When Buffy woke again she was stark naked under the blanket and her body ached in all of her favorite ways but she didn't find the cause of that anywhere. She vaguely remembered him getting up but she was so exhausted she couldn't even open her eyes or her mouth to say anything. The bed was cold beside her and she doubted he really got any sleep at all last night.
Buffy fished out a pair of panties and another one of his shirts and went to go use the bathroom before going searching through the house for him. It didn't take long, finding him just sitting in his office drinking a large mug of coffee in his large leather chair. "You know I hate sleeping without you."
His head turned. "Sorry. My mind wouldn't turn off." He looked away quickly and down at his hands.
Buffy walked the length of the room to get to him, wasting no time crawling into his lap. "I love you."
Angel's head leaned against the top of her own. "I love you, too. I always have."
Buffy just laid there for awhile in silence with him, her fingers dancing random doodles on his bare chest. "Come take a shower with me," she finally whispered. "Then maybe we can go downstairs and figure out something to eat?"
OoOoO
Buffy was grateful that their morning shower sex, the act of just getting cleaned up and enjoying some hot, steamy water and making sure to build energy up on something more than coffee seemed to help perk Angel up a little bit. He still had this look on his face like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop or something and she hoped she'd be able to figure out how to make it disappear soon.
Buffy's eyes lingered on the large wedding photograph of the two of them as she joined him on the couch. "Xander thinks we should get married in Vegas."
She wasn't sure he was going to even respond, then finally he shook his head a little. "Xander and Cordy should get married in Vegas, not us."
"But we could even have an Elvis."
"I thought this was a dream wedding, not a nightmare," he said and for the first time since the news broke about Darla she felt a little relieved.
Buffy cuddled closer to him and smiled softly. "We should pick a place, though. We could do it here?"
"I don't like weddings in houses."
She was silent for a moment and looked at the photo again. "Maybe we could see about having it there again. Or, well, maybe in a smaller room and everything... but I kind of keep going back to it."
"They did have that little courtyard you liked with the birdhouse gazebo thing."
She'd forgotten all about it. "Maybe we can go look and put it down as a maybe? If we don't think of anywhere else?"
"Works for me," he told her. Buffy smiled brighter, glad he was even talking about this with her. Even if he was hesitant. "I want a photographer, lots of photos and videos."
"I assumed."
She smiled, she wanted the small scale wedding but that was one of the more expensive things she knew she wanted. She loved her wedding photos, and she knew she'd want it all captured again the second time as well.
"What about after?"
"What do you mean? I thought we had that planned out. Baby," she pointed at her stomach and he actually laughed.
"I meant with guests."
"Oh. Well, they're not invited for that part. That would just be awkward. Hmm, I don't know... Maybe everyone can come back here for awhile?"
"We could have a dinner? Just... enjoying friends and family."
"I like that. I don't want all the silly things again, it was fun the first time and perfect but that is just too much to recreate. Speeches, dances, games... Renting out some big space for it all... I don't need any of that."
"Okay," he told her, his voice still soft and unsure.
Buffy pretzeled herself around him once more. "Let's talk more about the part where we make a baby." All of the other wedding plans were quickly out of her mind. "You didn't use a condom last night, or this morning, and let's face it. Your pull out game is weak." She teased, resting her forehead in the crook of his neck.
She was right, but they didn't have any upstairs, he had checked last night. After his breakdown when he literally fell apart in her arms. He just hadn't had the strength to pull away from her to go look for one before he found himself slipping inside of her. This morning when she had led him up to the shower, he had still been so out of his mind with the fear of losing her. He had just needed to feel her again, even if they were batting-50 at this point.
"I still think we should wait." Buffy lifted her head to glare at him, even if she were pregnant right now, she still wouldn't be showing by their wedding.
"Why?" she pouted.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her more tightly against him. "Because that's how it's supposed to happen, I don't want to attend your doctor appointments as your boyfriend."
"Fiance," she corrected.
Angel just quirked an eyebrow at her, "In that circumstance, I don't think there's much of a difference."
She huffed, sometimes she loved how stubborn and tenacious he could be. Right now though, it was annoying. "If you haven't noticed, we're not exactly known for doing things how they're supposed to be done. And," she stressed. "We're getting married in less than three months. There couldn't possibly be that many doctor appointments between now and then. Honestly, I doubt anyone would even realize we weren't married, we have the same last name."
