Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing these characters from their respective creators to satiate a nagging plot bunny idea.

Pairing: Buffy Summers / Edward Cullen

Summary: She wasn't looking for him, but she knew of him...

Author's Notes: Story 2 in this series of one-shots. I hope you enjoy! Again this is set pre-Breaking Dawn and post Season 7 of BtVS. As for the Angel timeline, it's prior to the series finale.

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So You're Him
by PhoenixRae

BUFFY KNEW INSTINCTIVELY WHAT HE WAS, but she didn't know who he was until he spoke of a girl he loves dearly and of the place he came from.

He was a peaceful enough man. He was a vampire, that was obvious given his pale skin and lack of breathing (she'd been with a couple of vamps to be able to tell). But he was from a different sort of vampire. He was, and this was his own term not hers, a vegan. He and his coven only preyed on wild animals and never feed off humans, unless otherwise provoked and the death of the said human was deserving. She wouldn't have believed him if she hadn't been warned of his kind or rather his coven.

He was a handsome, likeable vampire with brilliant eyes and an easy smile. He seemed to know what she was thinking about as well, and since engaging him in a conversation since they met, he had on more occasion than once answered what she was thinking about instead of what she was saying out loud. Buffy found it irksome at times, but Giles drilled in to her to be nice, courteous and patient regardless of how much she wanted to beat the person to a bloody pulp. She mustn't attack first unless even when provoked; it often doesn't end up good so she'd wait until the first punch was thrown at her by the enemy then she can start with the beating.

"So, now that you know why I'm here, will you help me?" Edward Cullen asked nicely. He was seated across the booth from Buffy at a diner just outside Cleveland city limits. As soon as Buffy knew he was loitering about (thanks to Jacob for alerting her of his presence in Ohio), she went out of her way to keep Edward Cullen within a hundred mile radius from Jacob.

"Why?" Buffy heard his story and understood it, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Bella's not been the same," he admitted.

At the mention of the girl that broke Jacob's heart, Buffy's defenses went up. She heard Jacob's side of the story; she listened to him recount to her the events that happened and what Bella Swan, the love of Jacob's life, went through after her vampire boyfriend left her thinking he was doing her a world of good for doing so. Buffy couldn't help but empathize with the girl since, well, hello? Didn't Angel do just that when we upped and went to live in LA after she graduated from high school?

"Of course she's not," she tried to act like she didn't care. "You just turned her to a vamp. She's no longer the same Bella as before." Buffy must've hit a raw nerve somewhere. She noticed the vampire clenching his hands to a fist and something sinister crossed his cold eyes.

If Edward Cullen thought she was easily intimidated, he had another think coming. He might have a few years on her age-wise, but Buffy'd been dealing with his sort ever since she landed this Slayer gig when she turned sixteen.

"Wrong," Edward's voice sounded strained, like he was having a hard time controlling himself from ripping the blonde Slayer's head off. "She's still the same Bella, only-"

"Only instead of growing old and being able to have babies, she's turned to become one of you," Buffy finished off for him. Although she has had a couple of vampire relations before, she couldn't help her tone from dripping with disgust and anger at his kind. Although there were a select few vamps out there – she knew of a couple of ensouled vampires loitering about on the other side of the country keeping that part chaos and apocalypse-free as best they could while she and her own cavalry keep watch on the current Hellmouth out here – who were able to show kindness and heck, even capable of loving, still, there were a whole lot more of them who were vicious and bloodthirsty.

Edward gnashed his teeth as he fought for control. He knew the blonde was sporting for a fight ever since she agreed to meet with him. When she explained that she set up their meeting outside Cleveland's city limits because she didn't want Jacob to go crazy, he respected that. Apparently the mutt found a new pack in the form of this woman and her friends who treated Jacob's gift like it was a common occurrence to them.

"I admit, Bella's now a vampire - and it was of her own choosing. If it was left to me, I would've left her human. But her love for me..." the vampire paused and tore his gaze from the Slayer. He counted one to ten before continuing, "Bella's stubborn. I'm sure Jacob's told you that. And what Bella wants, Bella gets."

Buffy cocked an eyebrow. "So Bella wanted to become a vampire, and she got what she wanted. And now she wants to see Jacob and mend fences?" She let out an incredulous chuckle and shook her head. "She might be ready to mend fences, but I don't think Jacob's as ready as she is."

Edward opened his mouth to argue, but Buffy raised her hand to stop him from saying anything more.

"A few months isn't going to cut it, mister. She broke his heart. Whether she realized it or not, Jacob's hurt pretty badly. When I first met him...heck, he was alright on the outside, but on the inside he was hurting. So if your wife loves Jacob and cares for him like you say she does, tell her to not seek him out - at least, not for another century or two." Buffy didn't wait for Edward to say anything more. She pushed herself off her seat and walked out of the diner. She had a gut-feeling Jacob heard every word of her conversation with the vampire Edward and she couldn't help herself from smiling. She sensed his wolfy presence the moment she sat down across the table from Edward, but the teen wolf kept himself hidden from her and from her companion, but she doubt Edward didn't notice his presence in the area as well; Jacob told her that they could pick-up on each other's scents quite easily, especially when they weren't that far apart from one another.

Jacob needed time to heal. And in as much as she wants Jacob to befriend the now vampire Bella, she knew that it wasn't only his heart that was wounded but also his pride. Maybe she'll contact Edward Cullen in a few years to setup a meeting between the two former best friends, but for now she'd let sleeping dogs lie – and so no pun intended for that!