Last chapter! I'm very sorry for the delay, but I took a while to decide what to write in this chapter.


The rolling terrain of the Highlands was partially obscured by thick clouds from Axton's view, as he sat precariously on the edge of the city, legs dangling in open air. He took a sip from a bottle of rakk-ale and absently kicked a rock off a jutting piece of rebar, which plummeted through the air and vanished into the grey clouds. A small noise behind him alerted him to the presence of Angel, who eased herself down beside him and sat primly with her legs tucked underneath her. He turned his head to her and gave her a small smile.

"Are you going to the party at Moxxi's?"

She nodded, but looked vaguely uncomfortable. He raised an eyebrow and she looked embarrassed.

"I've- well, it's just that I've never really had alcohol before, you know, while I was imprisoned by a megalomaniac control freak and all that." She gave a small smile and Axton took her hand.

"And, to be honest, I don't know if I really want to." She glared suspiciously at the bottle in Axton's hand. "How many have you had?" She asked with an accusatory note in her voice. Axton chuckled.

"Sometimes you remind me of..." He trailed off awkwardly, but his hand slid automatically to the dog tags and ring that hung around his neck. Angel hugged her arms around herself and stared out into space.

"You miss her, don't you?"

Axton sighed. "I don't know. I'm usually a lot more drunk when I pull these out to look at them." He took another sip of rakk-ale and grimaced slightly. "It's kinda pathetic, really, and I know that I can never go back, but it's all I have to remind me of my past."

Angel placed a slender hand on his arm. "The past... it's not all you are. You're not only a Dahl soldier. You're a vault hunter. The saviour of Pandora. That's a pretty big deal."

Axton grunted. "That's part of the problem. I worry that if I let go of the past, the whole vault hunting thing will go to my head and I'll end up like... him."

Angel gripped his arm fiercely. "Don't say that! You're nothing like Jack! I know you, Axton, and you would never be like him. You're brave, and put others before yourself." She gave a dry laugh. "And besides, even if you did get rid of your tags, I don't think that eyebrow tattoo of yours is going anywhere."

Axton rubbed the silver tattoo and grinned ruefully. Then his grin faded. "You're right. It's good to remember your past, but it's best not to hold too tightly in case it holds you down in turn." He reached for his necklace and jerked sharply, scattering small metal beads across the concrete. He raised his arm to throw it, but Angel stopped him with a hand. Delicately she pulled the diamond wedding ring from the chain. She took a breath and looked up at Axton. "This looks expensive. You don't see many like this on Pandora." Axton looked down at her, surprised.

"I suppose so. Though not everyone is a fan of diamonds." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice, but less so than before.

Angel smiled, slipping the ring into his pocket. "You should keep it." And hoping the night would cover up her blush, she added; "And who knows? You might need it again someday."

Axton looked surprised, but pleased, and gave her a sideways grin as he dropped the tags over the edge of the city.

After a few minutes of sitting in comfortable silence, he stood. "Are you in favour of joining the rest at Moxxi's?" Angel grimaced.

"You know that I've never really been drinking before."

"Well, there's a first time for everything." He smiled that rakish grin, and Angel stood up beside him.

"You're right. And besides, what harm can one drink do?

~o~

Angel staggered into the wall of her apartment building, rebounded and giggled. Axton sighed and pulled her towards her door leading up to her apartment.

"I think it's time you got to bed, Angel."

Angel just giggled again. "Hh-ey wha' do ya mean?" She slurred. "I'm havin' tha time of m' life!"

Axton rubbed his temple. "Where are your keys?"

Angel spun drunkenly and looked around her, then giggled again.

"Ohhh tha's right, they're in m' pocket." She patted her coat, and as she found the lump of metal that was her keys, she glanced at Axton out of the corner of her eye and smiled deviously. She turned to him, looking upset. "I can't find m' keys! I'm going to be stuck out here all night!"

Axton dropped his head into his hands and let out a long groan. He looked up at Angel, who was swaying slightly on the spot. He sighed. "I suppose you'll have to sleep at my place, won't you."

Angel nodded, wide-eyed. "Oh please, I don't wanna be out here in th' cold!" Axton glanced at her suspiciously, then nodded slowly and guided her along the street to his place. Angel, at this point, was swaying dangerously, so he picked her up and carried her up the stairs and into his apartment. He took off her coat, placed her on his bed, tucked her in, and made his way over to the couch. Angel looked up, and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could utter a word she dropped comatose to the pillow and drifted off into sleep. Axton gazed at her. Her hair had spread over the pillow, making a halo around her head. Fitting. He reached over and lightly touched her cheek, the retreated to the couch and settled down to sleep. He winced slightly as part of the couch dug into him slightly. It was going to be a long night.

