Angelus stirred. Something was pressing against his leg, pinning it down. He cautiously levered open an eyelid. A mass of blonde hair met his gaze and with the sight his memory returned. Buffy was there. She was sprawled across the bed, half on top of him, sound asleep. No doubt exhausted from their recent activities. Now that Angelus didn't have a soul to lose, nothing was stopping him and Buffy from being together in every sense of the word. She had a right to be tired.

Making sure not to disturb her quite yet, Angelus gauged the time and realized it was approaching dusk. In that case, it was best that they both get up. They had returned to the hotel that morning mainly because they hadn't had enough time to reach Sunnydale before dawn arrived. But now, they had the whole night at their disposal and shouldn't waste one minute of it.

"Buff." Angelus nudged her. "Wake up."

She groaned and burrowed her head against his neck.

"Up," Angelus insisted, refusing to give in. "You want to visit your friends in Sunnydale, don't you?"

As he had expected, those words did the trick. Buffy's head flew up and she rolled out of bed and onto her feet. "Let's not waste any more time!"

The two quickly got dressed, and then Angelus went to the other end of the hotel to fetch Spike, who had as ordered taken a distant room so as to give them some privacy.

"Should we pack anything?" Buffy wondered when they all met in the lobby soon afterwards.

"I travel light. Just my favorite clothes." Angelus held up a small travel bag.

Spike nodded and indicated his own possessions.

"I don't HAVE any favorite clothes," Buffy pointed out. "I'm stuck with Cordelia's."

"Not for long," Angelus promised, noting that the final rays of the sun had disappeared. It was safe to go outside. He led the way, but as they approached the car Spike let out a sound of disgust.

"Look at that thing. You don't want to be seen in it, do you?" He pointed to the damaged front, where they had rammed Penn's vehicle, as well as the scraped sides of the car. "What do you say we pick up new transportation?"

Angelus shrugged. "If we can do it quickly."

"No problem." Spike looked around, then led the other two along a few streets and down an alley before they emerged near a bar. "There we are." He indicated a pair of powerful Harley motorcycles.

"There are only two," Buffy protested.

"You don't have a driver's license, do you?" Angelus asked.

Buffy looked down. "No, but I bet you and Spike don't have one either."

"We DO have driving experience," Spike pointed out. "And motorcycles can be tricky things till you get used to them. An inexperienced rider on one is doomed to get into trouble."

"You can ride on the back of mine," Angelus offered. "I'll teach you to handle it later."

Buffy eyed the machines, then nodded a reluctant agreement. "Only how will we get them started? The keys aren't in the ignition. Do we have to find the owners?"

"Not to worry." Spike trotted over to the first motorcycle, fiddled with some wires, and got the engine started within a minute. The second one took even less time. "Take your pick," he invited Angelus.

"This one." Angelus tossed his bag into the side car of the nearest motorcycle and climbed on board. "Buffy, get on behind me."

She did and grasped him around the waist as he slowly began to drive. The roar of Spike's machine sounded behind them. Gradually, Angelus picked up speed and Buffy relaxed, enjoying the feel of the air blowing around her. She peeked around Angelus' back, grinning when he ran a red light and cut off an ambulance's path. They zoomed down several more streets, with Buffy taking in the sights, until she cried, "Angelus, stop!"

He stomped on the brakes and they slammed to a halt with Spike right behind them. "What? What's wrong?"

Buffy hopped off and pointed across the road to a darkened storefront. "Look!" The sign at the front of the establishment read "World of Leather."
"You promised to take me shopping," Buffy reminded Angelus.

"True," he agreed, guiding to the motorcycle to the side of the road and leaving it in a no-parking zone. "It looks like a good time, so let's take care of this."

They and Spike went over to the store, which was closed for the night. "Give me a sec." Spike fiddled with the lock, occasionally swearing under his breath before he eventually stepped back. "Done." He turned the knob and the door swung open.

Buffy squealed and grabbed Spike, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you! I never knew you could be so useful."

Angelus growled at the display but decided not to press the issue since Spike wasn't being so stupid as to kiss Buffy back. He strode into the store, flicking on the nearest light switch so they could better examine the merchandise. The store lived up to its name, with leather everywhere they looked. Leather coats, skirts, wallets, purses, shoes, boots, belts, pants, gloves, and more. "Let's make this thorough but quick," he instructed.

Buffy darted here and there, grabbing up accessories and showing them off. Spike found himself a stylish new coat and Angelus located several ideal pairs of leather pants. Soon they were all decked out in their new outfits, admiring each other since they couldn't see their own reflections.

Angelus tossed Buffy a backpack. "Put the smaller items in here and let's get going. I want to hit Sunnydale soon."

She obediently stuffed the backpack to bulging with all sorts of goodies but as the group turned toward the door to leave, a voice shouted, "Freeze!"

Angelus looked at the doorway. A familiar blonde woman was poised on the threshold, pointing a gun at them. "Kate Lockley," he muttered.

She looked from Buffy to Spike to him and did a double take. "Angel? What are you doing here?"

"Kate, this is exactly what it looks like," Angelus assured her.

"Oh." Kate slowly lowered her gun. "So you caught these thieves in the middle of -- "

She never had a chance to finish her question. Taking advantage of Kate's distraction, Spike leaped across the room, grabbed the vulnerable police officer, and wrenched her head around, snapping her neck in the process. Not wanting to waste good blood, he sank his fangs into the nearest prime location and began to drain his victim.

"Nice move, Spike," Buffy cheered. Then she turned a suspicious gaze on Angelus. "So you knew that woman? How, exactly?"

"She's a police officer Angel worked with her sometimes. You know what HE was like," Angelus explained. "She's wearing civilian clothing and doesn't seem to have any backup, so I doubt anyone will realize what's happened until the morning."

Angelus and Buffy took off with their loot and got back on the motorcycle, with Spike following a minute later. Satisfied that no other cops were nearby, they drove off again at a moderate pace. Yet within a few more minutes, Buffy's keen eyes caught sight of a familiar figure on the sidewalk. She stared more intently and ordered Angelus, "Slow down."

He did. Buffy got an even better look and began to laugh. "That's my dad over there."

"Where?"

Buffy indicated the direction, where Hank was just starting to cross the street. "Want to have some fun? Ride right at him, but don't hit him."

Angelus positioned them and then gunned the motorcycle straight at Hank, who was vulnerable right in the middle of the street. At the last possible second, Angelus veered to the side and Hank dodged, landing flat on his ass in the dirty street.

"Go back," Buffy shouted gleefully.

Angelus did and shot past Hank again, then turned around and paused. Hank remained in the street, staring at them. Buffy saw his eyes widen and his mouth form the word "Buffy?" before Angelus drove for him again.

Once more they missed by a whisker, with a panicking Hank scrambling to escape. "Enough," Buffy told Angelus. "He knows it's me. Now he'll always wonder and it'll bother him to the day he dies." She turned in her seat, looked Hank in the eye, and raised her arm high. Then she very slowly and deliberately gave her father the finger. "You always were a shitty dad!" she yelled.

Angelus stepped on the gas, and with Spike close behind they roared down the road toward Sunnydale, leaving a confused and frightened Hank Summers in their wake.