A/N: Lovely reviews! They're the ones that are making me come back and continue writing this fic!I love writing this for such a great audience! Keep checking back for updates! I'm sorry if some of the words come jointed, I don't know how it happens! I always doublecheck but I guess I'll be naive and I'll blame the site :D

Chapter 6

Angel looked at her with a clueless expression on his face.

"You remember what?" He asked vacantly.

"I remember... the ice cream... everything! It's all back in m'noggin!" She stopped, then stared at him. "Oh, my God. I remember everything!"

"I think you just clarified that." He assured her, looking a bit dazed. "Now, wait, when you say you remember everything... are you talking about that... that day...?"

"Yes, that day!" She paused, then hit him, hard. "You goof!"

"Ow." He said without much expression. He glanced at where she hit him and looked back at her. "What was that for?"

"How come you never told me about it? You knew I would forget, I've been living all these years, not knowing... how could you just stay silent?" Her face turned red, half angry, half relieved.

"Buffy, you know I didn't have a choice. I wanted to."

"Yeah, but—"

"Wait." He stopped her again. "How did you remember? The Oracles made everyone forget. Everyone except me. You're not supposed to know what had happened. Did you do some sort of spell?"

"Yes, I purposely fainted a gazillion times and gave my butt a coma!" He opened his mouth to question her comment when she continued, "No, I didn't do a spell! I have no idea how this happened!"

They both stayed silent, thinking about what could be going on.

"Are you going to buy that shirt, sir?" A sales clerk asked from behind him. He turned around abruptly, looking at her.

"What?"

"The shirt you're wearing, sir. That's one of ours, I believe. Are you buying it?"

"Oh. Yeah." He turned back around. She tugged his sleeve. He turned around irritably. "Yes?"

"Sir, buying something requires paying money." She said in a stiff voice.

"I realize that. I'm sort of busy, couldn't I do it later?"

"I'm sorry, sir." She said, also getting frustrated. "We can't let you wear our garments for too long a time, we wouldn't know whether or not you'd buy it."

"I just told you I'd buy it."

"Yes, but protocol says—"

"Look, lady, I've got a bigger problem on my hands and frankly, I don't really give a damn about what your protocol—"And he was off. Shopping wasn't one of his favourite pastimes and it showed. That and the stress of Buffy remembering what happened without him knowing how just really got him grumpy.

As Angel and the sales lady argued, Buffy thought over possibilities in her mind.

"Maybe it was that pita," She said to herself, biting her lower lip, "I thought it tasted kinda funky..."

"I told you, I don't care about—"

"Sir, you can't just waltz around wearing our products for however long you like! It's simply just—"

"I said I'd buy it!"

"Maybe Will did a whammy on me while I was sleeping?" Buffy mused, then shook the thought away. "No, she's clean, dumbass. The white hair and purification..."

"I know you said you'd buy it, sir, but we can't afford being gullible. That shirt was imported from Europe and—"

"Why would I lie about a stupid shirt?" Angel snapped.

"Angel," Buffy snapped her head up, looking at him. "We have to go."

He looked at her and nodded, then dug into his pockets and grabbed a few bills. "There." He said, shoving them into the annoying lady's hands. "Keep the change." He said as he and Buffy left.

-

The whole gang stared up at Buffy and Angel in disbelief.

"What?" Gunn asked stupidly.

Angel sighed. "I turned human for one day, then realized that it wasn't meant to be so the day got reversed and everyone forgot. Well, none of you would know, you weren't there."

"You turned mortal?" Wesley repeated, frowning. "And yet you changed back? Wouldn't being a human lead to... a more, well, content life? Considering the danger and turmoil you have to go through as a soul-enriched vampire."

"'Enriched' is so not the word I would use." Buffy said, looking down.

"What?" Gunn repeated.

"Wait a soddin' minute." Spike stood up, looking at Angel skeptically. "I don't believe for a second you'd give up your little taste of heaven to be a great big poof again."

"He's not a poof." Buffy said at the same time as Angel said, "I'm not a poof."

"So... you were human?" Fred asked him. Angel nodded.

"...What?" Gunn asked.

"Why?" Spike demanded. "If you were human, you could have had Buffy. You could have given her what she wants. What she needs. If it were me, I'd keep my mortality if it just came back to me with no side effects." He looked at her with a sort of pride, as if what he had said was very audacious.

"Angel did do it for what I need." Buffy burst out. "The needs of all of us! If he had stayed human, what use would he be to this world? He's a fighter, and if he were human, he couldn't be who he... was. I don't need a man! I don't need the perfect guy." She looked at him, he looked back. Their eye contact never broke.

"All right, this is going to make me blow chunks." Spike scoffed, looking revolted and a bit hurt. Heturned to leave.

"Spike—" Buffy began.

"No, you don't have to explain." He turned back around and walked back to her, looking steamed. "This is all so very sweet, I'm getting a cavity. Lover boy here's better than me because he's so thoughtful and such a tragic hero." He looked at her defensively, taking another step towards her. He lifted his index finger and wagged it a bit and said in a low voice. "Look, I may not have given up the perfect day to be the prince of darkness again. I may not havediscarded the perfect future to keep being the great champion with a terrible burden. I may not have a unfortunate curse that adds onto the whole bloody heartbreakingRomeo andlove story. But I try. I fight and I dedicate myself. Now, if that's not good enough for you, then I can't do anything more about it."

"I didn't mean it like that." Buffy said in a forced voice, struggling to keep the tears from escaping.

"Yeah, you did." Spike said, looking at her with fatigued, sad eyes. "I need a smoke." He grunted and left.

"Spike!" Buffy called after him. She went to follow himwhen Angel grabbed her arm.

"He just needs to be alone." He said seriously. She looked at him. "I'm not trying to keep you for myself. I'm just saying, if it were me, I'd want some time to think things over and cool down."

Fred nudged Gunn again as they all creeped away quietly. This was becoming to be a routine.

"You know I've still got feelings for him." Buffy reminded him.

"I do. As much as I disapprove..." He sighed. "But what can I say, Buffy? He's not that much worse than I am so... I'd be a hypocrite to insult him."

She paused, looking down. "You're better." She said very silently so that he could barely hear.

"What?" He asked, taking a few steps to hear her better and leaning in a bit.

"I don't want to sound like I'm minimizing Spike. He's... one of the few guys in the world that could do good and be genuine." She stopped for a minute. "But he's not you. He can't... ever amount up to you."

He looked down at her, delicately tiltinging her chin a bit higher so that she would lift her eyes to look at him. They were so close...

"It's okay if you love him." He said quietly.

"I do." She said, looking at him without blinking. "...But I'm in love with you."

They shared a silent minute, then he leaned down a bit more slowly. Then their lips touched. She grazed his mouth with hers as he gently held her lower back, feeling the smooth curves of her petite body her sweater failed to conceal properly. She wrapped her arms around below his arm and around his back, touching the shirt he had bought that clung to the finely toned muscles he sported. They continued sharing heated kisses, their lips diving for more before coming to the surface for a quick breath. In that moment, they forgot about the curse. Every second that flew past belonged to them.

Spike quietly stood by the door, watching with a fixed look. She'll never be yours, a voice told him.

Never.