Okay… this is me on hiatus again, but my computer that had this on got fixed! And just came back, and since Elizabeth keeps bugging me about it, I thought hey I'll post it, but this is a special to ff.net, 'cos I'm not posting this on the lists yet, so feel proud.
Weasy
Part Fifteen –
//I want you, I need you, I've gotta be near you//
Carlotta arrived the next morning to find Buffy curled up in the arms of a handsome older man, they were both obviously naked. Seeing that the curtains were still closed, she moved to open them. Secretly hoping Buffy would wake up so she could ask her about the man in her bed.
Crossing the room to the curtains she noticed they had been changed from the last time she been here and were now thick velvet drapes. Tightening her grip around the curtain she moved to fling it back when a sound behind her made her pause. "Don't Carlotta." A small voice said from the bed. It wasn't Buffy who had spoken; she still lay sleeping, but the man instead. "Let her sleep." He added, seeing her confusion. Nodding she stepped away.
"Do you mind if I ask who you are, and how you know who I am?"
"No I don't." The man laughed lightly but didn't answer the question. "Could you pass me my pants?" He asked, motioning to the pile of clothes behind her as he sat up on the bed, Buffy stirred by his side pulling the covers tighter around herself. He dropped a light kiss to her forehead. Taking the pants from Carlotta he pulled them on as he slipped out of the bed. He picked up some jewellery from the table, a chain which he slipped over his head and a gold ring, set with a green stone which he slipped on one finger. "Come on I'll make you breakfast." He told the woman, and she nodded following him into the sunny living area.
Carlotta laid the kitchen table, before taking a seat while the dark-haired man started cooking an omelette on the stove. Soon sweet cooking smells started to dissipate around the apartment. It was enough to wake her little blonde haired employer, and she shuffled into the kitchen complete with bed-hair and wearing nothing but a man's red silk shirt. Moving over to the man she planted kiss on the tattoo that spanned his shoulder before seating herself at the table and pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "Hey Carlotta." She replied happily before jumping up from the table all traces of sleep wiped from her actions. "Carlotta!"
"Hello Buffy." Carlotta replied grinning at her embarrassment. Tucking a strand of silky black hair behind her ear she laughed at Buffy's horrified expression. "Don't worry. I won't tell your mother."
"Thank God." Buffy exclaimed before seating herself back at the table. "What's for breakfast Angel?" she asked apparently satisfied with Carlotta's reaction.
"Your name is Angel?" Carlotta interrupted before he could answer. "You are not Mexican" she paused thoughtfully, "or Spanish." She added.
Angel turned to glance at Buffy. "My name is Angelus, it's Latin." He told her, "And I'm actually from Ireland, originally. And Buffy doesn't like my name so she calls me Angel." Pulling the pan from the stove he served the pair and himself before sitting down himself and eating. Seemingly satisfied Carlotta and Buffy turned to inspect the food he had placed in front of her instead.
"This food is excellent!" Carlotta exclaimed after her first mouthful. "You are very lucky Buffy, my husband cannot cook." Buffy laughed at that and remembered the many times Carlotta had complained of coming home to find her cooking tools burnt and broken. "He means well, but he can't cook." She sighed as she took another mouthful. "Are you a chef Angel?"
"He's an artist." Buffy quickly supplied.
"I don't really have a fixed profession." Angel added and glanced curiously at Buffy. "I run several businesses very successfully."
"What sort of businesses?" Carlotta prompted genuinely interested.
"Night-clubs, hotels and restaurants. That sort of thing. But I also own other sorts of companies, I have interests everywhere." He explained, trying to describe the money he collected from all over his order without sounding like he was a member of the Mafia.
"Angel was looking for somewhere to start a hotel in Los Angeles." Buffy added suddenly, and Angel sat back letting her talk. After it was her future she was making up as much as his. "Do you know if the Hyperion Hotel is still for sale?"
"Yes." She glanced at the blonde worryingly. "But it needs a lot of work, they say a few weeks ago some kids started a fire inside." Buffy tensed slightly and Angel got the impression that had been something to do with her. Maybe that was why she wanted to buy it.
"Well perhaps we could look around it this afternoon." Angel suggested, and Buffy smiled gratefully at him. Unable to let the moment pass unrecognised he lifted one hand to her face and trailing his fingers down the silky skin of her cheek, now completely unmarked from the incident that had shockingly occurred only two nights before. He caught her lips in a quick kiss before turning back to his food.
"All right I *have* tried to be subtle, but it isn't working. Where did you two meet?" Carlotta finally let out, unable to hold her tongue any longer.
