"ANGEL!" Buffy's control shattered in a scream that tore across the empty space as the judgment was passed, whatever power that had held her seemed to have snapped off as she broke free and dropped to her knees.
The sword descended towards her lover, and a second later, the night exploded.
Buffy involuntarily shielded her eyes as Angel vanished behind a supernova of blinding white light, the once dark park lighting up brighter than noonday sun.
Her heart clenched as she realized it could only mean one thing, Angel was dead.
His soul gone.
Destroyed.
Forever.
Her nightmare made real.
In the next second, she would feel the gaping, bleeding hole formed in her heart with the absence of Angel's soul.
The blinding light seemed to reach in under her eyelids, the red glow behind her shut eyes making it feel like she was standing on the surface of the sun.
Within seconds, the glow not so much faded but flipped off like a switch was thrown, letting her blinking eyes readjust to the once again black night sky.
After every blink, an afterimage from the intense light was distorting her vision, but out of the corners of her eyes she could tell the other angels had departed along with the ones who had been holding her hostage.
She was alone.
As she gathered her bearings, her heart was beating out a sorrowful lament, but the terrible empty feeling she expected to feel was still missing from her soul.
When her tear filled eyes finally worked enough to look back at the spot Angel had been standing, she saw nothing.
No, wait, not nothing.
"Angel?" Hope flared in her chest as a figure came into focus, no longer standing but on his hands and knees.
Her legs were pumping instantly, her body's driving need for her angel overwhelming all other thoughts.
The figure had just barely stood when Buffy slammed into him, bringing them both to the ground as she wrapped her arms around him and crushed her face into his chest. "You're alive, you're alive, you've alive." Repeating from her mouth, much like after the nightmare of his death that had so seemingly become reality.
The relief of still having him physically here had over ridden her brain for a few seconds, but suddenly she released him and drew back, "Oh god, I'm sorry, I know touch hurts, I shouldn't have done that, I just..." Her eyes caught his, shocking her into silence.
His chocolate dark brown eyes were gone.
Instead, his wide eyes were a brilliant shade of gold, and had been glued to her during her little rant, her words barely penetrating though the emotions rushing though him. Instead of speaking, he just moved his hand out, gently cupping her cheek.
"Angel? What.." Before she could ask what he was doing or why his eyes were gold instead of brown, his lips fell over hers as his hand moved to the back of her neck and drew her flush against him.
Caution forgotten, she responded immediately to the kiss, her arms re-wrapping around him as she crushed against his solid form, starving for the taste of his lips, a taste she hadn't had in a whole year.
Nothing else existed in that moment, Angel was kissing her.
After what could have been forever, she pulled back to draw in a much needed breath, her eyes searching his face for an explanation as to why this intimacy didn't hurt him. 'Do I care? As long as I can keep doing it.'
Angel's confused stoic expression held in place for a few seconds longer until the corners of his lips twitched upwards, then the floodgate burst as one laughed followed by a hundred more came flowing out of him.
It was a little maniacal, but was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.
Angel laughing.
Nearly a year had passed since she'd last heard it, the same amount of time since he'd smiled or kissed her.
Now he was doing all three with no signs of stopping.
When she finally pried her lips back away from him, she pressed her face against his chest, at a loss for the absence of his heartbeat as she asked him, "What happened just now? How are you...how can we...is this going to last?"
He just grinned and kissed her again, his hunger for her insatiable.
As the kiss deepened, her body began to react to him in ways she hadn't been able to act on in months. All thoughts for an explanation dissolved as one overpowering thought filled her every cell.
She wanted Angel, now.
Grabbing his hand, she yanked him in the direction of home, needing to get him someplace they could be alone.
She would have ducked into the nearest possible secluded place, be it a bathroom or dark alley, but he kept them moving.
As much as he wanted her right now too, and as much as it almost physically hurt to not bury himself into her love this very moment, he wasn't going to settle for anything less than the privacy of their bedroom for their first time together again since his wings had been lost.
The next few minutes were a blur to them both, they moved quickly from the park back to the apartment, once inside, clothes vanished as their bodies merged and they lost themselves in love.
...
Buffy's eyes were lidded as she ran her fingers down the back of Angel's neck, smiling as she realized he was out cold.
He was still buried deep inside of her, his body wrapped around hers, his face sunk into the side of her neck. After nearly a year of perpetual exhaustion and battling constant pain, hunger and depression, the soothing bliss of love and comfort overwhelmed him, and he'd fallen asleep the moment their passion had ended in a climatic burst.
