DISCLAIMER: Joss is the Boss

Ch8…

***

Buffy banged on the bathroom door, sighing loudly. Connor was cleaning his sword not at all caring that he had bits of dried demon sticking to his face and hair. Angel was wiping at his own face hoping he was getting rid of the blood with no mirror to aid him, not that he would show up in it even if he had one.

"Dawnie hurry up, I'd like to get rid of this blood and guts before I have to cut it off my skin!"

There was no reply, Angel recognised the look on her face and intercepted her before she could reach the kitchen and make Dawn scream. She fought against him while Connor looked on in interest, abandoning his sword, it was obvious that neither were trying too hard to fight the other.

"Just a little? Please?"

Buffy pouted and Angel found his resolve waning, his son watching all this in disgust snickered, the two were staring each other down, a hundred different emotions playing through their eyes. The door to the bathroom swung open and Buffy broke away to glare at her sister, a hot blush creeping up her neck.

"That's so much better." Dawn announced as she flopped on the couch towelling her long hair over her shoulder, the strands flew around and brushed against Connor's face. It felt like each strand was electrified and charged against his skin, although you couldn't tell this by his expression which seemed entirely focussed on cleaning his weapons. Angel grabbed Buffy around her middle, her back to his chest, it made her tingle; in a good way. She let herself stay there; tangled in his arms it had been too long since they had last been like this.

"Uh, Connor if I were you I'd get in the shower before Buffy and Angel snap out of the forbidden-love-Romeo-and-Juliet eat-your-heart-out daze and the hot water runs out."

He stared at her a moment, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder, her face completely devoid of make up, her hair wet and hanging limply past her shoulders, she looked so innocent and nothing like the acid tongued girl he had been fighting with since barging into her dorm room. Her free hand was waving through her hair drying the strands as she went; another trick she had learnt from Willow. She felt self conscious without her make up, she most look scary considering the way Connor was staring at her.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Four sets of dazed eyes looked up and encountered Gunn who was carrying four bags of Chinese food. Buffy looked away first, breaking from Angel and immediately missing the feeling of him against her. Dawn moved from the couch all but tackling Gunn in her haste for the food while Connor remained at the couch just watching her. Pulling out the Kung Pau Chicken, Gunn smirked to himself; this was going to be funny, he just knew it.

***

She knew nothing about cars, even less about driving and still she couldn't help but whistle appreciatively at the black car with a low rumble that idled at the curb. Leaning across the front Angel popped the door open for Buffy who slid in gratefully while Connor and Dawn jumped over into the back not bothered by such trivial things as doors.
"Are you sure you want to stay at the dorm?"
Buffy glanced at the backseat using the rear-view mirror, Connor and Dawn were making it a point to not look at each other and were not paying the slightest bit of attention to the occupants of the front seat.
"I'll be fine, Dawnie and I are long overdue for a catch up."
Angel grunted as he shifted gears, speeding up slightly as they turned towards the campus.
"Tomorrow, when Dawn has classes, could we meet, to talk? Maybe try some of that coffee stuff I've heard people raving about."
Buffy snuck a glance at Angel's profile using his concentration on the road to her advantage, he looked different, it was his eyes. They were clearer somehow.
"Coffee, I've heard of that, people drink it on dates."
"If you're good I'll even get you cake."
"Mm, the perfect yum."
His eyes darkened slightly, again gunning the engine as he sped down the road. Buffy idly wondered at what was bothering him but didn't voice it, the amount of things that Angel brooded about at any given time would need at least a dozen rooms. Pulling over at the curb the two teenagers jumped from the car, Connor stalking off without a goodbye or even a grunt of acknowledgement.
"Thanks Angel" Dawn whispered softly before turning her eyes on Buffy "Um, I'll wait for you upstairs." Then she too beat a fast getaway.
"I'll come past at 12?"
Buffy nodded before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek delighting in the shiver she felt beneath her lips.
"How will you get around unless you've found a cure for your sun allergy?"
Angel smiled wanly, his hand lingering on hers.
"I have my ways."
Buffy breathed in his smell as he pulled away feeling slightly dazed, she hadn't been that girl he had met in the alley in a long time and yet he still had that same affect on her, that lusty wrong feeling as Willow termed it.
"I'm sure you do."
Leaving the car she walked slowly to the door of Dawn's dorm building, he was there and he was watching her, waiting till she was safely inside the building before pulling away. Chivalry wasn't dead, it was the undead.

