"Stop that," Angel said from behind her, making Buffy nearly jump out of her skin.

"Jesus Christ, Angel," she said back to him, hitting at his shoulder lightly when he took a seat back down beside her.

"Hey, don't act like I didn't see those pretty eyes of yours scanning the place for someone to hook me up with. And I'm pretty sure you and I have an agreement about these little outings of ours about it being a break from all this matchmaking business..." he continued on.

Rolling her eyes, her hand waved him off for a moment. "What can I say? I'm not good at downtime. I like to stay busy and focused."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he drawled, quick to remind her that brain breaks were important, too, of their agreements regarding these little friend dates, and the fact somehow she'd gotten him set up with two different girls already today for different days this week. When discussing the terms of these little outings together he'd told her he didn't mind discussing the whole business of him trying to find a happy ending at the end of the rainbow and everything but he didn't want it to be taking over the entire time and he didn't want her scouting out women for him the entire time.

He had to admit she did seem a little less on edge today but then again she wasn't exactly used to just hanging out in the park having lunch with a human friend either so he let it slide when awkwardness seemed to take over and she reverted into the job.

"Okay, so, since you stated you don't get an over amount of time to do whatever it is you wish to do... tell me more about those things you miss out on and do enjoy when you get a chance," he encouraged, directing the conversation along.

OoOoO

Buffy sighed, her pen busily being bounced up and down against the blank page of her notebook. "Doyle?"

"Yes, Love?" He asked, his head turning around until he spotted her and came to stand by her little table at the shop.

She propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her palm as she looked over at him. "What are your favorite things to do out there when you're around the humans? Or, what are some things you wish you could do out there in the world... you know, just because?"

Without missing a beat or needing to think about it, Doyle quickly started sprouting off one thing after another and only stopped when he noticed Buffy's eyes getting bigger and bigger. "What?"

"I don't know, I guess... I guess I just don't think about stuff like that. My latest charge is full of weirdness - not in a bad way necessarily - and surprises. He has this whole idea about us being friends while we work on his happy ending... and he told me to make a list of some things I might want to do or places to go to around everything else and I was having a hard time coming up with anything and here you are..."

Doyle shrugged. "Really? You never see a roller coaster going at top speed, hear the screams and laughs and wonder what that's like? Or better, just say the hell with it and go try it out? Never hear about a movie and want to just take a couple hours and go sit in a theater and pretend to be part of the other side? Never wanted to just go hike a state park or go just do something for the hell of it and have some fun?"

Buffy thought more about it for a moment. "I mean, I guess some things I've done and probably longed for without really paying attention. It's just throwing me maybe. Probably because of the fact he wants to go do all these things and everything just feels out of place then."

Doyle was also silent for a moment before his eyes narrowed as he looked her over. "So he wants to be 'friends' with ya, huh?"

"It's really weird, isn't it?" Buffy grimaced.

He shrugged again. "Stranger things have happened. We've all swapped weirdo stories over the years, you know that. Just be careful..."

'I'm trying...' Buffy thought. She also thought about cluing him in on all the other mess of things going on with Angel but decided against it for now, hoping Lorne would be back around soon, and hopefully with some much needed answers to ease her worrying mind.

OoOoO

"I have a perfect activity planned for us to do on our next little friends day out," Buffy announced mere seconds after manifesting, nearly smack dab in the middle of hallway, and he thought she should feel lucky he hadn't bulldozed her over. "Though your next date isn't for another couple of days so that is a bit of a downer."

"Buffy, you do know that us doing something together isn't only allowed during those times, right?" he asked, his heart feeling like it was sinking into his stomach a little when she seemed to pause, taking that in. She had once made a comment about how those who'd made wishes such as his own rarely spent time with her outside of the call of duty and that circled around his brain a lot lately.

"We could do one of those paint night things! And see if we can't get you back into that studio of yours, hopefully now moved on from only being able to doodle out images of me, and back to doing things that you love."

He gave her one of those famous little half smiles of his, "Like the ones with wine?" He'd heard of them a time or two, though he had to admit he hadn't really looked into it. Though he was pretty sure he'd agree to prancing around in a tutu if it got her this excited.

"Uh huh, I think they call it painting with a twist," she nodded enthusiastically. She couldn't believe her luck when she stumbled across the ad for it while she was browsing aimlessly online for something she might like to do. So it wasn't necessarily something she'd always dreamt of, but it still sounded fun, she knew Angel would enjoy it, plus it might give her some more insight into something to help her get her job done.

"Let's go tonight."