"I love you." She whispered into his ear, the unending smile on her face making her cheeks hurt.
In his sleep, he stirred slighted, a sleepy 'Love you' mumbling out as he nuzzled closer and tightened his grip on her.
Her heart swelled with love upon hear those words out of his mouth for the first time since he'd lost his ability to love all those many months ago.
This right here, holding him, loving him, this was what she'd really craved for all those sleepless nights. He'd done what he could to placate her desires with that vibrating dick, but nothing could compare to his actual body being in contact with hers, skin to skin, his mouth on hers, her hands in his hair, his flesh buried inside her.
Her whole body felt like a giant itch had been scratched.
Now that her mind wasn't overpowered by the idea they could have sex, nor being preoccupied with the sex itself, she started to wonder exactly what happened so they could have sex.
Something had happened out there in the park, the trial that should have killed her Guardian had somehow done something to cancel out his Fallen status. Of course he still had to be a Fallen, his wings were still...
Buffy's thoughts ended the moment she peeked over his shoulder and down at his back, her jaw dropping open at what she saw there.
The unhealing scars that had turned his back into an ugly bruised welt of pain for the last year were gone. As were the short raw stumps of bone that had been all that remained of his once majestic white wings.
Beside his gryphon tattoo, a scrawny little slip of bone was now protruding through his skin, except instead of the short stump being hacked, bloody, sickly and ragged, it was a healthy pink with a slew of downy feathers growing along it. A twin piece of feathery bone was sticking from his right shoulder blade.
'Wings?' She thought with shock, 'Are those wings growing back?'
Okay, so they looked like something off a chicken wing platter at a Chinese restaurant, but it was unmistakable that they were the beginnings of real angelic wings.
"Angel!" She yelped in excitement as she looked down at the re-growing appendages, his dead weight lifting off her as he snapped awake, eyes wide and face comically startled. "Buffy? What's wrong?"
"You have wings!" Buffy couldn't suppress her astonishment, pushing him off her and to the side so she could better see his back.
A grin washed over his face as he relaxed, realizing she was only ogling him and nothing was wrong, "Yeah, the start of them anyways." He turned and grabbed her wandering hands to keep them from touching him, "Wait, until they get bigger, they're too sensitive like this."
He laid her hands on his chest, "Everything else is free to touch."
Their lips met as she moved her arms to wrap around his neck and pulled him back down onto her, his joy overflowing as she wrapped her legs around him and made it known she wanted him again.
Neither kept track of time as love and passion controlled their bodies. Dawn had lightened the skies by the time Buffy's brain processed anything besides orgasmic bliss. As her eyes focused on her lover, she found him smiling at her as he laid beside her, one arm wrapped protectively around her waist.
The constant smile made her cheeks ache as she lifted her hand and ran it down his cheek, loving be able to touch him again. "Have I told you I love you today?" He asked with a mischievous smirk.
"Only about a million times, which isn't nearly enough. More please." She declared as she drew him in for a kiss.
Before their lips could set their bodies on fire again, she pushed him off and sat up, drawing the sheet up to cover her bare chest. "Okay, body is pleasantly numb and brain is back to thinking non-sexy thoughts, now explain this to me. What happened back there, with the judgment?"
Angel forced the grin from his lips and he reined in his desire, barely, "Something I thought was impossible." He said by way of explanation.
Buffy arched an eyebrow, "Just to be clear, there will be no more sex until you provide a non-vague answer." She threw back at him, hoping he'd give her one quickly become she hadn't had a large enough dose of her now touchable angel yet.
Sobering up, he wrapped an arm back around her and yanked her closer, suddenly unable to not be touching her. "I thought I was being judged guilty and sentenced to death. To be honest, I really expected oblivion, it wasn't until I heard the voice of The Powers-That-Be echoing in my mind did I understand what I was really being sentenced to."
"What exactly were to sentenced to? This doesn't feel much like a punishment to me." Buffy pointed out, her hand absently rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, more than ecstatic she could touch him without causing him pain.
His smile flashed a moment, "That's because it isn't."
After a second, he continued, "I felt it first, the heat in my back as the infection in my severed wings was burned away by the power in the divine sword. The Power's words telling me I was sentenced...to fulfill my oath to you."
Buffy's eyes widened, "What?"
