Taking the long way back to work, he told himself it was so he could stop at the coffee shop, but the reality was he just needed a minute to clear his head. He hated that Buffy had lost her mom, that on some level she understood where all of his pain and anger stemmed from, even if she didn't know the details. She was right though age didn't matter, there was something about losing a parent, especially before their time, that just thrust you into the same club, one no outsider would ever understand.

Inside the coffeeshop he decided to play nice and grab one of the frozen girlie drinks Lindsey seemed to love so much. He swore the damn things didn't have a drop of actual caffeine, but Linds' dumbass had no problem drinking them proudly. Of course taking one to him meant that he would inevitably pass by Buffy as well, and even though she had absolutely nothing to do with his sudden generosity, he figured he might as well grab her one too, since she'd be around.

With all the excitement this morning he'd completely forgot to ask Lindsey if he'd had the chance to narrow down any hotels for the Christmas party. It was pretty much the one tradition he'd kept up with since taking over, that and outlandish bonuses his Grandpa always insisted on handing out during the holiday. It wasn't that he considered himself greedy, unlike his grandfather he was just under the impression that the people who worked for him should at least have half a damn brain.

OoOoO

Stepping off his elevator onto the twelfth floor he tried to ignore the way everyone seemed to step to the side of him, too afraid to get in his way. Balancing the drink carrier he pushed his way into the small lot of offices Lindsey had taken over, most of them were nothing more than cubicles, but Linds had his own private space and he was happy enough with that. Scanning the room his eyes spotted Lindsey, but it wasn't until he was a few steps closer that he realized just whose desk he was perched up on top of, laughing in a way that seemed way too friendly for his liking. He had known Lindsey nearly all of his damn life so even with just half of his face visible it didn't take much to see a little twinkle in his eye as he spoke with Buffy, how he leaned closer and closer to her as he spoke... making her laugh just as hard as he was. And even as he chastised himself for the sudden jealous outburst, he still wanted to go shove the damn asshole off into the floor for the whole scene.

Not wanting to dwell on where in the hell any of that was coming from, his mind blanked and a much calmer feeling rushed over him once she happened to spot him out of the corner of her eye, a mixture of surprise and happiness taking over her face as their eyes locked on one another.

When Lindsey hopped down from her desk and started his way he was really wishing he hadn't even come down here in the first place.

Lindsey nodded toward the cups as he got closer. "That for me?"

"It was," he drawled out, earning a smirk from Linds as he reached out for it.

"Just what I was craving too. Mmm, doesn't look like you brought enough for the whole class there though, Mr. Angelus," Lindsey commented, glancing at the remaining cup. "Might be a little suspicious with the head honcho around here bringing special treats for a certain someone."

Angel wasn't sure if Linds was trying to be helpful in that moment or if he was simply digging at him over whatever he was piecing together about Buffy and himself but either way it did make him wonder what he had been thinking with this little move. If it were in private it wouldn't be such a big deal but Lindsey was right, showing up like this in front of the others - on top of how this morning had gone - might bring some unwanted attention her way.

"Okay, breathe," Lindsey laughed when Angel's face looked stuck, turning his head slightly as he pointed behind them. "If anything, just say it's for Lilah."

"Lilah?"

"Hello again, Liam," came Lilah Morgan's voice, she smiled coldly at him before greeting Lindsey with a little less ice. "I heard congratulations are in order. It seems my team was just the ticket, huh?"

"You have no idea," Lindsey stepped in. "And just for starters about how thankful and appreciative of you we all are around here, we got this for you," he said, swiping up the other coffee and handing it to her with a wink Angel's way. "Why don't you come on in and see everyone..."

Angel sighed as he watched the two of them walking back toward the group, unsure if he should follow or just head back upstairs once Lindsey called out asking if he was coming to join them as well.

OoOoO

After letting Lilah peek around the office, catch up with the crew she had out on lease, and squeeze as much out of them for the gesture he'd brought her back to his rarely used private office for a drink and to catch up a bit. He really had gone into all of this nearly blind with who she was sending so it was nice to have a chance to get a bit more background about everyone... especially a certainly tiny blonde in particular.

Of course he had to admit his interest there all together was new. Not only was the tiny blonde absolutely stunning and making him question his personal ethics code about who he works with but he found himself quite impressed with her at every turn since her arrival here. Then to cherry top all of that, you add in whatever in the fucking hell was up with her and Angel.