~o~

The next day, Angel awoke to find out exactly how much drinking could hurt. She groaned, and stuffed her head under her pillow in an attempt to stop her pounding headache. A chuckle emanating from the direction of the couch alerted her to the presence of Axton. She peeked out from beneath the pillow to see him standing with an amused expression and a small bottle. She eyed the bottle warily, and Axton smirked. "Relax. It's Miss Moxxi's Miracle Cure. And it seems like you need it, badly."

Angel grabbed the bottle, took a cautious sip and grimaced. Axton patted her on the back and tried to look sympathetic, but with a grin threatening to surface at any moment. Angel glared at him, but this only caused her headache to flare. She pressed her hands to her temples. "How many drinks did I have? Six? Seven?"

Axton's grin finally broke free. "One."

She almost spat Miss Moxxi's Miracle Cure all over the bed. "What!?" She groaned and sunk lower on the bed. "I'm never drinking again." Axton shook his head, grin widening as she finished off the bottle. She made another face. "What is this made of? It tastes like skag bile."

Axton gave her a quizzical look. "How exactly do you know what skag bile tastes like?"

Angel shrugged. "It's something Salvador says a lot." Axton nodded and took the bottle to his cupboard. Angel sat up, and her headache ceased. It really was a miracle cure. She cast her mind back to last night, but found much of it a blur. As Axton reappeared, she asked cautiously; "Axton, ah... what exactly did I do last night?"

His grin was not reassuring. "Well, Moxxi's still pretty mad about that table, Krieg is still blue and Crazy Earl's getting that knife removed at Zed's. Luckily that doctor doesn't ask many questions."

Angel covered her face with her hands.

"Talking of questions..." Axton continued. "I've got a few for you."

Angel looked up. "Oh?"

"Yes, I do. I was using my- your jacket as a pillow, and there was something in one of the pockets that was poking against me. Investigating closer, I found these" he held up her keys "in the pocket."

Angel's eyes widened. That was a part of last night she remembered. In fact, when she had concocted her plan she had been the most sober she had been the whole night. Axton sat down on the end of the bed.

"The same pocket, in fact, that you searched last night, conveniently finding nothing. If I didn't know better..." He twirled the keys on their ring and fixed her with a piercing look. "I would think you were trying to take advantage of me."

Angel blushed, but a peculiar boldness came over her. Perhaps it was the an aftereffect of her night before, or maybe it was the fact that she was in Axton's bed. But deep down she knew that this was something she had wanted for a long time.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" She shifted closer to him, and the blanket slipped down her shoulders, the black and grey of her bodysuit peeking out. She felt strangely naked without her coat. Axton glanced at her, eyebrow raised, and then moved forward and planted a hand on the bed to the side of her body.

"Unacceptable." His voice was husky.

Angel slipped a hand around his neck.

"A terrible thing, taking advantage of a poor innocent man."

Axton moved into the kiss. This time, they weren't on a battlefield, nor were they in the back of a bumping vehicle. They could take their time. Angel pulled Axton down onto the rumpled bedsheets and melted into him. Her brain was only just coherent enough to feel her fingers roaming down Axton's back, but she did nothing to stop them. She tugged at the bottom of his shirt and ran her hands over his lower back before sliding to his sides. Axton growled, but with much effort pulled back so that he was looking directly into her eyes.

"Angel. Are you sure about this. I can't say that I know anything about your life in Hyperion, but I doubt you had much experience with... these kind of matters."

Angel rolled her eyes impatiently. "Not personally, no, but you forget, I was hooked up to the ECHOnet. I had a pretty thorough education." She clapped a hand over her mouth when she realised what she has said. Axton choked with laughter.

"Y-you mean that while I was fighting the bandit hordes on Pandora you were watching illegal Truxican p-" Angel shrieked and hit him with her pillow, then buried her brilliantly scarlet face in his chest. His laughter rumbled against her cheek.

"That's not what I meant." Her voice was muffled against his shirt. He pulled her away and leant in close, murmuring in her ear.

"Well, if you're ready, I can give you a... personal lesson."

She bit her lip and smiled through her blush.

"I think I would like that very much."

Her fingers flew back to his shirt and his to her bodysuit.

And if they were a little eager to discard their gear, nobody could blame them. After all, life was short on Pandora, and they had just defeated an entire siren army, destroyed their facility, and stopped Hyperion's attempt for world domination yet again. And that was cause for some celebration.

~o~


It's finished! I'd just like to thank everyone who's made it this far in the story, and to thank those wonderful reviewers for their support (especially TylerJoe2319). As my first fanfic I really appreciate the feedback, and I would love to hear your opinion on this story now that it's finished.