He bit back the smile that kept threatening to take over his features. He had to admit she was adorable trying to convince him, she really did have an answer for everything. "I would know," he stressed, placing a quick kiss to her lips. "Lindsey thinks we should wait too."
Buffy slightly pulled away from him, rolling her eyes. "Since when does Lindsey get a vote in our sex life?"
Angel closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the sofa. "He doesn't, Love, I'm just saying it's smarter to wait, and there's actually someone out there who agrees with me. We have a lot on our plate right now, and a baby is huge. It would be a lot to handle."
Buffy took advantage of the access he had given her to his neck. She created a trail with her lips, knowing just how to undo him. "Well, what if we don't try? We just stop not trying. Ya know, like last time?" She softly spoke into his ear.
His eyes cut over to her own, "Same thing," he deadpanned.
Buffy stuck her lower lip out, frowning. Last time, it had been Angel who was dead set on trying for a baby. He was the one who convinced her to throw out her birth control pills, he was the one who came up with the whole "just let things happen motto".
"Fine." She huffed, frustrated. "But for the record I'm not on board with this, so if you want to wait or whatever then that's your responsibility buster."
Angel couldn't help the laugh that escaped him, shifting them on the couch, he pulled her underneath him. "Is that right?"
Buffy pulled his mouth down to meet hers, their playful kisses soon took on a life of their own as they each battled the other for dominance. Helping him pull his shirt off and over his head, he tossed it to the side as she unbuttoned his pants. Her nimble fingers were just about to pull down his zipper, when the sound of 'Friends in low places' belted from her phone.
"Ignore him." Angel breathed. "Why is he calling you anyway?" He added as an afterthought.
As much as she wanted too, she had a bone to pick with the opinionated Mr. McDonald.
Pushing Angel back, just enough to slip from underneath him, she grabbed her phone hitting the button to accept his facetime.
Angel grumbled something she couldn't quite make out about not having enough to practice to make a baby. Which just caused her to look back and stick her tongue out. Rolling over to his back, he held open his arms for her to return to them with the phone.
It took a minute for the video to come through, it always did when Linds was in the office. He really needed to have the wifi updated. "Why hello there beautiful, how's my future bride?" He flashed her that thousand watt smile as he waited for her to answer.
Angel tried to snatch the phone from her but she moved before he could grab it. "Not your bride, McDonald."
Lindsey let out a hearty laugh, he would never tire of making him jealous.
Buffy returned to Angel's arms, laying down next to him, she adjusted the phone so that both of their faces could be seen.
"So Linds… Angel tells me you have thoughts and I would really like to hear them... from you."
Lindsey wasn't sure what she was talking about, the last thing he wanted to do was cause any problems between these two. He had just wanted to call and feel things out, make sure Angel had done what he was supposed to do.
"I'm not sure I know what you mean darling." He tried to play dumb, shooting her a wink.
"She knows Linds, I told her last night." Angel said, placing a kiss to her forehead.
Lindsey leaned back in his office chair, his hands folded behind his head, he took a moment to take in the picture of them together. "Well I'll be damned O'connor, you finally grew a pair."
Angel hadn't mentioned talking to Lindsey about Darla, but it made sense now that she thought about it. Lindsey would have pushed him to tell her the truth. Instinctively, she held onto him just a little tighter.
Angel simply flipped him off in response, which Lindsey just laughed about. "Now Princess, what did you wanna hear my thoughts on?"
Buffy glared at him through the screen, "Well... Angel said, that you don't think we should try for a baby."
As soon as she said "Angel said", he knew was in trouble. Lindsey was damn good at what he did, meaning he could be a fucking chamillion when he needed too.
"Now, I said no such thing, Buttercup. Hell, I think a baby's a great idea. Angel must have misunderstood me." Buffy turned her glare towards Angel, she knew Lindsey was full of shit but sometimes it was fun to play along with him in order to make Angel squirm, it was their thing.
Angel turned the phone so that he was facing Lindsey head on. Buffy listened to them bicker back and forth for a while, but once the conversation switched to work, and the acquisition of the case Angel had been assigned to take over she quickly grew bored.
