( at the question Buffy's gaze lifts from the mugs to settle on Faith's face. her smile falters when the nervousness in her gut takes a sharp turn that tightens in her chest. )

That's kinda the plan. ( of course it all depends on how Faith reacts to what Buffy's about to say. how Faith wants to answer or handle Buffy's terms. but however this ends up panning out will be – has to be better than this limbo they're stuck in, right?

keeping her hands twisted together under the table Buffy takes a deep breath. it's now or never. )

I hate this. ( she realizes immediately it's not the best opening, especially if she wants to put Faith at ease. and she does! so she quickly continues to explain. ) Not this... ( she sighs, pulling out a hand to gesture across the table between them. before shoving it back under again when she reconsiders, ) Actually no, I do hate this. This walking on eggshells bullshit we do when we can't seem to avoid each other. ( she swallows hard. ) Because I miss you. And I'm tired of missing you. ( it was easier when they were home. where they'd only ever been friends. here, though, Buffy has months of memories impacting her in ways she thought she could push aside, hoping to forget. ) I just don't know if I can trust you again. Not the way I did but... I wanna try.