Love Bites, Part 2
February 15, 2006
Dr. Cassidy rushed into the medical ward and to her patient at the request of the new paging system.
"Can't even get one damn coffee break around here." She grumbled as she pulled on her latex gloves. "Ok, who's broken now?" She asked.
"Oh shit, the Boss." Her face fell when she realized her patient was a very bloody and unconscious Angel.
His body was covered in various cuts from the two glass windows he was thrown threw, making his natural healing ability depleted from so many numerous injuries at once.
Before she could even put a bandage on the first wound, Angel's eyes snapped open, revealing a pair feral yellow orbs.
In an instant he was off the cot, swatting it away and growling ferociously at anything near him. His body releasing all the pent up rage he had suppressed for the entire morning.
"Angel?" Dr. Cass asked as she slowly inched towards him, arms raised as if approaching a wild animal.
He turned, eyes blazing and fangs bared.
"Oh…not good." She whispered, realizing he wasn't currently in control of all his facilities.
Backing away slowly but with a steady pace and making no sudden movements, she flashed some rapid hand signals to those also in the room to do the same.
Angel attacked the nearest thing, luckily a tray of medical tools and not a person.
Not a moment too soon she slammed the Med-Ward doors shut and smashed the well placed lock shut.
"Someone, get Buffy here…Now!" she urged, knowing the door wouldn't hold him for long if he chose to attack.
The sounds of cots and medical equipment crashing to the floor from behind the door sent a pang of remorse threw her gut.
'Angel's gone insane…now my day is complete.' She thought sarcastically, inside praying Buffy got here in time.
…
Buffy was sitting on the floor of her living room with Katie. The later fascinated by the building blocks she was piling atop one another.
"Good job." Buffy apprised, still feeling terrible over this mornings fight but not letting her daughter see the pain.
In response Katie clapped her hands.
Buffy smiled, "You're a natural already. Soon you'll be building a tree house in the backyard." 'With your daddy.' She thought silently.
Suddenly someone materialized in front of her. "Buffy!"
Buffy jumped and reflexively grabbed Katie away from potential harm, a second later she recognized Willow.
"Will! I told you not to do that!" Buffy would have continued but the look of fright on Willow's face halted her. "What's wrong?"
"Angel…now!" She urged.
"What! What happened?" The slayer demanded, standing up, a sick feeling crawling into her gut.
Just then Liam began crying from his bassinet a few feet away, disturbed by the noise.
"Angel's hurt, Cass can't fix him because he's in like… berserker mode. She needs you to knock him out or something, like really soon." Willow rushed.
"But…what…I can't leave the kids and Liam's too small to travel…" Buffy startled.
"I'll just teleport us all." Willow stated.
"No! No teleporting my children! Just…send me…watch them?" Buffy urged.
Willow simply nodded and cast the spell. A few dizzying seconds later Buffy was standing next to Cass right outside the Med-Ward.
"Buffy! Thank god. I don't care what you do, just bring Angel down so I can get the IV in him." Dr. Cassidy explained quickly when Buffy appeared next to her.
"What's wrong with him?" Buffy asked worried and confused as Cass led her to the door.
"Behavior indicates traumatic brain injury and desanguination induced in a complete loss of normal conscious thought, leaving the feral animalistic part of his mind exposed as his body reacts violently to negative impulses and stored aggression." The doctor rambled.
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"He's all Grr." Cass simplified.
Buffy nodded, "Ok, but why call me? If you need him down fast why not just taser him or use a dart gun?" She questioned, knowing both where highly effective.
"He's weakened, running on adrenalin, an electrical shock or heart slowing drugs would more than likely kill him on impact. Judging by the rate of blood loss, he only has maybe 5-10 minutes before he bleeds to death." The doctor quickly explained.
All the color drained from Buffy's face. "Death?" She whispered, until just then not understanding the severity of the situation.
'No, no he's not.' Without another word she opened the door and went in.
The room was a disaster. Cots and medical equipment scattered across the floor. For a second, she thought she was alone, but then the shadows rippled. Yellow eyes floated from the darkness, followed by a familiar growl.
"Angel?" Buffy called out. "It's me, Buffy." She spoke, slowly moving towards the corner of the room. "Your wife." She emphasized.
He stalked from the shadows, as the light spread over him Buffy gasped at the amount of blood that oozed from the numerous cuts.
