It sounded a bit like someone was fighting when she arrived, but not quite. Coming down the stairs, Buffy could hear rhythmic blows and an occasional grunt. Then there was a particularly loud ‘creak’ from the chain on the punching bag, and Buffy winced.
“Is that punching bag anyone I know?” Buffy asked with a chuckle.
Angel stopped his workout abruptly and turned to face her, smiling. “Well, that depends,” he said, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow. “It could be the random client that walked in today wanting me to find out if her husband was cheating on her. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he was, but I’m not that kind of detective. Or, it could be Jade and her latest ‘lesson.’”
Buffy frowned at the mention of the strange woman. “I’m going to guess it’s the later. What’s she up to?”
Angel sighed. “She showed up a couple of days ago. Now she’s determined to train me to ‘utilize all the abilities of the Phoenix.’”
She tried not to laugh at his imitation of the woman’s odd, accented voice. “It’s more than that.”
“It’s just…three days, and she is already really getting on my nerves. She keeps using the word ‘potential.’ I didn’t realize it was possible to hate a word so much.”
This time Buffy did chuckle. “I hate that word, too. It’s always followed by the word ‘but.’ As in, ‘Your daughter has great potential, but…’”
Angel smiled back.
“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Buffy said after a moment. She crossed the apartment quickly and flung her arms around Angel’s neck. “Let’s try that greeting from scratch.”
Angel grinned, then wrapped his arms around her and gave her a brief but passionate kiss. He pulled away after a moment, smiling even more. “Was that better?”
“Mmm, much.”
Not pulling away a millimeter, Angel spoke. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
Buffy shrugged and gave him a mischievous grin. “I told my professor I had an appointment and had to leave early.”
“Buffy…”
“What? It’s not like we were doing anything important; she teaches nearly word for word from the textbook. And if I’d waited until after class it probably would have been another hour and a half before I could catch a bus.” She looked at him a bit nervously. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“God, no!” Angel replied quickly.
Buffy fought a smile from returning. “Because, you know, if you had an important date tonight I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”
“You know what? I do have an important date.”
“Oh, really?”
Angel nodded with a smirk. “Yeah. This really gorgeous young woman. I’m taking her out to dinner, maybe some dancing, hopefully no demon killing.”
“Well, then whatever shall I do while you’re gone?” Buffy replied with a smirk of her own.
Angel laughed outright at that. Such moments of good humor had become more common since he’d returned to the land of the living. “I’d never leave you anywhere,” he said as he removed her arms from around him. “Just let me go shower.”
Buffy made a fake pout. “And here I thought you’d never leave me anywhere,” she said as he walked away, her tone playfully suggestive.
Angel turned around to grin at her again. “You keep that up, and I’ll never take you anywhere, either!” he retorted. “At least, not tonight.”
Buffy grinned back. “Go! Shower.”
Angel got in one last parting shot before he disappeared from view. “You love me, sweat and all.”
The truth? She definitely
did, more every day.
“500 years?” Buffy asked weakly.
Angel tried not to cringe. “Yes,” he said softly. Then he amended, “If I don’t get killed first.”
Buffy pushed herself back slightly from the table. “That’s….wow.”
“Yeah,” Angel agreed softly, though in his heart he didn’t agree at all.
Buffy picked up his mixed emotions quickly, though. “I know it’s not what you hoped for,” she said, “but isn’t it better than where you were months ago?” She leaned forward and added softly, so as not to be heard by other people in the restaurant, “A vampire?”
Angel thought about the meal they had just shared, the days and nights they had spent together, the sunlight in the morning that was no longer forbidden to him… He smiled very slightly. “Yes, its better. Better to have an unnaturally long life than any length undeath, but still….”
Buffy glared at him.
“What?” Angel asked, fighting the urge to chuckle at her expression.
“I bet I know what you’re about to say,” Buffy declared. “I know that this complicates things for you, but can’t you ever be happy with what you have? I am.”
“Buffy…” Angel began to protest.
“No, listen to me for a second,” Buffy interrupted. “If you still have any arguments after I’m done, feel free.”
“Okay,” Angel agreed a touch reluctantly.
Buffy smiled at her small victory for a moment. “I live for today, Angel. I have since before I was called,” she began to explain. “I know you like to think long term – probably something to do with the fact that you’ve seen a couple of centuries – but I may not even have a long term.”
“Buffy…” Angel tried to interrupt.
“Hey!” Buffy cut him off. “I mean, it’s not like I’m going to go seeking my death, but I could die tomorrow as easily as ten years from now. So I try not to think too far into the future. I want to be happy now - and right now living two hours apart is more likely to cause us problems than any issues of mortality or immortality.”
She leaned forward then, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Besides,” she said, amused, “let’s say I do live to be seventy. Do you really think I’m going to object to being thought a cradle robber if I’ve got a gorgeous, sweet guy like you helping me around?”
