Summary: Daniel thinks back on his years with Anna after they accidentally got married right after high school.
Rating: PG
Timeline: Into the future. AU.
Dedication: Christmas fic of 2007, what else? For Kristine, as always.
Disclaimer: Anna and Lex belong to NYgoldfish54.

    "Daniel, I think I might be pregnant."

    Daniel nearly dropped the telephone to the floor when he heard Anna's voice on the other line. Of all the things she had ever said to him that was the single most frightening thing he'd ever heard. He stared speechlessly at the wall, unable to get out any coherent words. Anna stayed quiet, but he could hear her breathing. What could she possibly expect him to respond to that with?

    "Are you sure it's mine?" he asked suspiciously. It was a weird question to ask her considering the circumstances, but they hadn't agreed to be exclusive since he moved out and that was almost two years ago now.

    Anna sighed forcefully, sounding annoyed. "You're an idiot," she said simply. "Could you get me a test and come over?"

    "Yeah. I'll be there in ten minutes," he mumbled, hanging up. He wasn't sure whether it was good or bad that she wasn't pregnant with some other guy. At least if she wasn't, they wouldn't have to deal with their living arrangements or get a divorce.

    It never really occurred to him that he was married to her. They didn't live together and they both saw other people – Anna was a bit more serious with her dating, but she had still had a few boyfriends over the past four years. Daniel didn't like to think about it, but he assumed that when she found someone that she really liked, she would stop screwing around with him and file for a real divorce. They were both trying to be independent from each other, but it always drove him mad every time he knew that she was with another guy. He couldn't help it; she made him insanely jealous over nothing.

    It hadn't been a very thought-out plan to begin with either. Daniel knew it was stupid, but he hadn't expected it to have such an impact on his life at all. Through various incidents involving their friends, Daniel and Anna had decided, after an endless amount of tequila shots, that it would be a perfectly all right idea to get married. One idiotic idea and a blurry ceremony later, Daniel had found himself the next day with a marriage license and a very pissed off Anna. Apparently he was to blame for all the mistakes they'd done – and would do for the rest of their lives. That's how their marriage kicked off.

    Daniel got dressed and grabbed his coat from the hanger in the hallway. He lived with Fred and Kate at the moment, even though he hated it. They were his friends, sure, but they had a tendency to bicker over every little thing. Daniel didn't plan to stay there for much longer, though. Once Fred got married and moved out, Kate would be his only roommate, and Daniel couldn't think of anything he wanted less than to live with her.

    Well, except for this new disaster that had arisen at the horizon. It was snowing heavily when he got down on the street. Anna only lived a few blocks away from him. It was both good and bad, he figured. He trudged through the snow, knowing there was an open pharmacy on the way to her. It was a bit uncomfortable to be picking up pregnancy tests; he felt irresponsible even though he hadn't done anything. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised, really; he'd been with so many girls by now that one of them was bound to end up pregnant at some point. He just never expected it to be Anna.

    He walked up to her building and pressed the button on the intercom. After a rather vicious fight a few weeks ago, Anna had taken away his keys to her apartment. "Hello?" she answered after a couple of seconds.

    "It's me," he muttered. She buzzed him up. It felt weird to have to ask for permission to visit a place that used to be his home. He took the elevator up to the tenth floor and knocked on her door.

    Anna had been so angry with him after they had gotten married that she refused to speak with him for several weeks, which made her to blame for the fact that they couldn't annul their marriage right away. She had taken off with her friends on a tour and when she finally came back, Daniel was ready to strangle her. Ultimately, they had managed to get along for enough time so they could discuss what to do. They couldn't do anything without the help of a lawyer, which they couldn't afford, and they were too embarrassed to ask their parents for help. They agreed to just move on and pretend that nothing had happened – for as long as they could get away with it. Of course they knew that they had to come clean at some point, but until then they would just go on with their lives as before. They hadn't been dating before getting married, and there was no point trying to be together when they couldn't stand to be in each other's company.

    That hadn't quite worked out the way they had hoped.

