Conditions at the bar had not become markedly more cooperative since the last time I'd paid a visit. And given that I was not backed up by a Slayer tonight, I had my hands just a bit more full
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"Not at all." I scanned around the room, trying to gauge the tension and to determine my most likely first targets if I needed to fight my way out of the bar. The demon I'd been restraining whimpered, and I jabbed the shotgun barrel again. "Do be quiet."
"But we've got a Slayer that needs a ride. Faith's coming in to help us out with our little hellgod problem. I've got her address, but I have a few more calls to make before I can go anywhere, and we need that girl here now. Think you can swing by and give her a lift?"
Faith. I almost had to smile, considering where I was at the moment.
"Excellent idea, Charles. Of course I can. The address?"
I listened carefully, committing it to memory. I'd never actually been there, simply driven past it, but I knew the area well enough to not need directions.
"Very good. I'll be there in forty-five minutes." Gunn acknowledged and I snapped the phone closed, returning it to my jacket pocket.
I spent another ten minutes questioning the demon, and the bartender as well. A vampire's worth of dust clung to my jacket as I walked to the motorbike. I brushed it off the leather and swung my leg over the seat. The Triumph roared to life, and sure enough, about forty-five minutes later, I was pulling off the freeway into the smallish town of Oxnard, which lay almost directly between Los Angeles and Sunnydale.
Faith's motel was clean, if unspectacular, and it was easy to find her room.
Wouldn't you fuckin' know it? Just when ya get settled in to a good feelin' from a hard day of crap someone comes knockin' on the door. Hadn't ordered any pizzas, Chinese places were closed, and nobody from the Gotti family was lookin' for me anymore. Not that I knew of, heh!
Got done with the packin' and I got a little bored. So the fuck what? It was somethin' to keep me busy while I waited -- hell, how was I supposed to know that the G-spot was gonna have someone fetch me so damn quickly? So I nabbed the nearest cutie. Wasn't that hard lemme tell yah, seems like the men in this town are ready to jump any fine piece of ass that was willin' to 'assume the position'.
"Faith? It's Wesley. Your ride is here."
"God! Fuck! No, stay there," came my voice through the door to Wesley's ears and shuffling and thumping ensued. I threw the door open half covered in a bedsheet held to my chest. With one hand and a brief flinch of my head I tossed my hair back and forced a breath to calm my worked-up nerves. An unrecognizable young -- naked and lookin' naughty -- gentleman lay feeling visibly akward on my bed. Of course it was the person I'd least expect out of everyone. Heh, can't help but be amused at this shit. Good ol' Wes, come to see his once Slayer in her finest glory.
"Well well!" I greeted, a half grin quirking to one corner of my lips while my eyes travelled up and down the stately lad in front of me. "Mister Wesley," I had to chuckle a little, my voice almost playful. "Hate t' tell ya, babe, but my ride's been here for an hour." I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth and winked, noting the guy in my bed with a turn of my head. Fuck if I knew his name but that didn't matter. I then pressed my tongue to my teeth and jokingly added, "Unless ya think you can fit in the passenger seat?" Gotta make him a little squirmy.
I leaned against the door, my smirk never shifting. Well, crap, now I gotta shoo off 'the dick' and get ready to go. "Hold on a min, Wes. Gotta finish this shit." I turned around, my dark browns lookin' over at my new playmate and I just shook my head. "Sorry sweets, but I got some important company. Don't let the door hit yah where the good Lord split yah."
My steps led me away from the door while I waited for the guy to make his departure. "Come in and make yourself comfy," I said to my ex-Watcher who resided outside.
I leaned against the doorframe and waited, while I heard distinct sounds of movement from within. It seemed a month or more before I at last heard Faith's voice, obviously perturbed.
"God! Fuck! No, stay there."
Hmph. There was more noise, and then the sound of the locks being unlatched. The door opened a few inches, then a little more than halfway. Faith stood in the doorway, wrapped in a bedsheet. Her hair was rumpled, lipstick smeared, and even if I wasn't a trained Watcher, I'd know precisely what had been going on in this motel room.
"Well well! Mister Wesley."
Any pleasantries that might've been my first greeting vanished, replaced with a terse "Faith" said through a suddenly tightened jaw.
"Hate t' tell ya, babe, but my ride's been here for an hour. Unless ya think you can fit in the passenger seat?"
