Cordelia looked worriedly at Angel's office door. He had locked himself in there all day, probably brooding. That part wasn't too troubling; he did that all the time, especially with the recent rush of demons. The only problem with his bad mood was that she needed a bit of a favor. A pretty big favor.
Composing herself, she knocked confidently on his office door. "Come in," said a distracted voice. Definitely brooding, she thought opening the door, he must be pretty deep in too.
"Wow, what ever has you thinking so hard must be pretty complex, I could be an evil demon thingy from the depths of hell, you never know," Cordelia stated, hands on her hips.
That snapped Angel out what ever trance he was in. "What? Oh, the whole invite thing? Only vampires need it, and I'm pretty sure I'd be able to take them. Besides, you screaming would alert everyone but Canada," Angel teased half-heartedly.
Cordelia was a little scared now. "Angel," she said slowly, "Are you ok?"
Angel sighed, there goes saving any pride. "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired and Wesley's slower than usual with the research. Plus I have this weird feeling…but I'm sure its nothing."
Cordelia nodded, already past it. If Angel said it was okay, then it would be ok. "That's great; could you do me a favor?"
Angel looked at her with a mixture of caution and suspicion. "What kind of favor?"
"Well, I have this audition that I want to go to, " Angel nodded, the whole agency had been hearing about it for weeks, "and it's kinda during the day. Since I have Buffy over, even though she's almost 17, I can't leave her or my dad will kill me! So…I was wondering…" Angel sighed. Babysitting duty.
"I don't suppose you expect me to pay you as well?" Angel asked tiredly.
"Would you? I mean, uh, no. Of course not," Cordelia corrected herself, realizing he had just said yes.
"She's not so bad, I could hardly believe some of the horrors she wreaked in freshman year," Cordelia immediately shut her mouth.
"What horrors?" Angel asked, looking suspicious.
"Well, she just used to live in LA, she went to Hemery High, apparently she was quite the Prom Queen. Then, she started getting in fights and ended up burning down the gym. But you saw her! She didn't look like someone who would do that anymore. Her mom said that she's much better. Hardly any complaints at all!" Cordelia insisted desperately.
Angel sighed, putting his head in his hands and waved her away. "Alright, but just for one day. She's only been here two days and you're already setting drop off schedule? Never mind, what day?"
Cordelia hovered in the doorway and said, "Today." She said over her shoulder before rushing off.
"Cordelia…" Angel growled under his breath. She was just lucky he didn't have anything except research; he could afford to blow off one day to help a friend.
And your judgment is in no way altered by you eagerness to meet a certain blonde, a wicked voice said.
Angel shook his head, the girl was messing with his mind and he was embarrassed at his lack of judgment. How could he not have known there was some dark flaw in her character? Maybe because that tiny sliver she possesses pales in comparison to your own?
Angel tried in vain, replaying their brief meeting over and over, not seeing anything wrong with the girl's conduct. She was a being of pure light, full of innocence. Trying to ignore the growing attraction to her with every time he pictured her in his minds eye, Angel read the most confusing research books he could find.
And still, her smiling face stayed in his mind.
Frustrated at both his lack of will power as well as the gibberish he managed to get out of the book, he closed it and leaned back in his chair.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, applying years of learned meditation. A tentative knock came from his open door and without opening his eyes he said, "Cordelia, I'm sorry I got mad at you, but you should really just warn me in advance that Buffy was coming. I could've used the time to-"Angel's voice caught in his throat, partially because what he had almost revealed to Buffy who was standing in the doorway a little shocked, partially of how stunning she looked. "Uh, to clean my office," Angel finished.
Buffy had asked Doyle where Angel was and he pointed out the office with the open door. She walked with such a bounce in her step she was almost skipping. Putting on a bright smile, she was about to bound into the room, when she looking through the window and saw he looked particularly annoyed at a really old book. She watched as he closed it angrily, but even so, made sure no pages were bent or the binding was put under too much pressure. When he collapsed on his chair, she nervously bit her lip, he looks so stressed, she thought worriedly, maybe I shouldn't bother him. She would have left if it wasn't for the fact that she had no where else to go. When she finally did knock she was surprised at his reaction. When he looked at her, she felt a jolt of electricity pass through her. Seeing Angel's surprise, the lie was pretty obvious.
