Disclaimer: All characters and storylines belong to their rightful owners and NOT to me. This is purely for fun and I am not making any profit whatsoever.

Distribution: If, for some insane reason you want, just ask and you can have.

Timeline: Somewhere in season 4

Summary: A different way for Riley to find out about Angel. That about all there is to it.

Author's note: This is the first fic I've ever let anyone see, so constuctive criticism is good, but don't be too harsh please?

Feedback: Oooh, gimme gimme!!


"Angel?" she whispers, as if the name itself causes her pain, even just to speak it.

"Buffy." The name passes through the tall, dark man's lips, but it isn't a question. More like a statement. The pain is evident in his eyes, and hers. Their eye contact never breaks. She seems as if she has forgotten I am even there, so lost in his eyes. I am about to remind her of that fact, but a cadre of vampires chooses that precise moment to launch themselves out of a jumbo mausoleum while the slayer is distracted.

"Buffy! Watch out!" She finally forces her eyes away from his. Him. Who is he? That question will have to wait. There are more pressing issues at hand…such as the ten vampires closing in on us from all sides. I turn to Buffy, ready to formulate a plan, but she is already in motion.

"Buffy!" I cry again, seeing the vampire ready to attack as soon as she turns her back. I try to reach her, but the dark man gets there first. Angel. That was his name. A feral snarl escapes his lips as he throws the vampire against the wall of the mausoleum. I am ready to help but the two of them have got it covered. They work together seamlessly in a way that took me years to learn with practiced calls and hand signals. Not a word comes from either of them as they predicted each other's moves perfectly, working off each other to form a single crushing implement. They are like animals, feral, and violent. It scares me. I haven't seen Buffy like this, enjoying the hunt, feeling each blow, nothing but instinct guiding her. After a few minutes of this synchronized dance, one of the vamps finally gets a lucky blow. Angel flies across the cemetery hitting a headstone with tremendous force that should have knocked any human out cold.

"Angel!" my girlfriend wailed, while still fending off five or six cranky vamps. He growled as he stood up, his face morphing into the twisted visage of a vampire. Buffy took a kick to the hip and stumbled back a few feet, only to be caught around the waist by Angel's hands. She looks up into his disgusting face and smiles. She smiles. At that…that thing. As if she knows it, as if she loves it. They get back into their rhythm quickly. She doesn't even seem to notice the growls and snarls. There is no verbal communication, yet they instinctually know each other's next move. Sometimes they touch, electricity sparking between them. He catches her when she falls. He reaches around her waist and supports her as she swings her legs up and around, catching a vamp by the jaw. The vampires, one by one, turn to dust.

When they are finished, they brush themselves off.

"Buffy."

"Angel." What is it with them and their names? Shock courses through me as I watch her. Buffy, my Buffy, looking into that horrible face. She doesn't seem to realize that I am watching as she lifts her hand and strokes his ridged face, until it shifts back into human form. She is able to lull the demon away. And then I see the look on her face, and know that it is over between us. Pure passion and love emanates from both of them. I look away, and realization dawns on me.

She will never be mine. She will always be his.