Today was the day. Today soon arrived, sneaking up on sleeping Angel so quickly. He wouldn't have woken up had it not been for Willow, who called his cell phone. He'd luckily put it on vibrate and somehow got off the couch without moving Buffy too much. She was still sound asleep. It was perfect. "She's sleeping." He informed Willow in a hushed voice, speaking into his cell phone, standing in the kitchen. "What should I say on the note?"

"Just say that you went out, and that you'll be back later."

"What if she gets worried?"

"Angel, just do it. Don't worry."

"Alright. Fine." He scribbled down what Willow had told him to onto a note, and put it on the refrigerator door. After that he and Willow said their goodbyes. He went into the bedroom, and stripped. After that he grabbed new clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. He came out about a half hour later, hearing Buffy still snoring on the couch. He smiled. Normally he would've gone to watch her sleep, or to hold her. But not today. He had to leave today; he didn't have time for the trivial things. Not yet. Once fully dressed he was on his way out. But he couldn't leave without seeing her face. So he walked into the television room, smiling down at her sleeping face. He bent down and kissed her forehead, and then he was gone. He shut the door to the home quietly behind himself, silently saying 'goodbye' and 'I love you' to her.

The day went by so slowly. He quickly took care of his chores. He bought everything, and made sure all the reservations were perfect. He went to the store, and made sure he'd already had everything. He was prepared, maybe even over prepared. It was so extravagant and unneeded, but she was worth it. She was his whole world, and she was so worth it, she was worth more than everything he had to offer. A goddess among the normal people. A goddess in love with him, a monster. Well, ex monster. Even still, the irony of life showed through. He had to look back at it all and smile. He never thought this day would come. He never thought he'd get a chance to be with her. Up until he saw Willow in the hotel he'd been hopeful, but after that day, even after finding out she was alive again, he'd lost hope. But now here she was, and here was this day. And here was the irony of life, yet again. The sunlight beat down on his face as he walked along the sidewalk, partly window shopping, partly trying to keep himself from having a nervous breakdown. These butterflies in his stomach now were worse than he ones he got when he arrived at Buffy's door that day not so very long ago. These butterflies were vicious man eating flesh devouring things that held no beauty, and threaten to eat Angel's every word, and his every last ounce of courage. Stupid butterflies, he wished they'd just go away. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. He was horrified. No, he was so far beyond horrified. So far beyond it, in fact, that he was actually calm now. He'd past the stage of intense fear and nausea, and now he was just biding his time before night fell.

As the sun smoothly drifted from the sky, and the colors that it had ignited in the clouds faded, Angel reached home. His heart racing, but his appearance was calm. This is the longest he'd been away from her since he'd moved in, he noted solemnly. He never wanted to leave her side again. To say he missed her, would be far from true, because he did so much more than just miss her, he ached for her in every way possible. It was apparent that she was the same way, because she didn't even give him a chance to get to the door before she ran outside. She nearly tackled him to the ground with the force and impact of her strong hug. He returned the embrace for a long moment, hating himself for pulling out of it, but knowing that he had to. Today was soon. Soon was now. Soon couldn't be delayed. "Do you trust me?" He asked her quietly, smoothly, lovingly. She nodded vigorously.

"Yes, of course." She noted the smile on his lips, and the movements of his hand. She then gave a perplexed look at the blindfold he pulled out. "D-do you want to be kinky or something?" She asked awkwardly, her hands on her hips cutely. He grinned.

"No, gutter mind. I just want to surprise you. So will you let me blindfold you?" It took her only a moments thought before she answered.

"Yeah, sure." She shrugged. He then carefully tied the blindfold around her, covering her eyes. He waved a hand in front of her face.

"Can you see?" He asked.

"I'm blindfolded." She replied wryly.