"Tonight," she echoed, following him the rest of the way into his room. Making herself at home she hopped up onto his bed, crossing her legs she took a seat in the middle of the rumpled covers notepad in hand.

Angel shrugged "Why not?"

Peeling the sweat soaked tank top off he tossed in his laundry bin. He'd spent some much needed time in the gym this morning, between this whole new dating business, work, and all the time he'd been spending with her, he hadn't been able to find much for himself. Not that he minded, well not the parts spent with her anyway.

He pretended not to notice the way her gaze raked over his half nude form, and tried his best not to let his own body respond to the confirmation. Her pen knocking faster against the notebook in her lap, he could see the slightest blush forming on her cheeks. It was moments like these that he had to bite back the urge to find out just what that pout of hers tasted like.

She could feel the air surrounding them shift, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she'd noticed it happening more and more frequently. It was like someone dialed up the thermostat, she cleared her throat, "Are you sure you want to spend your Sunday night with me?"

Taking a few steps, Angel closed the distance between himself and the bed. Even with her perched high on top his mattress he still towered over her, reaching out he gently tugged on the little green notebook until she let go. "As long as we can leave all this here," he smirked, tossing the tablet on top of his nightstand. She was just inches from him now, it would be easy to lean forward… he turned away, not waiting for her to respond, "I'm going to take a quick shower, I'll be out in a few. Why don't you call and try to get us a reservation or whatever it is that we'll need?"

Her mouth hung slightly agape, she could feel small tingles traveling throughout her entire body, it was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Shaking her head slightly, she nodded, watching him disappear through the bathroom door.

'Oh boy.'

OoOoO

Buffy looked at what was supposed to be a tree on the canvas in front of her, then glanced beside her at the masterpiece Angel had created. Who knew painting a stupid tree could be so freaking hard. "Don't laugh," she pouted, spotting the sly grin of his. "Not all of us can be Picassos around here."

Angel chuckled, abandoning his brush, he came up behind her, "It's not… terrible," he grimaced, and she quickly jabbed him with her elbow. "Ow," he teased, then took a step closer behind her. "It can still be fixed."

Feeling him come up behind her, she tried to keep her breath steady as he pressed his body against her. One hand wrapped around her waist holding her close, as the other slid along her arm to guide her movements with the brush. "Relax," he whispered against her, using his hand to tilt her own he moved her brush against the painting.

She couldn't believe it, it was like magic, the scribbles in front of her slowly started to come to life, suddenly the juvenile lines seemed to be so much more. Relaxing further into him, she let out a little sigh as he continued to walk her through step by step. In all honesty she probably wouldn't even be able to recall what he said but it didn't matter, she was pretty sure she could stay like that forever. Eventually, once her tree was looking more like, well, a tree and less like a giant blob, Angel went back to his own painting but with every new step he would stop and come back over to help her. By the time they were finished everyone in the room, the instructor included, was gushing over Angel's portrait.

"Lisa seemed pretty into you," Buffy teased once they reached the confines of his car. She had to say, she was glad that he'd suggested to go ahead with this tonight, it was nice to get her mind off work even if it was for just a short while.

"Who," Angel asked, instinctively lacing his hand with hers once he navigated the parking lot and pulled back onto the road.

"Tall, blonde, fake boobs, everyday hollywood variety," she trailed off at his blank blank expression, either he was really that oblivious or he was doing a damn good job at pretending not to notice the tramp who was practically salivating at his feet. "The one who asked you for private lessons," she clarified.

Angel tried to fight off the grin he felt trying to take over, he was damn near positive he was sensing a little jealousy there. His hand squeezed hers a little tighter, "I thought we were hanging off the clock tonight."

"Right," Buffy nodded, "I mean we are, I was just saying, she seemed pretty into you, and you both have the whole art thing in common, might be worth it to see where it goes." She swallowed, not sure why this suddenly felt so difficult. Why images of Angel with the playboy bunny wannabe back there wouldn't quit dancing through her mind, why it all was bothering her so much in the first place. This was what she was here to do, this was her job, even if she was taking the night off or whatever, her ultimate goal was still to help find his happiness, and if that happiness ended up being with some plastic skank then it was just something she was going to have to accept.

"Hey whatever happened to you bringing me something back from your place," It was a weak attempt, but the last thing he wanted to do was think about any woman besides her right now.

"Oh ya," she smiled, "Be right back."

Before he even had the chance to respond she'd completely vanished, then less than a minute later she reappeared as though she never left. "I'm pretty sure that's something I'll never get used to."

