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The Return (Page 5)
By Little Slayer
little_slayer(at)hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I don’t own him! Uh, her. Or Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Joyce, and everyone else. They’re all in here. I don’t own Angel’s nickname of Peaches. The only thing I own is Mya. She’s mine. I created her. And so I can easily destroy the skanky little…uh, oops. All the Buffyverse people belong to Joss Whedon and anyone else who legally owns them. Anybody who has been either A) mentioned on BtVS, or B) seen on BtVS, I don’t own. I do own a few people but am too tired to name them.

. . .

Chapter Five, The Beginning

Buffy and Angelus walked down the street, side by side. Buffy played with a stake and Angelus just looked at the sky.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen the stars,” he said quietly.

“They’re beautiful,” Buffy said. *Almost as much as you,* Angelus thought. He sighed and then watched as Buffy idly played with her stake.

“Are you sure you’re up for patrol?” he asked. “That spell took a lot out of you.”

“Since when do you care whether or not I’m tired?” Buffy asked.

“For a long time,” Angelus muttered with a shrug. “You do that.”

“Do what?”

“Weasel your way into someone’s heart and hold on so tight, that as soon as you start to let go, that person feels like their going to die,” Angelus replied. “Only I’m not a person. And I’m already dead.”

“I don’t know what to do,” she muttered, suddenly serious. “I mean, here we are, back on earth. And the last time both of us were here together, we tried to kill each other.”

“Correction. I tried to kill you; you just sat there.” Buffy stopped in her tracks and looked at him, shocked.

“I did not!”

“You did too.” Buffy glared at Angelus then he continued. “We had something special…but that was then and this is now. And in hell, but that’s a given.”

“I love Angel. Still, after all this time, I love him.” A silence swam through them and they continued to walk.

“You love him. So why are you telling me and not him?” Angelus asked, suddenly quiet.

“Because I care about you too. Ever since we…” She stopped and looked down at the ground. “What we had can never be. Simply because of where we are and who we are.”

“I agree,” Angelus said. “Doesn’t mean I like it, but I agree.” They looked at each other for a moment, then looked away. The hairs on the back of Buffy’s neck raised and she felt the presence of other vampires. She whipped around, stake up and ready to strike, then stopped. It was Spike and Dru.

“Sheesh Slayer!” Spike muttered. “Bloody hell, you almost killed me!”

“Sorry,” Buffy said. “But you know better than to sneak up on me.”

“I warned him,” Dru said. “But did he listen? Nooo. He had to sneak up like some little bug and nearly get himself killed.”

“Did not!” Spike muttered. Drusilla and Buffy looked at each other for a moment and then smiled at Spike, shaking their heads.

“Do you two have somewhere to stay for tonight?” Drusilla asked.

“Um, not really,” Buffy said.

“Well, we still have your keys,” Dru said. “Your still welcome with us.” Buffy smiled and nodded.

“That would be nice,” she told them. Drusilla took out a key ring and handed it to Buffy.

“So, you two find any vamps?” Spike asked.

“None other than you, Sit N’ Spin,” Angelus muttered. The two vampires glared at each other, low growls being emitted from each. Buffy and Dru only rolled their eyes and then gave each other small smiles.

“Well, we wanted to find you two, let you know that you could stay with us,” Dru said. “See you later, Buffy. Angelus.”

“Drusilla,” Angelus said with a small nod. The female vampire latched her hand to Spike’s wrist and dragged him away from Buffy and Angelus. “That was…interesting.”

“Promise me you’ll be nice to them,” Buffy said. Angelus emitted a small whining noise and looked pitifully at Buffy. “Promise,” Buffy said a little more sternly.

“Fine,” Angelus grumbled. They continued down the street and turned to go into the cemetery. The earlier uncomfortable feeling had dissipated with the arrival of Spike and Dru. They moved in the darkness, hidden by the shadows, and turned around a mausoleum. Getting another strange feeling that they were being followed, Buffy motioned for Angelus not to move. She raised her stake again and turned to strike. Then she stopped.

“What is it with you people sneaking up on me?!” she exploded when she saw Angel. “First Spike and Dru, now you. Didn’t I tell you to yodel?”

“Yeah. I just wanted…I wanted to talk with you,” Angel said. Shifting uncomfortably, Angelus leaned against the stone wall of the tomb.

“I’m gonna say that means you want me to leave, huh?” Angelus asked. Angel started to nod but Buffy interrupted.

“No,” Buffy said. “I don’t trust you to be good.” Angelus placed his hand over his heart in mock hurt.

“I’m hurt, Slayer,” he said. “I thought you trusted me.”

“I trust you, just not around other people,” she said. “I can take you, they can’t. Simple as that.” He smirked at her.

“I know you can take me,” he said and suppressed a chuckle. Buffy raised an eyebrow as a warning then looked at Angel.

