New Way of Life
NOTE: I do not own these Angel and Buffy characters, but if you see anyone whom you do not recognize, he/she belongs to me.
A/N: This story takes place after Chosen, but before Conviction, meaning it's the summer in between. To put down a recap, Spike burned up, everyone (minus Anya) escaped on the school bus, Buffy and her friends haven't split up yet, and Angel Inc is preparing to move into W&H. On with the story…
CHAPTER 8
The first thing Angel felt as his eyes peeled open was something that seemed to be fur. He glanced down to see that Buffy's golden curls were draped over his muscular arm with Buffy's arm wrapped around his chest. Angel sat up a little, careful not to disturb the sleeping Slayer. He felt the warm of the sheets press against his bare skin and knew it was true; they had done it. They had done it and he was fine. Angel cautiously crept out of bed and put on the black slacks and underwear Buffy had helped him tear off.
Angel slipped out of the room, trying to be quieter than a mouse, but found it wasn't as easy without his vampire stealth. He decided to go downstairs to see if the other furniture had been set up properly.
"Hey," Gunn greeted, seeing Angel enter the kitchen.
"Hey," Angel returned the greeting. "Where've you been?"
"Walked around for a while," the black man shrugged. "Found a club. I'll tell you one thing. These Italian strippers got more attitude than the sisters."
Angel chuckled softly, glancing around the room at the refrigerator, stove, microwave, and kitchen table, which Gunn sat it. "Looks like the furniture got her all right."
Gunn shrugged again. "It's OK."
"Are you OK?" Angel asked, sitting across from him at the table.
"No, I'm not," Gunn replied bluntly. "Angel, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Angel's eyes became filled with confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"When did we make plans to stay here?"
"Oh…" Angel had finally realized it. "I know we didn't talk, but while we're here we do need a real place to stay and—"
"You forgot we got friends back home that we haven't even talked to in the longest?" Gunn reminded him harshly.
"Gunn, their homes and possessions got blown up when their city was destroyed," Angel reminded him in return. "They needed help with the furniture and everything."
"Angel, you ain't fooling nobody. This isn't even about the others. It's all about Goldilocks."
"Buffy?"
"Nah, you think?"
"Gunn, Buffy and I have a history. A history you weren't around to see."
"Hold up," Gunn cut off his speech, holding up a hand. He looked Angel over closely, as if to inspect him. "Why do you look like you just found some serious lucky charms?"
Angel moved around uneasily in his seat as he responded, "I don't look like I just… lucky charms?"
Gunn's eyes nearly popped out as he realized it. "You got some," he announced with a grin.
"A little louder, please," Angel said, glancing around to make sure no one else's ears had picked up on it.
"You telling me you and Buffy did the nasty?" Angel thought about it then nodded, figuring he really didn't have anything to hide. "Shoot, five up top." He and Angel slapped hands, exchanging a look of macho superiority.
Buffy stirred awake as she felt the sun secrete down on top of her. Her hazel eyes opened to see Angel, who was smiling back at her contentedly.
"Mm, morning," Buffy moaned happily.
"Morning." Angel planted a light kiss on her soft lips.
"Just to be sure, soul's glued in all nice and tight, right?"
Angel nodded. "Very tight."
Buffy's smile increased as she cuddled up against him more. "Well, I'd say that's nice."
"Better than nice," he said, stroking her curls.
"Oh, what time is it? How long have we been asleep?"
"The last time I checked it was ten."
"Great," Buffy sighed. "How much you wanna bet that every resident in this house knows about us?"
"Well, I'm not sure, but a couple times when I woke up I heard a pair of giggles, a scream of teenage joy, a groan, and I told Gunn. Is that OK with you?"
"Sure. Not like we have much to hide."
"After last night I don't think anything will be hidden between the two of us ever again," Angel said.
Buffy giggled lightly and kissed him. "What do you say we get dressed and get some breakfast?"
"Do we have to get dressed?" Angel groaned playfully, causing the Slayer to giggle again.
"We could wait a couple minutes…" she trailed off as Angel kissed her again.
"Or longer," Angel added.
Willow and Kennedy looked up from their coffee to see Buffy and Angel enter the kitchen. Xander glanced over at them from where he and Dawn stood near the sink. For a few long seconds, the room remained dead quiet, barely a cough escaping someone's throat.
"So did you guys do it or not?" Dawn finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Dawn," Willow reproached then turned to Buffy with a mischievous smile. "So did you do it?"
Buffy and Angel exchanged a look before Buffy replied, "Yes, it has been done."
"Oh," Dawn squealed with joy, going over to give her sister a hug. "Congratulations."
"Told you," Willow whispered to Kennedy.
"Here we go again," Xander sighed.
"What's up?" Gunn greeted everyone as he came into the kitchen. Before anyone could say anything to him he got a good look at Buffy and Angel, who both seemed especially shiny. "Mmhmm. That's what's going on."
"So what's up today?" Buffy asked, deciding to get the attention off of her and Angel for a while.
"We should patrol tonight," Kennedy suggested. "I haven't dusted anything in days."