The hard set of my lips deepened into a frown. Faith's brazen sexuality was enough of a problem during my tenure in Sunnydale. Later, it was used against me as simply another tool of torture. Months ago, during the Angelus incident, there had been a half dozen strains of unresolved tension, and it seemed those were still, at least on my end, as taut as ever.
"Hold on a min, Wes. Gotta finish this shit. Sorry sweets, but I got some important company. Don't let the door hit yah where the good Lord split yah."
Faith pushed open the rest of the door, allowing me the not-unsuspected view of a young man in jeans, pulling on his shoes and scrambling for his shirt. I took a deep breath, trying to calm nerves that seemed to be jumping in an inordinate amount of anger.
"Come in and make yourself comfy."
"In-room HBO not entertaining enough, Faith?" I asked sharply as I stepped into the room.
The young man attempted to bustle past me when my hand shot out and grasped him by the collar. I reached my other hand inside my jacket, swinging it open enough to give him a view of the pistol hanging in its shoulder holster. My hand emerged instead with a hundred dollar bill. I tucked it into the young man's shirt pocket.
"We were never here," I commanded coolly, before all but throwing him out on his arse.
I shut the door with my boot and turned finally back to Faith.
"Now, Faith, if you're finished playing with the local boys..." I heard a snide tone to the word that surprised even me. "... then there's work to be done."
"You're jokin', right?" I asked, flashing an amused smile toward him over my shoulder to witness the young man being threatened by Wes' impressive hardware. Kinky. I dropped the bedsheet and began to dress my bare body as he was busying with the poor guy, trying to hide if not overcome the deep rooted hesitant apology that I continually felt in the ex-Watcher's presence. It was always Wes and B, the two people that I hurt the most. Always had that uncomfortable feelin' 'round them two, no matter what circumstance I was in. "They make ya pay for that borin' shit. Hell, this was free." I shrugged and shook my head slowly, wonderin' why the hell I always felt like I had to explain myself 'round him. Not even I could figure it out.
I guess, for the time bein', I wasn't 'bout to. Had to get my ass to L.A. as fast as possible to put this Hellgod to the ground. So I began dressing.. I slipped my bra on over my chest and clasped it in the back, followed by the replacement of my socks and black lace trim thong. My favorite. Had to give out a smirk in my own amusement when I watched him give my ex-boytoy some cash and then basically a kick in his ass on the way out.
Yep, I wasn't 'bout to get any action in this town again. Not like there was much to begin with.
"Now, Faith, if you're finished playing with the local boys..."
I raised my head and tossed my hair to the other side before pulling my shirt down over me. "What, Wes? Sayin' I should go for foreigners?" I passed a playful wink at him to y'know, try and lighten the stiff guy up. I mean he was makin' me feel uncomfortable enough just him bein' here n' all though I doubt he knew it. Not like I was gonna let 'im in on the secret of how I felt. Can't ruin the image, not to mention I didn't feel like inching toward a conversation I knew I wasn't goin' to like.
.. but I knew it was bound to come and bite me in the ass one of these days no matter how much I tried to avoid it.
"... then there's work to be done."
"Alright, alright," I submitted, hopping a couple times to help pull my tight leather pants up onto my hips. "I got my stuff packed n' I'm ready ta roll, chief." My leather jacket was thrown on, the sleeves a bit too long for my arms made 'em cover my hands. I thought it was pretty wicked that way. "Where's the fire? What's the hubbub.. bub?" I grinned again and collected my stuff, makin' sure to have one, nice handy stake tucked protectively within my sleeve.
"You're jokin', right? They make ya pay for that borin' shit. Hell, this was free."
I turned my attention briefly from assertively escorting Faith's liaison out the door towards the bed, where her voice had come from. A flush of warmth suffused my face, part anger and part embarassment at the sheer amount of... Faith... that had just very literally flashed, for no more than a fraction of a second, before my eyes.
At some between ordering Lilah to remove her panties during a business meeting and shagging her on the dining room table while she was dressed as a poor imitation of Fred, I'd long since lost the right to be prudish. But Faith was still Faith, and someone I still considered to be, in a way, my responsibility. Untoward thoughts about her were simply that. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, that restriction simply serves to make those thoughts more frequent and more lingering.
I took a deep breath, calming myself, reminding myself of the exceptionally dire task at hand. Turning my head slightly back towards the bed, I found Faith at least covered by her undergarments and shrugging on a shirt.