"Sorry, I thought you were Cordelia, who by the way gave no notice that you were coming, so forgive the state of the agency, not just my office," Angel joked.
"Don't worry," Buffy said with a grin, "I've been here two days and already my room's a mess."
Angel gave her a half smile that affected her knees as if they had taken a blow. When he motioned for her to sit she gladly took the chair. "So, I heard you used to live in LA, I guess that puts the sights out of the way," Angel said.
"Yeah, I'm shopped out too. The last two days were non-stop shopping sprees. Besides, I don't think you would have too much fun shopping with me," Buffy mused.
"I don't know, shopping is ok," Angel thought out loud before he realized that she might invite him to shop. In the day. "Of course my idea of 'fun' doesn't constitute of carrying bags all day."
Buffy grinned before answering, "I don't suppose it would. Are you busy? Because if you are, then I should get gone. I get the feeling Cordy would approve of more shopping."
Angel noticed Buffy's use of Cordelia's nickname. "I take it those days were filled with sister bonding?"
"Yeah, lots. I never thought I'd meet someone who shopped more than me. I was really wrong," Buffy said smiling.
Angel smiled back, he couldn't help it. Her good mood was infectious, plus her brilliant smile seemed to light up the otherwise sunless room.
"Yeah, I went shopping with her once; I can't believe I'm still alive. And it's ok if you stay here, I have to stay close to home but I'm not really busy at the moment. Just don't tell Cordelia, I'm kinda hoping she won't ask for anymore favors," Angel said with a mock whisper.
"Won't tell a soul," Buffy said without a knowing smile, "So, what do you have for fun around here?"
"Why don't I give you the tour?" Angel suggested, getting up.
"Sure," Buffy answered getting out of her chair as well. Following him out of the office, she stared appreciatively at his backside watching the powerful muscles ripple deliciously as he moved.
Buffy licked her lips at the sight of it; he was buff, smart, and nice. I could learn to like going to Cordelia's, she thought happily bounding behind Angel.
"Wow," Buffy exclaimed two hours later, "you weren't kidding when you said close to home. This place is amazing!"
Angel smiled at her obvious youth. "It is a hotel, Buffy," Angel said with a shrug, "I invited Cordelia to live here, but I think she has too much pride. Same with Doyle, but Gunn and Wes both live here."
Buffy was reeling from the gym the hotel had, the only thing it was missing was an indoor swimming pool!
"Well, I'm impressed," Buffy complimented, taking a sip from the soup Angel made, "In more ways than one, this soup is really good!"
Angel tried to appear modest, but the compliment pleased him more than he'd admit, "It's ok," Taking a sip, he thought that it was good, but unfortunately dead taste buds aren't as good as Buffy's.
"So, how do you do in school?" Angel asked.
"Well, at first, before I moved to Sunnydale, I was a real bitch," Buffy smiled sheepishly, "Well I was! Prom Queen Buffy, I was mean to the nerds, swooned over the football captain, and cared for nothing except what to wear the next day. Even thought I didn't care about grades, I did pretty well."
"What happened?" Angel asked. He had been wondering how a person like Buffy could have burned down a gym.
Buffy hesitated. I became the Slayer, I hung out with the undead instead of jocks and killing became a nightly thing for me, she thought humorlessly. "I got mixed up with the wrong crowd, things happened." Buffy lied.
"Hmm…" Angel murmured. There was more to it; maybe she'd trust him enough to tell him. Why should she? The voice in his head asked, you don't need to help her anymore. It looks like she's doing just fine on her own. Besides, why should she trust you at all? She didn't need to be drawn into the darker side of things like all of his gang was.
"So, how'd you come to the detective business?" Buffy asked.
"I wanted to help people, really help them, and the only other option was being a lawyer, but then I'd just be evil," Angel said half-joking. I am evil, he thought, well at least a part of me. And I know some really evil lawyers.
He thinks lawyers are evil? He has no idea. Smiling, Buffy said, "I guess that makes sense. How long have you been a PI?"