    Both having forgot how impossible it had always been for them to stay away from each other, they now tried to be single and independent, while being married, while still being wrapped up in each other's lives. It worked for about one week, before they had to find out what the other one was doing. Daniel also felt responsible for Anna, and could blow off dates with other girls if Anna needed help with something. They were still acting like a couple, even though they tried not to be one, and despite never officially have been together.

    Daniel never realized how weird his life was until people started commenting on it, and asking whether Anna was his girlfriend, and why they weren't together even though they seemed to be so close. Anna questioned their life almost every day, but she had never flat out told him that she wanted to get a divorce. Their friends of course thought they were crazy, but eventually they got used to the whole thing and kind of just forgot that Anna and Daniel were married, since they never acted like it anyway.

    After almost a year of indecisiveness and messing around, Anna grew sick of how trivial they were handling their marriage and suggested that they would at least try to have a normal relationship. They got an apartment together in New York and managed to live there almost without incidents or disturbances for a while, until they started to have daily arguments over the most ridiculous things. Daniel couldn't stand her excessive whining, and Anna hated how irresponsible he was, so they split up again.

    Anna wasn't looking particularly cheerful when she answered the door. She mumbled something to him that he interpreted as an invite. She still lived in the same apartment they had gotten together, which made Daniel a bit bitter because he thought he deserved the place as much as she did. Fred had convinced him to be the bigger person, though. Daniel couldn't remember why he had agreed to something so stupid.

    "Are you okay?" he asked, a little concerned that she hadn't started fighting with him as soon as he'd stepped through the door. She could be really upset this time, for all he knew.

    "I'm fine," she snapped, taking the bag from him. "Let's just get this over with."

    Daniel rolled his eyes. "You could have bought it yourself, you know."

    "Yeah, well, you were the one who got me into this situation from the start," she pointed out, turning away from him. "It's just like you to not wanna take responsibility for anything."

    "I'm here now, aren't I?" he said with annoyance. "And I still don't get how you can be so sure it's mine. Don't you have that loser boyfriend to turn to before you come running to me?"

    Anna glared at him with a look that clearly told him to shut up for once. "We broke up over a month ago," she said, even though it sounded like she felt no obligation to explain herself to him. "You may recall our little slip-up right after that."

    Daniel thought she was ridiculous. They'd had tons of 'slip-ups' over the past years; so many that they shouldn't even be allowed to be called slip-ups anymore. They slept together on a regular basis, whether Anna liked to admit it or not. "I also recall using protection, as we always do," he muttered. "And don't tell me you didn't enjoy it, because I know you did."

    "Shut up," she said, making a face. Daniel knew that they were both full of crap. They had great sex, and he loved being with her just as much as she did.

    "Just pee on the damn stick so I can get out of here," he told her tiredly. Anna slammed the door to the bathroom so hard that a few picture frames in the bookcase fell over. Daniel went over to put them back up. Anna had lots of pictures of her family and friends. She even had a picture of Daniel's younger siblings, but none of Daniel. Not that he cared; they hadn't exactly taken a lot of pictures of the two them together.

    Anna had already taken to putting up Christmas decorations around the living room. This year she hadn’t asked him to help out; usually it was his job to get all the boxes down from the shelf in her closet. He assumed that it had been her nerdy boyfriend that had helped her out with it this time. How messed up wasn’t his life that his wife had a boyfriend that he knew about and had to tolerate?

    He was glad that they seemed to be over. Anna had been very serious about the guy, and that meant that she had to make a decision about their future at some point.

    Daniel stared at the colorful Christmas light while waiting for Anna to come back out. He was well-aware of the fact that they needed to sort out their lives and grow up. They had gotten away with screwing around like this when they were younger and in high school, but they weren’t teenagers anymore and it had to end at some point. Daniel didn’t really want to take responsibility for his life. He was quite content with how things were right now. He could do whatever he wanted and be with whoever he wanted, but still have Anna to fall back on whenever he needed to. It was the perfect way to not have to make a real commitment to anything and choose whenever he wanted to be committed to Anna. He didn’t want to give that up just yet.

