AN: Well, here it is guys and dolls... the last chapter of Anne and Benny's love story. Well, except for the epilogue, which I'll have up very soon. I hope it doesn't disappoint. I had a crazy amount of fun writing this story, and I have some one-shots planned if any of you would like to continue reading about them. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think! If ever you wanted to leave a review, now would be the time as I wrap things up.

Thanks to everyone for reading! Your support means the world to me :)

Chapter 9

All or Nothing at All

Anne took the elevator up to the 13th floor, unsurprised that it still took a painstakingly long time to reach its destination. She soon found herself outside of Benny's suite, and memories of her last time there started swimming through her head so quickly that she thought she might drown in nostalgia.

My, my, how things have changed. Except.. not really. Still without the chip, still getting shot at. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

She opened one of the double doors with little difficulty, concealed 9mm drawn, as she still had his room key handy from the last time around. As silently as possible, she slunk in, closing the door behind her. Glancing around, things seemed relatively unchanged. Still neat and tidy, still with the faint aroma of pricey cigarettes and crappy cologne, and she even noticed a few missing belongings that she'd shattered during her last visit in her anger.

As she tread lightly into the main living area, she turned her head just in time to see Benny entering from his bedroom. She couldn't have stopped the grin from lighting up her features if she'd tried.

"Miss me, tiger?"

Benny actually jumped, his dark eyes narrowing into a glare as she stopped dead in his tracks, holding a palm to his eyes immediately fell upon the gun in her grasp.

"What in the goddamn-?"

He looked genuinely surprised to see her.

In the brief moment that he hesitated, Anne allowed her eyes to take him in. The bruises upon his face were less apparent now, and a healing shade of green rather than a bright purple. She also noted that his arm was in a sling, the after-effects of the bullet he'd taken at the fort. Surprisingly, he wasn't wearing any form of jacket, merely a half-unbuttoned dress shirt and black slacks, with his tie hanging loosely around his neck.

"You just don't stay down, do you?" he said, suddenly more amused than upset. He was looking her over, too, his eyes grazing up and down her figure.

Guess some things never change.

Hips swaying, she made her way over to him. "Sorry to disappoint. You of all people should know by now that it takes more than a couple of bullets to keep me dead and buried."

"So what is this now, pussycat, your 7th life out of nine?"

"That's the great thing about cats, Benny..." she said, her voice smooth as velvet. "They keep coming back. And they never forget the ones who wronged them."

Benny stood his ground, but his eyes were flitting back and forth. Anne could tell that he was looking around for a weapon, though he tried not to let it show too obviously. She had the advantage. He was unarmed, caught off-guard and injured, to boot. He also had the disadvantage of actually trusting her at such close contact, especially with a gun.

Big mistake. Not goin' easy on you this time.

"Is that so?"

"You betcha. And I think we have some business to talk about."

Anne closed the distance between them, tugging at his tie and grappling him closer to her before urging him backwards against the nearest wall. Gun pointed at his chest, Benny laughed as she cornered him.

"Business? If you think I'm about to share Vegas with you just because you let me off the hook a couple times... you're dreamin', baby."

So that was how it was going to be, huh? Willingly giving her the keys to Vegas in the face of his own death, but once he'd cheated the grim reaper, he was back to being a selfish bastard.

You can't always have your cake and eat it, too. That's my job.

"No," she said with a false sweetness to her tone as she patted him on the cheek with her free hand. "I think you're going to play nice because if you don't, I'll hurt you."

"Hah! I'll believe it when I see it-"

Without further hesitation, Anne punched him square in the mouth, forcing his head sideways from the impact.

"God damn it, that felt good." She paused to shake the sting out of her fist. "You know, I was fantasizing about doing that the whole trip here."

Benny shook it off, setting his jaw as he smirked and licked some of the blood from his lip."Baby, if you wanted to play rough... you could have just asked."

Her anger only just beginning to boil, Anne took another swing to his midsection.

You had this comin'.

At that little move, Benny gasped, the air knocked out of his lungs as he doubled over in pain. Before he could right himself, Anne grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged him upwards to look him in the eye. He still managed to grin in the face of her ire. His composure wasn't breaking... yet. But she'd be damned if she couldn't change that.

"I'm fucking tired of playing cat and mouse with you. We settle this and we settle it now."

"And miss seeing how cute you are when you're angry?" he said, voice strained. "Nah, let me live a little."

She held him steady against the wall with a death glare. His eyes matched hers in intensity, and it took all her strength not to kiss him. Images of the cramped little tent at the Fort resurfaced, and she felt herself losing control. Her magnetic attraction to him had been her undoing since day one.

Don't break. Don't let him get to you. Keep the upper hand.

No more pissing around. Anne's gaze momentarily fell upon his shoulder, remembering where the bullet had ripped through him as he aided her out of Legion territory. She'd felt bad at the time, but now she wished that he'd gotten a few more holes in him. That could certainly be arranged, but she figured she'd have a bit more fun first.

Benny's brow furrowed, anticipating what she was going to do next. With a wicked grin, Anne began pressing the tip of her gun directly onto his wounded shoulder. That certainly got a response out of him. He elicited a noise that was halfway between a groan and a whimper as she pressed harder, his teeth gritted against the pain.

"God damn it," he breathed. "You sick, vindictive, bitch. Fuck you!"

"Already did, tiger. If you think that hurts, I'm just gettin' started."

Though he played it keen as always, Anne could see the pain flowing in his eyes, and they looked a bit more watery than usual.

"I don't think I'm asking for much," she said, only lessening her pressure slightly. "A little credit where it's due? I mean, it was nice of you to create a convenient story for Swank. Fiends, really? He actually believed that bullshit?"