Out of Lindsey's view, she twisted, sliding off the couch down to her knees. Being as quiet as she could, she swatted Angel's free hand away as she worked his zipper down. Glancing up she saw his eyes grow wide, just as she heard the voice of Lindsey's boss joining the conversation, grabbing his semi-hard member and began to work him with her hand.
She was far from an expert at this, giving him head. It wasn't that he didn't want her too, he'd just always said it was just too much to handle, that he didn't want things to be over before they started. Slowly, she took his now swollen head into her mouth, taking her time she relaxed taking him all the way down her throat.
Angel made more incoherent noises it seemed than actual words trying to get off of the phone with Lindsey. It fell out of his hands and onto the floor not long after he ended the call, Buffy felt it bounce off the carpet a few inches away from her. His body seemed to nearly levitate off of the seat not long into her new, thorough exploration. She knew all about his concerns about such actions but it made her feel powerful and incredibly sexy to be able to have such an effect over him.
Angel had always been so in tune with her, it was like he could read her mind... he always knew exactly how to taste her, how to touch her. Before everything went to hell in a hand basket their sex life was far from lacking but she had to admit she held back at times on a few things. She'd gone into her relationship with him with very little experience with sexual relationships and then you add in just being young, naive, insecure... whatever the case was... and there were a number of things she wanted to try out with this man but never felt brave enough to until recently.
Nearly dying, nearly never having the chance to be with him at all ever again had a way of easing a lot of those fears. Their time apart and literally just missing him and craving him while they were apart didn't hurt matters either. And then to get the chance to be with him... again... it felt like she just could never get enough of him.
Angel held out as long as he possibly could, he warned her that he was going to come, and it only turned her on more. She squeezed her thighs together as she brought him over the edge one final time.
OoOoO
Buffy could not say she envied the mornings where Angel had to wake up early to go to his office in LA. She tried most of these dreadful mornings to at least wake up briefly and tell him she loved him and to be safe... but to be honest it did not always go as planned. She sighed at the empty spot beside her when she did wake up, but she smiled when she saw the gift card and little note left on his pillow. He'd been gone for at least a couple hours by the time she'd woken and still she wasn't in much of a rush to get the day started.
Sunnydale was great in countless ways, but its shopping choices did leave a lot to be desired so she was happy for the excuse to take a little road trip a few towns over. She ignored Angel's reply about if there was anything he wanted her to pick up while she was out, him telling her she should pick up condoms just was not going to happen and she was sure he knew it.
If he wanted them so bad, he could go get them. Again. And she would probably try to get rid of all of them once he did. Again.
It was a fun new game.
Buffy had gone through two stores at the mall, including the lingerie superstore that Angel had left the card for, when she found herself standing in front of an outlet for baby clothes. A lady behind her asked if she wanted to try a free sample of some cookies and she walked over and thanked her but it didn't take long for her to return to the same spot in front of the large window display.
Her eyes roamed over every single item that she could spot from where she stood... mostly clothes... adorable, plentiful, small as could be clothes... but also the teeny tiny shoes, bibs with funny sayings on them or cute animals, bows and hair accessories for little girls, small, soft toys for little hands. Way in the back she could spot things like a variety of mobiles for cribs, signs to hang on a nursery wall for decor, diaper bags, infant bath tubs, and so much more.
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," she whispered out loud, trying to restrain herself from going in.
OoOoO
Buffy's final purchase before leaving the mall was a keepsake shadow box for the wedding, for their home once the wedding was over. She had almost missed it but as soon as her eyes had laid on it she just had to have it. Buffy waited the extra few minutes to have it engraved and personalized and happily looked through the rest of what the little store offered.
As she strolled the isles, her mind drifted back to when she was busy planning her first wedding to Angel. She would have been in heaven here, probably buying one of everything she thought. She had to admit more than a few things were tempting even now but she knew there wasn't a need for most of it this go 'round.
OoOoO
She'd barely got all the bags into the back of the trunk when her phone rang, Buffy's face broke out into a smile as soon as she answered and she happily set up a time to come in for an interview for the preschool position. The lady had gone over the qualifications with her once more and the times and Buffy couldn't help but tell her that it would be perfect for her.
Three hours a day, three days a week sounded like exactly what she wanted right now. It would be working, getting a little extra money, getting experience with little kids. All around it seemed perfect to her. Especially when you're trying to build your relationship with your ex husband back up, plan your wedding to make him your husband again, and hopefully be pregnant with a child of your own soon.
