Title: In the light
Feedback: Of course I want to know what you think otherwise I'd hide it in a folder on my computer! Kristi@allengames.com
Disclaimer: They belong to Joss. If they were mine I'd be nicer to them! At least most of the time.
Spoilers: Only if you have lived in a cave and not seen any of Angel or Buffy.
Distribution: If you want it just ask!
Author's notes:The centered offset quotes are quotes pulled from the shows. I didn't write them, I didn't think of them. Also I wanted to thank everyone who sent me feedback! This is my first fanfic and it's very inspiring! If you'd like to see more of this story let me know!
Chapter 5
Angel had left Ireland two days ago. Buffy, Maureen, Xander and Andrew took a plane back to San Bernardino. Xander fell asleep almost the moment the plane was in the air. Andrew was involved in his new issue of the Star Trek magazine. Maureen and Buffy were sitting next to each other, chatting. Maureen turned to Buffy. "So, tell me all the dirt on Angel."
Buffy shrugged. "It's complicated."
"Didn't look complicated to me. Nae the way 'e looks at ye."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Gypsies have sort of made it their mission to keep Angel and I apart, so the way he looks at me or the way I look at him or the way the lights go dim everywhere else when he's around don't really matter."
"Aye, I 'eard something 'bout that." Maureen said.
Buffy gave her a sidelong look.
"'e was Angelus, mos' evil vampire in 'istory, 'e got cursed for eatin a gypsy girl." Maureen said.
"Well, that's one way of putting it."
"Watchers information init so forthcoming with what 'appened between the cursin and 'im meetin ye, but I've 'eard rumors 'bout what 'appened after 'e did."
"Rumors?" Buffy sat up straight. "There are rumors?"
"Aye. 'e met ye, and fell madly in love. Ye two shagged, 'e turned evil again, ye sent 'im to 'ell. 'e came back from 'ell for ye, the other slayer poisoned 'im. 'e fed from ye to cure 'imself and then some'ow ended up in Los Angeles." Maureen said.
Buffy hid her face in her hands. "It's nice to know the gossip is so.descriptive."
Maureen beamed at her. "Aye, that's just an overview. Ye can fill in the gaps for me if ye wish."
"No. There are no gaps." Buffy said.
"There was one rumor, but I couldn't find anything to support it. I 'eard ye two were married."
"Married?" Buffy squeaked. "Angel has problems with committing to the next hour with me, much less an entire lifetime. He gave me a ring for my seventeenth birthday. After I sent him to hell I left it on the floor in his mansion, just before he came back from hell. I never found it."
"Aye? An engagement ring?" Maureen asked with all the exuberance of the teenager she was.
Buffy laughed. "You really have a problem with the word no don't you? It was a claddagh ring."
Maureen laughed then. "Lass, accordin to 'is culture and tradition, that ring means ye were married."
Buffy could only stare at her and gape like a fish.
@@@
The Book of the Guardian proved to be as vague and cryptic as most prophecy related volumes. The translation was relatively easy, but understanding it was an entirely different matter.
"Making any headway, Wes?" Angel asked, walking into his office.
"Perhaps. As I've mentioned before it's extremely cryptic. Have you looked at the translations and the original?" Wes asked, looking up from his notes.
"Some. I can look at them again if you want."
"Please. At this point I find myself hoping that the translation is bad or that perhaps the translators did not explain the grammatical rules of Gaelic to me properly. If that's not the case, then I'm baffled for the moment." Wes pushed both the translated text and the original toward Angel. He bent over Wes' desk and studied the two.
"You can't just barge in there." Harmony said loudly.
"Shut up, Harmony." Buffy said as she barged into Wes' office. "Married? MARRIED? Why the hell didn't you tell me we were married?"
Angel winced at the voice of a very angry slayer behind him. Wes stood up and backed away from his desk, and the angry slayer in question. "I think I'll just leave uhm-my office. Uhm, nice to see you, Buffy." He nearly tripped over his feet leaving his office. He closed the door behind him.