Angel couldn’t help but chuckle at the image she presented him with.
“So, did I kill all of your arguments?” Buffy asked.
“Pretty much,” Angel agreed.
“We said we were going to try this relationship thing again,” she reminded him. “So, we’re never going to be a normal couple. That’s nothing new. Don’t start having doubts so early, okay?”
“I promise,” Angel agreed.
Buffy smiled at him tolerantly. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, honey.”
Angel smiled. She knew him so well. He wasn’t going to let go so easily this time, though, he promised himself. If Buffy was still so determined to give him a shot, in spite of their long painful history, his most recent news, their differences, and the last year apart, then by god the least he could do was return the favor.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked at last, holding out his hand across the table and smiling slightly.
Buffy laughed, delighted. She knew that she’d on for the evening and that this subject would not be brought up again. “Definitely,” she declared, rising from her seat.
Angel rose with her, and the two of them walked hand in hand out of the restaurant.
“So,” Buffy said, obviously quite pleased with herself, “where to now?”
“Hmm?”
“Well, I’m your guest. Do you have a big night on the town planned or are we heading back to your apartment?” Buffy asked with a smirk.
Angel couldn’t help but grin in response. He was about to answer when something distracted him: one figure, shortly followed by two more, heading towards the corner of the building. “How about the restaurant’s back lot first?” he replied at last.
Buffy saw what he was looking at and made a disgusted sound. “Fine, but you’ll have to make it up to me. This was supposed to be our night.”
“I’m sure I’ll come up with something,” Angel replied even as they followed the vampires around the building. He took a stake out of his pocket and glanced to see that Buffy already had one in her hand. “How do you hide stakes in that outfit?” he asked.
“Practice,” Buffy retorted as they turned the corner. There they both saw two vampires, a male and a female, that had cornered a young woman in a waitress uniform who’d apparently come outside to smoke a cigarette. “Angel,” Buffy said loud enough for both vampires to hear her, “I didn’t know this restaurant had take out.”
The two vampires turned at her words, and the waitress took advantage of their distraction to run back into the restaurant. The female vampire saw the girl’s escape and growled in anger. “Look what you did!” she cried.
“Aw, I’m sorry,” Buffy replied. “Did I make you loose your lunch?”
The female vampire wouldn’t take any more taunting and dove at Buffy. Then the battle was joined and Angel lost sight of Buffy as he faced off against the other vampire. The vampire was pretty strong, but Angel was quite pleased to find he was stronger. The vampire fought well, but he wasn’t much of a threat. Angel and him traded blows easily, Angel just looking for the best opening to get his stake in.
He had just about gained a clear upper hand when he heard Buffy cry out, followed by a dreadful metallic clatter. He turned quickly, which let his opponent get a good, solid blow into his side, staggering him. Angel spun on his attacker, no longer wasting any time in staking him, and was rewarded with a shower of vampire dust.
He did not rejoice in his victory. “Buffy!” he called out, looking frantically for her. He spotted her quickly, fallen amidst an overturned garbage can and various debris. The remaining vampire was pressing her advantage before Buffy could get to her feet.
If she was expecting an easy kill, she had a surprise coming. When the female vampire bent over her, Buffy suddenly kicked out with both legs, sending her careening to the ground near Angel.
The vampire was stunned by its fall and didn’t even notice Angel until a second before the stake struck its heart.
That done, Angel scrambled over to where Buffy had fallen. Helping her up, he asked, “Are you okay?”
Another voice interrupted her before she could answer. “You two make quite a team, don’t you? I can see why you’re the talk of…well, everyone.”
Angel sighed, but kept his attention on Buffy as she picked her way out of the trash. “What are you doing here?” he asked the new arrival.
“You’re here,” Jade replied simply.
Angel rolled his eyes, earning a chuckle from Buffy. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Angel asked her again.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just…ew!” she replied, still brushing herself off from her fall in the garbage.
Angel smiled and finally turned to face Jade. “New rule,” he said calmly. “I know you’ve been without a charge for a couple hundred years, and maybe your people skills have suffered, but…don’t interrupt us when we’re on a date, okay?”
Jade scowled and looked like she was about to retort when Buffy stumbled and clung to Angel wildly.
“Whoa!” he said in surprise, grabbing her as she regained her balance. “I thought you said you were okay.”
“I am,” Buffy retorted, though she didn’t loosen her grip on Angel’s arm. “I just got really dizzy for a second.”
“You should take her home,” Jade said quickly.
Angel glanced at the white-haired woman calmly. “That’s where we were going before you showed up.”
There was an odd expression on Jade’s face. “You don’t understand what I mean,” she said.
Angel didn’t have a clue what she meant. At the moment he was more worried about Buffy though. “You can tell me later, then,” he said, and with that he began to walk Buffy back to his car.
Jade’s small cry of exasperation followed them out into the night.
On to Part Four
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