2011

Sunnydale, California

Downtown: Couples Therapy Office: Session 2

In the following week, Buffy and Angel appeared again on Cordelia's couch. They sat on separate ends of the couch. Angel appeared disengaged and annoyed, while Buffy remained uncomfortable.

Cordelia stared at them for a long while before glancing down at the watch around her wrist. "In our last session, we broached the subject of the accident. This time we're going to do a basic exercise. Let's talk about you two." She gestured towards the couple. "How'd you meet? What was it about each other that attracted you?" Cordelia looked at Angel. "Angel, why don't you get us started. Where did you first see Buffy?"

Folding his arms across his chest, Angel replied, "Walking up the steps of the library at UC Sunnydale on student arrival day."

Buffy frowned and turned her eyes across the couch to Angel. "No. That's not right." She shook her head. "I think you're mixing things up. It was at the Bronze."

Raising the arch of his brow, Angel also shook his head, turning his gaze to his wife. "No. I watched you walk up the steps to the library on student arrival day." After a minute, his gaze lingered on her and his tight and serious expression softened. "Your hair was long and straight. You wore a dress with little cherries on it and, uh, strappy silver sandals. You looked so nervous."

Buffy's face twisted with surprise. She hardly remembered the first day of college; let alone what she had been wearing that day or if she was nervous, which Buffy was sure that she was.

Angel slowly lowered his eyes back to his hands.

"What were your first thoughts when seeing Buffy for the first time?" Cordelia asked.

Angel lifted his head, eyeing the therapist. He began to open his mouth to reply when Cordelia quickly interrupted him.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me. Tell Buffy." She gestured towards the blonde.

Angel cleared his throat and shifted his gaze back to Buffy. He looked at her for a long while before answering the question. A wave of love washed over him as he remembered the first time he had laid eyes on her.

The sky was huge and blue, without a single cloud in the sky. The courtyard leading up to the library was filled with students passing out flyers and running around to get their classes scheduled. Angel couldn't remember the rally he had been attending the day he saw her, but the colour of her golden blonde hair caught his eye. With his eyes, Angel followed his future wife moving up the steps. She held the books to her chest. At the top of the stairs, Buffy was met by two other women; a redhead and a brunette. He watched her lips curve up into a small half smile and Angel loved her.

"I saw you walking up the steps and I…" Angel swallowed. "I loved you."

"Why?" Buffy asked, breaking her silence.

Angel lowered his gaze back to his hands. "'Cause I could see your heart. You held it before you for everyone to see." He looked at her. "And I worried that it would be bruised or torn. And more than anything in my life I wanted to keep it safe... to warm it with my own."

"That's beautiful." Buffy sat back on the couch. The corners of her mouth twitched into a little smile when it suddenly fell. "Or taken literally, incredibly gross."

Angel grimaced. "I was just thinking that, too."

Cordelia smiled, pleased with the first civil interaction between the pair. "Why didn't you talk to her?" Cordelia asked, wanting to see more of this interplay between the spouses.

Frowning, Angel looked at Cordelia then shrugged, unable to come up with an answer as to why he hadn't approached Buffy then and there. "I don't know."

"Buffy," Cordelia was very curious to hear Buffy's side of things. "What is your memory of first meeting Angel? What attracted you to him?"

Buffy thought for a minute, remembering back to the first time she had seen Angel at the Bronze. Buffy was instantly swooning over the gorgeous and very mysterious college senior. "Well, I met Angel at the local nightclub called the Bronze. I was with my friends. We were all very excited to be out of high school and experiencing everything college…"

1999

Sunnydale, California

Downtown: The Bronze

The red and blue lights above the dance floor felt hot as Buffy danced with her three best friends from high school; Faith, Willow, her girlfriend Tara, Xander, and his girlfriend Anya.

While the couples tended to dance with only each other, Buffy and Faith paid no mind and danced together to the loud synth-rock song.

The two girls, surrounded by young college boys, tried to dance with them, but neither girl paid any attention.

Holding her arms above her head, Buffy closed her eyes and swayed her hips to the music. She turned, lifting her chin when she caught sight of the most gorgeous looking man she's ever seen.

He stood at a table holding a drink in his hand. He faced the dance floor and nodded along to whatever a punkish platinum blonde haired man was saying.

When his dark eyes connected with hers, Buffy quickly whirled around, slightly embarrassed for being caught looking.

She continued to dance with Faith, still feeling a pair of eyes watching her intensely.

