Sorry it took a couple of days to upload, every times I tried it said there was an error. Chapter 3 is the last chapter for this and I already have it written. Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate them and it makes me want to write more updates!
Chapter 2:
6 Years Earlier
Buffy looked down at her drink, at the sound of her friend laughing she glanced up to see her best friend on the dance floor with her new boyfriend, Oz. She was happy that Willow was happy, she really was! She just missed her boyfriend. Willow was off dancing with Oz and Xander was off in the corner making out with Cordelia, which she still found that odd, but at least they were happy… here she was, sitting alone at The Bronze. It sucked that she couldn't be with her own boyfriend. Why did it have to turn out that the only guy she ever had a real connection with was so much older than her? Her mother would flip if she knew that she was dating a frat boy that just turned 21 a few months earlier. She would surely call the police and have them lock him up and throw away the key.
Her mother liked Angel, she had met him one night when he was at her house and her mother decided to come home from a business trip early. Of course, she had told her mother that he was a college student the high school had assigned to tutor her in History. It wasn't a complete lie! The high school just had nothing to do with it. He had come over and spent the week with her while her mother was gone, she smiled at the memory. He made sure he made her breakfast every morning before she went off to school and then he would go to his classes on campus and after school he would be sitting in the school parking lot in his fancy black convertible to take her home. They would make love as soon as they got home, claiming it would help them relax and be able to focus on their homework better, then he would make her dinner and they would make love again until they fell asleep. It was all very domesticated, and she couldn't help but hope it would always be like that. She wasn't one to believe in marriage, not since her parents divorce, but the thought of being married to Angel, that would be a dream come true.
Buffy let out a sigh when she heard her best friend laughing even louder over the music, at something that Oz had said. Suddenly, the blonde felt her stomach do a flip flop, the same thing she felt the first night she met Angel. It was a common feeling when he was around. She glanced up to see Angel leaning over by the staircase that led to the second level of The Bronze, with his signature sexy grin on his face as he watched her. Buffy smirked at him as she got up from her seat and made her way over to him.
"Hey, Beautiful." He whispered before leaning down to give her a kiss.
The nickname made Buffy smile even bigger. "Hey." She whispered. "I thought you had fraternity stuff to do tonight."
Angel shrugged, glancing over her head at a man that walked behind her, then smiled as he looked back down at her. "I snuck out. I had to see you, talking on the phone just isn't enough."
Buffy let out a small laugh, he had called her while she was getting ready to go out with her friends and he had informed her that there was going to be a big meeting at Delta Zeta Kappa that he couldn't miss. "I know what you mean." She whispered, placing her hands on his chest.
He leaned down to kiss her again, there were times when he just couldn't get enough of her and although that scared him, he knew that she was worth it. Buffy was the most serious girlfriend he had ever had and he hated that they had to hide their relationship. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay." She looked into his eyes as her hands roamed his chest. "Shoot."
"I'm going home for Thanksgiving this year." He whispered. "I was wondering if you could come with me. I know it would be up to your mom but she did let you go to Florida for Spring Break."
Buffy let out a laugh. "That was Florida with friends, Angel. Not Ireland with my boyfriend."
"I get that." He nodded, he knew it was a long shot but he didn't want to be away from her for that long. He wouldn't admit it but it damn near killed him when she was gone for Spring Break the year before and they had only been together for five months at that point. "But just think, we wouldn't have to hide in Ireland. We could just be us."
"I will ask." Buffy smiled. She would have to come up with a story, there is no way her mother would allow her to leave the state with her boyfriend that her mother didn't even know she had, there was no chance in hell she would allow her to leave the country with him.
0o0o0
Buffy could hear her mother in the kitchen doing the dishes for their dinner earlier. She took a deep breath to prepare herself before entering the kitchen. Joyce Summers glanced back at her daughter quickly before putting the sauce pan into the cabinet. "Hey, Sweetie. Did you have fun?"
Buffy nodded.
"It looks like you did." Joyce laughed as she wiped her hands with a towel and gave her daughter her full attention. "Wasn't your hair up when you left?"
