Apple Pie

A Meal, A Bed, and A Kiss

July 22, 2003

Series of ficlets of under 1000 words following Chosen. Answer to a challenge by Kaz. Present for the official announcement of Inner Geekdom as the Xandrew zone of the BtVS Writer's Guild.

Thanks to Dove for the quick beta.

* * *

"Xander?" Andrew called, watching as the dark haired man continued to stare into space, as all the group was chatting loudly around the large table they sat at.

Bruised, battered, clothes torn and dirty, they had received more than their fair share of glares as they entered the small diner, but nevertheless, they sat down and ordered. Who wasn't hungry after such a fight?

They'd patched up the small injuries as best they could with their supplies and then had left Robin, Buffy and Rona at the nearest hospital with Faith watching over them. Giles had argued to stay there, but Faith had been more than convincing, telling him that he needed food, shower and then a nice bed to sleep on. She was still high on the energy from the fight and wasn't so bruised that she couldn't stay and wait for their friends to be able to leave the hospital.

And now, here they were, in a small diner, not 30 minutes away from the remains of what used to be Sunnydale. Already, the small tv on the counter showed images of the wreckage and experts were trying to explain the phenomenon. An Earthquake was their most plausible answer, but it would be days before they would finally settle for that explanation.

"Xander?" Andrew repeated, his resolve slowly fading away, as he considered just backing away, back to his seat, to enjoy the nice and warm apple pie that the waitress had just brought him.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Xander turned around and nodded at the nervous young man beside him. "What is it Andrew?" He asked, his voice hoarse, as if he was suppressing tears. Of joy or pain, Andrew couldn't say, but he knew that the brunette had the right to both.

"I..." Andrew stuttered slightly. "I just... Can I... I wanted to..." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a short moment. "I just wanted to say I'm so... I'm sorry." He finally whispered, casting his eyes down, to avoid Xander's gaze.

"Sorry for what?" Xander asked, his voice unexpectedly gentle.

"Well, you know... for... for... for An..." He chocked on their late friend's name. "For Anya. And for everything..." He waved dismissively, trying to act nonchalant, tears threatening to cloud his eyes.

Xander closed his eye, a single tear falling down his cheek. "You shouldn't feel sorry, Andrew. You lived. You should cheer for that. I mean, instead of counting the deaths, we should look at how many of us survived." His voice dropped down, as his eye scanned through the people sitting and eating in the diner. "And how many lives we saved. Again."

Andrew nodded. "Yeah, maybe. But I don't... I can't... I can't cheer knowing that she... she..." He gulped, not able to finish his thought.

"She died Andrew. Saving your life." Xander took a deep breath, calming himself before he could break down. "Yeah, it's hard to think that I'll... we'll never see her again, but she died a hero. I think for her sake, you shouldn't... you should cheer along with all of us." Without thinking, Xander laid a hand on Andrew's and looked up into the other man's eyes. "Come on, I think I saw a wonderful, warm and yummy apple pie piece sitting at your place. If you don't eat it soon, I might have to." Smiling lightly, Xander tapped on Andrew's hand and waved him away, before turning back to the conversation he was having with Dawn, Vi, Willow and Kennedy.

Dumbstruck, Andrew stayed still for a moment before a small smile appeared on his lips. Xander had told him to enjoy life, and Andrew would. And the first step to enjoying his new life? Eating his apple pie.

Giles, who had heard the conversation, watched as Andrew sat back on his chair and started eating away, casting occasional glances at the chatting friends on his left. Smiling, the older man took a bite off his own desert and knew that Xander had been right. It was no good for any of them to wallow on the losses. They had to look at the ones that had survived and know that each of them now had a new life to build.

+ Two Beds and A Coffee Machine +

+ back +