Saturday had passed by peacefully, as Buffy and dawn rose at about midday, and Angel at five in the afternoon, still finding Buffy curled up in his arms. She had sent dawn upstairs, with the promise that if she opened the post and filed it half-decently, she would be paid. While the younger summers occupied her self with that, Buffy grabbed her readings and got back into bed – she had planned to curl up with Angel on the sofa, but this was just as good, and quiet, except for the occasional thump from upstairs.

At around three, Tina arrived, and gave them the news that Cordelia and Doyle were still asleep (in separate places) back at their apartment, before going back out to get food for them all. By the time she came back, dawn was bored, and persuaded her to go shopping for a few hours. This meant that by the time Angel awakened, there was only himself and his girl in his apartment, and Buffy was more than ready to have a serious talk with him.

She waited for at least twenty minutes before she couldn't stand to wait any longer, and began.

"Angel, why do you think you aren't important in my life?"

Instead of answering, he just walked away, and opened to 'door' to the sewer tunnels, before jumping down and continuing to walk away. Buffy stared after him, blinked once or twice, and then followed him, not even realising that neither of them were particularly well dressed, and that they were both being slightly idiotic.

Both the vampire and the Slayer were guilty of the same things, but neither of them could see where they were doing wrong. Angel was convinced that he was doing the right thing by staying out of her way, and Buffy didn't even realise that she was responsible of doing the same thing that he was.

Both of them needed to be introduced to the art of communication. Angel had never been good at it, as Liam, Angelus or now. He had always kept his emotions and thoughts very tightly inside, even when he had had the most to drink in the entire tavern. He and Darla had never felt the need to communicate – they would always end up together again, even if they parted in another country – the bond between sire and childe brought them together, much as Drusilla always searched for him when near – if she tried hard enough, she would always be able to find her, but he wasn't so sure that was sane enough to be able to do that.

Buffy never knew that communication was important; Angel had been her first serious boyfriend – sure she had gone to dances with boys, and kissed them, maybe even made out a little, but the longest they had ever lasted was probably a month, a month and a half at the very most. Her parents had not been the best role models either, her dad cheating, and her mum keeping other secrets – she had never learnt that you need to talk to your partners to keep anything going. She was going to learn pretty fast if she and Angel stayed together for much longer.

She only had to walk for a few minutes before she had caught up with her vamp. He had stopped, and was leaning up against a wall, somehow managing to look even sexier than usual, his head bowed against his gloriously naked chest.

'If only it weren't for the curse …'

But even being allowed to do anything wouldn't save them, they had to talk, and it wasn't likely to be pretty either.

"I can't do this without you Angel! I just can't."

"You were more than capable of looking after yourself when I wasn't there to help you, now I'm here, there shouldn't be any reason that you need me!"

"Before I met you, I was still a real child, and able to really depend on my parents and watchers to look out for me. Even then, I thought I had someone else watching out for me. Now I know it was you, so you have always looked out for me when I needed it."

"Afterwards, you still never needed much looking after – you don't need me Buffy, you never really have!"

"Do you know what I was like after I sent you – last summer? I couldn't look at a guy with dark hair without hoping it was somehow you, I couldn't close my eyes without seeing you, I couldn't stay in Sunnydale and see all the places we had been to, together, fighting or as friends. I couldn't do anything, Angel. I looked after myself in the way that I didn't die completely on the outside, but there was nothing inside of me.

"I don't believe it! We've ended up in the bloody sewers again. Why do we need to do this in the sewers of all places?"

"Because you wouldn't let me get any further, and I didn't want to argue n a place where anyone could just walk in."

"Oh." She took a deep breath, and began her tirade anew.

"When you came back, that was when I really pulled myself together – someone needed me – you needed me! After you got better, and you said you didn't need me anymore … you still don't, but I can't bear to leave you."

"I always need you!"

"Then why didn't you call?"

"Why didn't you?"

"Because you have your own life here in LA now, you're working, doing something important, getting paid for it etc. I have no right to just barge in and expect –"

"You have every right."

"So why didn't you call me then? If I'm not intruding on your new life, then why didn't you call me to tell me, to check whether I was okay because you didn't know coz I hadn't called."

"Because I wasn't sure if I'm still welcome in that life. Just like you said, we have separate lives now, as well as ones together. I cant just –"

"No, Angel don't do this to me again – and especially not in a sewer. We both agreed that we would make decisions together, not that one of us would make them for both of us. Maybe I don't need you anymore – I'm a big girl, and I can make choices too."

She walked out of the dark, and back to the apartment to grab some clean clothes and take a shower. Angel stood there for a while longer, the darkness not making any difference to him, and not quite sure what to do with himself. He hadn't been going to suggest they break up, just that they talk some more over the phone, but Buffy seemed inclined to blow everything way out of proportion. He was very confused.

There was still an uncomfortable atmosphere when dawn got back with Tina, and for once, she did the tactful thing, and asked if she could go and sleep at Cordy's place, because she and Tina were still a bit freaked about the whole ghost situation. Buffy agreed, not really paying much attention, and her little sister was gone within twenty minutes.

The star-crossed lovers were both still emotionally drained after a quick patrol, in which, one could cut the tension with a knife. Silently, Buffy changed in the bathroom (no need to produce temptation), as Angel stripped down to his boxers in a bedroom which he wasn't sure if it was his or theirs. Silently, they got into bed, and instead of Buffy immediately curling herself around the vampire, she stayed put firmly on her side of the bed.