QUE SERA, SERA (3/?)
 

Faith entered her new house for the next three weeks, frowning when she saw
Wesley standing beside the stairs. She rolled her eyes as her uptight watcher
pushed his glasses up from his nose. "Hey, Wussy. How's it hangin?"
 

Wesley resisted cringing at his slayer's flippant tone. "Faith, where have
you been?"
 

"Out," Faith said, smirking as she saw him close his eyes briefly. She loved
rattling him. It was the most fun she had during the research sessions. 'Why?
Did ya miss me?"
 

"Like a disease," Wesley muttered under his breath, irritated that she was
treating this opportunity so frivolously. "Did you enjoy your entire day of
sightseeing?"
 

Faith sat on the sofa, wondering why she had come back here for the
inquisition instead of going to that museum with Cordy and Willow. Oh, yeah.
Museum. Duh. "Wasn't out all day."
 

"Did you forget the reason for this journey?" Wesley asked, following her
into the living room area.
 

"A bunch of ass kissing with some stodgy bastards I could give a shit less
about?" Faith said sweetly.
 

Wesley sighed, wondering what he had done to deserve having Faith as his
slayer. Her carefree attitude and thirst for danger annoyed him to no end.
"The chance to learn from many different people and take away enough
knowledge to maybe stay alive a little longer."
 

"Bor-ing," Faith said, watching the watcher's jaw tighten as his hands
clenched into fists. Score one, she thought gleefully.
 

"Don't you want to succeed and live to see your twentieth birthday?" he
asked, his voice low.
 

"If I live, I live," Faith said, frowning slightly. "Listening to a bunch of
old geezers is not going to add years on to my life."
 

"It might. You just refuse to give it a chance," Wesley said, wishing now
that he had offered to remain in Sunnydale and Mr Giles had accompanied the
slayers. Dealing with the hellmouth would be nothing compared to putting up
with Faith for three weeks.
 

"Oh, puh-leez. They could care less about me. To them, I'm just one of two
slayers. If I die, another comes forward. So don't tell me I should listen to
them as if they can give me some divine words.  They can't." She said simply.
 

"Yes, well, you may be right," Wesley said. He saw her look at him surprise
and almost smiled. He kept his features strict though and continued, "but
they would much rather you survive than deal with a new slayer. The longer a
slayer survives, the less training the new one needs."
 

"Using logic on me now, huh Wussy?" Faith asked, rolling her eyes and
wondering why he wouldn't just give up. Yet, he never did. The entire seven
months he had been in Sunnydale, he constantly pushed her to care about her
chosen duty, to quit taking unnecessary risks, to care about herself. He was
trying to be like Giles, she knew, but he also did care about being a
watcher. To him, it was some big deal. She just didn't get that. That was
probably one reason she loved to goad him. She never failed to get a
reaction. "Not gonna work."
 

"I can't force you into caring about your life," Wesley said, knowing it
would be pointless to try. "but as long as we are here, you will attend the
meetings and training classes."
 

Faith snorted, rolling her eyes, "Yeah, whatever. I should have stayed with
Giles."
 

Wesley stiffened, knowing that he didn't have her respect but hating to hear
her constantly remind him of his inadequacies as a watcher. He knew there was
a lot to learn still. He had rather been thrust into everything at a moment's
notice with little time to prepare. He was only twenty four. How was he
supposed to be as good a watcher as Rupert Giles when he had such little time
to learn? "Yes, well, maybe you should have."
 

Faith looked at him, her eyes widening slightly at his snippy tone. She had
scored a second hit and hadn't even intended to. She frowned, "What's got
your undies in a twist?"
 

"At least Buffy seems interested in attending the meetings," Wesley said,
watching her eyes narrow at the elder slayer's name. He then added, "And
leave my undies out of this."
 

"B wants to go tell them all to fuck off for how they treated her and Giles.
She used this as a free trip to Italy. If you think anything differently,
well, you're more of an idiot than I thought," Faith said, wondering when he
had started finding Buffy so damn interesting. He was her watcher, damn it.
Buffy already had one.
 

"Yes, well, at least she will attend one meeting then," Wesley said, scowling
as he realized that Faith was most likely correct in her prediction of
Buffy's behaviour. Thankfully, the Chases had rented the villa and the
council had just chosen it. They would not be forced to leave Rome until
their three weeks was up.
 

"I'll go to one of the fucking things," Faith said, glowering at him. "Happy
now? You completely ruin my plans to have fun."
 

"The meetings will only be in the mornings so you should have plenty of time
to run amock," Wesley said, thankful that she appeared to have relented in
her refusal to attend any of the meetings.
 

"You owe me, Wussy," Faith said, suddenly smiling an evil smile.
 

"Excuse me?" Wesley asked, not liking that look. He had seen it before and it
usually meant trouble.
 

Faith stood and kept smiling, "I feel like seeing Rome nightlife. Come on,
Watcher man."
 

"What?" Wesley asked, startled.
 

"I think you have been spending too much time at the library and in that damn
watcher mode. So, you're coming with me. Someone has to keep me out of
trouble," she smirked, knowing he would not allow his reluctance to go out to
supercede his desire to be the perfect watcher. "Giles always go with Buffy
if she feels like going out and no one is around."
 

"Fine," Wesley said, frowning as he tried to remember a time that Mr. Giles
had gone out with his slayer. Before he could continue thinking, Faith was
walking out of the villa and into the late afternoon of Rome. He sighed,
following after her.
 

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