    While his friends were out in the world getting real jobs and had committed relationships, Daniel was still living on his trust fund and money that he borrowed from whoever still put up with him. Anna never gave him any money and he never asked her for it either. It was okay to gamble away Fred’s life savings, considering that he would be even richer once he turned twenty-five and his millions of dollars would be cashed out, but it didn’t feel alright to use the money Anna had earned through hard work.

    Anna didn’t like that he gambled away his money, and he was starting to get a bit sick of it himself, too. She wanted no part in it and didn’t want to hear a thing about it, it didn’t matter if he won or lost. They had been fighting over it so much that they eventually just gave up and pretended like the problem didn’t exist at all. Daniel figured he could do whatever he wanted with his own money; it wasn’t like he had a family to support or anything.

    He went over to the kitchen to go through her fridge for food. He usually just had ketchup and a sad selection of crackers at home, unless Kate flipped out and decided to go grocery shopping, which happened once every third month.

    “You could ask me if it’s all right for you to eat my food, you know,” Anna commented sourly from behind. She was standing in the hallway with her arms crossed, looking determined. Daniel knew exactly what that look meant. He knew her better than anyone at this point.

    “If you’re knocked up you’re going to be nauseous anyway, so I’m basically just saving your food from going bad,” he pointed out with a grin.

    “You think it’s funny, huh?” she snarled, throwing a pencil at his head. Daniel was reminded by their unaccountable study dates in high school, which mostly ended with her chucking pencils at his head before they made out. “You realize we’re going to have to get a divorce now, right?”

    Daniel followed her through the living room to the bedroom. “It was bound to happen eventually, Anna. Don’t be so upset.”

    She rolled her eyes, sitting down next to the bed on the floor, leaning up against the nightstand. “I’m not upset. I’m so sick of you anyway. It would be nice to have a normal life once in a while, to have a meaningful relationship with someone instead of a fake marriage with you.”

    Daniel wasn’t particularly worried. Anna had gotten insightful, deep and depressed at least once a week since they got married. “Nobody knows that it’s a fake marriage,” he shrugged, sitting down next to her. “It’s not like it matters.”

    “Nobody knows because they keep forgetting. I’m keeping this huge secret from my family, and sometimes I think of how easy everything would be if I didn’t have to pretend that I wasn’t married even though I don’t act like I’m married because I don’t feel like I am but legally I am.”

    Daniel looked confused, having understood nothing of her rant. “What does it matter if your family and friends knows or not? It’s not like you’re going to start acting like you’re married, and everyone’s going to think you’re breaking your marriage vows by seeing other people. You told your band geek friends about it and even they thought the idea was stupid. The only reason they’ve accepted it by now is because they keep forgetting that we’re still married.”

    “That’s my point,” she sighed. “I don’t wanna do this anymore. Either we’re married for real and act that way and tell our families about it, or we get a divorce and stop seeing each other.”

    She sounded serious this time, and Daniel was starting to feel uncomfortable. Girls who started thinking too much were always a threat to him and his lifestyle. “Don’t be so full of it,” he said tiredly. “You love that you can do whatever you want without having to worry too much about the future. The only time you get upset and thoughtful like this is when you meet some moronic guy who makes you think that your life is crap. Get a damn backbone, Eukovich.”

    Anna growled, looking offended. She could get mildly terrifying when she got angry. “Excuse me for wanting to be with someone who cares about me and loves me, and shows me some kind of affection. You and I have been back and forth like this since we were kids. I’m beginning to look for more than just a casual hook-up, Daniel. Something more in the line of a lifelong commitment.”’

    Daniel shuddered at the very thought, hoping that she wasn’t being serious. “You know you’re the only girl for me,” he said truthfully. Anna didn’t seem to be in the mood for bickering back and forth over nothing. They were usually quite good at it, and they both secretly enjoyed it as long as it stayed innocent and didn’t turn into a full-blown fight. He decided to humor her, just this once. Well, it happened a lot, actually, but he rather pretended otherwise. Anna was the one weak spot he had, and he would always put her ahead of everyone else in his life, whether they’d be married or not.

