[Faith heads right there. Andy and Benton's place feels like one of the few safe spaces she has right now, so it's not a hard decision to go. When she arrives she comes with a bottle of bourbon in hand, giving the front door a tentative knock.
When he answers, Andy will find Faith, who looks like absolute hell. She's clearly been crying, but's trying to put on a brave face like she hasn't been at all.]
[ Andy's not all that well-informed on the ongoings of Faith's world. He's gathered the basics, though, chosen monster hunters, trained since either childhood or teenagehood. and he figures that can't possibly be a healthy and wholesome environment for a kid.
So while he figures the kid on the network isn't lying about what happened back home, he's absolutely certain Faith's working on being better. He's a big fan of self-improvement.
Which is why it's very easy for him to open the door and immediately move to pull her into a hug. ]
[ He was prepared for tears, and he's very good at hugs. He wraps both arms around her firmly. ]
Hey, she has every right to be angry, and you have every right to be hurt. This isn't fair for either of you.
[ People deserve the opportunity to learn and be better and not be haunted forever by the fuck-ups they did at 17. Andy will tell Faith that, once they're inside and have chocolate and snuggies. ]
I'm sorry about all of this. I got you, and Ben's got you, and you're always welcome here.
[She finally manages to collect herself enough to pull back from him so that can get inside and shut the door behind her. Faith wipes at her face with the back of her hand.]
Thank you. I don't deserve it, but thank you... [She feels like she deserves what Buffy is lobbing at her. Not kindness.] You said something about snuggies?
[Talking and Benton is at least a good way to distract her. She sets the bottle of booze she brought on the coffee table and puts it on, one arm at a time. She looks ridiculous.]
[ Andy puts on a pink one because he can't let Faith look that cool by herself. ]
He runs warm, so I haven't found an excuse yet. Maybe it'll freeze this winter and there'll be yeti attacks and he'll have to wear one. For protection.
[She's smiling for the moment, but it doesn't entirely reach her reddened eyes. Moving, Faith sets herself down on the couch.]
That or you could just break the furnace in the winter? Course, then he'd probably just fix it before you could even bring out the snuggies. So maybe better to wish for the yeti thing.
[ Andy gets up to grab the bottle, then comes back to sit next to her. ]
You wanna talk about, well, everything? No pressure though, we got a little projector, I can make popcorn and put on a movie, and when Ben gets home we can just bask in his soothing Canadianess.
[She takes the bottle taking a sip, shifting to let him on the couch beside her.] We can talk some... but the rest sounds amazing, to be honest.
Everything she said. I did. I killed people. Tried to kill Angel, her Ex. Stole her body. Did a lot of shit she didn't even say. I was a mess. But at a certain point. I just wanted it to be over. [Another sip.] Tried to get Angel to kill me at the end. And he wouldn't do it. He saved my life. And I turned myself into the cops. Got twenty-five to life.
I already told Ben about this. [So it's not going to be a shock.]
[ Andy read the post, and he heard Faith when she came in, so he's not shocked either. ]
How old were you? Eighteen?
[ It seems clear to him that the monster-slaying gig is a thing teenagers are apparently tasked with, which sounds insane to him, but he also knows Faith has superpowers. So maybe superpowers can only be acquired when you're young or something. ]
Eighteen when it started. Eight months of that in the coma Buffy put me in. Nineteen when I went to prison. Feels like lifetimes ago. But it's only been four years.
[She sips from the bottle, offering it out to him if he wants it.] I'm different now. Or trying to be. Buffy doesn't want to hear that though, I know. But it's fresh for her. I've already been through all this with her. Back home. And before I showed up here we were fighting together again. On the same side. Not without butting heads, though.
[They may never get along entirely and that idea does hurt. And she knows she's no one to blame but herself about that.]
I also had a lot of time to think... and a lot of correctional counseling.
[Prison hadn't been a vacation. It had been hard. But she'd tried to turn it into an opportunity.]
Thanks for the offer. I don't know that I want that. Every person on there defending me? Somehow just made me feel worse. I'm sure at some point we'll have it out. Or... I was thinking I might just let her beat my ass. Not my best plan. Still workshopping it.
[She moves closer to him, provided he'll allow it, to rest her head on his shoulder. Having someone close helps.]
She didn't gain enough time for that. I think she only got about a year. Right before I went to prison. And I also didn't tell her here. We've been here months and I never told her how things went wrong. She still thought of me as a friend. As a sister Slayer. I selfishly wanted her to be my friend again... so that's yet another reason for her to hate me.
[ It's very easy for Andy to just wrap an arm around her and let her lean in. Really, all he needed to know about Faith to trust her implicitly is that she's with Ben, that's the bottom line. She trusts Ben, Ben trusts her, so Andy's all for doing his best. ]
It's not like meeting a younger version of someone who's your friend now but you hurt before is a thing people are taught how to deal with. Maybe you should've told her, but you couldn't have known if she'd remember, or how much she'd remember, or even if her version of you was actually you.