"Ahhh." Buffy ran her fingers through her hair. She had ended up leaving The Bronze with Angel, but since they couldn't go back to his room they had gotten a room at the closest motel. Her hair was so messy afterwards that she just used her fingers to brush it out before Angel dropped her off at the house. "I got hot." Buffy nodded with a nervous laugh, then paused. "Er… I mean… cold?"
"Are you okay, sweetie?" Joyce questioned.
Buffy nodded again, walking further into the kitchen to lean on the counter. She hated lying to her mother because she felt like her mother always knew something was off, just never called her out on it. After all, this was the woman that could tell there was something different about her daughter the morning she came home after going to Delta Zeta Kappa's Halloween party the year before, when she and Angel had sex for the first time just two weeks after they had met. "Yeah, there was just something I wanted to ask you. So, I was invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Chase family, they are going to Ireland this year. I was just wondering if maybe I could go."
"To Ireland with Cordelia and her family for Thanksgiving?" Her mother repeated.
Buffy bit her lip nervously and nodded. She hoped that her mother would buy it, she just couldn't think of anyone else who would have enough money laying around to fly to another country for a holiday! She found that when it came to lying about her relationship with Angel the best thing to do was to keep it as close to the truth as she possibly could, so that was what she had been doing for a little over a year.
Joyce let out a sigh. "You know this year you are supposed to go with your father."
Buffy nodded again. "It's not like he actually wants me to go. Doesn't he have a new girlfriend? He will probably want to be with her."
Joyce nodded, she knew whenever Hank got a new girlfriend he constantly wanted to be with her and would blow off spending time with his own daughter and just end up sending her some money instead. "I will talk to him."
"You are the best, mom!" The blonde smiled, throwing her arms around her mother.
Present Day
Buffy looked around at everything that was on the counter, she felt like she still had a lot to do and she already knew that the only ones willing to help would be Willow and Oz, and maybe Andrew if he could drag himself away from talking about D&D with Xander. She took a deep breath and pulled out a bag of potatoes to start peeling.
"Need any help?"
She looked up to see Angelus standing on the other side of the kitchen island. The Angel she knew and loved would have helped in a second, and for some reason the fact that he had asked if she needed help almost brought tears to her eyes. She had thought she was over him, it had been four years and yet, seeing him was tearing her up. "Thanks." She shrugged. "But I think I got it."
"I don't know if you remember this but…" Angelus playfully wrinkled up his face. "I'm kind of a good cook. Your words, not mine."
"I remember." A small smile slipped into her lips. "But, you are the guest. You shouldn't have to cook."
Angelus watched her peel the potatoes for a moment. "But I offered."
The blonde set the knife and potato down, then looked up at her ex-boyfriend. "Okay." She nodded. "If you want to, you can peel the potatoes. I seem to remember you being faster than me at that."
He smiled at her as he moved around the counter to wash his hands and then went over to where she was standing. He looked down at her as he picked up the knife and potato she had set down. "It seems like you have gotten faster at it." She let out a small laugh, looking up at him and suddenly he felt like they were back in his family home in Ireland helping to prepare dinner for his family and got the urge to lean down and kiss her. That week they had spent together in Ireland was probably his favorite part of their relationship. They were able to go out on dates and openly show how much they cared about each other without any fear. They were able to spend time with his family, he even treasured the small things they were able to do like prepare a meal together. When Joyce Summers went out of town they were able to be together inside the Summers home, but it just wasn't the same.
"Thanks." She smiled as she turned to walk towards the freezer. "I guess it comes with years of practice."
"Is cooking your thing now?" He wondered. "I seem to remember that you couldn't even boil a pot of water."
Buffy shook her head as she opened the freezer. "Thanksgiving is the only meal that I prepare, and I'm sure you heard earlier, baking isn't my thing. Is the pie your mother's recipe?"
Angelus smiled at her back, he remembered how much she loved his mother's pumpkin pie. He and Buffy were only in Ireland with his family for a week but his whole family came to love her and often asked about her when they would call him. His mother was almost as heartbroken over the breakup as he was. "Yeah, it is."
Buffy pulled a package out of the freezer before turning around. "Will!" She called to her best friend. "Did you get frozen peas?"
"Yeah." The redhead nodded as she walked into the kitchen.
"You were supposed to get fresh peas. They come in little pods. You were going to shell them." She reminded her best friend.
