Title: Deals With Drugs and Hugs

Author: me hehe...

Disclaimer: none of it's mine, belongs to Joss Whedon and Rob Thomas, blahblahblah

Summary: AU and Xover w/Veronica Mars, BA and a little LoVe. Angel's accused of murder in Neptune and he tricks Buffy into helping prove his innocence. The relationship and the crime gets complicated as secrets reveal themselves. Some plot taken from VM.

Timeline: Set around the 2nd season of VM, but the only thing that's sort of the same is Felix's murder. Buffy's a sophomore with Willow and Xander, the rest of them are seniors.

Spoilers: Season 1 VM but none for Buffy (except maybe her parents' divorce).

Rating: R for violence, crime, some language.

Feedback: it's like chocolate :)

A/N: For anyone who watches VM (you should if you don't, its a great show :D), you might recognize some of the plot, even if the characters are different (Buffy and Angel are so so much better than Logan and Hannah together -shudder-). It'll get a lot more AU later on, but for now, there will still be a lot of similar stuff.

"Can I ask you something?" Angel asked hesitantly.

They were at Buffy's house watching a movie together. Well, sometimes watching.

They had been dating for about three weeks, but most people at school thought that Buffy wasn't going to last much longer. Buffy tried to convince herself that it was true to save herself form heartbreak, but she wanted to hold on to every moment she had with Angel. She was starting to fantasize about him as her Prince Charming. In leather.

Angel, on the other hand, didn't want this to go on much longer. It was too hard for him to be near her, knowing that he was only using her and that any relationship they had wouldn't and couldn't last. He hadn't spoken to Hank yet, either. Hank hadn't been there whenever Angel came over to Buffy's house, which almost made Angel glad for the delay, even if he was running out of time before the trial.

Angel was stretched out on the sofa with an arm around Buffy's body, which was nestled in between his legs. He stroked her hair with his free hand and tried to tell himself that he was only dating her because of her dad.

"Sure," Buffy said in response to his question.

"What happened with your parents?"

Angel didn't know if he should be asking this. He himself pretty much beat up anyone who dared to even ask something about his own parents. He could be a little…touchy sometimes.

"Um…it wasn't so different from other people. They just split up a year ago so they could stop tearing each other apart with their fights," said Buffy, fondling Angel's hand.

"What did they fight about?" Angel asked, whispering into her hair.

Buffy shivered at the feel of his breath against his head and tried to think of an answer to his question. No matter what Willow or her other friends thought, part of her still thought that the divorce was her fault.

"The usual. Money, rumors of an affair," Buffy paused. "And sometimes me."

Angel instinctively tightened his arm around her protectively. He could tell what she thought had happened.

"You think it was because of you," Angel stated.

Buffy nodded slightly. Angel threaded his fingers through hers.

"How could they split up because of you? You're like the golden girl that all parents want and dream for," Angel said to her. How could she think that?

"You didn't know me when I lived in L.A. I lived in Neptune for most of my life, but we decided to move to L.A. about two years ago. Some of the friends I made were um… 'unsavory characters' in the words of the principal. I liked them, though, and they liked me back, so I hung out with them. Sometimes other girls would start saying shit about them or something, and then I'd do it right back to defend my friends, which automatically meant a cat fight at that school, getting me into some deep doo-doo with my parents. And then, near the end of the year, I was hanging out with some of them in the gym, and they were smoking when the gym caught on fire from one of their cigarettes. We tried to put it out, but it was too late. I took the blame 'cause I had the least to lose out of all of us and I got expelled from that school. Well obviously I wasn't exactly happy about it, but I didn't care as much as my parents. They practically disowned me they were so mad," Buffy said in a rush. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around Angel's hand as she left out a crucial part of what happened in L.A. She would tell him someday maybe. Not yet.

"What happened then?" Angel asked quietly.

"They fought about what they were going to do with me. Not that that was anything new, they fought about pretty much everything they could and ignored each other over everything they couldn't. I think Dad thought I was doing drugs or something, 'cause he yelled something about rehab." Buffy saw Angel's look. "Yeah, I know, 'cause I'm such a burnout."