"Mmm, Miss Summers. She is probably my hardest worker out of the group, never takes an issue with going the extra mile, usually knows what I need before I do... and all without being a kiss ass about it. She's just generally good at the game. Almost frustratingly so. It all seems to come easy to her, and she's far too nice... while at the same time refuses to take anyone's shit. I could almost like her."

While she continued, then moved on to the next person and the next, Lindsey barely paid attention to what she was saying, too caught up in his own thoughts all over again. The more he heard and got to know Buffy, the less it made sense of there being some connection between her and Angel.

Losing his family, being thrust into this position that was never meant for him, having let go of just about everything that had made him who he used to be had taken an impossibly high toll on Angel. He didn't have friends beyond himself and Wes, Angel certainly didn't go around trying to make new ones with bubbly strangers. He didn't like anyone who didn't know exactly what they were doing and didn't know how to leave him the hell alone.

The whole thing was bizarre.

OoOoO

"Thanks for the coffee."

Angel wasn't so sure standing out in the parking garage at her car was any better than hand delivering a hot drink to her, but here he was.

Buffy smiled as she got closer. "I bet it was delicious. You sure looked like a deer caught in headlights, though, just so you know."

Angel gave her a sheepish look. "I was trying to do something nice and then Lindsey made a comment and I started questioning how smart my choices were. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable in front of the others or anything like that."

She shrugged. "I figured as much, but it was funny. Sure in the hell made me crave a cup all damn afternoon though."

"Sorry."

"You sure do a lot of apologizing to me," she laughed. She was so ready to go home and have a bit of a brain break after the whirlwind week this had been.

When Buffy asked him about if he had any wild and crazy plans she should be jealous of planned for the weekend he sighed and shook his head. "I'll be here."

"Seriously?"

"I'm here just about every day," he sighed. "I don't usually keep the same hours on the weekends as I do during the week... but there's always endless amounts of bullshit I need to get to."

"If you hate this place as much as it seems why don't you just quit or sell it off or something?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I don't hate the company, Buffy. I love it, I do... and I'm proud of this place. I just... I wasn't supposed to be here." Once again he wasn't sure why he was letting even a hint of his darkest truths out to this damn girl but it all seemed to fly out of his mouth before he had a chance to think better of it.

"I don't know the details of your situation, Angel, but I really don't think you're supposed to be working yourself to death. I mean what's the point in living if all you do is wake up to work? You gotta find at least a sliver of time for yourself, go out, do something fun, something you enjoy. You can even start off with baby steps," she grinned, "One night a week, you deserve that much."

"Baby steps huh?"

She nodded, "Uh huh, as a matter of fact why don't you go out with Lindsey tonight, I'm not sure what all that entails but he sure made it sound like a ball."

His mind quickly sifted through everything she had just said, and pushing all the heavier stuff to the side, he couldn't help but wonder just how she knew what Linds would be up to tonight and why that seemed to bother him so much. "And just what's he got going on," he questioned, trying his best to keep his tone neutral.

Working her lip, she tried to keep the grin she was hiding from taking over, she didn't know them very well, but she could already sense what seemed to be a little competition brewing between the two of them. "Oh I'm not really sure," she shrugged, "He kept trying to talk me into going but I promised him a rain check, I'm just a little beyond exhausted being my first week here and all."

Angel frowned, "Lindsey wanted you to go out with him?"

She laughed, "Well I don't think he meant it like that, but he did invite me to go out to some taco shop with him and a few others from this place. He kept going on and on about how they served the best tacos in the whole state, plus dollar beer, he made sure to make a point of that part."

"I'll bet he did," He couldn't help but grumble. He had been planning on heading out for the night, going home, maybe grabbing a hot shower before he tried to make up for all the damn sleepless nights he'd suffered through this week. Now however he was seriously considering marching right back up stairs and having a word or two with Mr. Mcdonald.

"What's the deal between the two of you anyhow?"

He let out a long sigh, "I guess you could say he's one of the few friends I have left," he paused, "And a giant pain in my ass."

It felt like the more she got to know Angel, the more her heart seemed to ache for him. She hadn't quite gotten him all figured out just yet, but she already knew with a certainty that the man held one hell of backstory. He was so much more than the stone cold, tyrannical employer everyone seemed to make him out to be, yes, she could sense that ruthless streak she'd heard so much about but there was so much more to him than just that. She wasn't sure why it was so hard for everyone else to see past that stony exterior he'd built when it seemed to be so easy for her.