"I didn't have time." Willow shrugged. "I swear, if I didn't get out of that store one of us was going to have a meltdown, and it may or may not have been me. The freezer section was just closer."
"You're right, I'm sorry." Buffy pouted, she knew she had no right to complain about Willow getting frozen peas instead of fresh ones. She knew that Willow always went above and beyond for her and their little family. All of them did. "They are going to be mushy."
Willow gave her best friend a little smile. "Giles likes mushy peas."
Buffy sighed, tossing the peas back into the freezer. "By the time they get here all that will be left is the mushy peas."
"You think they are going to be that late?" The redhead wondered.
Buffy nodded, she really hoped they would be. She had sent Giles a quick text warning him about their new guest but she hadn't gotten a response back. "They are going to Dawn's boyfriends parents house first, it could be a while."
"It's just crazy that little Dawnie is in college now and has a boyfriend." Willow giggled. "I mean, no offense but I thought she was going to end up with Andrew."
"Isn't he too old for her?" Buffy pouted again.
Willow raised her eyebrows at the blonde. "No more older than a certain boyfriend of yours."
"Touché" The blonde nodded, then paused. "They do kind of seem to have that flirty banter thing going on. How do you think R.J. feels about that?"
"Consider he is R.J. Brooks and pretty much the hottest football player at Sunny U and in Delta Zeta Kappa, he probably isn't worried about it." Willow shrugged. "Besides, I think he has a thing for you..."
"Wait." Buffy cut her friend off. "He pledged?"
Willow smirked at her friend, it was like Buffy's ears turned off as soon as she mentioned the fraternity. "Dawn didn't tell you?"
"No. I mean, she mentioned that he was thinking about it but I didn't think he would actually do it." Suddenly Buffy paused as she opened the cupboard, slowly turning back around to look at her friend. "Did you say he has a thing for me?"
Angelus raised his eyebrows as he looked between the two women, it was like watching a soap opera. Only more entertaining.
Willow nodded. "He's constantly checking you out."
Buffy shook her head vigorously. "I'm a… I'm a dried-up old prune! And he's my sister's boyfriend! My sisters very young boyfriend!"
"You aren't old, Buffy!" Willow laughed at her best friend's reaction, completely forgetting that her said best friend's ex-boyfriend was still in the room cutting potatoes. "Plus, guys don't care about age. Especially when you have all the right curves in all the right places."
Buffy's expression turned mortified as she looked down at her body. "And you know what I went through to get these curves!"
"I do." Willow nodded. "And it was beautiful."
Buffy let out a sigh as she smiled with a nod before looking to Willow with a pout. "You don't think R.J. is coming do you? I don't think I can look at him the same."
"More people are coming?" Angelus finally spoke up.
Buffy turned to look at him with wide eyes, how could she forget that he was here? "Um… yeah. Just a couple. Someone is running late and then my mom and her husband are stopping by but they won't be here for a while."
"You said Giles." Angelus tossed some chopped up potatoes in a pan. "The same Giles that was your librarian?"
"One in the same." Willow smiled. "Buffy's mom and Giles got married a few months after you dumped my best friend."
Angelus looked up at the redhead, looking like a deer caught in headlights.
Buffy had to force a smile from appearing on her lips, it wasn't right to laugh at his reaction. "She knows."
"Clearly." He stated.
Willow gave him a satisfied smirk, living with Faith had definitely given her more courage to call someone out. Buffy was right, Faith was rubbing off on her.
"It was a fast… thing. I mean, they had just barely gotten together and then decided to get married." Buffy tried to make him feel more at ease.
0o0o0
Buffy was grateful for all the help that Angelus was giving her with the meal. And it almost wasn't hard to be around him. At first she was in shock that he was there, it was something she never expected. Hell, she didn't expect to ever see him again. After graduation, he had no ties left in Sunnydale. All his friends had left after graduation and they had broken up, he didn't have a reason to be back in Sunnydale. She was curious to know why he came back but she was also wondering when he was leaving. There's no way this is where he planned on living.
The blonde glanced up at the clock on her wall and then the timer on the oven. Why couldn't that turkey cook any faster?