"The higher realm takes oaths very seriously" He intoned with a note of humor, his face aching too from all the smiling but he unable to help himself.
"But, your wings." Buffy asked, unsure how they fit into the sentencing.
Angel explained, "When I claimed responsibility for killing Ahriman, it was a death sentence for me, but it was also was a reprieve for you. By doing so, I saved your life, which directly supported my oath bound duty to you. I protected you, even at risk to my own soul, which is what being a Guardian is all about."
"You lost your wings because the Power's thought you neglected your duty." Buffy stated, the gears in her head spinning, "But since you accepted it back, you could be restored."
"That's not how it usually works for Fallen." Angel amended, "But in this case, Ahriman had cheated me out of a fair trial and lied to the Power's directly about my intentions. He showed them only pieces of what transpired with the Soul Eater and our relationship for the past few years, not the whole truth. He painting an ugly picture to The Powers about me and made a case to have be removed.
When I stepped in front of Ahriman's sword, to sacrifice myself to save you, his followers reported what I'd done. It couldn't change the sentence though, I'd already lost my wings, but I was being watched ever since, the Power's wanting to see for themselves if I was neglecting my duty."
"And it took them almost a year to figure out you hadn't been?!" Buffy shot back, suddenly mad at The Powers-That-Be for making Angel suffer for so long.
Angel shook his head, "Buffy, you need to understand the passage of time is different here than in the higher realms, a year for us is like seconds to them. Watching the last year of our lives only enforced that I had never actually neglected my duty to you, even struggling as a Fallen, I chose to remain acting as your Guardian and re-swore my oath to you. That impressed them. The encounter in the park, that was my real trial, they masked it as yours to see what I would do. My words and actions there were proof enough to The Powers that Ahriman's judgment in me was corrupt. In return for wrongly sentencing me to Fallen, they had me immediately reinstated as your Guardian."
Buffy's eyes widened in shocked surprise, "My Guardian? Really?"
A hint of a grin pulled at her lips, "If you'll have me."
"Yes!" The word was shouted out and she hurled herself at him, catching him in a bear-hug.
Buffy could feel it as she pressed against her lover and Guardian, his body shuttering as the power of her acceptance washed over him, his still heart suddenly thundering back to life as his body transitioned to being part of the mortal realm again, restoring all that had been lost since his fall.
As they lay tangled together, after their celebration of his restoration, Buffy turned her head and looked down into his bright golden eyes, "What about these?"
His dark eyebrows tilted downwards, "What about what?"
With her lips quirking up, she pecked his lips and a little laugh, "Your eyes, why are they gold now?"
The ghost of a smile on Angel's lips vanished, "What?" He asked, clearly taken aback.
Unwilling to stop touching her, Angel slung his girl under an arm as he practically jumped out of bed and whisked into the bathroom down the hall.
Buffy, growing worried about his reaction to his eye color, wriggled out of his grip as he stood staring at the mirror, mouth slightly parted in shock.
"Why do I get the feeling this is bad?" She asked as she watched her lover's face, uneasiness creeping in.
Slowly, as if out of a dream, he turned to look at her, "No." He spoke softly, "It's not bad per say, just...unexpected."
"What does it mean?" She pressed, needing to know how this could affect them.
Tearing his gaze off his own reflective face, he turned to look at the small young woman standing beside him, just as naked as he was. While wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her body closer to him, he assured, "It means I'm not just a Guardian anymore. Like Ahriman was, I've been upgraded to Warrior."
Turning in his arms, Buffy looked up at him curiously, gazing into his golden orbs, "But you've always been a warrior, my warrior."
A smirk pulled at his lips, "Yeah, but I couldn't do this before." With a gesture like unsheathing a sword, from the nothing at his hips a golden sword appeared in his hands, glowing softly with a golden hue and screaming of power.
He knew he'd be able to do it, his eyes alone had told him as much, but actually seeing and feeling the sword in his hands was still awe inspiring for him.
The sword was magnificent, and looked entirely out of place in their little bathroom. "You've done that before." Buffy pointed out, her mind remembering while watching as Angel re-sheathed the sword back into the nothing he drew it from, "You sliced the SoulEater in half with it."
Angel shook his head, "I did, but I was using borrow power. Because I was defending you, I was able to draw on the strength of a Warrior, but it was only for a few moments, not to mention against the rules. Now, the power is my own, to use whenever necessary."