Angel almost wanted to laugh at the irony. If only she knew her dad's dirty little secret.

"Anyway, they just couldn't stand each other anymore and filed for a divorce over the summer. Dad moved back to Neptune, but Mom stayed in L.A. I decided to move with Dad after the divorce 'cause it was Neptune, and I thought Dad might need me more, even though I don't really trust him as much anymore ever since the stuff in L.A. Mom already found a new guy who seems to make her happy, but I thought Dad might be lonely," Buffy said.

Angel wanted to kiss her for her thoughtfulness and for being Buffy and tell her that nothing unfair would ever happen to her again. But he knew it was a lie. And he still wanted to kiss her. They hadn't gone very far, just some stolen kisses and okay, maybe a few make-out sessions here and there. Angel didn't want to scare Buffy by going too fast, and he knew he couldn't get in too deep, so it was a good thing that they hadn't gone too far, right? He cursed himself for not seeing this obstacle before. This really wasn't a good time to start caring for or wanting someone.

"And now you're here," Angel finished for her while trying not to think of her mouth or her body that was pressed up against his.

"Yep," said Buffy, nodding. "Good old Neptune."

"Well, I know you're going to hate me for this, but I'm glad they divorced," Angel said.

Buffy turned over in his arms and looked him in the eye, confused.

"If they hadn't divorced, then I wouldn't have met you," Angel said, smiling.

Buffy smacked him lightly on the chest.

"That has got to be the cheesiest line in all of history. Do other girls actually fall for that kind of stuff?" Buffy said, but she was grinning now too.

Angel laughed.

"You know…you always make me feel better," Buffy said softly and more seriously.

Angel's reply caught in his throat as Buffy leaned her face in closer and pressed her lips to his. Angel smiled against Buffy's mouth at the familiar warmth and leaned back, pulling Buffy down on top of him. This had become his new favorite pastime. He tentatively slid his hands underneath Buffy's shirt and ran his hands up her back as Buffy slipped her tongue into his mouth. Angel let out a groan when Buffy grinded her body against his a little.

They heard a small cough from behind the couch and looked up. Hank was standing above them, glaring furiously at Angel. Buffy quickly jumped off of Angel and the sofa with her face bright red and straightened her shirt. Angel sat up and did his best to look embarrassed for Buffy's sake only. He hated Hank's guts even more now that he'd heard Buffy's story and making him mad made Angel happy. Or at least happier.

"Hello," said Hank shortly. Angel gave him a small wave.

Buffy stared at her dad, confused by his overly rude tone.

"Oh, hey Dad, you're home. Dad, this is Angel," Buffy said, trying not to sound too embarrassed. "We were um watching a movie. Angel, this is my dad."

She hoped it didn't sound too obvious about how much she liked him, but she guessed that it didn't matter much now that he'd seen their little display on the couch. He could probably tell that they weren't exactly watching a movie either.

Hank didn't give a sign that he'd heard Buffy's introductions. Instead, he gave Angel a stare that made the Sahara Desert look like the Arctic. Angel had an idea what was going through Hank's head and smirked at him in return. Luckily, Buffy didn't notice Angel's response.

Hank stomped up the stairs without saying anything else to either of them. Buffy stared after him, still a little confused by his hostility. Sure, no dad really loved their daughter's boyfriends, but most dads were a little more reasonable about the boyfriends. And Buffy's dad usually was.

"Okay, that was…weird," Buffy said, sitting beside Angel on the couch. "He's not usually like that, I swear."

"It's okay. Parents aren't usually lining up to tell me how much they adore me," said Angel. He was more than one hundred percent sure that he knew why Hank had acted that way.

"Jeez, he just had to come home when things were getting hot," Buffy said, laughing. She leaned her head against Angel's shoulder. "I'm never going to live that down."