You didn't want to hurt her. And I think that makes a lot of sense, you can take responsibility for the hurt you caused before, but the hurt going on right now isn't on you.
There's so much that's happened between where she is and where I am now. Things that don't even have to do with the two of us. Things I didn't tell her either. Things that will hurt her to know. I couldn't tell her those things either and I wasn't sure I should.
[How did one tell someone that their mother died? Or that they died too and got resurrected? That had been even harder to approach.]
[She stays there in quiet contemplation for a moment to really think about it.] I mean, I can't know for sure but I don't think I'd have wanted her to tell me anything...?
I don't think I'd like to know either, but if I knew there was something to know, I'd lose my entire mind until I knew it. It's a tricky situation, and you can only do your best with the information available to you.
And it sounds like you did, so I don't think there's anything to beat yourself up about.
[ He doesn't know everything, but he does believe Faith did the best she could, and possibly that not telling Buffy was harder for her than it would've been to spill everything. ]
Also, just— as a future thing from someone who is relatively well-versed in guilt. The option that makes you feel worse isn't always the best option, and you're allowed to get a sounding board. Ben's a good one.
Easier said than done. I've beat myself up for so long, that I'm an a real pro at it.
[She wraps moves closer wrapping a Snuggied arm around Andy's waist, staring out a far window where she can see the woods that are around the house.]
I dunno. You're being a pretty good sounding board yourself. Don't sell yourself short. [Not that she doesn't already plan to talk with Benton about this.] I am glad I told Benton what I did before all of this came out. So he didn't learn about it from Buffy...
[She would have worried herself sick that he would have rejected her for it. Not that Fraser was the type to do that out of hand, the fear would be there still.]
I think Ben would've been fine. I mean, I don't think you owe anyone your background, and I don't think he'd have felt entitled to the whole thing, even if he'd learned about it from that post.
[ Andy didn't know any of it. And it's not that he doubted Buffy's account— he didn't because Faith's the sort of person who'd have yelled bullshit if it had been bullshit, but also Duplicity gives people plenty of opportunity to be assholes while providing plausible deniability, and Faith hasn't taken any of them.
So while Buffy told the truth about what happened, she was obviously wrong about who Faith is now. ]
That said, Ben values honesty, and he's the most trustworthy guy I know, plus, it's nicer to let people in, I think. Give someone the means to hurt you and knowing they won't.
[She ducks her head, tugging her snuggie closer and clutching the bottle.]
Back home. I don't... I don't have many people. Really only one. The one who helped me crawl my way back. Angel. I didn't let anyone else in. Always seemed easier at the time, but then I just ended up being alone.
I still expect people to leave me or betray me. For most of my life, it's been one or the other, yanno?
[She takes a long swig from the bottle.]
That's really been the only good thing about this place. I have people. People that checked on me after this. Ben, you, Dinah, people I barely even know too...
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[Faith heads right there. Andy and Benton's place feels like one of the few safe spaces she has right now, so it's not a hard decision to go. When she arrives she comes with a bottle of bourbon in hand, giving the front door a tentative knock.
When he answers, Andy will find Faith, who looks like absolute hell. She's clearly been crying, but's trying to put on a brave face like she hasn't been at all.]
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So while he figures the kid on the network isn't lying about what happened back home, he's absolutely certain Faith's working on being better. He's a big fan of self-improvement.
Which is why it's very easy for him to open the door and immediately move to pull her into a hug. ]
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That sets out a floodgate of tears she'd thought she'd be able to steel herself from. The moment his arm is around her she lets out a shaky sob.]
I did e-everything she says I did... but it's been years. I... I went to prison... I...
[She doesn't even know what else to say.]
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Hey, she has every right to be angry, and you have every right to be hurt. This isn't fair for either of you.
[ People deserve the opportunity to learn and be better and not be haunted forever by the fuck-ups they did at 17. Andy will tell Faith that, once they're inside and have chocolate and snuggies. ]
I'm sorry about all of this. I got you, and Ben's got you, and you're always welcome here.
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Thank you. I don't deserve it, but thank you... [She feels like she deserves what Buffy is lobbing at her. Not kindness.] You said something about snuggies?
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[ He has Many Snuggies because they can double up as wizard robes and Andy's a huge nerd. He gets her one and smiles at her. ]
I haven't gotten Ben to wear one yet.
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[Talking and Benton is at least a good way to distract her. She sets the bottle of booze she brought on the coffee table and puts it on, one arm at a time. She looks ridiculous.]
Is he just afraid to look this cool?
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He runs warm, so I haven't found an excuse yet. Maybe it'll freeze this winter and there'll be yeti attacks and he'll have to wear one. For protection.
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That or you could just break the furnace in the winter? Course, then he'd probably just fix it before you could even bring out the snuggies. So maybe better to wish for the yeti thing.