    “I need more than that,” she mumbled, sighing deeply. “It used to be enough to know that I could always turn to you and you’d always be there if I needed you, but it’s not the same unless we’re actually together as a couple. You were always more than a friend to me, but right now I need nothing less of you than a real-”

    “Yeah, I heard you the first time,” he interrupted her. “We’re not old enough to have to deal with this yet. Can’t you just wait a couple of years?”

    “Wait for what? What if you find someone else, or if I find someone else, and everything will be complicated and we’ll have to get lawyers and-”

    “I’m never going to find a girl that I’d rather be with than you,” he said simply, knowing that it was the truth. “Do you think you’ll find someone you’d rather be with than me?”

    Anna glared at him, before turning away. “No,” she muttered. “I just wish you could get your head out of your ass long enough to be able to tell me that you love me. It would be nice to hear from time to time, so I know I’m not just throwing my life away while dating this endless string of losers.”

    “So I’m the ultimate choice of yours?” he grinned, pleased with himself. “Well, you can’t beat perfection.”

    “Yes, Daniel. Of all the morons I date, you’re the greatest loser of them all,” she said affectionately, lightly punching his arm. “My Prince Charming with commitment phobia.”

    “Could you stop using that word?” he complained, half smiling. He appreciated Anna’s company more than anything else, and he knew that she put up with a lot when it came to him. That’s why it made him feel twice as grateful whenever she expressed the same appreciation for him in some way. Despite all the drama, she seemed to never seriously consider a divorce, and she never had anything but nice things to say about him if someone asked. Well, someone other than her friends.

    It could be a pain in the ass to be married to her, but it would be even more of a pain not to have her in his life at all, he figured. He wasn’t even sure if their life would be much different if they hadn’t accidentally married right after high school. Maybe life would be exactly the same, except they wouldn’t be able to threaten each other with lawyers each time they had a fight.

    Anna would always be a huge part of his life, no matter what.

    He put his arm around her so she could lean her head against his shoulder. “I adore you,” he murmured, kissing her forehead. That was about the closest he had ever gotten to saying that he loved her.

    “Sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing with you,” she sighed. “Living like this makes me feel like a complete idiot. And I’m actually quite smart,” she added knowingly.

    “Never around me,” he laughed.

    “True. Somehow we manage to lower each other’s brain activity whenever we’re close to each other,” she nodded seriously. Daniel smiled, knowing that it had been like that from the moment they met. Anna started laughing. “Do you remember that time at the concert in Boston?”

    “Oh, yeah, with that schmuck you were dating who kept complaining that rock music just wasn’t his thing?” Daniel said, shaking his head. “And you were completely wasted, practically mauling me in the dressing room-”

    “I did not do any such thing,” she gasped, pinching his arm. “I’m not the cheating kind.”

    “I guess I’m the exception to the rule, then.”

    “That happened once,” she claimed.

    Daniel glanced at her, unable to hold back an amused snort. “At least four times, if not more. Like that dork from your class-”

    “But he totally deserved it, he cheated on me too!” Anna protested.

    “Yeah, way to pick ‘em,” he grinned. “And you’re not really cheating on them, technically you’re cheating on me.”

    Anna rolled her eyes. “Then let’s not even begin to start counting how many times you’ve cheated on me.”

    “Good point,” he nodded.

    They sat in silence for a while, just waiting for the time to pass. “Do you think we’re sad, sitting here, talking about the relationship we’ve had over the years we’ve been married?” Anna questioned thoughtfully.

    “Yeah, you’re pathetic,” he joked, moving away to keep from getting slapped again. “But we’ve had some fun together, as well. You’re fun to hang with sometimes, when you’re not so uptight.”

    “And you’re all right any time you’re not a complete jerk,” she said. “Not often, obviously.”