23 years, he thought, but seeing as I'm supposed to be 24 and I really think she'd be suspicious if I started at age I probably should tell her that. "5 years. I traveled for a year before finishing collage. I had inherited this place from some distant relative, and Wes thought that being a PI would be perfect," Angel lied. The traveling thing should make up for a lot of my worldly knowledge if not my extensive knowledge on history.
"So, what does your mom do?" Angel asked changing the subject to something less personal.
"She owns a gallery in Sunnydale. That's kind of how she met Shawn," Buffy explained.
Angel nodded, then asked, "How do you feel about him?"
Buffy hesitated. Was he genuinely interested in her opinion? More importantly, why did she want to tell him?
Angel noticed her hesitation and fearing he had over stepped his boundaries he quickly regretted his question. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business. I shouldn't have asked."
"No!" Buffy said snapping out of her thoughts, "It's alright, I don't really mind. Shawn's a good guy. I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with the whole thing, but he makes my mom happy."
"It's good that you can be happy for her," Angel said impressed.
Buffy just shrugged. I have to, she thought. Shaking off what promised to be a gloomy subject; she put on a bright smile and asked, "So, what do you do around here for fun?"
Angel was taken aback. It was like she just turned on the cheer. Looking away uncomfortably he answered, "Well, I don't really do a lot of things for fun. I normally just spend all my spare time in the gym downstairs."
"I can't say that I blame you; that is one impressive gym. Come on," Buffy said putting her now empty soup bowl in the sink, "Let's go!" Buffy urged.
She skipped out of the room, leaving Angel who just shook his head in disbelief. Getting up, he put his own bowl in the sink and went after her. Just as he went under the door frame he jerked back instinctively before he knew what he was jerking back from. Setting into a fighter stance he realized that Buffy was standing in front of him also leaning back.
"Sorry," Buffy said sheepishly as Angel relaxed, "I, uh, don't remember where the gym is."
Angel smiled and said, "Follow me." Angel led her to the gym, thinking about her the whole time. He could feel her very being calling out to him. I bet I could pick her out of a concert, he thought opening the door to his huge gym.
"So what do you want to try out first?" Angel asked.
Buffy looked over the room once more and saw a cabinet in the corner that she didn't see before. "What's in there?" she asked pointing.
"Oh, I keep the sparring equipment in there," Angel answered lightly.
"Ooh! Let's fight!" Buffy begged excitedly. I shouldn't be doing this, she thought, I don't care if he looks like he could give a much better fight than Giles, you shouldn't be putting yourself at risk like this! Think about what Giles would say!
Angel looked at her as if she had grown an extra limb. "Uh, Buffy, I don't think…"
"Come on Angel! I promise I'll tell you when it's too much. I know how to fight. If I'm rusty and I get caught in a dark alley with no one around, I think it would be much worse than us sparring with your whole staff upstairs," Buffy reasoned.
Angel sighed. Maybe she had a point, it would be much better to get beaten in here than in the real world. "Alright," Angel consented after a moment, "but don't hold out on me, tell me when it gets too tough."
"I will," Buffy assured him. She watched him make his way over to the mat. Ooh! Extra bonus points, sparring meant flexibility. Which meant…yes! Buffy tried not to drool openly as Angel took off his shirt to reveal a smooth back, interrupted only by a really, really cool looking tattoo. Trying to hide her stare, she followed suit, shedding her jacket.
"What no weapons?" Buffy pouted.
"I think those would be a little too much right now, "Angel said with a smile, "We should probably warm-up first."
"Fine," Buffy sighed heavily. Angel just smiled. He thinks I'm just a kid! She thought, I'll show him.
Buffy waited until Angel got into a fighter stance before aiming a blow at his head, which he instinctively blocked. Retaliating, Angel threw a punch of his own, which Buffy blocked with a yawn.
"Come on, Angel! Stop pulling your punches! I can take it!"
I really doubt you could, he thought putting more force into his hits.
They both danced around, fighting more with technique than anything else. Both fighting at a fraction of their normal strength.
"Tired yet?" Angel asked between kicks.
"You wish," Buffy responded playfully. This was turning out better than she had hoped. She kept herself a little weaker than him originally, but soon she was hitting just as hard as he was. She lost track of time. They could've been going at this for minutes or hours, she didn't know.
