"A hacker? Like a bank robber?"
Skye smiled at the dark-haired girl who sat next to her at the bar. "You watch too many movies," she said, sipping the cheap beer the girl had ordered for her.
"Not really. The last one I saw was about three months ago." Faith took a swig of her beer. She made that repulsive "ahh" sound that Skye hated to hear. "But I'll take the bait. What kind of hacker?"
"I'm a social activist-"
"Please don't say 'hacktivist'."
Skye grinned. "I wasn't going to."
"Oh, thank you. The last girlfriend I had- well, she wasn't really a girlfriend, but we were fucking and anyway- she once killed this dude with an axe and told me he had to split."
Skye nearly choked on her beer. Fortunately for Skye, who was taking a liking to the girl, "Faith" (clearly a fake name, Skye thought) mistook Skye's laughter for disgust.
"I know, right? And then she dumps me for this-this guy who-ugh, I hope he loves her puns." Faith took another long drink of her beer. Again with the "ahh" sound.
"Hold on, you said she killed somebody?"
"Don't worry about it," Faith waved her hand absent-mindedly. "He was a murderer. I had it on good authority that he killed three people. I saw him poke a guy's eye out. He got his." Plus, he was trying to end the world, Faith didn't say.
Her voice was rough and a little bit scratchy. Skye Faith looked like a weary traveler who'd seen too much, a bit like a soldier. The bar lights emphasized her dark hair.
You're beautiful, Skye thought.
"Anyway, she always tried to be funny like-"
"So do you wanna fuck or just talk?" Skye asked abruptly.
Faith gave her a shit-eating grin. "Well, I was gonna let you choose, but if you're up for it…"
Skye nodded.
"My place or yours?"
"Yours. I've got a van."
"I've got a shitty motel room two blocks away. Let's go."
"So, do you wanna make this a regular thing?" Faith asked.
They'd just had sex. Faith was surprised that it wasn't Skye's first time, and Skye was glad for the release. Now, they lay in Faith's bed. Faith had one arm draped lazily around Skye's waist. If it wasn't for her Slayer powers, she might've had as much trouble recovering her breathing as Skye.
"I have a boyfriend."
"Really," Faith said, chuckling. "Didn't seem to be in your way tonight, did he? Aren't you a bad girl, cheating on your boyfriend like that?"
Skye grinned. "Aren't you a bad girl, picking up strangers in bars?"
Faith grinned back. "Baby, I've always been bad. I remember breaking the law before I remember learning it."
Skye nodded thoughtfully and glanced at the electronic clock behind Faith. "I've got half an hour. How long are you staying in town?"
"'Till the next apocalypse, I'm sure. It's weird how many vampires there are in sunny towns. I think I've got about two weeks."
Skye ignored Faith's nonsense about apocalypses and vampires. She assumed it was drug terminology or some other thing that she didn't want any part of.
"Let's do this again on Monday night. I'll meet you at the bar at ten."
"Shit, today's Thursday, right?"
"Friday, actually," Skye said as she carefully disentangled from Faith and slid out of bed.
Faith glanced over at the clock behind her. "Where you going, babe? It's two-thirty in the morning."
"You think I haven't done this before?" Skye was pulling on her jeans and looking for her shirt. "Miles gets back at three, I'm in bed snoring before he notices a thing. Fuck, where's my bra?"
"I'll give it to you if you tell me your name." Faith held Skye's bra, and Skye knew not to try to fight Faith.
"Skye," Skye said, trying to pull the bra out of Faith's hands.
Faith tightened her grip on the bra. "Your real name."
"What, like Faith's a real name?"
"Faith Lehane, born to Mary Lehane and George Patrick Lehane. Your turn."
Skye was growing indignant. "I picked the name Skye years ago and it is as real and legitimate as any other name. Now give me my bra!"
"Alright, alright," Faith relented, releasing her grip on Skye's bra. "But next time you tell me more."
"Fine," Skye muttered as she pulled on her shirt and slipped out the door. "If there is a next time." She had to get home first.
Faith lay back in bed and sighed. That was the some of the best sex she'd had in a long time. Some of the only sex she'd had in a long time, and she was going to have it again.
She smiled as she fell asleep.