Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast

The motel was on Buffy's way back from the Bronze. Well, pretty much. And after being hunted all night it felt nice just walking and talking with someone who understood, so when Faith asked her in Buffy figured what the hell. With all the energy she'd worked up and the frustration of losing the stupid homecoming queen thing she wasn't really in any mood to go to bed anyway. 

Faith sat down on the motel bed, kicked off her shoes and shook her hair loose. "Pop quiz, B: Yesterday, I killed a vampire with a bottle of wine. How?"

"Communion wine?" Buffy looked at her ruined dress, then sat down on the only chair in the room.

"Good idea, gotta try that. But no.”

"You... poured it over him, lit a match, and woosh?"

"Nope."

"Alright, I give. How did you kill a vampire with a bottle of wine?"

Faith grinned and produced a bottle from under the bed. "I took the bottle off him before I staked him. Drinks are on me."

"That was bad," Buffy groaned.

Faith laughed as she unscrewed the cork. "'S my middle name, yo. Put some music on."

* * *

Faith was asleep. OK. She should probably sneak out now. 

It felt weird, being the sneak-outer in this situation and not the sneak-outee. Not that she'd had a lot of these situations, obviously. Should she leave a note, or... OK, in her experience, correct protocol involved losing your soul and killing people, so pretty much anything she did would be better than that. Besides, Faith probably didn't want Buffy to be here when she woke up anyway.

and speaking of weird she had sex on the first date, sex with a girl, sex with FAITH, and it was... does that mean she's... aaand she's going to have to deal with all of this later. AFTER she's gotten out of here.

Buffy slowly and carefully wriggled out from under Faith's arm, telling herself that the sleep noise the other girl made probably meant "go away", and started looking around the room. The radio was still playing quietly. Had the dancing really been her idea? And then a slow ballad had come on, and that memory, and the tingle that went with it, also went in the Later pile. The homecoming dress was ruined even before they got here, and she was pretty sure she heard some seams burst when she put it back on, but it would have to do to get her home. Same with the shoes, and ... and how the heck did her panties end up on the ceiling lamp? Nevermind. Just pull up a chair, and

- CLUNK -

Shhhhhcrap. She quickly picked up the wine bottle, but a puddle was soaking into the carpet. Had they really had just one glass? And -

"B?" Faith sat up in bed, blinking awake and very naked, which made looking at her and carrying on a conversation a whole thing. "You leaving?"

Boy, she just asked that. Buffy held up the bottle. "Sorry, I think I messed up your carpet."

Faith shrugged. "Screw it. They never give back the security deposit anyway."

"I could - " Buffy fumbled in her purse for a few bills. 

Faith sneered, fully awake now and back to her usual defensive self. "You know, there's a difference between sneaking out, and sneaking out and leaving a tip. That may be you, but it ain't me."

"Oh." If you blush in a dark room, does it really count? But no, she was pretty sure that whatever she was, that wasn't it; the money quickly went back in the purse. "I didn't mean - "

"But hey, if you need to go, just ... I mean, whatever." 

"Look, it's not that I want to, but, um…" Quick thinking. "I had this prophetic dream and - "

"Oh bullshit." Faith seemed to want to bite her tongue, then went on. "You get a prophetic dream, I get one too. And I was sleeping like a baby. Tell yourself whatever you need to, but leave me out of it."

"Faith - "

"I mean it. Get the fuck out. I need a shower anyway." Faith got out of bed, stomped over to the tiny bathroom and slammed the door behind her. A few seconds later Buffy heard the sound of a low-pressure shower coughing to life.

Outside, a car engine started. Someone else leaving in the middle of the night. She looked around the room Faith had been living in for a month now, with little more than an old duffel bag, a first aid kit, a box of Tide Travel Sink and half a bottle of wine to show for it. And she decided that whatever Buffy Summers was, she was done with running away from things. She wriggled out of her ruined dress, pulled a sweatshirt from Faith's bag over her head and got back in bed just as the bathroom door opened.

Buffy kept her back turned, but from what she could hear, Faith didn't move. "What are you doing?" Faith finally asked.

"Going to bed."

Faith stood still for a few more seconds and then let out a deep breath. "Whatever. Suit yourself."

"Always do."

"Fine."

"Fine." 

Faith carefully got in on her side with as much space between them as the narrow bed allowed. As Buffy drifted off to sleep, she thought she felt something lightly brush against her hair.