Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and Twentieth Century Fox

Spoilers: Up to Buffy season 4, Angel season 1

Summary: Sequel to "No One". After Angel received Buffy’s letter along with the Gem of Amarra, he decided to keep the lines of communication open and send one back

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As Buffy flipped through her mail in her dorm room in Stevenson Hall, familiar handwriting made her heart jump. On the cover of a plain, white envelope, was her name written in the beautiful loops of his handwriting. When she sent that letter to Angel almost a week ago, she had never for a moment imagined that he would send one back to her. She had thought that when he left, he would've wanted to cut off all lines of communication. The gesture surprised her. Buffy quickly realized that her hands were shaking the slightest bit, and she slid her fingers over her name on the envelope before flipping it over to tear it open. As she began reading, she sat herself down on her bed.

**Dear Buffy,

I promised myself that I wouldn't do this, that I wouldn't keep in contact with you because it was too hard, for both of us. But when I got that letter from you, I couldn't just leave it like that. I need you to know, once and for all, why. It's not a simple reason, it never is, but there was one thing in my life that will always remain simple. I will always know, without a doubt, that I love you, and always will. You are in my heart eternally, and there is no one on earth that can take that away from me. It is mine to hold on to forever. When things get too hard, and I feel like I'm all alone in the world, I'll be able to remember that beautiful girl who loved me with her whole heart, her entire soul. You will never know how much that means to me, Buffy, the fact that you still loved me, after everything I did, in spite of everything I was. It saved me.

You saved me.

Even after I hurt you so much, you accepted me again, into your heart and into your home. You will never know how sorry I am for all the pain I've caused you, and part of the reason I left was because I wanted to stop that pain, and stop myself from ever being able to hurt you again.

I need you to be happy, Buffy. Truly happy, with someone who won't cause you so much heartache, someone who can walk freely out into the day with you, under the bright rays of the sun. I wish that, one day, I might be able to see it for myself. But if that day never comes, I will be grateful and content with the knowledge that an angel like you could love something like me. What we had was amazing, and beautiful. I will never forget that, and I pray to whatever gods exist that you don't forget either. There is not a minute that goes by when I don't think of you, and on several occasions, picturing your smiling face makes me smile as well. You gave me this and so much more. You made me happy.

Leaving you and Sunnydale was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but I know that it was right. Thank you for understanding and accepting my reasons.

Thank you for loving me.

Angel**

When Buffy came to the end of the letter, she found herself drawing her eyes over the letters of his name over and over again. She couldn't help the trail of tears that made their way down her cheeks, and she sniffled as she impatiently wiped them away. Folding up the paper carefully, Buffy hid it away in one of her drawers. As she sat down in front of her desk, she reached for a pen and began to write...

FINIS??