Buffy was on her bed at Giles' house, which she was slowly starting to call 'home' (although only in her head), just thinking. Last night, the vampires had been especially active, and she had been actively slaying until four in the morning. By the time she had walked back to Giles', slaying more as she went – only fledglings, but still – it was only an hour before Dawnie had to get up for school. Taking advantage of the kitchen and bathroom being free (Giles hadn't quite got the hang of the school run just yet), she ate and showered before Dawn came out of the bedroom and she could crash. Buffy thought she had communicated something along the lines of 'long night – sleepy' to her younger sister, but you never could be too sure. Either way, eight hours later, she was awake, and not yet moving. At least Giles had left her to sleep.

The old house at Revello Drive had been sold, all the old furniture in storage at the mansion. It was strange to think about how fast it had all gone; in actual fact, the house had been snapped up incredibly quickly, and as there was no chain of buyers, Buffy thought the new owners were moving in the next week. She made a mental note to warn them about Sunnydale, making up a story of once having a slightly psycho boyfriend who may have told his friends about her. Well, they had bought the house now; it wasn't like she would be sold it back again if they moved out…

If all things went to plan, she would be going back to school in January, and Dawn would live with Giles permanently. Well, as permanent as three years was in any case – once Buffy was done with college and could support them both, Dawn could live with Buffy again. Until then, though, they both had somewhere to stay whenever they needed it, and a place with a man they both loved. If things were different, and there was no such thing as vampires or slayers, Buffy would take her sister to LA and move in with Angel, but things weren't different, and she couldn't.

Her thoughts roamed to her wayward boyfriend. It seemed like such a juvenile word, boyfriend. They were far more than that – he loved her after hundreds of years of hell; that had to couldn't for something, right? And the life that they led, well, anyone would be more mature after that kind of life and realise just how precious life is. Not many kids her age would be able to meet a guy at sixteen, and still be dating him nearly three years later. Angel was …

"What are you thinking about?"

"You." She wasn't even surprised at his entry. He and Giles had long since put aside their differences, and now, Giles only hated him in the same way all fathers hate their baby girl's boyfriend. They had it good, 'specially as he was a cradle-robbing-creature-of-the-night boyfriend. She sensed him as soon as he was near, and he knew that, he revelled in it. They could never hide from each other unless the snuck upon was actively trying to ignore the sneaker. She turned to face him; sideways under the covers she hadn't bothered to get out of (they were way to comfortable).

"How'd you get here now? Unless I've lost a few hours of today, it's not even sunset yet…" she couldn't really tell, because of the thick curtains in the room blocking any and all light "so unless you've been camping out since last night … this morning, and the used the sewers when you felt like actually saying 'hi'…"

"Oz drove me in the van, stopped really close, and I've had lots of practice in using a coat to hide from the sun."

And then, quite suddenly, she was in his arms and not in her bed. Clearly, she had gravitated towards her boyfriend, but it wasn't quite clear how she got there as fast as she did – she blamed on Slayer speed. Well, it was as good as excuse as any.

"I've missed you."