Angel straightened up and turned to face the full brunt of the attack.
-"Batten down the hatches, here comes Hurricane Buffy."-
"Ok, Buffy, slow down. What's wrong?" Angel used the same calm tone of vice you use with a rabid dog.
"What's wrong? How can you even say that to me? What's wrong? I just found out we were married! You never even bothered to tell me! Even a little Oh by the way, Buffy, that ring means we're married, would have been nice!" Buffy raged.
Angel winced, finally realizing what she was talking about. "It wasn't-I-"he sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. "Buffy, what do you know about the claddagh ring?"
"Maureen told me that in Irish culture, your culture, traditionally a claddagh ring worn with the heart pointing towards the wearer means marriage."
"Buffy, I told you it meant you belonged to someone." Angel said.
"Belong to someone and married to someone is not the same thing, Angel."
"So what are you mad about? That we were married or that I didn't tell you."
"Duh!"
Angel sighed. "Buffy, I'm sorry. I knew in your culture it wasn't the same thing so I didn't think to tell you what it meant in mine."
She looked up at him. He was surprised to see the anger had faded and hurt remained in her chameleon eyes. He pulled her into his arms and cradled her head against his chest. "You were so young. You had so much on your shoulders. From the moment I saw you I wanted you for my own, I wanted you to know what it meant to me to give you that ring, but I didn't want to scare you with words like marriage." Angel spoke softly.
"I used to dream about marrying you." Buffy said.
Angel remembered all to vividly the dream he had once had of he and Buffy getting married. He remembered every detail of her white dress and her smile. It was one of his favorite, and his most hated, dreams.
"I don't have my ring anymore. Something happened to it when you came back from hell." Buffy said, her voice sounded teary.
"I'll get you another, if you want one." Angel said.
Buffy pulled back and looked up at him. "Do you still have yours?"
He nodded. "I stopped wearing it after I left Sunnydale. I take it out of the safe and look at it every now and then." He didn't tell her how much pain it caused him or that he often brooded for days afterwards.
There was a knock on the door. Wes opened it slightly and cleared his throat. "I apologize, I don't wish to interrupt, but if I could just retrieve my notes and books."
"No, I'm sorry. I should really go back to the school. I just sort of lost it when-you know, I'm just gonna go now." Buffy started to walk away. Angel caught her by the wrist.
"Wait, Buffy. We've got a lot to talk about. I'd like for you to stay a little while."
"I don't know if I can. I've got all the girls. Giles and Willow are coming back tomorrow." Buffy hedged.
"When Rupert returns, if you could have him give me a call. This book Angel retrieved for me has proven to be a bit of a problem. Perhaps he could give me a hand sorting it out." Wesley said.
"Maybe if he had a look at the book, and your notes." Angel suggested. "We've got plenty of room here. He could stay here for a few days." His eyes caught Buffy's. "He could bring Willow. We've got an extensive research department, several witches and magical specialists. Maybe they could give her a hand with what she's found out in Romania. You could come with them. We've got a lot of things to sort out ourselves."
@@@
"Dawn, you are not going to LA with us." Buffy argued as she packed.
"It's not fair. I miss Angel too and last time he came to see you I didn't even get to say hello before you sent him away." Dawn whined.
"I was a little busy, Dawn. Or did the impending apocalypse miss you somehow?" Buffy retorted, her tone snappish.
"But I'm a valuable asset! Ask Giles. I might be able to help Wesley with his book thingy."
"Dawn, for the last time, no. This isn't a pleasure trip, it's business." Buffy tossed another blouse in her suitcase.
Dawn snorted. "Yah, that's why you packed the strappy pink dress." She stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Wow, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Willow said turning a slow circle in the lobby of the Wolfram and Hart offices.
"Pretty impressive isn't it?" Buffy said. "Last time I was here I was sort of all rage girl, so I didn't look around much. "
"Good Lord, I can't imagine the research facilities they must have here. The books alone...." Giles trailed off, his mind already in an imagined utopian library.
