Title: Your Decision
TV Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Beloved Slayer
Rating: T
Summary: Six weeks Angel buried his true feelings. On the seventh week, he revealed them.
Author's Note: The idea came up in my head while watching Grounded for Life; a bit odd I know, but I decided to write it in a one shot. Angel is human, but knows about Buffy being the Slayer. The timeline for this story takes place before season four, but it's a completely alternative universe. Enjoy!
Chapter One
First week
"Would you care for a dance, m'lady?" arrived Angel's voice, his hand outstretched to reach for Buffy. She nodded, accepting his invitation with a flitting smile that even the rays of the sun couldn't dare compare to, her fingers intertwining alongside his. "Of course. I'm yours to command."
Soon, she was swept off her feet, the stresses of patrolling, school, and other trivial events thrown to the back recesses of her mind, her focus solely on him. Two months, twenty eight days later since they first developed a reluctant friendship, he hadn't uttered a single word to express his innermost feelings for her. He decided to wait until he was absolutely sure his heart was in the right place.
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Second week
"So, how are you liking the date so far?" Angel threw the question directly at Buffy shyly, shifting his body to protect himself from the gusty winds as they trotted through downtown Sunnydale, the many citizens scurrying on by, their hands ladled with shopping bags and Styrofoam coffee cups. "It's going quite well actually. Thanks for asking," Buffy smirked, walking alongside him, careful to not lean up against his broad shoulder. "The movie was good. Better than the last one I saw. Thanks again for inviting me." At this she flashed a genuine smile, bringing inviting shivers down Angel's spine and into his rapidly beating heart.
"I'm glad. Can I walk you home by any chance?" He offered. Buffy nodded with a tilt of her head. "Sure." From then on, they trudged through the quiet streets and neighborhoods as the night continued into the late hours. For others, it probably never meant much to them, but for Angel, walking against his unknowing love brought him a joy that he hadn't felt for quite a long time since his arrival in Sunnydale three years ago. The realization in that he had already fallen deeply in love with her, but the courage to admit his feelings were never conjured in his thoughts. Because of his stern need to deny those feelings, he stubbornly pushed them aside, burying them within the forbidden part of his soul.
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Third week
"Angel, stop laughing! This is not a joke! Mom's gonna kill me when she sees this mess!" Buffy shrieked as she took in her disastrous surroundings. The kitchen was adorned with cake mix, egg whites, and milk that was strewn throughout the walls and kitchen counter. "Are you kidding? You should see the look on your face, it's priceless," Angel retorted with a humorous snort. "Oh yeah? We'll see about that," Buffy scowled, dipping her finger into a stainless steel cake bowl, wiping the mix straight across Angel's perfectly aligned nose. "Damnit, Buffy! Why did you do that?" He snapped, all traces of humor vanishing.
Buffy hadn't responded. The kitchen fell into silence, the air thick with tension and a connection that was developing between the two. "Because you look handsome with cake mix dripping from your face like delicious rain drops." Buffy took a step closer, her eyes focusing on his warm, soft lips that she had a desperate desire to catch with her own. Her breathing rose, her heart beating rapidly against her chest as she took another step closer, their bodies almost touching.
Angel felt the desire rising within him; the same desire in wanting to push Buffy against the wall and crush his lips against hers, to tell her that he loved her. But he forced himself to act rationally. Instead of giving in to his urge, he spun away from her, his lips tight with anxiety, his heart threatening to burst from his chest. He would never let her know how he truly felt. Even if it killed him in the end.
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Fourth week
"Angel, are you even paying attention to what I'm saying? What makes you think that I'm willing to hurt you on purpose? That's not me. I would never cheat. That's not who I am. Why do you care anyways? We're just friends!" Buffy declared in an attempt to defend herself amongst her increasing confusion. "You have to believe me. He's just a friend, nothing more," she continued in a plea, plopping on her bed, sulking.
In the corner of her eye, she caught him pacing angrily back and forth, his expression one of the same confusion, but also uncertainty. He clawed his hair in order to calm himself from doing anything rash or potentially regretful. Maybe if he had admitted to her his true feelings, none of this would had happened.
He came to the conclusion of adding the blame to not her, but rather, himself. The words were sitting on his lips, but stubbornly, he refused to open his mouth and release them to the world. For the rest of the night, he and the person he loved and adored more than anything else continued to bicker until he exited her room in agitation, leaving her to break down in tears at his abrupt departure and accusing behavior.