When the song ended, Buffy squeezed out from the crowd and walked over to the bar for a glass of water.

The man that had been watching Buffy from a distance moseyed over towards the bar and stepped up beside the blonde.

"Hi." A deep velvety voice said, startling Buffy.

Her head snapped up to the man's face. It was the gorgeous man she had spotted while dancing. Buffy's eyes went large, she swallowed nervously; not at all expecting the gorgeous man to approach her.

"Hi." Buffy said, trying hard to sound flirty and casual.

"What are you drinking?" The beautiful man asked, leaning on the edge of the bar counter with one hand.

Buffy faced him slightly, replying, "A Coke."

"Designated driver?"

"More like still under the legal drinking age." Buffy told him carefully.

"Freshman?"

"Is it that obvious?" Buffy lowered her eyes, feeling her cheek heat with embarrassment.

Buffy's knees went weak when the gorgeous man shot her a slanted smile. "I'm Angel." He held out his hand.

"Buffy." She said, accepting his handshake. Buffy's eyes were latched to his face, drawn into his dark soulful eyes. He was tall, towering over a petite frame. Dressed in all back, Angel wore an untucked button-up shirt, jeans, and dress shoes.

"Are you here with anyone?" He asked, looking off to the side at the table of friends Buffy had arrived with.

Buffy began to shake her head. "Just my friends, They're over there." She pointed in the direction where the five friends were long gathered around a tall standing table near the dance floor.

Faith and Willow were watching Buffy's interaction with the mysterious beautiful man. Willow encouragebly gave Buffy two thumbs up, while Faith snuck in an obscene gesture, which mortified Buffy.

Luckily for Buffy, Angel hadn't seemed to notice or if he did, he did not bring attention to it.

Angel seemed more concerned with the dark haired man laughing, standing between Buffy's friends. "That dark haired guy is he your, um, boyfriend?"

Buffy frowned, turning back to look at the table. "Xander?" She began to laugh and rapidly shook her head at the absurdity. "Um, no. Just a friend."

"Good," his dark eyes lowered to her. "'Cause I didn't wanna come between anything as I asked the prettiest girl at this overrated and overcrowded nightclub for a dance."

"What am I supposed to do? Stand over here and watch?"

Angel laughed, holding out his hand for her to take.

Buffy set aside the drink in her hand and let him lead her onto the dance floor.

The song was slow.

A cold shiver shot straight down Buffy's spine when Angel's arms circled around her waist. He held her close to his front and took her small hand in his own.

Buffy's free hand hugged his shoulder.

They swayed to the music, neither feeling the need to fill the air with chatter. Buffy laid her head on his chest.

After the slow dance, Buffy and Angel sat in a booth in a dark corner of the club.

Buffy watched as Angel took her hand and studied her dainty fingers. She wanted to know everything about this man.

Never had she felt so connected to anyone so quickly. It was as if she had known him for years.

Terrified of coming off too strong, Buffy played it cool, determined to remain flirty and easy-going.

Buffy sat on her knees and her arm rested on the back out the booth behind his back. They sat so close to one another, Buffy was practically in his lap.

"Well, since you're graduating this year, what are your plans?" Buffy asked, unconsciously toying with his short hairs at the base of his neck.

Angel tilted his chin slightly upwards to look at her. "My grandfather is the CEO of a law firm in L.A., and he'll be hiring me."

"Nepotism at its finest." She teased.

Angel chuckled, nodding in agreement.

Noticing the look of dissatisfaction in his eyes, Buffy pushed the subject. "Is being a lawyer not what you want to do?"

Angel shrugged. "It's suitable. It makes everyone happy."

"'Everyone' meaning your grandfather?" Buffy asked.

"Right." Angel answered.

Slowly nodding her head, Buffy shifted closer to him. "Well, if you had the choice to pick any career, what would it be?"

Pensively, his brows pinched together. "An artist or possibly a historian."

"Historian?" The arch of Buffy's brow rose. "Fascinating dates and compelling faces. Why a historian? Aren't you afraid that it's too stuffy? All tweed and dust?"

"There's something amazing and human about the events that's shaped thousands of years of a society. When it comes down to it, it's just about regular people making a choice." He explained. "Some are good and will push humanity forward and others are… damaging and they blame it on the lack of control. But I don't believe that. We always have a choice in everything we do. Sometimes it's a hard choice, but it's a choice."

Abruptly, Buffy leaned forward, capturing his mouth. As she kissed him, realisation dawned on her as to what she was doing. Hardly able to believe her forwardness, Buffy didn't want to stop kissing him. It felt good kissing him. It felt right.