"Are there any stings to this Warrior gig I should know about?" Buffy asked, worried this new status might come with other responsibilities.
Leaning down to brush his lips over hers, he whispered, "All my strings are tied to you."
She liked the sound of that.
As they made their way back towards the bedroom, lips and bodies intertwining, Buffy asked, "How about the Roman era costume, do you get that too?"
Moving though the bedroom door and kicking it shut behind him, Angel flashed her a mischievous grin, "You mean this?"
In one moment, he'd been deliciously nude, in the next he looked like a gold toned extra in a gladiator movie. Buffy's stomach clenched in hunger for him, enjoying her lover looking like a roman god. "Okay, as sexy as you look, I prefer naked right now." She teased, pulling him in close and dragging him towards the bed.
Grinning, the Warrior garments vanished as he dropped down over his girl.
...
Buffy was watching Angel as he slept, surprised that he was actually sleeping again. For a restored divine being, he was seriously lacking in extra energy, especially as he had a habit of falling asleep right after sex fairly often over the last 16 hours or so. At first, she thought his body was just adjusting after being Fallen for so long, but after the fourth time he'd conked out after sex, she was getting worried.
Sliding out from under him, her thoughts were absorbed by the sight of his wings, still tiny by comparison to what they'd been before his Fall, but at least three times bigger than when she'd last looked at his back.
What was earlier just a glorified downy strip of bone, was recognizably a wing. Each was about a foot long, the golden hued pinions extending the length by another 6 inches. A grin washed over her face as she thought they looked like the wings painted on fat cherubs in old world murals.
Unable to help herself, she reached out and brushed her fingers along the downy base and traced along the upper edge, she hadn't gone far before the wing twitched and Angel jerked up from the dead sleep he was in, his golden eyes wide as he pulled back, looking defensive.
Yanking her hand back, she apologized as her cheeks flushed red, remembering he's asked her not to touch them as they were overly sensitive. "Oops, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
He blinked a moment, his face unreadable as he watched her, like he was trying to solve a puzzle. At her words, he visibly relaxed, "It's okay, you're fine. I just...I didn't know what touched me."
"You expecting someone else to be laying beside you?" Buffy asked with a note of sarcastic humor.
Wrapping an arms back around her and pulling her flush against him, he shook his head, "No, I'm not." He emphasized, but his voice shook slightly as he continued, "But what happened to my last wings isn't exactly forgettable. I guess I might be a little more jumpy with these new ones."
Nodding but feeling like she'd lost something precious, Buffy told him, "Okay, I won't touch them again."
He surprised her when he said, "No, I want you to touch them, they're yours as much as mine. It's just...I don't know."
'He's traumatized.' She realized, lifting her hand to cup his chin and run her thumb along his cheek. 'After losing his wings so violently and not having them for so long, he hasn't had much time to come to terms with the new ones yet.'
Leaning in to kiss him, she whispered against his lips, "When you're ready, until then, I'll only touch if you ask me to."
As their lips parted, he pulled her closer, removing the space between them, his mouth brushing under her neck as he asked, "I want you to."
Pulling back slightly, she looking into his golden eyes, "Now? Are you sure? I don't want you to feel rushed."
He shook his head, "Yes, I'm sure. I miss your touch and I want to make this work for us." Part of him really didn't want his wings touched, the part of him still mourning the loss of his first set. However the majority overruled in favor of Buffy touching his wings, even if it gave him an anxiety attack just thinking about it.
Adjusting herself so she was straddling his waist, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her hands on his lower back, she slowly lifted them up towards his shoulders. Angel sat ridged, his arms lifted slightly so hers could move under his and upwards, giving him the ability to push Buffy's hands quickly away if he dropped his arms.
Her hazel green eyes were watching his face carefully, looking for signs of distress. She watched his jaw clench and paused her hands about two inches from brushing the base of his wing when he'd spoken, "Wait."
"It's okay, I can stop." Buffy assured him as she lowered her hands, seeing he was still too uncomfortable.
He lowered his arms, which trapped hers where they were, "Don't stop, just...try the tips first."
"Okay." She agreed as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, trying to ease his tension. When she felt him relax, she slowly moved her mouth away from his and looked over his shoulder at the twin feathered appendages behind him. "I'll be gentle." She whispered into his ear, his wings slightly rising as he tensed.