She looked up at Angelus as he was peeling an egg to make deviled eggs before she walked through the short hallway, going into the living room the back way. She saw Willow and Oz sitting on the love seat together, she rushed over, kneeling behind the small couch. "Is there a way to make a turkey cook faster?"
Willow shrugged.
"Probably not without a chance of killing us all with undercooked meat." Oz offered.
Buffy pursed her lips. "Would it kill us or just make us sick?"
"Definitely sick." Willow nodded.
Oz shrugged. "With a chance of death."
Buffy thought for a moment. "How sick?"
"What's up?" Oz asked, turning his body slightly to get a better look at the blonde.
The blonde pouted. "I still haven't heard back from Giles."
"I'm sure he won't mind if we eat without them as long as he gets his mushy peas." Oz told her.
"Not exactly what I'm worried about, they are eating at the Brooks house." Buffy sighed. "I'm worried about them coming when a certain someone that is currently making deviled eggs is still here."
"Oh." Oz nodded. "Will told me. So, that's him, huh?"
Buffy nodded. "If he is still here when… this is a day that I never thought would come. I mean, he left me." She whispered. "No chance of ever getting back together, not even a way to reach him and now, boom. He's back in Sunnydale. Something he said would never happen."
"Maybe he changed his mind." Oz reasoned, earning a nod from his redheaded love.
"About what?" The blonde asked desperately. "He was convinced he could never sell his art work in Sunnydale, that there wasn't a big enough market."
"Which you are living proof that that's not true." Oz pointed out.
"But that was all he cared about." Buffy raised her eyebrows as she spoke. "He definitely didn't care about me when he broke up with me to go move to Boston. Now he's not selling his art work and he's a high school art teacher? It doesn't make sense. Why Sunnydale?"
"Maybe you should ask him that." Oz spoke as the voice of reason.
"Oh, but that would make sense." The two women said at the same time.
0o0o0
Buffy looked over at Angelus as he sliced some cheese and placed it on a platter. It was really bothering her that he came back to Sunnydale, where he claimed he would never come back because there wasn't anything here for him. She still remembered the sting she felt when he said it all those years ago. Like their time together meant nothing to him, she came to the conclusion that night that she loved him more than he loved her. It was hard to accept that after three years together it was so easy for him to walk away. She realized the hard way that you really never do get over your first love, maybe that's why it was so easy for him. She wasn't his first love, but he was her only love.
"I guess I never did thank you for bringing the pumpkin pie." Buffy said, putting more rolls on a baking sheet since Xander had already eaten all the other ones. "You kinda saved me."
"It's what I do." He shrugged, then winked at her. "But maybe you should stick with me so I won't have to save you again."
Her breath got stuck in her throat at his comment and she felt like she couldn't move. Was he seriously quoting himself from the first night they met?
He turned to look at the oven as the timer started to go off. He smiled at her before grabbing an oven mitt and checking on the turkey. Pulling it out of the oven he placed it on top of the stove. "Now we have about 30 minutes to get everything else done." He glanced around the kitchen. "Which I think everything else is pretty much done. Just the rolls and gravy now?"
Buffy nodded silently.
"I'm here!" A male voice called out from the other room causing Angelus to look at Buffy, wondering who it was. "Buffy!"
The blonde quickly walked out of the kitchen with Angelus right behind her.
"Hey!" Buffy greeted a blonde man with a hug. "You made it."
"I told you I would be here." He smiled without releasing her from their hug. "How many of your friendsgivings have I missed?"
"Mmmm." Buffy thought teasingly. "Just the first one."
Angelus eyed the blonde man that had walked in the front door. Why was he hugging her for so long? Who was this guy? He didn't get a hug at all, in fact, Buffy didn't even say anything to him when she first saw him. They dated for three years! They were in love! Shouldn't he have gotten at least a greeting? Angelus looked to Willow as she made her way over towards the door, he gently touched her arm, causing her to stop next to him. He looked up, watching Buffy and the man talking happily. "Who's that guy?"
Willow raised her eyebrows at him. "That's Riley, he used to be our TA in Intro to Psych."
"He hang around a lot?" Angelus questioned, still eyeing the man.
"You could say that." The redhead shrugged. "He helps her at the gallary sometimes when he's not working at Sunny U."