"Ya know," she pressed, mimicking his position against the car she let her head fall to his shoulder, then looking up she tried to feign the most innocent look possible, "You might have more friends if you were just," she held up her fingers, "A little bit nicer."

Letting out a small huff, his eyes drifted down to meet hers, "I am nice," he tried to argue but she just rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, everyone inside the building, hell inside freaking Los Angeles is terrified of you. Ya, you're nice to me," she grinned, "Well except for the whole plowing me over thing, but that only goes to prove my point."

"Which is," he smirked, not able to help but find it adorable the way she couldn't help but rattle on.

"That you need people skills."

He shook his head, "I don't do people."

She stared at him dumbfounded, "Um, hello, person here, and I'm sorry but after these last few days I'd almost call us friends, so sorry mister but you definitely do me." As soon as the words left her mouth, her hand was flying up to cover it, "Uhh," she stumbled, "I mean you like me," suddenly she felt the temperature turn up a few degrees, she was just sure her face was about the color of a tomato right about then, sometimes she really felt like she should hold the trophy for inserting a foot in your mouth. "I mean," she groaned, "Ugh, you know what I meant. See this is exactly why Buffy needs sleep, my brains a mess."

He couldn't help but chuckle, then before he knew what he was doing, before he had the chance to second guess himself, he heard his voice asking for her phone. Taking it from her fingers he quickly programmed his own number into the device, "I'm pretty sure that makes us official," he smirked again, "Friends anyway."

OoOoO

He had just rounded the corner from stepping off the elevator when he caught a glimpse of the two of them standing together, next to what he could only assume was Buffy's car. Not wanting to interrupt, and more than just a little curious, he quietly took a step off into the shadows.

At first he'd had to go do a double take, that mother fucker was laughin, actually laughing. He was too far away to hear what they were saying but he could tell just by looking at them they most definitely weren't simply discussing work. Not really one to lurk, he was definitely more of a make his presence known type of guy, he'd been just about to step out and say something smart when he heard the sound of his own name.

His curiosity peaked, he strained to hear what they were saying but between the damn other cars in the garage and all the noise outside he just couldn't make it out. Then his eyes just about popped out of his head when he saw Angel take what he thought was Buffy's phone. Had he any doubts after everything today, he had none now, Angel was falling fast and furious.

The problem was going to be getting him to realize and accept that. That stubborn mother fucker could be awfully dense at times too. He had intentionally invited Buffy out this weekend, Angel was one of his best friends, even if he did possess the ability to grate each and every one of his nerves at times. As far as he could tell she seemed like a decent girl, but he just wanted to be sure, all though he wasn't sure anyone could be as bad as fucking Darla Pratt.

OoOoO

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, she had filled up her bathtub and added a few drops of her favorite bubble bath. Soaking in the hot water she tried to clear her mind, to not think about work, but she couldn't quite seem to stop her thoughts from drifting to a certain boss of hers.

It sure was a whirlwind to think about, a week ago she'd sat in this very spot stressed beyond belief about even the idea of going to work at Angelus Enterprises.

She really did try and find the good in situations, in people as well, but it was safe to say that there was a big reputation over there that made it all feel like doom and gloom ahead the more she would think about it all and try to prepare herself. In the same breath that she felt hopeful about what she could learn with this unexpected opportunity, she had worried that she'd look like a fool just being tossed into something she felt she probably knew next to nothing about. Sure, she was a fast learner and had no reservations about going an extra mile to help out but it wasn't exactly hidden news that people came and went from the company like it was nothing, that damn near perfection was expected of you from the moment you are hired on, and that was quite a bit of pressure to walk in with.

Best case scenario at the time had been not having some verbal brawl with the man in charge that she kept imagining as a dark, looming cloudy figure almost when she tripped up on something. Best case scenario was basically just escaping the next couple of months - if that - with just getting the work done, surviving more than anything else.

Actually finding that she enjoyed it there was nice... The project was fun, her skill sets were great for it all it felt like, she liked how the company was set up from the inside and how various aspects were handled from what she had seen so far anyhow. Most of her time was spent with her team she already knew but surprisingly everyone she had dealt with she found delightful enough, Lindsey was great, and then of course there was Angel...

