Chapter 18
"Buffy! Angel!" Dawn called. "Come check this out! You're new commercial's on!" Buffy and Angel walked in from the bedroom and sat on the couch. "This is too cool. You guys're on TV!"
"It's ok." Buffy said.
"Ah! It is true." Angel said.
"What?"
"The camera does put on 10 pounds. Look! I look fat."
"Oh my God! You're superficial underneath that bad ass exterior." Buffy glanced at the TV and saw her sitting at her and Angel's desk. "Hey look! That's me. I'm on TV! I hope the guys see this. Do they get these kind of commercials in Europe?"
"Superficial?"
"Ok, shut up. It's not everyday you get a cool commercial on TV!"
"I should call Willow and Xander!" Dawn said.
"They won't be in. I think Giles said that today they were picking up a girl from Russia."
"Does Giles have enough room at his place in England?"
"Will says it's huge. He's got a whole bunch of acres to build on."
"And we're funding the building of a couple of buildings for dorms and practice areas." Angel said.
"Basically we're rebuilding the Watchers Council. But this time they won't be snooty, stuck up, controlling watchers. It'll be Giles, Willow, Xander, Robin, and Faith as the top dogs and they'll recruit who they see fit to guide the girls."
"Can I go to the compound?" Dawn asked.
"Winter break's coming up. We'll see."
"You know, you're anniversary is coming up. What do you guys plan on doing for it?"
"Working." Both Buffy and Angel said.
"Dawn, we don't really have time for parties." Angel said apologetically.
"Besides, anniversaries are just as bad as birthday's for me." Buffy said. "I don't want to burn LA to the ground."
"Then don't. It can be a small party." Dawn said. "It's not every day that the two greatest warriors have a marriage anniversary."
"We're ok with it, Dawnie. Really."
"Ok." Dawn said, shrugging. "Have it your gloom and doom way."
***
Harmony set two white mugs on the ledge in front of her, with the text "#1 BOSS" on each facing outward. Buffy and Angel stood there, Angel frowning and facing Harmony and Buffy reading through a case file.
"So, you've got the department heads at 11:00, your 1:00 with Mistress Shriva from human, I'm sorry, non-human resources got moved to 2:00." Harmony said. "Swung by the cleaners. Zippo luck getting out the Frophla slime out of your shirt, Buffy. Oh, and I took care of the catering for the big feuding demon clan confab, unless you guys have any requests."
"Achite vong mochzinite." Angel said, clicking his tongue.
"Yeah, ok. Could you spell that?"
"Give it up sweetie." Buffy said. She took an earpiece from Angel's ear.
He shook his head. A language instructor's voice could be heard through the headphone. "Greetings, your eminence. Let me take your staff. Lopenghote vong." The instructor clicked his tongue. Angel stopped the tape and wrapped up the headphone cords. Harmony handed Angel some message slips as he said to Buffy, "My clicks are all wrong."
"You're trying to hard." Buffy looked at Harmony. "You figure out the catering for tomorrow?"
"Helloo! I just.."
Harmony was cut off by Gunn walking up and saying, "Morning. Ready to do this thing?"
Buffy and Angel nodded and they walked into their office with Gunn. Buffy looked at Gunn. "When's he supposed to be here?"
"In a couple of minutes." Gunn looked at his watch as Angel grabbed a battle axe off the wall. "Hey! Tomorrow's your guys' anniversary. Got any party plans?"
"No." Buffy and Angel said.
"Why not? It's not everyday you two have something not involving a big demon kill to celebrate."
"We're just too busy." Angel said at the same time Buffy said, "We don't want to make a big fuss."
Gunn was about to say something, but he noticed the demon, Eli, they were supposed to be dealing with outside with Harmony. He walked to the door. "Eli, come on in." Eli said something to Harmony and then walked into the office. "Have a seat."
"Sure thanks." Eli sat down. "I'm sure glad you.."
Angel decapitated Eli just as Harmony walked in. Eli's head rolled across the room, landing at Harmony's feet. She looked up at Angel, revolted. He just said, "Get that cleaned up, would you?"
