Breaking down the Walls
TITLE:
"Breaking down the walls" Chapter 7 - 7/? - Rated R-13 - B/A Angst,
series 6 predictions
AUTHOR: Charlie/Selwyn29
EMAIL: selwyn29@ntlworld.com
DISCLAIMER: They're not mine, they're Joss's, I'm just making them feel
better. PAIRING: B/A, and loads more
TIMELINE: After end of series 5 Buffy, series 2 Angel
SPOILERS: Anything is possible... say all, up to B5/A2
SYNOPSIS: My take on series 6 and what should happen, please read Chapter One
or none of this will make sense.
FEEDBACK: Come on, give me some help here, do you like it?
RATING: PG CONTENT
DEDICATION:
To Trammie and Mark my Beta readers who I owe so much thanks to and Duck's who
without her epics I would never had started this one. Also to the Babble Board posters, who have been an inspiration
for some storylines.
Buffy awoke, momentarily disorientated. She looked around her and tried to place where she was. The piles of books, which lay on the sturdy dining table, made her realise she was in Giles' living room. She sat on the settee, just embracing the silence around her. No one was moving in the house. Dawn must have already gotten up and gone to school. Buffy noticed the remnants of a cereal breakfast on the table in front of her. She laughed softly to herself. Giles was obviously out, as she knew he wouldn't have left that sitting there so long.
She got up slowly, stretched out her body, and walked over to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She remembered Giles' words from the night before and realised just how thirsty she was. She drank three glasses of water and then headed up the stairs to the bathroom. She climbed into the shower and let the water pound over her body. She couldn't remember the last time she had taken a shower, something as simple as that. She hadn't had one since returning. The water streamed over her body, bringing her skin to life. She closed her eyes and put her head underneath the flow. The sensations of the water touching every part of her, brought to mind thoughts of Angel, of his hands touching her skin, of his arms holding her so tight, encircling her. Just being within those strong arms seemed to make all the problems in the world go away. No one else could ever feel like that. 'He's mine', she thought to herself, 'Finally'. She got out of the shower and towelled herself dry, still with Angel on her mind. She pushed open the door into what was now Dawn's room. It was the first time since she had 'returned' that she had been in here. Every surface was littered with her sister's things. She saw the stars on the wall that she had watched Willow and Tara putting up. On the dressing table, there was a silver frame in the shape of a heart and in it was a picture that Buffy recognised. She picked it up and saw that it was of her, her mother and Dawn, taken on a picnic they had gone on, one day last year. Buffy and her mother were sitting on a rug with Dawn lying across their laps, all three were laughing at something, not one of their faces betraying the sadness that would soon envelop them. Buffy gently placed the picture back where she had found it and noticed that Mr. Gordo sat next to the picture on the table. She picked up her pink stuffed pig and held it close for a moment, glad that this treasured possession had found it's way into Dawn's new room.
"Right, Mr Gordo, I'd better try and find some clothes to put on and go show my face at the shop, so everyone doesn't write me off as dead again."
She scanned through Dawn's wardrobe and found a pair of cropped dark trousers and a top, both of which she recognised as her own.
"I die and she still steals my clothes," she said to herself.
She pulled the clothes on and then, as an afterthought, recalling what Giles had said the night she had returned fully, covered her head with a scarf and took a pair of Dawn's sunglasses that were hanging off the edge of the mirror. She caught a glimpse of herself.
"Very Audrey Hepburn." then ran down the stairs and out of the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Magic Box was empty when she entered and, from what she could tell, deserted. She walked up to the counter and scanned around the room to see if she could see either Anya or Giles. After a few moments looking she gave up.
"You'd think a Slayer would get some service in here." she shouted, and was rewarded with Giles's appearing over the top of the gallery where he kept his books.
"Buffy." he said, putting his glasses on. "I was worried you were another tourist who'd wandered in again. Didn't recognise you for a second."
"Giles, I am a master of disguise." she replied, pulling off the sunglasses.
Giles climbed down the narrow steps of the ladder which lead to the balcony, and stood in front of the Slayer, a large book in his hands.
"We were just trying to find some more information on this creature you all saw."
"Any luck."
"Nothing definite for the moment, but we are progressing. We have narrowed it down to less than 100 possibilities."
Buffy rolled her eyes at her Watcher.
"I will admit, more research is needed, as is more information. Maybe you would care to join us?" Giles added light heartedly.
"You know me Giles. You guys are the brains; I'm just the brawn. Anyhow, I have places to go, people to see. Keep up the good work." she turned and headed out towards the door.
Giles smiled at his retreating Slayer's back. There was definitely a happier demeanour about her, one he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Angel's at the mansion." he called, as she opened the door.
"I'll check in with you later." she replied.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She walked cautiously through the entrance into the mansion, part of her almost expecting to see the boxes packed again. That part of her, however, breathed a sigh of relief as she walked into the lounge and saw it, as it should be. A few books were scattered around, lying open on pages of demons and dark forces. She guessed that they had been up for a while after the patrol, trying, as Giles was, to work out what this thing was. Now, however, the mansion was silent, she could sense Angel close by, but all the signs pointed to the rest of the group being out. Quietly crossing the room, she headed to his bedroom where she guessed he was sleeping, it not even being midday yet.
As she walked into the room, she shed the headscarf, her glasses and the shoes she had been wearing. She carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, trying hard not to disturb his sleeping form, and swung her legs up and under the covers. Edging slowly backwards, she curved her body into his. Unconsciously, he wrapped his arms around her and pushed his face into her hair, drawing in a deep breath. She wriggled her body even closer, so that every possible millimetre of her skin was touching his, and just relaxed in his arms. She began playing with his fingers that were entwined with hers, resting just over her stomach, and she felt him shift slightly as he woke up.
"Buffy." he whispered, his eyes barely open.
"Expecting someone else?" she asked, lightly.
"You'll do," he said.
She turned over to face him and was met with the dazzlingly deep pools of his eyes, staring straight into hers.
"You left me at Giles'." she said to him.
"You looked so peaceful, sleeping there. I didn't want to disturb you. I wanted you to get some rest."
She gently touched the side of his face.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?" he asked.
"Caring." And she lifted her face up to gently kiss his lips.
"I never stopped." he whispered into her kiss.
She traced her fingers across his face, gently touching the healing bruises that coloured his pale skin.
"You and Spike really laid into one another. I just hope he looks as bad as you."
"With any luck, he looks worse." Angel said, a wicked grin on his face.
She batted him playfully on the shoulder.
"You shouldn't say things like that."
"I know, and I know that something took us over, and made us react in that way, but he did deserve it."
"It was kind of a turn on, you defending my honour and all that. I felt quite the fair maiden."
"At your service, my lady." Angel said, and placed a kiss on her forehead. She giggled quietly.
"How was patrol last night?" she asked.
"We lost the creature after a short time, it was too fast for us, but the sensations I was getting from it, make me think it was responsible for the altercation earlier."
"What was it like?" she asked, suddenly serious.
"The creature? You saw it…"
"No, the tower and the yard."
"Deserted, Xander's firm has stopped all work on it. There was some evidence of black magic…"
"That's what you told me last night. Now, tell me how you felt when you were there. I saw it in your eyes when we met at the cemetery. What were you thinking?"
Angel was silent for a moment, and then he spoke. "I couldn't get the image of you falling, out of my head. Of your body lying crumpled on the ground. It brought all the nightmares back again."
"What nightmares?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It does matter Angel, it matters to me."
"After you'd gone, after Willow had told me what had happened, when I went to sleep at night, I used to dream about the night you died. I could see you falling from the tower and I'd run to catch you, but I wouldn't be in time, and I wouldn't be able to save you, just like I couldn't then." Tears began to glisten in his eyes as he spoke the fears he'd held inside so long.
She reached up and touched her hand to his cheek, gently wiping away the first tear that escaped.
"You did catch me. You were the last thing I thought of as I hit the gate, my last memory on this earth was of you. I saw your face in my head and it made me happy, I never felt anything then, I could just see you and feel our love for one another. You didn't fail me, Angel, you were there till the last possible moment."
"You found your peace though. They should never have brought you back. You deserved to find paradise."
"This is the peace I need. I remember little bits of another place, after I had died and before I was returned. I can remember being given the choice by the Powers and having to think about what I should do. Oh, my Mom..." A tear-filled smile lit up her face as she spoke, "Angel I saw my Mom and she told me how she loved me but I was needed here more, that I belonged here. She showed me how to see people, to see what was happening, and I watched Dawn and the others, decorating her bedroom, all of them looking out for her, even Spike. And then I watched you, I watched you when you were in your apartment and I knew then, that I wanted to come back. I even told my Mom that I was coming back to you. I wanted to carry on the work we had started, to come back and help people again, and to watch Dawn grow up, but mostly, I wanted to come back to you. I was given a second chance and I wanted to make damn sure we didn't miss out this time."
"You gave up so much," he whispered to her.
"Are you happy? At this single moment in time, do you feel happy?" she asked.
"Yes." he said, and kissed her gently.
"Then it was worth the sacrifice. Remember, together we are powerful, alone we are dead."
Angel felt himself jump a little at that quote.
"I don't remember who said that to me, maybe it was while I was in the other place. Doyle told me a lot."
"Doyle?"
"Yeah, he's working in the other place now, acting as a messenger for the Powers."
Angel smiled at the thought of his friend.
"He had a lot of nice things to say about you. And a awful lot of things to say about Cordelia."
"I'm glad you had a chance to meet him properly." he said.
"I just remember him sitting with me, keeping me company until I went back down. And then I remember waking up and not recognising people who seemed so familiar, and being so scared and out of control and wanting it all to end, and then finding you."
Angel wrapped his arms tightly around his beloved.
"You're an amazing woman Buffy Summers," he whispered into her hair. "I love you, more than I can even say."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Willow walked across the college campus, checking behind her every now and again, until she chastised herself.
'Why do you think someone is following you? It's daylight, Spike's underground and you're only cutting one little class, one class that you've already done all the reading for, that you've already done the essay for, this week anyway. Live life, sometime you have to cut classes.'
However her feet sped up just that little bit to get her to her destination a little quicker.
She headed out of the campus and over into a more rundown area of Sunnydale. One that didn't even need the demons to make it unliveable. She stepped cautiously over empty trashcans, used syringes, empty spirit bottles. Cats screeched and dogs howled on each side of her. She clutched her books to her a little more closely, like a shield against her body, and put her head down.
She soon was standing outside the building she wanted. She looked up at its imposing dirty red structure, the windows covered in old copies of the LA Times. Broken panes more frequent than whole ones.
Ever since she had seen Raven last night, she had been thinking about Ramon's disappearance, something just wasn't quite right about it all. She took a deep breath and stepped towards the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Angel was awakened from his slumber by a noise in the house. He moved his arm from underneath Buffy's head and got up to investigate. He walked into the lounge and was relieved to see that it was just Cordelia.
She began to open her mouth to say something, but Angel put his fingers to his lips and led her into the kitchen.
"Shh," he said, "Buffy's exhausted."
"Don't you two do anything, but sleep?" she asked. "Actually I hope you don't 'cause, hey, we all know where that one will lead."
"Thanks for reminding me, Cordelia."
"Anyway, I just came over to let you know that Wes, Gunn, Fred and I have moved to a motel down the road. As we seem to be staying here for a while. You know, to give you two a chance to spend some time together, and come on, house without mirrors, it was never going to work for me. Oh and by the way, I used the petty cash to pay for it." Cordelia gave her boss a grin.
"Alright then, have you picked up the messages from the machine at the hotel?"
"Yeah, it's amazingly quiet in Los Angeles at the moment, strange though that might seem. We're all off to try and give Giles a hand; he seems to think he may have narrowed it down a little more this morning. I guess you'd better get your beauty sleep and head out tonight."
Cordelia gave him a brief kiss on the cheek.
"I'm glad you're happy." And then headed back out of the door, taking the keys to his car as she left.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Buffy was awakened by the sound of Angel getting up and was about to follow him, when she heard Cordelia's voice. She sat back down on the bed and looked around the bedroom, her eyes adjusting to the darkness quite well. He had thrown his duster on the floor the night before and a piece of paper had fallen out of his inside pocket. Buffy looked a little closer, trying not to pry, but also having difficultly in tearing her eyes away. She picked the piece up and examined it. It was a simple black and white drawing, with a poem, written in beautiful calligraphy, down one side. She read the words silently to herself.