Never in a million years would she have imagined herself as somehow becoming random friends with the man in charge. It really didn't make much sense but that was okay, being on his good side wasn't exactly a bad thing. Beyond the obvious reasonings there, she did actually enjoy his company and couldn't help but want to know more about him, to try and be something positive in his life since he seemed to need such more than anyone else she had ever met.

One thing her mother and grandmother before her had always tried to instill into her was you should always try and leave everything better than how you found it. Sometimes that was somewhere, and sometimes that was someone.

OoOoO

After following through with his plans to hop into the shower once he got home, Angel got dressed and sighed as he dug around his medicine cabinet to find something to hopefully knock him out for awhile.

Grabbing his phone from the charger in the kitchen, he also took a bottle of water from the fridge before glancing around the nearly bare appliance and made a mental reminder that he should probably go shopping at some point. As he walked back toward his bedroom, he couldn't seem to stop himself from opening his messages and re-reading over the quick text Buffy had sent him earlier so he would also have her number.

She had cheerfully told him she'd see him Monday before they'd parted ways earlier and he couldn't help but feel suddenly like two days seemed dreadfully long. Usually he found going into the office on the weekend a little more peaceful, there was only a handful of people who went in on Saturdays and even less on Sunday, sometimes a team would set something up on the weekends as well but for the most part it was quieter, less people to drive him batshit crazy in the process. As soon as she said that, however, he couldn't help but hope Monday would stop feeling so far away.

Just about to put his phone down on the nightstand, he felt it vibrate but looked down only to find another message from Darla coming through. Not wanting to even deal with her right now, he went ahead and laid it down before crawling more comfortably into the bed.

After a few more seemed to come in one after another, Angel closed his eyes and tried telling his mind and body to just relax but as usual it wasn't as simple as that. Instead, he started to make mental lists of everything he needed to do tomorrow, for this project or this event, trying to remind himself he needed to find time to do a million other things even outside of work. Which that in itself seemed impossible as really all he did was just that.

Buffy was right, he needed more in his life for the sake of sanity than just running this company... but she was hardly the first person to bring this up, hell, Lindsey mentioned it at least once a day it even felt like, but it wasn't as simple as that. Not to him.

He did debate the idea as he laid there in the quiet of reaching out to Wes or to Linds come tomorrow and see what they could find to do together at some point over the weekend, which was something he usually only did in a blue moon anyway, but his head followed up with a million other things he should be doing if he thought to just lollygag around town. And, then... there was always the endless guilt to follow. And that was always the hardest to deal with or to try and overcome.

His family had always been very supportive of the fact that he had his own plans and desires in this world, that he had his own path he wanted to follow. There was a number of others in line to work for the company, poised to be the lines of followers in his grandfather's footsteps well before him so it was nothing he'd had to really worry about until he did, there had been other members of his family who had spent their lives preparing for that opportunity, learning the business, being apart of this... and then it was just thrust upon him and he felt as though he did nothing sometimes but try and play catch up...

There was just never enough time after that.

He was long since convinced there would never come a day when he wouldn't feel like he was failing and ruining everything that was supposed to be. He'd been so panicked at first, he had tried so hard, but at some point trying felt like drowning with no end in sight. He grew bitter, resentful. Everything he was seemed to float away, everything besides trying to keep this place running stopped mattering to much of anything.

He was noticing that tingling feeling taking over in the back of his head as the medicine somewhat kicked in just as his phone made noise again. Ignoring it, he assumed it was just Darla still asking if he needed any company anytime soon.

Squeezing his eyes tighter, Angel again tried pushing any and all thoughts from his mind and tried to force sleep to come.

OoOoO

She wasn't sure what had made her do it, but now, with his lack of response she felt absolutely ridiculous. She kept trying to tell herself it wasn't a big deal but with each moment that passed she felt worse and worse. She'd text him with some stupid game she'd learned from Willow years ago, she named a topic and listed her top three favorites from the category, he was supposed to do the same, only he hadn't, and now she couldn't feel anymore freaking juvenile.

She wasn't really sure what to make of having his number in the first place, she had written out countless texts before chickening out and deleting each and every one. That was how she had come up with the whole game in the first place, it was something her and Will used to do to pass the time when they were younger. Yes, admittedly it was a bit childish, but it was a good way to get to know someone regardless.

She'd explained the rules to him, then given him an easy topic, favorite foods, and provided her answers, only it had been a couple hours now and he had yet to respond. What she had originally thought to be a cute fun game, suddenly had her wanting to crawl under a rock and hide until she was in her eighties, at least.