“You’ll have to forgive him. I didn’t give him his medication today,” she muttered. “Look, Angel, it’s been a really long day. Very odd. I’m tired and gonna book. No vamps are out tonight. I guess I killed them all. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Angel blinked, not really sure how to say what he needed to talk with her about was very important, and then nodded.

“Okay,” Angel said. Buffy smiled at him then continued past the mausoleum.

“Sorry soul-boy, looks like I’m going home with her instead,” Angelus muttered. A large stone flew and hit him in the hip. “Hey!”

“Move it, Peaches, or I’ll hit where I was really aiming!” Buffy called out. Angelus raised an eyebrow then followed after Buffy, leaving Angel with one last smirk. Angel’s shoulders sunk in a defeated manner and he looked after Buffy. Angelus was jogging after her and she turned to give Angelus a half-smile, half-smirk.

“Oh boy,” Angel muttered. “Oh boy.”

. . .

Buffy slowly led the way to the place where she had stayed the last time she was in Sunnydale. Angelus followed after her and they walked in a peaceful silence. They got to the door and Buffy took out her keys and unlocked the door. She walked in and looked around.

“Uh, Slayer?” Angelus asked. Buffy turned and looked at him. He pressed his hand to the invisible barrier in the doorway.

“Oh, uh, come in,” Buffy said. Angelus walked in and shut the door behind them, then flicked on a light. Buffy yawned and walked down the hall, Angelus following. “The entire place used to be sunproof, but I’m not sure about now.”

“So what should I do?” Angelus asked. Buffy opened a door and walked into her room.

“Get a lot of blankets, you’re sleeping on the floor,” Buffy muttered. Angelus raised an eyebrow.

“Why can’t I sleep in the bed?” he asked.

“Because I am,” she told him.

“So,” Angelus said, shrugging. “Not like we haven’t been there before.” Buffy looked at him, frowning, and sighed.

“I don’t want our relationship to be anything more than friends. I don’t ever want it to be like it was in Hell ever again. Understand?” Angelus looked at her and nodded. It wasn’t like he had any choice.

“Yeah. Soul-boy’s better for you anyway. You need a sap to follow you around like a lost puppy, not someone who’s what you kill for a living,” Angelus muttered. Buffy smiled and then tossed a blanket to him.

“Here’s some stuff for your bed,” she said and then walked over to the closet. Her clothes were still hanging up. They were dusty, but they were still there. Buffy pulled out a long t-shirt and left the room to change.

“Damned sun,” Angelus muttered while laying out some blankets. “I liked it better in Hell.”

. . .

Dark figures watched as Buffy walked down an aisle. When she got to the end, Angel stood to her left and Angelus to her right.

“Come with me,” they both said and took an arm. They each went their own separate ways, pulling one of Buffy’s arms with them.

“Stop!” she called out. They only pulled harder. “Stop it! You’re hurting me!” They still did not stop. Buffy began to feel her skin ripping and tearing with the pulling. The only thing she could do was scream.

“You cannot trust him,” Angel said.

“No, you cannot trust *him*,” Angelus said from her other side. Bloody began to drip down onto the ground under Buffy. “Someone that he trusts will betray you…again.”

“You cannot even trust anyone he trusts!” Angel protested and pulled harder. As he pulled harder, Buffy screamed even louder as her flesh began to peal off of her skin. A pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders and began to shake her. Angelus let go of her arm, as did Angel, and they vanished. Now on guard, Buffy swung wildly and caught her shaker in the jaw.

“Ouch,” Angelus muttered. Buffy opened her eyes. “Good morning to you, too, sunshine.” Buffy frowned, no longer in the strange room of her dream, but in her home that she had lived in before she had been sent to hell. Drusilla and Spike were asleep in the room next to hers. Angelus was sleeping on the floor. Well, he used to be. Now he was angrily rubbing his jaw.

“What happened?” she asked.

“You started to scream, so I woke you up,” Angelus said. “Then you hit me.”

“Sorry,” Buffy murmured.

“No, you’re not.” Buffy shrugged.

“Okay, I’m not,” she replied. Grumbling something about Buffy having a bug up her butt, Angelus went back over to all of his blankets that were piled on the floor. With one more glare at Buffy, he rolled over and went back to sleep. Now wide awake, Buffy, laid back down and stared at the ceiling. She looked over at her clock. 11:54 a.m. blared in bright red and Buffy groaned. Quietly, she got up and picked up some clothes from her closet. She gave one more glance at Angelus then went into the bathroom to change.

Angelus rolled over and pulled the blankets over his head as he heard water running in the bathroom.

“Damn, what a weird dream,” he heard Buffy mutter. Then came a soft, “Oh. My. God.” Angelus got up and rushed into the bathroom. His eyes widened as he stared at the same thing Buffy stared at in the mirror: the flesh around her neck and shoulders were stretched and bleeding. Their eyes met and Angelus moved forward as Buffy’s eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out.

“Oh shit,” Angelus muttered and gazed down at Buffy’s unconscious body in his arms. “Oh shit.”

. . .

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