For a moment, everyone was staring at everyone. After what seemed like an eternity, Giles let out a small, uncomfortable cough, and Angel blinked. He looked at Buffy uncertainly, ignoring the others, who were all shifting uncomfortably.
"Buffy? Can we, maybe, go outside? We need to talk," the vampire said, his voice softer than usual.
"I really don't think we do," the Slayer answered him with her jaw clenched and an icy glare in her bright green eyes. Cordelia rolled her eyes and walked up to Buffy, grabbing her shoulder and edging her in Angel's general direction.
"Go. Talk. We didn't drive all the way to Sunnydale just to watch the two of you acting like big babies," she told Buffy briskly. Turning to Wesley, she added: "Oh and by the way, Wes: snales would have gotten here faster!"
The former Watcher opened his mouth indignantly, but was interrupted by Buffy, who was still looking at Angel as if she would have liked to set fire to him on the spot.
"Fine. We'll talk. You'll leave," she said, and stalked out the front door to the patio in front of Giles's apartment. Angel just looked at the Scoobies apologetically and followed her outside, leaving Cordy and Wes with the others as he closed the front door behind him.
"So, you guys are working with Angel in L.A., huh?" Willow asked, simply to break the tension. "That's... unusual," the witch added, shifting nervously in her seat. Cordy sat down next to her and let out a deep breath.
"It is quite unusual for us to be working with a vampire, but it's going very well so far. We are hunting demons and helping the hopeless – fighting the good fight, so to speak," Wesley said with somewhat of a smug smile. Cordelia just nodded.
"True. Plus, I have these visions going on, which is pretty cool... in the way that it's not. And can I just say that this whole deal speaks for me, and that I've grown as a person? I mean, your upcoming death gave me a major headache, but I still came to warn you about it without complaining, even if it meant driving with Snale Boy here." She said, nodding her head at Wesley.
"Yeah Cordy, it's too bad you have to be dead to be declared a saint; you would've been a sure bet," Xander said sarcastically as he flopped onto the couch next to the Seer. Anya gave him an annoyed look and tapped her foot impatiently.
"Xander! Why are you sitting down next to your ex-girlfriend? She cast a vengeance spell on you, remember?" she said. Turning to Cordelia, she glared at the young woman. "I'm not threatened by you, but go away." The Seer just laughed and gave Xander a pitiful look.
"You're dating the demon now? I told you you'd never find anyone like me anymore Xander..." the brunette said, shaking her head wearily.
"Uhm, do I need to remind you of the fact you had a crush on Wesley? I mean, as far as rebounding goes, that's a pretty pathetic attempt!" Xander retorted, giving her an insulted look.
"I beg your pardon?" Wesley said, disdainfully and ready for a speech, but at that point, Giles coughed again, louder this time.
"Though I wouldn't dream of interrupting this fascinating conversation, do you think we could focus on the vision that brought you here in the first place?" the Watcher said with a sigh.
"Right," Cordelia said, waving her hands in a dismissive gesture. "Sorry. Okay, vision time..." she added as she started explaining in full detail what the Powers That Be had shown her the day before...
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"So... You wanted to talk? Then talk," Buffy told Angel, folding her arms across her chest as she sat down on the low front yard wall. The vampire sighed and began pacing the courtyard.
"Don't be like this, Buffy, okay? I came here to apologize," he said, stopping to look into her beautiful green eyes. "I said some things I shouldn't have said..."
"Like that I should stay the hell out of your town?" the blonde snapped at him, her eyes still blazing fire. "Which is ironic, since apparently you get to show up here whenever you feel like it!"
"I know, and I'm sorry. I know that I keep messing up your life and that I should stay away. God knows I should stay away..." Angel said, the last bit mostly to himself. He let out a deep breath and sat down next to her, putting his hand on hers. "I'm not too good with words, you know that. Back in L .A., what I meant, but hopeless failed to say, is that I can't –I can't bear to have you around."
"Oh yeah, that's much better!" The blonde Slayer rolled her eyes, but a faint smile was appearing on her lips.
"No, that's not what I mean either," the vampire said quickly, getting nervous for a moment. "Look. It just... hurts too much to see you, especially in the circumstances we keep meeting in, where there's never time to talk, just..."
"...shop talk right?" Buffy completed his sentence. "Yeah, I know. And it hurts me to see you too. But it hurt me more you see you there with Faith, after everything she put me through." Her look became icy again as she thought about how she had found Angel taking care of Faith, helping her... She took a deep breath and glanced at the vampire she couldn't help but love. "I wish you weren't able to hurt me this much..." she said softly.
"Look, Buffy..." Angel said, his eyes locking with hers. "I went to L.A. because I thought it would be the easiest thing to do. I figured that, if I was away from you, things would be clearer and my life would be simple again. Turns out that it's just as complicated. I'm not good with the emotional stuff, and with you showing up, there was just... an overload. So, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything I said."
Buffy looked at her hand, entwined with his. "Yes you did. And so did I. Granted, we didn't phrase it in the best way possible," she said with a smirk. "But it needed to be said. We have different lives now. And... I think it's always gonna hurt for me to see you and not be able to be with you, but I'm hoping it'll get easier in time..."
"Well, I doubt it's getting easier any time soon," the vampire said with a deep sigh. "You're always going to be the one thing I long for the most, and the one thing I can never have..." He glanced at the Slayer. She simply squeezed his hand and gave him a warm smile.
"Like sunlight," she said, and cuddled up next to him. Angel couldn't help but smile at that.
"Yeah. You're my sunlight..." he said, putting his hand around her shoulders and holding her close. Buffy looked up at him, her eyes full of love this time, and slowly brought her lips to his...
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(Let me know if I should continue or stop here!)