Using her right hand, she lightly brushed her finger against the longest pinion on his left wing, which caused it to flutter slightly. She felt Angel shiver and pulled her hand back, "Sorry, did that hurt?"
He rested his forehead against hers, keeping her pressed close against his bare chest, "No, it didn't hurt."
"What me to do it again?" She asked, trying to read his face.
Slowly, he nodded.
This time using her left hand, she brushed his right wing, that one fluttering slightly the same way as the left had, the resulting shiver rushed over her lover's body.
"How was that?" Buffy asked, unsure if they were actually make any headway or not. Looking at his face, she thought he looked exhausted.
"It was okay." He answered, not exactly sounding thrilled.
"Do you want to stop?" She asked, not wanting him to continue with this if it was uncomfortable or painful. At the moment, it almost felt like he were Fallen again.
"For now, we can try again after a quick nap." He answered, feeling a bone deep weariness washing over him.
Buffy moved her arms so she could cup his cheeks, "Angel, what's going on with you? You shouldn't be this tired all the time. Are you sick?"
He grinned and leaned forwards kissing her as he steadily inched forwards until she toppled backwards so he could lay atop her. Her legs parted to the side of his hips as he inched closer, not fully aroused but noticeable against her inner thigh.
Her questions to him had been momentarily forgotten until he answered with an amused tone, "No, I'm not sick, I'm tired all the time because growing wings is physically exhausting."
"Is that why you're always snoring after we make love? You get your energy fix from me then pause for a snooze?" She teased him, relieved it was nothing worse than extreme energy taxation from re-growing his wings.
He grinned again and kissed her neck, "Guilty."
It wasn't long before he was nuzzled against her, his eyes closed, body relaxed, his breaths deep and even.
As she lay on her back with his weight resting comfortably atop her, she looked over his shoulder and was surprised to see his wings lying limp across his back, but even at rest she noticed they looked visibly bigger already. 'No wonder he's tired, a growth spurt like that would exhaust anyone.'
The other oddity she noticed about the new golden toned wings, was they didn't disappear into the mattress like the older white ones used to, they didn't seem to have the same holographic properties. In fact, they seemed very material.
She dozed along with him for a while, less than an hour had passed when he shifted and stretched, the wings on his back spreading outwards in a parody of stretching arms.
With a smile, she brushed her fingers though his sleep tussled hair, "Alas, my sleeping Warrior has risen." She'd thought about rolling him off her earlier, but she missed her Angel blanket and had been worried if she rolled him off he might fall onto his back, which certainly wouldn't do his newly forming wings any good.
He snickered as he leaned down and kissed her, "Something else might rise if you keep doing that."
As much as she liked late evening sex, she had other plans for right now, "Something can rise later, after I hit the refrigerator." Buffy said as she gently shoved her Guardian off her and slipped out of bed to grab her robe.
Angel's golden eyes lit up as the concept of eating and actually enjoying the taste rushed back to him, "Food? I completely forgot about food." For the last year, eating had been a necessary chore to remain comfortable, and was almost never pleasant, especially having to use a cloths pin on his nose every time he wanted to drink one of those bland canned drinks.
"My stomach didn't." And as if summoned, her stomach growled in annoyance of missing dinner the previous night, this mornings breakfast and lunch too.
Angel hastily wrapped the dislodged bed sheet around his waist in a half hazard skirt and was already heading towards the bedroom door, "I just realized how hungry I am."
"Leave some for me!" Buffy called as she hurried out after him.
...
A good hour of raiding the kitchen found their stomachs full and happy.
Buffy had feared Angel was going to make himself sick on sweets, and possibly enjoy chocolate more than sex, but he'd put down the last slice of cake in the fridge when she'd dropped her robe to the kitchen floor as bait.
At least this kitchen table was stronger than the last few they'd owned and stood up to the pounding between an angel and a slayer.
"Hmm, I love you." Angel muttered into his lover's neck, as he stood braced against the edge of the table that Buffy had found herself lying on. Running her fingers thought his hair, she flashed him a megawatt smile, " I love you." She sealed the statement with a kiss which he returned eagerly.
With food in him, her angel seemed more energized than a few hours ago, but she could tell his wings were still draining him. Seeing them cooperatively beating silently behind him, "They're bigger."
"What's bigger?" Angel asked as he looked down at her breasts, then noticing her eyes looking over his shoulders. "Oh, those. Yeah, I know, I can feel them growing."
