Chapter 7

He moved like a caged panther; silent, powerful, movements so sensuous Buffy's eyes were drawn to him, to the feelings that radiated off him, permeating the room. Fear, worry, anger, frustration and hate. Buffy stood off to the side as Angel paced the room restlessly. They were supposed to fight in a couple of hours and the time between now and when they'd found out and hadn't lessened the tension at all. Neither had gotten much sleep the night before. Both worried about what the fight would bring the next day.

His hands were clasped behind his back and he stopped every few moments to check she was still there. That was part of the reason she hadn't moved in over an hour. He needed the reassurance of her presence right now. If she left his sight for a moment she had no doubt he'd go into meltdown.

Angel stopped pacing all of a sudden and turned to stare at Buffy. She'd been standing in the same place for over an hour and he was glad for her constant presence. She was staring at him and the look on her face was one that calmed him considerably. Her love for him, anger at the situation, fear of having to fight him and the constant weariness that seemed to show in her eyes lately, all shone brightly at him as he stared into their depths. She was incredibly calm and he had the brief thought that maybe they would be okay.

Something moved out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see two demons arguing over something. Before he could take a step towards them, he felt Buffy shift and he quickly turned to watch her move. She walked towards him slowly, a small smile on her face and he caught an unnecessary breath. She was so beautiful and he thanked the Powers That Be that she could love someone like him. He gave a tentative half-smile in return, trying, for her, to act as thought it would all be okay. Who knew… maybe it would be.

Buffy watched him as she sauntered up to him. She'd seen the demons argument and knew it was nothing to worry about so she'd caught Angel's attention, pulling him from trivial matters. The light from an over head lamp illuminated his face and her heart melted at the sight. He looked so forlorn, she just had to kiss him. His head came down to meet hers and she was lost for a few moments, content to forget everything in his arms. He must have felt the same, as he clutched her tightly.

Buffy pulled back eventually, needing to breathe. She ran her fingertips lightly down his cheek and along his jaw, over his lips. She studied him intensely and knew if they made it out of this in one piece, she wasn't going to let him go again. Even if she had to chain him to her bed. She smiled at the thought. It has a certain appeal, she smiled as her gaze roamed his body.

'You know we don't have to fight,' she said quietly, not wanting to break the mood. 'We can simply refuse to fight each other. What can they do to us?'

Angel raised his eyebrows. 'Besides kill us both anyway?'

'Oh,' Buffy frowned. 'Didn't think of that. Duh. Of course they'd kill us. So not fighting is a non-option.'

She was silent for a few moments, brow furrowed in concentration. She knew he liked the way she looked when she did that as he reached up to stroke his finger down along her brow and over her nose.

'What about fighting, but not really fighting? Like what we used to do when we sparred. You hit me, it hit you, no real damage is done?'

Angel thought that over. It was actually a brilliant idea. Their sparring, to the outside world, looked real. They could get out of this with only a few bruises.

'There is a big problem though,' he heard her continue. He looked down at her and noted the worry on her face. He stared at her uncomprehendingly and she rolled her eyes.

'One of us is supposed to die at the end, Angel,' she paused. 'It's gonna have to be me because I an NOT staking you.'

He stumbled back from her, shaking his head wildly. 'N-no,' he stuttered, shocked. 'No.' he repeated more firmly.

'I won't stake you Angel. Anyway,' she paused, then her face lit up. 'I can fake my death.'

He stared at her. 'What?'

'You pretend to kill me. I play dead. They drag me out, you go back to the holding area. When they dump my body, I get up and go find Wes and Cordy. We get you out. Easy.'

He opened his mouth to disagree but she got in first. 'I have to do it.. You can't exactly pretend to be dust.'

Again he tried to protest but the double doors opened suddenly and Jack stepped through, a wide grin twisting his face. 'Showtime,' he laughed. 'Well almost. Time to get ready, lovebirds. The crowds are already lining up. It's gonna be a good night. Hell, who am I kidding? It's gonna be a great night.'

He motioned to the guards and they came forward and grabbed the pair, dragging them to the line. They meddled with the bracelets then hauled them out the door, Jack's laughter ringing behind them.

Buffy stood nervously in the ring. Angel stood opposite her, looking completely calm. Damn him, she thought. How can he just shut off everything? Jack appeared and sat down in his chair. Buffy glared at him and he laughed merrily. Lilah entered and sat behind him and slightly to the left.

Jack made a move and the crowd quietened immediately, just like every other time. He lifted the mike and began to tell a patchy description of what Willow and Xander had affectionately named- well, Willow affectionately, Xander, not so affectionately- the Buffy and Angel show. His details were completely fabricated. He had to of only heard a mention of them and instead of finding out everything he could, he decided to make up the details himself.

She laughed when he told the crowd how she once tried to stake him, to save her friends from the evil vampire. He had no idea how close to the truth he was. Then he said something that had her attention completely. 'Then, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Slayer and the Vampire took hold of their forbidden love and slept together. Bringing consequences you can only imagine.'

Buffy's heart skipped a beat. How did he know that? She looked to Angel who seemed as stunned as she was. Before she could have a breakdown, Jack continued. 'She fell pregnant to the vampire,' Lilah rolled her eyes. 'Now, I know what your all going to say, vampires can't have children. But fall pregnant she did and all was happy until those consequences happened. The baby wasn't human,' he said the last part gravely and Buffy bit back a laugh. He had no idea what he was talking about. He just got lucky with the sleeping together thing. He didn't know Angelus had briefly come out to play.

'It turned out to be evil, a real child of a vampire. So the Slayer had the baby aborted, the Vampire left her and here they are today, Ladies and Gentlemen, ready to fight it out in the ring,' the crowd went nuts and Buffy chuckled. The crowd was nuts.

