A/N : Slight break from the fluff, but don't panic too much, it's probably not as bad as you think.
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 21

"What took so long, lover?" a female voice called as Spike unlocked the door to the apartment just before noon. He frowned slightly and then smirked she realised who it was. He was stifling a grin by the time he reached the kitchen door and found Cordelia sitting with her back to him, wearing Doyle's robe and straightening out her damp hair, using the back of the kettle to see her reflection.

"If I'd've known you were waiting, luv, I might've hurried" Spike said behind her as he leant in the doorway. She jumped so violently he thought she was going to fall on the floor but thankfully she managed to scramble to her feet instead and blush rosy red.

"Spike" she gasped, looking both stunned and embarrassed as a laugh escaped her throat, "I, er, thought you were Doyle"

"Should hope so too" he told her as he passed by her to the sink, selected a glass and filled it with water, "Wouldn't do to have you throwin' yourself at me, what with me being spoken for as you might say"

"Spoken for?" Cordy echoed, "Oh my God, are you and Buffy...?"

"Yes, me and Buffy are together" Spike grinned, downing his glass of water and still smiling widely when he'd finished, "Honestly, pet, I don't remember bein' this happy in a good long while. Finally got the stubborn bint to admit she loves me, Angel-boy's getting his marching orders, and yours truly gets the girl" he smirked.

"Spike, that's awesome" Cordelia enthused, flying at him and hugging him tight, much to the bleached blond's surprise. Of course the more shocked person was Doyle when he came through the door and found his woman and his best friend in an embrace.

"Exactly what in the hell d'ya think you're doin there, Spike Blackstone?" he asked, in what should've been a joking tone, though there was an edge to it that was quite serious, just in case it needed to be.

"Doyle" Cordy rolled her eyes at the slight jealousy in his eyes as she let go of Spike and turned around, "I was just congratulating Spike is all. He and Buffy finally got together, like, for real this time"

"Oh, well done, man" Doyle grinned at last, slapping his friend on the back.

"S'pose you two had a decent night too then, eh?" Spike continued to smirk as he looked between his two friends, and Cordy held onto Doyle's arm, hiding slightly behind the man she loved.

"It was pleasant enough, thank you for asking" Doyle replied, a smirk present on his own features, and a look that told Spike they'd have further discussions about this later, when the lady was no longer present.

"I should really get dressed" Cordelia said, kissing Doyle on the cheek and scuttling back to the bedroom to find her clothes.

"So, the princess finally gave it up then" Spike said when she was out of earshot.

"'S not like that Spike, and you know it" his Irish friend shook his head, "Me and Cordy, 's not like the other relationships I've had, if you could even call 'em relationships" he sighed, "She's different, she's.. special" he explained, "She's the one, Spikey Boy, and there won't be anymore if I can help it"

"Know what you mean, mate" the bleached blond nodded, "Last night with Buffy, God I didn't know I could love like that. Even me and Dru, it was good and I loved her and all but this..."

"Right there with ya, man" Doyle nodded, knowing exactly what he was trying to say despite the fact neither of them could put it into words.

Their lives had been turned upside down by the introduction of two women who had not seemed to be obvious choices for them romantically. Still, it seemed it was happiness all the way for Buffy and Spike, and Cordy and Doyle, they hoped it would be for a while at least.

Buffy was still grinning as she arrived back at her apartment, luggage in hand. The weekend hadn't started out too great but it had ended better than she could ever have imagined. She and Spike were together now, and it was a forever deal as far as she was concerned. From the words he'd said and way he'd acted these past twenty-four hours, Buffy had no doubt that Spike felt exactly the same way.

They'd gone their separate ways less than a mile down the road, and as weird as it was, Buffy was already missing him. They had plans to meet up at the Bronze later, by which time the blonde was sure she'd be going crazy from not being with him so long. A few hours seemed like a lifetime right now, which was strange since she could spend days without seeing Angel and really not pay that much attention to his absence. In the beginning it had been different of course and even now she complained when her man went away, but it seemed to Buffy it had become more of a habit than anything else. She was used to having him around and when he wasn't there it felt wrong, though less so these days. Things only felt wrong now when it was Spike she didn't see, but her smile wavered as thoughts of Angel took over her mind.

