Summary: It's 1968 and Angel has found a moment of perfect happiness. Just what it means for Buffy 30 years later 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. And Darla's still alive.
Disclaimers: Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon own it all. I'm just doing this for fun, and hopefully entertainment
Buffy opened her front door, thinking about poor Giles. He really had cared for Ms. Calendar and she had betrayed him. Well, maybe. She was sure Jenny had real feelings for her watcher, she could tell by the way the computer teacher looked at him, the way she let her fingers linger just a little longer than necessary over shared books. Yup, she recognized the signs. It wasn't right that she had lied, but Jenny Calendar wasn't a bad person and her watcher needed someone in his life, someone who understood, someone to share all this drama with. It made it all tolerable, someone to let all the defenses down with and be soft, if only for a few hours a day. She shook her head to clear the thoughts of Angel before they took over. Obsess much?
"Kendra? Are you awake?" Buffy laid her keys on the table.
The second slayer came out of the kitchen, her arms filled with food. "I have never seen so many good tings all together at once! I tink I have been eatin' for an hour. Sorry, I finished the crunchy peanut butter and the cookie dough ice cream."
Ah, a woman after my own heart, she thought, ice cream and peanut butter for breakfast. What a classic combination. "No worries, they're always on my shopping list." Buffy poked her head in the refrigerator and came out with a slice of cold pizza.
"How did you sleep?" She mumbled with a mouth full of food.
"Great! But dreams, lotsa dreams. Dat might've been from da cold hot dogs, though." She spooned strawberry yogurt into her mouth.
"Hmmm….well, once we're finished here we'll go over to Giles and…" Her sentence was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Willow stood on the other side of the door, impatiently waiting for Buffy to answer. She'd been dying to talk to Buffy about all the events that had happened since their shopping trip on Thursday, not the least of which was her carpe diem.
And to be honest, she was a little upset with the amount of time, or lack there-of, that they were spending, or not spending together. She knew she should be happy for Buffy, she needed some joy, some release, in her life. But now that she had done the deed, she felt they were even farther apart. Willow wanted to be a good and supportive friend, but to be that friend she needed to spend time with Buffy.
"Willow." Buffy was confused. "Oh no Will, did I forget a date?"
"No, but you probably would have if we'd had one." Buffy could tell Willow was miffed.
"What's wrong? Come in and tell me what's wrong." Buffy stepped aside and let Willow in. "You have my key, why did you knock?"
"Well, I wasn't sure you'd be alone and I didn't want to walk in on something that might scar me for life." It was then Willow saw Kendra sitting on the couch eating chips.
"And as I can see, you aren't alone. Do you want me to leave?" Willow was feeling more than a little left out.
"Just come in and stop it. I love you Will. I had no idea Kendra was in town until last night. She knows something is up and came to help." Buffy looked over at the other slayer, "I think."
"Hello Willow. It is good to see ya. Is Xander wit ya?" She asked though a mouth of chips.
"No, just me. No one else." She gave Kendra a little smile and a wave. Jealousy was no reason to be rude, she thought.
Kendra rose, leaving crumbs in her wake, "I tink I will take dat shower now and we can all go over and see Mister Giles, yes?"
"Yes, go ahead. We'll be here." Buffy waved her off, hoping to make amends to her best friend. "Come in the kitchen Will, I'll make us some tea?"
Willow followed her into the kitchen, feeling very small, very petty and very ashamed. "I'm so sorry Buffy. I just really missed talking with you last night, what with all the excitement. And I really wanted to catch up." She watched Buffy, wondering if her friend was disappointed in her.
"I really wanted to talk to you to Will. I was thinking about that when the Jamaican princess jumped me in the park. And then I had to tell her about the major dysfunction that has become my life." Buffy sat next to her and handed her a cup of tea and set a bag of cookies next to it. "And Willow, I told her about Angel. I mean no details, but that I'm in love with a vampire."
"I don't know Buffy, do you think that was a good idea? I mean, she's pretty much a by the book slayer." Willow blew on her tea to cool it and grabbed a cookie.
"She's gonna meet him and I really don't think she's going to be as overwhelmed by his sexy charm as I was not to notice. I just didn't want her to stake first and ask questions later." Buffy popped a cookie in her mouth, as well.
Willow looked at her friend, trying to see if she looked any different. She couldn't see anything. "So, how is it between you and Angel?" There, she came right out with it, no beating around the bushes, as was her usual mode.
"Oh Will. It was everything I dreamt it would be except about, oh I don't know…a gazillion times better! Look." She held out her ring.