"Ah, good point. Let's go." And with that he picked her up over his shoulder. She gave a delightful squeal as he carried her to the car. Their car didn't get much use, due to Angel's habit of suggesting that they walk everywhere. But today they were going to use the car. He helped her into it, to ensure that she didn't bump her head or anything. He shut the door for her, extra careful not to hit her with it by accident. He acted as though she was a fragile doll, when in truth she could take a beating from a powerful demon and be okay. She liked how fragile he was. It made her feel like a real girl. A real normal girl, with her real normal boyfriend. It was what she'd always wanted. She heard him get in the drivers side. She heard him shut the door and start the car. She felt him lean over and kiss the side of her head before she felt him start to drive. Her fingers treaded along the dashboard as she searched for the radio. She soon felt Angel's hand help her own to find it. Once she knew where it was she pressed the play button, the CD player turning on, playing Barry Manilow. She knew Angel was a fan, so she'd bought his CD to try and like him. And it had worked. She too was now a Barry Manilow Fan. Just like me, the writer. But now, back on track. She didn't know how long they'd been driving. She'd held in the question until the CD finished for the second time.

"Angel, where are we going?" She finally asked.

"Someplace nice." He stated vaguely, always mister cryptic. She decided not to press the question ant further and just sat back to enjoy the ride. But as soon as she did that she felt the car stop. She heard Angel get out. She heard her door open, and she felt Angel help her out of the car. She stretched her stiff legs only a moment before Angel took hold of her hand and began carefully leading her somewhere. They walked for about five minutes, and then Angel sat her down. He kneeled behind her and carefully untied the blindfold, letting it fall away, leaving Buffy to gape in astonishment at her new surroundings. It was beautiful. Breathtaking, literally, that's how magnificent this place was. Buffy found herself sitting on a picnic blanket the middle of a field of flowers. There were flowers of every kind, all growing so closely, the colors all blending into one beautiful piece of artwork. Real live art work, living, thriving. This scene was even more beautiful while illuminated by the moon and the stars, under the blanket of navy blue sky that ran so high above them. She leaned back into Angel's body, and his arms wrapped around her waist. He placed a series of soft kisses into her golden hair.

"Angel," She finally found the words to speak, her voice shaky. He knew the real surprise was yet to come, and he wondered if she'd react like this, so astonished, and cute too. "This place is- how did you find—its amazing."

"I know." He replied. "I found it on my way here, when I was walking from the plane station. I passed by it, and I thought it was beautiful. The beauty it- it reminded me of you." He spoke in a soft whisper, unable to raise his voice to the normal level and break the mystic majesty of this place, of this time. "Are you hungry?" The question seemed random, though he'd had it all planned out. She nodded. He knew she would. He had been counting on it. He reached into the flowers, and pulled out a picnic basket, one of his chores earlier had been to place it there. He opened it, and he could almost hear Buffy's stomach growling at the mere sight of the great meal Angel had prepared. Wine, an assortment of fruits, pre-made spagettios(This is for Kim!) in thermoses. And last but not least, some delicious looking brownies.

They ate, and laughed, and soaked in the scenery, and enjoyed themselves to no extent. As dessert finished Buffy was so caught up in the scenery, she didn't catch Angel's big move, as he got on one knee. But her eyes widened as she noticed only a second or two after he'd done it. She put her glass down gently, staring at Angel in dismay, her mind racing. But the racing stopped as he saw the ring. Her mind blanked. By instinct she wanted to run, to run from this nervous feeling, to wait for it to pass. But she knew it was a good nervous. She knew to stay. "Buffy," Angel began, and Buffy's eyes shifted from the GINORMOUS ring to Angel's face, looking him in the eyes. They both smiled contently. "I love you. I mean, even before I met you, I loved you. It doesn't seem possible, but I know deep down that my life was meant to be spent with you. You're my reason for being here in this world. You're my reason for existing. I've known that forever, deep down. I don't want to ever leave your side. My heart belongs to you. It belonged to you even when it was cold and unbeating. You make me real, and alive. And I—Will you marry me?" He asked. He noticed Buffy's lip tremble, and the tears gather in her eyes. She threw her arms around him, this time she did succeed in knocking him over with the force of her hug.

"Yes!" She squealed. "God, yes!" Angel let out a long sigh, breathing out all the nervousness that had accumulated. He gently smoothed away the happy tears that Buffy had shed, before placing the ring on her finger, and entwining his fingers with hers. They both sat up, and Angel pulled Buffy onto his lap. She cried tears of happiness onto Angels shoulder, and he gently stroked her back. And they knew. They knew they were meant to be together, and that nothing would ever change that. They knew this was the beginning of their lives. They knew that it was, because they knew that their lives had been empty, until now, now that they were going to share their lives with eachother.

And Buffy had one thought on her mind: This is better than heaven.