"What, Wes? Sayin' I should go for foreigners?" she said, winking, and I went speechless for a moment. Was Faith baiting me? By her nature, she was damn near shameless and entirely unconcerned with propriety.
Well, she had seen that I was no longer timid or hesitant about the darker, more violent side of this life. I wondered idly if Faith could possibly shocked by some of the other kinds of darkness I'd touched.
"I wasn't criticising citizenship, Faith," I replied in an easy, but smugly confident tone, "but rather what must surely have been the young man's lack of experience and ability."
Faith slid-- well, wriggled might actually be the more precise and distracting term for it-- into her trousers, and then her jacket, hoisting a duffel over her shoulder.
"Alright, alright. I got my stuff packed n' I'm ready ta roll, chief. Where's the fire? What's the hubbub.. bub?"
I smirked.
"Responses in order are: good, back in Los Angeles, and the full story's a little too long and detailed to discuss over the radios in my helmets. But then, the story always is for people like us, isn't it?" I added as an aside.
I opened to door and gestured towards the small diner that sat beside the motel.
"I wasn't criticising citizenship, Faith, but rather what must surely have been the young man's lack of experience and ability."
Had to smirk a little to that. Maybe it was jus' me but did I just see Wes look my way? Didn't matter really, he could look all he wanted, I really had nothin' to be ashamed about. But c'mon, it's Wes, who I might say have added quite a number of wicked qualities since I saw him.. more of 'em at least. Lookin' back on the guy who was my Watcher in Sunny-D you really can't see the two bein' the same..
Made me wonder sometimes of all the shit that's happened to him besides me of course because.. you don't get there alone. Believe me, I know.
"Hey, just 'cause he was rotten doesn't mean I was," I countered, pulling the bottom of my shirt down over the rest of my belly before my hand gripped tightly to the strap of the very little collection of luggage I was carrying. "Hell, most toys they make for girls can't move on their own anyway." I snickered quietly to myself, gripping the strap of my bag and lookin' over Wes' way before attemptin' to make way to the exit so that we can hit the road. Couldn't help but feel a bit, well, anxious. Maybe because it feels like I haven't gotten into a good fight for so long..
I was lookin' forward to it. Yet again at the same time.. not. Never can trust anythin' when it comes to a Hellgod.
"Responses in order are: good, back in Los Angeles, and the full story's a little too long and detailed to discuss over the radios in my helmets. But then, the story always is for people like us, isn't it?"
I stopped my trail to the door when I was near enough to smell his aftershave. I think it was aftershave. "Stories are over-rated anyway, don't ya think?" I cocked my head to the side slightly, the tone within my voice a little less chipper. "I was always partial to those choose-your-own-adventure books. Y'know, the ones with different endings?" My expression turned blank for a moment as I stared dead ahead. "But.. then again I always found the 'you died' endings. Huh. Ironic, yeah?" I smiled again and chuckled to myself while I walked out the door when he opened the door. Couldn't help but smile a bit.. were we actually havin' a no wicked tension conversation?
"Have you eaten?"
"Depends on your definition, chief," I answered over my shoulder. Yeah, I still have it in me. But maybe it was time to get in serious mood. ".. actually, I wouldn't mind goin' for a small bite if we can get the time." Or a drink.. after an encounter like I had I felt pretty wicked tensed.
"I was always partial to those choose-your-own-adventure books. Y'know, the ones with different endings? But... then again I always found the 'you died' endings. Huh. Ironic, yeah?"
I raised an eyebrow as I walked beside Faith towards the small diner. "I don't believe I ever got to read those sort of books growing up. Do have to say that I like the idea of being able to choose one's own destiny, though."
"Depends on your definition, chief... actually, I wouldn't mind goin' for a small bite if we can get the time."
As we crossed the parking lot, I caught sight of the young man from before-- Faith's, ah, companion-- talking quite animatedly to a group of his equally immature male friends. His eyes caught mine, and I gave him a scowl that left no doubt regarding my opinion. The group departed the parking lot quickly.
Inside the greasy spoon, which very much lived up to the term, Faith tossed her bag into the booth before taking a seat, and I slid onto the bench opposite her. I ordered a coffee, then began halfheartedly perusing the menu. I glanced up from the decievingly attractive pictures of food at Faith. Though we'd parted ways on fairly good terms some months ago, I doubted if either of us thought that all of our mutual issues were resolved.
