Los Angeles, California
17322 Tonto Drive #315
Covering Buffy's eyes with a blindfold, Angelus carefully led her down a long hallway towards the front door of an expansive 5-bedroom and 5.5 bathroom, two-level corner townhome with a balcony and rooftop view, overlooking Los Angeles.
"Angel?" Buffy smiled with excited anticipation, not having a clue about Angelus' surprise. "Can I take this off now?"
"Hold on." He took a key from his pants pocket and unlocked the front door. Facing his wife, Angelus took Buffy's hands and guided her inside.
"Now?" Buffy impatiently asked.
Angelus looked around the pristine and well-furnished home with an open concept kitchen and living area with three separate patio balconies. "Yeah." He told her, untying the blindfold.
"Oh my…" Buffy stood slack-jawed looking around the luxurious townhouse.
"I know. It's pretty incredible, isn't it?" Angelus took Buffy's hand and spun her around, letting her fall into his arms.
"It's something." Buffy said, feeling a bit uncomfortable and confused. "What's going on? You didn't rent this place for a weekend, did you? 'Cause, wow, this place must cost a fortune." She looked around, overwhelmed.
Angelus caressed the claddagh ring around her finger. "Not exactly for the weekend. It's a perk."
"A perk for what?"
"For…" Angelus pulled her closer into his chest, lacing his fingers between hers, "... the job I took."
Immediately snapping out of the overwhelmed haze and the general weak at the knees feeling, Buffy stood upright and serious. "What job? When did you get another job?"
"I was offered a position at Wolfram & Hart." He announced, expecting her to be gleefully happy, but instead, she stared at him totally dumbfounded.
"What are you talking about? You already have a job."
Angelus dropped her hands and heavily sighed. "Honey, I'll be making three hundred grand a year, plus bonuses, and that's just a start."
The befuddled expression on her face did not change.
Angelus grew a bit frustrated. "I will be making millions by next winter. And, we'll live here, rent free for as long as we want."
"Live in this museum? Here? In Los Angeles?" Buffy rubbed her forehead, suddenly plagued with a headache.
"Yeah." He said, cocking his head to one side.
"Are you out of your mind?" Buffy exclaimed, dropping her arms at her sides.
Taken back with surprise, Angelus hadn't anticipated this reaction to the news. "This is going to be better for our family." He argued. "We'll put Katie and Liam in private schools."
"Kate and Liam already go to great schools."
Angelus reached for her hands, pulling her a bit closer towards him. "Honey, Buf, I'm talking about the best schools in the country." His hands slid up her arms, grasping her shoulders.
"What about my job? I can't just pick up and leave."
Angelus swung his arm out, gesturing towards the view of the Los Angeles skyline. "This is L.A.! There are a thousand schools in this city and needy students that need your guidance."
Feeling totally blinded-sided by all of this, Buffy needed a moment to catch her breath. She gathered her thoughts and pushed her hair from her face. "Angel, we decided against living in L.A. for a reason. We didn't want to raise our children in a city."
Although reluctant, Angelus conceded. "Buf... fine, we don't have to live in this townhouse. If you wanna stay in Sunnydale, we'll stay in Sunnydale. I'll commute."
"In Los Angeles traffic?" Buffy raised the arch of her brow, finding the immediate flaws in this new plan. "That's like four hours each way per day. When are you gonna see our children?"
Desperate for Buffy to 'get onboard', Angelus used every tactic in his book to convince his wife. "Buffy, sweetie, you're not understanding me. I'm talking about the perfect life. More money then we know what to do with. Everything we've always wanted at our fingertips. We don't need to keep making sacrifices anymore."
"That's what being parent means! Making sacrifices." Buffy took a deep breath. "And what about Wesley?" She reminded him of his old unsuspecting friend that will certainly not be happy about his sudden job change. "You're just gonna leave him high and dry like this?"
"I'll handle it." He said.
Inhaling a slow breath, Buffy looked around the beautiful townhouse. She didn't want to tour the home, not yet ready to surrender her side of the argument.
