Angel stepped into the training room, watching Buffy for a moment as she sat on the bench. She held a stake in her hands, which she twirled around mindlessly.

Buffy caught his gaze and smiled. "Hey."

Angel took a step closer. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"I just needed a break from research. I thought if I came here and sat for a while, maybe I'd remember something."

Angel moved a crossbow aside and sat down beside her. "Have you?"

"No. It's so weird. I feel like my life is a book, and I was on chapter ten. Then someone came along and flipped it to chapter twenty. Now there's this huge blank and I'm all lost and confused. I just don't know what came before."

"You'll remember."

"What do you think of my training room?" she asked, changing the subject.

Angel nodded his head in approval. "It's a good space. Perfect for a good workout."

"Yeah. Too bad I can't use it. I'd really like to take out my frustrations on that punching bag right about now."

"What do you mean you can't use it?"

"The doctor told me to avoid any type of strenuous activity for another week. And Giles seems to agree with him."

"Well you are recovering from a major head injury, Buffy. I'm sure both the doctor and Giles just want to make sure you're fully recuperated before you resume your normal activities."

"I know that, but I'm fine. I know my own body's limits. I would never push myself. But everyone is treating me like I'm this fragile piece of glass since my accident. Like I'm going to fall apart or something. It's been a long time since anyone has treated me like that."

"I don't think you're fragile."

"Good. So maybe you could spar with me? You know, like we used to?" Buffy stood up and held up her fists in a fighting stance.

Angel frowned. "I don't think so. I'm inclined to agree with Giles. If your doctor says take it easy for a week, you should."

Buffy put her fists down, feeling deflated. "Not you too. You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am on your side."

Buffy stepped closer to him. "Then help me train. I get why everyone is worried, okay? I was in a coma. I almost died. I get it. And I'd like to keep staying alive, but I can't do that if I'm not at the top of my game. I've been out of commission for way too long, and I need to get back into the swing of things. So help me train. There's an impending apocalypse around the corner. It would be nice if I could be strong enough to survive through it."

Suddenly, a smile came to Angel's face. "I have an idea."

"What?"

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before."

"What?" Buffy asked again.

"Meet me back at the mansion later this afternoon. Say four o'clock? And wear something comfortable."

Buffy smiled brightly. "You changed your mind?"

"No, I haven't. No sparring for now."

"But I thought you said—"

"We're not going to spar, but that doesn't mean you still can't train."

Buffy arrived at the mansion at four o'clock, dressed in comfortable clothes as Angel instructed. Angel had tried to be secretive about what he was planning, but Buffy had quickly figured it out. She walked into the mansion and watched Angel unnoticed for a moment, smiling because she had been right.

The living room was illuminated by a roaring fire in the fireplace, plus a few candles, and there was soft music playing from somewhere in the background. In the middle of it all was Angel, wearing black pants…and not much of anything else. Buffy watched as he made slow, graceful movements with his arms, and wondered if this had been a mistake.

How was she supposed to concentrate on her training when he looked like that?

"You can come over here anytime," Angel said with a smile, not stopping his movements for a second.

Buffy slipped her shoes off and kicked them in the corner, then walked over to where Angel stood.

She felt Angel step behind her. "Do you remember how to do this?"

"I'm a little rusty. You'll have to show me again."

"Relax your body. Clear your mind. Focus on your breathing."

Buffy inhaled deeply, her heart feeling anything but relaxed, at least not while Angel's hands were on her.

"Stand with your feet apart. Now move your arms like this." Angel guided her arms up. "Now slowly, sink down," and Angel brought her arms back down.

"Shift your body," and Buffy moved into the position. Angel guided her through several more poses, slowly moving her arms through the air and instructing her how to move her body.

"Is it coming back to you?"

"Yes."

"We'll do it together now."

Buffy watched as Angel moved to stand beside her, repeating the poses again. She followed his movements, eventually becoming familiar enough so that her and Angel's movements were in sync.

