F A N F I C T I O N > B U F F Y V E R S E
Bent Truths by Amberina
Gunn survived a lot longer than he thought he would. He certainly didn't mean to, but he did. Long after Spike was dust, long after Illyria was a puddle of red and blue. Gunn survived.
He groaned, and sat up. The rain was still pouring down all around him, on him. Of course, the water around him was tinted red with his blood, but he was alive - half-alive, maybe, but hey, you take what you can get, right?
He heard footsteps behind him and twisted slightly, though the movement brought pain. Gunn thought he'd felt pain before, but that had nothing on this. Behind him stood Angel. To describe Angel as "beaten up" was an extreme understatement. The fact remained, though - he was as alive as he was going to be. "A - " Gunn tried to speak, but the words didn't quite want to come out.
"Gunn," Angel said, rushing over to him. Well, rushing with a limp. It didn't matter if he was limping, though. "You're..." Angel looked down at the blood-tinged rainwater rushing away from Gunn.
"... d... ying," Gunn finally got out. He groaned as a sharp pain shot through his body. Yeah, he'd definitely never felt real pain before this.
That's when Angel did something that seemed to surprise even him. He took Gunn's hand in his own and squeezed it. It was a small gesture of comfort in an incredibly uncomfortable situation and Gunn appreciated it.
"A... Angel." Gunn groaned again, and willed the words out of himself. "Did we do it? Break down the machine?"
Angel nodded solemnly. Gunn laid back again; sitting up required too much effort. He didn't let go of Angel's hand.
"Good," Gunn said weakly as he closed his eyes.