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Dying Fear
By Rach
Pairing: Andrew/Anya
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own zilch!
Setting: During and after “Chosen”
Summary: Anya’s scared … but of what?
Dedication: For Rainie! I’m sending you heaps of huggles and other goodness right across the ocean!
~~**~~
“Anya?”
“Shh … I’m concentrating.”
Andrew frowned. “On what?”
“On not dying.”
He looked around them. The halls of Sunnydale High were deserted. “There’s nobody here, Anya.”
“I know that,” she sighed. “But I also know that once the Turok-Han get here, I’ll be all caught up in the thrill of the fight, so now is the time for concentration. Strategising. That kind of thing.”
“Oh.” Andrew fell silent for a moment. “Anya?”
“Oh for crap’s sake,” she rolled her eyes. “What is it, Andrew?”
“We’re going to die, aren’t we?”
She shrugged. “Probably.”
“We could just make a run for it. Leave Sunnydale behind us, head for the bright lights, the big city … they’ll all be dead anyway. They’d never know.”
Anya considered it for a second, and then turned around to face Andrew. “No. We agreed. I mean, we’ve decided we're most likely going to lose anyway, so no matter where we are, we’ll die before too long.” She looked back down the corridor. “Now, let me get back to thinking about bunnies.”
“Bunnies? That’s hardly going to work your anger up, is it? I mean, I know I suggested it, but I was just thinking of, you know, distraction tactics.”
Anya gripped her sword tighter as she rolled her eyes. “You think bunnies aren’t scary? Those little scratchy paws? Their shiny, beady eyes? And just exactly why do they need to eat so many carrots if they’re not going to come and kill you in your sleep?”
Andrew stared at her, and then looked around nervously. “I never thought about it like that.”
Anya laughed nastily. “No. Nobody ever does. Not until it’s too late.”
“You know, now I’m really not sure whether I’m more scared of the ubervamps or the rabbits.”
“At last! Someone who can appreciate my fear; usually people just look at me like I’m insane. Pat me on the head. ‘There there, Anya. Don’t worry about the rabbits; I’m sure they have better things to do.’ But I know they’re out there. Waiting for their chance to strike.”
Andrew just stared at her. “You know, as evil geniuses go? I kinda suck. I mean, I’m facing an apocalypse that’s just minutes away, and I’m worrying about bunnies.”
“Well, to be fair, nobody’s ever going to know.”
****
“Was she scared?” Xander asked, his voice shaking. They’d all sat around, pretty close to silence, for almost two hours until Giles managed to herd them all back into the bus to drive out of there. Buffy had become strangely law-abiding since turning her entire town into a giant hole in the ground, and was concerned about the fact that Giles hadn’t renewed his drivers’ license, but he shushed her. Apparently that was the least of their worries and if any of the police tried to stop them, he said he’d just send them right on through to Sunnydale.
Nobody objected this time. Even Andrew was strangely silent for once. Xander leant over from the seat behind him and asked again. “Was she scared?”
Andrew smiled a little. “Not really. Well, yes, but only of the rabbits. And actually, she was mostly angry at them anyway.”
Xander screwed up his face in confusion. “I thought the rabbits had all fled Sunnydale along with the people and the birds and the spiders and pretty much everything that isn’t us.”
“Spiders only flee the Basilisk. And the furniture polish. They’re all about the apocalypse though.”
Xander stared. “What?”
Andrew looked up. “I mean, no, there weren’t any rabbits actually present at the apocalypse. This time. They were her fear displacement tactic … thing.”
****
“Anya, do you remember when we were in the hospital and we both agreed that you may well be the perfect woman?”
“Of course. Like I said then, it’s something I’ve thought for a long time.”
“Yeah. Well, the thing is…”
“Are you asking if you can have sex with me?”
“NO!” Andrew blushed furiously and looked away from her.
“Because if you are, I probably wouldn’t say no.”
Andrew’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t?!” He squeaked, and then coughed. “I mean … you wouldn’t?”
She shrugged. “I mean, the floor is fairly clean, and we’re all going to die anyway, as we’ve already established, so it’s not like there’d be any later point in which to regret anything.”
Andrew blushed again. “The thing is …”
“You’re a virgin.” She interrupted, bluntly.
“No!” Again, Andrew protested furiously before averting his eyes from Anya’s gaze. “Okay yes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know stuff.”
Anya smirked, and took a handful of his shirt, pulling him closer to her. Kissing him, she dropped her sword and whispered gruffly into his ear. “Shirt. Off.”
“Yes ma’am.”
****
“Anya!” Andrew watched as a Bringer knocked her sword from her hands. As she kicked it in the knee, Andrew killed another with his own sword and kicked hers back to her.
“Thanks,” she yelled, grabbing it and stabbed her Bringer in the chest. As it collapsed, she took a deep breath, and headed back into the throng, killing two more in quick succession. She tried to fight her way through the Bringers that were surrounding Andrew. Lifting her sword, she stabbed one of them sharply, smiling with satisfaction as it fell to the ground.
As she moved to attack another of the Bringers, she didn’t notice one come up behind her. Andrew took a breath to yell her name, but things were happening in slow motion. As the Bringer lifted its own sword above its head, everything sped up and the sword came crashing down, slicing through Anya’s body. For a split second Andrew almost ran to her, but he knew he had a duty to do – and if he died because of her, she would totally harass him in heaven. As he lifted his sword and turned back to the Bringers, his voice finally came back to him. Jabbing it into the chest of the nearest Bringer, he grinned, determined.
“This is for Anya.”
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