Author: Sith Lord Darth Omar (lol, yeah, I'm also a Star Wars fan)
Rating: PG (right now there's not even any violence, this is subject to change)
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Joss Whedon, Fox, UPN, the WB, whoever. All I know is it ain't me. None of this belongs to me except for some of the ideas and I am making absolutely no money from this. Oh, and the song and it's lyrics belong to Sarah McLachlan and Nettwerk Records.
Spoilers: Umm… this basically covers everything in the Buffy/Angel universe. There are no explicit spoilers for anything but there may be a few mentions of some stuff.
Summary: Post-NFA. Buffy is on vacation and has been feeling weird lately. So what happens when a tall, dark stranger walks into her life? B/A songfic to Sarah McLachlan's 'I Love You.' First in the 'Mirrorball' series.
Reviews: Please review. It is extremely important in this case because I really need to know whether or not to continue with this storyline. Also, this is my first Buffy story that I'm publishing so I need some feedback. And since this is a work in progress, you may have a chance to alter the course of the story with a suggestion.
Distribution: If you want it, take it, when it's done. Just e-mail me and let me know, okay?
Author's Notes: Ok, well, this is a work in progress and no, I don't expect to be done anytime soon. I would very much like you to review. I need to absolutely thank my beta Sarah who worked on this during some very stressful times and totally didn't need to and my good friend, goddess of B/A fanfiction, Kristi, whose website is awesome and you all need to check it out. Thanx a bunch for reading! The yet-unused lyrics are still at the bottom here.
Contact Me: ' '
Buffy sat in a small café in Paris. She had a cappuccino here almost every day before the lunch hour rush. She would wake up around ten and walk the short distance from her four star hotel to the café. Being on the Reformed Watcher's Council's payroll was quite the treat. Today was a nice day; not too warm, not too cool; and the clouds were quite welcome after Europe's recent heat wave.
She had been here for a month and a half. Having heard about Angel's massive battle against the Army of Hell, she feared for his safety and that of his team. They waited anxiously for weeks, tense to hear any news of the outcome. Willow had even tried a locator spell to try to find Buffy's former lover.
The red-headed witch could not calculate Angel's whereabouts; she kept saying she was running into some sort of 'shield'. Buffy's anxiety had risen and she had been on the edge of buying a plane ticket to LA when the news came: the entire demon army had been ripped to pieces… but there were no survivors. Varied reports had come in from the seedy demon underworld. There was something mysterious in LA… a magical void that allowed for no trace of the champions to be found. Wolfram and Hart had indeed unleashed their fury.
But afterwards, nothing happened. All had been quiet lately. Sure, there were the regular demons and vampires, but nothing apocalyptic. It was so odd. So, Buffy asked for a vacation. She had deserved it, after all. The new slayers could handle the regular evil activity and something had been bothering Buffy deep inside. There was no way the opening of LA's portal to Hell could have affected her all the way over in London, could there? And none of the other slayers or Faith had felt it, not even Willow.
So, she had asked Giles for a break, a chance to recuperate and maybe get Angel out of her thoughts for once. Faith was to keep her posted on anything major and, packing one small suitcase, she decided to follow her gut instincts, which, to no surprise, were now very screwed up.
Why she came to Paris, she had no idea. This place had nothing to do with Angel. She assumed that odd feeling was associated with him… but how? He was dead, surely. It usually began with a tightening in her lower back, the skin feeling extremely cool or hot. But why Paris? Angel was… had been Irish. Buffy sighed; she really didn't understand any of this. But at least the cappuccinos were good.
Another thing was bothering Buffy, though. It was starting to get boring here. There was something telling her to move on… that she should get out of here. Of course, her internal systems were so messed up that she wasn't really sure what to do. She decided, presently, to go back to the hotel and check it's guidebooks for some information on hotels in other cities. She got up, leaving a generous tip for the cute waiter.
"Riiight. Just here for the cappuccinos, Buffy," she thought to herself.
I have a smile,
Stretched from ear to ear,
To see you walking down the road.
As Buffy turned a corner, the strange feeling in her spine intensified, almost like it had begun spreading, a tingling sensation of white-hot fire.
"Ugh! What is this? Maybe I should see a doctor or it's gonna drive me..." Buffy's thoughts immediately halted when she saw the sight about two hundred meters ahead of her, on the opposite side of the street. The sun came out as she stood there, speechlessly watching a tall, dark man walk towards her.
"Oh God, oh God, I can't breathe... Angel?" she thought. He was wearing a light-coloured shirt, black leather jacket and dark blue jeans. "Wait a minute. Angel in jeans?"
He looked up, much closer now, his eyes locking onto hers, looking light brown in the sunlight. Finally, he came up to her and stopped, staring breathlessly.
We meet at the lights,
I stare for a while.
The world around us disappears.
"Buffy," he breathed, his voice barely a whisper. The way he said her name hadn't changed with his humanity.
"Angel?" she asked, her voice sounding too much like a lost little girl trying to find her way home.
The two just stood there, motionless for what seemed like hours. Angel marveled at the luminescence of Buffy's radiant golden hair, the way her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight. They radiated a look of total wonderment and warmth.
Angel grinned, his smile growing bigger by the second as he gazed at Buffy's beautiful little face. People walking by gave the couple odd looks. Even in the city of lovers was their behaviour unprecedented. But Buffy and Angel were completely focused on one another.
It's just you and me,
On my island of hope.
A breath between us could be miles.
"I've been searching so long for you," Angel said, his voice coloured by emotion. Seeing that Buffy was in no real state to respond, he continued. "The demon army. Yeah, we, uh… we defeated it. Well, actually, we got sucked into another dimension by the Senior Partners. And then we fought and fought and fought and eventually we came out on top. God, it was terrible, but… we won."
Buffy smiled, "Angel's here. He's… he's alive!"
Her heart leapt with joy, her mind slowly coming into the realization that all this was really happening.
"As a reward, I was changed. I'm… I'm human," he finished.
But his eyes carried a haunted look. Now that Buffy's initial shock was over, she could see the bags under his eyes, the slight change of his frame, the pall of his skin. He hadn't been sleeping well, obviously, if at all. It took Buffy a moment to understand that Angel was the only survivor.
"Come here," she said, enveloping him in a tight hug meant to comfort.
She wasn't really sure if the comfort was for him or for herself, but it seemed to work both ways. Buffy didn't ever want to have to let go again. Angel's body shivered as he reached around to hug Buffy back.
"I've looked everywhere for you," he whispered.
Let me surround you,
My sea to your shore.
Let me be the calm you seek.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
The sound was incredible to Buffy. After a moment, Angel pulled away, a serious look on his face.
"Buffy… I … uh, can we talk?"
"Sure," she said, eager to speak to him about this stunning revelation.
"Listen, now that I'm human… I don't know what to do…where to go. I'm confused. I… I'm not even a real person right now. I don't exist… no birth records, no family documents. I'm not even sure what I want right now. And since you're the only person I know that's still alive, I kind of needed your help. But, if you're… if… if you've got someone else in your life, then just tell me and I'll go because I can't pull you away from that. I don't want to be a burden to you. I just… I'm gonna need a lot of help, a lot of guidance. I need you to think about this, carefully, okay? Can I meet you back here tonight? Say around seven?" he asked, wrapping up his long speech.
"Umm…Sure," Buffy answered, weary of Angel's serious tone. Things generally didn't go well when he was like this.
"Okay, good," Angel grinned and left, leaving a very stunned Buffy behind.
Oh, but every time I'm close to you,
There's too much I can't say,
And you just walk away.