"He likes her." It wasn't a question, Angelus didn't need to ask, he already knew just from looking at the guy.
Willow nodded. "Yeah, he does."
"I brought…" Riley held up a bag, handing it to Buffy.
Buffy gasped with a smile. "Fresh peas!"
Riley laughed at her reaction. "Now Giles can have all the mushy peas."
Buffy laughed at his comment before handing the peas out to Willow. "Now get shellin', Will!"
Willow pouted as she took the bag from the blonde and made her way to the kitchen.
Riley's smile fell from his face when he saw the dark haired man standing where Willow had just been. "Buffy, is that…"
The blonde nodded, gently rubbing the blonde man's arm. "Be nice."
Angelus frowned at the interaction between the two blondes. Did this Riley guy know about them? Did everyone?
0o0o0
Buffy watched as all her friends dug into the food on the table, talking and laughing. She was truly blessed to have all of these people in her life, even Spike and Andrew.
"I see you all started without me." Said a brunette woman, teasingly.
Buffy rolled her eyes at her friend. "I told you if you didn't come down we were going to start without you."
The dark haired woman laughed, but the sound died on her lips when she saw a new person sitting at the table next to Andrew. "Hello gorgeous."
Angelus looked up from his plate at the dark haired woman, then to Buffy. The woman walked around the table, stopping at the chair next to him, she smacked the younger blonde boy. "Move."
"Ouch!" Andrew whined, trying to shield himself from her multiple blows until he finally got up, grabbing his plate of food, he scowled as he made his way around the table to sit on the other side of Buffy. Riley glanced beside him, giving Buffy a teasing smile.
"It's okay." Buffy smiled at Andrew. "I didn't want to sit next to her anyway."
Andrew pouted. "But I wanted to sit next to Angelus. He's cool."
Buffy lightly patted him on the arm. Andrew was only a year younger than her but she always felt like she needed to mother him.
Angelus looked towards Buffy with a pleading look, from the way this brunette was acting, this had to be Faith. Buffy was right, he would know her when he saw her.
Buffy's attention was drawn back to Xander scooping a large amount of mashed potatoes onto his plate and once again she found herself lost in her thoughts.
6 years Earlier
Angel wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him as they walked up to the large house. He couldn't help but smile, he didn't think he had stopped smiling since Buffy had told him that she could go to Ireland with him. He had never been happier than he was at the moment. Buffy was about to meet his whole family and spend the week in Ireland where they didn't have to pretend they weren't a couple in most places and always be on the lookout for someone that Buffy might know. Here, in Dublin, they could just be two people in love.
An older man swung open the front door with a smile on his face. "Angelus!"
"Dad!" He smiled at the older man. "I want you to meet Buffy." He smiled down at his girlfriend. "Buffy, this is my dad, Patrick."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Doyle." Buffy smiled, holding her hand out to shake his.
The other man smiled down at her before pulling her in for a hug. "Call me Dad! Any girl that can make this one…" He pointed to his son. "fall in love with her, is family."
Buffy giggled at the older man as they all walked into the house.
"Irene!" He called out, looking back at the young couple. "They are here! Kids! Come see your brother and his lass!"
A dark haired man and younger girl walked into the living room, smiling at them. "Angelus!" The girl smiled happily, running to her older brother to give him a hug.
"Hey, Kathy." Angel smiled as he hugged the girl back. "How's my girl?"
"Good." She smiled up at her brother. "I'm thinking about applying at Sunnydale University so I can go to College with you."
"I tried to explain to her that by the time she is ready for college you will already be graduated but maybe she just needs you to say it." The man that walked in with Kathy said. "I'm her brother, but I'm not you."
Angelus laughed at the comment. "Little bro!"
"Big bro!" He laughed, giving Angelus a hug.
"Guys, this is Buffy." Angel smiled at the blonde. "This is my little sister Kathy and my brother…"
"Don't say it!" The man pointed at Angel before turning to Buffy. "Just call me Doyle."
"Allen Francis" Angel said quickly before laughing and taking off running as his brother chased him.
"Boys! Please don't break anything this time." An older woman with long dark hair walked into the room, drying her hands. She smiled at Buffy, holding her arms out before pulling the blonde into a hug. "Hello, Sweetie. I'm Angelus' mother, Irene. I'm so happy to finally meet you!"