She grinned, then reached inside her back pocket to pull out the tiny object she'd snagged off her desk a few nights back. Holding her hand out, Buffy told him she had been meaning to bring this with her but kept forgetting. Angel raised an eyebrow, his eyes glancing quickly at her and then at the small key she held before picking it up from her palm. "You didn't specify what you wanted and nothing really ever struck me as some perfect thing to give you so..." she trailed off, "I just kept coming back to something small and magical."

He held the key closer to his face, able to inspect it better as they came to a stop at a four way. "And here I was hoping you were giving me a key to your place."

Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "The key can unlock any door that you, yourself, has locked previously. So, again, nothing too fancy but it is something from my world and I had around my house not really being used."

"Hmm, well, it could come in handy. Once upon a time I did work at a bank, you know," he joked and she swatted at his shoulder.

"There will be absolutely none of that! Don't make me have to take it back away from you."

"Hey, there is no take backs around here! It's mine now."

"Uh huh, well you better not start trying to use things for evil then hmm." He shot her a big smile and drew out an x over his heart. "Now, that we've got that bit of business out of the way... what about that Lisa situation?"

Angel mentally groaned but shrugged outward. "I mean, I did say I will go out with anyone of your choice but that one is really barking up the wrong tree."

She fought hard against the smile wanting to take over her face. "Alright, well then we just keep looking..." she trailed off but thankfully the subject was dropped the rest of the ride back to his apartment.

OoOoO

Angel was just starting to pull out their portraits as she came around to his side of the car, before she could even say anything, he was asking if he could keep hers. It stunned her for just a moment and she shrugged, "Only if it's a trade and I get yours," she managed to quip.

He scooted the one he'd done on his own closer to her. "Alright. Deal."

"Thank you.. you know, for tonight. Even if I was absolutely terrible at the whole thing, it was fun and I really did enjoy myself." Her eyes met his as her fingertips reached out for it and, not for the first time, it felt like all the air wanted to shove its way out of her lungs in one big swoop. Feeling her face getting hotter by the second, "I'm gonna-I'll go ahead and put this up, be back in just a few, okay?" Smiling quickly, she was gone from his sight just as his mouth had started to open to respond to that.

Finding herself standing in the middle of her living room, Buffy let out a slow, deep breath. "You're going to have to get it together, woman," she whispered out loud to herself. She smiled despite this however, remembering how he had done his best to help her tonight, how normal the whole evening almost felt... Shaking her head, she picked the canvas up as she started walking off to find some supplies to hanging this thing up and to find a perfect place for it.

OoOoO

"Only after I was already gone did I realize how late it actually is, I could have just bid you goodnight earlier," Buffy said when she popped back up in his apartment.

Angel flipped the laptop he was busy at around so she could see the screen that had a pizza place pulled up. "Well, I'm glad you didn't because otherwise how would I convince you to stay and have a late dinner with me? Now, get over here and add whatever you want to this order while I try and see if there's anything interesting to watch playing."

"I found a perfect spot for your newest piece of work," she mentioned as they crossed paths, :It's sitting nicely on an otherwise empty wall near my little breakfast nook. Hint, hint. I think I need some more original work from the artist to help spruce things up."

Angel shrugged. "I guess we will see," he told her. To be honest he had enjoyed tonight, for more than one reason with how close he got to be to the pretty blonde standing a few feet away and knowing she had fun doing it, but it also felt nice to create something again even if it was just participating in a paint together class. Sometimes he truly did seem to forget how much he had loved life as an artist, how it was a nice escape and way to express himself, how fun it even could be.

Buffy's secondary goal that she seemed to have taken on to get him back in the studio and at the moment he felt it was the more achievable of the two.

"Did I tell you I tested out that key of yours when I got up here?"

"You didn't. Did it work?"

"Yeah. I also tried it on one of my filing cabinets. Tomorrow I know what I will be wasting time with at work."

OoOoO

Finding herself about to drift off for the third time, Buffy forced herself back into a sitting position on the sofa and stretched. "I think I had best head home before I wind up having a sleepover here on your couch." She had been trying hard to make it through to the end of the movie he'd put on for them to enjoy along with the pizza but that just wasn't going to happen.

Angel shrugged. "Worst things have happened."

She chuckled, reaching down to grab her shoes to slip them back on. "And you do have work in the morning, in case you have forgotten. I believe you mentioned an early meeting awaiting you first thing in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. He was feeling his own need to get some rest but hated the idea of her leaving, even if he knew they'd be back together in the morning for coffee and scoping out more potential dating options for him.

He watched her stand and make her way back toward his bedroom before returning, her little notebook back in her hand. "I'll see you in the morning."