"Cool it, baby. I ain't ever claimed that Swank's got the brains to back up his reputation," Benny mumbled. "But he's straight. True blue."

"Still, lying through your teeth to your best pal? Damn, if only he knew." Anne uttered a little tsk tsk, wagging a finger at him. "You're up here livin' the high life, pulling the rug right from under their feet and they're still waiting on you like a king. Must be nice. And don't even get me started on the fact that you completely painted me out of the picture..."

"I'm doing what's best for this town, baby. So what, that's all you got on me? A little stretchin' the truth and tying up lose ends?"

"I don't think you understand, Benny. Here's what's going to happen. We take Vegas together... or I spill on how you backstabbed your buddies. Capiche?"

"Go ahead and tattle," he scoffed. "See if I care."

Anne had the distinctive feeling that despite how highly spoke of the Chairmen, they wouldn't be opposed to cutting him lose if they caught wind of his foul play.

Only one way to find out...

"Oh, so you wouldn't mind if I switched that on?" Anne released him, gesturing over to the intercom mounted on his wall very close to them. "It would be a shame if everyone in the casino could hear your little plans for Vegas. All your hard work gone to waste..."

Benny froze, forcing a laugh as he rubbed his shoulder. "You're bluffin', baby. You wouldn't dare."

"You don't know me very well, do you?" Anne casually pressed the button of the intercom, leaning in a bit closer as she spoke directly into it. "What was that, Benny? I couldn't hear you over the sweet sound of victory."

Benny grabbed her by the wrist, forcefully pulling her away from the device, but Anne was laughing. If she wasn't mistaken, he was starting to sweat.

"Women are bad news," he spat, tightening his grip. "You've got a real way of makin' things complicated."

Anne smirked, a blonde eyebrow raised. "Some guys like complicated."

"Well, I don't. Not this far into the game."

"It would have been end-game for you a long time ago if it weren't for me. You're just too afraid to admit it.

"I'd get along just fine without you."

"Oh, is that so? Because I'd love to see you go ahead and try."

You're just a pawn. And I'm the queen.

Benny's eyes were narrowed, choosing not to reply to her comment. He seemed to be mulling things over.

"So, what do you say, Ben-Man? Your partnership in return for my silence. Seems pretty fair and square to me. All past grievances forgotten."

"You drive a hard bargain, baby. But... I guess if you're goin' the route of blackmail, I got no choice." His lips curled into a faint smile as he released her wrist in favor of snaking his arm around her waist. "Besides, it's always keen to have a broad around to blame if things should go wrong."

Anne poked the gun at his chest, directly at his heart. "You know, I could just take the easy way out and kill you."

"I know you wouldn't," he said, leaning in close to her neck and sending shivers down her spine. "Because you need me to see this shindig through to the end."

I'll admit it when I'm dead.

He began kissing the sensitive skin of her collarbone, and she resisted the urge to release a satisfied sigh. Caught off guard by Benny's advances, Anne hadn't quite expected him to swiftly grab her pistol from within her grasp.

Shit!

She didn't even have time to fight for it, her heart jumping in her chest at the sudden turn of events. She was about to throw another punch when, to her great surprise, he cast it to the side with a cocky grin.

"No need for violence, eh, baby?"

Anne couldn't help but return the smile.

"Just make me a promise," she said, with a roll of the eyes. "No backing out, no matter how messy it gets."

"You've got my word, baby." Benny pouted when Anne didn't look convinced. "What, you don't trust me? I'm hurt."

"I swear to God, Benny, if you go back on your word... "

"You'll what?" He challenged her. Anne saw a fire in his deep brown eyes, and she longed to extinguish it.

She pressed her body against his, tugging him by the collar of his shirt so that she could breathe into his ear. She felt goosebumps forming at the base of his neck, where her fingers were twisted into his hair.

"I will go out of my way to make your life a living hell," she whispered.

"When you're around," he purred, voice low, "isn't it already?"

Benny pulled her closer with his uninjured arm, leaving not an inch between them. Anne felt like she could melt in his sturdy embrace.

God damn him and his handsome, filthy, charm. He'll be the death of me.

They shared an impassioned kiss as their lips met, and all tension between them dispersed. Her composure was wilting like a dying flower. Anne felt Benny's palm sliding down from her waist, dropping low to cup her backside. Urgency sizzled between them as they ravaged each others mouths.

Anne wanted him, all of him. And all of Vegas, too. Was that so wrong?

She was like a moth to an open flame, longing for the warmth and light however brief, however pleasant, before it got burned and recoiled, but inexplicably came back for more. One day the moth would meet its inevitable doom, wings singed and no longer able to fly. But she wouldn't worry about that for now... for now, the fate of Vegas would have to wait a little while longer before it hailed its new King and Queen.

"So what do you say we take this happy little reunion someplace more... comfortable?" Benny said through their lip-lock, turning the charm factor up a notch. His eyes glanced over to the bed, a single eyebrow raised. Palms against the warmth of his chest, Anne couldn't help but grin as she traced a finger down the splotch of chest hair revealed by his half-buttoned shirt.

"I thought we already sealed this deal. Besides, you've only got one good arm."

"That's all I need, pussycat. Other parts of me are functioning just fine."

"Well, I know better than to just take your word for it..." She grabbed him by the hand and playfully led him into the bedroom, where she pushed him backwards onto the mattress and into a sitting position. "Prove it, tiger."

"With pleasure, baby..."

Anne situated herself upon his lap as their mouths met once again, and she crushed him towards her. She could feel his fingers grazing against her thigh as he began hiking up her skirt. Benny was under her skin, buried down deeper than a bullet with no hopes of ever extracting it from flesh or bone... but for better or for worse, she kinda liked it that way.

Finis.