Buffy awoke to her alarm blaring Nookie by Limp Bizkit. She turned over to turn it off, but instead faced Angel’s naked chest. She smiled as the events of last night replayed in her head.
"What is this?" Angel asked groggily.
"Limp Bizkit. They rock. What you don’t like them?"
"They sound okay, but I prefer that stuff you were listening to last night. Anyway, how did you sleep last night?"
"Good, thanks to you."
"Really? And why would that be?"
"Well, considering that I haven’t been able to sleep soundly since the prom, having you here, well, it was peaceful. It just felt so right."
"I know what you mean," Angel said as he bent to kiss her. They kissed for a while before Buffy pulled away. "Sorry, morning breath. I’ll be right back."
"Okay."
While Buffy was brushing her teeth, Angel got up and looked around Buffy’s room. The things that occupied her room almost made him forget that she was the Slayer. The pictures of her and her friends in the sunlight. It still bothered Angel that he would never be able to take her out in the sunlight, but not as much. Just knowing that she loved him was enough to bring sunshine to his dark existence. She was his sunlight. He slowly fingered everything on her shelves. Picking up an item, and then putting it back down only to pick up something else. He saw her pig, Mr. Gordo and remembered the time when she had told him that he was the one freaky thing in her freaky life that made sense to her. He smiled at that.
"So, do you have this thing with Mr. Gordo going on that I should know about? You always seem to be spending time with him when I’m not here." Buffy mocked Angel.
"Well, you know, he listens well." Angel smiled.
"Angel? Did you just make a joke?"
"Well, like I told you, I’m a funny guy." He said with his trademark half smile.
"I like funny guys"
"So then you like Xander?" Angel asked teasing her.
"Oh yeah, he’s my dream guy," Buffy said with a sarcastic tone.
"Well, then I’ll leave." Angel said starting to head towards the window.
"Oh no you don’t."
"What is stopping me?"
"Well, first off, I’m pretty sure that you don’t want to be a crispy critter. Also, you promised."
"You’re right, I did," fake sighing, he inched closer and closer to Buffy. She backed up not giving what he wanted. That is, until she hit the bed and fell backwards. Angel took the opportunity to pounce on her and pin her to the bed. "Angel! Let me up!"
"Not until you say you’re sorry."
"Sorry for what? I didn’t do anything."
"Yes you did. You hurt my feelings. Until you apologize, I shall tickle you to death." At that, Angel started to tickle Buffy. She laughed uncontrollably before breathing out "Okay (laugh), I’m (laugh) sorry." Angel stopped, and bent down to kiss her. They kissed passionately, but were interrupted when Joyce Summers flung Buffy’s door open.
"Buffy, it’s time… What the Hell is going on here! Who is that!" Joyce questioned angrily when she saw her daughter kissing a guy on her bed with her in her pajama top and him in his boxers. When she saw Angel, all of the rational thought left her mind. "You! I thought I told you that you needed to leave my daughter! What the Hell are you doing here?!"
"Wait… you told Angel to leave?!" Buffy yelled at her mum. "I can’t believe you!"
"I was doing what I think is best for you. You are too young to know what you want. I had to make the decision for you."
"Get out," that was all Buffy could say. Then anger was boiling in her, and she needed her mum to leave before she did something she would regret.
"Buffy, I…"
"Just leave."
As soon as Buffy’s mum had closed the door, she broke down. "I can’t believe she did that to me! I can’t believe she doesn’t want me to be happy," Buffy cried into Angel’s shoulder.
"Shh. It’s okay. She was doing what she thought needed to be done. She thought she was right. I thought she was right. But she wasn’t, and neither was I. She’ll see Buffy, she’ll see what it took me so long to see."
As Buffy’s sobs calmed, she looked up into Angel’s eyes. "What did I do to deserve you?" she asked.
"Me? What did I do to deserve you? I’ve hurt you so many times, but you always take me back. Why?"
"Why? Because I love you, Angel. I made a promise to myself when you came back that I would never let you go. I know sometimes I broke that promise, but the truth is, Angel, I need you in my life to survive. I know it sounds corny, but I can’t live without you."
