Title: The Distance Between
Author: Tnbella
Rating: R
Spoilers/Setting: AtS season 4
Summary: Faith tries to get through to Wes...

The Distance Between

Faith followed Wesley, a worried scowl on her face. He turned down the alley behind the seedy bar, when suddenly, she jumped in front of him.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"I beg your pardon?" Wes asked, a dangerous tone to his voice.

"Don't give me that shit. You know what I'm talking about. The hell were you thinkin', Wes?!"

He pushed past her and kept walking. "We have the information we need. That's all that matters."

"'All that matters'? You could've killed that girl!"

Stopping in his tracks, Wesley whirled around to face her. "I had absolutely no intention of killing the girl, Faith. I just wanted her to tell us what she knew."

Faith scoffed. "That's believable."

"As if you have any room to talk," Wes said, setting the stage for one big-ass fight.

She took a few steps closer to him. "Fine, Wes. You want to do this, now? Let's get it over with. Come on, let me me have it. Get it outta your system, so we can do this thing already."

Wesley stood his ground, staring at her in defiance. "What makes you think I have anything to say to you?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "You've been dyin' to say something. So just say it, already."

But instead of taking the bait, he continued to stall. "What could I possibly say that you haven't heard before? Really, Faith, I have no desire to fight with you. We have work to do, remember?"

Now she was pissed. "Do you realize how hard it was for me in there? No, of course not; you didn't give a shit whether I made it or not, did you?"

"Faith, that's not-"

"Shut the fuck up, Wesley! You don't know what it was like! I had fucking nightmares night after night, and they all had you in the starring role. I re-lived everything over and over and over! So, do not play this with me, Wes!" She shoved him against the alleyway wall, rage rolling off her in crimson waves of heat and electricity. "And you with your badass shotgun, suddenly think you're the shit? Get the hell over yourself! Start fucking caring, you asshole, or you're gonna end up like me! Don't you get it yet? I'm trying to help you!" Faith pinned her hands on the wall, trapping Wesley; thwarting his escape. "Start fucking caring, you bastard," she said with an edge of desperation. "I need you to get your head on straight. Got me?"

The entire time Faith was screaming at him, Wesley observed her movements; not once afraid that she would actually attack him. She always had fascinated him. Now was no exception. Yet still, he remained quiet, allowing her to vent.

"This isn't you, Wes. You're better than this," she whispered, making one last ditch effort to get through to him.

"You don't know the real me. No one except--", he immediately stopped himself, shutting his eyes to block out thoughts of Lilah and her decapitated head, and then reopened them to fix Faith with a steely glare. "Get out of my way, Faith."

"No," she replied, a cocky grin firmly in place.

"Faith..." Wesley warned.

"Wes," Faith returned, matching his tone perfectly.

The silence hung between them for all of two seconds before Faith turned the charms on him full force.

"What's the matter, boss? I thought we were all five by five."

She loved the way his eyes darkened at her words.

"Get out of my way."

'Ooh...he's growling at me,' Faith mused to herself, watching the veins in Wesley's neck bulge with tension. 'Mmm. I really want to lick that sexy scar. Wonder what he'd do if I did. Let's find out.'

Leaning forward, she tracked her tongue across his throat. He stiffened on instinct, but Faith grinned when she felt his Adam's Apple bob. 'Hit your kink, did I, Wes? Wicked.'

"Wanna break in an ex-con? 'Cause I'm game if you are," he started to protest, but Faith switched to the other side and nipped him just to see what his reaction would be. He tried to supress a groan, but she heared it. Diving for another taste, her voice husky and smoky, she resumed her proposition. "And don't give me that, 'it would be inappropriate' shit, either. We both could use a little release. Scratch my itch I'll scratch yours kinda thing. What do ya say, Wes?"

At first Faith thought he would remain a statue, but then, he grabbed a fist-full of her chestnut hair and crushed his lips against hers. Faith moaned her approval of his kissing technique and pulled away to smirk at him. "Nice. Didn't know you had it in ya."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Faith," Wesley said, challenging her.

"Oh? Like what?" she asked, trailing her hands down his shirt, admiring the muscles rippling beneath the fabric.

He stilled her hands and locked eyes with her, running a finger over her plump bottom lip. "Have I ever told you I own a motorcycle?"

Her jaw dropped; he smirked.

Wesley brought her body flush with his own, illicting a tiny gasp of surprise from the young brunette. "Interested in riding a biker?"