"Are they bothering you? Do you have growing pains?" She asked, curious what having his wings growing back actually felt like.
"No pain, but they do tingle a lot, the nerves are still developing." He answered, suddenly realizing there was a previously unnoticed itch in between the feathers.
"Is it just me, or are they more solid that your first ones?" She asked, having noticed them brushing the refrigerator door earlier.
He nodded, "They are." He answered, looking fairly apprehensive, "In this form, they are completely on the mortal plain, like my body."
"So can anyone touch or see them?" Buffy asked, not liking how this was sounding.
Angel nodded again, "Unfortunately, yes. Which means leaving the house might not be wise until they complete the transition into the celestial realm."
"I'm guessing covering them under a trench coat isn't a viable solution." Buffy asked, thinking of a few movies where that happened. The idea Angel would have to walk around shirtless until then didn't exactly bother her.
"No." Her Guardian Warrior replied, actually cringing, "The pain that would...let's just leave it at no."
Buffy glanced over his shoulders again at the slightly swaying feathered appendages, "How long until they go holographic? They're growing fast, so I wouldn't think more than a few days."
Shaking his head, he shrugged, causing the wings to flutter, "I don't really know. When a Guardian is born, their wings grow nearly instantly as their soul accepts the Guardianship, an angel re-growing wings, especially on the mortal plain, has never happened before."
"Well." She told him with a smirk, "We'll just have to be extra careful we aren't seen while patrolling and I'm sure we can find something indoors to occupy our time with during the day."
"I'm sure." He sent her a teasing smile, having a few thoughts right then about what they could do to occupy themselves.
She would have left it at that, but she noticed he was watching her intently. "What?" She asked, feeling her cheeks flushing.
"Touch them." He didn't say it as a question, but it wasn't an order either, more of a request.
Before she could respond, he leaned in and captured her mouth with his, pulling her flush against him, which left her hands free to wander.
Sight wasn't necessary, she automatically knew where his wings were, almost like they wanted contact. Gently, she held out her hand and she felt the downy soft feathers brush her palm. She more felt that heard Angel groan though their kisses. From the way his body pulled her closer, she knew it was a pleasant groan and not a painful one.
Still being careful and keeping her touches light, she used both hands and fingered the long pinions along the base of his wings, causing the appendages and shutter but not pull away.
At his positive responses, she trailed her hands along the muscular 'arms' of the wings, slowly making her way towards the base where they connected to his back, remembering to always stroke with and not against the feathers.
As she neared the point where his wings had been severed, his kisses were growing more desperate and needy. By the time her hands wrapped around the base of his wings, they were trembling and fluttering wildly.
Angel gasped as he pulled away, not violently, but enough to remove her hands and give his over stimulated wings a break. It took a few moments for his muscles to respond to him again as the trembling eased.
"Too much?" Buffy asked, feeling rebuked as he pulled back.
He looked like he could be in pain, but it could have been pleasure too, it was hard to tell with his eyes screwed shut.
"God no." He breathed out a moment later, his body relaxing as the powerful sensations Buffy always stirred within him settled down. The wings were still more sensitive than usual, which was overloading him a bit, but her touch was bliss. Even too much bliss, was still bliss.
He leaned back in to capture her mouth in a reassuring kiss. When their lips parted slightly he added with a note of humor, "They're still tender though, so be gentle with me."
With a sexy grin, Buffy replied, "I don't know, now that you've re-surrendered your wing v-card, you don't have the same 'forbidden' vibe."
"Oh, so you're only into ruffling under developed wings? Does that make make you a featherophile." Angel teased, pulled her closer when she struggled to whack him for the comment. "Going after young innocent Guardians..."
"Young and innocent my ass." Buffy muttered through her smile as she caught his lips, nothing they had done in the last day had been 'innocent'.
Somehow they ended up back in the bedroom, neither really caring how or why or when, love consumed them, blocking out pretty much everything expect one another.
...
*Ring*
The sound distracted her from the line of kisses Angel was tracing up her arm. With a sigh, she pouted, "My phone is ringing."
*Ring*
"Let it ring, we're busy." He muttered as he continued to kiss up to her collarbone.
*Ring*
Preferring her lover's mouth but feeling that after what was close to 24 hours of make-up sexy time between her and her restored lover, and numerous time of ignoring the phone already, she figured the outside world was beginning to wonder if she'd been eaten by something. She hadn't checked in with Giles after patrol the previous night, since being able to physically love Angel had taken over pretty much every other thought, and by now she figured her watcher was getting mega worried.
