Buffy’s first thought upon returning to consciousness was that that had to be the weirdest dream ever. She’d been shopping with her dad, and then Angel had been there with Cordelia. In the mall, in the sunlight… Then…
“She just fainted,” someone said close at hand. “She’ll be alright. It’s a good thing you caught her before she hit the floor, though.”
Footsteps. “How did you do that anyway?” Her dad’s voice.
“I have fast reflexes.” Angel?
Buffy blinked her eyes open. “Angel? Dad?”
Both men moved into view, half smiles of concern on their faces. Her father helped her sit back up. “You okay?” he asked.
Buffy nodded and looked curiously at her surroundings. She was sitting on a couch in a stark, windowless room. “Where am I?”
“Somewhere in the back offices,” Mr. Summers explained. “The mall security brought you here when you fainted.”
Buffy’s father might have said something more, but Buffy didn’t hear any of it. Her gaze met with Angel’s and locked. Her eyes filled with unspoken questions. His filled with promised answers.
“Can you leave Angel and me alone for a minute?” Buffy asked. She did not see her father’s nod, but she heard the door close behind him.
Neither her nor Angel moved. “Care to explain?” Buffy softly demanded.
“Why? I live here. Why are you here?” His tone was odd.
“I thought it was obvious. I’m visiting my dad,” Buffy defended herself. “No, I meant, why are you *here*? In the mall?”
“Cordelia.”
“Great, we’re back to one word answers. Getting facts from you is like pulling teeth,” Buffy said in exasperation. “Sunlight, Angel?”
Angel shrugged. “It’s not that sunny.”
Buffy glared at him. “That’s not an answer.”
Angel sighed and shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not too bright for me inside,” he said. “I’ve been…building up a tolerance to indirect light.”
Buffy’s eyes went wide. “It’s possible for a vampire to do that?”
Now Angel looked really uncomfortable. “Half vampire,” he muttered.
If it was possible, Buffy’s eyes got even wider. “Since when?”
“A couple of weeks,” Angel replied softly. “I prevented… a whole lot of people from getting killed. The Powers gave me…this as a reward.” He finally got up the nerve to move and took a seat next to Buffy. “For every life I save, I get a bit closer to humanity. And the other way around, too.”
“Everyone you fail to save is a step backwards?” Buffy clarified.
Angel nodded.
“So,” Buffy asked softly, “what does being ‘half vampire,’ mean?”
Angel thought for a moment. “I can be outside at sunrise and sunset, and cloudy days are no problem. Any brighter than that, and it’s uncomfortable…and painful. I don’t crave blood as much any more, and sometimes I want human food.”
Buffy knew from the look on his face that there was something more that Angel wasn’t telling her. “And?” she asked.
Angel looked down. “The curse is a non-issue,” he whispered. Buffy heard him clearly.
Joy, anger, and pain. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I told you to move on,” he said. “You have a boyfriend. I didn’t want to get in the way.”
“In the way?!” Buffy asked, aghast. “The last thing you’d be is in the way!”
“I was afraid!” Angel blurted. “I don’t think I could take it if you turn me away!”
The hand placed on her forearm was gentle and cool. She looked at it in silence. He still wore a Claddagh ring, the heart pointed towards him. Friendship, loyalty, and love…
…means you belong to someone…
Angel must have read the questions in her eyes. “For you, love. Always for you,” he whispered.
“Well then, Angel, shut up and kiss me!”
It’s been a while since
I felt this feeling
That everything that
you do gives me
It’s been too long since
somebody whispered
Shut up and kiss me
On to Part Two
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