"It's so pretty. I knew he was getting you a ring. It's lovely Buffy." Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of Buffy's delight.
"How did you know?"
"He asked me to steal a ring from you so he could get your size. It was very hard for me to keep that from you. But since I was going to return it, I didn't feel too bad." She looked up at Buffy, "Are you made at me for lying to you?"
"Of course not. And you didn't lie, you kept a secret. Did he tell you what it is?"
"No, just said he had to get it for you. What is it?" Willow took her hand to get a better look at it.
"It's called a Claddagh, it's an Irish wedding ring." Buffy put her head next to Willow's as they both looked at it and realized what it meant.
"Do you feel married?" Willow was feeling quite overwhelmed.
"Oh Will, I feel so complete. Making love with him Willow, it was like something I'd been waiting for all my life. Okay, that sounds a little gross considering I'm only seventeen, but you know what I mean. Right?"
"I think I do Buffy. I just hope I feel that way someday." Willow sounded very wistful.
"I know you will. It's love and when you love someone it's the most wonderful thing ever. And like, as a vampire he has all this stamina and as a slayer, so do I. So we were totally perfect. Hours and hours of perfection."
"Ah…Buff? A little too much information. I am painting mind pictures here and it's scaring me a little."
"Oh. Sorry Willow. I'm just amazed. I mean we've only been lovers a little over a day."
Willow giggled. "Sorry, that was a nervous giggle. Lovers. It's a word that I cannot relate to and it makes me nervous and I am so afraid the rambling is going to start up. Just slap me."
Buffy laughed and pulled Willow up. "Come on, let's see why it take the good slayer so long to shower and then we will go bother Giles. After everything that happened last night I hope he's up for visitors."
"Buffy? Do you think it's totally weird that we may be facing the end to the world as we know it and yet we sit here and discuss boyfriends and lovers? Are we like without any sense of seriousness?"
She looked at her friend. "I don't know Will. With the number of baddies and end-of-the-world close calls, just how serious can we be?" Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "We just do our best to stop it and try to live a life. We're still juniors in high school, ya know?"
"Yeah, I guess I do." Willow giggled. "I really hope Oz calls."
"Oh yeah...how did it go?"
The decision had been made to meet up at Angel's later that evening, giving Giles time to contact Kendra's watcher and do a bit of research.
"I really think you should get in touch with Ms. Calendar Giles. She might be able to help us with this. You need to think of the greater good and all that kind of stuff." She gave Giles a hopeful look.
"Yes, well I'll think about that. See you this evening." He tuned back to his living room. "Please close the door when you leave."
There was a feeling of discomfort for a few of the members of the Buffy group, as Kendra came to think of them, but not all. Buffy, well Buffy was in love, that was plain to see. The best friend Willow was quite taken with the vampire, she could see that as well. And her friend, the cute boy Oz let no real emotion show. There was something about that one, she would have to watch him. The watcher was reserved, nothing new about that, but no real animosity. His friend Jenny seemed very out of place, Buffy going out of her way to bring her into aspects of the conversation. Xander, she just couldn't read him. Kendra knew he had feelings for the slayer, but he was trying to overcome them and with the other one by his side, Cordelia, he seemed to be staying on the good side of the group.
Now, the vampire. So beautiful. A beauty that belied all the danger. He reminded her of a jungle cat. Sleek and graceful and stealthy. And all powerful, ready to pounce at any given moment. This was the one who had won the slayers' heart. She sensed the demon, for sure. But there was something else, she didn't know what, but something. Maybe this is what the other slayer had sensed, what had allowed her love him. For some reason she wasn't at all surprised by the relationship. The lifespan of a slayer was a short one and for one of them to find a bit of love, some solace, was this really a bad thing?
"Well, I spoke to Kendra's watcher and he confirms all that she has told us." Giles rubbed the back of his neck in worry. "We have to find Acathla and we must do it quickly. All the signs point to this happening very soon."
Kendra was offended, "And do ya tink I would be lyin' to ya?"
"Oh, no. No dear. I just had to call Sam, it's protocol. I didn't mean to imply…" Now he'd done it. Why did they have to come to Angel's lair? He did so much better at the library or his apartment.
"Way to go watcher. Guess those British manners aren't all their cracked up to be, huh?" Xander poked at Giles since the rest seemed so enamored of the killer vampire. To be honest, he was resigned to the fact that Buffy and Angelus were going to be inseparable. He looked over at Cordy and wondered if she would ever look at him way Buffy looked at Angel. Naw, never happen, he thought.
Willow took a sidelong glance at Oz, he had been at Angel's when she had showed up.