Who would I be, I mused, if not for the young woman sitting across from me? Would I have ended up in Los Angeles, a 'rogue demon hunter', and signed on with Angel? If not for that rainy night, that now seemed a lifetime ago, would I have known how to survive my time in exile from the Hyperion? would I have been strong enough?
I still bore a few of those scars. And part of me was proud of it.
When I realized that I'd been staring at her for several seconds, I smiled awkwardly and resumed looking at the menu.
"So," I started weakly, "since you're here, I take it you're not signing on with the new Slayers and Watchers, then?"
It wasn't that I could blame her. Buffy's group, her... family... Faith never seemed like the type to fit in there. There was a harder, tougher, perhaps even darker element to Los Angeles and our group that seemed much more her style.
I shook my head slowly when I saw the look Wes passed onto my good boy who stood across with his buddies. They were quick to make an exit and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit to myself.. didn't say he was the hunk I normally went for, but hey? I may have a taste for a guy who isn't afraid to tuck the tail between his legs sometimes.. makes 'em more submissive anyway. "Damn Wes," I smirked, that grin never leavin' my lips when I looked his way. ".. you'd think you were actin' like my dad my or somethin'."
We went into the restaurant to where I promptly lowered my bag and made a seat while I watched my ex-Watcher settled across from me. Coffee was ordered luckily to keep my nerves goin' for the rest of the night and a menu was given to me.
I was lookin' at the list of food and tryin' to figure out what the hell I should order from this trashbin but that's 'bout the same time I was able to catch a brief look from Wes. I wanted to instantly say "What?" but I kinda held my breath this time. Fuck, still can't get over this feelin' I get when I'm 'round him. Seems like every thing I do I judge myself like it was my parents watchin' me in a school play.. or 'fraid to get ketchup on my shirt. I smirked again to myself, my eyes peerin' over at him and little knowing that he was pretty much thinkin' the same thoughts I was..
Look at 'im though. The man's grown a long damn way, that's for sure, and I knew I played a big role. I'd take back all the shit if I could, all the choices and the mistakes that led me down this road, but at the same time my fight for redemption is what made me who I am today. And I gotta say, I'm one tough little bitch!
Is it true when they say things happen for a reason? I'm not into the fortune cookie bullshit but that's a sayin' I always held at the back of my mind when I was stayin' in the big house.
"So, since you're here, I take it you're not signing on with the new Slayers and Watchers, then?"
"What?" I questioned through my wanderin' thoughts which was quickly cast aside. Probably looked hella dumb with that dreamy ass gaze held on my face. ".. nah, you know me Wes, that's not my gig." My gaze wavered back to the menu despite the fact I wasn't exactly readin' it..
"'sides," I continued, ".. figured a Slayer on your team would make the fight a bit more even, don't ya think?"
"Hey, sorry to catch you at a bad time, Wes."
"Not at all." I scanned around the room, trying to gauge the tension and to determine my most likely first targets if I needed to fight my way out of the bar. The demon I'd been restraining whimpered, and I jabbed the shotgun barrel again. "Do be quiet."
"But we've got a Slayer that needs a ride. Faith's coming in to help us out with our little hellgod problem. I've got her address, but I have a few more calls to make before I can go anywhere, and we need that girl here now. Think you can swing by and give her a lift?"
Faith. I almost had to smile, considering where I was at the moment.
"Excellent idea, Charles. Of course I can. The address?"
I listened carefully, committing it to memory. I'd never actually been there, simply driven past it, but I knew the area well enough to not need directions.
"Very good. I'll be there in forty-five minutes." Gunn acknowledged and I snapped the phone closed, returning it to my jacket pocket.
I spent another ten minutes questioning the demon, and the bartender as well. A vampire's worth of dust clung to my jacket as I walked to the motorbike. I brushed it off the leather and swung my leg over the seat. The Triumph roared to life, and sure enough, about forty-five minutes later, I was pulling off the freeway into the smallish town of Oxnard, which lay almost directly between Los Angeles and Sunnydale.
Faith's motel was clean, if unspectacular, and it was easy to find her room.
I knocked on the door.
"Faith? It's Wesley. Your ride is here."
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Got done with the packin' and I got a little bored. So the fuck what? It was somethin' to keep me busy while I waited -- hell, how was I supposed to know that the G-spot was gonna have someone fetch me so damn quickly? So I nabbed the nearest cutie. Wasn't that hard lemme tell yah, seems like the men in this town are ready to jump any fine piece of ass that was willin' to 'assume the position'.