After a while, Angel began to throw in a few different poses, which Buffy repeated, quickly catching on.

Together, they turned to the left, arms in the air and meeting each other in the middle. Buffy remembered this part well, but fought the urge to turn around and face him. If she did, she'd want to kiss him.

She wondered if maybe Angel was thinking the same thing, because she thought she heard him whisper her name.

"Ahh, the ancient Chinese art of tai chi," Wesley said as he opened the front door and saw the two.

Buffy felt Angel move away, the moment of possible kissage passed.

Angel began to put his shirt on. Training was obviously over.

"Hey, Wesley," Buffy said. "Angel was just…helping me."

"Thought a little tai chi would be a good first step in getting her back to training," Angel explained.

"Yes, he's right. The exercise is known to boost energy, stamina, sharpen reflexes, relieve stress, and quite beneficial in helping the body recover from injuries." Wesley stared at them for a moment, then nodded. "Well, carry on," he said and left the room.

"I guess I should go actually. It'll be dark soon." Buffy reached down to pick her shoes off the floor and slipped them back on. "Maybe we could um…do this again?"

"Sure."

"See you tomorrow?"

Angel nodded. "Of course."

Buffy took one more look at him, then turned away and headed outside in the fading sunlight.

Yes, she was definitely going to have to do this again.

Willow was passing the hallway bathroom when she heard Buffy call her name.

She peered inside. "Yeah?"

"What do you think of this color?" Buffy indicated the lipstick she had just applied and held up the tube. "It's new."

"I like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's subtle but not…too subtle."

"Good." Buffy looked into the mirror and smiled, admiring her choice of color. Then, she set about looking for her eye shadow.

Willow eyed the bathroom counter, noticing hair and makeup accessories scattered about everywhere. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Angel's going to give me another tai chi lesson."

Willow raised her eyebrows. "And you need makeup for that?"

Buffy glanced at her, smiling. "It doesn't hurt to look good. I have to do something to show him what he's missing, right?" Buffy found her eye shadow and began to apply it.

"Buffy, I think we need to talk about that."

"About what?"

"About Angel."

"You think I'm going to get hurt."

"Well…yeah. I mean, I want you to be happy, and if you want to try to get back together with Angel, I'll support you. But at the same time, he always has a way of hurting you, whether he means to or not. I'm just worried what's going to happen when he goes back to L.A. Where will that leave you?"

"Will, I love that you're concerned about me, but I'll be okay. I know he's hurt me in the past, but he came here to Sunnydale to save me. That has to count for something. There has to be a part of him that still wants to be with me, a part of him that doesn't want to live without me. I just have to believe that he'll change his mind. It may take a while to convince him, but love is never easy, right? Nothing worth having ever is. Our situation just happens to be a little more…complicated."

"Well of course he still loves you, Buffy. I'm sure he would be with you if he could."

"That's the thing. He can. He could be with me if he would just allow himself to be happy for once. Not perfect happiness, I mean," she quickly added. "He just needs a swift kick in the head to get him to realize that."

Angel peered from behind his door, being careful to avoid the sunlight, and saw Willow standing outside. "Willow?"

"Hey. Can I come in?"

Angel nodded, then moved aside as Willow walked in.

Once inside, Angel closed the door behind her, and Willow looked around the place. "Wow, it's been a while since I've been here. It's so…dark."

Willow turned around, smiling at Angel. "I guess that's why you like it here."

"Is everything alright?"

Willow walked over to the couch and sat down. "I wanted to talk to you. About Buffy."

Angel frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing like that. But I am worried about her."

Angel moved to sit down beside her. "What's the matter?"

Willow paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Do you know what she's been looking forward to all day?"

Angel shook his head.

"Tai chi. Or more specifically, four o'clock, because then she gets to come over here and see you. And she's been tearing the house apart looking for this black tank top that she says is her favorite and she insists she absolutely has to wear. And to be honest, I don't even know if she still has the shirt anymore. But she still wants to wear it. She says she looks good in it. And yesterday? She spent an hour working on her hair and makeup. She wanted to get it just right."

