Summary: It's 1968 and Angel has found a moment of perfect happiness. Just what it means for Buffy remains to be seen. Not happy with the title, so this may change. Will take place at the beginning of Buffy/Season 2, but will deviate from original story line. Almost totally AU. Buffy/Angelus
Disclaimers: Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon own it all. I'm just doing this for fun, and hopefully entertainment
After calling Giles to come and pick her up, Buffy had officially moved out of her mother's house. Giles had tried to mend things between the two women, but neither one of them would budge in their opinions. Joyce thinking all Buffy needed was some time to realize that all she could really count on was her mother. And Buffy, just wanting to get away from her mother's threats. It was finally agreed upon that Buffy would stay with her watcher until he could talk to the council about this newest turn of events. Joyce, convinced that Buffy couldn't take being away from her mother for too long and would be back in a matter of days, allowed her to go. That being said toBuffy's satisfaction, she grabbed her bags and left without another word to her mother. Although he would talk to the council, he was sure he could convince Joyce to take her daughter back, slayer duties and all.
"It won't work you know." Buffy spoke with her eyes looking out the window.
"What won't work?" Giles was very surprised at how well Buffy was taking all this upheaval.
"You will not be able to talk my mom into accepting me as I am. She wants a teenage girl. Not a slayer-slash-warrior who listens to her watcher more than her maternal figure." She turned to look at her watcher. "You know it's true. I guess this is why we're taken from our families. They just tend to get in the way."
Giles looked at his slayer and was amazed at how mature she could be at rare, very rare, times. "Yes indeed, well, there really isn't much to say about that now, is there?"
"Let me drop my stuff off and then I'll do a quick patrol. I promised Will and Xander I'd swing by the Bronze for a bit tonight. I don't want them to know about this yet. Tomorrow is soon enough, okay?"
"And what time shall I expect you in?" Just because she wasn't at her mother's and she was the slayer, it didn't mean rules were going to be thrown to the wayside. She was still a teenager.
Buffy smiled. "My curfew on a Friday night is one o'clock. Is that cool?"
"What if we say midnight?"
"What if we say 12:30? I got a late start and I'll probably end up telling the guys what happened."
"12:30 then. Don't try to take advantage of this situation Buffy. I'm counting on you behaving in a responsiblemanner."
"No worries Giles. Happy is not where I am and partying is not in the planned events for the evening. Believe it or not, I reallydo respect you and I appreciate what you are doing for me."
"Well, yes, indeed." He was a little uncomfortable with her candor, yet very touched by it. "You know I do trust you Buffy, but this is most unusual and probably very inappropriate. We can't let the school find out about this, at least not until we get the council involved."
"Right, like I want the whole school to know my mom kicked me out and I'm living with the librarian. So not what I want the Cordelias of the world to know, thank you very much.
"So, you never finished telling me about mister tall, dark and hero. Give, come on. You know I get my vicarious woo-hoos through you." Willow had seen Buffy the moment she had walked into the Bronze. Of course the fact that she had spent the past hour looking for her had helped her to zero in.
"Oh Will, he was just some good Samaritan I'm sure. And I'm also sure I'll never see him again." She sipped her diet coke, debating whether to tell her two best friends of the recent events in her life, or just to wait until the light of day to break her pitiful news.
"So that's it? He came, he saved, he left? It all sounds very romantic and very mysterious to me." She leaned on her hand and stared dreamily into space, not really noticing the band member who kept staring just as dreamily at her.
Xander had heard just about enough and was very tired of being treated as the invisible man, okay, invisible boy. "Mysterious and romantic? I think not. Sounds very much of the psychotic and possibly of the stalker variety. You can't be too careful Buffy. You never know who's a lurker."
The opportunity was too great to pass up, so Cordelia had to give her opinion as she passed by the threesome. "Yeah, like it totally takes a lurker to recognize a member of the club. Right Harris?"
"Like so not listening to you!" Jeez Harris, he thought to himself, could you come up with a lamer retort? The thing was, she really got to him, in oh so many ways. And he really didn't want to care, but he did. God he hated being a teenager.
"Oh, so am I supposed to be put in my place now? Great come-back, as usual Harris." Cordelia smirked, flipped her hair and walked back to her friends.
Willow, tearing her eyes away from the cute guy playing the guitar, smiled at her childhood friend. "Don't worry Xander, we still love you. And you can lurk anytime you like. No recriminations here. No siree. This is your judgment-free zone."
"Gee, thanks Will. You always know how to make me feel like an even bigger loser. But in a good, accepting way."
"Hey, always aim to please." She rolled her eyes at Buffy. "Oh Xander, I love this song. Dance with me, please?" Also, this was the perfect way to getnext to the stage and get a closer look at mister oh-so-cute.
"I can never resist a whining woman." He acquiesced. "Care to join us Buff?"
"Tempting offer, but I think no. You two, go knock yourselves out, I'm thinking of cutting out early." She so should have just gone back to Giles' after her patrol. Willow and Xander were just too up for her mood tonight. She'd tell them all about her new life in the morning. As for tonight, well she might as well call it over and head to Giles. What had she been thinking coming out after all the events of the evening?
Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by that familiar, tingly feeling again, the same one from the other night. Someone was watching her. She felt it, she knew it. Her eyes started to scan the crowd, not really sure what or who she was looking for, but hoping to find it all the same.
Angel smiled to himself. There she was, scanning the crowd, looking for him. She didn't know it yet, but she was looking for him. And he had been looking for her. His senses finally brought him here. He hadn't realized how finely tuned into her he was until tonight. But there she was, in all her glory. Her outfit a little too revealing, but he considered whatever she wore was for him, so he'd let it pass. This time. She was his prize, and in time he would claim her. Not one for patience, he'd be willing to wait a bit for this one.