Angel and Buffy were alone in his office. Willow was already deep in conversation with the magical research department. Giles and Wesley were barricaded in his office.
"I thought Giles was going to stroke when Wes showed him the library." Buffy tried to fill in the awkward silence that filled the office.
"He hasn't seen the vault of artifacts yet." Angel said with a hint of pride.
"He's never gonna want to leave, you know." Buffy warned.
Angel shrugged. "We've got room. We could donate an entire floor to The Buffy Summers Slayer School."
Buffy took a moment to realize he was half serious. A buzz on the intercom interrupted. Harmony's voice came over the intercom. "Everything is ready when you are, Boss."
"Thank you, Harmony.'
Buffy looked at him suspiciously. "What's ready?"
Angel smiled. "A surprise, for you." He held out his hand to her. "Come on, I promise it won't bite, just a short elevator ride."
The elevator opened to a large atrium. Buffy stepped out first. It was like an incredible indoor jungle. There were large trees and flowers, even patches of lawn. Birds flitted in the trees.
"I'm not sure, but I've heard there are even squirrels."
Buffy jumped. She turned and caught her breath. Angel was beautiful in shadows and half light. He was divine in full sunlight. Tears stung her eyes. "Oh, God. I always knew you'd be amazing in the sunlight. I used to see you in my dreams like this, but you're even more beautiful then I dreamt."
In his mind, Angel remembered another day she'd seen him in the sunlight. They'd kissed and walked hand in hand back to his apartment. He was the only one that remembered though. Buffy had only walked in the sunlight with him in her dreams.
Angel took her by the shoulders and turned her toward a big oak tree and lush green lawn. There was a picnic sit underneath it.
-"I don't see a lot of Sunday picnics in the offing. I see skulking in the
shadows, hiding from the sun."-
-"You should be with someone who can take you into the light."-
"The first time I ever saw you, you were sitting in the sunlight. I loved you even then." Angel said. "Now I can take you into the light, sort of."
"It's perfect." She said.
Feedback: Of course I want to know what you think otherwise I'd hide it in a folder on my computer! Kristi@allengames.com
Disclaimer: They belong to Joss. If they were mine I'd be nicer to them! At least most of the time.
Spoilers: Only if you have lived in a cave and not seen any of Angel or Buffy.
Distribution: If you want it just ask!
Author's notes:The centered offset quotes are quotes pulled from the shows. I didn't write them, I didn't think of them. Also I wanted to thank everyone who sent me feedback! This is my first fanfic and it's very inspiring! If you'd like to see more of this story let me know!
Chapter 5
Angel had left Ireland two days ago. Buffy, Maureen, Xander and Andrew took a plane back to San Bernardino. Xander fell asleep almost the moment the plane was in the air. Andrew was involved in his new issue of the Star Trek magazine. Maureen and Buffy were sitting next to each other, chatting. Maureen turned to Buffy. "So, tell me all the dirt on Angel."
Buffy shrugged. "It's complicated."
"Didn't look complicated to me. Nae the way 'e looks at ye."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Gypsies have sort of made it their mission to keep Angel and I apart, so the way he looks at me or the way I look at him or the way the lights go dim everywhere else when he's around don't really matter."
"Aye, I 'eard something 'bout that." Maureen said.
Buffy gave her a sidelong look.
"'e was Angelus, mos' evil vampire in 'istory, 'e got cursed for eatin a gypsy girl." Maureen said.
"Well, that's one way of putting it."
"Watchers information init so forthcoming with what 'appened between the cursin and 'im meetin ye, but I've 'eard rumors 'bout what 'appened after 'e did."
"Rumors?" Buffy sat up straight. "There are rumors?"
"Aye. 'e met ye, and fell madly in love. Ye two shagged, 'e turned evil again, ye sent 'im to 'ell. 'e came back from 'ell for ye, the other slayer poisoned 'im. 'e fed from ye to cure 'imself and then some'ow ended up in Los Angeles." Maureen said.