Angelus carefully eyed his wife as she pensively pursed her lips together and slowly paced back and forth. He could almost hear the wheels in her brain crank.
Shaking her head, Buffy folded her arms across her chest. "Don't take Katie out of a school she loves and where all of her friends are. Please, don't move us out of a home we're raising our family in."
This was not at all how Angelus thought this would go. A part of him was certain she'd be excited. "Buf, you're making this into something it's not. It's just a step forward. I'm talking about a life everyone will envy."
"They already do." Wounded by his dissatisfaction with their life, Buffy turned away, walking out of the townhouse leaving Angelus to stare after her.
Night
1630 Revello Drive: Katie's Bedroom
Seated on the edge of Katie's bed, Angelus exhaled a heavy breath looking around the dim lit room. He noticed inside the doorframe they had been actively measuring the six-year-old's height.
For the rest of the day, Buffy's words kept echoing in his mind. He had so badly wanted to get a semblance of his old life back that he hadn't thought it all the way through. Working at Wolfram & Hart would break this family apart. His absence would break them.
Turning his gaze around the bedroom, Angelus noticed a framed picture on top of Katie's dresser he had not noticed before.
Standing from the bed, Angelus crossed the short distance to the photograph and picked it up, examining it carefully. It was a picture of Buffy. She sat on a park bench with an ice cream cone in hand. She looked to be nine months pregnant. Angelus wished he was there for the pregnancy and the first six years of his daughter's life.
Rubbing the back of his neck, the sound of soft rustling behind him tore Angelus' attention from the picture. He stepped back over to Katie, pulling the cover up to her shoulder. Lovingly, he leaned downward, brushing his lips to the side of her head.
Tiredly, Katie shifted, slowly peeking her eyes open. "Daddy?"
"Go back to sleep." Angelus whispered.
"I knew you'd come back." Katie muttered, hugging Mr Gordo tighter in her arms. She closed her eyes and fell back into a deep slumber.
Angelus stood up tall, watching her for a few minutes before quietly exiting the room.
Downstairs: Living Room
From the kitchen, Buffy walked into the living room to find Angelus sitting in a chair adjacent to the couch holding a large photo album in his hands. She had noticed lately, he has been pretty nostalgic. She had found the open DVD case of their honeymoon. She wondered what had gotten into him.
Standing behind him, looking over his shoulder at the album of their wedding.
It was a rather small wedding with only their closest friends and Buffy's mother and stepfather. Angelus' grandfather lived long enough to see his only grandson get married before passing away.
"That was a good day." Buffy said, startling him.
Angelus lifted his head, watching Buffy walk around the coffee table and sit down on the couch. She held a hot cup of tea in her hand.
"It was." He said, although he didn't remember it. In the photographs, their wedding day looked perfect.
Buffy set the tea cup over a coaster on the coffee table. "When you left for L.A. I was sure you weren't coming back." She admitted, much to Angelus' surprise. "And then you did. You told me that it was for good."
Angelus felt a piercing stab of guilt for never coming back to her.
"That year you were gone," Buffy continued, "I'd think about you in L.A. and I wondered what was going through your mind. Were you imagining what our lives could be like apart or imagining what our life could be like together?"
Angelus swallowed, watching her exhale a soft breath.
A small half-smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, Buffy looked around the living room. "Maybe I'm being naive and fantasising that we'd grow old together in this house surrounded by fat grandchildren and a tea cozy." She looked at him for a moment then stood, shifting to sit on the edge of the coffee table. Buffy reached for his hand. "But, none of those fantasies amount to my love for you. When I look into the future, Angel, all I see is you. All I want is you. So, if you want to move, I'm okay with that because me, you, and our children are more important than any address."
Angelus closed the album, putting aside. He leaned forward, cupping Buffy's cheek in his hand. "I love you." He whispered before kissing her.
Holding her hand, Angelus pulled Buffy across his lap, never breaking their passionate kiss.
Warmth spread through her, shooting towards her groin, Buffy's fingers played with the short hairs at the base of Angelus' neck. He ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair.
