Title: Honest Illusions
Author: Siren
Feedback: Yes Please! Send to Buffytink127@yahoo.com. This is my first fic, so if you could be gentle, I would greatly appreciate it.

Pairing: Buffy/Angel(us)
Summary: AU fic, Angelus is a world-renowned magician, and Buffy is a small town college student. I was inspired by the book Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts, and wanted to do a Buffy/Angel(us) spin on it. It's not exactly the same, only slight references to the book in some places.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own them, for if I did, Buffy and Angel would have massive happytime on a daily basis.
Rating: NC17 in time, at the moment, pg most likely
Distribution: anyone who wants can have, just tell me
(**'s indicate thoughts)

Ch. 1

The lights in the club were virtually non-existent, giving off a sensual, seductive atmosphere. The presence of the man onstage wrapping around the patrons of the club, their eyes never leaving the figure currently levitating a woman to the strain of classical music. The woman, eyes closed as if in a trance, was a beautiful brunette, her figure long, and slender, except for the generous cleavage straining the neckline of the dark, midnight blue evening gown she wore. The man, standing over 6ft, was dark and dangerous looking. He wore a deep burgundy silk shirt, half unbuttoned to show his sculpted chest, the color of alabaster. His dark chocolate eyes drew you in, capturing you as a willing consort. The dark, almost shoulder length hair looked soft, inviting you to run your fingers through it. The pure sexuality radiating off him made the men of the club wish to be him, and the women want him with a burning intensity. He whipped a flowing black cape off the ground, swirled it around the woman, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone. The club stood silent for a long, shocked moment, then the room burst with thundering applause. The man onstage grinned widely, took a bow, and departed.

When the applause seemingly refused to die down, he came back on stage, this time with the woman, and took a deep formal bow, almost brushing the stage with his hair. He slowly rose back up, looking out into the crowd. Almost fully upright, he stopped and stared, his eyes showing shock soon followed by something unrecognizable. The woman on his right followed his gaze to a tiny girl, who had just walked in the door.

"Angelus! Come on! Let's finish this, and go change. I feel as though I can't breathe in this thing!", she hissed through her bright smile, still looking into the crowd. She took his hand, and half-dragged him off the stage. Angelus shot her a venomous look, and snatched his hand away.

"Jesus, Cordelia! Can't you just be patient for once in your life?", Angelus snarled, looking decidedly put out at having to leave the stage in such a fashion.

"Oh please. You just wanted to ogle that child in the crowd. I saw how you looked at her. She's little more than a girl!". Feeling dangerously jealous, she faced him, hands on her hips, looking at him with a mix of rage and dejection. Angelus simply walked off; heading towards the bar, where he had last seen the little thing that had stopped his heart.

He strode purposefully into the crowd, ignoring everything but the vision in front of him. The girl was tiny, barely topping 5ft, and golden. She seemed to glow with life, from the top of her honey colored hair, to the tips of her pink painted toes. Her eyes were a startling bottle green, and her soft, kissable mouth shiny with gloss. He stopped in front of her, and smiled down at the little blonde goddess with adoration shinning in his eyes.

"Hello, my name is Angelus Callahan," He stated, reaching out his hand to shake hers.

"Hi, I'm Buffy.", the beauty before him said, taking his hand in a surprisingly firm handshake.

"Buffy? That's a wonderfully unusual name. May I buy you a drink?", he asked, reaching out to signal the bartender. Once the man behind the bar reached them, Angelus ordered a black jack for himself, and a white wine for Buffy. He escorted her to a table away from everyone else, and pulled out her chair. Once she was seated, he sat across from her, and said "So, Buffy, tell me all about yourself".

"Well.........", she started, caught up in watching the emotion play in his beautiful chocolate eyes. She soon realized what she was doing when Angelus cleared his throat and smiled at her, looking highly amused. "My name is Elizabeth Anne Summers, I was born on January 19th, 1982. Ummm, I'm a senior at U.C. Sunnydale, majoring in Art History. I hope to get my PH.D. in the subject, so I can teach, or own a gallery. My two best friends, Willow and Xander, go to school with me, and so do their significant others."

"Elizabeth? I thought your name was Buffy?", Angelus asked, slightly confused. "Oh, it is. Buffy is an old nickname. It used to drive me crazy when I was younger, but now I'm so used to it, it just doesn't bother me anymore." She smiled at him, showing perfect, tiny white teeth. "So, you said your friends have significant others. What about you?", he stared intently into her bright green eyes, finding himself mentally begging her to be single. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her, all her dreams, anything he could think of that would keep her talking. He looked away; trying to ignore the urge to throw her over his shoulder and cart her to the tiny closet the club called a dressing room. Angelus caught sight of Cordelia, her eyes shooting arrows dripping with jealousy towards the tiny golden goddess sitting at his table. He sighed, hoping his partner wouldn't throw a tantrum until much later. He knew she wanted him, and although he told her flat out there would be nothing between them, it was obvious she refused to believe him, thinking she could change his mind.

"An-Angelus? Why is that woman staring at us? Is there something on my face?", Buffy looked over at him, confusion and distress plainly visible in her eyes. Angelus smiled reassuringly at her, then took the small elegant hand sitting on the table and ran his thumb across her knuckles. "Would you like to get out of here, maybe take a walk?", He stood up, and still keeping her hand in his, gently pulled her from her seat, and began leading her towards the door. When they got outside, they began walking towards the park he remembered seeing about 2 blocks from the club, still holding Buffy's hand in his. They got to the park and sat down on the swings, twisting to face each other. Angelus saw Buffy shiver slightly, and took off his leather jacket. "Here, you look cold.", he said, sliding his coat around her shoulders. She smiled shyly, and mumbled a thanks. "Ok, finish telling me about yourself."

"Alright, I moved here my sophomore year of high school from L.A. My parents got divorced, and I moved with my mom. I haven't seen my dad since the summer before my junior year. My mom married a wonderful man named Rupert Giles, he was the librarian at the high school. He became more of a father to me than my actual father, and I love him to death. Mom died about 2 years ago, from a brain aneurysm. I have no brothers or sisters, and no real cousins. But way too much about me, what about you, Angel? Oh, um, can I call you Angel? It's just that Angelus seems so....formal, I guess. And I'm babbling, just ignore me.", she blushed, looking down at the ground.

"Don't worry, it's pretty adorable when you babble, I like it. And calling me Angel is fine. Nobody's called me that in years, not since my mother. She died when I was 6. A drunk driver hit her when she was walking home one night. I spent my life after she died with my grandparents, her parents, in Galway. I had a little sister, her name was Kathy. She was a beautiful child, always smiling. She died with my mother.", Angel stopped, a look of pain crossing his face. "Oh, Angel. I'm so sorry. You don't have to talk anymore if you don't want to." Buffy put her hand on his, and laced her fingers through his. He smiled at her, and stood up. "It's getting late, why don't I walk you home?" He helped her out of her swing, and let her lead the way to her house. They didn't talk, just enjoyed each other's company. All too soon they reached her front door. She gave him a shy little smile, and her heart melted when he grinned back at her. Bending down, he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "Can I see you tomorrow? I bought the old mansion on Crawford Street, so feel free to stop by anytime." Buffy stood on tiptoe and kissed his chin. "I'd like that. See you tomorrow.", she said, and giving him a small smile, walked inside. Angel stood there for a moment, looking at the door, then slowly turned around and walked into the night. *I think I'm going to really like it here in Sunnydale.*

TBC for now.....more if I get feedback.