Nights Like These: Part 2
by Rebecca Carefoot
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the buffyverse. Sometimes I steal them like I am doing now but I always return them as good as new. And I never make any money off them. (That would make me a pimp if I did wouldn't it?) They belong to the nice people at Fox, the WB and of course to Joss Whedon.]

The only thing I claim is Lily, who was hatched from my very own brain. Also thanks to my fabulous beta reader: Dare the Great :)



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Part Two

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The moon began its descent into day and Angel walked Buffy home. They kissed under the light of the moon, their lips passionately declaring devotion. They promised to meet the next night and Buffy slipped inside. As she headed for the stairs she found her path blocked by the bathrobe clad form of her mother. Her mother's face was a study of displeasure. Her mouth pulled down in to a scowl, and her arms crossed angrily in front of her.

"Where have you been?" her mother asked.

"I was out," answered Buffy tiredly, in no mood for a fight.

"I have been worried sick. You have a curfew you know."

"Well I'm sorry. I don't have a watch. I lost track of time. It won't happen again." Buffy turned to climb up the stairs, but stopped when her mother's angry tirade began.

"Don't you DARE go upstairs, Buffy Summers. I am NOT through with you yet. You will turn and face me when I talk to you and you will show a little respect. I am sick and tired of dealing with your teenage angst. You are going to shape up or pay the price. And you are going to stop sneaking around behind my back." Buffy opened her mouth to protest but her mother cut her off. "I saw you with that boy, the one you said goes to the college. Angel. I saw you kiss him on the doorstep. What is wrong with you? He is WAY too old for you." Buffy briefly considered telling her mother exactly how much older Angel was but decided against that kamikazi plan.

"I am old enough to take care of myself, Mother. I will date whoever I want. Besides you don't even know Angel. He's a very sweet, kind person."

"You are not old enough to take care of yourself. As long as you live under my roof, you'll do as I say. And I forbid you to date that boy." The pair's voices were getting louder and louder as tempers flared.

"You can't stop me." screamed Buffy. "I love him and he loves me!"

"You are being childish . You don't even know what love is. You're too young to know."

"Why is everyone telling me that today? How do you know what I feel? You make me sick! Get out of my way. I'm going to my room." Buffy roughly pushed past her mother and entered her room, slamming the door behind her. She could hear her mother scream from behind the door.

"You are SO grounded young lady. You are to come home straight from school every day for a week. And no phone! No going out with your friends, and no Bronze!" Buffy threw a pillow as hard as she could against the wall, sending feathers flying. It just wasn't fair. She flung herself down on the bed, grown-ups don't understand anything. She hugged her stuffed teddy bear to her chest and wallowed for a while in self-pity. She had to spend all her time fighting the most horrible things the world could offer, then she had to go to school, try to act like a normal kid. It wan't fair. "Nobody understands me," she pouted. She almost let out a hysterical giggle thinking that if her mom got this mad because she thought that Angel waas a couple years older, just imagine what she would do if she found out Angel was a vampire. The giggle died on her lips and she began to sob. She hated fighting with her mom. Everyday it was a temptation to tell her mom all about being a slayer. She wanted to trust her mom with all her secrets. But that wouldn't be fair either. She knew her mom couldn't handle it, so she protected her as much as she could. Holding it all inside, rather than hurt her mom.

It was just so hard. Buffy lay on her bed, and finally fell into exhausted sleep on her tear-dampened pillow.


* * *
After Angel dropped Buffy off at her house, he trudged home. He knew that they had to talk about his vampire side. But it would be so easy to just try to ignore it. Of course he could never really forget it. Every second of every night it tormented him. But he would rather she not think about it. He would rather she could just pretend that she was dating a normal human. He shook his head angrily. That was no good either. They had to talk about it. She had to understand the danger that always prickled right beneath his skin.
But it had hurt to tell her those things tonight, to let her see the bloodlust. He had been so afraid when she mentioned lusting after her blood. So afraid that his answer would disgust her. But she hadn't turned away. He had seen the spark of doubt in her eyes, but she had swallowed it. She would stick with him through anything, he could see it in her eyes. Just knowing that she loved him sent him spinning. That she could accept him, care about him. It was unbelievable. It was amazing. It was what made his life worth living.

Angel reached his apartment and unlocked the door. Dawn was coming soon. Time to sleep. Not that he had a coffin or anything to get into. In fact he didn't even have to sleep during the day. Vampires didn't need much sleep at all actually. But sleeping was a great way to kill the boredom of being stuck inside all day. Reading was good too, but sleeping was best. The hours simply melted away when you slept. He slipped inside his aptment and froze. There was someone here. At least one vampire, maybe more. He could sense them. It had been awhile since any vamps had attacked him in his home. Actually since Darla, no one had entered the apartment. He wracked his brain. Darla was dead, so who could it be? Angel felt his face transform as his anger rose. A deep growl rumbled from his throat.

"You know what I hate?" he asked loudly. "When monsters invade my personal space; I REALLY hate that." Two vampires drifted from the shadows in answer to his voice. "Only two?" he asked. Keeping his back to the wall and a nonchalant grin on his face, Angel prepared himself for a fight.

"We did not come to kill you Angelus." said one of the vampires, a tall man with jet black hair curling down around his shoulders. He was muscular, not muscle-bound but powerful looking.

"This time," hissed the other vampire, moving in closer to Angel. The vampire was smaller, light brown hair cut short in a pixie cut. But the look in her eyes was anything but enchanting. Angel swallowed a gasp as he stared into eyes that were pure evil. She ran her hand down his cheek and he shuddered, pulling away from her. "The Annointed One wants us to give you a message," she said.

"What, my answering machine wasn't working?" Angel asked flippantly. His mind worked feverishly. He thought he could take the big guy, and normally the woman would have been a breeze. But her touch had scared him. It made his skin crawl with fear. She wasn't very impressive looking, but he could feel the power rolling off her. She could have rivaled the Master. He looked into her eyes, they were completely empty of emotion. Dead eyes. "Why are you taking orders from anyone?" he asked.

She hissed at him. It seemed to be a sore point. "I'll take orders for now. But things may change in the future." She stared at the tall man. "Give him the message" she ordered.

The tall man grabbed Angel's hair before he had a chance to react and banged his head against the wall. Stars exploded in Angel's vision but he had the prescence of mind to kick out with one leg while he jabbed the man as hard as he could in the throat. The man gasped, loosening his grip on Angel's hair. Angel's vision had begun to clear but he knew he would have a nasty headache all day. He was beginning to get severely pissed. He threw the man against the wall and was about to do the same to the smaller woman. Before he could throw her, she raised her hands and he felt himself frozen. "Enough!" she screamed. "Put me down." Angel obeyed. He had no choice, he had lost control of her body. "Forgive Daniel," she said nodding towards the man who was picking himself up off the floor. "This was not supposed to happen. I will give you the message and we will leave you in peace. The Annointed One says that your relationship with the Slayer is an abomination. You are forbidden to continue this relationship and in penance for this sin you must bring her dead body to the Annointed One within three days. If you fail, every vampire in this city will hunt you down until you have been annihalated."

With that the two vampires slipped away into the sewer system that ran beneath the apartment. Angel stared at the wall for a moment. Just what he needed, threats from his fellow vampires, ultimatums. This was just great, as if being in a relationship wasn't bad enough.


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