Whether he'd ever cheated with Darla, or anybody else, Buffy wasn't absolutely certain. She had no evidence to prove his guilt or his innocence, only his word and a few nasty comments from Miss Mackenzie herself. What bothered Buffy was that her own guilt was very real. Angel might have cheated on her but she had definitely done wrong with Spike, and two of those didn't make a right, she knew that.

With a sigh she sat down on the couch, not staying there long when she noticed the light on the answer machine was flashing, indicating she had a new message. Walking over she hit the button and winced at the sound of Angel's voice on the tape.

"Hey, sweetheart" he said, she could imagine with a smile on his face, "I know you're probably not home from LA yet but, I guess I just felt kinda bad making you go alone. You have no idea how much I'm missing you right now" Buffy felt sick as she listened to the message, "Anyway, I'm headed home as soon as possible. I'll see you tonight, baby. I love you"

Buffy was torn between crying and screaming as she sat back down on the couch, putting her hands to her face and then running her fingers back through her hair. Angel loved her and missed her. Whilst she'd been in LA, making love with Spike, her boyfriend had been pining for her, feeling guilty for making her go on her trip without him.

Of course, none of that changed the fact she loved Spike more than she could ever love Angel, but she still cared about her almost-fiancé and the thought of how much she was going to hurt him when she told him they were over for good didn't thrill her at all. Right now she wished Spike was with her, to hold her like he had last night and this morning, telling her he'd love her always and that nothing could change that. She still knew it was true, and believed it, but it would make her feel so much better to have his arms around her.

Momentarily she considered going to find him, but resolved that she was being ridiculous. She was so strong, she'd stood alone long enough now. Just because she had Spike now didn't mean she had to run to him with every single little problem that came along. It still wouldn't do for anybody to think she couldn't stand on her own two feet.

Buffy was just getting up off the couch, intending to get her bag unpacked, take a shower, and get something to eat, when something caught her attention. A key in the front door made her freeze on the spot and she just wasn't sure which way to turn as Angel came through the door, a suitcase in one hand, a bag in the other, and a big smile on his face meant just for her.

"Angel" she said more quietly than she mean to, "You... you're earlier than I thought you'd be"

"I didn't mean to get back til late tonight" he admitted, "but I got out of a meeting today and manage to catch an earlier flight" he continue to grin as he dropped his luggage and walked over to her, "I missed you, sweetheart" he declared as he reached to put his arms around her and plant his lips on hers.

Buffy veered away, pushing her boyfriends hands away from her body and shifting so his lips barely grazed her cheek as she backed up.

"Is something wrong?" Angel asked her with a frown, wondering why she looked so close to tears, hoping it wasn't because of anything she may have heard regarding himself and his indiscretions with a certain Miss Mackenzie.

"Yes, and no" Buffy said vaguely as she dropped back onto the couch and gestured that Angel should also sit, which he did in the armchair opposite, "Angel, we need to talk"

"Sounds ominous" he said warily as he prepared himself for the worst. He never expected the little speech Buffy gave.

"Angel, you and me, we're good together" she began shakily, "Or at least I thought we were. These days it kinda feels like we've been drifting apart" she said with a sad sigh as she looked over at him, "We're not happy, Angel, it's not like it used to be"

"Of course it's not like it used to be, Buffy" he shook his head, "Time passes, things change, but love..."

"Love can change too" she said, before he could tell her different, "Angel, I just don't..." she couldn't finish the sentence, emotion taking her voice away, as she was forced to look away from her boyfriend's face. Whatever he might have done before, she was the one who was actually dumping him, and because she'd found another she loved more.

"Are you saying you don't love me anymore?" Angel asked her, and Buffy was surprised to look up and find his expression was far from the hurt and pain she'd expected, instead he was smirking as if holding in laughter.

