Empty Room

Author's Note: Song fic. Yay! This is a bit AU. One-shot; a little angsty, a little dark. You'll laugh, you'll cry…okay maybe not. But I hope you enjoy it anyway ;

Song used: Your Heart Is an Empty Room, DeathCabForCutie

Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground
And start a new when your heart is an empty room

With walls of the deepest blue

He never wanted to hurt her like this. To leave her. To sneak away like the crook he'd always knew he was. He'd never meant to steal her heart…and he certainly never meant to give his away.

Home's face: how it ages when you're away
Spring blooms and you find the love that's true

Anya. Anya. Anya. Closing his eyes, he could still see her face. Illuminated, haunting him like a vengeful ghost. The scent of her hair like lavender. The feel of her body against him. The warmth of her skin, how she sighed ever-so-softly when he touched her.

The softness of those god-damned rose-petal lips.

But you don't know what now to do
Cause the chase is all you know
And she stopped running months ago

Somehow, in the subtlest way, she'd gotten to him. She'd broken through the walls he'd put up so many years ago and he'd never even suspected it. Realized it. Anya…she'd slipped into his thoughts like a shadow. As the last embers from the fire crackled in the grate, he sighed heavily. The sigh of an anguished man, he supposed.

And all you see
Is where else you could be
When you're at home
Out on the street
Are so many possibilities
To not be alone

"How dare you. You…bastard!."

The words cut through the silence of the room as if by a blade. Dimitri stood and turned, staring into the very eyes that pained him so.

"Anya…I never meant-…" He murmured gently.

"Never meant to what? Hurt me? Leave me? And I supposed those suitcases are just for show?" Tears fell freely down her fair cheeks as she spoke.

The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear

"Anya, I didn't -I didn't want…to hurt you. We never should have..." Dimitri approached her, slowly reaching out to cup her chin.

Crack.

Her palm connected sharply with his cheek, causing him to reel backwards.

"H-h-how dare you." She repeated furiously, her voice nearly breaking, her stare burning straight through him.

"I'm not going to do this Anya. I'm not going to ruin you. I won't….I…can't."

Anya turned away from him, as a desperate sob escaped her lips, and her face crumpled in sorrow.

And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free

Dimitri shook his head and pulled her to him. When she didn't protest, he stroked her cheek, softly, gently. As if nothing had changed at all.

He kissed her.

It was desperation, grief, regret…love.

It was goodbye.

"You should go, Anya."

"I hate you."

'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
Out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone

Tears fell to the floorboards as she moved. A last lament.

The click of the door handle.

Calm as deafening as madness.

And, as the final dying embers blazed in vain, he was left with nothing but his heartache.

And an empty room.

And all you see is where else you could be
When you're at home
There on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone