Title: Devastating Past
Author: Valerie
E-mail: funbreath@msn.com
Disclaimer: they don't belong to me
Summary: AU Angel is new at Sunnydale High. He meets Buffy and the gang. They think he's just a regular kid. Not likely.
Timeline: during season 2 of BTVS...sorta. Let's just say that Buffy and the gang are in their Junior year in Sunnydale High.
Spoilers: as far as alternate universe goes...almost nothing. References on demons from BTVS and Angel from time to time, but that's about it
Rating: R
Distribution: You can take it but ask me first please.
Feedback: That's a big big big yes!!!!! It's my first fic, so please?
*********
14.
Ever since the Scooby gang found out that there was a new player in Sunnydale, Buffy had tried to be extra alert during patrol (which was hard because she couldn't get her mind off Angel). She was curious to meet him, see if he had a second identity like herself and tried to lead a normal life, or if he had given up trying. She had guessed he was a guy, 'cause her sister slayer Kendra was alive and kicking. Tonight though, she was determined to find those two vampire morons, kill them quickly without getting dirt on her outfit, then go to the Bronze, meet Angel, go to his apartment and ravish him until they were both unable to move. *Jeez Summers! Stop having dirty thoughts about the guy, it'll only make the whole thing more awkward.* She shook her head and sat on a headstone, concentrating. Giles had spent the last month trying to teach her how to feel vampires around her without needing to see them. She thought she was actually getting good at that, but then she felt it once at school when Angel entered the class and approached her, so she had figured she was imagining things.
It didn't take much waiting before the two vampires arrived. As soon as she saw them walking in her direction, oblivious that the hot little blonde here was the vampire slayer, Buffy jumped off the headstone and grabbed discreetly her stake. *They better not ruin my outfit!*
At the same time, on the other side of the crypt Buffy was standing next to, Angel saw a couple of vampires walking towards him. *Oh, it's my lucky day. Cowboys!* Indeed, the two vampires were wearing hats, jackets and shoes like the ones in westerns movies. *Wild West lunatics, cool!* The young warrior smirked at the thought. Diversity is always fun.
"You see that Tector?" The first vampire stopped his brother when he spotted the two humans...or at least what looked like to humans. Who was he to know that on both sides of the crypt stood a human vampire slayer and a not so completely human warriors for the Powers That Be, who were both oblivious of the other's presence?
"Meals." Growled his brother with a dumb grin.
"Yeah. Two of 'em! One for each. Which one do you take bro?"
"The girl!"
"Nah, I take the girl!" the first replied, eyeing her outfit from the long distance.
"Then why do you ask if you already know which one you want?" Tector asked with his thick Texan accent.
"Stop asking stupid questions. Go eat, Tector." Lyle commended as he made his way to the girl. The other vampire nodded and took the other path, slipping into game face as he approached the young man.
"Where the hell is your pal going? I had two western freaks! Why did he left?" Angel grumbled, disappointed.
"You're going to die tonight, I'm hungry!" The vampire answered with a growl.
"Don't you guys ever find anything else to say? It's getting annoying." Angel sighed. A second later the vampire had attacked and they were fighting.
*****
"Hey sweetheart! How would you feel about a big hug?" Lyle greeted the slayer, who rolled her eyes.
"Jeez, let's get on the fight already, I've got a date tonight, I don't have time for shit chat!"
"A date with death you shall get" The vampire replied with a stupid laugh.
"You're a pathetic vamp, you know that right?" Buffy told him with a pitiful smile. "I've met lot's of vamps...but that line was truly lame."
"I've heard the slayer's blood is the sweetest. I can't wait to taste it." The vampire guessed as he licked his lips.
"Come on big guy, show the lil' slayer what you've got." She told him, as she showed him her stake.
*****
Angel punched the vampire in the face, making him stumble backwards. As he regained his balance, Tector tried to punch Angel in the face, but the vampire hunter dodged and kicked the demon in the back of his legs, then wielded a powerful roundhouse to his chest just as the vampire was in mid- air from the previous kick, which threw the demon 5 meters away on his ass. "Aww, that's all you've got cowboy?" Angel taunted him as he walked towards the vampire, who was quickly back on his feet and running in the fight.
In the meanwhile, Lyle and Buffy were fighting fiercely. Lyle had more technique than his brother, and the fight with the slayer was getting more and more interesting. Buffy took a swing at the vampire who ducked it and kicked her hard in the back to the ground. He pounced down on her, moving in for the kill, laughing, but Buffy quickly kicked her legs up and rebounded, stake in hand. She threw a punch to his face and caught his arm, forced him down with all her strength with one hand. She kicked him in the face again, spilling blood, then staked the vampire quickly. Before he realized what had happened, he was dust. *Shit I'm gonna be late!*
After a few more minutes of punching and kicking from both parts, Angel grabbed the vampire by the throat and threw him on the wall of the crypt. He then plunged his stake deep in the vampire's heart, piercing his heart. "Night man. Nice fight." As he was wiping dust off his clothes, Angel sensed someone else around him. *a human. Definitely a human...but there's something else* He looked around and, seeing no one, was about to go round the crypt to check, but he realized how late it was. *Shit I'm gonna be late!* Without bothering checking if there was indeed someone else around, Angel took off to get his bike, which was parked in front of the cemetery.
*****
Angel cursed when he arrived in front of the Bronze. *Fuck, 35 minutes late. Fucking vampire. Good for him he's already dead.* He quickly spotted Willow and Cordelia, who were talking with Xander, in a corner of the club. Oz was playing on stage with the Dingoes, and a lot of people were dancing.
"Hi" Angel murmured as he reached them. He was still a little uneasy around them. He wasn't used to have normal friends and he didn't really know how to act. He was used to hang with people who knew his secret, it had been a while since he had to be careful not to say anything.
"Oh, hey Angel!" Willow greeted him with a big smile, and Cordelia did the same. Angel didn't bother look at Xander to see if he reacted to his arrival, he couldn't care less of what that boy thought of him.
"Is Buffy here?" He asked as he looked around the club and the dance floor. He slightly smiled when he saw his sister laughing and dancing with a blonde guy.
"Er...no, she's not here." Cordelia answered from her spot on her boyfriend's lap.
Angel frowned. "I'm more than a half hour late."
"Yeah...but she had...stuff to do before coming here. It's no big deal, she'll be here soon." Willow covered for her friend.
The dark haired boy nodded slightly nervously. As much as she was excited about their first date, he couldn't help being anxious. Seeing his uneasiness, Willow moved from her seat on the armchair and sat on the couch next to Cordy and Xander. "Come on, sit and wait with us." She told him kindly. He looked at her with surprise and sat hesitantly, making the red-head wonder about his behavior and his life. Kristin had been pretty vague when she had told her about her brother, obviously not feeling at ease with the subject of his life.
"So, what have you planned for the evening?" Willow asked, trying to make conversation.
He shrugged. "I don't know."
"Ok..." *Jeez, he's not the easiest guy to talk to!* "Oh, here she is!" Willow exclaimed when she saw her best friend entering the club.
"Hey guys!" She greeted her friends, then turned towards Angel. "I'm so sorry, I'm really late, I was just very busy with that...thing I had to do...sorry. I hope you didn't wait for too long."
"It's fine, don't worry. I arrived 2 minutes ago. Late too." He smiled at her as he tore his eyes away from her body.
"Oh. Good." She smiled brightly at him, and for a minute they were the only persons in the world.
"Ok...er...we can...go. If you're ready." Angel murmured eventually.
"Yeah, I'm good to go." She nodded and he stood up. As Angel was saying goodbye to his sister, Buffy did the same to her friends, and a minute later they were out of the Bronze.
"Do you live far from here?" Buffy asked as they started walking away.
"Not too much. We're gonna drive though." He led her to his bike, which was parked across the street. "Sorry I don't have a helmet. I used to have one but...it kinda broke when I hit a truck a few months ago" He saw her eyes widening, and chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm a good driver. It was an accident, I was chasing someone...in the streets of LA...not my fault. You're safe with me."
"Ok, I trust you. But if you see a truck, you stop." She warned her, pouting slightly. At the sight of her bottom lip, Angel had to fight the urge to lick it and take it in his mouth. He smiled at her and climbed on the bike, and waited for her to climb behind him. She sat close to him, more because she was afraid to fall than because she wanted to touch him. Although she enjoyed it fully.
"You ready?"
"Er...yeah." She encircled his waist and pressed herself against his back. He could feel her breath on his neck, and he had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to help him focus on the road instead of the little blonde behind him. After a couple of minutes of driving, they stopped at a red light, and Angel took the occasion to talk a little.
"Are you hungry? I got a pizza at home, but we can get something else if you want." Angel told her.
"Pizza sounds good." She spoke in his ear and giggled when she felt him shiver. Without pausing to think if it was a good idea or not, she slipped her fingers under his shirt and caressed softly his stomach with the tip of her fingers, and rested her head on his back. He turned his head a little so that he'd be able to see in her eyes and gave her his trade-mark half smile.
"If you keep that up, we'll never get home." He warned her half-jokingly and resumed driving, biting his lips to keep a clear mind when she kissed him softly behind his ear.
Five minutes later, Angel stopped in front of a big building that was located in the bad part of town. The only light around came from the moon, which shone brightly in the heavy darkness of night. "Come on baby, we're here." Angel told her with a smile as he climbed off the bike.
"Delancey Street's not the most joyful street in town." Buffy commented as she took a look around her. The building was located in front of the entry of the Delancey cemetery and surrounded by other buildings as scary as this one, most of them being disaffected warehouses and factories.
"Well, you can cuddle in my arms if you're scared. I protect damsels in distress." He teased her, parking the bike next to the door.
She hit him on the arm playfully. "Shut up!"
He grinned at her and took her hand in his, leading her inside the building. "Wow. It's nice and gloomy in here."
"I know, the lights in the hallway don't work. Just don't let go of me and you won't fall over anything. I've got a good sight in darkness."
She giggled as she grabbed his arm. "You're like batman."
"Batman, huh?" He smiled at her, although she couldn't see his face.
"Yeah. You know, with the black clothes, the cool black bike, the dark spooky buildings...it's funny."
"I'm a funny guy. Here we are." He took his keys in his pocket and opened the door. He let Buffy enter the apartment and turned on the lights before closing the door behind them. It was a lot bigger than Buffy thought it would be. There were boxes full of Angel's stuff all around the living room, where there were a couch, two armchairs and a low table. A bookcase and a cupboard were in a corner, and there were a lot of empty shelves on both sides of the fireplace. There was a small kitchen which had direct access to the living room. Buffy walked inside the apartment and saw Angel's bedroom, which was completely empty safe from the bed and a closet, and the bathroom on the other side of the corridor.
"It's nice." She told him with a smile.
"Right now it's a mess, but it'll be ok in a few days. I know it's not big, but I don't need much space." He told her as he took off his leather jacket and threw it on the closest armchair. He then went to the kitchen, took a pizza out of the fridge and put it in the microwave.
"Really, Angel, I think it's great. Well, it's not located in the nicest area of Sunnydale, but your apartment is great." Buffy walked over the boxes scattered in the living room as she took off her jacket. Silently, Angel followed her and stood behind her, holding his breath. "So, what are we doing now? Do you wanna...start unpacking your stuff...or what?"
"I kinda wanted to do something else first." He whispered in her ear, placing a light kiss where her neck and shoulder met and making her gasp slightly. She turned around to face him, and they were silent for a minute, simply looking into the other's eyes. Eventually, Angel leaned over and brushed her lips with his. They broke eye contact by closing their eyes, anticipating the kiss. Angel pressed his lips softly against hers, and captured her lips in a soft kiss. She wasted no time responding to him, her hands around his neck, as he wrapped his arms around her waist gently, holding her to him. The kiss soon turned more and more passionate, and Angel slid out his tongue, caressing Buffy's lips to make her open her mouth. She did so and their tongues met in the most passionate kiss Buffy had ever known. Their tongues dueled in each other's mouth, as Buffy ran her fingers through his thick spikey hair, and Angel moved his hands up and down on her back. Eventually, they pulled away, both out of breath.
"Wow! Do you know how long I've wanted you to do that?" Buffy asked, staring in his eyes. Angel smiled at her, keeping her close to his body.
"No, but you're going to tell me." He murmured, raining kisses along her jaw line.
"Well, basically ever since I led eyes on you."
"Oh...and are you satisfied with what you got?"
"Kiss me again." She commended, panting. He stared silently at her, amazed by her beauty, and gently stroked the side of her face before lowering his head to hers, capturing her lips in another sweet kiss. Suddenly, a sound interrupted their embrace, and they both chuckled.
"Microwave. Right, and I thought if I got you here we wouldn't be interrupted." Angel sighed with a smile, dropping two more kisses on her lips, which were swollen and red from their long kisses. "You hungry?"
"Yeah." She nodded, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Okay, fine."
*****
They ate quickly between kisses and smiles, and retreated to the living room. They sat in the middle of the boxes, and started opening them. Buffy found it extremely interesting as soon as she had opened the first box. They were all full of Angel's stuff and she was able to get to know him a lot better, find out what he liked and what he didn't. "Wow. That's a lot of books you've got here." She commented, picking the first one. "You like Shakespeare, huh?"
"I'm a fan." He replied with a grin. He looked around for a moment, opened the box he was looking for, pulled out his laptop and put it on the table in front of him, as Buffy was going through his books.
"Stephen King, Frank Herbert, Tolkien, Anne Rice...You sure like to read stories about ghosts, monsters and stuff." *Funny. If only he knew half the stuff is true*
"Yeah, I admit. But you'll find more serious books inside." He told her as he was setting his television and VCR.
She chuckled when she saw the rest of the books. "Wow! Giles would flip if he saw your collection! You've got weird tastes buddy."
*Shit, the research books!* "W-Why d-do you say that? What's wrong with those books?" He asked nervously. *Oh, I'm sure I'll find something real smart to tell her when she'll ask why I've got dozens of books about vampires and demons. Moron!! You couldn't think about putting aside your freaking hunting stuff before she got here?*
"Nothing. It's just that Giles's English and you've got a scary collection of British literature books here." She clarified, smiling, as she stood up to put them in the bookcase.
Angel relaxed instantly *Ok, it's ok, she didn't see anything, it's in another box. Stay cool.*
"You okay?" Buffy asked, seeing that he was acting weird.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her with a smile, checking the boxes for those damn research books. She wasn't convinced, but didn't push the subject. Instead she opened another box, but didn't look inside at first, because she looked at Angel with an idea.
Just as he found the box he was looking for and released a breath, he heard Buffy's voice and looked up. "Hey, do you have a stereo?"
"Yeah, but I left it to Kristin with my CDs when we moved in town 'cause I- " That was when he realized what was inside the open box Buffy was sitting next to.
*FUCK! My weapons! FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!* He was frozen, he just couldn't say anything, too afraid that if it wasn't the good answer she'd look down in the box and figure that he was a freaky lunatic murderous psychopath. *You DUMB ASS! Say something! Anything!* "Buffy...er...I..." *Careful! Careful!* "Could you...er..." *Think! Think!*
"What's wrong?" She was starting to feel really worried.
*Say something for crying out loud!!!*
"Angel, just tell me." She got up and walked over him, sitting next to him and stroking his cheek gently.
*YES! You're the best, man! Oh yeah, that was good! Very smooth! Except...now, what do I tell her?* "I'm sorry, Buffy, I just...I remembered I had really private things in here. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I wouldn't feel comfortable if you saw them. It's...pretty embarrassing, and disturbing...and scary in a way. It's not a big deal, but..." He explained nervously, casting his eyes on the floor.
"Angel, don't worry. I understand you want to keep some things private. I needed to go to the bathroom anyway." She smiled reassuringly at him. He stared at her for a moment, and eventually smiled too.
"You're the best, you know that right?"
"Now I do." She replied before kissing him sweetly and taking off to the bathroom. Angel wasted no time picking up the few compromising boxes and put them away in the closet of his room. *Great, now I'm gonna need to find hiding places for my hunting accessories. I'm such a freak, how could she ever understand me?*
*********
Author: Valerie
E-mail: funbreath@msn.com
Disclaimer: they don't belong to me
Summary: AU Angel is new at Sunnydale High. He meets Buffy and the gang. They think he's just a regular kid. Not likely.
Timeline: during season 2 of BTVS...sorta. Let's just say that Buffy and the gang are in their Junior year in Sunnydale High.
Spoilers: as far as alternate universe goes...almost nothing. References on demons from BTVS and Angel from time to time, but that's about it
Rating: R
Distribution: You can take it but ask me first please.
Feedback: That's a big big big yes!!!!! It's my first fic, so please?
*********
14.
Ever since the Scooby gang found out that there was a new player in Sunnydale, Buffy had tried to be extra alert during patrol (which was hard because she couldn't get her mind off Angel). She was curious to meet him, see if he had a second identity like herself and tried to lead a normal life, or if he had given up trying. She had guessed he was a guy, 'cause her sister slayer Kendra was alive and kicking. Tonight though, she was determined to find those two vampire morons, kill them quickly without getting dirt on her outfit, then go to the Bronze, meet Angel, go to his apartment and ravish him until they were both unable to move. *Jeez Summers! Stop having dirty thoughts about the guy, it'll only make the whole thing more awkward.* She shook her head and sat on a headstone, concentrating. Giles had spent the last month trying to teach her how to feel vampires around her without needing to see them. She thought she was actually getting good at that, but then she felt it once at school when Angel entered the class and approached her, so she had figured she was imagining things.
It didn't take much waiting before the two vampires arrived. As soon as she saw them walking in her direction, oblivious that the hot little blonde here was the vampire slayer, Buffy jumped off the headstone and grabbed discreetly her stake. *They better not ruin my outfit!*
At the same time, on the other side of the crypt Buffy was standing next to, Angel saw a couple of vampires walking towards him. *Oh, it's my lucky day. Cowboys!* Indeed, the two vampires were wearing hats, jackets and shoes like the ones in westerns movies. *Wild West lunatics, cool!* The young warrior smirked at the thought. Diversity is always fun.
"You see that Tector?" The first vampire stopped his brother when he spotted the two humans...or at least what looked like to humans. Who was he to know that on both sides of the crypt stood a human vampire slayer and a not so completely human warriors for the Powers That Be, who were both oblivious of the other's presence?
"Meals." Growled his brother with a dumb grin.
"Yeah. Two of 'em! One for each. Which one do you take bro?"
"The girl!"
"Nah, I take the girl!" the first replied, eyeing her outfit from the long distance.
"Then why do you ask if you already know which one you want?" Tector asked with his thick Texan accent.
"Stop asking stupid questions. Go eat, Tector." Lyle commended as he made his way to the girl. The other vampire nodded and took the other path, slipping into game face as he approached the young man.
"Where the hell is your pal going? I had two western freaks! Why did he left?" Angel grumbled, disappointed.
"You're going to die tonight, I'm hungry!" The vampire answered with a growl.
"Don't you guys ever find anything else to say? It's getting annoying." Angel sighed. A second later the vampire had attacked and they were fighting.
*****
"Hey sweetheart! How would you feel about a big hug?" Lyle greeted the slayer, who rolled her eyes.
"Jeez, let's get on the fight already, I've got a date tonight, I don't have time for shit chat!"
"A date with death you shall get" The vampire replied with a stupid laugh.
"You're a pathetic vamp, you know that right?" Buffy told him with a pitiful smile. "I've met lot's of vamps...but that line was truly lame."
"I've heard the slayer's blood is the sweetest. I can't wait to taste it." The vampire guessed as he licked his lips.
"Come on big guy, show the lil' slayer what you've got." She told him, as she showed him her stake.
*****
Angel punched the vampire in the face, making him stumble backwards. As he regained his balance, Tector tried to punch Angel in the face, but the vampire hunter dodged and kicked the demon in the back of his legs, then wielded a powerful roundhouse to his chest just as the vampire was in mid- air from the previous kick, which threw the demon 5 meters away on his ass. "Aww, that's all you've got cowboy?" Angel taunted him as he walked towards the vampire, who was quickly back on his feet and running in the fight.