Angel was surprised. She fought well, her technique was almost better than his own which was saying a lot considering the amount of time he'd had to perfect it. He pulled his punches and was surprised she had kept up with it, she didn't seem the type. As he was fighting, he admired her graceful moves and the loose wisps of hair only enhanced her beauty in his eyes.
Up stairs Doyle was still chuckling at his boss's reaction to Cordelia's request knowing Angel hated social activities of any kind. Working quietly at his desk, well, "working" was a pretty loose term, he heard the commotion downstairs. At first he just ignored it, but after a while he realized it was the sound of fighting and rushed to the source of the noise. What he found there surprised him more than anything he'd ever seen.
A shirtless Angel had a squirming Buffy pinned to the gym floor.
"Angel, man! What the hell are you doing?! Get off her!" Doyle yelled pulling Angel off.
Angel looked up at Doyle in surprise, before he realized how they must've looked. "No! Doyle! It's not what it looks like! Nothing was going on…"
Buffy was confused. What did Doyle think…oh! Buffy blushed, that's what he thought Angel was doing.
"That's not what it looked like from my point of view! Angel, man, if you like the poor girl just tell her! How are you going to explain this to Delia?" Doyle asked.
"Yeah Angel, how exactly are you going to explain to Cordy that you almost got your butt kicked by a little girl that so could've gotten out of that hold?" Buffy asked loudly getting off of the floor.
"Wha-"
"Oh, please, like you could've moved more than an inch!" Angel countered.
"What hold?"
"You want to try again? You just got lucky Doyle was here to save your butt! And this time, we have weapons!" Buffy challenged.
"Weapons?!" Doyle's voice cracked. "Ok, hold on a second. What the hell is going on?!"
"Buffy and I were sparring. I won," Angel said looking at Buffy.
"No you didn't! I-"
"Wait! You," Doyle looked at Angel, "and her," Doyle disbelieving at Buffy, "were SPARRING?!"
"Yeah," Angel said.
"Yup," Buffy agreed. Suddenly she got remembered something Doyle had said. "Doyle, when you said Angel liked me…"
"You know, I think I head the phone ringing, I'll leave you two alone," Doyle said rushing out.
"Coward," Angel muttered under his breath.
Buffy just looked expectedly at Angel. He sighed and asked, "What do you want me to tell you?"
"The truth," Buffy said unwavering.
"I…can't do that," Angel managed, "I can't tell you the truth, I do, and there will be…consequences."
"I'm a big girl, I can take it," Buffy said beginning to get angry.
"You probably could, you've proved that much, but you shouldn't have to. You can't get attached to me, it'll only hurt you," Angel said tonelessly.
"Maybe I should be the one to decide!" Buffy said, enraged. Grabbing his elbow she turned his towards her. Angel just looked at the ground. "And you never answered my question," Buffy said her tone softening.
"Even if I did, what's the point? I'm older than you and nothing could ever happen," Angel said.
"I could debate on that, but I just want to know if you like me enough for us to be friends right now, "Buffy said diplomatically.
Finally Angel smiled and said, "Alright, friends."
Angel held out his hand for her to shake and she took it…
…before throwing him over her hip. "Ready to go again?" Buffy teased standing over him.
Angel flipped back up and said, "Been ready."
Exchanging punches, Buffy drove him towards the wall and stopped a kick inches away from his throat.
"I win!" she exclaimed happily, "Now, weapons!"
Angel raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, what ever you want, just make sure you don't kill me."
Walking over to the cabinet, he unlocked it to reveal an array of weapons.
"Wow," Buffy breathed admiring the quality and style of every weapon imaginable. "As much as I would LOVE to try this out," she said fingering a beautifully made crossbow, "I thought we'd start with swords."
Angel smiled at her obvious awe at his weapons collection. He had recently completed it and spent the entire week making sure they were in top shape. Picking up two of his most expensive, wicked looking swords he tossed one to her. Buffy caught it easily and Angel wasn't surprised. She really knows what she's doing, he thought, this should be interesting. "Swords it is."
Buffy twirled the sword, getting used to the weight and made a few experimental swings. I wonder if he's good with all those weapons. He's got some Giles would love to get his hands on. "Don't hold back, I can take it."
