"What?" The two enraged voices screamed.
"You. Two. Assignment." Giles spoke slowly as if talking to a child.
"Damn it Giles, what the fuck is this about, I can handle myself." Angelus roared not willing to spend another minute with her better yet an assignment.
"We need you both, you're going on a series of assignments rather in Europe. They will be both difficult and time consuming; we can't afford anything going wrong. So seeing as you two obviously don't get along, you will both go on a three month vacation prior to the beginning of the first assignment. " Giles said sternly with no room for arguments.
"Fine Giles, but if I kill him then its your fault." Buffy said, speaking for the first time. She got up and headed for the door. "Hurry up!" She barked at Angelus.
"Yes mistress." He muttered under his breath. She smirked and turned around.
"You'd do well to remember that." She said walking out the door with a wave Giles' way.
They got downstairs and Buffy's car was already waiting for her. She got in and started the engine and looked over at Angelus who was still standing in the doorway.
"Well are you coming?" She asked. He shrugged and got in the passenger seat buckling his seat belt.
Buffy pulled out of the office building driving none-to-carefully as she headed for her house. She got to the red light and looked over at Angelus who was looking out the side. She noticed perhaps for the first time how amazing he looked. She had heard stories about the gorgeous bounty hunter that was brutal but effective. Angelus noticed her staring and looked at her.
"See something you like?" He asked smirking. She just smiled and kept driving. When they got to the next red light something clicked in her brain, Giles never told her where they were vacationing. She put her car phone on speaker and dialed Giles' number.
"Haven't killed him yet have you Buffy?" Giles answered exasperatedly.
"Sadly no, but its only 3:30. You never told me where we were going to stay for our little vacation." She said.
"Well I decided that you could go to the villa." Giles said, waiting for the scream.
"Really?" She squealed.
"Yes Buffy." He chuckled.
"Thank you thank you thank you Giles, you're the bestest." She said, bouncing in her seat slightly. Angelus watched her closely, she acted differently, almost letting down the visible barrier of no emotions and showing happiness. He noticed her giddiness and wondered if she really did get out much.
"So where are we going." He asked conversationally.
"We are going to my villa, it's my favorite place in the world." She said happily, turning in to her apartment building, and expensive looking place.
"And where might that be?"
"You'll see." She replied mysteriously.
She parked her car and grabbed her phone as she stepped out of her car. Retrieving the keys she armed her car with the security system and led Angelus to the back elevator. Stepping in she pressed the penthouse button, following her password.
"Tight security." Angelus remarked.
"Get used to it." She snapped. 'If you only knew why I live this way.' She thought.
Getting to the top floor she stepped out into her apartment. Angelus looked around and admired the place. It was furnished with expensive furniture and beautiful paintings that he couldn't place the artist.
"Who painted all these they're beautiful." Buffy turned around surprised at the remark.
" I did, I usually have a lot of free time on my hands, gives me something to do other than hacking people up." She joked. "Go ahead and have a seat wherever I need to pack some things and my weapons. We'll get clothes and things when we get there." She said disappearing into the back room. She pulled out her suitcase and called out to Angelus "Do you need anything from your house, personal items, weapons, anything?"
"No a few things, like you said I'll get everything wherever it is we're going. I carry all my weapons with me." He said.
"Okay um, if you can give me a hand with the weapons we can be out of here in a sec." She said. Angelus walked back to her room. It was dark he noticed with a very gothic motif. He looked around and couldn't spot a weapons chest or cabinet.
"Where are your weapons?" He asked.
"Right there." She pointed to an open armoire with nothing but clothes in it.
"Um okay." Surprise registered on her face an almost 'duh' look.
"Right." She laughed. Walking over to the armoire she opened the doors and ran her hands underneath them. Angelus heard a click; the doors themselves opened and revealed her collection.
"Very impressive." He said admiring her extensive collection of knives, they all varied in size and color but all had a beautiful 'S' carved into the handle. "What does the 'S' stand for?"
"My trademark, ever heard of the Slayer?" She asked.
"Yeah sure, crazy bitch that kills certain people, believed to be a part of a gang or something, known for her brutality and use of ceremonial knives…which look exactly like yours." He trailed off upon figuring out who she really was.
"Don't look so surprised, half the shit you think you know about me is just for show." She said nonchalantly. "I use knives because they're easy and never fail, the symbol is just for show, so people don't figure I'm a bounty hunter and lean more towards the gang idea like you."
He shrugged and went over to the chest looking over the wide array of things.
"Which ones do you want?" He asked.
"Um, grab two from each row. I have the ones that I normally use, but these will be extras and things." She said.
Angelus began very carefully packing the weapons as she said. He came over a rather large one it was beautiful and kept in pristine conditioned. He studied it carefully, it didn't have the 'S' carved into it, but it was all black and had a swiveled blade an athame like she used.
"What's this one?" He said pointing to it. She turned and had a cold look on her face.
"Don't touch it." She snapped, walking over and unsheathing it. She ran the blade over her hands and showed it to Angelus. "This." She said slowly. "Was the blade that killed my sister." She said a look of pain flashing through her eyes. Angel wanted nothing more but to hold her and show her everything would be okay.
"Who did it?" He asked softly. She looked up at him slowly.
"His name was Spike, before I did this for a living I lived in L.A. and pissed him off, he took away the only thing that ever meant anything to me, and succeeded in breaking me." She said.
"Oh my god." He said. 'I can't believe it, should I tell her?'