'Are we all ready?' he shouted and the crowd roared. It hurt her ears and she could only imagine how Angel's sensitive ears were coping.

He turned back to the couple on the ground and yelled to the room, 'Fight.'

Buffy stayed where she was and yelled back, 'NO.'

The whole room went silent as they realised what she said. A pin could have dropped and Buffy would of heard its every bounce as it hit the ground. Even Angel was staring at her.

'Excuse me?' Jack almost dropped his mike. 'What was that?'

'I said, no,' she crossed her arms and glared at him.

'What do you mean, no?' Jack asked slowly, glancing at Lilah who was smirking.

'I'm not fighting him. I refuse to play this stupid game any longer.'

This enraged Jack and he sprang into action. He gestured at the guards, who moved forwards instantly, ready to strike on his say so. 'You will fight, Slayer. If you don't I will kill you and your Vampire,' he growled.

Buffy smiled at him then turned to a still unmoving Angel. 'It was worth a try,' she shrugged, grinning.

He slowly shook his head and watched as she moved into a fighters stance, one he'd seen many time before. He copied her actions and they both moved forward. They circled, each watching the movement of the other.

Angel made the first move. He threw a punch at Buffy who dodged it easily. They knew each others moves like they knew their own. She grabbed his arm and threw a punch at his face, smiling as he deflected it by grabbing said arm and holding it. He threw a punch at her with his free arm and she copied his movement, grabbing hold of his arm. He pulled her forward and kissed her, hard, before throwing her backwards, grinning like a mad man. It had been a long time since he'd been this evenly matched.

Buffy came forward and grabbed his arm again, feigning an uppercut, she instead stepped in and threw him over her hip, grinning when she heard his surprised exhale. She raised her eye challengingly as he got up and brushed dust of his jacket. 'Please refrain from doing that again. Cordelia loves to tell me how impossible it is to clean this thing.'

Buffy's face fell a little as she took in his words. She hated that Cordelia was so close to him. She got to see him everyday, be part of his life constantly and she knew Cordy meant a lot to him. It hurt, she wouldn't pretend otherwise. After all it was Cordelia. The same Cordelia who promised Angel would be hers.

The next punch she threw wasn't as playful as the rest as thoughts of Angel and Cordelia filtered through her brain. He must have noticed the change as his block was a little more forceful than before. He left me. He left me because he couldn't be with me and instead he shacks up with Cordelia. CORDELIA. She knew he wasn't with Cordy, knew he still loved her, Buffy, but couldn't help the thoughts that kept coming. Old insecurities were coming to the fore and the play fight was quickly turning much more serious as Buffy fought off the demons in her mind.

Angel knew what was going through her mind and wished he hadn't mentioned Cordy to her. He understood what she was feeling and only wanted to make it better. He felt her punch his chest and he stumbled back from the force. He narrowed his eyes at her. He knew she was reacting to thought of him and Cordy and he couldn't help but be a little angry at her for that. What about Soldier boy? Riley? Wasn't he her new boyfriend? She was the one with a new love, not him. His punches became harder and they began to fight in earnest. Both taking out their frustrations on each other. He blocked a punch from her and kicked her in her midsection.

She stumbled back and stared at him, tears in her eyes. 'You left me.' she stated and he stopped. 'You left me because you couldn't be with me and now you're with her,' her voice rose as she spoke and she all but shouted the last word. Before he could defend himself he lay flat on his back as she stood over him.

Instincts kicked in and he moved, sweeping her legs out from under her as he got to his feet. She was back up instantly, moving towards him like a predator. She punched him in the temple and he back handed her, knocking her back a few paces. His demon face was at the fore now and his eye shone yellow as he advanced on her.

'I never have been, and never will be with Cordelia. Does it really matter to you anyway?' he spat at her. Reaching forward he grabbed a hold of her upper arms, jerking her level to his face. 'You're the one with the new boy toy, Buffy, Or did you conveniently forget about him?'

Buffy pushed him violently away from her, succeeding in putting a little distance between them. Her chest rose and fell sharply, her breaths coming in gasps. Angel advanced on her again and she flinched before moving instinctively. She delivered a stunning roundhouse to his chest and he fell to the ground.

He got up and brushed him self off. He knew if they continued, he would lose. She was stronger than he was and he wouldn't have it any other way. He growled and she paused for a moment before shaking her head and punching him in the face once, twice, three times before he managed to knock her away.

Buffy threw back her hair, which was coming out of the pony tail, and circled him. She knew this was madness, but she couldn't stop herself. Everything she'd ever felt because of him, was screaming at her to take revenge, to make him hurt like her had hurt her, to make him bleed as he left her bleeding for him. She moved towards him and stumbled back as all hell broke loose.

Demons erupted into the ring and one ran directly towards Buffy, bypassing Angel. It stopped in front of her and grabbed her arm. In its hand was a small thin pipe looking thing. The demon, Trepkos, touched it to the bracelet and Buffy's eyes widened as the bracelet unlocked.

She looked to the demon and he handed it to her. 'I may not like the Vampire,' he said. 'But I respect you, Slayer. What you do now is up to you.'

Buffy watched him as he ran off towards the door. She lifted her eyes to the crowd above them and saw their terrifies faces as they realised the demons were free and out for revenge. Most ran. Most made it.

Buffy looked at Angel who was staring at her. She sheepishly smiled at him and he tentatively half-smiled back at her. She ran over to where he stood and used the key Trepkos had given her. The moment the bracelet was off he clutched her in a fierce hug. She kissed him and smiled into his eyes. He opened his mouth to apologise but closed it when Buffy shook her head, 'Not now.'

He pulled back from her, brushing the back of his hand along her bruised cheek and turned to where Jack was still sitting, seemingly frozen.

Angel smiled.

Second last chapter. Next: it all goes down.

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