Title: Until the end of the world, 4/5..
Fandom: Angel.
Characters: Connor, Faith.
Summary: The end is nigh. Faith can see it coming. Connor's just along for the ride.

The day they arrive in Africa is also the day they fuck.

Connor drags their boat up the beach, looking for some way to secure it until they come back. Faith has just grabbed her pack and walked away, and he has to run to catch up.

There's a road at the top of the beach, and a couple of houses, and some demons, although they're mostly dead by the time Connor gets there. Then Faith gestures for him to follow her into one of the houses, where he watches as she kicks a space clear on the living room floor and then starts to pull off her clothes.

It's like nothing he's ever experienced before in his life. Once again, Connor watches Faith's face, and once again he finds himself beginning to understand why she's alive when everyone else is dead.

Afterwards Faith gets up, leaving Connor bruised and winded on the floor, and discovers that there's still running water, at least here. It's cold, but they both shower, separately, and then dress again, wrapping themselves in weapons and armour.

Watching Faith, Connor thinks he sees elements of ritual in the way she places her knives and holsters her guns. He has no such formality in his approach; survival allows no delays, and anything you cannot abandon instantly is a weakness.

She hasn't spoken since Rome, until now.

"Last chance to back out."

He's surprised. It hadn't occurred to him that there was even the possibility.

She shrugs, and walks out, and he follows her.

--

"Where are we going?" He asks, an hour later.

"The desert."

"The desert? Do you know what you're looking for there?"

She doesn't answer. Wrong question, he realises.

"Do you know what you're going to find?"

"Death." She says. "It's our gift. It's all we've got left."

And he nods, and they walk on.

--

That night, they have their first real conversation.

"What did you want?" She asks him. They've made a fire in an empty military base; there's a jeep parked outside that they've loaded with fuel, and they've killed every demon they could find and found a room with no decomposing human corpses in it, and now she's sitting beside him, looking into the fire.

It occurs to Connor that she's probably not much older than he is.

"I was going to be a doctor." He replies, after a moment. "You?"

"Nothing but this." There's a pause, and a lot she doesn't say. "I was never much good at anything else."

It's a cue, but he's not sure what he's meant to say to that.

"My name's Faith." She says after another pause.

"I know." He says. "I'm Connor."

She glances at him, and there's actual curiosity in her eyes.

"There was a spell." He explains. "Everyone lost their memories. Wesley and I got them back eventually, nobody else remembered I existed."

She thinks about this for a long moment.

"So who are you really, Connor?"

"Angel's son."

"You're shitting me." She sounds amused. This is good; he hasn't seen any emotions from her since St Peter's.

"It's the truth."

"And we used to hang out?"

"You beat me unconscious once."

He's rather surprised that she doesn't ask why.

Faith doesn't ask many questions.

--

The next day, they drive into the desert.