Buffy was bubbling with excitement as she made her way through the early evening streets to Angel’s apartment. It was Friday night and Giles was so pleased with her progress, especially her improvement with her slayer sensey thing, that he had given her the go ahead to take a night off and just enjoy herself for a change. She thought of all the wonderful non-slayery ways she and her paramour could spend the evening; there was the movies—always good, or the Bronze for a night of dancing and smoochies, or maybe a nice dinner and then dancing or a movie. She decided it really didn’t matter; all that mattered was that she was finally getting a night off to spend with Angel on a proper date. The kind normal girls, who didn’t have to save the world from evil every night, got to have. She had dressed in a new pair of soft, pastel pink leather pants and a cute pink and black leopard print halter top, new black ankle boots and Angel’s gorgeous black leather jacket. She had done her hair up in a loose bun and left a soft fringe framing face.  She thought—well she hoped—she looked good! 

Upon reaching Angel’s apartment she knocked. He opened the door wearing black pants and no shirt.

“Buffy! I didn’t expect you. Hang on a second.” Angel turned and fished a shirt off the couch, pulling it on he opened the door wider inviting her to enter. “What’s wrong?” he enquired. 

“Wrong? Oh … nothing, nothing at all.” Buffy flashed her brightest smile. “I have the night off, a whole night, no patrol, no training.  Just fun, fun, fun!” She was practically jumping up and down with glee. “So the night is ours to do as we please!” 

Angel frowned. “Why would Giles do that? You’re the slayer, Buffy, you don’t get nights off! If you take a night off people die. You have responsibilities, a sacred duty what could possibly be more important than that?” 

“I know I am the slayer. Angel. God, do you think I don’t know? I thought you’d be happy.  We could go out on a date … you know that thing people do? Boy, girl, maybe dancing, maybe movie, fun had by all concerned. You do remember dating don’t you? It’s what normal boyfriend and girlfriends do, and colour me stupid but I actually thought we were supposed to be a couple.” She couldn’t believe he was reacting the way he was, she had been so happy, so excited at the prospect of a romantic evening for two without world savey issues entering into the mix and here he was shooting her down and making her feel selfish and immature into the bargain. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, or that she wanted someone to die, of course she didn’t. But things had been so quiet lately, no major activity of the evil kind so what was the harm in her taking one night off? One night to be a girl and not the Slayer.  

“We are a couple Buffy, but there’s no use trying to pretend we are a normal couple. We aren’t a normal anything, you are the Slayer and I am a vampire, that’s about as far from normal as you can get. We don’t get to do normal couple things, Buffy, you know that.  That would be irresponsible and selfish.” He couldn’t understand why she was having such a problem understanding this. She was the Chosen One, the pinnacle of all things good; surely she could see that it was wrong of her to even contemplate taking a night off for something as self-serving as a date? He would make her understand, make her see reason.  She was meant to be the epitome of virtue that was why he cherished her so much. She was everything he aspired to, everything he was not and could only endeavour to become. “Buffy, people need you, they rely on you to keep them safe, even if they don’t realise it.” 

“One night Angel, that’s all, it’s not like I am going on strike or saying ‘to hell with it let people die’.  I just wanted one night for us to go out and have some fun, to do the things other girls my age get to do. To have some quality time with my boyfriend, and seeing as you are the boyfriend in question I thought you’d be all on the ‘happy train’ with me. Besides, you know, Giles gave me the night off and he is my watcher.  He seems to think it’s ok for me to have one night once every millennium or so to have some fun. What is with you?” Buffy felt drained, she had gone from happy to pissed off, to miserable and back to pissed off in a matter of moments and her mind was spinning from trying to keep up.  

“Yeah, well maybe Giles needs to rethink some things. I mean, as far as watcher’s go he isn’t exactly the most impartial is he? We both know he lets you off easy. He doesn’t make you train as hard as he should, lets you get away with not studying your demon lore. And he certainly doesn’t train you by the guidelines set out in the slayer’s handbook. Giles is a pushover as far as you are concerned, and if you ask my opinion you take advantage of that fact on a far too regular basis.” He was starting to get angry with her, she wasn’t listening.  She wouldn’t see that what he was telling her was right. She needed to realise that he had only her best interests at heart, he loved her and wanted what was right for her; surely she could see that he knew what was best for her?
 
Her mouth dropped open, she could not believe that she was hearing what she actually was hearing. “How dare you? How could you speak to like that? I do train hard.  In fact it is because I have been training hard, and Giles is really pleased with my progress, that he gave me the night off! But what would you know?  You wouldn’t know that my martial arts are improving daily, that I finally got my spidey sense thing working properly, that my weapons skills are, according to Giles, ‘superlative’. The only thing you know is how to do your stupid Nancy boy Tai Chi and spout on at me about my sacred duty and how I am above doing things that my friends do or that other girls my age do. Well you know what?  I am sick of being lectured and judged by you, I am sick of trying to please you, and I don’t know why it even occurred to me that you might be happy to have one night for us?” With this she turned and fled Angel’s apartment, heedless of his voice calling for her to stop, to wait and they could talk this through some more. Tearing out into the night she ran, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the vampire she was currently fighting every urge not to stake. 

Angel stumbled around his room, pulling on shoes so he could follow her. He had to make her understand; make her listen. By the time he had located his shoes and put them on the Slayer had a good head start on him. What was wrong with her? Why was she acting so irrationally?  And ‘Nancy boy’? What was with that? Surely that was not a term his girl would use. Suspicion and doubt gnawed at him as he made his way through the streets of Sunnydale on the hunt for one small blonde girl in a town full of teenagers who’d been turned out onto the streets for the obligatory Friday ‘date night’ ritual.