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Finally getting over the shock of the outburst, Angel threw some money plus extra for the broken plates onto the table and ran outside; luckily Buffy was sauntering down the street and hadn't got too far. When he caught up with her she had her arms wrapped around her waist, tears streaming down her face.
"Hey" she jumped at his voice and sobbed loudly, not knowing what else to do he pulled her into his arms and held her tight as she cried. He whispered against her ear to calm her down as his hand rubbed up and down her back.
They had drew the attention of a few bystanders as well as some of the diner patrons who had come outside to continue the show they just received free of charge. Angel frowned once again then hailed a cab, quickly bundling her inside the back.
She kept her face pressed against his chest during the journey; he gave the driver some money and led her to her house. When he shut the door over Willow ran over to the pair to gather Buffy in her arms "What happened?"
Angel closed his eyes as another sob tore through her "Faith came into the diner and made some comments… called her things" he didn't want to repeat the words so not to upset her any further, Willow clicked on and clenched her jaw.
"That b – I –t – c –h!" he wanted to smile at her innocence but couldn't bring himself to, he wanted to wrap Buffy up in bubble wrap and protect her from every harsh thing in the outside world. They went into the living room and Buffy lay on the sofa.
Willow went into the kitchen with Angel, she ran her fingers through her hair repeatedly "I'm so sick of this, I want her to have at least one day where nothing bad sets her off, she's come a long way but people like Faith will set her back"
She picked out some pills from the cabinet and poured a glass of water, when he looked at the tablets she looked at him sadly "These will calm her down, let her get some sleep" he didn't like that she had to rely on medication to get some peace.
"At the beginning she took so much, lately she hasn't used them, just the odd day that she has to take them… I know that she doesn't want to but if she doesn't then she'll suffer exhaustion again"
Angel nodded in acceptance, it pained him that she was going through this, she lost the man she loved and now she was suffering "I'll be here if you need any help" she smiled gratefully at him then went back into the living room.
Buffy sat on the sofa in silence, completely void of emotion. Robotically she took the pills from Willow and downed them with the glass of water that was given "Thank you" she stood up and walked towards the stairs.
She stopped at the bottom to look at him "Sorry I ruined your evening" immediately she walked up to her bedroom without giving him a chance to reply. He looked at her retreating form with a lump in his throat, wanting nothing more than to follow her and hold her tight.
He looked back to Willow who had the same look on her face as he did, he didn't know what to say; Willow only tipped her head at him and he forced a smile as he walked towards the front door. Once outside he leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths.
It took a lot not to march back inside and scoop her into his embrace and spend the night with her but it was a foolish idea. He took one last look at the house then walked back to his own, struggling to keep his emotion in check, he couldn't believe that his Buffy was reduced to something so small.
She was always such a free spirit, bold and confident person, it was unnerving to see her shut herself off from the world. Angel ran his hands over his face then sat down heavily on the sofa once he made it home.
He'd always been able to compartmentalize, he could shut down his emotions at the drop of a hat – well, on the outside he could. His face would be a picture of calm, even stoic, broody for the most part but it was all just a front.
Right now he was a mess, his stomach was churning, he'd not felt like this since that day all those years ago; he didn't think it was possible to feel so dejected again. He hated it.
Oooooooooooooo
The next morning he called Willow to make sure she was okay, it was a bit of a relief to hear that she had slept throughout the night but to hear that she was mindlessly sitting around the house and had refused to eat her breakfast irked him.
Unfortunately he had a meeting that morning with the other members of staff from the office; it was the last prep work in the led up to the opening. He did his best to remain calm during the meeting, even when they all talked about getting some brunch.
Thankfully they accepted his apology for his early departure; he couldn't think of anything else apart from what happened last night. When he spoke to Will that morning he found out that she had no plans for the day, so he wanted to make it up to her.
Angel chapped the door and gave her his most charming smile, the vacant look on her face quickly turned to one of surprise "Angel" she whispered his name and let a small smile tug at her lips "I'm sorry about last night; I wanted to take you out for a nice meal and ruined it"
Buffy shook her head furiously "No! I'm sorry… it was all my fault, I couldn't control my feelings and I just snapped" her eyes glazed over as she spoke, he pulled her against his chest and shushed her, she took a few deep breaths to calm down.
