Buffy slept well that night. Better than she had in a long time. All night long, she dreamed of Angel. Their wedding day, Angel surrounded by their children (adopted or otherwise), making a life with him. All the things she had always wished for out of their relationship were coming true.
She was awakened Christmas morning by the smell of hot coffee. She stirred and opened her eyes as she stretched.
“Morning, my darling,” Angel said, holding out a cup of coffee and smiling. A wide grin broke across Buffy’s face.
“Morning. How’d you get dressed and out without me knowing?” She asked, always amazed at how silent he could be.
“You were out like a light. I had no idea I wore you out that much,” Angel smirked. He was dressed in his usual black. Black turtleneck, black pants. Buffy could sum him up in one word. Hot. She sat up and he handed her the coffee.
“You always wear me out. Are my mom or Dawn awake?” she asked, taking a sip of the black drink.
“No, not yet, but it’s still pretty early.” Buffy watched him as he walked over to her mirror, filled with pictures of her and her friends. There was one of her and Angel.
“You kept this after all this time?” Angel asked, reaching out and touching it gently. It was of them during her junior year. Before things had gotten complicated, before he had lost his soul. Back when they were still young and never thought anything would happen to them.
“Yeah, it’s pretty much the only one I have. Every time I thought of taking it down, you seemed to pop back into my life, so I just left it up,” Buffy shrugged, crawling out from under the covers.
“Let’s go sit on your roof until everyone wakes up,” Angel suggested. He opened the window and crawled through, as he had done many times before. Then he turned and offered her his hand. She took it and steadied herself as she crawled out behind him. The sun had not yet risen, though they had about half an hour until it would.
“I miss this,” Buffy muttered as she leaned her head on Angel’s shoulder. She looked out over the town of Sunnydale and wondered where Glory was, what Riley was doing, and if her friends were awake yet.
“I miss this too. We’ll have to make a point of doing it more often,” Angel promised.
“We’ll have to make a point of doing a lot of things more often,” Buffy pointed out. She twined her fingers through his and felt smooth, cool metal. It was his claddagh ring, still pointing towards his heart.
“I guess I’ll be digging that old ring out again, won’t I?” she smiled.
“Only if you want to,” Angel shrugged, pretending it didn’t interest him wether she did or not.
“I want to. I want the whole world to know that I belong to someone,” Buffy said sternly. She heard her mom knock on her bedroom door and walk in.
“Buffy?” Joyce called, immediately panicking that her daughter was nowhere to be found.
“On the roof, mom,” Buffy said through the open window. Joyce sighed with relief and poked her head out.
“I just woke dawn up, it’s time to do presents,” Joyce smiled, casting a look at Angel. It was Christmas day, and not even Angel’s presence could make her unhappy.
“We’ll be down in a minute,” Buffy said. Joyce nodded and left, as Buffy and Angel climbed back through the window. Angel headed downstairs as Buffy changed into jeans and a cream turtleneck. At the last second, she reached into the top drawer on her bedside table and pulled out her ring. She paused for a moment and looked at it before slipping it on her finger, towards her heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was five thirty and Buffy and Joyce were running around like madwomen trying to get things ready for Christmas dinner. Dawn and Angel were sitting on the couch, waiting for everyone to arrive.
“So, you promise not to break my sister’s heart?” Dawn questioned, looking at Angel with an unforgiving eye.
“I promise.”
“Do you think that Xander and Giles will be happy or pissed that you’re back?”
“Pissed. Did you always ask this many questions?” Angel asked, finding it hard to remember wether she had or not. Ever since Buffy had told him that she wasn’t really her sister, he had found the memories slipping away.
“I don’t ask a lot of questions, although some people may find it endearing,” Dawn scoffed. Angel laughed and turned his head to watch Buffy set the table for Joyce. He was immersed in her beauty when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Dawn shrieked, jumping off the couch and running for the door. Giles was there, flanked by Xander and Willow.
“Merry Christmas, guys!” Dawn cried, bouncing up and down. She ushered them in.
“Hey Angel,” Willow smiled on her way into the kitchen to see Buffy. His presence hadn’t phased her at all.
“Angel? Does Buffy know another person named Angel? Cause I’m pretty sure Dead Boy’s in L.A.,” Xander laughed. He stopped dead when he saw that the flesh and blood Angel was sitting on Buffy’s couch.
“What are you doing here, Dead boy?” Xander growled. Giles stood silently behind him, watching the exchange.
“Having Christmas dinner with my girlfriend and her friends. Do you have a problem with that?” Angel asked cooly.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Leave,” Xander demanded.
“Now, Xander, stop it,” Giles broke in, stepping forward and shaking Angel’s hand. He turned to look for Buffy. When he saw that she was occupied in the kitchen he leaned in close.
“I sincerely hope that you intend to stick around this time, not because I like you, but because if you hurt Buffy again, so help me God, I will stake you myself,” Giles hissed in Angel’s ear. Angel nodded somberly.
“I do not intend to hurt Buffy again. I’m here to stay,” Angel promised.
“Oh great. So you’ll be around all the time?” Xander whined.
“Xander, leave him alone. Family meeting before dinner starts,” Buffy ordered, leading everyone to the table.
“Okay, Buffy, go ahead,” Willow said, leaning back in her chair with a happy grin on her face.
“Anegl is here, as you all can see. He is here to stay. We have spoken extensively about what is going to happen and we’ve decided that it’s a good idea to get back together. Riley already knows and he’s...dealing with it. I am only going to ask you one thing. Please, please be nice to him, okay? You all liked him once, let’s try to like him again,” Buffy stated, finishing her speech. Everyone nodded, some more enthusiastically than others, but they all agreed.
“Good, now let’s eat.”
A/N: Hope it was another good one. Let me know!
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