Buffy reluctantly pulled out of Angel's embrace, "Hold that thought while I get the phone." Slipping on her robe, she jogged over to the ringing device that was in the pocket of her long discarded pants and hit the green 'talk' button, "Relax Giles I'm not dead."
"Buffy?" Giles voice filled her right ear, "Good heavens, what happened? I've been trying to reach you for half the day, did something happen during patrol last night? Are you alright?"
Through the tide wave of questions, Buffy found her footing and responded, "Whoa Giles, take a breath, I'm fine, I'm perfect even. Yeah, for a while there things didn't look so hot, but events played out better than I ever could have imagined." She found herself smiling uncontrollably as she thought of exactly how good things were at the moment.
"Events? What events? Did something happen with Angel during patrol?" The former librarian asked, knowing if Buffy was in such a good mood, there must have been something positive involving her angelic partner.
Too excited and still not quiet believing it herself, Buffy squeaked out, "He got his wings back! Well, they're re-growing, so not really completely back yet, but growing fast, it's pretty amazing to see."
She thought she heard him exasperate something, then the phone went dead. "Giles? Hello? Are you there?"
When she got no reply she hit the red 'end' button. "Huh, that was weird."
"What's weird?" Angel asked as he walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around his girl's waist, having grown lonely in the bed without her.
"I think Giles just hung up on me." Buffy wondered, then her mind turned to focus on the naked angel who's arms she was wrapped in. "I'll check in on him...later." She grinned as she turned and reached up to wrap her arms around her Guardian's neck.
While her lips were tangling with her lovers, Buffy's hands glided up his naked back, her digits twining around the joints of his wings, a move she knew to drive him wild.
He groaned into her mouth, his body pulling closer to her as her fingers wrapped around the base of his wings.
Suddenly Buffy broke the kiss and ducked under his arms to get behind him. "I knew it!" She exclaimed as she ran her fingers over his golden wings, "They're even bigger now. By this time tomorrow, you'll be flying again!" From what had started out as barely 3 inch long tufts of down that morning were easily each over five feet long if he'd open them completely.
The abrupt end to her kisses didn't bother Angel as much after she began to run her hands over his wings, her touch always made them feel heavenly. "Mmm, hmm." He hummed out, his brain not exactly listening while her ministrations where sending off too many pleasure responses to allow him to think straight.
Buffy cocked an eyebrow and grinned, knowing he was totally not listening and deciding to have a little fun with this. While stroking the lengthening feathers she said, "To celebrate, I think we should have dinner at Xander's."
"Kay." He sighed, only thinking about how good her touch felt.
"We can have peanut butter and tuna sandwiches with salt and pepper crickets." Buffy added as she enjoyed how much she could distract her angelic lover with her hand in his feathers.
"Sure." He nodded, not having understood a word.
After a moment, Buffy dropped her hands at her sides, "Okay, well since you volunteered to wash dishes for the rest of the month, I guess we should host the celebratory meal here instead."
The pleasure fog lifted abruptly at the loss of her touch, "Wait, what did you say?"
Buffy flashed him a smile, "Why? Weren't you listening?"
...
Knocking echoed off the walls, loud and insistent.
"Whoever it is has about three seconds to leave before I smite them." Angel muttered against his girl's smooth bare skin.
The phone had been forgotten and they'd found themselves laying in bed again, he not even caring about dishes or Xander, as long as Buffy was with him.
Buffy cupped his chin in her hand and ran her thumb along his cheek in a calming pattern, her neck sad at the loss of his kisses, "Can you actually smote people?" She asked, her hazel-green eyes shining with the possibilities.
"The person at the door is going to find out real soon." Angel replied, wishing whoever was pounding on the front door would go the heck away so he could continue making up for almost a year's worth of lost sex with his girlfriend.
"Chances are it's not a demon, those tend to go through doors, not knock on them." The blonde figured, gently nudging her lover off her as she sat up, "So smiting and slaying are likely not possible solutions, so we'll have to settle for the good old fashioned saying of 'Go away'."
"Rather smite them." Angel muttered grumpily as his no-longer-naked lover rose from the bed and covered herself in her robe.
"Hey, no frowning. I've seen grumpy face too much over the last year, that's forbidden for at least six months." Buffy shot at him, leaning over and pressing her lips to his. Fighting his hands from dragging her back down into the bed with him, she gave him a light shove back towards the mattress when he tried to follow her, "Stay there, I'm not done with you yet."
