Buffy barely noticed where her feet took her as she fled down the street. Strong arms caught her and she buried her face against Angel's chest. "How'd it go?" he asked quietly, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"No one's head exploded, so I guess we're okay," she mumbled, basking in the feeling of his embrace. She wasn't ever going to take this for granted.

"Did you tell them about—"

"Just that you were human again," Buffy interrupted quickly. "If I told them about Angel Junior, then I bet Giles' head would explode. And Xander's not long after. One thing at a time."

"See, now you're finally learning," Angel teased gently, leaning back to look at her face. "God, you are so beautiful."

"Are you ever going to get tired of telling me that?" Buffy asked, smiling despite herself. He kissed the tip of her nose.

"Will ever get tired of hearing it? Come on. Let's grab something to eat." There was an eager gleam in his dark eyes when he mentioned eating. Buffy grinned.

"Food is good, huh?"

"Food is amazing," he replied as they got into his convertible. "Can we go for hamburgers? I think I want a hamburger."

"And chocolate milkshakes," Buffy added, pushing aside her worries about her friends. Angel's face lit up.

"Chocolate!" he exclaimed in childlike delight. Buffy threw back and laughed.

*****

"Mom?" Buffy called cautiously as she stepped into the entryway. "Mom, are you home?"

"In the kitchen, dear!" Joyce called back. Buffy and Angel exchanged looks and ventured into the kitchen. Joyce smiled when they entered, and if it looked a little forced, no one was mentioning it. "Hello, Angel. I hope you like chicken alfredo."

"It smells amazing," Angel said quickly, and then his expression changed. "Is that…garlic bread?"

"Oh, yes, it just came out of the oven…oh." Joyce looked chagrined. "Garlic is bad for vampires, isn't it?"

Angel smiled gently. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not a vampire anymore."

"Right." Joyce nodded and they fell silent. Just as the tension became unbearable, Joyce spoke up again. "I want to apologize for my reaction earlier. It was all just a bit much to take in, and I'm still relatively new to all this Slayer business, so…I'm sorry."

Angel shook his head. "You don't have to apologize, Joyce. I know we threw a lot on you all at once. I think you're handling it well, though."

She brightened and gestured to the table. "Well, let's eat before the food gets cold. Angel, would you like some wine?"

Much to Buffy's relief, the dinner was far less awkward than she had expected. Angel could be quite charming when he chose to be, and was full of stories from his time in LA. Plus his effusive complements on everything edible (it turned out he really liked garlic bread, after all) made Joyce stammer and blush.

"So, what will you do now that you're human?" Joyce asked when she brought out the fresh cinnimon rolls. Angel was briefly distracted by the smell of the pastries before he answered.

"First thing I need to find a job," he said as he lifted his first bite to his mouth. Buffy bit down on a smile at the expression on Angel's face when he tasted the dessert. "Wow," he said, his eyes round. "This is…wow." He wolfed down several more bites before remembering himself and wiping icing off his chin. "I thought I'd start looking for a place to stay. Other than that, I'm sure Buffy can keep me busy."

He paused for a beat, realizing how that sounded, and continued hurridly as he blushed, "Helping her with the slaying, I mean. Hellmouth and all."

"That's good to hear," Joyce said. She got to her feet and started gathering plates.

"Oh, let me," Angel insisted, lunging to his feet. He reached to take the plates but only succeeded in knocking them from Joyce's hands. He grimaced when they shattered on the floor. "I'm so sorry, Joyce," he said, trying to gather the pieces. "It's just my reflexes aren't what they have been and sometimes I can be a little…clumsy. I'll pay for the dishes—"

"It's all right, Angel," Joyce said softly. "Don't worry about it."

They cleaned up the mess while Buffy started on the rest of the dishes. "Angel, I left a few weapons here. Feel up to a patrol?"

"Sounds good." He turned to Buffy's mother. "Dinner was amazing, Joyce."

She smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I guess I'll be seeing you around again?"

He laughed quietly. "Yeah. You will."

Joyce surprised him by hugging him quickly. "Take care of Buffy," she whispered in his ear.

"I will," he murmured back. As they walked out into the growing dusk, Buffy was practically beaming. Yet Angel couldn't forget what the Oracles had told him. He snorted. Even as a human, he couldn't achieve true happiness.

*****

"…And we wouldn't even know anything about the commando guys if Spike hadn't escaped—"

"Wait, Spike?" Angel interrupted Buffy's monologue, grinding to a halt in one of Sunnydale's oh-so-familiar graveyards. "Spike is in Sunnydale?"

Buffy looked sheepish and uncomfortable. "He can't actually hurt anyone," she said defensively. Angel glared.

"Buffy, we're talking about Spike here. He's kidnapped and tortured and terrorized half your friends, including me."

Buffy bit her lower lip. "There's something in his head that keeps him from hurting humans," she said in a rush. "When he tries it goes wiggy and he says it feels like his head is exploding."

Angel looked at her strangely. "What is it with you and exploding heads?" he asked, and then waved his hand. "Doesn't matter. The point is, you can't keep Spike around, thing in his head or not. He's dangerous."

Buffy chuckled. "Oh, yeah. Real dangerous chained up in Giles' bathtub."

He blinked. "Bathtub?" he echoed. Buffy nodded. Angel blinked again. "Chained in the…huh." He gave a surprised chuckle and smiled. "Okay, that I got to see." He shook his head and laughed again. "Bathtub."

Buffy smiled, too, before her expression changed drastically. "Angel, watch out!"

He spun away instinctively, barely dodging the dark form that sped by him. The vampire skidded to a halt and lunged back in Angel's direction. Angel set his feet, balanced his weight, and punched with all his mortal strength. It was enough to knock the vampire off-balance. It was enough for Angel to plunge the stake in his hand through the vampire's heart. As it exploded into dust, Angel stepped back, feeling a strange exultation coursing through his body. He looked up to see Buffy watching him smugly.

"See," she said. "You can still fight."

"Yeah," he said, smiling back. "Guess I can." He flipped his stake up and caught it again. "I could do this all night."

Buffy sauntered up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Not all night," she corrected. "We should leave some time for…other things."

Angel growled in his throat and claimed her mouth in a kiss. Suddenly, Buffy shoved him forward and he landed on his back, her on his chest. The impact drove the breath out of his lungs, which was a novel feeling since he hadn't had the need to breathe in over two centuries. As he lay contemplating that, Buffy rolled off him and lept to her feet to confront a second vampire charging from the shadows. Angel scrambled to his feet, moving to back her up.

"Geez, can we get a little privacy here?" Buffy said, glaring at the intruding vampire. It only snarled and lunged at her. She drove it back with a kick to the stomach, spinnning around to stake it in the heart. "Thank you," she muttered as it disintigrated. She turned to Angel and smiled coyly. "Where were we?"

He shook his head. "We shouldn't let ourselves be distracted," he told her. She pouted, but nodded agreement.

"Why do you always have to be so responsible?" she asked, giving him her best puppy look. Angel smiled at her.

"One of us has to be. Come on, we're almost to the school campus. You can show me your dorm."

"Willow will probably be there," Buffy said. "Unless she's with Oz. I'll just grab my overnight bag and we'll head to the hotel, okay?"

He held out his hand for her to take. "Okay."