'If not carrying one already,' she thought. Her periods hadn't been normal in some time now and she hadn't even dared think about testing yet.
OoOoO
Buffy was just outside of Sunnydale when Angel was out of his latest meeting and able to call her back. She told him a little about her mall adventures with him on speaker phone but mostly wanted to tell him about the job situation. "I'm going to be truly upset if I don't get it."
"Don't think like that," he told her. "It'll be amazing if you do, and if not then something better will come along."
She made a noise at him. Then she made a completely different one almost immediately after.
"Buffy? Are you okay?"
Buffy quickly pulled off to the side of the road, her jaw clenching. She let out a breath before checking to make sure she really saw what she thought she saw.
And yes, standing right out there in the parking area of one of the newest luxury apartment complexes that had been built on the outskirts of town stood Darla. She was mere feet away from a sporty looking red car, standing there talking away with another woman, a clipboard with papers in her hand, a giant smile on her face.
OoOoO
It had taken a lot of convincing on her part to ensure Angel that he didn't need to leave work early. She sat there, on the side of the road for at least thirty minutes trying to decipher what she had just seen.
Was Darla a tenant at those new apartments?
Did she work there?
Was her family's company connected to the construction?
She was so grateful that Angel had told her about running into her that day at the supermarket. Seeing Darla with her own eyes had thrown her, she didn't want to imagine what seeing her unexpectedly would have done.
It was too coincidental, her being here. Showing up now, after two years, just when things between her and Angel were good again. No, there was no doubt in her mind that Darla had connections, and one of them had to be keeping her informed about Angel's life. Probably one of his colleagues, someone from Wolfram & Hart.
When Angel first told her about Darla, she really wasn't too bothered about it, well it bothered her, but she wasn't panicked. She guessed seeing her with her own eyes made things different, more real. At least Spike was dead, she didn't think she could handle having to deal with the possibility of that again.
Finally making it home, she carried everything in the house, and dropped it all on the table. Not even bothering to empty the bags, she walked straight to the kitchen, taking a wine glass out of the cupboard. She had never been a huge drinker, and she had especially been avoiding it the last week or two since her and Angel had been slacking in the protection department.
Telling herself that even if she did happen to be pregnant, one glass wouldn't hurt anything, she grabbed the bottle of Cabernet. Quickly pouring it, she grabbed her phone and headed up the stairs.
She just needed to clear her mind, well that's what she kept telling herself anyway. After seeing the way Angel fell apart that night, she definitely didn't want him coming home to find her freaking out. She knew he would automatically assume the worst, making himself believe that she had doubts about him, about them. Which she didn't, the thought of him was actually the only thing keeping her sane right now. She knew he would never let anything come between them again, not if he could help it.
Walking into the bathroom, she turned the faucet on the tub and adjusted the water temperature. Remembering the bubbles she had left over from some old bath set, she peered under the sink in search of them. Spotting them in the corner, she went to grab them only to roll her eyes when a strip of condoms fell out from behind the bottle. Suddenly annoyed with the condoms, Darla, herself, just the entire situation, she pulled them out and grabbed the scissors from the drawer next to her. Slicing all of them in half, she left the remnants scattered across his side of the sink.
Discarding her clothes, she made sure to sit her phone next to the tub, and grab her wine before stepping in. The warm water instantly worked to soothe her tense muscles. Grabbing her phone once more, she waited for the bubbles to be high enough to just cover her nipples, before blindly snapping a selfie of herself sipping wine, eyes closed. When she glanced at the photo, even she was surprised with how well it turned out. Needing a distraction, she quickly sent it to Angel with the caption, Missing You.
Okay. So maybe him ducking out of work early didn't sound like such a bad idea anymore.
OoOoO
Angel wasn't getting anything accomplished, sitting in his office, nervously he tapped his desk with a pen.
Fucking Darla.
He knew he should have tried to work remotely so that he could go shopping with her today. But Buffy had told him that she wanted to pick something up, that she intended to surprise him with it later. That alone made him want to get in the car and drive to work this morning.
Also, there just wasn't a way to make it work with the Keller meeting going on. Which had gone to complete shit once Buffy had seen Darla, he had returned to the meeting from lunch completely unable to focus. Eventually excusing himself, on the basis of an emergency he had one of his interns sit in to take notes. They had went over the most important matters this morning anyway, he wouldn't be missing much.
