The Way it Should Have Been

Chapter 3

Author's Note: Well, upon all your requests, I'm back with another chapter! Again, hanks so much for the reviews! Obviously Buffy and Angel have stuff to sort out; please bare with me since I have no experience with sleeping with my boyfriend, giving him a moment of happiness, thus turning him evil and almost sending a demon lover to hell. I'm just writing what a person would do in a situation like this; er.. What Buffy would do. And since this is season 2 Buffy…she's still kinda childish, so..

To skye-lark913: I'm glad your glad there's more, lol! To Buffyangelfan: Don't worry, I will most definitely continue. Thanx for the review! To Beth: Thanks so much for the review! To kat461: What can I say, I always look forward to your reviews. I'm glad for the most part, people are liking it. I know it seems like a way too east solution, but after both shows finale's and seeing no B/A coupling, I felt the need to write a story like this. So if you wanna read it, please just overlook the fact that it was an easy solution. The story isn't about the solution that was used, it's about what if she didn't send him to hell? Would the outcome of their relationship be any better?

Disclaimer: See the first chapter for disclaimer if you really have your heart set on seeing one, kay?

Two weeks had gone by and things we're just as confusing as ever. Buffy was still staying at Giles' house, and she still went to see Angel every few days. She was also still not talking to her mother, who hadn't so much as tried to talk to her since she had kicked her out; which was fine with her. She was mostly happy and content with her current housing. Mostly. The Sophomore year had just ended two days ago, and Buffy knew she'd have to talk to her friends sometime. She just wasn't ready to lie to their faces whenever the subject of Angel was brought up; which she knew would be.

Buffy continued walking through the cemetery, waiting for a vampire to attack. So far, it was a pretty quiet night. Giles had offered to help her patrol, but Buffy had passed up his offer. Spending that much time with her Watcher made her appreciate the times when she was stuck in the library with him for hours researching or training. There we're only so many English meals she could eat.

Suddenly a vampire jumped out of no where, in front of Buffy; it's teeth glistening in the moonlight as it let out a demonic growl.

"Good, I was wondering when one of you'd show up," she said before delivering a punch to the vampire's stomach, causing him to momentarily buckle. It quickly recovered, letting out another growl before spinning in the air, kicking Buffy in the face. Buffy took a few steps back, firing rapid blows to the vampire's face. The vampire dropped to the ground quickly, and kicked, knocking Buffy to the ground. Buffy quickly got up before the vampire and pulled a stake out. She spun around and before the vampire could block, she jammed the wooden stake into it's dead heart. Before the vampire turned to dust, two more came out of no where; one grabbing Buffy from behind while the other grinned in anticipation, stepping closer towards the Slayer. She tried to yank her arms free, but the vampire holding her didn't appear to be a noobie- in strength at least.

She continued to struggle just as she heard a familiar growl nearby. She looked up just as the vampire in front if her turned to dust. Behind the now dusted vampire stood Angel, stake in hand. Surprising the distracted vampire, Buffy trusted her elbow backwards, catching the vampire in the face, causing him to take a step backwards; loosing his grip on Buffy in the process. Before Buffy let the vampire recover, she spun around, her foot connecting with the vampire's chest, before staking the third vampire as well. The cemetery grew silent as the third vampire turned to dust.

Buffy turned around, facing Angel. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said, walking over closer to Buffy. She looked up at him and smiled as he brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. Not thinking, Buffy put her hand on the side of Angel's face, looking up at him for a second before he leaned down; their lips brushing before it hit them what they we're doing.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just…" Buffy began, unable to believe they had almost kissed. His soul had only been restored for two weeks, and already they we're almost kissing.

"Habit, I know," he finished, his gaze to the ground as he spoke. He looked back up at her. "I'm sorry, I just thought maybe you needed help patrolling so.." he trailed off.

"No, I'm glad you wanted to help. It's just…" she paused.

"I know. If Giles or any of the gang saw me," he finished once more. Buffy gave a weak smile, knowing none of it was easy; for either of them.