Buffy hid her face in her hands. "It's nice to know the gossip is so.descriptive."
Maureen beamed at her. "Aye, that's just an overview. Ye can fill in the gaps for me if ye wish."
"No. There are no gaps." Buffy said.
"There was one rumor, but I couldn't find anything to support it. I 'eard ye two were married."
"Married?" Buffy squeaked. "Angel has problems with committing to the next hour with me, much less an entire lifetime. He gave me a ring for my seventeenth birthday. After I sent him to hell I left it on the floor in his mansion, just before he came back from hell. I never found it."
"Aye? An engagement ring?" Maureen asked with all the exuberance of the teenager she was.
Buffy laughed. "You really have a problem with the word no don't you? It was a claddagh ring."
Maureen laughed then. "Lass, accordin to 'is culture and tradition, that ring means ye were married."
Buffy could only stare at her and gape like a fish.
@@@
The Book of the Guardian proved to be as vague and cryptic as most prophecy related volumes. The translation was relatively easy, but understanding it was an entirely different matter.
"Making any headway, Wes?" Angel asked, walking into his office.
"Perhaps. As I've mentioned before it's extremely cryptic. Have you looked at the translations and the original?" Wes asked, looking up from his notes.
"Some. I can look at them again if you want."
"Please. At this point I find myself hoping that the translation is bad or that perhaps the translators did not explain the grammatical rules of Gaelic to me properly. If that's not the case, then I'm baffled for the moment." Wes pushed both the translated text and the original toward Angel. He bent over Wes' desk and studied the two.
"You can't just barge in there." Harmony said loudly.
"Shut up, Harmony." Buffy said as she barged into Wes' office. "Married? MARRIED? Why the hell didn't you tell me we were married?"
Angel winced at the voice of a very angry slayer behind him. Wes stood up and backed away from his desk, and the angry slayer in question. "I think I'll just leave uhm-my office. Uhm, nice to see you, Buffy." He nearly tripped over his feet leaving his office. He closed the door behind him.
Angel straightened up and turned to face the full brunt of the attack.
-"Batten down the hatches, here comes Hurricane Buffy."-
"Ok, Buffy, slow down. What's wrong?" Angel used the same calm tone of vice you use with a rabid dog.
"What's wrong? How can you even say that to me? What's wrong? I just found out we were married! You never even bothered to tell me! Even a little Oh by the way, Buffy, that ring means we're married, would have been nice!" Buffy raged.
Angel winced, finally realizing what she was talking about. "It wasn't-I-"he sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. "Buffy, what do you know about the claddagh ring?"
"Maureen told me that in Irish culture, your culture, traditionally a claddagh ring worn with the heart pointing towards the wearer means marriage."
"Buffy, I told you it meant you belonged to someone." Angel said.
"Belong to someone and married to someone is not the same thing, Angel."
"So what are you mad about? That we were married or that I didn't tell you."
"Duh!"
Angel sighed. "Buffy, I'm sorry. I knew in your culture it wasn't the same thing so I didn't think to tell you what it meant in mine."
She looked up at him. He was surprised to see the anger had faded and hurt remained in her chameleon eyes. He pulled her into his arms and cradled her head against his chest. "You were so young. You had so much on your shoulders. From the moment I saw you I wanted you for my own, I wanted you to know what it meant to me to give you that ring, but I didn't want to scare you with words like marriage." Angel spoke softly.
"I used to dream about marrying you." Buffy said.
Angel remembered all to vividly the dream he had once had of he and Buffy getting married. He remembered every detail of her white dress and her smile. It was one of his favorite, and his most hated, dreams.
"I don't have my ring anymore. Something happened to it when you came back from hell." Buffy said, her voice sounded teary.
"I'll get you another, if you want one." Angel said.
Buffy pulled back and looked up at him. "Do you still have yours?"
He nodded. "I stopped wearing it after I left Sunnydale. I take it out of the safe and look at it every now and then." He didn't tell her how much pain it caused him or that he often brooded for days afterwards.