"Angel?" she repeated, moving closer.
He growled again, and she could see the feral behind his eyes, the unchecked anger. She'd seen this once before, directly after his return from hell, when she'd found him wandering the woods in a mindless haze.
After a moment, she realized he wasn't looking at her at all, all he saw was prey.
She continued moving forward, knowing she didn't have much time and also terrified she'd have to harm him further.
Before she could even make a plan, he changed her.
She stood her ground as he grabbed her, his claws sinking into her upper arms as he shoved her hard against the wall.
She knew if she fought back, he would react to that negatively, if she defied response, maybe he would freeze.
She prayed she was making the right choice. Both their lives likely depended on it.
When her back slammed against the wall, she felt Angel's mouth go for her neck.
He seemed confused a moment, having expected his prey to recoil and fight back.
There has been footage of a baby gazelle standing in front of a lion. The gazelle too scared to move, the lion too confused without prey to chase on how to eat it. Both stood in unmoving deadlock until the gazelle ran. The lion's instinct kicked on and soon the gazelle was dinner. Had it not run, it would have stayed safe.
Buffy didn't move. She fought her every instinct by relaxing her body. Even turning her head to give him easier access to her scar.
She could feel Angel's fangs graze her throat, his tongue licked at the healed wounds on her neck, sending a bolt of terror and at the same time pleasure though her.
Instead of his fangs burying into her neck, he pulled back.
He tasted his mark on her.
His mate.
She took that moment to try and bring him back to his senses. Without a word, she grabbed his cheeks and crushed her lips to his, fangs be damned.
He stiffened, eyes widening in shock.
She didn't let up, greedily kissing him.
Slowly his body relaxed, his claws released her arms and he leaned into the kiss.
She felt his face change, his human side reacting to her love.
He could smell her blood, it filled his nostrils, pushing back the fog and directing his attention back to his mate.
Slowly he pulled back, his warm brown eyes focusing on her face.
"Buffy?" He whispered, voice shaky and confused. He would have asked her more, wanted to ask if she was ok, what happened, why he hurt so much…but his brain wouldn't send the right signals to his mouth, he suddenly felt too weak to even stand.
She smiled in relief up at him, knowing he was coherent again. Her hand reached up and caressed his cheek.
Before she could reply, his eyes rolled back and his legs buckled beneath him as the adrenalin rush fueling his rampage ended and his injures caught up to him.
"Cass!" Buffy shouted for the doctor as Angel collapsed boneless into her arms, terrified he was dying as Cassidy had warned almost ten minutes ago.
Settling his head into her lap, she quickly searched for a pulse.
Dr Cassidy appeared at her side not 3 seconds later, already administering an IV of blood into Angel's arm.
The unconscious man's pulse flickered pathetically beneath Buffy's fingers, most of his life fluid seeping from his numerous cuts which where unable to heal with the intense blood loss and constantly being reopened as he moved.
Now that he was still, Cassidy began covering as many as she could find with healing salves and gauze. Buffy helping cover the worst of the injuries before they attempted to move him back onto a cot.
Ten minutes later, the transfusion bag was empty and the doctor was replacing it for another. Once the second one was attached, a few of those in the med-ward helped lift Angel back into a righted bed.
He remained deathly still and ghostly pale, but his heart rate was evening out as his body absorbed the supplied blood and fueled his supernatural healing.
Buffy remained glued to him, almost afraid the absence of her touch would be like removing life support from a dying man.
Thirty minutes passed in the same manor, Buffy sitting patiently at her husband's bedside, his hand clamped tightly between hers as the good doctor tended her wounded.
Now that Angel wasn't a threat, the med-ward was filling back up with those injured in the fight with the demon.
"Buffy" Giles voice called as the watcher entered the hospital wing and spotted his daughter in all but blood.
She looked up and noticed a rather nasty looking cut on his forehead, "Giles, what happened to you? Are you ok?" She asked, concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine. You know how much I enjoy being knocked out. Angel took the worst blow, saved a young slayer in the process. How is he?" The Brit asked, concerned about his son-in-law.
Buffy shrugged, "Cass says he'll be right as rain in a few hours." She explained, already seeing his injuries healing. "Giles, what happened up there? What did this?" She asked, wanting to know how or what almost killed her lover.