"It's okay, you've been through a lot I would never hold anything against you" he kissed the top of her head, forgetting that she wasn't his anymore but it felt right. She let him into the house and closed the door.
"Why are you so good? I wouldn't expect you to look after me, I know you have your own life" they hadn't got around to discussing whether or not he was in a relationship; she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the truth.
Angel wiped a stray tear away from her cheek and smiled "I'll always have time for you Buffy" she closed her eyes and sighed contentedly "To make up for last night, I'm taking you out for brunch and before you say no, it's a place a little outside of town"
She gave him a look then looked down at her pyjamas, she felt and most likely looked horrible "I'll be a while" it was in her nature to find excuses to not go out of the house and socialise, he quirked his eyebrow at her "I don't mind waiting"
Buffy nodded firmly then made her way up to the bathroom to take a shower. Angel poured a coffee, knowing that she wouldn't mind and got comfortable at the table as he waited on her to get ready for the day.
As he sipped the coffee he thought about how being back in Buffy's life, even just as a friend was something he was happy with. Even if her husband was still alive he would be a friend, she was the type of girl that was likable and completely sweet.
When she came back down she smiled at him, he was staring into the mug like it was a crystal ball telling him the future. It confused her that he had walked back into her life and was there for her like he had never left.
Her heart broke when he left; she had hopes that they would survive the distance but sadly that didn't happen. It took her a long time to get over him, was it foolish to let him back in her life now?
"Ready" his face turned slowly to look at hers; he gave her a warm smile as he rinsed the mug out then extended his arm out to her. She chuckled lightly and linked her arm through his as he escorted her to the Plymouth outside.
She buckled herself in and looked around the plush interior, she knew that this was his dream; they had discussed such things during their heart to hearts. It was nice to know that he got something from his dreams to come true.
Angel smiled at her warmly knowing where her thoughts lay; he started the engine and took off out of town. The journey was pleasantly silent, he was happy enough for her not to be chatty as long as she was happy and not thinking about the incident.
The bistro he chose was near the beach, thankfully with it being a working day it wasn't filled with many people. They ordered their food and continued their conversation from last night before Faith had interrupted.
She found out that when he first went to College he shut out the rest of the world then gradually got included in sports and met a girl. He stressed that he didn't intend to fall for her but Nina was a rebound, she didn't last long.
He told the story of how he busted his ass off until he graduated and got the job he had, he told her when he spent the summer in Ireland visiting some relatives and how the land was beautiful and how much she would love it there.
When it came time to discuss her time, she told him candidly that she swore off men until she went to College herself and met Parker, it caused her embarrassment to tell him that he used her and cast her aside – she could see his jaw tick and let out a soft chuckle.
Then came time to talk about Riley, they had met at a Frat Party; unlike everyone else he was stone cold sober, he escorted her home only asking for a kiss on the cheek. She said it was like a breath of fresh air after Parker, it was just what she needed.
Angel bit back the jealousy at the way she talked about Riley, thinking of her being someone else's in the most serious of ways wasn't pleasant. When he saw the tears to begin to form in her eyes he said that she needn't talk if she didn't want to.
She placed her hand on his "Thank you Angel, my shrink says I should talk and not keep it in, it is helping" seeing the smile on her innocent face, he couldn't help but smile himself. He would push back any resentment and let her talk as much as she wanted.
"Anytime you need to talk just give me a call" he meant that, although it sounded like he was whipped, bending to her every whim, it wasn't a hardship, he wanted to be there for her. Once they were full they took a walk along the beach to bask in the sun before heading home.
He walked her to the door and smiled "I had a good day Buff" they stood awkwardly; it was usually at this point he would kiss her farewell but that would be entirely inappropriate. He looked down to his watch and sighed "Well I better go"
The smile on Buffy's face faltered, she had been having a good day, it was normal, no one looked down at her or looked at her with their sorry eyes, she was back to just being Buffy "Thank you, for today… I did have a good time"
He kissed the top of her hand "I'll see you around" she nodded then went inside; he slowly walked down the path back to his car. He saw her standing by the window, she raised her hand to wave at him before closing the blinds; he waved back at her just taking a moment to admire her beauty.