"I still care about you" she said, a little confused by his reaction, "but I'm not in love with you anymore, I'm sorry"

"Really? You're sorry" Angel laughed, lightly at that, and Buffy couldn't understand what was happening.

"I didn't think it was something you'd find funny" she frowned, not loving the way he seemed not to care at all that they were over. Okay, so she didn't want to hurt him but it might've been nice to think he at least felt something about them being over - clearly he did not.

"It's not the situation that's funny" he explained, laughing still, "Y'know Darla said this would happen"
"This has nothing to do with Darla" Buffy ground out, not happy that such a name would be mentioned at this time.

"Sure it does" Angel shook his head, "She told me you'd do this, that you wouldn't be able to handle me and her being friends, and then we got talking about that bleached idiot that follows you round like a lost puppy..." he sighed, still looking highly amused, "It is him who's bed you've hopped into the second you were out of ours, right?" he asked with a filthy look.

Buffy was on her feet in a second, swinging her hand back and slapping him right across the face. Knowing she was capable of worse, Angel grabbed her wrists and pushed her back, just enough so she couldn't attack him anymore.

"You asshole!" she yelled in his face, but it was clear he didn't care at all.

"Whatever, Buffy" he said, seemingly bored of the whole thing, "You got yourself a new guy, I knew it'd happen" he shrugged, still holding her away from him but finding it took less effort as her anger turned to hurt, "We never loved each other enough, or at least you never loved me" he said, letting go of her arms when it became obvious all the fight had gone out of her.

"How can you say that?" she asked him incredulously, "I did love you, Angel, I never lied about that"

"You never loved me enough" he shook his head, "We dated for months before you'd even let me get near you. Do you know how boring that was, how frustrating?"
"You said you didn't mind waiting" she said quietly, "Because you loved me"

"Yeah, well, my Dad would've killed me if I screwed things up with you" he admitted with an eye roll, "Now your father's career is going south, your Mom doesn't have enough cash to matter, and I'm kinda flavour of the month at Wolfram and Hart" he smirked annoyingly, "I don't need you anymore" he explained simply and it was Buffy's turn to shake her head.

"Then why all the crap on the phone?" she asked, her anger returning as she realised how he'd played her, how stupid he'd made her look, even if no-one knew about it but the two of them, she still despised him for taking her for a fool, "All the 'I love you' and 'I miss you' stuff. Why, Angel!" she demanded to know.

"You have your uses these days" he shrugged, the dirty look in his eye making his meaning very obvious, "I wasn't about to give up on that just because I didn't need to marry you anymore"

As tears welled up in Buffy's eyes and her hands clenched into fists, all Angel did was smirk at her, all proud of himself, not in any way ashamed despite the abominable way he'd treated her. She no longer felt any kind of guilt for cheating on him, only anger and the want to tear him limb from limb.

"Get. Out." she said in a low voice that was almost too angry to be her own. Angel had never seen her looking so mad, almost feral, like she knew how to kill him with a single strike and she might just try if he didn't do as she asked.

Without another word, Angel walked away, his hands held up in mock surrender until he was finally out of sight. Once he was gone, Buffy sank down onto the couch, too many strong emotions exploding inside her, causing her to simultaneously beat up the nearest pillow and bawl like a child. A day that had started out so beautifully had taken a decided turn for the worse, and yet five minutes later when the pain began to subside, and Buffy's brain began thinking rationally again she wondered why she was really so angry.

She hated to be made a fool of, that was most of it, and shock that Angel could act as he had done today added to her initial anger and pain. Now she had a chance to process what had happened, she realised that perhaps Angel's lack of concern about her was a good thing. Her relationship with Spike would always have been tinged with guilt had she hurt her former lover too badly. Now she didn't have to worry about what she'd done to Angel, after all it was likely he'd done much worse, either way, he clearly didn't care at all about her or what they'd shared. If that was how he wanted to be, she could be just as unconcerned. Still, it didn't stop Buffy wishing Spike was there right now, with his arms around her, telling her it'd be okay.

To Be Continued...