"It doesn’t sound corny, Buffy. I know what exactly what you mean. I’ve been around for so long, that I was ready to give up. But then something happened. Whistler showed me you. I loved you from the first moment I saw you. I couldn’t stop. And the fact that you talked to me was enough to make my lonely existence more bearable. That night that you kissed me, the reason why I changed, was because no one had ever shown me that much trust. I was scared that I would bring you danger. Then, I could no longer deny my feelings for you. You loved and trust me more than anyone had. The night that we made love, the sex wasn’t the reason I lost my soul. It was because you had showed me true love, and that love was what made me happy."
Tears started to fall from Buffy’s eyes as Angel said these words to her. "Oh, Angel, I love you so much."
"Me too." With that, he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Buffy’s lips. The kiss intensified, and before either of them knew if, they were lying on the bed in each others arms with Angel above Buffy. Remembering that her mother was downstairs, Buffy pushed Angel off of her. Seeing the confusion and hurt in his eyes, Buffy explained, "I still need to deal with my mum, but don’t worry, we’ll have time later."
"Promise?"
"Always," Buffy replied as she bent down to kiss him. Buffy turned around to her dresser to look for something to wear. Angel watched in awe as she changed in front of him without giving it a second thought.
As soon as Buffy had dressed and Angel had pulled on his pants and shirt, they walked hand in hand down the stairs to face Buffy’s mother. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found out that they were not the only ones in the house besides Joyce. In the living room sat Xander, Willow, and Giles. They all sat anxiously waiting for what was to come. They all knew that Joyce didn’t approve of Angel, and after hearing what happened, they all had mixed emotions. Willow was happy for her best friend because she knew that without Angel, Buffy would have died a long time ago. Giles was both happy and sad. He remembered what Angel’s evil persona had done to him, but he forgave him long ago. Now, his only concern was for Buffy’s well-being.
Xander, however, was furious. He had loved Buffy since he first saw her, and Angel was the only one that stood in the way of the relationship that they could be having. He had hated Angel ever since he had heard about him. He knew in that moment that Buffy would always run to Angel, not him. And Xander was sick of it. He wanted Buffy, and he was going to have her, even if it meant hurting her in the process. Hell, Angel did it, so why shouldn’t it work for him?
After a long, uncomfortable silence, Willow spoke. "Buffy, you know I always knew you and Angel would be together. You two deserve each other. I’m happy for you." Buffy smiled and hugged her friend.
Giles was next to speak; "I will never forget what Angelus did to me. But by seeing two different Angels, I can tell that they are completely different. I accept Angel, and I am happy for you. I know that without him, you would have never had made it through the past years." Buffy, too, hugged him.
Buffy looked at Xander and saw the anger in his eyes. She knew what he was about to say, and the anger started from her toes and rose all the way to the top of her head. She didn’t want to hear, she didn’t want to live it again. She Xander always and wanted her, but she would never be his. And know that she had Angel again, the possibility was far from good. Then, she asked the question, "What about you Xander? How do you feel?"
"I hate him."
"Why?"
"Because he took you from me."
"I was never yours."
"Thanks to him you never were. If he hadn’t had come along, it would be me that you were loving and me that would be holding you. But instead, you chose someone that doesn’t breathe. You disgust me."
"I disgust you?! I disgust you?! I’m not the one that obsesses over someone they can’t have! I would have never belonged to you! What do you think would have happened between us if Angel had left? Did you think that you and I were going to get together? That I would just forget all about Angel, and give you me? Is that what you thought?"
"Eventually."
"Okay, yeah, let’s deal with this situation right now. You think that I could love someone that is jealous because I am happy? You think that I could love someone that can’t accept what I want, what I need? What kind of friend wants their friend’s unhappiness?"
At this point, all rational thought left both Xander and Buffy. Before anyone knew what was happening, Xander had launched himself at Angel. He was now trying to beat the crap out of him.
"IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! IF YOU HADN’T OF COME, WE WOULD BE TOGETHER! YOU ARE A FREAK! I HATE YOU!!! YOU PARADE AROUND LIKE YOU OWN THIS TOWN! YOU TREAT BUFFY LIKE SHE IS YOUR WHORE, AND KNOW THAT SHE WOULD TAKE YOU BACK. WHEN ARE YOU GONNA DECIDE TO LEAVE HER AGAIN?"