"Oh, Angel just wanted to show me something, no biggie. And then he said you guys were showing up, so I stuck around." He shrugged. "Hope I'm not horning in."
"No, no. I'm really glad to see you. I wasn't sure if we were… I didn't know…I mean…" Please, she thought, please say something and stop me from stumbling.
"I know. I was gonna call you tonight. This is better." He smiled at her and she relaxed.
Oz looked over at Angel, recalling their conversation at the 'party' and more significantly, their conversation earlier today.
"Oz, need you to come to my place tomorrow. Have to talk to you about something."
Oz gave Angel a puzzled look, they were strangers, why did Angel need to see him? "Sure. I guess. Um, are you gonna need a meal or something?"
"I like human blood the best, pig's blood works too, but we can talk. See you around five or six, be there if you care about Willow." Angel turned and walked back towards Buffy without waiting for an answer, leaving Oz very confused, but he decided to go anyway.
"So you have no idea how you could've been infected? No bites, scratches, enemies who know curses? Nothing?" After Angel had told him his suspicions, although Angel said it was a fact, Oz racked his brain and finally remembered the bite from his cousin Jordy, holding up his finger. "But he's just a baby. Is it possible?"
"Only one way to find out boy." Angel handed him the phone and Oz dialed his aunt's number.
"Aunt Maureen. Hey, it's me. Um, what? Oh! It's, uh... actually it's healing okay. That's pretty much the reason I called. Um, I wanted to ask you something. Is Jordy a werewolf? Uh-huh. And how long has that been going on? Uh-huh. What? No, no reason. Um... Thanks. Yeah, love to Uncle Ken."
Oz looked up at Angel fighting the urge to run screaming down the street. "So what do I do?"
"For three nights during the month you come here and I'll lock you up in a cage downstairs. Hey, just think of it as the male version of PMS except you'll know exactly what it is." He chuckled at the look on the boys face. "It's not the end of the world boy, and if we don't stop Acathla, well, you won't have a thing to worry about."
"What about Willow, what do I tell Willow?" The realization of what he was began to sink in and with it panic. Oz never panicked and the unfamiliar emotion was causing him to hyper-ventilate.
"Just breathe boy. Willow's best friend has a master vampire for a lover, I don't think an innocent little newbie werewolf will be all that difficult for her to accept. We are on the Hellmouth after all, the odds of her finding a demon lover are pretty high. And you two just started dating right? Whose to say it would work anyway?"
"Why are you doing this? Helping me?"
"I love Buffy and she loves Willow. If she had to kill you, it would destroy her. There's been enough loss in her life, I wouldn't want to see a wedge between her and Willow." Angel shrugged.
Oz looked into the face, the eyes of this master vampire. The evil soulless demon, as Xander referred to him and saw something. "That's not the only reason, is it? You want to help me."
"Don't push it boy. I know a few people who would pay a pretty penny to carve you up and have an Oz banquet."
"Oz? Oz? Are you okay?" Willow had asked him several times if he wanted a drink.
"Oh, sorry. Zoned out there for a sec. Yeah, cola's fine." He smiled over at her.
Kendra had opened her large duffle bag and pulled out a long package wrapped in what appeared to be leather. She handed it to Buffy.
"What's this? More presents? Goody!" She unwrapped it and revealed a large sword. "Oh Kendra, you do know the way to this girls heart." Buffy looked over at Angelus. "And how cool is this? Don't you totally envy me?" She swung it around over her head, the way Angel had taught her and listened to it sing. "So cool."
Kendra smiled at Buffy and marveled at the way she handled the sword. "Blessed by the knight who first slew the demon. If all else fails, this may stop it, I tink?"
Giles looked at the sword with admiration and curiosity. "Oh, Buffy. May I?"
Buffy stopped swinging and handed it to her watcher. "Knock yourself out."
He held it in awe. "Blessed by the knight." He looked up to find the room looking at him. "Ah yes, well. Let's hope all else does not fail."
"Angelus has told us of Darla's entrance into the arena now, so we have to move very fast indeed. If she discovers how to use her blood to open the portal, we will be too late."
"Well, mate. She hasn't figured it out. Yet. But you have no idea what a bloody determined bitch the girl can be." Spike leaned on the door jam and looked at the assembled group with a very sexy grin and took a deep drag from his cigarette. At least Cordelia thought it was sexy. Willow just moved a little closer to Oz.
"It isn't midnight yet Spike. Lose your watch?" Angelus wasn't in the mood for his games.
"Just a little miffed. You didn't invite me to the party, Gramps. So, I invited myself."