Harmony shook her head and walked out. A few minutes later, she led a clean up crew in. As two men carried Eli's body out of Angel's office in a body bag, Harmony sat at her desk trying to figure out why. Buffy, Angel, and Gunn were leaning against it talking to her.
"I just.. I don't get it. Why'd you kill Eli?" Harmony asked.
"Didn't much like what he was doing in his off hours." Angel said.
"Well, that's not right. What Eli did on his own time.."
"Is dismember virgins." Buffy said.
"Oh. Well, a person's religious beliefs is no cause for.."
"He did it for his own amusement." Gunn said.
"Oh. Well.. Ok. Still, couldn't you have given him a stern warning or something first?"
"Called a zero tolerance policy, not a 'maybe this once' policy." Angel said. "Nobody in this office gets away with murder, not anymore."
Fred, Lorne, and Wesley walked through the lobby as Eli's body was being carried away. "Mmm..,. let me guess. Position just opened up in accounting?" Lorne asked.
"Hardest part of the job, terminating an employee." Gunn said.
"Once again, keeping corporate America safe from evil." Spike said, walking in.
"Spike." Fred said.
"I was wondering when you'd turn up." Gunn said.
"Where have you been? It's been days."
"Out enjoying freedom from my ghostly confines, luv." Spike said.
"There haven't been any side effects since you recorporealized, have there?"
"Bit of a hang over, but that's to be expected after all the drinking. Just thought I'd swing by and say my final farewells."
"You're leaving?" Buffy asked.
"You catch on quick, don't you? Yeah, I thought I'd push off, seeing as how I got somebody waiting for me."
"She doesn't even know you're alive."
"Who's fault is that?"
"Don't even start with me. Just get out of here."
"Buffy, Angel, I'm not sure that's wise, given the Shanshu prophecy is still unresolved.." Wesley said.
"That's your problem, mate." Spike said. He looked at Angel. "You're welcome to that heroic destiny, whether you deserve it or not. Me, I got better things to do than wait around for the 4 bloody horsemen." He walked away.
"Spike.."
"Let him go." Angel said.
Spike turned back. "Yeah. Here's the thing. Could use a little walkin'- around money. How bout a few hundred?"
"How bout no?"
"Typical, you cheap sod. Right, then. Settle for some wheels."
"If it's gonna get you out of here faster, fine. Just not the Viper, it's mine."
"Or the Camero." Buffy added. "That's mine."
"Viper it is, then. Any message for Faith?" Spike asked.
"Tell her you're a moron." Buffy said, walking into her and Angel's office. They were both still bruised and healing from their knock-down-drag-out-no- holds-barred fight with Spike.
Spike followed, ducking past Angel. "You know, it's amazing how quickly you can turn on me when I come up against your husband." He stopped and looked at Buffy's face. She was staring at him as if he was a retard. "Ok, I can see where I messed up. I don't really want to leave on the wrong foot with you, ducks. You're one of the only real friends I've ever had. You and Faith and Fred never gave up on me."
"Spike.."
"I care about you Buffy. I didn't want to fight you."
"But you did want to fight Angel and that just makes it all better."
"Ok, you don't have to get snooty." Spike sighed. "I'm sorry about pounding in you and your wanker husband's faces."
Buffy was trying hard to suppress a smile. "Will you just leave?"
"Not until you stop trying to fight it and smile."
Buffy couldn't help it. She smiled. "Fine. There. Now will you leave?"
Spike stepped up and hugged her gently. "Thanks for being a friend." Buffy nodded and Spike left the office.
***
Buffy, Angel, Fred, Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne sat in the conference room at the table. Harmony was sitting in a chair by the wall. "This is war." Angel said. "2 demon clans, the Vinjis and the Sahrvin. They've been battling it out for 5 generations."
"Way back when, clans got along ok." Gunn said. "Shared a few hundred miles of desert, traded livestock, and even partied together once in a while. Then a Vinji used the wrong fork at a Sahrvin bonding ceremony. Sahrvins took offense, and they've been slaughtering each other ever since."
"You're saying this whole thing started over a fork faux pas?" Buffy asked.
"They're pretty finicky about manners."
"But the clans have agreed to negotiate a truce, here, tomorrow."
"Why now?" Fred asked. "It's your anniversary tomorrow."
"It's not like we're celebrating."