Angel lost control. He started to beat Xander to a bloody pulp. The only thing that stopped him was when he heard Buffy yell his name. He stopped, and then looked up at Buffy, game face evident, but changed back immediately to his human face, the sorrow evident in his eyes. "Oh my god, Buffy, I’m so sorry. I just lost control. What have I done?"
"Shh. It’s all right. I would have done it eventually. Xander needs to learn that I belong to you, not him."
All of a sudden, something shot into Angel’s mind. Willow says kick his ass? Where was that from? Wait, it was something Xander had said to Buffy. This time, he repeated it out loud, "Willow says kick his ass."
"What?" a perplexed Buffy asked. "Xander told me that before I went to fight you on the night I sent you to Hell. How would you know about that?"
"Wait," Willow piped up. "I never told Xander that. I told him to tell you that I was retrying the spell." She turned to Xander. "You lied to her. You lied to us. How could you?" She was on the verge of tears.
"You were supposed to tell me that Willow was retrying the spell to restore Angel’s soul, and you didn’t? How could you?" Buffy asked, tears starting to stream down her face.
"Think about it, Buffy. Would you have really tried to kill him if I told you? I had to make the decision for you."
"Why in the Hell is everyone making decisions for me?! It’s my life! I make the decisions! Not you, Angel, Giles, Willow, not my mother, no one but me! Maybe I would have held back, but you and I both know that I would never let Angelus kill me. Even though I may have not tried to kill him, I would have never let him kill me knowing that my Angel was coming back. Never."
"Whatever, Buffy. You and I both know that when it comes to him, you don’t think. You act with your heart, not your mind, and one day, it’s gonna kill you." At that, Xander stormed out of the house. The tears in Buffy’s eyes had dried. She was now filled with more anger than she thought was possible. It didn’t help when her mother started to lecture her.
"Xander’s right, Buffy. When it comes to Angel, your mind clouds, and you don’t think straight. That’s why he has to leave. That’s why I told him to make the decision for you."
"Dammit, mom! I love Angel, and no matter what had happened, he and I both knew that we would end up together. Whether it took a month, a year, or a lifetime, we would find each other, and we would be together. I know you hate that I’m not a normal kid, and I know that you’re disappointed that I can’t be a great person. But the truth, mom, is that I do something so incredible everyday. Everyday I face the darkness to bring light into everybody’s life. Why can’t you see that? Why do you hate what I do so much?"
"I just hate the fact that you are going to die one day, and that it may be before you deserve to die. You don’t deserve to die young, Buffy. I don’t want you dead." Fresh tears started to roll down Buffy’s cheeks at her mother’s confession. She embraced her mother into a strong hug. "Oh mom, I’m not going to leave you. I promise, not for a long time."
"How can you be sure? You already died once, and if it weren’t for Xander, you would be dead."
"But I’m not, mom. I was younger, not as trained. But knowing that I have reasons to stay, I won’t let myself be killed." Buffy shot a glance at Angel when she said this.
"Promise?"
"Promise." Buffy and her mom hugged again.
At this point, Angel spoke up. "Mrs. Summers, I know that you don’t think to highly of me, but I want you to know that I love Buffy with all of my being. She is my sunshine. She brings light to my otherwise dark life. I know I have given her, and you, reasons to doubt my love, but you have to believe that I was only doing that for her sake. But the one thing that I’ve learned about Buffy over the years that I have known her, I have found out that no matter what you think is best for Buffy, she only does what she believes is best for her. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be here right now. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep her safe and alive and that I will to continue to love her like today, or if not, more and more each day."
"I believe you, Angel. It is clear that you hold so much love for my daughter that I now consent to you seeing her. Just remember, if you hurt her, I’ll hurt you so badly that you’ll wish you’d never been born." It wasn’t a threat that Joyce was making, it was a promise.
"I hope you would, but I promise."
Buffy gave her mom a hug, and then noticed that Giles and Willow were still in the room. Willow was crying and Buffy could swear a single tear roll down Giles’ face. The five occupants talked for hours about things that never really seemed important. They talked about movies, books, and other things that to some passerby it would be boring, but all of the occupants that these would be the times that they would cherish.
THE END