Cass came by with a cotton wad soaked in disinfectant and placed it along Giles's wound; she had done the same for Buffy's claw punctures earlier.
The watcher grimaced and took the antiseptic tool when she offered it.
"Keep the pressure on for a few minutes; I'll be right back with a bandage." Cass said as she scurried off to help a few other slightly battered people.
Giles quickly explained how a misfired spell from an over exuberant Slayer-in-training summoned a demon in the middle of the training room. Angel reacted first, but the fight went downhill when another trainee made an error, causing Angel to be injured and forcing the other trainees to take control. Giles explained that while the girls contained the beast in the room, he read a reversal spell to send it back home.
Buffy nodded and continued to run her thumb over the knuckles of Angel's left hand, her digit focusing unconsciously on his wedding band.
After a few minutes of quiet talking, Giles had to go address the summoning issue, perhaps begin a lecture on not letting it happen again.
Cassidy ambushed him on the way out, slapping a bandage over the cut.
As Buffy ran her fingers over the healing wound on Angel's forehead, her cellphone began ringing wildly from within her pocket.
Furrowing her brow, she removed her hands from Angel and dug into her pocket for the offending racket.
"Hello? Willow? Are the kids ok?" Buffy asked, worried when her own home phone number appeared in her caller ID.
"Hey Buff, yeah…well...no…I mean they are physically ok, but Liam won't stop crying and now Katie won't stop…" Willow expressed into the phone.
Buffy was torn a moment, she knew Liam would need to be fed again and Katie was due for her noon nap, but her husband nearly died and was still unconscious. She didn't know what to do. 'Go home to the kids or stay with my husband?' Motherhood won out over the brief but close internal debate. She leaned over and kissed Angel's brow. "I'll be back." She whispered to him, after a moment of pause she added, "I love you."
"It's ok Will, just pop me back home." Buffy relented, giving her husband one last look before she was suddenly face to face with Willow.
Taking a screaming Liam from the pale looking witch, Buffy asked, "Can you sit with Angel? At least until he wakes up? I don't want him to be alone."
The redhead nodded, then rethought, "Ahh, he's not still all Grr…is he?"
Buffy let out a sigh, "No, I don't think so. He recognized me; he should be fine. Just keep me posted, Ok?" She asked, still worried.
"Yeah, no problem." The Wicca as assured, knowing her best-friend hated leaving Angel when he was hurt. Also thinking one unconscious man was much easier and quieter to deal with than two unhappy babies.
She felt a pang of guilt for leaving Buffy alone with the noise, but her brain seriously needed some baby-free time. 'Gees, I've been here less that an hour...how do Buffy and Angel cope?'
"Thank you." Buffy smiled and prepared to feed Liam.
...
About an hour later.
Buffy shrugged the ringing phone onto her shoulder as she cleaned up the uneaten mess Katie was leaving on her highchair. Rather the mess she was playing with on her highchair.
"Will, what's up?" Buffy asked, hoping everything was Ok with her husband.
"Buffy, hey...umm I hate to have to call and tell you this but...Angel's...gone." She said sadly.
"Gone! What do you mean by gone?" Buffy panicked into the phone, terrified her friend meant Angel had died.
"As in, we have no idea where he is. Once second he was lying right here, then next…gone." The Wicca clarified.
"He vanished?" She asked, relieved he wasn't dead but wondering if she meant magic or Houdini.
"Well, not exactly…poof gone…" Willow emphasized.
"Will!" Buffy exasperated.
"I might have nodded off for a second…but only a second!" The witch admitting under a weight of guilt.
"Did you check his office?" She asked hopeful.
"Yeah, it was an empty mess…his car is gone from the garage." The witch said quietly.
The blond sighed excessively, "Willow, I gave you one job, watch him…and you let him run off! Who knows here he is right now. He's hurt, he's supposed to stay in the med-ward! What if he's attacked?"
"I could do a locator spell…" The redhead offered.
"Ok, do a locator spell. Do anything…just find him!" Buffy urged.
"That won't be necessary" Angel's tired voice spoke from behind her.
She jumped and turned, upon seeing him her panic dissipated, "Thank you." She breathed out in relief.
"Never mind Will, he's here. I'll call you back." She told her friend than hung up to turn her attention to her husband. Again she was stuck as to why she didn't feel him approach.
