This story is based in Season 4 of BTVS, quite early on in the season. It is vaguely based on the myth of Cupid and Psyche.

Chapter 1

The door whined on its hinges as Buffy turned the knob and slid into the room, moving against the wall. A beam of glowing fluorescent light streaked across the floor, bouncing up the fall wall and casting a hazy shadow on her slumbering redheaded roommate. On the small bedside table between their twin extra-long frames, an ancient hand-me-down alarm clock blinked 2:37 in neon green. The Slayer released a small swear under her breath and pushed the creaking door shut, throwing the room into blackness. Willow whined and turned toward the wall, tucking a pillow between her arms as though it were a stuffed toy or a certain werewolf.

"Really need to start wearing a watch," Buffy whispered to herself as she shuffled across the floor, shedding her sweats as she went. Alongside the bed, she squirmed out of the pair of long fleece pants she'd worn against the cool autumn night, tossing them against the wall. They fell with a light swish, in a heap, under the window. Clad in a make-do pajama ensemble of worn-out briefs and an old tank top, Buffy pushed back the covers and crawled beneath the sheets. "Stupid patrol, stupid vampires…"

On nights like these, after a four hour patrol and a night of psychology homework, sleep was a valuable commodity, one that Buffy could rarely scrounge up the means to afford. She tossed, frustrated, onto her right side, waiting for her eyelids to become heavy, for her limbs to sag against the cheap mattress, but after several minutes of impatience, she turned back over, grumbling. Five feet away, Willow mewed contentedly in Slumber land, snuggling against her Oz pillow, likely dreaming of some night they'd spent together, curled up in each other's arms.

"I don't miss him," Buffy scowled, crossing her arms over her chest and staring blankly at the ceiling. "I'm better off and so is he. It never would have…"

"Buffy," his voice echoed in her ear, a whisper that vibrated against the small gold hoops she'd left in her lobes. "I've missed you."

"Angel?" Buffy hissed in the darkness, stretching out her arm, sweeping it across herself to seek him out. Her fingers brushed delicately against foreign flesh, cool and endlessly soft. The arm reached further, extending a cautious hand out along his shoulder, tracing the curve of his scapula, the frame of muscle that surrounded the bone, and the empty veins that pushed up through his dermis, stretching like jasmine toward the moon.

"I've missed you, Buffy. I should never have left you."

Fingertips, as smooth and cold as a grave stone, danced down the edge of her throat, tickling the skin, leaving a trail of gooseflesh, ripples in a disturbed pool. His mouth struck out over her cheek, leaving small kisses, dragging hot blood up beneath the thin layers of skin. Her lips tasted like sweat, like a bitter pun, like the blood of a contemptuous virgin, spat against his tongue. Her tender body squirmed beneath his hands, anxious to appeal to his touch, struggling fish against the tide. There was no time to think of the curse, the reason they shouldn't copulate here in the dark empty night. He moved into her as though coming home after a lifetime away, so simply belonging to that place within. A whispered moan rang out, so loud in its silence that it choked sound from the entire room, drowning out the sleeping witch an arm's length away. A whimper, a ragged breath, Buffy inhaled a shallow gulp of air and pressed her mouth firmly against his, expelling the oxygen with life-giving force. Arms encased one another, wrapping tightly, as though one might escape the other before the climax. His name played on her lips like a song, repeating the same notes over and over again.

"Angel," she whispered, breathless, her fingers intertwining through his hair. The soft brunette chaos tickled the webbing between her thumb and forefinger.

"Buffy! Hey, Buffy, wake up! You're gonna miss class!" Willow grumbled from across the room, picking up a small stuffed animal to throw at her dozing roommate.

"Wha…?" Buffy mumbled, opening her eyes to the dazzling light spreading through the dorm room from between rickety venetian blinds.

"It's ten o'clock already. You're late for literature and I don't want to miss biology. We're doing this cell division experiment and I…"

"I'm up, I'm up…I swear." Buffy grumbled, stretching her arms out ahead of her, brain already swimming with the idea of classes and schedules and homework.

"Fine, fine. I'll see you at lunch? It's cookie day!" Willow squeaked happily as she shut the bedroom door behind her, scattering a few pages of unfinished literature notes across the floor.

Sighing, Buffy gazed for a moment at the sheets that had contorted around her legs. Even now, she could feel his fingers sliding over her shoulders, tickling the small blond hairs on the back of her neck. Her shoulders sagged as she slid out of bed, pressing the soles of her feet into a pair of thong sandals. Wednesdays were the worst-a cruel joke that the end of the week was seemingly on its way, but still two days left of weary classes and boring busy work. Still, even with the thought of class riding on her back, she dressed with a smile easing its way across her lips. The dream lingered, replaying the touch of his hands on her skin, the tenderness of his voice echoing in her ears. The door fell quietly, pleasantly shut behind her, and the books lay forgotten, ignored.

"It was so real," Buffy grinned, relaying the scene to Willow as they walked casually down the echoing halls of UC Sunnydale's science building. "It was like he was really there, Will."

"Well, it certainly put you in a good mood despite the chemistry quiz!" Willow replied, hugging her books to her chest, a look of confusion filling her eyes.

"You know, I don't even care about the quiz. It's no big-I'll totally do fine."

"Buffy!" Riley's voice drifted down the hall from a few feet ahead, bouncing over the heads of their fellow student body. Buffy bounced out of the crowd and stood in front of him, almost beaming. Willow pulled up alongside her.

"Hi Riley,"

"Hi Willow. Hey, Buffy, I just finished grading your exam. It was…well…"

"You could tell her she failed mightily and she'd probably still grin at you."

"Super Buffy happiness, it's rare."

"But mighty!"

"Anyway, don't tell me what I got, Riley. I don't want anything to get me down."

"Well I was just thinking, maybe I could…I mean, well…" Riley fell silent, trying to sort out a plethora of ways to ask her on a simple study date. His tongue seemed to tie into a hundred small knots. "That is…um…"

"Sorry, Riley. We really have to go. It's cookie day, and I'm so on board for cookies."

"You blew him off, Buffy. I thought you liked Riley…" Willow bent her mouth into a confused scowl, raising her eyebrows.

"When did I say that I liked him? He's a bit weird, don't you think? Ooo, I see cookies!"