The Promise by Kris
Kristofferson
You gave me back my
soul again by showin' me
The laughter and the
wonder in your eyes
Saved me from the
shuttered man I used to be
Opened up the windows
of my life
And the happiness
you've given me for lovin' you
Is sweeter love and
deeper every day
I can't stop the
changes that you're growin' through
Or someone new from
stealin' you away
So darlin' when it's time
you can spread your wings
And I'll set you free
- to fly away - and it's ok
Cause darlin' time
changes everything
But it won't change me
I love you -
oh... I love you
Inside of me you'll
always be my valentine
I pray your freedom
makes your dreams come through
As long as there's a
heartbeat in this soul of mine
You'll know there's
someone so in love with you
So darlin' when it's
time you can spread your wings
And I'll set you free
- to fly away - and it's ok
Cause darlin' time
changes everything
But it won't change me
I love you -
oh... I love you
Then she looked across at the picture. It was a perfect drawing of her, every little detail captured, and she was lying in a bed, laughing at the person drawing the picture. She was covered by a sheet, but was naked otherwise, and her eyes were shining bright, with love and passion. She read the words of the poem over again and looked at the picture. She knew Angel had drawn it, she knew his style, but how had he made that scene up? How had he captured so much detail? And where was she, why did that bed seem so familiar when she knew the only bed she had been in with Angel was at his old apartment in Sunnydale. She closed her eyes and tried to think hard. She heard a noise in the doorway and looked up to see Angel walking into the room. He saw what she had clutched in her hand and looked at her in shock. One look into his eyes and everything suddenly came crashing back to her and she burst into tears.
Angel stood for a second in the door, just watching her, holding the picture, and then he saw her begin to cry, and dashed over to the bed and took her in his arms. She burrowed her head in his bare shoulder and sobbed her heart out.
"Buffy," he whispered, soothingly, into her hair, "Buffy, what's wrong, what's the matter?"
It took a while for her to be able to speak between the gulping sobs. She took a moment to try and calm down a little, then lifted her hazel eyes up to look into his.
"I forgot." she whispered, through the tears. "I promised and I forgot."
"Forgot what?" Angel asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.
"I forgot our day. I just remembered it all now…you were human, you had a heartbeat. We kissed…. Oh God, we kissed in the sunlight on the pier. I saw you walk out onto the pier, with the sun blazing down on you, and you pulled me into your arms and kissed me."
Angel held her close and began stroking her hair, unsure of what to say to her.
"And then we went back to your apartment, but you weren't at the hotel, you lived underneath the old office, and we went back to drink tea, except I was too excited to drink anything, so I just let mine go cold, and we talked about taking it slowly, about seeing one another again. Then…what happened then?" she asked him.
"You got up to leave and…"
"And you touched my hand, and we started kissing, oh, against the fridge and then…we broke the kitchen table didn't we?" she asked again.
"Yes, we did."
"And you carried me to your bed and made love to me, with ice-cream and peanut butter, over and over again."
He placed a kiss on her forehead.
"And then we fought the demon again, and you were hurt and I nearly got hurt, so you asked the Powers to turn you back, for me, to protect me." The tears were coming again.
"And they gave us a couple of minutes before they turned the day back and I promised I wouldn't forget, I promised and I did." she started crying again.
"Buffy, no one remembered that day, except me. The Powers made sure of that, don't blame yourself for anything."
"But I was so horrible to you when I saw you next, because I thought you didn't want me anymore, I didn't understand, so I threw my thing with Riley at you."
"You'd moved on, like I asked you to."
"But I hadn't, I still loved you, but I believed that you had given up when you had gone to LA, so I said those things to hurt you."
"And I yelled back."
"And it just got worse. And all that time, you knew that had happened, you could remember that entire day, that one day that should have been the highpoint in our lives, and I was telling you that I had moved on, because I thought you didn't care anymore. Oh God, I was such a bitch to you!"
"Buffy, look at me." Angel said, taking her by the shoulders so she looked him straight in the face.
"I love you, I always have and I always will, no matter what."
"I love you too," she whispered.
"Then none of this matters anymore. We can go 'round and 'round in circles for eternity, blaming one another for little things over the past two years. Each one not believing we are worthy of the other's love, but what is important, is now, that we can look into one another's eyes and forgive and forget. You've taught me that over the past couple of days. Together we are strong. The Mohra demon told us that. I want to be with you, no matter what."
"I want to be with you too."
Angel pulled her into his bare chest and kissed her passionately, gently laying her down on the bed and moving his body across hers. As their kiss became more heated and passionate, Angel broke away and looked into his love's eyes.
"Nothing, but good, has come out of you finding that picture."