He looked pale still, but the cuts and gashes where mostly closed. He wasn't standing completely upright she noted, she figured his back was hurting when he crashed into the wall. The tense lines on his face pretty much confirmed he wasn't feeling bright and dandy.
"Are you ok?" she asked, mostly as a conversation starter.
"Had better days." He grimaced as he walked pasted her and straight for the fridge.
She watched silently as he grabbed a water bottle and downed most of it in a few swallows. His eyes squeezed shut and his hand went to the colorful bruise on the side of his head, he groaned a bit and shut the refrigerator door.
"Concussion?" She asked, grabbing a dish cloth to put ice in.
"Probably." He grumbled in pain and wandered towards the table.
He seemed to notice Katie a moment later, who had been calling out to him for the past few minutes, and not being happy about being ignored.
"Sorry sweetheart." He said and ran his fingers threw her hair.
While Katie played with Angel's fingers, Buffy grabbed some ice from the freezer and loaded up the dishcloth.
"Maybe you should go lie down." Buffy suggested, seeing Angel slightly tilting to the left.
He nodded but didn't move.
She put the makeshift ice pack on the counter and couldn't resist wrapping her arms around her husband's waist.
He looked down at her, a mild look of shock crossing his face.
"You can be very stupid sometimes." Buffy muttered into his chest at his confusion.
His eyebrows pointed down, ire running threw him. "Why's that?"
"Just because we're fighting doesn't mean I don't love you." She said sincerely looking up at him, "You could have died today Angel, and I have absolutely no intentions to become a widow."
His eyes shifted, the anger sinking back down and something more sheepish filling the spot. "Oh." He mumbled.
"We both had some serious communication issues today, and we need to address that…but later. Just lay down for a little while, ok?" She asked, worried still about his health.
His arms, which had remained motionless, wrapped around her as he nodded.
After a moment, they untangled themselves and he turned to head into the living room.
"Oh, here. Take Katie. She missed her nap today." Buffy instructed as she freed the tot from the highchair and handed her to her father. She was determined to show Angel she trusted him and that there were no intentions of the D word (divorce) in her mind.
A moment later he was settling on the couch, Katie originally trying to squirm out of his grasp, now deciding to snuggle up and nap too. He tucked her hair behind her ear, grinning as she swatted at his finger so like her mother.
Buffy moved the bassinet Liam was napping in over near the couch, sending Angel a quick guilty glance. "He just ate so he should be good for awhile, it's quieter in here, and I'm working on cooking lunch…"
Angel nodded, "It's fine." He assured, really not minding babysitting duty.
Buffy placed the icepack lightly against his bruise,"Are you sure your ok?" She asked, not loving the slightly delayed reactions as he moved.
He nodded, taking the icepack. "Made it home didn't I?"
She furrowed her brow, not liking the idea of him behind the wheel with a concussion. She squirreled that lecture away for later.
"Ok. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything." She offered.
She turned to go, but Angel's hand on her arm stopped her. She looked down at him and noticed his eyes were glued to the small blood spots on the arms of her shirt.
'Oh, whoops, I forgot to change.' she thought, remembering his claws dug into her arms earlier, ruining a perfectly good blouse.
"Is...I did that?" he asked, looking worried and confused. 'Did I attack Buffy? I remember feeling angry, smelling her blood...did she kiss me? God, my head is too muddled to remember.'
"Not intentionally. You were sick. It's nothing, I'm already healed." She assured him.
He still didn't look convinced. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, thinking maybe he should go.
She sat on the little space on the couch, "Don't be. You did nothing wrong."
"What happened? I can't remember." he asked.
"You got hurt, maybe dying. Cass needed help, Willow beamed me in. You could have hurt me, but you didn't. I wasn't sure I could trust you this morning, but you proved me wrong today. You could have tore my throat out, but you didn't. Even at your worst, you're not a monster."
She notice he went pale, and it had nothing to do with blood loss.
"It wasn't your fault...you didn't hurt me. " She pushed.
He nodded, more as a reflex than actual understanding. He didn't like not remembering for himself, especially when it concerned Buffy. "Did I hurt anyone?" he asked, needing to know.
She shook her head, "The only casualty today was my shirt, and if it helps appease your guilt, I will gladly let you buy me a new one." She told him, trying to lighten his mood.