"Yeah." The two stood there, in an all too familiar awkward silence. "So uh, do you have any plans tonight?" she asked, trying to make conversation.

"Not really. I'll probably just head back home," he explained.

"Oh," Buffy replied, slightly disappointed. "Mind some company?" she asked weakly, not wanting to sound too desperate, although on the inside she was desperate to spend time with him.

Angel smiled. "I'd love some." Buffy smiled as the two walked side by side towards the entrance of the cemetery.

"So…how's school?" Angel asked, trying to make conversation.

"It's good, you know considering it's all over; for the summer at least," she explained, standing in his living room/bedroom while Angel fixed her something to drink- something that wasn't blood.

"Oh," Angel said. "So what are your plans for this summer?" he asked, walking back towards her with her drink.

"Just the usual. Vampire slaying at night, hanging out enjoying the summer during the day," she said. Angel smiled as he handed her her drink. As she reached for it, their hands brushed against each other; both of them responding from the body contact.

"Thank you,'" Buffy said, forcing a small smile as she took sip of her tea.

"You know, we're going to have to talk about this sooner or later," Angel said, knowing they couldn't keep avoiding the subject of them for much longer.

"I know," Buffy said. "Just with everything going on at home, I wanna tackle one problem at a time," she explained.

Angel nodded. "I understand."

"Plus, I wanna deal with the less hard and painful thing first," she added. "But your right; we do have to talk about this; about us, soon." She looked down at her tea filled mug.

"What kind of problems are you having at home?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh it's nothing really. Mom kinda…kicked me out," she said. "She found out about me being a Vampire Slayer, and she couldn't deal, so she kicked me out," she explained.

"But you've got a place your staying at, right?" he asked, ready to house her in a second. The thought of Buffy being somewhere on the streets didn't settle with Angel too well. If he had to, he go talk to Joyce himself.

"Yeah, I'm uh, staying with Giles for a while," she explained. "Although I'm not sure how much longer that housing arrangement will work for. There's only so much of Giles I can take in a twenty-four hour period," she joked. Angel smiled.

"You know your always welcome here," Angel said. "If-if things don't work out staying at Giles' and if your mother hasn't come around yet."

"Thanks. I'm kinda hoping she'll come around soon," Buffy said, "I'm kinda missing my old room."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Angel agreed. The two grew silent, Angel watched as Buffy fidgeted in her place, looking down at her mug as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Finally she looked up and smiled at him.

"Well, I should probably get going before Giles comes looking for me," she said, standing up. "But uh, thank you," she said, looking up directly into his eyes.

"Want me to walk you home or?" he asked, not wanting his time with her to end quite yet. Buffy smiled and shook her head.

"I'm okay," she assured him. "but thank you," she said. Buffy paused for a second, before deciding to hug him. Angel was surprised, but accepted her hug. He enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms. The scent of her… she smelled of vanilla, was intoxicating as it filled his nostrils and clouded his sense of reality. Buffy in return, held on to him tightly, her eyes closed shut. The feeling of her body against his was all she needed. Being in his arms was the safest place she could ever think of. It was like being shielded from all the scary things on the world. While he was Angelus, she was left to only dream about being in his arms. Now that she was back, her sense of comfort began to return.

Finally Buffy slowly pulled away from Angel's arms. She looked up at him and smiled before leaving. No words could really have been said between the two. Neither of them we're sure where things stood between them, they just knew how they felt about one another. As Buffy exited the apartment, she wrapped her arms around herself, already feeling empty without his arms around her.

Buffy sighed, her body tired and ready for bed. She frowned as she opened the front door, realizing Giles was still awake with the living room light still on. She closed the door behind her and began into the house.

"Giles, what are you still doing-" she began. She stopped in mid sentence when the person she wouldn't have expected to see last stood up from the couch, and turned around towards Buffy.

"Mom?" she said in disbelief.

"Hello, Buffy," Joyce said, standing in the living room.