"I got that the first time," Angel joked, but he was still unsure about fighting her with swords.
Almost as if Buffy sensed his discomfort, she made the first move. Moving as if she was going to stab his heart, he hit it away and continuing through he slashed at her legs. Jumping up, Buffy immediately attacked his sword arm.
Jumping away, Angel lunged back in toward the stomach and when Buffy blocked he had to duck in order to avoid decapitation.
"Now you're holding back," Angel commented when she hesitated a second longer than she should have.
"Maybe just a little," Buffy answered blocking a blow easily.
"Don't," Angel replied before bringing his sword back in a complicated twist.
Buffy began attacking, driving him back towards the wall, taking in her surroundings.
Angel waited patiently for an opening and just as his back touched the wall, he saw it. Kicking Buffy in the stomach, she stumbled back and turned the motion into a back flip.
Landing next to the weapons, she abandoned her sword and exchanged it for a crossbow. Mechanically loading it, she had it trained on Angel's heart before he could move more than a step. Angel froze and raised his hands with a smile. Buffy raised the bow and returning the smile she said smugly, "I win."
"And it's all my fault. I should've kicked you away from the giant collection of weapons," Angel said ruefully.
"Hey! I can win again! Want to try your luck?" Buffy asked, eyebrow raised.
Angel stared. He had the extra strength and stamina of a vampire; she was just a normal human girl. Even though he had held back, she still should be exhausted.
"Are you sure you're not too tired?"
Now it was Buffy's turn to be shocked. She was the Slayer; she was used to these fights. As buff as he was, he should still be pretty tired. He's got to be taking the gentleman's way out of it. He does seem the type. "I think I can handle it. Besides, we have plenty of sharp, pointy, metal things here that we have to try out."
"Ok," Angel said uneasily, "but maybe we should do without weapons this time. One of us might lose concentration and someone might get hurt."
"Sounds reasonable," Buffy agreed. I knew he was tired! She thought triumphantly. Putting the crossbow away, almost lovingly, she picked up the sword and placed it in with the rest of the others. Quickly stretching, she got in a fighting stance, face a still uneasy Angel.
"You sure?" Angel asked again. He got a light punch in the stomach a reward.
"Positive."
Even though Buffy did have increased stamina, she did feel a little tired. Because of that slight weariness, her control slipped a little. Without even realizing it, Angel's strength rose to meet the challenge. Neither realized they were fighting more fiercely than the first two battles, they were too wrapped up in the one at hand.
Nor did they notice as the door slowly opened and someone peeked through. Even as more heads popped through, they were unaware of their audience.
"Look at them go!" Gunn whispered to Wesley.
"Yes, this is a remarkable spectacle," Wes agreed.
"Or, wow!" Gunn teased in a fashion that would have made a certain Xander Harris proud.
"Delia! Look at this!" Doyle whispered, waving her over.
"Is that Angel and Buffy?!" she screeched somewhat softly. "Oh my god!" Cordelia instantly found three hands on her mouth in addition to her own.
Buffy and Angel's heads snapped around and instantly were on guard. Realizing who it was, Angel relaxed his tense muscles and a second later, Buffy did too.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you enjoy interrupting me in the middle of a winning streak," Buffy complained looking at Doyle.
"You won twice! How is that a streak?" Angel argued
At once, the whole AI gang looked at each other in shock, where was the broody vamp they all knew and who was this man?
Interrupting their "squabbling" Wesley spoke up, "Buffy where did you learn how to fight like that?"
"Huh?" Buffy said looking away from Angel.
"Yeah, if I went up against Angel, I'd probably be bleeding from places I didn't even know I had!" Cordelia commented oblivious to the looks of disgust from everyone.
"Well, I started learning around 15, here in LA, and I just continued in Sunnydale. I'm doing more in Sunnydale actually," Buffy said nonchalantly. It's not a total lie, she thought.
"She's really tough to pin down too," Angel added wiping away the little sweat that collected on his forehead.
"You're not so easy to pin down yourself," Buffy said smiling, "but I still would've beat you in the end." Am I flirting?