"Me too." Buffy smiled, looking around the large living room. "You have a beautiful home."
"Thank you." Irene smiled, wrapping her arm around Buffy, leading her through the living room and into the dining room. "We remodeled a lot when we bought it. Just a little tip, don't buy a house that you haven't seen in person. We were just so excited to move here from New York that we bought a house over the computer and phone! Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful home, we just had to change a few things."
"Why did you move here from New York." Buffy wondered. "If you don't mind me asking."
Irene smiled at the blonde. "It's lovely here. We saw pictures of Dublin and decided that we wanted to retire here. Angelus and Allen loved growing up in New York City but once we had Kathy we didn't want to raise her there. We just needed to find the right place to move to, so when Angelus went to college, we all moved here." Irene took a deep breath as she looked at the dining room table that was covered with food. "I hope you are hungry. Even though we aren't in the states anymore, we still celebrate Thanksgiving."
Buffy looked at her boyfriend's mother confused. "But it's not actually Thanksgiving yet, it's in a couple of days."
"Tell my boys that!" Irene laughed. "They like to eat like it's Thanksgiving everyday!" She looked behind her to see her two sons running into the room, still chasing each other.
Angel stopped running right beside Buffy, dropping a kiss to her cheek before Doyle slammed into him, unable to stop in time. Buffy smiled at the interaction, she loved seeing this side of her boyfriend.
"How about you don't cause harm to your brother's girlfriend?" Irene swatted her middle child in the arm. "I like her already."
"You have only known her for two minutes!" Doyle exclaimed.
Angel smiled down at his girlfriend before planting a kiss to her lips. "It took me half that to fall for her."
Doyle rolled his eyes. "Oh God! That was sappy, don't tell me you have turned sappy on me!"
"I'm sappy." He mumbled against her lips before kissing her again.
Doyle shook his head at his older brother, he had to admit, he kinda liked Buffy too. She already made a better first impression than his brothers ex.
Irene smiled as she walked into the kitchen to grab some glass cups for their meal, as she looked back she could see her son still kissing his girlfriend, slowly backing her up against the wall. She had never seen her oldest son act like that over a girl.
"Jeez." Doyle shook his head. "I get the feeling you guys joined the mile high club on the way here."
The couple broke apart and Buffy started to blush.
"Yup." Doyle nodded with a smile. "Definitely did."
Angel chuckled before kissing her again. "What do you want to do first? Eat or go up and check out our room?"
Doyle laughed as he sat down at the kitchen table, picking up a piece of ham with his fingers. "Notice how he didn't include unpack your bags? It's food or sex with him."
"We have been known to include food with our sex." Angel smiled at his brother as the other boy loaded mashed potatoes onto his plate.
"Oh my God." Buffy blushed even more as she hid her face in her boyfriend's chest. "Where is our room?" She asked quietly.
Angel grabbed her hand and smiled, turning back towards his brother. "Be back in 15."
"Only 15?" He called out to his brother. "What about the foreplay?"
0o0o0
"That wasn't 15 minutes, bro." Doyle shook his head with a chuckle.
"What can I say?" Angel smiled back.
"Allen, leave your brother alone." His mother scolded him. "Someday you will be in love and you will understand."
"Sometimes your girl just needs a little extra lovin'." Their father laughed.
Irene rolled her eyes. "Patrick."
Her husband shrugged his shoulders.
Buffy looked around at the food on the table as Angel scooped something pink onto her plate. "What's that?"
"Fruit salad." He smiled at her. "You'll love it."
"It's a recipe that has been passed down from my mother's side of the family, we only have it on special occasions." Irene told her.
Doyle laughed as Buffy took a bite of the pink treat. "Normal people would call it just about anything other than fruit salad."
Kathy nodded in agreement with her older brother. "The only fruit it has in it is pineapple."
Present Day
"How's Doyle?" Buffy blurted out, receiving odd looks from everyone around the table but Angelus.
Faith raised her eyebrows at her blonde friend. "Who?"
Xander shrugged. "Doyle is Angelus' last name."