"Faith? It's Wesley. Your ride is here."
"God! Fuck! No, stay there," came my voice through the door to Wesley's ears and shuffling and thumping ensued. I threw the door open half covered in a bedsheet held to my chest. With one hand and a brief flinch of my head I tossed my hair back and forced a breath to calm my worked-up nerves. An unrecognizable young -- naked and lookin' naughty -- gentleman lay feeling visibly akward on my bed. Of course it was the person I'd least expect out of everyone. Heh, can't help but be amused at this shit. Good ol' Wes, come to see his once Slayer in her finest glory.
"Well well!" I greeted, a half grin quirking to one corner of my lips while my eyes travelled up and down the stately lad in front of me. "Mister Wesley," I had to chuckle a little, my voice almost playful. "Hate t' tell ya, babe, but my ride's been here for an hour." I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth and winked, noting the guy in my bed with a turn of my head. Fuck if I knew his name but that didn't matter. I then pressed my tongue to my teeth and jokingly added, "Unless ya think you can fit in the passenger seat?" Gotta make him a little squirmy.
I leaned against the door, my smirk never shifting. Well, crap, now I gotta shoo off 'the dick' and get ready to go. "Hold on a min, Wes. Gotta finish this shit." I turned around, my dark browns lookin' over at my new playmate and I just shook my head. "Sorry sweets, but I got some important company. Don't let the door hit yah where the good Lord split yah."
My steps led me away from the door while I waited for the guy to make his departure. "Come in and make yourself comfy," I said to my ex-Watcher who resided outside.
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"God! Fuck! No, stay there."
Hmph. There was more noise, and then the sound of the locks being unlatched. The door opened a few inches, then a little more than halfway. Faith stood in the doorway, wrapped in a bedsheet. Her hair was rumpled, lipstick smeared, and even if I wasn't a trained Watcher, I'd know precisely what had been going on in this motel room.
"Well well! Mister Wesley."
Any pleasantries that might've been my first greeting vanished, replaced with a terse "Faith" said through a suddenly tightened jaw.
"Hate t' tell ya, babe, but my ride's been here for an hour. Unless ya think you can fit in the passenger seat?"
The hard set of my lips deepened into a frown. Faith's brazen sexuality was enough of a problem during my tenure in Sunnydale. Later, it was used against me as simply another tool of torture. Months ago, during the Angelus incident, there had been a half dozen strains of unresolved tension, and it seemed those were still, at least on my end, as taut as ever.
"Hold on a min, Wes. Gotta finish this shit. Sorry sweets, but I got some important company. Don't let the door hit yah where the good Lord split yah."
Faith pushed open the rest of the door, allowing me the not-unsuspected view of a young man in jeans, pulling on his shoes and scrambling for his shirt. I took a deep breath, trying to calm nerves that seemed to be jumping in an inordinate amount of anger.
"Come in and make yourself comfy."
"In-room HBO not entertaining enough, Faith?" I asked sharply as I stepped into the room.
The young man attempted to bustle past me when my hand shot out and grasped him by the collar. I reached my other hand inside my jacket, swinging it open enough to give him a view of the pistol hanging in its shoulder holster. My hand emerged instead with a hundred dollar bill. I tucked it into the young man's shirt pocket.
"We were never here," I commanded coolly, before all but throwing him out on his arse.
I shut the door with my boot and turned finally back to Faith.
"Now, Faith, if you're finished playing with the local boys..." I heard a snide tone to the word that surprised even me. "... then there's work to be done."
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"You're jokin', right?" I asked, flashing an amused smile toward him over my shoulder to witness the young man being threatened by Wes' impressive hardware. Kinky. I dropped the bedsheet and began to dress my bare body as he was busying with the poor guy, trying to hide if not overcome the deep rooted hesitant apology that I continually felt in the ex-Watcher's presence. It was always Wes and B, the two people that I hurt the most. Always had that uncomfortable feelin' 'round them two, no matter what circumstance I was in. "They make ya pay for that borin' shit. Hell, this was free." I shrugged and shook my head slowly, wonderin' why the hell I always felt like I had to explain myself 'round him. Not even I could figure it out.