In the meanwhile, Lyle and Buffy were fighting fiercely. Lyle had more technique than his brother, and the fight with the slayer was getting more and more interesting. Buffy took a swing at the vampire who ducked it and kicked her hard in the back to the ground. He pounced down on her, moving in for the kill, laughing, but Buffy quickly kicked her legs up and rebounded, stake in hand. She threw a punch to his face and caught his arm, forced him down with all her strength with one hand. She kicked him in the face again, spilling blood, then staked the vampire quickly. Before he realized what had happened, he was dust. *Shit I'm gonna be late!*
After a few more minutes of punching and kicking from both parts, Angel grabbed the vampire by the throat and threw him on the wall of the crypt. He then plunged his stake deep in the vampire's heart, piercing his heart. "Night man. Nice fight." As he was wiping dust off his clothes, Angel sensed someone else around him. *a human. Definitely a human...but there's something else* He looked around and, seeing no one, was about to go round the crypt to check, but he realized how late it was. *Shit I'm gonna be late!* Without bothering checking if there was indeed someone else around, Angel took off to get his bike, which was parked in front of the cemetery.
*****
Angel cursed when he arrived in front of the Bronze. *Fuck, 35 minutes late. Fucking vampire. Good for him he's already dead.* He quickly spotted Willow and Cordelia, who were talking with Xander, in a corner of the club. Oz was playing on stage with the Dingoes, and a lot of people were dancing.
"Hi" Angel murmured as he reached them. He was still a little uneasy around them. He wasn't used to have normal friends and he didn't really know how to act. He was used to hang with people who knew his secret, it had been a while since he had to be careful not to say anything.
"Oh, hey Angel!" Willow greeted him with a big smile, and Cordelia did the same. Angel didn't bother look at Xander to see if he reacted to his arrival, he couldn't care less of what that boy thought of him.
"Is Buffy here?" He asked as he looked around the club and the dance floor. He slightly smiled when he saw his sister laughing and dancing with a blonde guy.
"Er...no, she's not here." Cordelia answered from her spot on her boyfriend's lap.
Angel frowned. "I'm more than a half hour late."
"Yeah...but she had...stuff to do before coming here. It's no big deal, she'll be here soon." Willow covered for her friend.
The dark haired boy nodded slightly nervously. As much as she was excited about their first date, he couldn't help being anxious. Seeing his uneasiness, Willow moved from her seat on the armchair and sat on the couch next to Cordy and Xander. "Come on, sit and wait with us." She told him kindly. He looked at her with surprise and sat hesitantly, making the red-head wonder about his behavior and his life. Kristin had been pretty vague when she had told her about her brother, obviously not feeling at ease with the subject of his life.
"So, what have you planned for the evening?" Willow asked, trying to make conversation.
He shrugged. "I don't know."
"Ok..." *Jeez, he's not the easiest guy to talk to!* "Oh, here she is!" Willow exclaimed when she saw her best friend entering the club.
"Hey guys!" She greeted her friends, then turned towards Angel. "I'm so sorry, I'm really late, I was just very busy with that...thing I had to do...sorry. I hope you didn't wait for too long."
"It's fine, don't worry. I arrived 2 minutes ago. Late too." He smiled at her as he tore his eyes away from her body.
"Oh. Good." She smiled brightly at him, and for a minute they were the only persons in the world.
"Ok...er...we can...go. If you're ready." Angel murmured eventually.
"Yeah, I'm good to go." She nodded and he stood up. As Angel was saying goodbye to his sister, Buffy did the same to her friends, and a minute later they were out of the Bronze.
"Do you live far from here?" Buffy asked as they started walking away.
"Not too much. We're gonna drive though." He led her to his bike, which was parked across the street. "Sorry I don't have a helmet. I used to have one but...it kinda broke when I hit a truck a few months ago" He saw her eyes widening, and chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm a good driver. It was an accident, I was chasing someone...in the streets of LA...not my fault. You're safe with me."
