TITLE: Love Shoulda Brought You To Me Last Night
AUTHOR: Goddess Isa
EMAIL: goddessisa@aol.com
SUMMARY: Don't Buffy and Angel get a REAL breakup?
SPOILER: S3 up to and including The Prom. I break off the eppy and at least make it romantic
DISTRIBUTION: My site - http://planetslaythis.homestead.com - Crystal's site - Butterfly's site - Anyone else - sure, just email me & lmk where it's going - I like seeing my name in print =)
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-PG
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, Joss Whedon does. If he ever decides to give them to me, that would be nice. =) Toni Braxton owns the beautiful song. Where the heck is she??!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, so Buffy and Angel's goodbye was okay, not nearly as good as it could've been (we all know the only real way it could ever be good is to not happen at all but bear with me). And I know I've written a fic about this before, but I had another idea so here this is. Besides, don't Buffy and Angel get a whole song? Well, they do here. g



//Love shoulda brought you

Brought you home last night

You shoulda been with me

Shoulda been right by my side

Baby

If you cared anything for me

Then love woulda brought you home to me last night\\


"Stop being Cryptic Guy and tell me what's going on with you." Buffy was cold and annoyed, and thanks to the disgusting sewer they were creeping around, her feet were wet.

"Sometimes I can't get the words out Buffy." he said lamely. "This is one of those times."

"I don't think so." she knew better.

"I don't wanna hurt you."

"Well, you're bordering on 'hurt' but you've achieved 'anger' and 'frustration'. Come on, what gives?"

Angel sighed. "I love you. I love you more than life itself. More than the sun--"

"You never see the sun."

"You know what I mean." he walked away from her but she grabbed him and pulled him back.

"There you go again. Running away from me."

"Buffy, you have to understand."

"No, you have to understand something for once. For as long as I can remember, everything about us has been on your terms. So I'm gonna lay some terms of my own down. The prom is in two days. We are going. Together, in a limo with Oz and Willow. You and I are spending the night at your place. It's prom night, so my mom expects me to stay out all night. If you don't like this, then that's it."
"Buffy--"


//Should I even listen?

Should I even try?

Will I just be hearing the same old lies?

Baby

See it doesn't matter what you say this time

Cause our whole relationship

Is built on one lie

You say things aren't the way they seem

But still you can't come straight with me\\


"What? What do you need to say to me? Are you sick of me? Do you love someone else? Are you leaving? What?"

"Yes."

"Yes what? I gave you three horrible options."

"Yes," he said softly. "I am leaving."


//How can you think that you're in love when

You don't know the meaning of\\


"Leaving?" Buffy's face was paler than Angel's ever was and her voice was small, like that of a scared little girl. "Leaving? Leaving Sunnydale? Leaving the mansion, leaving me, what?"

He took a deep breath.

"So help me Angel, I keep a stake in my jeans pocket."

"I'm leaving Sunnydale. I think some space is exactly what we need."

"Space? You want space? There are three feet separating us right now, that's space."

"Buffy, you know what I mean. You and I--we can't ever be the couple you need us to be. I can never marry you, give you children."

"Marriage? Children? Hatched eggs everywhere, Angel, I'm eighteen! I'm thinking about graduating with decent grades and getting a dorm room big enough to house all Will's Wiccan stuff and my crossbow! I am not concerned with that scary stuff you just mentioned."

"Lying in bed last night....I had this dream."

"A dream..." Buffy closed her eyes, realizing they'd dreamt the same thing. "What dream?"

"We got married." his face was almost wistful. "We were so happy and we went into the daylight together so something was allowing me to be outside. It was so perfect, and then you caught on fire."

"I burned. Like you would." she didn't let on that she'd had the same pictures in her mind for the past eighteen hours.

"I can't do it, Buffy. I can't live with the fear of hurting you."


//Love shoulda brought you

Brought you home last night

You shoulda been with me

Shoulda been right by my side

Baby

If you cared anything for me

Then love woulda brought you home to me last night\\


"I can take care of myself!" she yelled.

"Can you? I think you depend on me."

Buffy made her I'm-about-to-lie-to-you face. "I do not."

"If you got hurt because of me..."

"I won't!"

"You already have."

"Do you know how many times you've saved my life?" she demanded. "I can't even count them."

"It was Xander. If he hadn't been there, you would've died."

"Angel..."

"It's best for me, best for everyone, if I just leave."

"Which translates to, best for you, period. God, you good-doers really need to learn English."

"Buffy, don't."

"Don't what? Don't cover up all the pain I feel with cruelty? Don't pretend like nothing is wrong until I break? What do you want from me Angel?" tears were pouring down her face. "Just tell me! Tell me how to feel. Tell me how to deal with this when I wake up alone and you're not there and I know you're not ever going to be."


//Gotta hand it to ya

You had me there for awhile

I was so in love with you I

Couldn't see past your smile\\


"Don't make me look for the words Buffy." Angel's cheeks were wet with tears but he wasn't sobbing the way she was. "I love you. That's all I can tell you."

Buffy couldn't do anything but react on instinct, so she took a deep breath and slugged him.


//Now I smell the coffee

Boy, I got a wake-up call

And it left a message

That you just don't care at all\\


"What the Hell was that for?" he demanded, holding his sore cheek.

"Are you in pain Angel?" she asked coldly. "Let me shrug and say I don't know what to tell you and you tell me how that feels. You tell me if it makes your soul ache. If not, I can keep hitting you."

"Oh, would you stop with the theatrics? You're acting like a high schooler with a bad crush."

She just *had* to hit him again. The "high schooler" comment was just a low blow.

"God, Buffy!"

"Ooops, did that hurt? Sorry." she made a face.

"You made my lip bleed."

She smirked. "Now who's acting like the high schooler?"


//Then you woulda been sincere

And I wouldn't be in tears

And love woulda brought you to me last night\\


"Buffy, this is--"

"Wrong?" she asked, trying to keep the tears back and the Ice Woman act going. "Isn't this how it's supposed to be?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Didn't I ask you that not five minutes ago?"


//Why do men think that love's just for the moment

Not over time

Please tell me why

Why should I think

You're gonna be sincere

Don't blame me

If I just don't believe

That you'll always be here\\


Somehow, between the fighting and yelling, the couple had begun kissing and now undressing. The sewer walls were disgusting, but there was a ladder and it wasn't long before Buffy found herself clinging to it for dear life as she and Angel screwed. She knew it would be it, but it was better than nothing.


//Love shoulda brought you

Brought you home last night

You shoulda been with me

Shoulda been right by my side

Baby

If you cared anything for me

Then love woulda brought you home to me last night\\