Title: Shattered
        Author: DangerMouse
        E-mail: dangermouse42@yahoo.com
        Feedback: Will be taken with great joy, but no flames, please.
        Summary: Wesley is not quite coping with what he saw in "Waiting in the 
        Wings"
        Rating: PG-13 (language)
        Distribution: List archives, otherwise, let me know.
        Disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did. Joss, WB, Mutant Enemy, Fox, and 
        whomever else does. I'm just messing around with them for a while.
        A/N: Fairly short. I'd almost venture to say ficlet length. But I like 
        it. This is my first fic posting to this list. Be fair.

        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

        Wesley had always heard that one should never drink to forget, one 
        should never drink when depressed, and one should never, ever drink 
        alone.

        Fuck that.

        Wesley downed his shot of scotch, relishing in the burning sensation 
        crawling down his throat and settling in his belly. The digital clock on 
        his VCR read 2:13, the harsh green glow blurring in his eyes. Somewhere 
        outside, a cat was screaming at another cat, their yowling a decent 
        accompaniment to the steady dripping coming from the bathroom faucet and 
        the low hum of the air conditioner springing to life. Wesley lifted the 
        now empty glass to eye-level, gazing through its faceted edges, cracking 
        his view of his apartment like a broken mirror.

        Gunn and Fred.

        He couldn't believe it. It was unfathomable. Inconceivable. Impossible. 
        Remarkably unfair.

        Fred and Gunn.

        How could this have happened? How could he have missed it? Did he really 
        miss it? Or was he being blind and stupid on purpose? What could they 
        possibly see in each other? They were as different as night and day, tea 
        and coffee, round and square. What could he see in her that he couldn't 
        see in him? It just wasn't right, wasn't fair.

        Gunn and Fred. Fred and Gunn.

        Gunn and gun. Fred and gun.

        This was definitely no good and definitely required another drink.

        Wesley stumbled to his feet, swaying slightly as he made his way over to 
        his makeshift bar. It was really nothing more than a wobbly, folding 
        card table, upon which rested numerous bottles of a variety of extremely 
        potent alcoholic drinks, purchased just hours before. Some of them were 
        empty.

        Fred and Gunn.

        Wesley quickly poured himself a shot of whiskey, his movements angry and 
        jerky and a little sloppy. Drops of the bitter drink spilled onto the 
        card table as he lifted the glass, downing the contents in one deep 
        gulp. Picking up the bottle and glass in one hand, he worked his way 
        through the dark apartment, flopping ungracefully back on his old couch.

        Gunn and Fred.

        Wesley thought his heart had stopped when he saw the two of them 
        kissing. It was like being shot in the gut, as he knew from personal 
        experience. Their lips locked together, hands touching each other, 
        sharing an incredibly intimate moment while Wesley watched from the 
        shadows. He remembered tightening his grip on the sword in his hand, 
        visions of running them through with it clearly in his mind. A horrible 
        thought, to be sure. But if felt so right at the time.

        Fred and Gunn.

        Another drink passed through his lips, mingling violently with the ones 
        that had gone before it. The clock was now completely unreadable, 
        incomprehensible, like so much else in his life. He lifted the glass 
        once again, gazing through it and the twisted, broken image it produced. 
        He squeezed it, suddenly angry, his knuckles turning white with the 
        pressure. Squeezed and clutched the sparkly container, angry at its 
        perfection, the way the glass fit so perfectly together.

        Gunn and Fred.

        Shattered.

        --- The End.