I guess, for the time bein', I wasn't 'bout to. Had to get my ass to L.A. as fast as possible to put this Hellgod to the ground. So I began dressing.. I slipped my bra on over my chest and clasped it in the back, followed by the replacement of my socks and black lace trim thong. My favorite. Had to give out a smirk in my own amusement when I watched him give my ex-boytoy some cash and then basically a kick in his ass on the way out.
Yep, I wasn't 'bout to get any action in this town again. Not like there was much to begin with.
"Now, Faith, if you're finished playing with the local boys..."
I raised my head and tossed my hair to the other side before pulling my shirt down over me. "What, Wes? Sayin' I should go for foreigners?" I passed a playful wink at him to y'know, try and lighten the stiff guy up. I mean he was makin' me feel uncomfortable enough just him bein' here n' all though I doubt he knew it. Not like I was gonna let 'im in on the secret of how I felt. Can't ruin the image, not to mention I didn't feel like inching toward a conversation I knew I wasn't goin' to like.
.. but I knew it was bound to come and bite me in the ass one of these days no matter how much I tried to avoid it.
"... then there's work to be done."
"Alright, alright," I submitted, hopping a couple times to help pull my tight leather pants up onto my hips. "I got my stuff packed n' I'm ready ta roll, chief." My leather jacket was thrown on, the sleeves a bit too long for my arms made 'em cover my hands. I thought it was pretty wicked that way. "Where's the fire? What's the hubbub.. bub?" I grinned again and collected my stuff, makin' sure to have one, nice handy stake tucked protectively within my sleeve.
Just in case.
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I turned my attention briefly from assertively escorting Faith's liaison out the door towards the bed, where her voice had come from. A flush of warmth suffused my face, part anger and part embarassment at the sheer amount of... Faith... that had just very literally flashed, for no more than a fraction of a second, before my eyes.
At some between ordering Lilah to remove her panties during a business meeting and shagging her on the dining room table while she was dressed as a poor imitation of Fred, I'd long since lost the right to be prudish. But Faith was still Faith, and someone I still considered to be, in a way, my responsibility. Untoward thoughts about her were simply that. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, that restriction simply serves to make those thoughts more frequent and more lingering.
I took a deep breath, calming myself, reminding myself of the exceptionally dire task at hand. Turning my head slightly back towards the bed, I found Faith at least covered by her undergarments and shrugging on a shirt.
"What, Wes? Sayin' I should go for foreigners?" she said, winking, and I went speechless for a moment. Was Faith baiting me? By her nature, she was damn near shameless and entirely unconcerned with propriety.
Well, she had seen that I was no longer timid or hesitant about the darker, more violent side of this life. I wondered idly if Faith could possibly shocked by some of the other kinds of darkness I'd touched.
"I wasn't criticising citizenship, Faith," I replied in an easy, but smugly confident tone, "but rather what must surely have been the young man's lack of experience and ability."
Faith slid-- well, wriggled might actually be the more precise and distracting term for it-- into her trousers, and then her jacket, hoisting a duffel over her shoulder.
"Alright, alright. I got my stuff packed n' I'm ready ta roll, chief. Where's the fire? What's the hubbub.. bub?"
I smirked.
"Responses in order are: good, back in Los Angeles, and the full story's a little too long and detailed to discuss over the radios in my helmets. But then, the story always is for people like us, isn't it?" I added as an aside.
I opened to door and gestured towards the small diner that sat beside the motel.
"Have you eaten?"
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Had to smirk a little to that. Maybe it was jus' me but did I just see Wes look my way? Didn't matter really, he could look all he wanted, I really had nothin' to be ashamed about. But c'mon, it's Wes, who I might say have added quite a number of wicked qualities since I saw him.. more of 'em at least. Lookin' back on the guy who was my Watcher in Sunny-D you really can't see the two bein' the same..
Made me wonder sometimes of all the shit that's happened to him besides me of course because.. you don't get there alone. Believe me, I know.
"Hey, just 'cause he was rotten doesn't mean I was," I countered, pulling the bottom of my shirt down over the rest of my belly before my hand gripped tightly to the strap of the very little collection of luggage I was carrying. "Hell, most toys they make for girls can't move on their own anyway." I snickered quietly to myself, gripping the strap of my bag and lookin' over Wes' way before attemptin' to make way to the exit so that we can hit the road. Couldn't help but feel a bit, well, anxious. Maybe because it feels like I haven't gotten into a good fight for so long..