Angel didn't really understand why making out on a couch was a big deal, but he suddenly remembered that he and Buffy were different in a lot of areas, including experience. He wasn't really big on the whole dating ritual. Mating was more his thing.

"It's funny that this is one of my only dating experiences," Angel said musingly. Funny how it was because of a murder trial too.

"Oh, yeah, you're more used to a whore-of-the-week thing, right?" Buffy said jokingly.

"More like whore-of-the-day," Angel said playfully. Buffy laughed as he leaned down across her and placed a soft kiss underneath her jaw.

"Hey, I have to go the bathroom, you want to go ahead and finish that movie while I'm away?" Angel asked, thinking of Hank.

"Sure. There's a bathroom you can use upstairs."

Angel nodded, giving her a tender kiss on the cheek before getting up and climbing the stairs. This was his chance to confront Hank, although Hank was more likely to confront him first. And hopefully not try and throttle him in the process. He wished for the hundredth time since he'd met Buffy that there was some way to do this without having to separate from her.

Hank was waiting for Angel at the top of the stairs. Angel noticed that it conveniently had a nice view of the couch, where Buffy was still sitting. It was a good thing the volume of the TV was loud enough that Buffy couldn't hear them talking.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" said Hank angrily as soon as Angel reached the second floor. He apparently wasn't one for pleasantries.

"Um, looking for the bathroom?" said Angel, with a mock confused expression on his face.

"Don't joke around with me, you son of a bitch. I want to know what you're doing with my daughter," Hank said.

"Wow, you want a play-by-play? That's pretty pervy, you know," Angel said, smirking.

Hank raised a clenched fist but caught himself in time. He took a careful step back and slowly lowered his hand before speaking again.

"Stay away from Buffy. She doesn't need or want people like you around her," Hank said.

"People like me? Then that'd probably include you, right? Oh, but no, I'm sure she knows everything about you and your drug problems," Angel said.

Hank glared at him balefully. Angel could tell that Hank wanted badly to hit him.

"Pretty silent now, huh?" Angel taunted.

"Then does she know why you started dating her in the first place? She know about your trial?" Hank retorted spitefully. "If I tell her, then you won't even have to avoid her. She'll hate your fucking guts."

"Sure, 'cause she'll just believe every pearl of wisdom that comes out of your mouth after what happened in L.A.," Angel said sarcastically. "Tell you what. I'll stay away from Buffy after you rethink what you saw on the bridge that night," Angel continued, hating what he was saying.

"So you're blackmailing me now?" Hank gritted out.

"Pretty much, yeah," Angel said, nodding.

"I'll withdraw my testimony after I know for sure that there's nothing more between you and Buffy. I'm not taking any chances." Hank forced out the words with his jaw clenched.

"Fine by me," Angel lied. He shrugged in fake indifference.

He turned and walked to the stairs with his jaw set in place from the strain of the conversation. He hoped Hank hadn't noticed how tough the conversation was for him also, but Angel was pretty sure his nonchalant responses hadn't given him away.

"You try anything with her, you can forget any plans you had about your future that doesn't include prison," Hank called after him.

Angel spun around and gave Hank a scout's honor salute and a wink before turning back and going down the stairs. He could feel Hank's glare burning holes into his back.

He didn't want to hurt Buffy, and he didn't even want to think why he didn't want that. He made it a rule not to care about what happened to other people, besides a select few. It wasn't safe and this situation with Buffy just proved his philosophy right. So what was he going to do now?

"Hey, you figure it out?" Buffy asked, smiling when she saw Angel come down from the stairs.

"Huh, what?" How did she know what happened?

"The bathroom," Buffy said, laughing at his caught-with-his-hands-in-the-cookie-jar expression. "Did you find it okay?"

"Oh. I mean, um, yeah, I did," Angel said, realizing his mistake too late.

He sat down on the sofa and put an arm around her. Buffy settled back with a contented sigh against his side. Angel hoped she didn't notice how tense his body was from his argument with her dad.

Using Buffy's words from before, Angel was in some deep doo-doo.