Finally breaking apart, they looked at each other, both slightly out of breath. His eyes were dark, almost black with desire. Angelus gazed at Buffy and couldn't help but get a little bit harder than he already was as he saw her swollen lips. She was, quite simply, the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.
Stroking her hand over the side of his face, she asked, "Do you want to go up stairs?"
"I don't know if I'll make it upstairs." He replied, making her smile.
Buffy was the first to stand, she held out her hand for Angelus to take. He did.
Heading up the stairs, Buffy led the way by hand.
In the master bedroom, Buffy turned one lamp on in the room so it was bathed in soft golden light. Standing a few feet apart, Buffy stared at her husband of eight and a half years. She slowly began to unbutton the front of her plaid flannel shirt then dropped it to the floor.
Seeing her standing there, only in a pair of unbuttoned jeans and a bra, Angelus swallowed and tugged his sweater over his head. He toed off his shoes, along with his socks and pushed his jeans off.
Clad only in their underwear, the two moved to the bed and were soon entwined on top of the comforter as they once again began kissing and sharing erotic touches. Angelus adeptly reached behind Buffy's back and unhooked the lacey bra. Slowly, he moved the straps off of her shoulders and down her arms before throwing the article away. Her breasts were bare to his heated gaze.
Buffy softly moaned as his mouth took one of her nipples into his mouth. He alternated suckling and nibbling on it. She entwined her fingers in his hair and held him to her, willing him to never stop. Amidst her protests, he did, but only long enough to move to the other nipple, not wanting to neglect it. Angelus snaked his hand down her belly and under the waistband of her panties to her center. She cried out as he inserted one finger inside her, finding her already wet with desire.
Much to Buffy's disappointment, after a few minutes, Angelus sat up, abandoning her breasts. Her body was writhing on the bed with her panties around her knees while Angelus worked two fingers in and out of her grasping channel. He massaged her clit with the pad of his thumb.
Her moans were getting louder as she began to lose control. Angelus covered her mouth, smothering her cries as an orgasm wracked through her and she shook with the waves of pleasure.
Gently extracting his hand, Angelus smiled wickedly at her. Buffy returned the smile.
Momentarily, Angelus climbed off the bed to slide his boxer-briefs down his legs while Buffy pulled her panties the rest of the way off.
Once they were both nude, Angelus returned to her, positioned above her with the weight of his upper body on his arms. Buffy's legs were spread and he settled between them, the head of his erection butting against her slit and creating a most pleasurable torture for the both of them until she reached down and guided his length home.
Angelus slowly slid inside Buffy as he looked her in the eye. She stared right back at him and reached her hand up to touch his face, the tips of her fingers tracing his lips until he dipped his head down and kissed her sensually.
Angelus kept his slow pace as he slid in and out of her, while Buffy lifted her hips to meet him.
Before long Buffy found herself in the throes of a second orgasm, Angelus continued thrusting languidly and kissing the side of her neck while she arched her back and moaned. Her hands clutched his forearms tightly. Her eyes squeezed shut.
It felt so good… and so right.
Buffy surprised him by rolling Angelus onto his back, without pulling out. She pushed herself up with her hands on his shoulders.
Using her vaginal muscles, Buffy squeezed Angelus' length and smiled when he groaned. She started moving faster, rolling her hips in a circular motion. His hands found their way to her hips, aiding her move up and down faster, growing closer to release.
As Angelus started to come, he drove his hips up, spilling his seed deep inside of Buffy. That was all it took for Buffy to have her third climax of the night. Her head flung back as she fervently slammed against him. They continued moving against each other as their orgasms passed, more and more slowly until they stopped and Buffy laid against his chest again.
After a few warm kisses, they fell asleep in each other's arms, sated.
Los Angeles, California
Outside: Wolfram & Hart
Angelus stayed up most of the night coming to a final decision. A decision that put pause on his selfish desires and thought about what would be best for his wife and two children.
Promptly in the morning, Angelus drove into Los Angeles before hitting the rush hour traffic. He marched straight into Lilah Morgan's office and declined the offer to work at Wolfram & Hart.
