Chapter Three: Dinners, Coffee, and Stories

A/N: hope you likies …

Angel groaned as the subway's door closed, leaving him behind. He shouldn't have had those beers with Spike, but they helped him. He looked up at the clock. It would take another half hour before the subway came back; he was probably better off walking. Sighing, Angel turned around and walked out of the subway station. Looking up at the night sky, he couldn't help but appreciate how beautiful New York was at night, all those lights.

A bump brought him out of his reverie.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Angel heard a voice say. He looked down, "Its okay ..." Looking at the person before him, Angel stopped. Red hair, brown eyes, same smile ... oh my Gods!

"WILLOW?!?!" The redhead looked up, her mouth dropped opened.

"ANGEL?!?!" Angel nodded, and grunted when Willow enveloped him in the biggest bear hug ever.

"Oh my Goddess, Angel, I've missed you so much. How was Europe? Are you a famous artist? Oh my Goddess, you've missed so much." Angel laughed at the redhead's rambling. Ten years hadn't changed her a bit.

"I've missed you too, Willow. Europe was amazing. The school was boring, but the places, you would have loved it. And yes, I'm some kind of artist now, I don't know about famous though. Hell, I don't even know about professional." Angel answered. Willow laughed and hugged him again.

She looked at her watch, "I'm not suppose to be anywhere for another hour, so if you're not doing anything maybe we could get some coffee and talk?"

Angel looked at his watch too. He was due at one of Spike's parties in half an hour, but ... "I'll buy."

Willow smiled, "Great, there's a coffee shop right around the corner."

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Buffy fumbled with her purse strap nervously, laughing lightly at Riley's joke. The taxi stopped and Riley got out, keeping the door open.

"Always the gentleman," Buffy retorted, smiling at Riley. He laughed and pecked her on the lips.

"Come on, the reservation's at eight." Riley closed the door and walked up the stairs. Buffy looked up at the sign, Four Seasons. Willows words rang through her head Engaged! Hitched! To tell the truth, she was scared. They had only been dating for a half a year, and the thought of marriage had never come up in any of their conversations.

"Buffy?" Buffy looked up. Riley looked at her expectandly, holding the door to the restaurant opened. She jogged up to him, "Are you okay? You seem a bit out of it."

Shaking her head, she walked past him, "I'm fine."

She repeated the words in her head, trying to convince herself. Fine … I'm fine.

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Angel cautiously sipped the hot coffee. He gasped in surprise as the fluid slipped down his throat.

Willow laughed at the look of delight on his face, "I told you … the best coffee in New York City."

Angel laughed, "So how's life been going?"

Willow took a sip of her coffee, looking at Angel from over the top of her cup. Ten years did nothing to affect his looks. She blushed. She set her coffee down and picked up her napkin, willing her blush away.

"As good as it gets I guess. I'm a real scientist." Willow said, proudly.

Angel laughed, "Only a scientist? I could have sworn you would have discovered the cure for HIV."

Willow mock-glared at him, "Why Mr. O'Connor, are you mocking me?"

"I don't know, am I?"

Willow laughed, it was so easy to talk to Angel. Even after all those years. "I'm working on the HIV cure. Not there yet, but you know me. When I set my resolve face on something I'll do it."

Angel laughed again, "But seriously, what have you done with your life over the ten years."

"Just stuff you do when you become an adult." Angel glared at her. Willow giggled, "Well, nothing much. You didn't miss much. College was, ordinary. I decided to go to UC Sunnydale after all."

Angel raised his eyebrows, "UC Sunnydale? What happened to Harvard, Yale, Oxford?"

"Sunnydale was closer to home, and well Oz. Not that it mattered much."

Angel looked at her, confused. Willow laughed again, running her hand through her hair.

"He kind of cheated on me." Angel nearly choked. "He met this girl in this band and they fell madly in love. I guess its because they had so much in common, but anyways, after I found out he dropped out of college with Nina, the girl in the band, and they've been out in the world ever since. But that's okay, because after we broke up I did some soul-searching of myself and I realized something about myself." She paused briefly.

Angel raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

Willow braced herself for Angel's reaction at her next two words, "I'm gay."

She waited, but all Angel did was sip at the coffee, "You don't look too surprised."

"Well, I always thought you and Oz would get married, but there was that incident in high school ..." Angel trailed off. Willow laughed happily. It was good to have someone besides Buffy and Xander accept her gayness. Riley looked down on it like it was a disease, and her parents still think that it is just a phase even though she had been gay for nearly 10 years now.

"So, any girlfriends I should look out for?" Angel asked, sipping his coffee.

Willow looked down, "No. Actually, mi girl-ex girlfriend ... she just ... she just passed away."

"Oh, Willow I'm so sorry, I ... I didn't know. Oh Gods, I'm such a jerk."

"No. Its okay, you didn't know. Plus, I should be over it now. It's been nearly a year." Willow sniffled, looking at her coffee.

Angel moved, to sit next to Willow. He placed his arm around her and hugged her tightly, "Let me tell you a secret, no matter what anyone says you will never get over it. But over time the pain will dull a little, not a lot but just enough so that breathing doesn't hurt. She will always be in your heart, and it will always hurt when you think of her, but crying helps a lot. Well, crying and beer." Willow giggled a little.

"Since when did you become so deep?"

Angel laughed, "I've always been deep. I'm an artist."

Willow laughed, snuggling deeper into Angel's arms. It wasn't just good to talk to him again, it was great.

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Buffy picked at her dessert, listening to Riley talk about his partner. It didn't look like he was asking for her hand in marriage tonight. She was relieved, but she couldn't shake the feeling of sadness. True, she didn't want to get married to Riley, but she was already 28 years old. Soon, she'll be 30 and … well old. Buffy sighed softly. All this thinking was making her head hurt.

"Buffy, are you sure you're okay?"

Buffy picked up her glass and took a sip, "I'm fine, just a bit tired."

Riley looked at her, concerned, "Are you sure? You've been distracted all night."

Buffy smiled at him, "Its nothing, hon. Just a bad day." Riley nodded at her. He leaned over and gave her a quick peck.

"I'm going to take a quick trip to the men's room. Don't go anywhere, okay?" Buffy smiled and nodded, watching Riley walk away. She sighed, and returned her attention to her dessert when her phone went off. Buffy frowned, going through her purse. She looked at the number and frowned again. Why in the world would Willow be calling her?

"Will, are you okay?"

"Oh my god, you will not believe who I ran into."

A/N2: PLEAZE REVIEW!!! JS PRESS THAT PRETTY LITTLE BUTTON OVER THERE …