I was lookin' forward to it. Yet again at the same time.. not. Never can trust anythin' when it comes to a Hellgod.
"Responses in order are: good, back in Los Angeles, and the full story's a little too long and detailed to discuss over the radios in my helmets. But then, the story always is for people like us, isn't it?"
I stopped my trail to the door when I was near enough to smell his aftershave. I think it was aftershave. "Stories are over-rated anyway, don't ya think?" I cocked my head to the side slightly, the tone within my voice a little less chipper. "I was always partial to those choose-your-own-adventure books. Y'know, the ones with different endings?" My expression turned blank for a moment as I stared dead ahead. "But.. then again I always found the 'you died' endings. Huh. Ironic, yeah?" I smiled again and chuckled to myself while I walked out the door when he opened the door. Couldn't help but smile a bit.. were we actually havin' a no wicked tension conversation?
"Have you eaten?"
"Depends on your definition, chief," I answered over my shoulder. Yeah, I still have it in me. But maybe it was time to get in serious mood. ".. actually, I wouldn't mind goin' for a small bite if we can get the time." Or a drink.. after an encounter like I had I felt pretty wicked tensed.
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I raised an eyebrow as I walked beside Faith towards the small diner. "I don't believe I ever got to read those sort of books growing up. Do have to say that I like the idea of being able to choose one's own destiny, though."
"Depends on your definition, chief... actually, I wouldn't mind goin' for a small bite if we can get the time."
As we crossed the parking lot, I caught sight of the young man from before-- Faith's, ah, companion-- talking quite animatedly to a group of his equally immature male friends. His eyes caught mine, and I gave him a scowl that left no doubt regarding my opinion. The group departed the parking lot quickly.
Inside the greasy spoon, which very much lived up to the term, Faith tossed her bag into the booth before taking a seat, and I slid onto the bench opposite her. I ordered a coffee, then began halfheartedly perusing the menu. I glanced up from the decievingly attractive pictures of food at Faith. Though we'd parted ways on fairly good terms some months ago, I doubted if either of us thought that all of our mutual issues were resolved.
Who would I be, I mused, if not for the young woman sitting across from me? Would I have ended up in Los Angeles, a 'rogue demon hunter', and signed on with Angel? If not for that rainy night, that now seemed a lifetime ago, would I have known how to survive my time in exile from the Hyperion? would I have been strong enough?
I still bore a few of those scars. And part of me was proud of it.
When I realized that I'd been staring at her for several seconds, I smiled awkwardly and resumed looking at the menu.
"So," I started weakly, "since you're here, I take it you're not signing on with the new Slayers and Watchers, then?"
It wasn't that I could blame her. Buffy's group, her... family... Faith never seemed like the type to fit in there. There was a harder, tougher, perhaps even darker element to Los Angeles and our group that seemed much more her style.
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We went into the restaurant to where I promptly lowered my bag and made a seat while I watched my ex-Watcher settled across from me. Coffee was ordered luckily to keep my nerves goin' for the rest of the night and a menu was given to me.
I was lookin' at the list of food and tryin' to figure out what the hell I should order from this trashbin but that's 'bout the same time I was able to catch a brief look from Wes. I wanted to instantly say "What?" but I kinda held my breath this time. Fuck, still can't get over this feelin' I get when I'm 'round him. Seems like every thing I do I judge myself like it was my parents watchin' me in a school play.. or 'fraid to get ketchup on my shirt. I smirked again to myself, my eyes peerin' over at him and little knowing that he was pretty much thinkin' the same thoughts I was..
Look at 'im though. The man's grown a long damn way, that's for sure, and I knew I played a big role. I'd take back all the shit if I could, all the choices and the mistakes that led me down this road, but at the same time my fight for redemption is what made me who I am today. And I gotta say, I'm one tough little bitch!
Is it true when they say things happen for a reason? I'm not into the fortune cookie bullshit but that's a sayin' I always held at the back of my mind when I was stayin' in the big house.
"So, since you're here, I take it you're not signing on with the new Slayers and Watchers, then?"
"What?" I questioned through my wanderin' thoughts which was quickly cast aside. Probably looked hella dumb with that dreamy ass gaze held on my face. ".. nah, you know me Wes, that's not my gig." My gaze wavered back to the menu despite the fact I wasn't exactly readin' it..
"'sides," I continued, ".. figured a Slayer on your team would make the fight a bit more even, don't ya think?"
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