"Ok, I trust you. But if you see a truck, you stop." She warned her, pouting slightly. At the sight of her bottom lip, Angel had to fight the urge to lick it and take it in his mouth. He smiled at her and climbed on the bike, and waited for her to climb behind him. She sat close to him, more because she was afraid to fall than because she wanted to touch him. Although she enjoyed it fully.
"You ready?"
"Er...yeah." She encircled his waist and pressed herself against his back. He could feel her breath on his neck, and he had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to help him focus on the road instead of the little blonde behind him. After a couple of minutes of driving, they stopped at a red light, and Angel took the occasion to talk a little.
"Are you hungry? I got a pizza at home, but we can get something else if you want." Angel told her.
"Pizza sounds good." She spoke in his ear and giggled when she felt him shiver. Without pausing to think if it was a good idea or not, she slipped her fingers under his shirt and caressed softly his stomach with the tip of her fingers, and rested her head on his back. He turned his head a little so that he'd be able to see in her eyes and gave her his trade-mark half smile.
"If you keep that up, we'll never get home." He warned her half-jokingly and resumed driving, biting his lips to keep a clear mind when she kissed him softly behind his ear.
Five minutes later, Angel stopped in front of a big building that was located in the bad part of town. The only light around came from the moon, which shone brightly in the heavy darkness of night. "Come on baby, we're here." Angel told her with a smile as he climbed off the bike.
"Delancey Street's not the most joyful street in town." Buffy commented as she took a look around her. The building was located in front of the entry of the Delancey cemetery and surrounded by other buildings as scary as this one, most of them being disaffected warehouses and factories.
"Well, you can cuddle in my arms if you're scared. I protect damsels in distress." He teased her, parking the bike next to the door.
She hit him on the arm playfully. "Shut up!"
He grinned at her and took her hand in his, leading her inside the building. "Wow. It's nice and gloomy in here."
"I know, the lights in the hallway don't work. Just don't let go of me and you won't fall over anything. I've got a good sight in darkness."
She giggled as she grabbed his arm. "You're like batman."
"Batman, huh?" He smiled at her, although she couldn't see his face.
"Yeah. You know, with the black clothes, the cool black bike, the dark spooky buildings...it's funny."
"I'm a funny guy. Here we are." He took his keys in his pocket and opened the door. He let Buffy enter the apartment and turned on the lights before closing the door behind them. It was a lot bigger than Buffy thought it would be. There were boxes full of Angel's stuff all around the living room, where there were a couch, two armchairs and a low table. A bookcase and a cupboard were in a corner, and there were a lot of empty shelves on both sides of the fireplace. There was a small kitchen which had direct access to the living room. Buffy walked inside the apartment and saw Angel's bedroom, which was completely empty safe from the bed and a closet, and the bathroom on the other side of the corridor.
"It's nice." She told him with a smile.
"Right now it's a mess, but it'll be ok in a few days. I know it's not big, but I don't need much space." He told her as he took off his leather jacket and threw it on the closest armchair. He then went to the kitchen, took a pizza out of the fridge and put it in the microwave.
"Really, Angel, I think it's great. Well, it's not located in the nicest area of Sunnydale, but your apartment is great." Buffy walked over the boxes scattered in the living room as she took off her jacket. Silently, Angel followed her and stood behind her, holding his breath. "So, what are we doing now? Do you wanna...start unpacking your stuff...or what?"
"I kinda wanted to do something else first." He whispered in her ear, placing a light kiss where her neck and shoulder met and making her gasp slightly. She turned around to face him, and they were silent for a minute, simply looking into the other's eyes. Eventually, Angel leaned over and brushed her lips with his. They broke eye contact by closing their eyes, anticipating the kiss. Angel pressed his lips softly against hers, and captured her lips in a soft kiss. She wasted no time responding to him, her hands around his neck, as he wrapped his arms around her waist gently, holding her to him. The kiss soon turned more and more passionate, and Angel slid out his tongue, caressing Buffy's lips to make her open her mouth. She did so and their tongues met in the most passionate kiss Buffy had ever known. Their tongues dueled in each other's mouth, as Buffy ran her fingers through his thick spikey hair, and Angel moved his hands up and down on her back. Eventually, they pulled away, both out of breath.