The blonde shook her head, now wasn't the best time to ask her ex-boyfriend how his family was doing. She had been wondering if Doyle ever fell in love or what colleges Kathy was thinking about going to now. "Nevermind."
Angelus smiled at the blonde before looking down at the table and noticing something pink in a large bowl. "What's that?"
"Oh, it's called fruit salad. It's pretty good. It's like the staple of Buffy's Friendsgivings." Xander answered as he scooped a large amount onto his plate. "Weird cause it only has pineapple in it."
Angelus smiled at the blonde again as he added some to his plate. It appeared that his mother's family recipe was now part of another family.
0o0o0
Angelus was making his way back from the bathroom when he heard two voices coming from outside in the backyard. He slowly walked over to the door when it sounded like the male voice was angry.
"Does he know?" The man said.
He heard a loud sigh and the unmistakable voice of his former lover. "I don't know. I don't think so, I didn't tell him but it's not like everyone knows not to say anything around him. He said he has been back in Sunnydale a month, if he knew he would have found me way before now… at least, I think he would have."
Angelus peaked out the back door to see Buffy standing with her arms crossed over her chest just a couple feet away from Riley, in the backyard. "When is he leaving?"
Buffy shrugged. "Again, I don't know. Probably soon. I mean, would you want to hang out at your ex's house?"
"It's not like you two hate each other, if you did then I could see why he would want to get out of here as soon as possible." Riley said, crossing his own arms. "You said it yourself, there wasn't a big blow up and no one fell out of love. He just left."
"Exactly, Ri. He left. He left me." She tightened her arms around herself. "I mean, it's not like I didn't know it was coming, he gave me fair warning that it was going to happen. Doesn't mean I was anymore okay with it."
"I know, it was a crappy situation." Riley wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Seems like life keeps 'em coming because if he's still here when Giles and your mom get here…"
Buffy closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I know. I just can't kick him out though, that would be rude." She paused for a second. "Right? That's rude, isn't it?"
"Yeah." The blonde man laughed. "That's rude. But hey, if you never want him to come back around then that might just do the trick."
Buffy rolled her eyes with a small smile. "I highly doubt he will be back."
Riley nodded but part of him didn't think it was true. He saw the way the dark haired man looked at her, there were still feelings there, no matter what Buffy thought. "Any word from Giles or your mom about when they will be back."
Buffy shook her head. "I texted Giles hours ago, still no response. I didn't even try texting mom, you know how she gets. She's either super involved or he has her phone."
Riley nodded again. "You want me to rough him up a little bit? I'm sure he would leave then. I would ask Spike to help me but I think he kinda likes the guy."
"Angelus is an easy guy to like." Buffy said with a small smile.
"Yeah." Riley laughed. "Even I might be falling for him." The blonde man shook his head before turning to walk towards the house leaving the blonde in the yard. "But if he leaves me to go sell some art, I won't handle it as gracefully as you."
Angelus moved out of the way so that Riley wouldn't see him when he walked back into the house. He didn't know how uncomfortable Buffy was by him being here. She had been concerned with his comfort but didn't say anything about how she felt. He ran his hand through his hair and made his way out into the backyard. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving."
"Oh?" Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Is Xander ready to leave?"
Angelus shook his head. "I'm just going to go."
"Xander said that you rode with him." She stated. Xander always stayed well into the night whenever they had dinner together, it had started when he was a teenager because he wanted to stay away from his family but he continued the tradition even after he moved out on his own.
He nodded. "I will call for a ride. I have been here long enough, I don't want to intrude."
"I'm sorry if anyone made you feel like you were intruding." She frowned.
Angelus shrugged. "Who would want to hang out at their ex's house?"
Buffy's mouth fell open with a gasp. Did he hear her talking to Riley?
"Thanks for dinner, Buffy." He turned to walk back into the house as she followed behind him.
She couldn't believe he had heard her talking to Riley! That was the only explanation. She didn't want him to feel like he wasn't welcome because the truth was, if things were different then she would want him around. She wouldn't even care that he had left her, just that he was back. But things weren't different,
She was about to call his name, for the first time in the last couple hours, she didn't want him to leave. She wanted to make things right with him but then it sounded like a lot of commotion coming from inside of the house and she heard a little voice call out. "Mommy!"