"I'd argue, but I'd rather not have another round," Angel told her. Looking up at his friends he said, "I don't know if it's just me, but I'm hungry. What time is it?"
"Almost six," Wesley told him pointedly, "You've been down here for…"
"Around five hours?" Buffy looked sheepishly at Angel who mimicked her expression.
"Six," Angel corrected. While he was embarrassed at losing track of time, he still marveled at how little those hours touched Buffy.
Unbeknownst to him, the exact same thing was going through Buffy's mind. Why isn't he more tired? Even with my reduced strength, I still gave a pretty goof fight. His friends seem to thing so.
"Are you some kind of freak?" Cordelia blurted.
"What?" Everyone looked at Cordelia, the AI crew angrily, Buffy curiously.
"Well, I mean, I know how well Angel fights, I'm surprised you're alive. Then I find out that you fought him for six hours. That's a long time to be fighting me, not to mention Angel."
"Ok…" Buffy said slowly, "Why isn't anyone awed by the fact that Angel fought for six hours too?" Buffy got the feeling they were hiding something.
"Well, he's a bug guy," Gunn answered first, "Plus, I know he's used to it, been training practically forever."
"Uh huh," Buffy said, not convinced. Turning to an uncomfortable Angel she asked, "Didn't you say something about food?"
Angel smiled in relief at the change of topic and putting his arm out he said, "This way to food."
As they passed by, the rest of the gang breathed a sigh of relief. "You know, for being your sister, she's incredibly perceptive," Wesley told Cordelia.
"She's my step sister, not by blood," Cordelia sniffed.
"Ooh!" Everyone chorused.
"I'm not that bad!" Cordelia exclaimed.
"Really? What about the time you told that one vampire everything without even knowing it?"
"What about the time you got stuck in the office of a vampire and then told him you knew what he was?"
"Ok! Ok! I get it! Jeez, you don't have to rub it in!"
Buffy and Angel were headed towards the kitchen unwilling to break the uncomfortable silence between them.
"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you back there," Angel finally said.
"You? I thought I was being the rude one! After all, I practically called you a freak and Cordy is my sister, not yours."
"But it's my fault you were in that position and-"
"Angel," Buffy said stopping and turning towards him, "It's not your fault. Trust me, if my friends came here, it'd be a lot worse. Besides, I can take it."
Angel looked hard at her for a moment before putting a hand on her shoulder and saying, "Thank you."
Buffy just smiled and said, "No problem."
They continued walking in a considerably more comfortably silence. Buffy was trying to ignore the pounding of her heart and the sudden shortness of breath.
Turning into the kitchen, Angel pulled a chair out for her before he set about making dinner. "What do you like to eat?" Angel called over his shoulder.
"What ever you have on hand," Buffy answered neutrally. He cooks too?
"How does Italian sound?" Angel suggested with his head in the fridge, hurriedly hiding containers of blood.
"Sure," Buffy said a little disappointed when he came out with nothing in his hands. Maybe he doesn't cook after all. Then he surprised her by pulling all sorts of pasta out of a cupboard along with carious pots and pans.
Half an hour later she was enjoying a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs, chatting amicably with Angel. They talked about books, movies, and weapons. Finally when Buffy pushed away the remnants of a once heaping plate Angel looked out the window. "Looks like a full moon," he commented.
"No, day before," Buffy corrected automatically. Catching Angel questioning looks she quickly added, "My friend is a big fan of astrology. I hear about it all the time."
Angel nodded, suspicions put aside temporarily. What is it you think she's hiding that's so bad? If anything, she should be accusing and questioning you.
I keep forgetting that he's a detective, I have to be more careful, Buffy berated herself. Down at the gym…well, I wouldn't take that back, but I should've been more attentive or something. I can't slip up like that again.
Cordelia stuck her head in and said, "Angel could you take Buffy home? I have things to discuss. You should probably hear what Wes has to say. No rush though."
"Thanks Cordy, I'm glad I have more time to do your chores," Angel replied sarcastically, "One of these days…"
As soon as Cordelia was out of an earshot Buffy burst out laughing. "Does she just do that to you or everyone?"
"I don't know, I do get a lot more than I'd like though. You get used to it after a while. Sort of. Ready to go?" Angel asked trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. The one telling him he might never see her again.
