Title: Swingers
Challenge Set: 3
Challenge: 88 - Words
Rating: 14+
Word Count: 1056
Pairings: None
Summary: There are the names we are given. The names we earn. And there are the names that truly define us.
Other Notes: Early 1998, Frostbite is 30. Mature language and themes are rampant.

Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here everyday
Ya learn ta live like an animal
In the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see
You'll take it eventually
You can have anything you want
But you better not take it from me

Welcome to The Jungle – Guns n' Roses

The old saying was true: you couldn't swing a dead cat in an airport hotel bar without hitting a moron. Or a drunk. Or a pervert just looking to get a little. Or all three.

And she just had to get the prize of them all, didn't she?

One that certainly didn't take a hint.

Jesus Christ…

Though Talia had never had a partner, she certainly knew the truth; sex wasn't anything like what the masses advertised. It wasn't the sort of transcendent, life-altering experience that the poets hinted at. It wasn't pure or beautiful or even gloriously spiritual. It certainly wasn't the ultimate expression of romantic love found in all the smutty water cooler gossip Talia listened to when no one was watching. The truth was rather less glamorous.

Sex was messy; she knew this; just an endlessly flawed and awkward meeting of two people for a brief amount of time. Male and female bodies were made to fit together, true, but even nature's designs were imperfect. There always seemed to be a lot of fumbling, near-misses that often resulted in bumped noses and elbowed ribs. Love-talk wasn't at all poetic; it tended toward the vulgar and the inarticulate, featuring more grunts than declarations of undying love.

The gossip also failed to mention the squelching noises and the stained sheets. Or even the strange smell.

In fact, the participants found the act frequently unsatisfying and sometimes quite painful. It generally left people sore and bruised in ways they couldn't anticipate. Sex was also more than just a little bit degrading and left one completely open and vulnerable to their partner, and for Talia, experiencing such degradation or such vulnerability was at the bottom of her list. It was something that no reasonably sane person should try more than once or twice. Heck, if it wasn't for necessity of the procreation of the species, any sane person should know better than to attempt to try it at all.

Talia was a sane woman.

The guy who had just bought her another glass of whiskey was obviously not.

"Okay. Fine. You're looking for female companionship for the night. I can appreciate that, but I'm not it. If you go three blocks down, there are plenty of lovely ladies who would love to spend the night with you. Hell, it won't be cheap and I certainly won't speak for your health afterwards… but, hey, you certainly don't seem to be the choosy type, do you? Now shove off."

She shoved the whiskey towards him and signalled for another of her own. No way in hell was she accepting that drink. Talia didn't want him to think she owed him anything.

"What do you mean you're not interested? You're in a bar, drinking shot after shot of Daniels, no ring on that lovely finger of yours, wearing that tight leather number…" the lawyer snorted down into her drink; she had forgotten to take off her biking gear before coming down to the hotel bar, "I'd say you're looking for something – wantin' something bad. And baby, I've got just what the doctor ordered."

"Want?" Talia rumbled, dangerously offended. The man in front of her seemed to think her black and white no was actually in that grey realm of playing hard to get. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and smoke on his clothes and curled back her lip in revulsion. Never mind she probably was starting to reek just as badly. "What I want is to get piss drunk in peace."

Glancing at the bartender irritably – to which he shrugged, clearly saying, 'this is a bar, what did you expect' – she gave a last snort and glowered at the papers before her. There were the final papers documenting the sale of her condominium and the transfer of the funds from that sale into her bank account, her severance papers from the Department of Justice, the pass she would use to get onto the nearby grounds of the Ronald Reagan National Airport, and assorted other documents that signalled the end of her life in Washington, DC.

Tonight was her last night. Tomorrow she would meet someone named Skyfire and…

Her thoughts shattered.

There was something running down her thigh. Stroking. Talia whirled and struck, fingers grabbing, digging in and twisting. "Gggh!" the man choked as the woman rose and snarled down at him:

"Listen, pally. I don't know how many times I have to beat this into your thick skull. So here are your options. Either beat a tactical retreat or…" Her fist tightened. "This little soldier becomes a causality of the war of the sexes. Do we have an understanding?"

The man nodded, whimpering. She released him and said "Now fuck off!"

Staggering back and clutching his groin, the man managed to make it to the door before firing off a parting shot, "It makes sense why a bitch like you is single. You're freaking ice! Any man that touched you would have his jolly bits fall off from frostbite by the time you're through."

The lawyer sneered and snickered as the man hobbled out as fast as his wounded pride would allow him. "Good," she grunted as she tossed back what was left of her drink. The portly bartender put down one more shot of Jack Daniels and muttered, "On the house, lady. You've earned it."

"Thanks," and picking up the drink, Talia swallowed the contents in one gulp, ignoring the way her throat and belly seemed to explode with flames. She was not nearly drunk enough, but this would have to do.

Sliding a handful of bills across the bar, she grabbed her papers and made for the exit. The woman needed a hot shower, needed to scrub her skin until all of the filth that had collected on her skin from the encounter had sluiced down the drain with the water.

However something caused her to pause for a second and chuckle.

"Frostbite, eh? Heh, I like that."