Slowly, breaking the kiss, Angel opened his eyes, surprised that she had made the move he's been dying to make since first seeing her on the steps of the university's library. "What are you doing?" He asked, breathing heavily, still reeling from shock.

Boldly, Buffy cupped his cheek in her hand and shifted even closer to him. Her mouth millimeters from his, Buffy can almost hear his heart pounding in his chest, she certainly heard her own. "Making a choice." She whispered.

Angel closed the small space between their mouths. This kiss was hungry and passionate.

It quickly deepened as their tongues gracefully duelled for dominance.

Buffy's fingers laced into his dark spiky hair. She gently scratched his scalp with her fingernails. A kaleidoscope of butterflies swarmed the pit of her stomach. Bolts of cold tingles shot repeatedly down her body. Buffy felt as if she was free falling off of a cliff, and there was nothing to pull her back up.

In her nineteen years of life, Buffy had ever felt anything this intense before.

2011

Sunnydale, California

Downtown: Couples Therapy Office: Session 2

Cordelia enjoyed hearing these early stories of all the couples that came to see her. They always gave her a great sense of whether a couple would actually have a chance making it through couples therapy.

Jotting a few notes onto the pad balanced on her lap, Cordelia eyed the couples seated in front of her.

"What was it about him?" The therapist asked. "His way with words? Or was it because he's sensitive, tall, dark, and brooding?" Cordelia's dark eyes rolled over Angel.

Buffy looked at her husband beside her.

He stared at his shoes and held his arms tightly across his body.

"It was everything." She said.

Angel locked his eyes with hers.

"Everything about him overwhelmed me." Buffy exhaled a breath and softly smiled. "I never kissed a guy I barely knew—especially at a nightclub, but everything about him felt instinctual."

Angel continued to look at his wife.

Cordelia sat back in the chair, noticing sadness on Angel's face. Without taking her eyes off of him, Cordelia added more notes onto the notepad.

"How often do you two, um…" Cordelia awkwardly touched the tips of her index fingers together as if they're kissing.

Buffy and Angel shifted where they sat feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"You can tell me." Cordelia said in response to their reluctant silence. "We have to be honest here."

Anxious to have this questionnaire over, Angel answered, "A few times a week."

"Really?" Shock was evident in Cordelia's voice, not expecting that answer from a couple who can hardly sit in the same room together. "How many times a week?"

Buffy and Angel exchanged a look, silently communicating a number.

"Sometimes four to six times a week," said Angel.

Cordelia's eyes were wide, mouth agape, completely flummoxed as to what she was hearing.

"It's really whenever we feel the need." Buffy looked at the bewildered therapist.

"Okay," Cordelia set aside the notepad on the small table beside her. "Uh..." she stammered. "Do you sleep in the same bed?"

The O'Connor's remained silent and shifted with discomfort.

Buffy toyed with the hem of her shirt. "We do, but, um, sometimes he stays in L.A."

"If there's a case that runs into the night, it's just easier to stay at the office then drive back to Sunnydale." Angel casually explained.

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Cordelia narrowly eyed Mr O'Connor, who was being much too cavalier in her opinion. She could see straight through him and very much wanted to remove that thick armour he had up. "In just this month, how many times did you stay at the law firm?"

"Fifteen or twenty times." Angel answered decisively. "The case…"

"I-it's an important case." Buffy jumped in, trying to justify her husband's absence. "I don't want him driving him and getting into an accident 'cause he was tired. I'd rather him just stay put."

"I see." Cordelia' dark eyes had not moved from Angel's face. "Angel, you're not staying at the law firm in order to get out of spending time with Buffy, are you?"

For the first time, Angel hesitated in his reply. "No."

"Hm. Have you or are you currently having an affair?" Cordelia suddenly asked.

Buffy felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She, of course, trusted Angel, wholeheartedly, but she would be a liar if she said the idea of Angel having an extramarital relationship hadn't been tossed a few times in her head.

Angel's handsome face darkened, taking offense to such a claim. "No." He glared at the therapist. "I've never. Not once." He was resolute in his response.

"Buffy, have you?" Cordelia eyed the blonde.

Shaking her head, Buffy replied, "Never."

Angel turned his head to Buffy and saw a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth, which reassured him.

Cordelia prided herself on her acute ability of reading people. She knew without a doubt that Angel and Buffy O'Connor were telling the truth.