"Sure," Buffy answered trying frantically to think of a way to see him without looking too forward. Failing miserably, her spirits plunged, but rose slightly at the sight of his car. "Wow…"
"Yeah, it goes incredibly fast. Of course I wouldn't know anything about that," Angel stumbled.
Buffy just smiled at him when he opened the door for her.
The drive was silent, both trying to figure out how to see the other within the next few weeks. All too soon Angel stopped in front of Cordelia's apartment. "I'll walk you up," Angel offered after another moment of uncomfortable silence.
"Ok," Buffy said softly, getting out of the car. While they were walking Buffy broke the awkward silence with, "Thanks for driving me home and having me over today. I know you're busy and I pretty much took up all of you day. Not to mention my unexpectedness."
"I couldn't say no, Cordy's like my best friend," Angel said. Realizing what he must've sounded like he blurted, "But I didn't have anything to do really and I had a great time. It really was one of my better days."
Stopping at Cordelia's door, Buffy looked him in the eye, gathered up her courage and said, "Then I thank you for my parents," Buffy went up and hugged him, "Cordelia, since you're obviously not getting one from her," Buffy went on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek, "And finally I thank you for me," Buffy leaned forward and gave him a slow soft kiss on the lips. Pulling back, she turned red and put her key into the door. It was a harder task than it seemed, mainly because of the spots in her vision and the slight dizziness.
Angel stood there, dumbstruck. He saw her opening the door and came to his senses. He lightly touched her shoulder. Before he knew what he was doing, his lips were on hers. Instantly fire shot through his veins and he felt faint.
Buffy moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She felt his arms snake around her waist, doing just that.
Regretfully, Buffy pulled away, gasping for breath. Buffy leaned her head against his chest and just relaxed. She felt safe there; no demons or vampires could reach her in his embrace.
Waiting a minute more, Buffy pulled back and said, "You should probably get back to work."
Angel nodded and slowly turned away without a word. Just as he was about to walk off, Buffy shouted, "Wait! One last one?"
Angel smiled and swept her into his arms, giving her one last passion filled kiss. Gently letting go, Angel asked softly, "What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I dunno," Buffy said coyly, "Depends on if you're busy."
"Not too busy. I might leave for an hour or two, but I'll tell Cordelia to drop by sometime before 1 and bring you along. What do you want to tell her?"
"She's your friend. I know you better than I knew my own sister. Tell her whatever you want, I'm not saying anything. But I wouldn't mind flaunting my new boyfriend."
Angel laughed and kissed her sweetly. "I won't say anything, but she'll probably figure it out."
"Then I will see you tomorrow," Buffy said, not really wanting to wait that long.
"Tomorrow," Angel repeated, giving her one last kiss before moving away.
Buffy sighed and watched him walk off, leaving her feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Shaking her head, Buffy went to her room where she grabbed her weapons bag and twisted her hair up. All the while she was thinking about her day with Angel. It was like an undate. A violent undate, but a really good one. Finished with her hair, she checked over her attire in the mirror and jumped out of her window.
"Oof! I probably should use the front door next time," she said to herself.
Running to the nearest cemetery, she hid behind a tree as she looked on in a group of around six vampires. They looked like they hadn't fed in a while and were pretty weak. Formulating a plan, she didn't hear the camp come up behind her until it was too late.
Quickly twisting around, she barely blocked the blow to her chest, sending her stumbling back into the center of the group.
Looking exasperated, Buffy sighed and said flippantly, "I was going to do this in an organized fashion, but now I think I'll just improvise."
Looking around warily, she prepared herself for the on coming fight.
Angel was driving quickly by the nearest cemeteries, probing for the undead with his enhanced senses. Suddenly he felt seven vamps and they were hungry. Slamming on the brakes, he rushed to the source and found none other than his Buffy surrounded by a pack of very hungry looking vampires…
So, how did you guys like it? I realize that it's a very long chapter and I'm not sure if is should keep them this long. I need feed back on that and of course the usual problems. I thank all those who reviewed last time so much! It's really helped a lot and of course any suggestions or criticism would help out a lot. I'll try to update soon!