***

Sometimes a workout cooled his blood, sometimes a walk did it and sometimes the only way to cool it down was to do something about what was making him hot. His hair had been cut short but he could still feel sweat sticking some of the strands to his face. The door behind him clicked open and his roommate entered with both hands over his eyes.
"I can't see anything I'm just here to get some stuff."
Pausing in his activities Connor cracked a minute smile at his roommate feeling blindly around the room for whatever it was he was looking for.
"Don't worry Sam the room isn't occupied I'm just working out some aggression."
His lanky roommate peeked through his hands carefully.
"Sorry heard the grunting and I just assumed you were-" He trailed off as Connor once again began beating at the punching bag that was now suspended from their roof.
"How did you get that in here anyway?"
With each hit a little more of the ceiling was raining down on them. Pulling back Connor placed one last kick at the bag sending it smashing out the window in a shower of glass.
"Whoa."
Connor was breathing hard, his hands still in fists at his side, Sam beside him staring at the window.
"Does that mean you've worked it out?"
Looking up at the hook still sunk in the roof, he scowled. Sometimes a workout cooled his blood and sometimes all it did was make him even hotter than before.
"Not remotely."

Sam laughed at Connor's grunting as he put the bag away in the closet.
"So what's her name?"
Connor remained silent, kicking at the bag more than he had to as he pushed it into the closet.
"His name?"
Sam all but doubled over in laughter at the look of disgust on Connor's face.

"Chill it was a joke. Only a girl could get you this keyed up so I ask again; what's her name?"
He flopped on his bed not really caring that he was dirtying the sheets.

"Dawn and she is the most infuriating person I have ever met, we're either always arguing or glaring at each other. She is driving me crazy!"
Sam stood over him shaking his head.

"Is she hot?"

Connor looked up at Sam who was wiggling his eyebrows at him.

"I don't know, she's got these big eyes and long hair and pouty lips that never shut up!"

He was content to continue his rant but Sam interrupted with his chokes of laughter.

"What is so funny?"
"Big eyes and pouty lips? You've got it bad!"
He felt the urge to hit his roommate, given he could accidentally put his fist through his head he opted instead to throw his stained and sweaty t shirt at him instead.

"I gotta take a shower."

"Make sure it's cold!"

Keep walking, he's not a demon, you can't hit him. Grabbing his hoodie from his bed he shrugged it on and continued out the door, the shower could wait he needed to find something to hit, soon.

***

Dawn had put on a fairly convincing show of studying since Buffy had trudged up the stairs and into the cramped dorm room. She paused occasionally to take notes, flicked the pages carefully and stretched occasionally, it was practiced and Buffy recognized, hell she had perfected it long ago during what were the many hours of her life spent researching an apocalypse.

"So how long are you going to pretend to be translating Latin to avoid talking to me?"
Dawn shrugged not turning around.

"I don't know, I finished this translation about an hour ago, who knew that living on a hell mouth could actually help your grade point average? Of course my art history professor keeps penalizing me for correcting him. It's not my fault that I know someone who knew the artist! I merely pointed out that the artist had painted the poet Baudelaire, who was a drunk who wrote about vampires! Angel told me all about it."
Buffy suppressed a laugh at her sister's indignation. Leaning down she rested her chin on Dawn's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her.

"Dawn don't contradict your teachers, they don't like being talked down to by their students, trust me I remember. Besides how would you get with the splainy if they asked how you knew all this?"

Pulling away from Buffy she turned in her seat, pulling her legs up underneath her.

"I don't know, I don't suppose telling them that I know the actual vampire would jibe?" Buffy shook her head. "Argh, this is so unfair! Yesterday in my Latin lecture, one of the students actually accused me of cheating just because I could understand what the professor was saying. Excuse me for having to spend hours of my life learning Latin so the whole world wouldn't turn into Dante's inferno!"

"I've missed you, none of the newbie's know how to complain quite like you do."
"Gee thanks, it's hard to wonder why I wanted to go to school on the other side of the ocean."

Turning away Dawn went back to her book playing with the pen in her hand.

"So are you going to see Angel again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, he wants to meet for coffee, oh no wait a minute I can see what you are doing. Na uh, we are talking about you and the junior brooder. What was going on with you two, I don't even know the kid and I could see the tension."

Dawn sighed, twirling the pen absently around her fingers.

"Tension? Yeah that would be loathing, Connor thinks I'm a child, I am a year older than him, technically."

"Dawnie he doesn't loathe you, he had his eye on you the entire time we were taking down that demon, when that other demon tried to grab you he cut off its arms and then beat them with it. Trust me on this, a guy that hates you wouldn't do that."

"Only you can turn a demon slaying into a declaration of feelings Buff."

The older girl shrugged with pretend modesty.

"It's a gift. Now I'm going to get a quick slaying in before I go to bed, I'm still a little wound up from that fight earlier, I forgot how easily everything got killed when I tag teamed with Angel."

Dawn yawned involuntarily, that same fight had her beat.

"Kick something's ass for me."

Buffy waved as she left, stakes strategically stashed on her person.

"Wish me monsters!"
Dawn was already asleep before the door was closed.

***