OoOoO

Tired as he was, Angel found himself unable to actually stay asleep. He would finally drift off but then feel like he was jolted awake. Enough times of it, he sat up in the bed, rubbing his tired eyes before they drifted off to the painting Buffy had done tonight. Every time he would manage to fade off into oblivion he kept picturing her tonight, how she had felt in his arms, every little detail playing out in his mind as if she were still right there with him.

Forcing his legs off the side of the bed, he let out a haggard breath tossing the covers off to the side. Something had to give, falling asleep every night was quickly becoming a losing battle, and it wasn't as though he wasn't aware of the cause, he just couldn't quite figure out a solution. She was hell bent on setting him up with every woman that crossed his path, and yet he couldn't help but see the relief in her eyes everytime he shot down one of her recommendations or came back less than impressed.

At this point the only reason he was even entertaining this whole mess of an idea was to keep her happy, he'd tried to keep an open mind, to stay open to the possibility that he might find himself falling head over heels with Jane from the coffee shop, or whoever she conjured up for him, but he couldn't keep lying to himself. There was absolutely no room in his mind for any other woman when she was already taking up all of his thoughts.

None of it made any damn sense and the more he thought about it the more it all made his head spin. If he was expected to believe in fairy godmothers, and magic, then surely fate wasn't such a stretch, and if that was the case then there had to be some explanation behind her showing up inside his mind then poofing into his life years later.

Too bad he couldn't even figure out a way to get her to entertain the idea, every time he tried to bring it up she quickly shut him down with the whole list of rules they were bound to follow. What he didn't know was what happened if they said to hell with the rules, how were these powers that be people supposed to find out to begin with, he wasn't going to tell them shit, he didn't suspect she would, and unless they had some seriously kinky fascination with his private life then he couldn't much imagine them finding out themselves.

The problem was convincing her of such, whoever or better yet whatever her bosses were had some sort of hold over her that he just didn't understand. He glanced at the clock, he had half the mind just to blow his day off, meet up with her tomorrow and lay it all out on the table, then spend the rest of the afternoon showing her what it was really like to be swept off her feet.

OoOoO

Just like he knew it would, his alarm started blaring what felt like mere minutes after he'd finally managed to fall asleep. His hand shot out to rummage over the small table next to his bed until he found the wretched device, sliding his thumb across the screen he quickly dismissed the rest of his alarms.

"You know you have to actually get out of bed if we're gonna go for coffee."

Buffy grinned from where she'd just materialized in his room, if she had learned anything it was that mornings definitely weren't his thing. She all but skipped to where he was lying, his arm curled around the pillow half under his chest. "Rough night?"

Angel groaned then scooted over leaving her just enough room to sit down beside him. "Morning is looking better," he smirked once she had settled into the space next to him. She made sure to leave a few inches between them, but she was close enough the he could feel the heat radiating off her, he was quickly coming to learn that being this close to her was a special kind of torture.

She really had to stop popping in on him before he had the chance to get ready for the day she thought when she caught herself admiring his tattoo again, there was absolutely no reason a man's back should be anywhere close to that attractive. She poked at his bare side, "Come on, the more time you spend in bed the less time you get to spend with me before your boring ol' meeting this morning."

He couldn't help it, she'd walked her pretty little self right into it, with lightning speed he reached out, securing one of his arms around her waist he tugged her down onto the warm bed beside him. "Or I could just spend my time in bed with you," he suggested softly, keeping his arm firmly locked around her.

She turned her head ready to let some sassy retort fly from her mouth, but whatever she'd been about to say died in her throat when she realized just how close they actually were. Her nose nearly touching his, she could feel his warm breath on her lips. The world seemed to tilt again, drowning out everything except for the feel of his strong body beside her. Alarm bells blared inside her head, this was definitely uncharted territory, she knew she should pull away, jump from his bed, snap herself back to the safety of her own living room, something, but despite the pounding inside her chest she just couldn't bring herself to move.

Utterly frozen, she watched in slow motion as his lashes slowly opened, she saw his eyes darken as he too noticed their close proximity. She felt his dark depths drinking her in, pulling her even closer, he closed all the distance that remained between them. Hovering above her, he whispered her name in what felt like one last ditch effort to give her a moment to pull away. Which she had every intention to do, any second now she was going to push him away, they would laugh, she would make some excuse to run out of here and meet him at the cafe where they would be around dozens of others and there was absolutely no possibility of them ending up back like this. Those had been her plan at least, but then she blinked and everything changed.