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[ Look, Andy can do distraction. ]
Do you want some tea or do I bring you your booze back?
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[She curls her legs underneath her.]
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You wanna talk about, well, everything? No pressure though, we got a little projector, I can make popcorn and put on a movie, and when Ben gets home we can just bask in his soothing Canadianess.
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Everything she said. I did. I killed people. Tried to kill Angel, her Ex. Stole her body. Did a lot of shit she didn't even say. I was a mess. But at a certain point. I just wanted it to be over. [Another sip.] Tried to get Angel to kill me at the end. And he wouldn't do it. He saved my life. And I turned myself into the cops. Got twenty-five to life.
I already told Ben about this. [So it's not going to be a shock.]
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How old were you? Eighteen?
[ It seems clear to him that the monster-slaying gig is a thing teenagers are apparently tasked with, which sounds insane to him, but he also knows Faith has superpowers. So maybe superpowers can only be acquired when you're young or something. ]
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[She sips from the bottle, offering it out to him if he wants it.] I'm different now. Or trying to be. Buffy doesn't want to hear that though, I know. But it's fresh for her. I've already been through all this with her. Back home. And before I showed up here we were fighting together again. On the same side. Not without butting heads, though.
[They may never get along entirely and that idea does hurt. And she knows she's no one to blame but herself about that.]
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You were a kid. She's a kid right now, even people who aren't tasked with the fate of the world change a lot from nineteen to twenty-three.
Just give her space, and if you need a middle man, I'm not terrible at conflict de-escalation.
[ This isn't the kind of conflict he was ever trained to de-escalate, but he knows anger and he's sturdy. ]
And hey, if she remembered this, maybe she'll catch up with you eventually.
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[Prison hadn't been a vacation. It had been hard. But she'd tried to turn it into an opportunity.]
Thanks for the offer. I don't know that I want that. Every person on there defending me? Somehow just made me feel worse. I'm sure at some point we'll have it out. Or... I was thinking I might just let her beat my ass. Not my best plan. Still workshopping it.
[She moves closer to him, provided he'll allow it, to rest her head on his shoulder. Having someone close helps.]
She didn't gain enough time for that. I think she only got about a year. Right before I went to prison. And I also didn't tell her here. We've been here months and I never told her how things went wrong. She still thought of me as a friend. As a sister Slayer. I selfishly wanted her to be my friend again... so that's yet another reason for her to hate me.
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It's not like meeting a younger version of someone who's your friend now but you hurt before is a thing people are taught how to deal with. Maybe you should've told her, but you couldn't have known if she'd remember, or how much she'd remember, or even if her version of you was actually you.
You didn't want to hurt her. And I think that makes a lot of sense, you can take responsibility for the hurt you caused before, but the hurt going on right now isn't on you.
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[How did one tell someone that their mother died? Or that they died too and got resurrected? That had been even harder to approach.]
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[ He really has no idea. Ben's from the past, but Andy doesn't know him, he can just tell him to buy some Amazon stock. ]
If your situations were reversed, if she was the one from the future, what would you want?
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And it sounds like you did, so I don't think there's anything to beat yourself up about.
[ He doesn't know everything, but he does believe Faith did the best she could, and possibly that not telling Buffy was harder for her than it would've been to spill everything. ]
Also, just— as a future thing from someone who is relatively well-versed in guilt. The option that makes you feel worse isn't always the best option, and you're allowed to get a sounding board. Ben's a good one.
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[She wraps moves closer wrapping a Snuggied arm around Andy's waist, staring out a far window where she can see the woods that are around the house.]
I dunno. You're being a pretty good sounding board yourself. Don't sell yourself short. [Not that she doesn't already plan to talk with Benton about this.] I am glad I told Benton what I did before all of this came out. So he didn't learn about it from Buffy...
[She would have worried herself sick that he would have rejected her for it. Not that Fraser was the type to do that out of hand, the fear would be there still.]
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[ Andy didn't know any of it. And it's not that he doubted Buffy's account— he didn't because Faith's the sort of person who'd have yelled bullshit if it had been bullshit, but also Duplicity gives people plenty of opportunity to be assholes while providing plausible deniability, and Faith hasn't taken any of them.
So while Buffy told the truth about what happened, she was obviously wrong about who Faith is now. ]
That said, Ben values honesty, and he's the most trustworthy guy I know, plus, it's nicer to let people in, I think. Give someone the means to hurt you and knowing they won't.
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Back home. I don't... I don't have many people. Really only one. The one who helped me crawl my way back. Angel. I didn't let anyone else in. Always seemed easier at the time, but then I just ended up being alone.
I still expect people to leave me or betray me. For most of my life, it's been one or the other, yanno?
[She takes a long swig from the bottle.]
That's really been the only good thing about this place. I have people. People that checked on me after this. Ben, you, Dinah, people I barely even know too...
[It means more than she can really express.]
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