    “It’s a lot easier to be nice if I’m drunk,” he laughed. “I forget that it’s not in my nature to do nice things. We’re a lot better team when we’ve been drinking.”

    “You mean like that time when we got drunk and ended up married?”

    “Okay, maybe not every time.”

    Anna chuckled. “Like that time in Mexico when you randomly tried to sell me to some tourist just so we could afford the plane tickets home. Lucky Lex bailed us out, or we’d still be down there, selling chickens for a living.”

    “And you wanted to leave me at home and go with your boyfriend,” Daniel pointed out. “We only went there together because he dumped your sorry ass.”

    “Yeah, well, you should be so lucky.”

    “I always take you places.”

    “Going to the racetrack or visiting your senile grandparents in Italy isn’t exactly fun times for me,” she said, rolling her eyes.

    “So why do you insist on coming every time I visit them?” he asked amusedly. “Because I don’t recall forcing you to get on the plane and spend several weeks in Milan, Vienna and Rome.”

    “We all make sacrifices,” she said vaguely, looking intently at her nails. “You on the other hand have to bitch and moan as soon as I ask you to do something.”

    “I can’t exactly be drunk when I spend Christmas with your family, can I? So there’s really no point in going!”

    “You could do it for me?” she suggested dryly. “And there is really no need to complain so much when I ask you to dance a single dance with me.”

    Daniel couldn’t help but laugh. “As long as I get something out of it, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

    “Good to know,” she smiled deviously. “I think you get enough out of me as it is.”

    “Probably,” he grinned. “Like at Fred and Lex’s engagement party.”

    Anna closed her eyes, moaning. “Oh, please don’t remind me. That was almost embarrassing,” she complained, laughing. “We were really drunk.”

    “We’re always drunk.”

    She glared at him. “We should stop being drunk together. I think it would solve a lot of our problems.”

    “Why? You’re fun when you’re buzzed.”

    “Everyone else doesn’t seem to think so,” she said pointedly.

    “Everyone else can bite me,” Daniel said simply, shrugging.

    Anna leaned her head to the side and looked at him with the same affectionate look in her eyes as before. He didn’t care what anybody else thought of her, or what they said about her. She was perfect in every way to him, and he wouldn’t let anybody tell her otherwise. He couldn’t say it, but if he had been capable of loving someone, he would probably admit to having fallen in love with her the first time he ever saw her. However, since he didn’t believe in love or the absurdity of something as ridiculous as love at first sight, he couldn’t possibly tell Anna anything other than that he adored her, and even that was pushing it.

    Anna sighed loudly, this time getting up from the floor. “I guess I better go look,” she said dejectedly.

    Daniel just grunted in response. He put his head down, resting his chin against his knees, while waiting for her to come back. There was really no point getting worked up over nothing, he figured. He’d never been unfortunate before in his life, so why would it change now?

    He looked around the room. He would probably move back in again some time, but right now it seemed to be a little too serious for them to deal with. Anyway, Daniel didn’t mind being married to Anna, and this way, it might even last longer than most other marriages he’d seen crumble apart and die. But he probably wouldn’t be terribly upset if they decided to get a divorce either. After all, it was just a piece of paper. It really didn’t matter much to him, he tried to convince himself.

    Unfortunately, Anna was like family now. Of course he would care if she disappeared. Who knew drunken marriages could be so complicated?

    “I still want a blood test done,” he told her as soon as she came back out from the bathroom. “Who knows where you’ve been?”

    She swatted the back of his head with her hand. “You’re an idiot.”

    “So you keep telling me,” he grinned, standing up. Anna hesitated a second before giving him a hug. Daniel put his arms around her, kissing her hair.

    She looked up at him, smiling. “I guess we don’t have to get a divorce right away unless you don’t want to.”

    “I guess I’m fine for now,” he smirked, patting her reassuringly on the head.

    She shoved him away. “So, what do we do now?”

    Daniel wasn’t sure. “Dinner?”

    “Sure,” she shrugged.

    They both went to get their coats.