I can be your hero
I can kiss away the pain, oh yeah
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away
You can take my breath away
And I can be your hero..

The song ends, but Cordelia doesn’t let go. She stands there silent for a moment to see Faith’s reaction. Faith, for her part, has decided she isn’t letting go until Cordelia does.

"Do you understand?" Cordelia whispers into the slayer’s ear causing the other woman to tremble as she shakes her head not looking up from her place on the seer’s shoulder, " I am trying to say thank you for tonight…for all the nights..you are my…"

"Don’t, ‘C’." Faith rasps out, " I ain’t no one’s ‘hero’."

"You’re mine. You don’t have to save me or be with me when the visions come..you could leave me.."

"No, I couldn’t." Faith protests without explanation. She tries to free herself from Cordelia’s grasp, but the other woman is determined.

"I…You are my hero, baby…Let me kiss away the pain…I will stand by you forever…And you can take my breath away…please, Faith
I …"

"Cordelia,.." Faith says the Seer’s full name for the first time looking up at the seer with tears in her eyes.

"Faith, I..I love you…please…" Cordelia pleads dreading the outcome.

" ‘C’..I.." she grabs Cordelia tightly to her and reaches to capture her lips in a desperate kiss trying to show all her emotion in that one gesture. The former cheerleader from Sunnydale, California does cartwheels and leaps of joy in her heart as she feels Faith’s silky tongue begging entrance to her lips. The kiss deepens until they pull away from lack of oxygen. Panting, Faith brings one hand to
gently touch Cordelia’s cheek.

Faith looks away shyly as she mumbles, "Cordelia Chase, I l-love you, too."

Cordelia puts her fingers under the slayer’s chin turning her so they are facing each other, "Don’t ever be afraid to tell me that not ever," she kisses the other woman’s tear stained cheeks realizing her own are now running down her cheeks.

"You saved me tonight, ‘C’. I didn’t think I could stay anymore without you…I was going to leave…You just became my hero..I could never leave now unless you.."

"Never…you stay with me forever..I love you..come home with me?"

"Home?" Faith quirks an eyebrow, " I didn’t think I would ever know what that was, but now…now I know home is you..and I will go anywhere you go…just lead the way."

They turn from the dance floor and see the whole table staring at them. No one else has seemed to notice or car about their true confessions moment, but their little group sits with their mouths agape. They walk up to the table as if nothing has happened. Wesley takes off his glasses to clean them, Angel closes his mouth and
smiles.

"So, Faith and I are going home, now. We will see you all tomorrow." Cordelia says grabbing her purse and taking Faith’s hand.

"Home?" Angel asks Faith.

"Yeah, Soul boy. Home." She smiles as she follows Cordelia out the entrance of Lorne’s.

Sometimes heroes have to settle down too. Sometimes, even those dark of soul heroes get to have a little piece of light and this dark beauty is following hers until she can’t follow anymore.