A weight seemed to have lifted from Angelus' shoulders as he walked across the large plaza to the revolving door. He felt free and for the first time in his life, Angelus knew exactly what he wanted.
He wanted Buffy, Katie and Liam. He wanted to live in the suburbs, make funny-shaped pancakes, go to hockey games, and make love to one woman for the rest of his life.
Heading towards the Jeep, Angelus held the cellphone to his ear, listening to the ringing while finally getting the voicemail.
"Hey, Buf, it's me." He said, pressing the key button to unlock the doors. "I turned down the job. You're right. Of course, you are." He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You always are. Me, you, and the kids... that's all that matters. I'll be home in an hour… or maybe two depending on traffic. I love you, honey. Bye." Angelus pressed the red button to end the phone call. The dial screen vanished leaving Angelus to look at the photo of Buffy and the kids on his background. Angelus smiled to himself.
"'I love you, honey?'" Angelus whirled around to find Whistler standing behind him, checking his cuticles. "Wow. You've turned into a sap." Whistler chuckled.
Angelus took a defensive step back, keeping ample space between him and the strange man from Brooklyn.
"So you did it. You used that squishy thing in your chest rather than that wrinkly pink thing in your skull."
"You." The colour drained from Angelus' face. "What are you doing here?"
Whistler shrugged. "I'm waiting for you."
"Why?"
The smirking smile on Whistler's mouth slowly faded. "I think you know why."
Angelus shook his head and started to walk away from Whistler, desperate to escape. "No, you're not sending me back."
"Good to see you too." Whistler said, looking over his shoulder as Angelus made a quick exit.
Glancing back over his shoulder, Angelus did not see Whistler behind him. As he looked forward, Angelus jumped back, startled to see Whistler standing right in front of him.
"Looking better than the pajama pants from the last time I saw you. You really figured things out, huh?" Whistler asked.
"I'm not going back." Angelus panicked. "You can't do this. You can't force me to live this life only to take it away."
Whistler bit the toothpick in the corner of his mouth. "Maybe at the beginning of this, I should've asked what you were prepared to give up?"
Grabbing his hair as if he was going to pull it out, Angelus saw his entire life flash before his eyes. "I've got kids. My daughter… She's got an ice hockey game at four-thirty. I told I'd be there. She counts on me. I'm staying." He decisively decided and ran back to the Jeep. "I want to stay."
Leaning against the Jeep, Whistler sighed, having always hated this part. "You can't stop it. This was a glimpse. It was never supposed to be permanent."
"No. Stay away from me." Angelus rushed around the front of the Jeep, throwing open the driver's side door.
"Angel!" Whistler watched as Angelus frantically started the Jeep's engine. "Sorry, man." He muttered, tossing the toothpick onto the sidewalk and snapped his fingers.
[Original] Present Day-2011
The Host: Parking Lot
Sitting in the driver's seat of the Jeep, the world around Angelus warped and changed, dipping into black. As he regained consciousness, Angelus opened his eyes and realised that he was back where he started. Standing in the parking lot outside a car with a gun pointed to his back.
"What?" Angelus mumbled under his breath in a panic. His heart rate sped up, pebbles of sweat dripped down his forehead, terror suffocated him. Had he really lost everything? This couldn't be real. He wanted to desperately go back. "I want to go back."
"Shut up. Make no sudden moves, mate," said a man with an English accent.
Angelus panicked. "I want to go back." His eyes welled with stinging tears.
"You're going nowhere, Peaches." The mugger but a hand grabbed Angelus' shoulder, forcing him to face forward. "I said, no sudden moves… mate."
"They need me!" Angelus cried, twisting around, punching the mugger across the face.
The mugger shoved Angelus against the car. His fists landed hard into Angelus' sides, slowly breaking him down.
Angelus furiously fought back, but the mugger seemed much too ready for the counter attack. The mugger's fists pounded across Angelus' face. A heavy black combat boot kicked Angelus in the stomach, causing him to double over.
Lifting his eyes, Angelus saw the butt of the mugger's gun coming straight down. The butt of the gun hit the side of the lawyer's head. Angelus collapsed to the ground, knocking him out cold.