"Why not?"
"Because.. We need to get back to the truce thing here."
"Demon rights activist by the name of Tobias Dupree got involved." Gunn said. "He's liaison to both clans. Only guy in the world they all trust, and he called us for help."
"Etiquette aside, the Vinji and the Sahrvin are notoriously vicious. Why not let them wipe each other out?" Wesley asked.
"Hey, I got no love for these guys, but we manage to push through a peace plan and the whole demon world's gonna know we got game."
"That makes sense, in a kind of gray, Machiavellian kind of way." Fred said.
"Obviously both clans are sensitive to the smallest slight." Angel said. "We don't dot an 'i' or cross a 't,' this whole thing could explode in our faces."
"This is a complete list of manners and customs." Wesley said, reading through a file. "We should probably all memorize this. Apparently, gazing at a Vinji's ankles can lead to eye gouging."
A young man walked up to the conference room door. Lorne noticed him and waved him in. "Come on. Dandito, come on. He gets a wee shy around the big bosses. All the way in, yeah."
"I, uh, finished the seating chart." Dan handed Lorne a small presentation board.
"All right. This kid was up all night jigsawing who's going where tomorrow. He's a real up-and-comer, this one."
"My lab managed that upgrade to the weapons scanner, like you requested." Fred said to Buffy.
"Foolproof?" Buffy asked.
"I'd say yes, but then some fool would just come along and sneak something past us, but it's still state of the art."
"And since none of the clan representatives speak English, I'll be doing most of the talking." Gunn said.
"You?" Wesley asked.
"Yeah. Along with the law, and the Gilbert and Sullivan, also got me a few demon languages in the brain upload."
"So, aside from forks, ankles, and us not knowing what they're saying, any other potential minefields?" Fred asked.
"All their etiquette issues go along with a healthy dose of superstition." Angel said.
"You don't know the half of it." Harmony said. "I've been doing a whole bunch of research on these guys, their customs and stuff? Did you know that they think poodles are wicked bad luck?"
"Harmony, I'm glad you're here." Wesley said. Harmony smiled, a touch proud. "We'll be needing lunch."
"Good idea. We should order before the crush."
"Not Thai again. Something lighter." Buffy said.
"I could go for something French!" Fred said.
"Oh! That does sound good."
Harmony took orders and left the room. Fred looked back at Buffy and Angel. "You guys have to do something for your anniversary. We went to Vegas last year."
"We weren't all that busy last year." Angel said.
"We've got this summit to work through tomorrow. We don't have time for a party." Buffy said.
"We could incorporate a party with the truce. Both clans like a good party." Gunn said.
"No!" Buffy and Angel said.
"No parties." Buffy said. "We're good."
"We don't need a party." Angel said.
"What we need is to make it through this summit with everyone's eyes intact and the right forks where they belong."
"You're the bosses." Fred said with a sad sigh.
***
Later that afternoon, Buffy and Angel were staring at a huge camel in the middle of the lobby. Angel called Harmony and they waited for her to get down there. As soon as she rounded the corner, Angel rounded on her. "Harmony! Do you wanna explain this?"
"Ok, this is totally my fault. I specifically told the caterers the delivery was for tomorrow, but I should've called to confirm. You know caterers, not the best listeners." The elevator dinged and Fred walked out, reading papers. "OH!" She was startled when she came face to face with the large camel.
"Harmony, uh, got us a camel." Buffy said.
"Like I said, I did a lot of research. Camel meat's a delicacy, so I thought it would be a great way to kick off the summit, cause of the clans being so uptight? Like.. comfort food." Harmony said.
"Comfort food?"
"Uh-huh! And as host and hostess, you guys get the honor of slicing off its hump and sticking a hot poker through its heart. And then the demon leaders rip apart its carcass with their bare hands."
"Are you.. I don't even know h-how.." Angel sighed.
"Maybe the camel was the wrong way to go." Fred said.
"Harmony, you are supposed to answer the phones, make appointments, and anticipate mine and Buffy's needs, which does not include a petting zoo in our lobby."
"Ok, but.. The caterer said no returns." Harmony said.
"Get it out of here!" Angel stomped back to the office.