"How? Why did I stop?" He asked, only remembering bits and pieces.
Her cheeks tinted red. "I umm...kissed you." She whispered, looking at her fingers.
He just looked at her a moment, beside himself. "You kissed a crazed vampire that tried to rip your throat out?" He clarified.
She looked sheepish, "No." She defended, "I kissed you. Completely different."
He sighed, feeling even more tired now. The pounding in his head tripled.
"Please don't beat yourself up over this." She pleaded.
"You lucky I didn't beat you over this!" He snapped, realizing he very easily could have killed Buffy today.
They both looked over at the crib when Liam whimpered and began crying from Angel's outburst.
Katie slept on peacefully on Angel's chest, completely un-phased.
The living vampire shut his eyes, mentally telling himself to relax.
Buffy hushed the baby, gently rubbing his back and soon he fell back to sleep.
"Sorry" Angel whispered for waking his son.
Buffy turned back towards him, nodding. "He didn't take after Katie."
Angel smirked, "No, no he didn't." He replied, running his fingers along his sleeping daughter's back.
After a momentary silence, Angel spoke. "I appreciate what you did for me today, but I'd appreciate it more if you never took that kind of risk again."
"Ok, so next time I just punch you into a coma." she stated sarcastically.
They stared each other down a moment, then Buffy couldn't help but grin.
After a second, Angel did too.
"Ok, it was a messy situation, but it worked out in the end. Can we just leave it at that?" She asked, wanting to put this behind them.
He nodded, his eyes betraying the fatigue he felt encroaching in waves. "Yeah, we'll discuss the rest tonight? Maybe when I can stay awake?" He asked, leaning back.
She nodded, readjusting the icepack back onto his bruised head. "It's a date." She promised, then headed back into the kitchen to cook what started as lunch but would end up being dinner.
He look one final glanced down at his daughter asleep in his arms then to his son sleeping in the little crib before his eyes drifted shut, his children's heartbeats soothing his tense mind, the ice helping dulling the pain.
...
Half an hour after Buffy passed the kids off to Angel, she glanced into the living room and smiled. Angel was snoring quietly. She wasn't worried about him sleeping on the job; she knew he would wake the second either one of them cried. Actually, she found it almost creepy how well he knew what they wanted and needed more often than they did.
The issues between then weren't solved yet, but a good chunk of the uncomfortable tension seemed to have dissipated.
...
An hour later, Buffy had finished cooking her first attempt at baked macaroni and was pondering whether to wake Angel to eat. She decided against it, figuring Katie was finally napping too and he would benefit more from rest rather than food.
She grabbed a plate and scooped some into it. It didn't exactly look like the picture on the recipe but she stuck her fork in and took a bite. It was a little chewier than it should have been, but the flavor was decent enough. 'It's acceptable, but Angel cooks way better.' She thought with a slight streak of envy.
After she finished her lunch, she picked up fussy Liam and sat in the chair across from the couch, watching over her sleeping family.
...
Buffy opened her eyes. Not realizing she had fallen asleep immediately, but when she noticed the shadows had moved and the couch was vacant, she put two and two together.
It had been late afternoon, now it was early evening, concluding she had slept for at least two hours. 'I guess not sleeping last night caught up to me…'
Panic rush into her when she noticed her son wasn't in her arms or the bassinet. Looking down at the empty floor dislodged any fear she might have dropped him.
She stood and noticed she could hear Katie laughing from the kitchen. Upon entering she saw her husband sitting at the table, Liam resting in the crook of his elbow, as he watched Katie gum some of the pasta she had left covered on the stove.
"It's chewy." Buffy admitted as she came in and sat in the chair beside the highchair.
Angel shrugged, "I liked it."
"Well you'll eat anything." She said rolling her eyes.
"Except yogurt." He countered.
"Right…except yogurt." She repeated, not really knowing what else to say.
She pointed her face towards Katie, but watched Angel out of the corner of her eye. He seemed better, the paleness gone, as were any signs of his injuries.
Liam began to whimper, the pre-cry signaling he was getting hungry.
Buffy held out her arms and Angel passed him over the table for her to feed.
"Hi there handsome." She smiled, kissing Liam's little button nose, her nose in miniature.
A few minutes later, Liam was nursing comfortably as Angel tried to keep Katie actually eating the macaroni instead of shoving it up her or his nose.