"We met at the Silver Shadow, you know the club on…"
Willow was jerked awake by the jumpy motions of the bus she sat on. Feeling tired and dirty in the overheated bus she rubbed her eyes and tried to straighten her stiff back as much as she could in the tight confines of the seat. She momentarily regretted refusing the offer of a lift to LA with one of the Order of Aurelius. As much as being around Buffy and Angelus gave a weird sense of security, being around the other vampires did not. As often as Buffy had told her that they were perfectly safe, in the few hours they had been allowed to talk to each other, she didn't feel safe. Perhaps it was something to do with the years of council indoctrination. Maybe it was something else.
Squinting through the dirty glass she glanced at the highway signs as they zipped past. It should only be another half-hour before Willow arrived in Los Angeles and she'd feel better when she could find Buffy and Angelus, she had to tell them- a hot flush of passion shot through the tangled web of her link and she pulled her mind sharply away from it. The sooner she could get rid of the link the better.
The bus swerved slightly as it lurched off the freeway and the smell of burning rubber filled Willow's nostrils. Scrunching her nose in disgust she turned to inspect the other passengers and found herself face to face with the man sitting next to her. Grey eyes poured into hers under a head of bright blue hair. Ducking her head in embarrassment, she noted he was wearing a shirt that proclaimed 'Dingoes Ate My Baby' and suddenly found her eyes tracing the lines of his muscles under the smooth fabric.
"Hi." The man finally murmured shaking her hand in his, a difficult action in the cramped space on the bus. "I'm Oz."
"Willow." She replied a smile easily slipping over her lips, his own dazzling smile replied, and she caught his eye again. Their hands remained joined, unnoticed in the intensity of the gaze.
Behind the bus a black humvee swerved into the lane behind them.
Buffy closed the door behind Carlotta and leaned back against it feeling the door resonate under her fingertips. Her eyes were closed, and a quietly satisfied smile played on her lips, Carlotta was one of her very few friends and it meant a lot that she approved of her relationship with Angel. A cold hand spanned her belly and slid around her hips to brace her back against the wall while her love planted cool kisses along the base of her neck. Pausing from his ministrations he glanced up as he watched her reactions to his touch dance across her face.
"Why the hotel?" He whispered.
She tensed instantly.
Pushing him away her eyes snapped open. "Why are you standing in the sunlight?" She demanded hostility pouring out of her every word. He raised one hand, and the sunlight glinted off the green stone imbedded in the ring he wore, a line of red ran through the smooth rock and forked like a river of blood set in stone.
"This bond means that if one of us dies, so does the other. So I had Spike find this for me – it's called the Gem of Amara. It makes me immortal." He smiled lightly, moving imperceptibly closer to her.
"Oh." She replied rubbing a hand over her eyes. And then pulling it back through her hair. Her eyes looked sore and tired, not only from the complete lack of sleep the night before but the sort of bone aching tiredness that came from years of fighting alone.
"The hotel?" he prompted again.
"I don't want to talk about it Angel." She muttered, pushing his arms away when he moved to pin her to the wall.
"Don't call me that." He snapped, eyes flashing yellow. "There's nothing angelic about me."
"You saved me didn't you?" She whispered. Turning away she picked up her jacket from the sofa and slung it around her shoulders. "I'm gunna go… patrol."
"It's daylight Buffy, there's nothing to kill."
Hollowly she laughed. "There's always something to kill, and the daylight doesn't seem to be keeping the monsters away anymore." She shot.
"Buffy," he tried again, grabbing her wrist in an attempt to keep her still. Violently she wrenched herself away, anger burning in her eyes.
Don't." She warned before pulling the apartment door open and rushing down the stairs, brushing past one of the elderly residents she ignored her when she greeted her. Puzzled the woman stared up at Angelus' angry expression. Sighing he kept himself from slamming the door and managed to give the woman some sort of reassuring glance, before shutting the door. Instantly morphing into his vampiric guise he slammed his fist through a wall and watched as the plaster crumbled around his fist. He wanted to sink his fangs into that woman's neck, drain her dry and leave her in Buffy's bed as a warning not to cross him. But he couldn't. Didn't even feel that old familiar buzz of pleasure at the idea of misery and mayhem… all he could do was mope and blame himself, the only blood he wanted was Buffy's and he didn't want to drain her, or even turn her… Collapsing onto the sofa he studied the LA skyline. He was certainly the most screwed up Vamp to ever exist.
TBC…
I know, you're gunna be reading this forever… but hey there's a lot of plot coming!
Weasy