"I'm not sure I'm following..."

"Don't you get it? A girl doesn't spend that much time on her appearance for nothing. She wants you back, Angel. She thinks that maybe if you two spend enough time together, you'll see what you've been missing, and you'll change your mind."

Angel stood up from the couch and walked over to the fireplace. He stared into the heat, watching as the flames flickered. "I know how Buffy feels about me, and she understands the reasons why we can't be together."

"Does she?"

Angel turned to stare at Willow, who stood up and walked over to him. "Angel, I'm glad you came and rescued Buffy. And I'm glad you're here. Ever since Buffy came out of the coma, I think it's been hard for her to adjust, but having you here has made things a little easier. You have this way of getting through to her. A way that nobody else can. Not me. Not Xander. Not Giles. And I'm worried what's going to happen to her when you leave."

"Buffy will be just fine."

"Sure, she'll be fine. Like she was fine last summer?"

Angel turned away, having a feeling of where this conversation was going.

"You know, I spent a lot of time with Buffy after you left. Sometimes I would stay overnight and we'd talk and laugh for hours, or watch some cheesy movie we'd rented. I would try to keep her mind off you. I thought if I distracted her, she'd think of you less, and then she wouldn't hurt as much. But you know what? It never worked. You were always on her mind. Sometimes in the middle of the night, when she thought I was sleeping, I would hear her cry. You did that to her, Angel. You broke up with her, and you made her cry. You always act like you're so worried about Buffy getting hurt, when you're in fact the one who's hurt her the most."

"I never wanted to hurt her."

"But you did! You broke her heart! And hey, really bad timing by the way! How could you do that to her right before the prom? Don't you know how important the prom is to a high school girl?"

Angel glanced at Willow, surprised by her tone. "It was bad timing, and I'm sorry for that."

"When Buffy was in a coma, you said you had made a mistake leaving her. So did you really mean that, or were you just saying that because you felt guilty?"

Angel stared at the floor, saying nothing.

"You know what I think? I think you're scared. You're scared of what you feel for her. I think you want Buffy, but you hold yourself back because you don't think she deserves you. You think you're doing Buffy a favor, leaving her so that she'll be free to find someone better than you. But you're wrong. That's not what Buffy wants at all. You made that decision all on your own. And in case you haven't noticed, Buffy's not some sixteen-year-old girl anymore. She's done a lot of growing up, and she's more than capable of choosing who she wants to be with. She doesn't need for you to make that decision for her."

Willow stepped closer to Angel. "The way I see it, you have a choice. You could either be semi-happy and make Buffy really happy, or you could be miserable, and make Buffy feel even more miserable. But if you're not planning on getting back together with her, then you need to leave now and stop leading her on."

Willow turned away, feeling Angel's eyes on her as she walked towards the door. She stopped at the door and turned around to face him. "Think about what I said."

Then she let herself out.

Angel was lighting a candle when he felt her presence. He turned around and gave her a smile.

"Hi. I know I'm early."

"No, you're just in time. Buffy, I…"

He stared at her for a moment, smiling brightly at him.

"You could either be semi-happy and make Buffy really happy, or you could be miserable, and make Buffy feel even more miserable."

"I want to show you some new moves," he said.

"Great. I can't wait."

A/N: Okay, can I just say that I've been looking forward to posting that tai chi scene for months? :) Obviously it's one of my favorite B/A moments, so of course I had to create an updated version of it. Also, I like how Angel feels the need to take off his shirt when doing it.

As for the Willow/Angel scene, I thought it was time that someone did give Angel that swift kick in the head (figuratively), and Willow seemed like the one to do it. She is, after all, Buffy's best friend, and she always has her best interests in mind. This means she'll do anything to help Buffy be happy…as well as trying to stop anything (or anyone) from hurting her.

Angel's still being a bit stubborn, but the walls are finally breaking down a bit…

Until 22! Thanks so much for reading, everyone! :)