Buffy giggled as Angel swirled his tongue in her belly button playfully and she batted at his head gently as her stomach clenched. Angel propped himself up on his elbow, almost drooling as he looked down at her, lying on his bed in only a short skirt and her bra. She was gorgeous, and completely delicious. He kissed his way up her before caressing her lips with his, happily complying as she pulled him fully over her.

They'd been together for three months now, Buffy had not long turned eighteen and they still hadn't told anyone other than Willow. But two and a half months ago Kathy had walked in on the two of them in a heavy make-out session and practically shrieked the house down, so she knew too. She'd been sworn to secrecy though, so her and Willow made up for it by discussing it between the two of them. Willow was pleased Kathy knew so she could talk about it with someone else, she hated keeping secrets to herself.

When Angel finally pulled away from her mouth they were both breathless and she was limp in his arms, her fingers running up and down his back underneath his sweater. It was her favourite sweater; black and completely moulded to his frame. She thought he looked sinful in it, and he knew. He bent his head again, kissing her breathless again. He was so glad he hadn't logic-ed himself out of it; he didn't know how he'd survived without her for so long.

A few days later, Angel and Kathy were sitting with Spike and Buffy in the Summers' house. Kathy found it amusing how Spike was the only one who didn't know what was going on and was prone to fits of giggles. Spike seemed to remember something and turned to Angel. "By the way, Darla's coming back to town next month. I think she'll come looking for you." Buffy's stomach jolted in recognition. The image of a blonde girl came to mind as she frowned, searching her brain. Try as she might, nothing else came up other than that image. She noticed the way Angel's body language changed rapidly when Spike mentioned Darla's name and made a mental note to ask him about her.

The next day, when the two of them were sitting on his sofa, Buffy decided to take a risk. "Who's Darla?" Beside her, she felt Angel tense. "I can remember she was blonde, but that's about it."

Angel's voice was tight when he spoke. "She was a mistake."

"Wanna tell me a little more?"

Angel wanted nothing more than anything to say 'no', but he didn't. He knew he was going to have to tell her about this sooner or later. "Darla and I started going out when I was 17. We were together for a year a half before I found out she'd been cheating on me. I'd just started college and I found her in bed with one of my supposed best friends. It hurt me. A lot. I started doing things…not good things…Staying out all night drinking and waking up next to girls I'd never seen before. Even Spike couldn't stop me."

He moved his arm from round Buffy, giving her time to leave if she wanted to. "I hurt a lot of people then, mainly girls. The worst thing that happened was Drusilla."

Buffy frowned. "Drusilla? Spike's ex-girlfriend?" She remembered the two of them had gone out for a couple of years but broken up in college.

"Yeah. One night Spike told me he and Dru had split up. He'd found her cheating, like I'd found Darla. Anyway, that night she came to me and I…I didn't tell her to leave. A couple of days later Dru and Spike got back together, he really loved her he told me. Somehow he found out about the two of us and he went crazy. Dru left to go back to England and he always blamed me. It took him months to talk to me."

Now that she thought about it, Buffy could remember a time when she was fourteen and Angel stopped coming round for a while. She'd figured it was because it was busy at college. He turned to her. "The reason I was worried about us two was because he's never going to forgive me when he finds out I've taken another girl away from him. But I love you too much to stop myself."

She pulled him to her, holding him as he rested his head on her shoulder. "He never really forgave me. We moved past it, but that was all. I don't know what he'll do when he finds out about us." Buffy didn't say anything, just held him against her.