Buffy sighed and followed. The summit tomorrow was wearing down on them both. The tension was completely obvious. Buffy decided to have a small celebration with just the two of them tonight. Maybe it would get rid of some of the tension in both of them.
***
Angel walked into the penthouse and took off his jacket. "Buffy?" She had left the office early that day and he hadn't seen or heard from her since. "Are you here?" Soft, slow music played from the hidden speakers all over the penthouse. He smelled vanilla everywhere. That was Buffy's scent. A small smile started to creep across his face. "Sweetie?"
"In here." Buffy called from the bedroom.
He walked in. There were dozens of vanilla scented candles lit all over the room. It gave the place a soft, romantic glow. "I thought we weren't celebrating."
"I said no party. Besides, these are aroma therapy candles. We both need to just relax before tomorrow's summit. We've been at everybody's throat lately." Buffy was wearing a long, black, silk nightgown that had lace over her stomach instead of the silk. The long sleeves of the robe were lace and they belled out at the ends giving the ensemble an old fashioned feel.
Angel nodded appreciatively. "You are very wise."
"I'm becoming cookies faster than I thought. You hungry?"
Angel inwardly shuddered. Buffy had no idea how much she could turn him on and turn him into a ball of carnal desire. "Starving." She took his hand and pulled him to her, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. "What about Dawn?"
Buffy started to unbutton his shirt. "She's at a friend's house. I told her she could go."
"We're alone."
She moved around behind him and slid his shirt off, her hands never leaving his skin. "All alone." There was a knock on the door. Buffy leaned her head against Angel's back. "Except whoever that is."
"I'll get it." Angel walked out to the living room and opened the door.
"Am I interrupting something?" Gunn asked.
"Actually, yeah."
"Oh.." Gunn glanced past Angel and saw Buffy standing there in her nightgown. "Oh! Sorry man."
"What'd you want?"
"I had a file.. And I wanted to make sure that Buffy was ok. Fred said she left early. I didn't mean to intrude.. I can come back. Sorry Buffy."
"It's ok." Buffy said.
"Sorry." Gunn turned around hastily and got back into the elevator. The doors began to close. "Sorry."
"Buffy! Angel!" Dawn called. "Come check this out! You're new commercial's on!" Buffy and Angel walked in from the bedroom and sat on the couch. "This is too cool. You guys're on TV!"
"It's ok." Buffy said.
"Ah! It is true." Angel said.
"What?"
"The camera does put on 10 pounds. Look! I look fat."
"Oh my God! You're superficial underneath that bad ass exterior." Buffy glanced at the TV and saw her sitting at her and Angel's desk. "Hey look! That's me. I'm on TV! I hope the guys see this. Do they get these kind of commercials in Europe?"
"Superficial?"
"Ok, shut up. It's not everyday you get a cool commercial on TV!"
"I should call Willow and Xander!" Dawn said.
"They won't be in. I think Giles said that today they were picking up a girl from Russia."
"Does Giles have enough room at his place in England?"
"Will says it's huge. He's got a whole bunch of acres to build on."
"And we're funding the building of a couple of buildings for dorms and practice areas." Angel said.
"Basically we're rebuilding the Watchers Council. But this time they won't be snooty, stuck up, controlling watchers. It'll be Giles, Willow, Xander, Robin, and Faith as the top dogs and they'll recruit who they see fit to guide the girls."
"Can I go to the compound?" Dawn asked.
"Winter break's coming up. We'll see."
"You know, you're anniversary is coming up. What do you guys plan on doing for it?"
"Working." Both Buffy and Angel said.
"Dawn, we don't really have time for parties." Angel said apologetically.
"Besides, anniversaries are just as bad as birthday's for me." Buffy said. "I don't want to burn LA to the ground."
"Then don't. It can be a small party." Dawn said. "It's not every day that the two greatest warriors have a marriage anniversary."
"We're ok with it, Dawnie. Really."
"Ok." Dawn said, shrugging. "Have it your gloom and doom way."
***
Harmony set two white mugs on the ledge in front of her, with the text "#1 BOSS" on each facing outward. Buffy and Angel stood there, Angel frowning and facing Harmony and Buffy reading through a case file.
