Sorry guys for taking such a long time. I didn't thought it would take SO long. First I had to work really much and security guard isn't a laughing matter. Then I was on holidays in Spain for two weeks with my gran and mum. Not to mention my study which kept me occupied a long time. But now I'm finished with these chap. My biggest thanks goes to WellxWisher, who did a great job with these chap as a beta reader. I just put one sentence in it without her knowledge - but on her advice. So I do hope she forgives me for doing it. So anyway, enjoy it.
2. A new home?
After a three and a half hour-long drive (the trailer didn't go over 60 miles per hour) they parked at last in the front of the hotel. A small, plain silver sign was attached next to the big front door: Angel Investigations. 'Oh God, what am I doing? What if he doesn't wanna see me? If he throws me out?', Buffy thought with weak knees as she read the sign. 'I don't think I could stand it. And if he let us stay, how will he handle beeing around me? How will I handle beeing around him?'
She heaved a heavy sigh, reached out and knocked. They had to wait just a few seconds before the door was pulled open by a brown-haired man with stubble around his chin and glasses on his nose.
"Wesley!" Buffy smiled at the man in front of her. "How have you been?"
"Buffy? Is it really you?" exclaimed the man named Wesley and pulled her in a tight hug. "Thank heavens you're alive!"
"Yes, I live. Did you expect anything less from me?" she teased, hoping it would lighten the mood. It did help; Wesley laughed and stepped aside to let them in.
"Sit down", he said, indicating the cream-colored sofas in the hall. "Do you want anything? Coke? Water? Juice? Beer?"
"Thanks. I'll take a ginger ale if you have any. Otherwise a coke will do." With a grateful nod Buffy slumped down on one of the sofas and closed her eyes. She was so tired she could happily sleep for a hundred years. She listened as her female friends ordered coke and the males, Xander and Giles, ordered beer.
"You must tell me everything: What happened in Sunnydale? Is the city, the world, safe?" asked Wesley as he put down the drinks and took a seat next to Buffy.
But before anyone could answer a tall, black - haired man entered the room in a hurry, worry clearly etched on his face as he swept past the sofas and reached for the remote on the table to switch on CNN.
"Wesley, we've got a problem!" the man fumed. "I just heard the news on the radio: Sunnydale's been destroyed. And that means…"
He didn't seem to notice the guests sitting and staring at him with wide eyes while he stared at the TV screen. "The world ends," he gestured to the TV where a big crater was shown. "And Buffy..."
At this Buffy stood up and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Buffy is here." she said softly.
The man turned around and stared at her. Then he reached out and hugged her tightly to his chest. "You're here! Thank God, you're alive!"
"Yeah, we had a lot of losses but in the end we did it. The world's safe."
"And Sunnydale?"
"There is no Sunnydale anymore, Angel," Buffy answered and loosened his grip on her gently. "It's gone. "
"That's why we're here, DB." Xander put in. "We need a place to stay."
"You never change, do you, Xander?" Angel asked, eyeing him. "If you're staying, don't call me DB."
"Sure. I'll watch my mouth." Xander promised and smiled. He would never admit it, but he had missed Angel. He had missed the fights, the rows they had. He even missed fighting side by side against the fiends of hell.
"That means we can stay?" Buffy beamed at her ex. "Thank you, Angel. It's not for long, I promise."
"We'll see about that; you can stay as long as you want," he assured her. "Gunn and Fred will show you your rooms when you're finished with your drinks.
With these words Angel left the group and headed up a marble staircase to the first landing. He stopped to tell Fred and Gunn to get the best rooms ready for the group in the hall and then hurried into his own room. The vampire closed the door and walked slowly to his bed. 'She's really here", he thought as he lay down, 'Here in LA, in my house. And she's safe...'
Holding his ex-girlfriend for the second time in less than a week brought back a rush of memories Angel had tried to suppress for a long time now. The two of them kissing in her room, dancing together at prom…Her seventeenth birthday–he would never forget that night as long as he existed. They had spent their first night together. Naturally the passion grew and they ended up in bed, which had lifted the curse and turned back into Angelus, but Angel didn't regret a second of their night together. Unfortunately the memory of this night brought back another, a more painful one. For one day, twenty-four glorious hours, he was human. And Buffy was with him. They ate chocolate and ice cream and yogurt. Buffy felt his heart beat. They were together in the sun. But it was too good to be true. Angel had confronted the Oracles and learned that Buffy would have to die much earlier than necessary if he stayed human. So he had begged the Oracles to turn back time. They did, so that day had never happened…except in Angel's memory.
"It's better that way", he whispered into the dark. "Better to live without her and she's alive than living in a world where she doesn't exist."
But now she was here. Angel could still feel her in his arms and smell the sweet scent of her skin and hair.
