough for her. Faith gently caressed his shapely crown with her free hand—dragging her fingers through his long hair and scratching his scalp—and coaxing him to release her breasts and look at her.
With hungry, half-lidded eyes, she said, “I want it in my mouth.”
Xander moved up on the bed and laid spread-eagle for her. Her hands slid up and down his toned thighs as she moved between his legs. In no time at all, her tiny mouth covered his cock, sucking hungrily as her lips caressed every inch up and down his manhood. Xander groaned deeply at the amazing suction, closing his eyes in dizzying bliss as his hands rested on her head, gripping her damp tresses. Faith’s head bobbed up and down his meaty pole, sucking passionately on his prick as trails of saliva gathered at the corners of her lovely mouth. Her pert nose regularly pressed against his pubic hair, inhaling his musky scent as her hands began massaging his balls.
This was the best blowjob Xander had ever felt in his extraordinarily long life. The sweaty teen gripped the bed sheets when he felt close, lightly tearing them. When Faith took his entire length, deep-throating him to the base, her tongue wiggling against the underside, yet somehow still sucking him in, Xander felt the beginning of the end. He lost all senses as his balls tightened before shooting his load down her throat. Thick globules of his spunk filled her oral cavity, forcing the sexy Slayer to swallow his cum.
“OOHHHHHhhhhhhhhh…. God that wwasss it!” he moaned, as his body shook and quaked with his euphoric release.
After his orgasm settled, Faith licked him clean before voicing, “You better not be done.”
Xander snorted. Even without his ring, he wouldn’t be done after one shot. Faith noticed as much when he hadn’t gone soft, bringing a wicked smile to her face. Sitting up, Xander grabbed and rolled Faith over. On top of her, her legs wrapped around his waist as he positioned his rock-hard cock against her dripping pussy. He gripped her waist before thrusting with his hips, impaling her tight pussy with his thick shaft.
“FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK,” Faith shouted, arching her back as he filled her tiny space to the brim. Xander pulled out before thrusting back into her hot, wet tightness, ripping another groan from her throat. “FUUCcckk me! MMMNnnnnnnn,” she moaned out as her cunt widened to accept his pulsing meat.
The perspiring brunette began rocking under him as Xander pulled out, and in, building a rhythm as she gripped the pillow under her head. Her lovely B-cup mammaries bounced deliciously with his every thrust. Her toned stomach and graspable hips were perfectly shaped, making him pound into her love tunnel all the harder. When he found her G-spot, her pussy gripped him tighter, and he focused on the sensitive area. Again and again, he shoved his long meat stick into her tight, slick vagina, making her shiver. Her nipples were erect as they bounced, and he couldn’t stop from sucking one of her alluring teats as he pounded into her.
“MMMnnnnnn! Yes! Xander! Just like that!” she moaned as he repeatedly slammed into her.
When his thumb caressed her erect clitoris, Xander felt her squeeze his manhood. She shivered more frequently and her spine arched in anticipation of a large climax. Focusing on her pleasure spots, it wasn’t long before Xander felt her hot pussy clamp down on him, quivering erratically as she had a long, heart-stopping explosion of ecstasy. Her head shot back and her back vaulted in a deep arch as her perspiring body quaked under him. Faith’s mind disappeared in the white bliss as waves of pleasure vibrated her entire body. Having busted his first nut, Xander didn’t cream inside the quivering girl. He simply allowed her to ride out the waves of pleasure until she was once again settled.
When she was more receptive, Xander repeated her earlier sentiment. “You better not be done.”
Before she could respond, Xander gripped her knees and hooked them over his shoulders before grasping the naked brunette’s hips. He pulled out of her sensitive, nectar-drenched pussy before stuffing her once again to the brim. Faith moaned out louder than ever, arching her back as her hands ripped the pillow’s linen cover. Her tits bounced as he pumped into her tightly pulsing quim, hitting her G-spot frequently. Her hair stuck to her red face as Xander humped her quivering cunt with powerful thrusts. The young Slayer’s head swiveled from side to side, her legs trembling as the pleasure built twice as fast as before.
“Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” she repeated as he neared her greatest fall yet.
Xander wrapped his arms around her legs, keeping her in place to thrust to her very core, milking out ounces of vaginal fluid. Fucking her was the hottest thing he could imagine. She made him forget everything, and when one hand descended to her clitoris, stroking the sensitive bud, Faith’s head shot back. The pleasure coil at the center of her sex snapped and her sensitive pussy clamped down on him.
“Fuck!” Xander gasped.
He arched his back as he buried himself to her very depths—teeth gritted—and emptied his balls inside her small cock pocket. The warm liquid filled her center, making her toes curl as his thick seed prolonged her mind-numbing orgasm. The lovers lost all sense of awareness to the cascade of bliss washing through them. After nearly a minute, they settled down enough for Xander to let her legs go and fell atop her. With his sweaty head beside hers, she grinned before kissing him deeply.
Though Xander softened inside of her, it wasn’t long before he was rock hard again. Faith didn’t wait to get on all fours, eager to get fucked doggystyle. She dug her palms into the bed’s mattress, her whole body rocking as Xander pumped his cock into her tight cunt. Faith panted and moaned loudly, her breasts swaying freely as buried his meat stick repeatedly.
SLAP!
“AAAH!” she moaned loudly when his palm smacked her left buttock. He rubbed her smooth, round ass before smacking it again with an open palm. “AAAH!! Fuucck You!” she growled happily in a hoarse voice.
Xander’s hand massaged her waist and lower back as he fucked her to another full-body orgasm. Faith bit her lower lip to stifle the explosion of pleasure, moaning heavily in her throat. Faith shuddered as her quivering sex gripped his cock, sucking him in, as if hungry for his seed. Xander felt like the entire lower half of his body was inside her, and unloaded in her thoroughly filled sex for the third time.
The sweat-covered lovers collapsed on the drenched bed, Xander over Faith, panting as the pleasure hovered deliciously throughout their system. They needed a longer break and fell asleep that way. However, they woke up a couple of hours later and proceeded to fuck like rabbits once again. Xander rocked her world multiple times that night… in the morning… and well into the afternoon. They spent an entire day in his room fucking.
Before Xander left, he let them know about the incident with Acathla: How a vampire named Mr. Trick, who worked for an ancient vampire named Kakistos, acquired the demonic statue from Drusilla. He recounted how he and Buffy destroyed the statue before it made it out of California, but they still needed to be careful. He didn’t need to be ultra-accurate with the fact. He simply wanted them to be vigilant when it came to Kakistos.
The teenage boy added, “And call me if you need anything.”
Xander couldn’t leave without fucking Faith one last time at the airport. Neither of the hormonal teens cared about public play. Until the final call for his flight, they kept fucking in a bathroom stall, in a supply closet, and behind the desk of an empty terminal. Faith was insatiable, and he absolutely loved it.
Throughout the summer, Xander only got three calls from Willow. She would ask him a single question, which he would answer, then she would continue searching for the truth of the matter. On the night before he flew back to Sunnydale, Willow called his hotel room and asked Xander a question that made him smile.