Title: A Sky of Dust
Author: Karen U
E-mail: revivingophelia13@yahoo.com
Category: crossover
Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, and other entities
that I have nothing to do with, and WWF characters belong to the WWF
Distribution: Temptation Embraced, Charity, otherwise ask first
Rating: PG
Spoilers: BtVS - my own little 'verse, I suppose (season 5-ish); WWF -
4/30/2001 RAW
Summary: Edge meets someone in a bar...
Notes: I blame this one on stress from finals...

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

She sat quietly in the bar, not entirely sure what city she was in, and not
really caring. It was enough to know that she was far away from California.
It was enough to know that she was someone else.

It was enough to be away, at least for now.

{ Graffiti decorations
Underneath a sky of dust
A constant wave of tension
On top of broken trust
The lessons that you taught me
I learned were never true }

She’d left without warning, sick of being who she was, sick of the lies that
surrounded her, sick of being blamed for their lies when she discovered
them. She’d found out one too many secrets about the people she had been
with, one too many little indiscretions, and she just couldn’t take it
anymore. One too many people had deceived her, one too many people had
disappointed her, and she’d just had to escape.

Sighing, she shook her head, wondering if there was a neon sign on her head
that said lie to me and cheat on me that she just couldn’t see.

But she was away from that now. No one knew who she was, and she was
free... Or as free as she could be.

{ Now I find myself in question
(They point the finger at me again)
Guilty by association
(You point the finger at me again) }

Edge absently stirred his drink with his straw, somewhere between semi-sober
and a bit buzzed, trying to get his mind off that night. He hated fighting
with his brother, but tonight had just been so frustrating. Damn it, he’d
had the stupid match won...

Sighing, he let his eyes trail over the other occupants of the bar, which
didn’t take very long since the place was practically empty. His gaze fell
on a pretty young woman who was probably in her early twenties. She wasn’t
really what he’d consider his type, but there was something to her
expression that got him... She looked so sad.

She looked like he felt.

{ I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind }

She felt eyes on her and looked up, spotting the attractive man sitting
several seats away almost instantly. Hell, he was the only other person in
the bar that looked to be under the age of thirty. He was so good-looking,
her first thought was that he couldn’t be staring at her, and she had to
fight the desire to turn and look to see if someone was behind her.
However, she knew that there weren’t very many people in the bar, that it
had to be her he was looking at, but it was still hard for her to believe.

Just habit, she guessed... So used to being overlooked. So sick of being
overlooked.

So sick of being someone’s second choice.

{ Paper bags and angry voices
Under a sky of dust
Another wave of tension
Has more than filled me up
All my talk of taking action
These words were never true }

Without thinking, Edge stood, his gaze remaining locked with hers as he
walked over to her. As he approached, he held out his hand, smiling a
little as he asked her to dance. The music that was being played was
somewhere between country and pop, but it was pleasant, and she slid off the
stool she was on, allowing him to pull her out onto the makeshift dance
floor, the two of them the only ones on it. As the song came to an end, he
looked down on her, acting on a mixture of impulse and a little too much to
drink...

And he kissed her.

{ Now I find myself in question
(They point the finger at me again)
Guilty by association
(You point the finger at me again) }

She almost shoved him away when his mouth pressed against hers, knowing that
was what her friends would expect of her, what she expected of herself, but
then she gave a mental shrug. The others weren’t here, they would never
know, and even if they did, why in the hell did she care? They’d done more
than of enough of this on their own to condemn her for this one
indiscretion. So instead of pushing her away, she gave into the kiss,
pulling him closer and enjoying being someone other than herself for awhile.

{ I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind }

Things seemed to go in a blur from there. Maybe it was the fact that he’d
had a little too much to drink, maybe it was the intoxicating taste of her
mouth, but he didn’t want to let her go. He didn’t want to lose the way it
felt to have her in his arms... And damn it, he didn’t even know her name.

Sighing softly, he pulled away from her a little, looking down into her
eyes, and he saw in them the answer to a question he’d been afraid to ask.

{ I’m gonna run away
And never say goodbye
Gotta run away
Gotta run away }

Without thinking, he dropped his arms from around her, taking her hand and
looking towards the door. “Do you-?”

She nodded, not even making him finish the question, and without giving
either one of them the time to think, he tossed enough money on the bar to
pay for both of their bills and began to head for the door, ignoring the
knowing looks from the bartender and patrons, not caring what they thought.
This wasn’t something that he normally did, and something about her told him
that it was new for her, too.

{ I’m gonna run away
And never wonder why
Gotta run away
Gotta run away }

He didn’t take her to his hotel, somehow knowing that she wanted to keep
with the anonymity of the situation, and besides, what in the hell was he
going to tell his brother if he just showed up with her? So instead of
attempting to come up with an answer for that one, he pulled into a small
hotel that looked nice enough, and she waited in the car while he went to
get a room.

{ I’m gonna run away
An open up my eyes
Gotta run away
Gotta run away }

Once they had the room, she followed him inside, and they just stood there
for a moment, looking at each other, both of them suddenly uncertain... And
then she held out her hand to him.

Edge wasn’t altogether sure what happened next, all he knew was that somehow
they ended up on the bed as they pushed away the barriers of each other’s
clothing, kissing and caressing each piece of newly bared skin... Both of
them crying out as he finally entered her, taking his time, then moving as
one towards the oblivion they were both seeking...

{ I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind }

She lay there after it was over, stroking his long blonde hair until his
breathing evened out, indicating that he was falling asleep, trying to give
herself enough time for her own breathing to return to normal. After a
moment, she moved away from him, heading to quickly clean up before reaching
for her clothes and slipping them on as quietly as possible.

Before she left, she glanced around for something to write with, her eyes
landing on hotel stationary, and she grabbed it, scribbling a short note on
it, not sure why she was doing it, but actually signing her real name... It
wasn’t like she’d actually see him again.

{ I wanna run away
And open up my mind... }

Edge reached out for her as he woke up, frowning as all he came up with was
a pillow... and a slip of paper. His frown deepened as he groggily opened
his eyes, reading the note to himself then cursing softly, mad that he had
just let her leave. After a moment, however, he looked at the note again,
his eyes going to the signature.

Willow. What a pretty name.

The End