He had tried to call Lindsey once he ditched the meeting, but only got an automated "Not Now." in response. At least he assumed it was automated, guy could really be a dick sometimes.
Buffy had promised him that she was okay, she had made him promise not to come home. It was taking everything in him to keep that promise right now though. The thought of Darla gallivanting around Sunnydale still made him feel like there was an elephant sitting on his chest. He hated how far the office was, he hated how long it would take him to reach her if something happened.
Ever since Buffy told him about what happened with Spike, his mind had been spinning with the possibility that Darla had set the entire situation up. He had no way to prove it of course, and Buffy had insisted that Spike seemed to hate his sister as much as she did. Though he had learned the hard way, never to trust a Pratt. Buffy was adamantly against a police report, so they couldn't garner her any protection that way. She had insisted, especially now that he was dead anyway, saying she didn't want her name attached to that freak in any fashion. He hadn't pressed her any further.
He needed to find out why Darla was hanging around Sunnydale, if there was any chance it was coincidence he needed to know now. He had no doubts that he would kill Darla if anything happened to Buffy again. Especially now that they were more or less letting nature take its course in regards to starting a family.
Sure, he was still trying to put it off by wearing a condom. But she had succeeded in seducing him more than once, plus her little game was kind of fun. Besides, the one time he tried the pull-out method, he had thought she was going to cry. The look of betrayal on her face was almost comical, thankfully he had been smart enough not to laugh. As it was she had refused to speak to him for hours.
Reciting, "Everything's fine, Angel," everytime he asked her what was wrong.
Later that night he had "forgot" about the condom, and made sure he was buried deep within her when he came.
Suddenly her attitude disappeared... Ya, he knew her game.
The chiming of his phone snapped him from his thoughts. Quickly opening the text from Buffy, he sat staring slack jawed at the image before him. Hadn't she just told him not to leave?
OoOoO
Buffy wasn't a bit surprised by the sound of the phone call coming through, she gave a wicked smile at the screen showing his name before answering. "Are you alone?" she asked before he could say anything.
"Yes," he answered slowly.
"Are you alone in your office?"
Again, "Yes."
Buffy chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. Part of her wanted to tell him that she had changed her mind and he needed to come home right now... the waiting for at the very least for an hour for him to arrive gave her pause, though. Instead, she asked him to hold on for a moment before switching their regular ol' phone call over to a video chat. "Hi there," she nearly purred when it went through.
Buffy took in the image of him leaning back comfortably in his office chair, his head tilting to the side the smallest bit, his eyes slowly taking in every detail of what was before him. His free hand propped up on the arm rest of the large chair and it came up to his handsome face, fingers curling slightly near his lips. "Hello, Beautiful," he spoke again at last.
Buffy felt warmth run through her entire body at the tone of his voice. She forced herself to move enough to where she could prop the phone up at a perfect angle without having to worry about dropping it into the water alongside her.
"You're making me want to a break a promise over here, woman."
Buffy took another long sip from her glass. "But then you would miss out on all the fun," she teased.
"I'm sure I'd have plenty of fun when I got there," he told her with a wink.
Buffy just shook her head, her nape of her neck brushing lightly against the lip of the tub as her head moved back and forth. She knew all too well that self pleasure was nowhere near the same as Angel's touch but it would just have to do for now. She hoped this little adventure would help her relax and be a little less in her head by the time Angel did return to the house.
Angel's eyes had darkened as she cupped her breast, teasing her nipple into a pointy, tight knot. Her thumb brushed up and down against it, making her start to pulsate between her thighs. Her other hand landed on her opposite thigh, helping spread her legs further apart. The act made little waves form in the tub and crash against her, she enjoyed the sensation.
He'd loosened his tie as her hand trailed from her breasts, down her stomach, disappearing into the bubbles. She imagined her fingers as his as she began to slide them in and out of her wetness, imagined his wet tongue taking its time as she rubbed and rolled her clit around with her fingertips.
The only other time Angel had spoken was when his husky voice filled the entire bathroom to tell her he wanted to see more. She hadn't been about to deny him such a request and bared all for him to see as her hands became more frantic, her body begging for release.
ButImBroken:
This was cowritten with the endlessly talented Scribes1015!