"What do you mean?"
"It means that now, the last memory you have of us making love, is that day, that one in a million, fantastic day, rather than your 17th birthday. And now I have someone to talk to about it, because I've been keeping it bottled up inside for nearly two years now, and that picture is only one of the results of that."
He looked at her, his deep brown eyes seeming like endless pools above her, a wicked grin on his face. "It means that we can lie here, like this, and I can remind you of exactly where you dripped ice cream on me…." he started, picking up one of her hands and trailing it across his naked chest. "And of how your tongue felt when it licked it up." he leaned over her and traced her neckline with his tongue.
Buffy shivered in pleasure and closed her eyes; the memory of the day playing through her mind as Angel gently replayed the motions of their day together.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Willow pushed open the door and walked into the entranceway. Bare boards lay under her feet, where carpet had been once. As she walked towards the stairs, there was rubbish in every nook and cranny. Willow held her breath, as the smell was incredible, rotting food, mouldy papers and stale urine. It was a smell she wouldn't forget for a while. She pushed her way past an abandoned bike and made her way up the stairs. She was exhausted after the first two flights, but kept heading upwards. Finally after four full flights she reached the attic.
There was a tiny landing here, with a minute window looking down onto the back yard, which was full of scrap. There was a mini hob on the windowsill, which still had a pan on top of it; the food was so mouldy it was unrecognisable.
Willow walked across to door 19, a post-it was stuck to the door from the landlord demanding the last 3 months rent and threatening to kick them out.
She knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so she knocked again. After about five minutes a head popped out of the other doorway opposite.
"He is in, I saw him come home around three hours ago and he hasn't left."
"Thank you." Willow stammered at the old man, who had appeared out of his apartment.
The man shuffled across the hallway and reached across the front of Willow. She shrank back against the doorway in shock, worried about what he was reaching for. He grasped hold of the handle of the mouldy pan and snatched it to him.
"People, coming up here, stealing your food." he mumbled to himself, before shuffling back into his room.
Willow leaned against the doorway to catch her breath, and as she put her weight back against the door. It fell open, launching her backwards, into the small pokey room. She struggled up from the floor and tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness. Failing that, she walked over to the window and threw open the tattered curtains. A dull light came in through the windows, giving everything a bleak look. She stepped her way across what appeared to be the lounge; there was one small two-seated couch that had seen much better days, and a broken table. Everything was covered in paper and rubbish. A small bookcase rested against a wall and Willow recognised various magic books. She looked a little closer though, and saw that there were some books that she was sure Giles kept locked away, powerful magic books. Next to the bookcase was a door, which led into a small bedroom with a mattress on the floor and clothes thrown all over it. A sheet was nailed to the window to block out the light and the light switch didn't seem to work. Willow had a quick look around and made her way to the final doorway off the bedroom, only a very small door, which she guessed would lead to the bathroom. She walked up to it and knocked on it very quietly.
"Raven? It's Willow, are you in there?"
There was no answer, so she gently pushed the door open. She only got it open a fraction, before something stuck behind it, she pushed harder hoping whatever was on the floor would move with the door. The door opened a little more, enough for her to squeeze through and into the room. She stepped onto the dirty white tiled floor and was met with the sight of a prone Raven. She dropped down next to him and immediately saw the bottle of tablets and the empty whiskey bottle. She reached out to try and find a pulse, but there was none. The body was already cold. She looked at the tablet bottle and saw that they were beta-blockers, 40mg and that the bottle had held 60 tablets originally. She had no idea how many he had taken, but she knew it had been enough. Lying next to him on the tiled floor was a letter scribbled on a scrap of paper.
I know it will be you
who finds me here because you said you were going to come around and no one
else would come. I just couldn't carry
on anymore, she had changed so much and she wanted me to help her and I
couldn't. I'm not strong like you. I can't fight; I just knew that she wouldn't
leave me alone until I joined, so this was my only chance. You have to stop her, I know that there are
people who you know who can help. She's
at the old Warehouse past the Bronze
The letter ended there. Willow folded it up and put it in the inside pocket of her coat. She sat next to the body for a moment or two, her head feeling a little woozy and her stomach churning. Then she stood up and walked out of the apartment. She got to the end of the block and called 911, leaving no name. Behind her, the shadowy creature jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following the redhead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Buffy opened her eyes to see Angel standing next to the dresser in the bedroom, fiddling with, what looked to be, a music system.
