a sudden sense of liberty
A self-indulgent extra lite-smut oneshot (just barely) feat. @wickedlehane because why not?
***
“The Cure, huh? Didn’t peg you for a goth boy,” Faith smirked, popping a chocolate covered strawberry between her lips. If it was possible for Theo to turn any more pink, he would have. His cheeks flushed with warmth.
“Well, I certainly ‘ad the complexion for it. And you? Let me guess- Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, and the Foo Fighters.”
“If I said ABBA, would you believe me?”
“Not in the slightest, luv. But Fleetwood Mac, yes,” the redhead chuckled, sweeping the plates off the dining table and depositing them in the kitchen sink. Theodore’s phone buzzed heartily against the wood and his head whipped around. “Issat Mel?”
Faith slid the device closer to herself to look at the illuminated screen before it faded out. “No, looks like someone named... Heidi69- ooh, and she’s horny and in your area!”
“Oh stop that.”
“I’m serious! Nothing but junk. Why are you so worried about Mel? I’m sure she’ll be fine,” the Slayer assured him.
Theo continued to scrub dishes as he spoke. “Oh, it’s just... she doesn’t do well at sleepovers. Stays up all night and calls me to come bring her home. I don’t blame her, I’m usually wide awake waiting for the call myself,” he sighed. “It’s all the-”
“Monster business,” Faith finished. “Yeah... I’m real sorry. But maybe your nervous vibes are throwing her off from afar- just assume she’s having a good time. Painting her nails, eating too much pizza, playing Mario Kart. Kid stuff. She’ll be alright, and if she does call, I’ll go with you.”
Never mind that “kid stuff” sounded like an ideal Friday to Faith.
What she also failed to mention was the fact that she and Melody did discuss her nerves before they dropped the girl off. The brunette miiiight have packed a fresh-whittled, very dull wooden stake for her to keep under her pillow. What? The kid didn’t exactly do security blankets at this age.
“C’mon, Theo- let’s put on some of your sad boy music and take your mind off her. She’s honestly probably not even thinking about you right now,” the woman said, lowering herself to the couch and beckoning for her sudsy beau. “Sorry, that sounded harsh. She loves her father and knows he’ll be there to save her if she needs it but right now she’s probably drinking all the sodas you won’t usually let her have. Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he finally agreed, wiping his hands off on his trousers. He moved to the stereo and rifled through the albums he kept organized alphabetically by title, all sorts of bands mixed in with one another. Nerd. Once Theodore was in arm’s reach, Faith grabbed him by the waist and pulled him on top of her. He was so cute when he was worried about his kid. Was this what a good dad was supposed to be like? Hell if she knew. But it was as much a mercy to him as it was a favor to herself, getting his mind off of Mel.
“Mm, wait- this isn’t The Cure,” Faith said, pausing just before pressing a kiss to his scruffy lips. “I’ve heard this one- which is it?”
A wry smile curled Theo’s mouth. A bit of a joke, on his part. “Substance, 1987, New World Order. Hit no. 4 on the charts the year it came out- this one’s called True Faith. Bit of a tough subject, about drug addiction, the tempting euphoria. But it’s catchy, innit?”
“Me, or the song?”
Theodore laughed, rearranging their positions on the couch. He scooped the woman up and put her across his lap. Faith wrapped her arms around him, enjoying the warmth and comfort of his embrace. She’d spent so long running from moments like this. The familial, the domestic, the parental. In her heart, she knew her childhood had been the awful exception, not the rule- there were still plenty of men in the world who confirmed her worst biases but... wouldn’t it be nice to believe this wasn’t the unicorn, the one and only? (Speaking of... she’d never exactly seen a unicorn, but if vampires and werewolves were real, they surely had to exist.)
I used to think that the day would never come-
“I like the mystery. Hidden meanings,” Theo said, pressing a kiss to her jaw. “Something thrilling about things that can be so beautiful and complex. Meant to be explored.” Another kiss went to her neck, hovering just above a suspicious scar the Slayer bore from an age gone by. Theo’s hand crept up Faith’s back, his fingers teasing at the back of her bra clasp. A twist of thumb and forefinger freed the garment, and the woman’s breasts heaved forward, practically relieved.
“Again, you talkin’ about me, or the song? Eugh,” she muttered. “Your pants are wet from the sink. Take them off.”
The duo untangled themselves briefly as the song played on. Clothes were discarded- pants, shirts, a bra, but the glasses stayed on. They reconvened after a few moments, wrapped up in one another once more.
-to the childhood I lost, replaced by fear-
Faith straddled Theodore’s lap, admiring him. A nerd he might be, but not the string bean kind. No, he had a youthful but fatherly figure- solid yet soft, not a gym rat in the least. The woman was kinda into it- in her past experience, jocks were all about themselves, wimps were no fun to push around, and total shlubs just didn’t do it for her. But Theo had the look of a guy who knew the importance of eating your vegetables and the fun of sneaking an extra scoop of ice cream before bedtime. Hardly a thrilling, rock and roll rebel- but it was really working for him. And her.
The Slayer was mindful not to bruise the peachy boy as she gently rocked her hips against him. The exchange of kisses resumed rather equally between them until Faith grabbed the back of his ruddy head and held him close. Theo inhaled the scent of those strawberries they’d been enjoying, red as her lips, a decadent brunette flow of hair surrounding them. Never a sour bite between them- if Faith had a bitter side, it was well hidden in the tune of her words, the melody of her movements.
-I feel so extraordinary, something’s got a hold on me-
Speaking of biting, Faith nipped at her man playfully as Theo held her with one hand on the plush curve of her hip, one cupping a generously rounded breast. God, she was a fabulous woman. He bashfully wondered what he’d done to meet someone so interesting, so lovely as her. Who could speak to him and to his daughter in their own languages. She was caring, a bit irreverent, and the shallow side of his deep intellect recognized how bloody stunning she was. Powerful, too- those self-defense trainings really made an impact.
As their movements heightened in pitch and hunger, the Slayer too admired the piece of sweetness she had before her (and below her, growing aroused). He made her feel safer than anyone she’d ever been with before, and there was something about him... Faith didn’t want to shut him out. Not like the others. And it wasn’t just because he could cook, or because she felt bad for the way he’d lost his wife. Yeah, okay, maybe some of it reminded her of the crush she had on Mr. Giles when she was a teenager, but this was much more age-appropriate, equal. Call that character growth. And just because he had a dorky streak didn’t mean he didn’t know how to treat a lady (he was a dad and a widower, after all).
-That my life would depend on the morning sun-
The song rolled on to the next as Faith and Theo continued to grow increasingly intimate, but they weren’t really listening anymore. Not worrying about a thing. There was only the here and now, and a lot of hands going places that would normally make the ginger blush the same color as his hair. Their breaths drowned out the record. True faith, an act of mutual worship. Addicting, in its own way.
Elsewhere, across town, a little girl called Melody was eagerly telling her sleepover companions about the monsters that lurked in the darkness, and about the wooden weapon she would use to fend them all off if it came down to it.
Not a one of them, save the stake-wielding tween and her elsewhere distracted dad, got much of any sleep that night.




