There was a knock on the door. Wes opened it slightly and cleared his throat. "I apologize, I don't wish to interrupt, but if I could just retrieve my notes and books."
"No, I'm sorry. I should really go back to the school. I just sort of lost it when-you know, I'm just gonna go now." Buffy started to walk away. Angel caught her by the wrist.
"Wait, Buffy. We've got a lot to talk about. I'd like for you to stay a little while."
"I don't know if I can. I've got all the girls. Giles and Willow are coming back tomorrow." Buffy hedged.
"When Rupert returns, if you could have him give me a call. This book Angel retrieved for me has proven to be a bit of a problem. Perhaps he could give me a hand sorting it out." Wesley said.
"Maybe if he had a look at the book, and your notes." Angel suggested. "We've got plenty of room here. He could stay here for a few days." His eyes caught Buffy's. "He could bring Willow. We've got an extensive research department, several witches and magical specialists. Maybe they could give her a hand with what she's found out in Romania. You could come with them. We've got a lot of things to sort out ourselves."
@@@
"Dawn, you are not going to LA with us." Buffy argued as she packed.
"It's not fair. I miss Angel too and last time he came to see you I didn't even get to say hello before you sent him away." Dawn whined.
"I was a little busy, Dawn. Or did the impending apocalypse miss you somehow?" Buffy retorted, her tone snappish.
"But I'm a valuable asset! Ask Giles. I might be able to help Wesley with his book thingy."
"Dawn, for the last time, no. This isn't a pleasure trip, it's business." Buffy tossed another blouse in her suitcase.
Dawn snorted. "Yah, that's why you packed the strappy pink dress." She stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Wow, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Willow said turning a slow circle in the lobby of the Wolfram and Hart offices.
"Pretty impressive isn't it?" Buffy said. "Last time I was here I was sort of all rage girl, so I didn't look around much. "
"Good Lord, I can't imagine the research facilities they must have here. The books alone...." Giles trailed off, his mind already in an imagined utopian library.
Angel and Buffy were alone in his office. Willow was already deep in conversation with the magical research department. Giles and Wesley were barricaded in his office.
"I thought Giles was going to stroke when Wes showed him the library." Buffy tried to fill in the awkward silence that filled the office.
"He hasn't seen the vault of artifacts yet." Angel said with a hint of pride.
"He's never gonna want to leave, you know." Buffy warned.
Angel shrugged. "We've got room. We could donate an entire floor to The Buffy Summers Slayer School."
Buffy took a moment to realize he was half serious. A buzz on the intercom interrupted. Harmony's voice came over the intercom. "Everything is ready when you are, Boss."
"Thank you, Harmony.'
Buffy looked at him suspiciously. "What's ready?"
Angel smiled. "A surprise, for you." He held out his hand to her. "Come on, I promise it won't bite, just a short elevator ride."
The elevator opened to a large atrium. Buffy stepped out first. It was like an incredible indoor jungle. There were large trees and flowers, even patches of lawn. Birds flitted in the trees.
"I'm not sure, but I've heard there are even squirrels."
Buffy jumped. She turned and caught her breath. Angel was beautiful in shadows and half light. He was divine in full sunlight. Tears stung her eyes. "Oh, God. I always knew you'd be amazing in the sunlight. I used to see you in my dreams like this, but you're even more beautiful then I dreamt."
In his mind, Angel remembered another day she'd seen him in the sunlight. They'd kissed and walked hand in hand back to his apartment. He was the only one that remembered though. Buffy had only walked in the sunlight with him in her dreams.
Angel took her by the shoulders and turned her toward a big oak tree and lush green lawn. There was a picnic sit underneath it.
-"I don't see a lot of Sunday picnics in the offing. I see skulking in the
shadows, hiding from the sun."-
-"You should be with someone who can take you into the light."-
"The first time I ever saw you, you were sitting in the sunlight. I loved you even then." Angel said. "Now I can take you into the light, sort of."
"It's perfect." She said.