"Since when do you have technology in this place?" She asked, groggily.
"Cordelia brought it and just happened to leave it here when she moved to the hotel, so I thought I would make use of it." he replied, looking down at the girl lying across his bed. He turned, momentarily, and pressed play on the CD player. Then he turned back and held his hand out towards the bed.
"Dance with me?" he asked her.
"What, now? Here?"
"Yes." he said, and took hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and pushed her body close into his, both of them remembering that final dance on prom night. The music started up in the background, and they began to gently sway to the sound.
Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one else above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles that's what you do
For the morning sun in all it's glory
Greets the day with hope and comfort too
You fill my life with laughter
And somehow you make it better
Ease my troubles that's what you do
There's a love that's divine
And it's yours and it's mine like the sun
And at the end of the day
We should give thanks and pray
To the One, to the One
Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one else above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles that's what you do
There's a love that's divine
And it's yours and it's mine like the sun
And at the end of the day
We should give thanks and pray
To the One, to the One
And have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one else above you
You fill my heart with gladness
Take away my sadness
Ease my troubles that's what you do
Take away all my sadness
Fill my life with gladness
Ease my troubles that's what you do
Take away all my sadness
Fill my life with gladness
Ease my troubles that's what you do
He held her close to him as the music stopped and the next track came on.
"There's so much I have to learn about you," she said.
"Like what?"
"Like, not knowing you liked Van Morrison, for one."
"Cordelia used to play it in her apartment, sometimes, when I was staying there. It always made me think of you."
Buffy reached up on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips.
"This is perfect." she said, "and just so you know, what I said last night, about needing spare clothes here, it was only a comment. I don't want this to mirror prom night too much."
"I was thinking about that. I do need to talk to you about it."
"What, the prom?"
"No the clothes thing."
"Angel, forget it, I didn't mean it."
"I don't think you should move some spare clothes in."
Buffy's face dropped a little more.
"Oh all right."
"I think you should move all your clothes in."
"No, I under…what?" she asked.
"I want you to come and live here, in fact, I want to give you the mansion."
"You want to give me this place?" she said, in disbelief.
"I love you and I want to show you just how much. You can't stay sleeping on Giles' couch and I want you here, with me, if you'll have it."
"If I'll have it??" she exclaimed. "Of course I will!" She threw her arms round his neck, the force pushing them backwards on to the bed, with Buffy on top of him. She began to rain kisses down on his chest.
"Does that mean you're staying in Sunnydale?" she asked him.
"Not exactly. I still have work to do in LA, but I'm planning on making this one of my two homes. And you can come to LA with me and stay there."
"I can cope with that," she said, "…can I decorate?"
"Yes." he said, smiling at her. "But try and keep it simple, and vampire friendly."
"Oh God, Angel, this is so great. I get a house and I get you as well. I can't believe this."
"That isn't all," he said, holding onto his giggling mate, trying to calm her down. With some effort he managed to sit up with her balanced on his knee.
"More?" she asked.
"Well if we're going to be living together most of the time and you're going to have my house, I thought you'd better have this." he said, and reached behind, into one of the drawers of the bedside cabinet.
Buffy watched intently, as he pulled something she couldn't see out of the drawer and held it in his closed hand in front of her.
He looked deep into her eyes and gently touched her cheek with his free hand.
"I love you, beyond all compare, beloved." he whispered to her and opened his hand.
Buffy looked down at the treasured item balanced in his palm.
"My Clauddagh ring!" she exclaimed, tears in her eyes.
"I haven't seen that since I left it on the floor of the mansion, when I thought you had gone to hell." she whispered.
"I found it when I came back and I kept it until it was the right time to give it to you again. I've been wearing it around my neck mostly since I got to LA, to keep part of you near."
"Will you wear it?" he asked her.
She reached down and took the ring out of his hand and placed it on her finger, the heart pointing inwards.
"I belong to you." she whispered, and kissed him deeply, pushing him back down against the bed. He reached behind himself, once more, and brought the second ring out of the drawer. Buffy took it out of his hand and gently slid it onto his finger, again heart pointing inwards. She took her ring hand and entwined it with his, the two silver rings touching one another.
"Back where we belong." she said, kissing him once more.
"I love you," he whispered to her.
"I love you too." she replied.
END OF CHAPTER 8
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