"No," he told himself sternly. "Stop thinking about her. You're not good enough for her! Remember what happened, when we where too close the last time?"
A gentle knock on his door brought him back to reality.
"Angel?" a quiet voice called. "May I come in?"
""Sure, the door's open, Buffy", he replied and readjusted himself in a sitting position. "Is there a problem?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you", the blonde slayer answered. "You almost ran up here. I know you well enough to tell that there's something wrong with you."
Buffy sat down next to Angel and looked at him with a gaze that gave the vampire the feeling of being x-rayed.
"Nothing's wrong," he hedged, "What gave you that impression?"
"Angel, please. You can't hide anything from me. You never could." Smiling, the slayer put a hand on his shoulder. "You can talk to me, whatever it is."
Angel sighed. How could he tell his ex-girlfriend that he was still in love with her? 'I left her, for christ's sake', the vampire thought angrily. 'She probably hates me for that.'
"I know, Buffy. But I can't talk about it right now, okay?"
"Sure", Buffy replied, smiling. "Whenever you're ready. I was just concerned. So, will you come down with me or are you staying here and brooding?"
Angel couldn't help but grin. "I'll stay and brood a little and than I'll come down. Promised."
"Okay. See you downstairs." Buffy gave Angel a swift kiss on the cheek and left the room without another word.
Absentmindedly Angel stroked his cheek, where Buffys kiss still burned. A sad smile flashed over his face. It would always be like this: They where close and yet not close. All he ever wanted was her. The slayer. Darla was right in the end. He was sick. Lovesick. She was in his thoughts, his cold heart, in his soul, in everything. Angel sighed, stood up and walked slowly to his bedroom door. 'I bet she moved on. Like I wanted her to. Idiot.' the vampire thought as he opened the door to the corridor and made his way down the stairs to join his guests in the hall.
"Hey, DB." Xander greeted him cheerfully and clapped one hand onto Angel's shoulder.
"I thought I had asked you not to call me that", Angel growled. "But nevertheless: I'm glad to see you all. Really."
Dawn stood up from the floor and rushed to hug him. "We're glad, too! And I swear, I'll never say you're an asshole ever again!"
"Dawn!" Buffy said, shocked.
"It's okay", Angel reassured her. "I know Dawnie hates me."
"Hated, Angel. I used to hate you. But what came after you," Dawn replied, her eyes rolling, "was nothing more than a waste of time!"
"Okay, enough comments about my non-existent love life, alright?"
"What? I'm right, aren't I? Parker was just an idiot and Riley was nice. But not for you", said Dawn, shrugging and sticking her tongue out at her older sister. "And Spike – I'd better not mention him."
Dawn pulled a face and faked a shudder. Xander smirked at her and addressed Buffy.
"You know, she's right. In every way. But, ok. Enough comments here. Where can we sleep, Angel? I remember you telling us someone would show us our rooms."
"Right. Go with Fred and Gunn, they'll show you your rooms. I
have...well I've got something to do or I would show them to you myself."
A slender girl with soft brown curls made her way slowly to the group. A young African-American man with a bald head followed her. "I'm..I'm Fred," the girl said with a shy glance to Xander. "And that's Gunn. If you wanna follow us, please."
The group drained their glasses and followed Fred and Gunn to the rooms on the second story. They couldn't believe their eyes. Every room was at least as big as the main room of the now demolished Magic Box, and included a luxurious bathroom equipped with a big claw foot bathtub, a bedroom and a mini bar attached to a little kitchen sideboard. It was like a dream coming true.
"Woah, not bad. Not bad at all." Xander murmured and gave an impressed nod. "I knew he liked me!"
They went downstairs again to get their few things out of the trailer and thanked Angel for his kindness. The vampire waved it off and told them that it was his pleasure.
In the evening, Buffy decided to read a book, something she hadn't done in a long time. She loved reading, but due to her destiny she never had much time or patience for purely recreational pursuits of a literary nature. So she had borrowed a copy of Pride and Prejudice Giles had managed to save from the ruins of Sunnydale, fixed a cup of tea and made herself comfy on the large sofa in her room. She hadn't gotten past more than three pages when a quiet knock at her door interrupted her reading.
"Come in." she called, putting the book aside.
"I hope I didn't disturb you…" Dawn apologized, eyeing the book and steaming cup of tea.
"You didn't, sweetie. Is there a problem?"
"Well, yeah. But not with me," Dawn promised when she noticed the worried look on her sister's face. "It's – ok, it's about you."
"About me? What did I do?" Puzzled, Buffy scooted over on the sofa and gestured for her sister to sit.
"Nothing, really. It's just that I wanted to talk to you about something."
"And that something would be…?"
"Don't hit me," Dawn pleaded, only half-jokingly, "but it's about you and Angel."
I promise that I won't keep you waiting such a long time again. Lots of love and greets from Germany, gummy