"So, you've got the department heads at 11:00, your 1:00 with Mistress Shriva from human, I'm sorry, non-human resources got moved to 2:00." Harmony said. "Swung by the cleaners. Zippo luck getting out the Frophla slime out of your shirt, Buffy. Oh, and I took care of the catering for the big feuding demon clan confab, unless you guys have any requests."
"Achite vong mochzinite." Angel said, clicking his tongue.
"Yeah, ok. Could you spell that?"
"Give it up sweetie." Buffy said. She took an earpiece from Angel's ear.
He shook his head. A language instructor's voice could be heard through the headphone. "Greetings, your eminence. Let me take your staff. Lopenghote vong." The instructor clicked his tongue. Angel stopped the tape and wrapped up the headphone cords. Harmony handed Angel some message slips as he said to Buffy, "My clicks are all wrong."
"You're trying to hard." Buffy looked at Harmony. "You figure out the catering for tomorrow?"
"Helloo! I just.."
Harmony was cut off by Gunn walking up and saying, "Morning. Ready to do this thing?"
Buffy and Angel nodded and they walked into their office with Gunn. Buffy looked at Gunn. "When's he supposed to be here?"
"In a couple of minutes." Gunn looked at his watch as Angel grabbed a battle axe off the wall. "Hey! Tomorrow's your guys' anniversary. Got any party plans?"
"No." Buffy and Angel said.
"Why not? It's not everyday you two have something not involving a big demon kill to celebrate."
"We're just too busy." Angel said at the same time Buffy said, "We don't want to make a big fuss."
Gunn was about to say something, but he noticed the demon, Eli, they were supposed to be dealing with outside with Harmony. He walked to the door. "Eli, come on in." Eli said something to Harmony and then walked into the office. "Have a seat."
"Sure thanks." Eli sat down. "I'm sure glad you.."
Angel decapitated Eli just as Harmony walked in. Eli's head rolled across the room, landing at Harmony's feet. She looked up at Angel, revolted. He just said, "Get that cleaned up, would you?"
Harmony shook her head and walked out. A few minutes later, she led a clean up crew in. As two men carried Eli's body out of Angel's office in a body bag, Harmony sat at her desk trying to figure out why. Buffy, Angel, and Gunn were leaning against it talking to her.
"I just.. I don't get it. Why'd you kill Eli?" Harmony asked.
"Didn't much like what he was doing in his off hours." Angel said.
"Well, that's not right. What Eli did on his own time.."
"Is dismember virgins." Buffy said.
"Oh. Well, a person's religious beliefs is no cause for.."
"He did it for his own amusement." Gunn said.
"Oh. Well.. Ok. Still, couldn't you have given him a stern warning or something first?"
"Called a zero tolerance policy, not a 'maybe this once' policy." Angel said. "Nobody in this office gets away with murder, not anymore."
Fred, Lorne, and Wesley walked through the lobby as Eli's body was being carried away. "Mmm..,. let me guess. Position just opened up in accounting?" Lorne asked.
"Hardest part of the job, terminating an employee." Gunn said.
"Once again, keeping corporate America safe from evil." Spike said, walking in.
"Spike." Fred said.
"I was wondering when you'd turn up." Gunn said.
"Where have you been? It's been days."
"Out enjoying freedom from my ghostly confines, luv." Spike said.
"There haven't been any side effects since you recorporealized, have there?"
"Bit of a hang over, but that's to be expected after all the drinking. Just thought I'd swing by and say my final farewells."
"You're leaving?" Buffy asked.
"You catch on quick, don't you? Yeah, I thought I'd push off, seeing as how I got somebody waiting for me."
"She doesn't even know you're alive."
"Who's fault is that?"
"Don't even start with me. Just get out of here."
"Buffy, Angel, I'm not sure that's wise, given the Shanshu prophecy is still unresolved.." Wesley said.
"That's your problem, mate." Spike said. He looked at Angel. "You're welcome to that heroic destiny, whether you deserve it or not. Me, I got better things to do than wait around for the 4 bloody horsemen." He walked away.
"Spike.."
"Let him go." Angel said.
Spike turned back. "Yeah. Here's the thing. Could use a little walkin'- around money. How bout a few hundred?"
"How bout no?"