"Wow! Do you know how long I've wanted you to do that?" Buffy asked, staring in his eyes. Angel smiled at her, keeping her close to his body.
"No, but you're going to tell me." He murmured, raining kisses along her jaw line.
"Well, basically ever since I led eyes on you."
"Oh...and are you satisfied with what you got?"
"Kiss me again." She commended, panting. He stared silently at her, amazed by her beauty, and gently stroked the side of her face before lowering his head to hers, capturing her lips in another sweet kiss. Suddenly, a sound interrupted their embrace, and they both chuckled.
"Microwave. Right, and I thought if I got you here we wouldn't be interrupted." Angel sighed with a smile, dropping two more kisses on her lips, which were swollen and red from their long kisses. "You hungry?"
"Yeah." She nodded, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Okay, fine."
*****
They ate quickly between kisses and smiles, and retreated to the living room. They sat in the middle of the boxes, and started opening them. Buffy found it extremely interesting as soon as she had opened the first box. They were all full of Angel's stuff and she was able to get to know him a lot better, find out what he liked and what he didn't. "Wow. That's a lot of books you've got here." She commented, picking the first one. "You like Shakespeare, huh?"
"I'm a fan." He replied with a grin. He looked around for a moment, opened the box he was looking for, pulled out his laptop and put it on the table in front of him, as Buffy was going through his books.
"Stephen King, Frank Herbert, Tolkien, Anne Rice...You sure like to read stories about ghosts, monsters and stuff." *Funny. If only he knew half the stuff is true*
"Yeah, I admit. But you'll find more serious books inside." He told her as he was setting his television and VCR.
She chuckled when she saw the rest of the books. "Wow! Giles would flip if he saw your collection! You've got weird tastes buddy."
*Shit, the research books!* "W-Why d-do you say that? What's wrong with those books?" He asked nervously. *Oh, I'm sure I'll find something real smart to tell her when she'll ask why I've got dozens of books about vampires and demons. Moron!! You couldn't think about putting aside your freaking hunting stuff before she got here?*
"Nothing. It's just that Giles's English and you've got a scary collection of British literature books here." She clarified, smiling, as she stood up to put them in the bookcase.
Angel relaxed instantly *Ok, it's ok, she didn't see anything, it's in another box. Stay cool.*
"You okay?" Buffy asked, seeing that he was acting weird.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her with a smile, checking the boxes for those damn research books. She wasn't convinced, but didn't push the subject. Instead she opened another box, but didn't look inside at first, because she looked at Angel with an idea.
Just as he found the box he was looking for and released a breath, he heard Buffy's voice and looked up. "Hey, do you have a stereo?"
"Yeah, but I left it to Kristin with my CDs when we moved in town 'cause I- " That was when he realized what was inside the open box Buffy was sitting next to.
*FUCK! My weapons! FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!* He was frozen, he just couldn't say anything, too afraid that if it wasn't the good answer she'd look down in the box and figure that he was a freaky lunatic murderous psychopath. *You DUMB ASS! Say something! Anything!* "Buffy...er...I..." *Careful! Careful!* "Could you...er..." *Think! Think!*
"What's wrong?" She was starting to feel really worried.
*Say something for crying out loud!!!*
"Angel, just tell me." She got up and walked over him, sitting next to him and stroking his cheek gently.
*YES! You're the best, man! Oh yeah, that was good! Very smooth! Except...now, what do I tell her?* "I'm sorry, Buffy, I just...I remembered I had really private things in here. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I wouldn't feel comfortable if you saw them. It's...pretty embarrassing, and disturbing...and scary in a way. It's not a big deal, but..." He explained nervously, casting his eyes on the floor.
"Angel, don't worry. I understand you want to keep some things private. I needed to go to the bathroom anyway." She smiled reassuringly at him. He stared at her for a moment, and eventually smiled too.
"You're the best, you know that right?"
"Now I do." She replied before kissing him sweetly and taking off to the bathroom. Angel wasted no time picking up the few compromising boxes and put them away in the closet of his room. *Great, now I'm gonna need to find hiding places for my hunting accessories. I'm such a freak, how could she ever understand me?*
*********