"Hell, I know what you mean," Gunn said, propping himself up on the kitchen island. "I'm in."
"Great," Buffy said with a little shrug. She turned to Angel. "You up for it?"
"Sounds like a plan," he replied, then bent his head down to give her a light peck on the lips.
Dawn smiled gleefully at the sight. "Hey, Angel?" Buffy addressed once Buffy had gone over to join Willow and Kennedy at the table. "We have a total of none to little food and a big, fancy refrigerator. You want to go to the grocery store?"
Angel glanced at Buffy, who gave him the approving nod. "Sure," Angel replied to Dawn.
Angel got the permission to borrow Buffy's precious SUV, which had proven pretty difficult at first. Angel smiled at Dawn, who moved rhythmically to some song she had found on the radio. The kid sure had grown up in the years he'd been away; she didn't seem nearly as whiny, either. Angel parked in front of the nearest grocery store he could find.
Inside, he pushed the shopping cart down the aisles while Dawn hung on the other side of it like a playful child.
"What kind of cereal do you eat, anyway?" Angel asked the teen.
"Pretty much anything with chocolate or marshmallows in it," Dawn replied, getting down from the cart to grab a couple boxes of cereal. "I'm guessing you haven't had a real taste sensation in like a zillion years so let me work you through this."
"Guide me," Angel smiled.
"Cocoa puffs, lucky charms, and frosted flakes are all good, but if you want to get passed health conscious Buffy then you might want to grab a box of total or something grain-y." Dawn went over and dumped her favorite cereals along with a couple of healthy ones into the cart.
"What about ice cream?" Angel asked.
"Get a couple things of that kind with the vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry all in the same box and everybody's happy." She headed over to the frozen foods to grab the ice cream.
"And get some cookie dough fudge mint chip," Angel called after her.
When they returned with much more than enough groceries to last a week, Dawn filled Buffy's ear about how Angel is the best person to shop with, much to the Slayer's delight that they'd had a good time. It was good to know that Dawn and Angel could get along and even have fun together.
Later, once the sun had finally set, Buffy, Gunn, Kennedy, and Angel filed into the car to go the cemetery for a quality patrol. There were little vampires in Rome, but the few that did pop up now and then were enough to worry about. They were also a good way to let of some steam when Buffy and Kennedy got to stake them. The two had been getting along better since Kennedy had gotten activated and had her own powers.
"Just spread out you guys," Buffy instructed. "I get the feeling it's going to be a dead night so just take it e—"
"Fangs by the tree," Gunn cut her off abruptly. He went and charged off after a vampire.
"Gunn, be careful," Buffy cautioned. "You might not be as used to this as you think."
The vampire lunged at Gunn, who gave him a swift kick to the lower abdomen, sending him flying into the tree right into a branch, instantly dissolving into dust.
"Or you could be very used to it," Buffy added to her previous statement.
"He's good," Kennedy commented. "Any chance there's a such thing as a long lost male Slayer?"
"If there is I need to catch up on some serious research," Buffy responded.
"I thought I told you Gunn was an experienced demon hunter," Angel reminded Buffy.
"Yeah," said the blonde. "But I didn't figure that experienced."
"Hey, what y'all standing around for?" Gunn asked the trio, jogging back up to them. "Spotted some more vamps around here. Let's do this."
Buffy and Kennedy swapped a look before Buffy said in agreement, "Let's do this."
Everyone spread out then, going after a few vampires they had spotted. Kennedy, who was with Gunn, stood amazed again when she saw Gunn stake a vampire after she finished giving it a good pummel. Buffy decked another vampire upside the head, throwing it off balance. She gave it a quick kick to make sure it landed on the ground. Buffy then knelt down and gave it a quick stab to the heart with the stake she had brought along.
While the others fought, Angel scanned the area for another vampire, but found he couldn't sense one whatsoever. All of a sudden, one of the fanged creatures leapt out and tackled him to the ground. Angel groaned and looked up at the vamp, who had a devious smirk on his bumped up face. Before Angel could make a move to attack, the vampire grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him off, making Angel crash into a nearby tombstone, actually breaking it. Angel tried to get up, but found some pain in his movement.
"Angel!" Buffy called, noticing her guy's jeopardy. "Hey!" the vampire turned to look at her. "Play nice." She threw her stake in the direction of his heart and turned him to dust. Buffy put on a worried face as she went up to help Angel. "Oh, Angel. God, are you OK?"
"As soon as you define OK, I can tell you," Angel hissed as Buffy helped him up.
"Off your game, huh, man?" Gunn said to Angel as he and Kennedy walked up.
"I'm fine," Angel assured his friend then let off another hiss.
"You're hurt," said Buffy, taking Angel's arm and leading back to the car. "Come on. You're in need of serious boo-boo aids and stat."
Dawn looked up from the TV from where she sat next to Willow on the new couch when Buffy and the others walked in. Angel looked very not well.
"What happened?" Dawn asked with concern.
"Just a little scrape," Buffy replied, sitting Angel down in an armchair. "Willow?"