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Fifth week
During a night of Slayer patrol, he approached her from behind with caution and weariness, cradling a single rose in his right hand that he was hoping would comfort her. She hadn't sensed his presence at first, too occupied defeating and staking a vampire that had entered Willy's Bar. With ten human bodies under his name, the vampire had developed quite a reputation in the local demonic community.
With the vampire dusted, silence consumed the alley, leaving both the Slayer and Angel in an awkward situation. She hadn't come face to face him when she called out to him in a deflated voice. "What do you want Angel? Can't you see I was busy? I don't have time for this right now. I got slaying to do." She skulked towards the entrance of Willy's Bar, footsteps prodding against rain droplets that fell to the concrete pathway, lessening the palpable air.
"Buffy, I came here...to apologize. I should had trusted you. I don't know why I snapped. I just lost my cool," Angel confessed with a resonated sigh. Her hand wrapping around the brass handle of the entrance door, Buffy contemplated quietly for a second, her lips pressed in a line. "Angel, I don't think things are ever gonna be the same if you don't try enough to trust me. We've been friends for so long, that should've kept your trust, right? So what's changed?" When Angel didn't respond, she left him to his senses, entering the bar while leaving a speechless Angel to wander broodingly through the night, the realization hitting his mind in that he still hadn't uttered the three most important words to her. The words that had the potential to make the situation better. Within his hand, he crushed the rose until it was nothing more than broken pedals.
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Sixth week
"Buffy, talk to me, please. It's been a few weeks. I don't want to leave things like this," Angel's voice crackled on the other end of the phone line, leaving the Slayer in turmoil. "Why should I talk to you after everything that's happened?" She snarled. Without waiting for his response, she disconnected the line, never hearing him mutter the words, "I'm sorry."
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Seventh week
It's been close to two months since the last time she had seen Angel, and currently, Buffy was beginning to wonder what she was doing alone in the middle of Weatherly Park at night without a stake in preparation. She lowered her head, her eyes peering at the carefully crafted handmade card she had received one mysterious morning. It was formally addressed to her, but no name was attached as to who the identity of the sender was. For weeks, it had left her in wonder, excitement, but also, apprehension.
The more time she spent outside in the night alone, the colder the temperature seemed to appear. She shivered inwardly, rubbing her hands together when she felt the familiar tingle of his presence in the deepest recesses of her heart.
"Angel," she whispered, inclining her head only to see that no one was there but her. "Damn. I thought he was there," she mused. Before she could resume her position, she felt a light tapping on her shoulder. "Are you really here? Or is this some kind of joke?" She demanded warily, keeping her eyes on the park's entrance. "Why would I do such a thing, Buffy? I'm here for no one but you. I came here to apologize," Angel quipped, standing beside her, his hands deep in his duster pockets. "You've spent the last two months with no calls, no emails, no texts, not even a single letter, and now you decide that tonight was the perfect time for you to come here to apologize?" Buffy's voice rose a few octaves, as she purposefully kept her distance from him.
"Damn straight. I'm tired of holding back. Buffy, can't you see that I love you?" Angel finally confessed, his voice a pitch higher, his face turning crimson. Buffy twisted her head, her darkened eyes meeting his, utter surprise etching her face. "What did you say?"
"I said I love you," Angel forced himself to repeat. "I tried not to, but I couldn't stop. Everywhere I turned, no matter where I was, I could only think of you, and nothing else." No matter how hard he was trying to suppress his newly exposed feelings, a sense of relief was overwhelming him to the point in which his knees were threatening to buckle underneath his weight. He steadied his pace, inhaling a sigh of air before continuing. "I was the one who had sent you that card, Buffy. I didn't want you to believe that I'd just abandoned you like that. It was my way of saying that I was thinking of you every moment of the day, even at night. It was my way of saying I'm sorry for acting like a jerk those months back. If you can't forgive me, I understand. I just want to let you know that-"
Before he could finish, he felt her warm, soft lips pressing against his, her tongue fighting for dominance, her arms circling gently around his neck, pulling his tall frame against hers. "Don't. Just kiss me," She ordered softly, placing a finger to his lips. Immediately, he obeyed with a grin. "Right, boss." And then they continued to kiss until the early rays of dawn rose.
In their world, it was only the two of them standing amidst the darkness, and nothing else in the moment mattered.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the story. I've already started work on chapter three for Between the Stars. It will be posted later today. All feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you.