…
Later that night, Angel tucked Katie into her crib while Buffy tucked Liam into the bassinet next to their bed.
Angel walked in, fingering his wedding ring with his left thumb. He still wasn't sure what their relationship status was, obviously Buffy still cared for him, but her harsh rejection of him that morning had left a deep scar across his heart.
They had danced around the subject for the past few hours, he figured the talk was fast approaching.
He glanced at the bed and wondered if she was going to make him sleep on the couch. A second later he rejected the idea, this was his bed too, and he was going to sleep in it whether she wanted him next to her or not.
Buffy noticed the tension as she exited the bathroom.
Angel was lying on his side of the bed, actually wearing a t-shirt over his usually bare chest and staring intently at the ceiling.
Not knowing what to say, she slipped under the covers on her side and waited for the inevitable confrontation.
Angel remained silent, not wanting to actualize Buffy's morning accusations against his demon side. He still found no fault in reclaiming his mark, if she did…then he wasn't sure they could remain a couple. He would never up and walk away from her, he had promised her he wouldn't and he would stand by that. Also he would never abandon his children, he wasn't capable of that, he loved them too much.
Before he could formulate a question to ask, Buffy rolled over and slipped her arm around his waist, snuggling up against him as she always slept, using his shoulder as her favorite pillow. His arms automatically wrapped around her, his fingers resting on her lower back.
"I talked with Giles today." She started, figuring she might as well just jump in. "He explained a few of the vamp things to me…things I really wish you would have told me. You were doing really well lately with the talking and sharing…maybe we could work on it a little more tonight?" She asked, hoping he would open up.
"I tried, you didn't really give me the opportunity this morning." He stated.
She winced, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Angel. I wasn't exactly 'listening girl' at the time, but I am now…I promise."
He stayed silent.
Earlier in their relationship, she may have thought he wasn't going to speak. But experience taught her he just needed some time to put the words together in his head.
"You know I'd never do anything to hurt you." He spoke softly after a few minutes.
She nodded against his shoulder, "I do. You proved it again today."
"Ever since I awoke with a heartbeat, I could sense another had claimed you. I know you hate the language of it, but that's how the demon world works. Demons don't have souls, they don't have love…they have possessions. I do have a soul, I do feel love…but I also feel possessive of you. I promise don't see you as an object or property, but I do see you as mine. You wear my ring, you share my bed, you bore my children…" He trailed, feeling her pull away from him and sit against the headboard.
She looked down at him, her eyes betraying anger.
He took a deep breath, also sitting up. "Buffy, I know you're a slayer, I've never met a stronger and more powerful woman. You don't need a man standing over you, protecting you and keeping you like a trophy. I know you won't allow it. That's not want I meant by mine. The fact you wanted to be with me made you mine, not that I chose you, because you chose me."
They were both silent a few minutes, thinking their own thoughts.
"So why all of a sudden? Why have this possessiveness now?" She asked, no longer feeling like a thing, but curious as to why this never came up before.
He thought a moment, and replied as truthfully as he could. "Before my soul and demon merged, I despised my demon. I knew when you cured me that my bite had marked you as my mate, but I felt only remorse and disgust by it then. Later, when we reunited, I knew it wasn't my mark anymore, but I still held the same resentment for my demon. I had no desire to reclaim you via the ways of a monster. Afterwards, I became as much a demon as I was a man. I realized I wanted you in both ways. I wanted you to wear my ring and my mark. I waited until after Liam was born, I knew he wouldn't have been in any danger, but it wasn't a risk I was willing to take. I hadn't actually planned to do it last night…I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it first…I should have."
"Yeah you should have." She scolded, but her tone wasn't spiteful.
Angel looked down at his ring, carefully choosing his next words. "I know you didn't sign up to be wed to a demon. If…this isn't what you want..."
She shifted from her sitting position and slid onto his lap, her legs straddling his thighs, her arms wrapping around his neck as she leaned forward against his chest. "Don't you dare finish that thought." She warned.
She then moved on to dispelling his insecurities about his demon.
"You're right, when I married you, you were more human than demon. But you were completely undead when I fell in love with you. I never had a problem with you being a demon, Angel; I used to crave your cool skin, the silence in your chest, because that's what you were, that's what I wanted. Then you changed…and so did what I wanted. I suddenly craved warm skin and a beating heart…because that's what you had to offer me. It never mattered what you were…I just wanted you."