He grinned and laid out provocatively, his wings opening behind him and making him look too much like Cupid for Buffy to keep a straight face. "I'll be waiting."
"Okay Cupid, I'll be back in a flash." She teased as she slipped out the bedroom and shut the door behind her, not wanting whoever was at the door to chance a look inside and see her naked lover. His nude form was for her eyes only.
Angel sputtered at the Cupid comment but his reply was muffled behind the door as Buffy hurried to answer the other door across the apartment, the one that was still being banged on, which actually kinda hurt after so much sex in so little a time. "Hang on, I'm coming!"
A second later, she peeked out the peep hole and sighed, "I should have known." She muttered to herself as she unlatched the door and opened it just wide enough for her to stand in the opening, "Did you rush over here to apologize for hanging up on me?" She questioned as sweetly as she could, not exactly mad that her Watcher ran across town in an impressive 10 minutes, but that he was likely here to grill her about Angel which would mean getting back to sexy time was on hold.
"Buffy." Giles greeted slightly breathlessly, "I um..." He paused, he cheeks slightly reddening as he noted her robe and the state of her bed tussled hair. As much as he tried to hide his eagerness to see Angel's wings re-growing, his eyes betrayed his eagerness. To his credit Giles at least feigned a decline, "If I've caught you at a bad time, I could come back later."
With a sigh for his overly British politeness, she opened the door wide enough to allow him inside, "No, that's okay, come on in."
She was in such a good mood already from earlier, she didn't even care her hair was a mess and her father figure was standing in her living room while her naked lover waited for her in the bedroom.
Looking like a kid at Christmas, Giles entered the apartment, his eyes looking everywhere. Trying to sound casual he asked, "You mentioned some events happened last night, would you care to share in the details?"
'Not the ones from the bedroom.' Shaking her head as she shut the front door, Buffy turned and yelled down the hallway towards the bedroom, "Angel, would you come out here please?" After a brief pause she added, "But put some pants on first."
When she looked back over at Giles, his face was beet red, "I did come at a bad time."
"No." Buffy denied, "You're timing was fine, we need to take a break anyways, besides, it's getting dark and we'll need to get ready to patrol tonight, we kinda need the distraction."
Buffy was explaining about the angel's putting Angel on trial when the older man's eyes widened in surprise. Noticing he was looking behind her, she turned to see Angel walking towards them, his golden wings partly opened behind him as he moved to stand beside her, the feathery appendages looking to have grown at least another foot since earlier, "So no smiting?"
Elbowing him, she looked back as Giles as he took in Angel's new color scheme, "Good lord, even your eyes are gold. How did this happen? Is it permanent? Have you moved into another Angelic tier? "
Angel sneaked a quick glance at his Slayer, passing a 'Why did you do this to me?' expression to her with his eyes before turning to the wonder-struck Watcher, "I'll explain over a cup of coffee."
Buffy grinned as she observed her Watcher follow Angel into the kitchen like a little kid following a unicorn.
Between Buffy and Angel, they told the story about how Angel got his wings back in under three minutes, then it was what felt like an eternity of questions from the inquisitive Watcher.
Giles, ever the scholar, was devouring all this new information in bounds, which gave him that 'Lost in a new bookstore' smile.
Feeling as if Giles now knew everything Angel was willing him to know, he rose and turned, giving Giles a full view of his wings as he walked over to the cabinet and plucked a bag of Oreos off the shelf.
Before he could open it, Buffy snatched them out of his hands. "Oh no, you're not spoiling your appetite."
Angel scoffed as he reached for them again, his longer arms scoring the bag back, "Like hell these will, I just need a sugar fix to hold me over until dessert."
Buffy grabbed for the bag again, "No, we're having a real dinner first, give me those!"
As Buffy and Angel scuffled with the cookies, Giles sipped his tea thinking, 'Here we have Angel, who was once one of the worst of the soulless vampires, then a anomaly living as a vampire with a soul, who then became a heavenly being who lost his wings and then regained them, a powerful Guardian for the Powers-That-Be, and he's struggling with Buffy the world's most formidable demon slayer, a girl who been killed twice and still stopping more apocalypses than any other slayer ever, fighting for control over a bag of cookies...good lord how has the world survived these two?'
...
TBC...