Dear Angel: First Visit
by inlovewithangel
“Buff, time to get up. Angel awaits.” Willow’s voice came from the doorway. Buffy, never one to be awoken, just turned around and pulled the cover over her head. “Dawn,” Willow called, “I think we’re gonna need some Little Sister persuasion to get the Slayer out of bed.”

Dawn, at the thought of being able to annoy Buffy, ran to the room quickly. She turned to Willow. “Did you say Angel’s name loud enough? She wakes up so quick it’s funny.” The girl, in heart print pajamas, took a few steps over to her sister’s bed. “Buffy,” she whispered, “You know where you’re going today? To see ANGEL!” She screamed the last word, and Buffy sat up in bed, her eyes wide.

She looked around frantically, before rolling her eyes at a laughing witch and teenager. “Whatever, you two,” she muttered, struggling up from the bed.

“Where’s your bag? Tara’s gonna be here soon,” Willow said.

They had all been surprised when Tara had offered to drive Buffy down to LA to see Angel. Buffy had said she would drive herself, and everybody nixed that idea. Tara had quickly raised her hand, volunteering. She said it was to preserve Buffy’s life, but everyone thought it might be to scope out the AI team, she was the only one of the Scooby’s to not have met them.

Buffy just looked at Willow guiltily. “I told you to pack last night, Buffy.” Willow rolled her eyes and pulled open Buffy’s dresser drawers.

“I’m sorry Will, you know I’m useless without your constant organization skills.” Buffy looked at the things Willow was throwing onto the bed.

“What am I gonna do with this?” Buffy asked, holding up her laciest lingerie.

“Hello? Just because you and Angel can’t do it doesn’t mean he won’t see you naked,” Dawn said, snatching the underwear away from her sister and slipping into a bag.

“Did you just say ‘do it’? Oh my God, are we in the sixth grade?” Buffy teased and Dawn stuck her tongue out at her sister.

“I am so glad you’re back with Angel, and not with Riley anymore,” Dawn said offhandedly, while putting all of the clothes Willow had sorted out for Buffy in the bag.

Buffy stopped finding various things she would need for the trip and turned to Dawn. “You didn’t like Riley?”

“Oh,” Dawn said, looking like she’d just screwed up, “No, I…uh…didn’t. No one liked Riley…”

Buffy gaped and turned to her best friend. “Willow?”

Willow shrugged. “I thought you knew everyone hated him.”

“Everyone hated him?” Buffy screeched.

Willow and Dawn looked at each other, and nodded. “Yeah,” they both said.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“We thought you were doing the same thing that you had done with Angel. ‘This is my boyfriend, I don’t care if you don’t like him’ kind of thing.” Willow shook out her long red hair, and turned to see her girlfriend walking up the stairs. “Hey,” she greeted her, kissing her lightly on the lips.

“Tara,” Buffy said anxiously, “did you like Riley?”

“Well…” Tara looked uncomfortably at Willow.

“Tell me the truth,” Buffy insisted.

Tara shook her head. “I got the feeling he was kind of homophobic.”

Buffy was at a loss for words. The three other women just sort of shrugged apologetically.

“Why do you care anyway? He is SO out of the picture,” Dawn pointed out.

Buffy looked at her little sister, her mouth still open. Then, slowly, she began to nod. “Yeah. Yeah, he is.” She reached down to pick up her bag. “Tara, you ready to go?” The shy witch nodded, and the girls headed out.


In the car, Tara was in the middle of asking an increasingly nervous Buffy some very personal questions. Tara had made sure it was okay if she asked about her and Angel’s relationship. “So, how long was it before you knew he was a vampire?”

Buffy squinted, trying to calculate nights and weeks in her mind. “A month, at least.”

Tara nodded. “Was it love at first sight?”

Buffy laughed. “No. It was annoyance at first sight.” But Buffy suddenly stopped laughing. “Actually, looking back, that annoyance probably was love. Or at least the beginning of it. Either way, the first time I saw him, I felt strongly for him.”

“And then he was a vampire…”

“I was devastated. My world ended for a while. But I ended up solving that problem by actively not caring that he was a demon, and dating him anyway.”

Tara smiled, and reached up to her brown hair and ran a hand through it. Buffy was amazed that the witch was able to stay in one freeway lane with only one hand on the steering wheel. Tara glanced over at the slayer. “And when you two made love…”

Buffy’s face fell, and Tara suddenly felt badly for bringing it up. “The next year. It was the best and worst night of my life.”

“But before the ‘worst’ part happened. I’ve heard that story a million times. What about the ‘best’?” Tara smiled mischievously, and Buffy marveled at this side of Willow’s girlfriend, a side she had never seen before.

“Oh my God, it was good. I mean… oh my God.” Even all these years later, Buffy still couldn’t find words to describe her loss of virginity.

Tara smiled wider. “And you were just…”

“In so much heaven, Tara. You have no idea.” Tara looked at Buffy, who raised her eyebrows. “Or maybe you do.” The girls both laughed.

“And Riley…” Tara started, waiting for Buffy to finish.

“Came nowhere near to comparing.” Buffy sighed, and fiddled with her halter top strap.

“The irony of it.” Tara sighed, and glanced over at Buffy, offering a small smile of comfort. Buffy accepted it, thanking the witch with her eyes.


Two and a half hours later, they were in the front of the hotel.

“This is huge,” Tara observed, turning the key to shut off the car.

“Yeah,” Buffy said, unbuckling her seatbelt. Her heart was beating quickly, and her palms were sweating. God, she thought, we know each other like the backs of our hands. Why am I nervous like I’m meeting someone for the first time? “So,” Buffy said. “I guess we should go in.”

Buffy and Tara looked at each other, and simultaneously opened the car doors.
Buffy stepped into the hotel first. “Guys?” she called, trying hard for the allusion of confidence.


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