"I'll get the first aid kit," the witch said, getting up to do the task.
"Dead boy get an owie?" Xander asked with a smirk.
"Xander, he's not even dead anymore," Dawn said exasperatedly.
"Where's it hurt?" Willow asked Angel once she'd returned with the first aid kit.
Angel felt like a child with the way they seemed to fuss over him and it wasn't a good feeling. "It's nothing," Angel promised. "I'll just sleep on it."
"I think you hurt your right leg," said Kennedy.
"Yeah, you were limping on it from the graveyard," Gunn added.
Before Angel could protest, Buffy rolled up his right pants leg to see that there was a large purple bruise forming on his ankle that didn't look pretty. Willow knelt down and dabbed at the cut that had formed on his leg with a moisturizing cloth then put an Icy Hot patch on the bruise.
"Battles scars are always fun," Willow commented with a smile.
"Why don't you get some rest?" Buffy suggested to Angel. "I'll be up soon." Angel stood and Buffy immediately asked, "Do you need any help getting upstairs?"
"I'm fine, Buffy," Angel said, his tone a little harsh.
"Fine," Buffy said, wondering what his problem was.
"What's up with your friend?" Xander asked Gunn once Angel was out of earshot.
"Your friend first," said Gunn with a shrug. "I don't get the mood swings."
"He's probably just tired," said Dawn. "Monster battling and all."
Upstairs, Angel clicked on the light in Buffy's bedroom and went to her vanity, pulling up his shirt. He had a few bruises on his back as well and it had been aching since they got home from the graveyard. Angel sighed, pulled down his shirt, and turned the light back off. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared into space.
"Hey." Angel looked up to see Buffy standing in the doorway, holding a mug. "I brought you some cocoa." When he didn't respond, she sat the hot drink down on a dresser. She reached out and touched his hair affectionately. "You feeling OK? You were pretty growl-y downstairs."
"I told you I was fine," Angel stated simply, using his same harsh tone.
"Gotcha," Buffy said, still confused. "I thought you'd maybe lay off the patrolling a little for a while." She glanced around her bedroom. "We should really think of doing some things to this room to make it more us like. What do you think?"
"Things?" Angel repeated the one word. "Buffy, what's with the redecorating plans?"
"Well, I just figured—"
"You know I do have a job back in LA."
"I didn't say you didn't."
"No, but what you want to hear is that I'm going to abandon everything and stay tucked here in Rome where you can watch over me."
"I never said that," Buffy said defensively. "Angel, God, where is this coming from?"
"You're the one announcing our big relationship," he reminded her.
"Excuse me?" Buffy stated incredulously. "What exactly was last night? An excuse for you to get a happy without consequence?"
"No," said Angel, standing. "Buffy, last night… it was unbelievable. I just don't think we should pour into each other's lives automatically like that. Then what about your cookie dough?"
"Cookie dough?" Buffy suddenly remembered her analogy. "That was me being all defense mechanism-y."
"I just don't think…"
"Don't think what?" Buffy nudged, her eyes and voice blazing with anger.
Angel finished lowly, "I don't think it's going to work."
Buffy shook her head, unable to believe it. "So let me get this straight. You're a vampire with a curse and we can't be together. Then, poof, you're a human with no little clause in the way and we still can't be together?"
"Buffy—"
"Shut up," Buffy cut him off sharply, surprising Angel. "Let Buffy decide things for once. First, you break up with me because you want me, the vampire Slayer, to have a normal life because you decided that's what I needed. The key word there is you. What you decided." She suddenly grabbed the mug of cocoa and flung it towards Angel. It just missed him and shattered against the wall.
"Buffy, stop it," Angel reprimanded her.
"I said shut up," Buffy hissed at him again, continuing to throw whatever random objects she could find. "You break up with me, you go shatter-y with my heart and feelings—"
Angel suddenly grabbed her by the wrists to prevent her from engaging in any further throwing. He glared down at her as if he would pull the Slayer over his knee right that second for throwing such a tantrum. He'd only seen Buffy act that way once before when she was sixteen and thought the Master was going to kill her.
"Buffy, you're acting like a child."
"I don't care!" Buffy practically screamed at him, finally letting the tears loose. "You took everything away from me. My dreams for us, my hope, my memories…" her breath hitched and she had to stop talking.
"Memories?" Angel repeated softly.
Buffy shook her head and yanked her hands away from his hold, wiping her tears away. "I-I mean the memories we could have had."
Angel shook his head in disbelief. "That's not what you meant."
"Yes, it is," she said, turning her head away from him as more tears overflowed.
"Buffy, what do you know?" Angel asked seriously, grabbing her by the wrist again forcefully. "What do you know?"
"Don't touch me," Buffy snapped, taking her hand back. "Just… don't touch me." She sped out of the room then, unable to control the tears.
Angel didn't go after her, just watched her go. He couldn't believe it. How could she know?
A/N: Ah, summer. The sun's all high and bright and… toasty like. Don't it just make you happy? OK, I'm done being jolly. Please review!