Cordelia had scoped him out the moment he walked into the Bronze. So not the ordinary high-school loser. Had to be in collage. And so well put together, Italian leather, French silk, designer everything. Tall, dark and fabulous to look at, they had so much in common and they hadn't even met yet. Despite the fact that Harris, the little Buffy follower was here, it was turning into an exceptional evening. Time to make her move, she could be irresistible and now was the time to turn on her lethal charm.
"So I'm here!" Cordy walked up to the gorgeous male in black and announced herself. Glittering smile, a flip of her hair and Cordelia was sure he was hers.
"Excuse me?" Angelus half turned towards the girl, highly annoyed, unwilling to let Buffy out of his sight.
"I said, I'm here. I saw you looking around and I just couldn't let you waste your time on any of them." She waved her hand across the room. "I'm the one you're looking for. And how lucky for you, you found me!"
His eyes zeroed in on her. Pretty? Yeah. Body? Good. Vapid? To the extreme. Angelus had met one too many girls like her in his time and aside from a quick fuck and draining them dry, they were basically a waste of space.
"Sorry." He cast a very sexy half smile at her. "I think you've mistaken me for someone who would find that cute instead of mind numbingly common." Leaving Cordelia with her mouth wide open, he headed for Buffy's table.
She felt his approach before she saw him. At least she hoped she did. So when she turned to see him standing a table width away, Buffy couldn't help but laugh with pleasure.
"So you find my presence amusing?" Angelus lifted one brow. She was pleased and he could feel it. Actually one would have to be blind not to see it in her face.
"I knew you were here, I felt it." Buffy looked at him in amazement. I am so not playing this cool, am I? She thought.
"Of course you did, you are the slayer after all." He paused, letting her get a really good look at him. "Walk with me."
It wasn't a request, he just expected her to agree. Buffy thought she should feel offended, but the emotion just wouldn't come up. All she did feel was the desire to go with him wherever he wanted to take her. Oh boy, she thought, I am in so much trouble.
As if reading her thoughts, he chuckled deep in his chest. "Come on." He said as he grabbed her hand. "I promise I won't bite." Then with a sly grin, "unless you ask."
Glancing over at Willow and Xander, she hopped off her stool. "Lead the way."
"Ladies first, always." Angelus whispered in her ear.
Harmony saw the two of them leave together and just had to be the first to jab Cordelia with the information. "Cordy, so I just saw tall, dark and sexy take off with Buffy the strange. Think they know each other?" She crossed her arms and waited for Cordelia's reaction.
Cordelia's eyes lasered in on Harmony. "You know, that shirt looks totally awful on you. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it. So last season."
What was wrong with her, she thought? I mean, I know this guy isn't human. I can sense that. And now I can feel it, looking at his large hand. But why am I so drawn to him? Okay, the obvious, totally hot guy in all ways. But I've been around hot guys before and have been able to more than control myself. I look at him and I just melt. Hormones, gotta be hormones. Alright, toughen up now.
"Okay, I'm here. What's this about? And what are you?" Yeah, it totally made sense. The one guy she was enormously attracted to didn't appear to be human. Such a Buffy classic.
"You're the slayer. You know what I am." He leaned in a little closer. "You can feel me."
"Vampire? I don't get it. Why did you help me? Just seeing how the other half lives?" She was starting to get really pist. She was going to have to kill him and she didn't want to.
He shrugged. "I made a choice. Your mom needed help, you needed help, so I helped." He looked down into her eyes, just a hint of confusion. "I needed to help." Angelus shook his head. "And now I feel the need to help again." He had slowly, silently, moved closer and was almost whispering in her ear.
Buffy shivered and looked up at him. "Help how?" She felt her heart speeding up at his nearness and felt an unfamiliar ache in her stomach. The closer he got, the lower the ache spread.
Angelus stifled a groan. Her scent, everything about the girl was having an effect on him and he was having a difficult time controlling his reaction to her. "I have information. Your watcher will know what I'm talking about. Ask him about Acathla."
"Some new demon to slay? Hate to be the one to break it to you but Hellmouth? Demons? Go together like cocoa and puffs."
"Yeah, well try going together like 'end of' and 'the world'. But, hey, it's up to you. I'm a demon, I can handle this place being sucked into hell, I can even thrive. And you? Slayer powers? You may survive for awhile, start a little resistance movement for a bit. Or you could become a powerful demon's bitch." He looked around over at the people milling about the entrance to the Bronze. "As for those poor bastards, food and fun for a few days. Slaves for the rest of their short lives. But, whatever." He rubbed his mouth against her jaw and took a deep, unneeded breath. "When it happens, just stay close to me."
Buffy caught onto his arm as she felt her knees grow weak. "Sorry." She quickly let go. "Lost my balance." In so many ways, she thought. He gave her a half smile that told her he knew exactly what she was losing.
"You have my attention. Will you come with me to Giles'? My watcher? Tell him what you've told me?" She quickly added, "If you're serious about the help, that is."
Angelus was killing all kinds of birds here. He didn't want Acathla waking up, and in the process of stopping him he could make Drusilla and Spike suffer. And at the hands of the slayer, no less. He could also further ingratiate himself with Buffy. If he didn't know it before, he knew it now, he had to make her his. If her reaction to him was any indication, he was already half way there.
With a smile that made Buffy catch her breath, he nodded. "I'm serious, lead the way."