His arms wrapped around her, keeping her close.
She ran her finger down his cheek, "Now that you explained it, I can understand possession, I see you as mine too." She placed a kiss along his forehead. "All mine."
His eyes closed and a grin spread across his face as her lips pressed against his skin, the tension flowing out of him.
"What I have a problem with is you not explaining what's going on in this thick head of yours." She scolded.
He rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically.
"Ok, my turn to explain why I was angry." She stated, sitting back, still straddling his legs, but no longer leaning against his chest.
As she pulled back, his arms unwrapped from her waist, he folded his hands neatly on his lap a few inches from where she sat on his legs.
"Don't bite me." She said flatly.
When he went to argue she held up her hand."Let me finish."
She continued, "Don't bite without telling me first. I'm a slayer Angel, my basic instincts are to slay when a vampire attacks me. Ok so maybe I was a little distracted last night, but usually my body doesn't differentiate between some random vamp sinking its teeth into my throat and you giving me a love bite. Curing you was once of the hardest things I've ever done, every fiber of my being wanted to push you off, to pull your teeth out of me."
Angel looked away, suddenly uncomfortable with her confession.
Buffy cupped his cheek and turned his face back towards hers. "At the same time, every fiber was also screaming for you not to stop. It was the strangest sensation; I couldn't tell if I felt pain or pleasure. I think pleasure won, unfortunately the rest is a little fuzzy on account I passed out."
She dropped her hand from his cheek and ran it down his arm, "This morning my instincts were screaming to fight you...that's why I got so mad, because I was warring with myself as much as with you. The last thing I want is me staking you on accident. I have enough anxiety about you being killed by the bad guys, I can't handle adding myself to that list." She finished running her fingers over his heart.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." He said, pulling her against him and hugging her closer. Hearing she had to fight her own instincts had been surprising, but understandable.
"Well it wasn't something we ever really discussed…" She said back, welcoming the hug.
"Still, I don't want you to be uncomfortable with me…" He voiced.
"I'm not." She breathed against him. "I love you Angel and I DO want to be with you. I'm sorry if I gave you any other impression." She confessed, making sure he understood it.
"I love you too. I won't bite, I promise." He agreed.
"You said this morning your demon side needed to be satisfied too…" She lured, wanting to make sure all bases were covered between them.
He looked down, looking inside himself for an honest answer. "Vampires find blood and biting highly erotic, some find it impossible to find release without it." He met her eyes, "I don't. I have no desires to bite you Buffy. My demon reacted to your mark because it was no longer my own. I'm sure you're aware I avoided it, it repelled me. Now that I reclaimed it, my demon is content. I can't promise I'll never feel a desire for it again, but for now…I'm satisfied." He explained.
She nodded, "Ok, just make sure if you feel any urges, you let me now first." She warned. "You dealt with my crazy pregnancy-induced cravings; I can deal with your demon-induced ones too."
"I will." he grinned, feeling relief and love washing over his after their talk.
He pulled her back against him and kissed her cheek, then moved to kiss around her face. "You know" he whispered, "that bite gave you one hell of an orgasm."
Her cheeks flashed red, "I know." She confessed, letting the subject close and another issue arise.
The other issue being the make-up, or more accurately, the make-up sex.
She melted against him, running her fingers into his hair and returning his kisses with interest.
After a minute she realized he was completely avoiding her neck, figuring he got the wrong idea she purposefully turned her scar to him. "I said no biting, kissing is required and encouraged." She invited.
It didn't take more than a second before his lips descended over his mark.
The feeling in her gut, the tingling she always felt when Angel was near, suddenly reappeared after being absent most of the day.
Buffy gasped in surprise as the sensation suddenly warmed and spreading through her nether region as his lips worked the overly sensitive spot. She suddenly realized why last night had been so fulfilling; he'd never kissed her scar before and she found it was extremely pleasurable.
Angel kissed with reckless abandon, his senses picking up no trace of fear or hesitation from Buffy. Her heart was beginning to race, but not because she was defensive, but because she was becoming very aroused.
The realization he was too was becoming to be apparent.
...
Liam awoke more than once that night, this time not from angry shouts from his parents, but outbursts of passion.
...