OoOoO

Lying in bed he'd read through the series of text at least a dozen times. Now he was kicking himself for falling asleep without checking his messages, yes a couple were from Darla, but Buffy had also texted him and now he wasn't sure if he'd let too much time pass to respond. He didn't want her to think he was ignoring her but he didn't want to come across as some weirdo either. She wanted to know his favorite foods, top three to be exact, then he was supposed to come up with a whole new topic. So far he'd listed at least a dozen favorite foods, and went through twice as many new topics, only to chicken out just before hitting send.

As a matter of fact he'd wasted over an hour trying to compose the perfect response, and now he was more than just a little aggravated with the whole situation. He kept trying to tell himself that it wasn't a big deal, they were just co-workers, friends at best, but it didn't matter. Something about that damn girl had him constantly second guessing himself, no matter how simple the conversation. He had given her his number on a whim, not thinking much of it at the time, he probably would have thought twice had he known just how much torment it would lead to though.

Typing out his final response for the countless time, he held his breath and hit send before he had the chance to second guess himself, again. Letting out a long sigh he threw the covers back and climbed from the bed, normally he would almost say he enjoyed the quietness of Saturday's at the office, but not today, today all he could seem to think about was the absence of a certain blonde.

OoOoO

She must have been more tired than she thought. She hardly ever slept later than eight or nine, even on the weekends. So when she finally forced her eyes open to see that it was nearly noon was more than a little shocking. Grateful it was Saturday and it didn't really matter how late she slept, she tried to close her eyes once more and will her dreams back. Unfortunately the sandman just wasn't on her side, after lying there for a full hour she finally gave up and grabbed for her phone.

Her breath hitched when she noticed the number of missed messages, repeating out loud to herself that it was probably just Willow, she didn't even try to fight the grin when she saw Angel's name next to the little number of texts. He'd fallen asleep, which she really should have thought about the time when she decided to text him last night, but in that instant it just hadn't seemed all that important.

As much as she had been looking forward to the weekend, to the time to de-stress, she just couldn't help but think how impossibly long it suddenly seemed either. Honestly she wasn't sure what to do with herself besides trying to catch up on sleep, she had no other major plans. Willow was out of town with the Dingoes for the next couple of weeks, Oz's band having finally got signed to a major label was pretty much booked solid for the next few weeks all across the United States. Ever the supportive girlfriend Will had taken a leave of absence from her job so that she could go on tour with the band.

Which was exactly why this weekend seemed all the more lonely, hell she had half the mind to get up, get dressed, and mosey on into the office for the afternoon. She already knew that Angel would be there, she was almost certain there was something she could help him with. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to carry the weight of the freaking world on his shoulders, no one deserved that burden, CEO or not he needed a life outside of that place. Outside of duty and responsibility, he needed to learn how to have fun again.

It didn't matter that he was her boss or the Liam Angelus, to her he was just Angel, who apparently held an affinity for pasta judging from his latest round of texts. That wasn't what had her stumped though, as per the rules of the game he got to list the next topic, where she had taken it easy on him, he had decided to just go off the deep end… Perfect Date.

That was the topic he had given her, along with his top three. She tried to come up with the perfect answer but it seemed the more she thought about it the sillier her answers sounded. Beach, they lived in California, way too cliche. Movies, boring, plus everyone always went to the movies for a date when in reality that was pretty much the worst place you could go if you were really trying to get to know someone. Sure it was a great place to cop a feel, but heavy and meaningful conversation, not so much. She thought about typing out an amusement park or something of the like, but honestly that wasn't her idea of the ideal date either.

With as much experience as she had in that regard, she had one hell of a track record when it came to first dates, especially since there had only been a handful of guys who managed to score a second, she just didn't understand why the question had her so stumped. Maybe because it was Angel asking, she wasn't sure. As much as she tried to fight it that man sure had a way of making her pulse increase whenever he was around, not because of who he was or his position, hell she hadn't even known those aspects when their paths had first happened to cross and there was already a strange bubbling inside of her back then whenever it came to him.

She kept trying to tell herself it was nothing more than the simple fact of everything was new with this little budding friendship and of course the fact he was easily the most gorgeous creature she'd yet to lay eyes on and that was enough to throw anyone through a damn loop. But, whatever the cause, it was impossible to simply deny its presence.

Pulling herself out of bed, phone in hand, she kept working on what to send back his way.

ButImBroken:

Written with Scribes1015!