"Typical, you cheap sod. Right, then. Settle for some wheels."
"If it's gonna get you out of here faster, fine. Just not the Viper, it's mine."
"Or the Camero." Buffy added. "That's mine."
"Viper it is, then. Any message for Faith?" Spike asked.
"Tell her you're a moron." Buffy said, walking into her and Angel's office. They were both still bruised and healing from their knock-down-drag-out-no- holds-barred fight with Spike.
Spike followed, ducking past Angel. "You know, it's amazing how quickly you can turn on me when I come up against your husband." He stopped and looked at Buffy's face. She was staring at him as if he was a retard. "Ok, I can see where I messed up. I don't really want to leave on the wrong foot with you, ducks. You're one of the only real friends I've ever had. You and Faith and Fred never gave up on me."
"Spike.."
"I care about you Buffy. I didn't want to fight you."
"But you did want to fight Angel and that just makes it all better."
"Ok, you don't have to get snooty." Spike sighed. "I'm sorry about pounding in you and your wanker husband's faces."
Buffy was trying hard to suppress a smile. "Will you just leave?"
"Not until you stop trying to fight it and smile."
Buffy couldn't help it. She smiled. "Fine. There. Now will you leave?"
Spike stepped up and hugged her gently. "Thanks for being a friend." Buffy nodded and Spike left the office.
***
Buffy, Angel, Fred, Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne sat in the conference room at the table. Harmony was sitting in a chair by the wall. "This is war." Angel said. "2 demon clans, the Vinjis and the Sahrvin. They've been battling it out for 5 generations."
"Way back when, clans got along ok." Gunn said. "Shared a few hundred miles of desert, traded livestock, and even partied together once in a while. Then a Vinji used the wrong fork at a Sahrvin bonding ceremony. Sahrvins took offense, and they've been slaughtering each other ever since."
"You're saying this whole thing started over a fork faux pas?" Buffy asked.
"They're pretty finicky about manners."
"But the clans have agreed to negotiate a truce, here, tomorrow."
"Why now?" Fred asked. "It's your anniversary tomorrow."
"It's not like we're celebrating."
"Why not?"
"Because.. We need to get back to the truce thing here."
"Demon rights activist by the name of Tobias Dupree got involved." Gunn said. "He's liaison to both clans. Only guy in the world they all trust, and he called us for help."
"Etiquette aside, the Vinji and the Sahrvin are notoriously vicious. Why not let them wipe each other out?" Wesley asked.
"Hey, I got no love for these guys, but we manage to push through a peace plan and the whole demon world's gonna know we got game."
"That makes sense, in a kind of gray, Machiavellian kind of way." Fred said.
"Obviously both clans are sensitive to the smallest slight." Angel said. "We don't dot an 'i' or cross a 't,' this whole thing could explode in our faces."
"This is a complete list of manners and customs." Wesley said, reading through a file. "We should probably all memorize this. Apparently, gazing at a Vinji's ankles can lead to eye gouging."
A young man walked up to the conference room door. Lorne noticed him and waved him in. "Come on. Dandito, come on. He gets a wee shy around the big bosses. All the way in, yeah."
"I, uh, finished the seating chart." Dan handed Lorne a small presentation board.
"All right. This kid was up all night jigsawing who's going where tomorrow. He's a real up-and-comer, this one."
"My lab managed that upgrade to the weapons scanner, like you requested." Fred said to Buffy.
"Foolproof?" Buffy asked.
"I'd say yes, but then some fool would just come along and sneak something past us, but it's still state of the art."
"And since none of the clan representatives speak English, I'll be doing most of the talking." Gunn said.
"You?" Wesley asked.
"Yeah. Along with the law, and the Gilbert and Sullivan, also got me a few demon languages in the brain upload."
"So, aside from forks, ankles, and us not knowing what they're saying, any other potential minefields?" Fred asked.
"All their etiquette issues go along with a healthy dose of superstition." Angel said.
"You don't know the half of it." Harmony said. "I've been doing a whole bunch of research on these guys, their customs and stuff? Did you know that they think poodles are wicked bad luck?"
"Harmony, I'm glad you're here." Wesley said. Harmony smiled, a touch proud. "We'll be needing lunch."