He moved with an achingly slow pace, knowing he was crossing a line that he knew they couldn't back from, he wanted to savor every single moment just in case he never got her here again. Taking one final breath he forced air into his lungs, trembling, his hand found its way to her neck, his fingers gently tangling in the soft hair at the base of her ponytail, he let the rest of the world fade away as he softly touched his lips to hers.

Her hands betraying her, instead of shoving him away she found herself pulling him closer, an overwhelming warmth encompassed her and suddenly it wasn't enough. She needed more, even if she wasn't exactly sure what more was. Something akin to a whimper escaped her, and as if in response she felt Angels tongue slipping past her lips. Everything that she had witnessed in her many years helping others find their happiness took on a whole new meaning. So many times she had found herself questioning the hows and the whys of the couples she had helped to create, never fully understanding the connection such an intimate act could invoke.

Far from inexperienced, he tried to ignore the rush of need that slammed into him. He found such a task nearly impossible though, unsure as to how one single creature could feel this damn heavenly. She was just as he had imagined countless times over in those far too realistic dreams that would plague him or those endless strings of thoughts he would find himself carried away in when his mind would wander, and yet she was so much more than those makeshift images, lying here in his bed, so perfectly under him.

Buffy was just as soft and her body as warm as he expected her to be, in fact it almost felt like she was glowing against him, her small hands roaming as far as she could reach... She pulled at his shoulder blades to drag him closer to her, gripped his neck or teased at the back of his head, slipped around to slide them over his chest before repeating it all over again, like she couldn't figure out what she was supposed to be doing here.

Which, he assumed, she more than likely didn't... which could do nothing but turn him on more.

And yet, even if she didn't, she easily matched him at every turn, her tongue dancing against his once the surprise faded off a bit, taking a quick breath when they would break apart for just a second or two. She tasted sweet but not in an overpowering way, and while he felt he knew what it reminded him of, he just couldn't seem to place in amongst everything going on. He was sure it would drive him crazy soon enough trying to put a finger on it.

Every little noise that she made only drove him more crazy. It was like she was doing her best to keep quiet but just couldn't manage it any longer each time. He was sure if he had opened his eyes, he would have seen her blushing every single time one of those low whimpering sounds or whispered moans barely filled the air around them.

Angel kept waiting for her to suddenly shriek or push against him, disappear in a blink of an eye, but the longer she remained, the more he wondered if they couldn't just stay like this forever. He knew he'd have zero complaints if that was what the rest of his life was to look like. Hell, had he known better, that would have been his damn wish back on his birthday that set all of this off.

OoOoO

Buffy felt like she was drowning... but... in a good way? Every moment that passed by felt like a new wave crashing against her, dragging her under the surface, making it more and more impossible to come back to her senses. They were there, trying to claw at her, but she just kept mentally promising another minute more... until only the Powers knew how long had passed.

Her entire being felt like it was ready to burst into flames, every inch of her warm and tingling, aching for him, for more.

Slowly inching along, Buffy's legs propped up to the sides of him better, allowing him more room. He took the hint, moving slightly closer to her, a heaviness pressing against her center that took her a moment to realize what was. But, when she did, she gasped, breaking their kiss for the first time, at least for longer than a matter of seconds to try and breathe. Panicked now, and panting, her wide eyes met his as they slowly opened, dark and cloudy, sending a shiver down her spine. He tried to say her name but she cut him off halfway through it. "We c-can't be doing... this," she panted out.

"Why not?" he asked, his tone husky, making the little hairs on her arms stand up.

Inside her head she repeated his question, the voice in there going higher and higher each time but she just shook her head at him "Y-you need to go to work and I... I need to go," she rushed out. Again he tried to say her name but she was already gone, moments later falling, rather ungracefully, back into her own bed with a bounce. Not her finest teleport but her head, and the rest of her, were a straight fucking disaster so she couldn't really concentrate long enough for anything better than this.

Swallowing hard, her eyes looked around her familiar space, trying to calm her racing heart and shaking hands. She tried to explain to herself what had just happened, the how's and why's, but it seemed like a blur now.

Thinking back to it didn't help other matters either, her hand coming up to touch her swollen lips, still tasting him on her.

Hearing a sudden knock on her door, Buffy practically jumped halfway up to the ceiling. Doing her best to hide any hint of the bizarre morning from whoever, she slowly made her way to the door, opening it only to find a way too amused looking Doyle on the other side.

"H-hi, Doyle," she tried to greet as normal as possible. "What are you doing here?"

His dark eyebrows raised as he squinted, looking her up and down. "Have you been up to no good, Buffy Summers?"

ButImBroken:

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