"Good idea. We should order before the crush."
"Not Thai again. Something lighter." Buffy said.
"I could go for something French!" Fred said.
"Oh! That does sound good."
Harmony took orders and left the room. Fred looked back at Buffy and Angel. "You guys have to do something for your anniversary. We went to Vegas last year."
"We weren't all that busy last year." Angel said.
"We've got this summit to work through tomorrow. We don't have time for a party." Buffy said.
"We could incorporate a party with the truce. Both clans like a good party." Gunn said.
"No!" Buffy and Angel said.
"No parties." Buffy said. "We're good."
"We don't need a party." Angel said.
"What we need is to make it through this summit with everyone's eyes intact and the right forks where they belong."
"You're the bosses." Fred said with a sad sigh.
***
Later that afternoon, Buffy and Angel were staring at a huge camel in the middle of the lobby. Angel called Harmony and they waited for her to get down there. As soon as she rounded the corner, Angel rounded on her. "Harmony! Do you wanna explain this?"
"Ok, this is totally my fault. I specifically told the caterers the delivery was for tomorrow, but I should've called to confirm. You know caterers, not the best listeners." The elevator dinged and Fred walked out, reading papers. "OH!" She was startled when she came face to face with the large camel.
"Harmony, uh, got us a camel." Buffy said.
"Like I said, I did a lot of research. Camel meat's a delicacy, so I thought it would be a great way to kick off the summit, cause of the clans being so uptight? Like.. comfort food." Harmony said.
"Comfort food?"
"Uh-huh! And as host and hostess, you guys get the honor of slicing off its hump and sticking a hot poker through its heart. And then the demon leaders rip apart its carcass with their bare hands."
"Are you.. I don't even know h-how.." Angel sighed.
"Maybe the camel was the wrong way to go." Fred said.
"Harmony, you are supposed to answer the phones, make appointments, and anticipate mine and Buffy's needs, which does not include a petting zoo in our lobby."
"Ok, but.. The caterer said no returns." Harmony said.
"Get it out of here!" Angel stomped back to the office.
Buffy sighed and followed. The summit tomorrow was wearing down on them both. The tension was completely obvious. Buffy decided to have a small celebration with just the two of them tonight. Maybe it would get rid of some of the tension in both of them.
***
Angel walked into the penthouse and took off his jacket. "Buffy?" She had left the office early that day and he hadn't seen or heard from her since. "Are you here?" Soft, slow music played from the hidden speakers all over the penthouse. He smelled vanilla everywhere. That was Buffy's scent. A small smile started to creep across his face. "Sweetie?"
"In here." Buffy called from the bedroom.
He walked in. There were dozens of vanilla scented candles lit all over the room. It gave the place a soft, romantic glow. "I thought we weren't celebrating."
"I said no party. Besides, these are aroma therapy candles. We both need to just relax before tomorrow's summit. We've been at everybody's throat lately." Buffy was wearing a long, black, silk nightgown that had lace over her stomach instead of the silk. The long sleeves of the robe were lace and they belled out at the ends giving the ensemble an old fashioned feel.
Angel nodded appreciatively. "You are very wise."
"I'm becoming cookies faster than I thought. You hungry?"
Angel inwardly shuddered. Buffy had no idea how much she could turn him on and turn him into a ball of carnal desire. "Starving." She took his hand and pulled him to her, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. "What about Dawn?"
Buffy started to unbutton his shirt. "She's at a friend's house. I told her she could go."
"We're alone."
She moved around behind him and slid his shirt off, her hands never leaving his skin. "All alone." There was a knock on the door. Buffy leaned her head against Angel's back. "Except whoever that is."
"I'll get it." Angel walked out to the living room and opened the door.
"Am I interrupting something?" Gunn asked.
"Actually, yeah."
"Oh.." Gunn glanced past Angel and saw Buffy standing there in her nightgown. "Oh! Sorry man."
"What'd you want?"
"I had a file.. And I wanted to make sure that Buffy was ok. Fred said she left early. I didn't mean to intrude.. I can come back. Sorry Buffy."
"It's ok." Buffy said.
"Sorry." Gunn turned around hastily and got back into the elevator. The doors began to close. "Sorry."