PART NINE

Buffy closed her eyes and willed herself to stop crying, but the slayers tears continued to fall as if determined to betray her. Hot tears splashed to the ground, each one a reminder of her feelings. A reminder that, even after a year, she was still hurting.

A long period of time had elapsed since her outburst, but neither Angel, who was still chained to the ceiling, or herself had moved from their positions even once. A cold wind stole through the room, causing Buffy to hug herself for warmth. She hadn't expected him to answer. What could he honestly have said to her words 'soul-mates aren't supposed to give up'? This was the person who had left her so many times in the past already. Like when he fed off of her last year, putting her in a coma. If he didn't stay after that, he sure as hell wouldn't stay now.

If she had the energy, she may have been able to salvage the situation. Lick her lips, stride over to her vampire and stick her tongue down his throat to do her own DIY 'teaching' routine once more.

But she didn't.

"Blame me. Blame your scapegoat."

His deep voice echoed across the room, surprising her.

"You're right. It is my fault. Nothing to do with you. It's not like you control your own life or anything. "

Buffy looked up to find Angel staring at her. His bloody brown eyes glared at her from his chained position across the room. Startled, she took a step backwards. This was silly, he was tied up for gods sake. He couldn't hurt her, not any more.

Was he laughing? Did she see his lips twitch with amusement?

How DARE he?

"So I bear my soul to you and you just shrug it off? I just told you that I LOVE you, boyfriend. And you can't even make the effort and pretend you care."

Angel shook his head. His hands itched within the shackles which held him firmly in place.

"What do you seriously want me to say?" he asked, echoing her thoughts "Honestly? Yes, I do you love you. I'm in love with you so much that I can't even think of your name without breaking down. But it doesn't change anything. We can shout about this again and again, but when it comes down to basics, it won't make a difference. We don't belong to ourselves, Buffy. We belong to the fight. Our destinies have torn us apart. And yes, I am a vampire. You should never forget that. I can't. I'll never forget that I can't have one moments happiness. And you're my trigger sweetheart.'"

Buffy almost screamed in anger. She kicked the table over and punched the wall to vent her frustrations.

"God, of all the people to be soulmates with, why am I with such an arrogant bastard?"

"Admit it, that's why you love me, honey" Angel smirked.

Even now, he was getting under her skin. And not in a good way.

"Keep talking like that, and you'll be guest-starring in a vacuum cleaner commercial in the very near future" Buffy said dryly.

The threat was shaken away easily.

"So being a vampire *does* matter, then? And I thought you were all heart"

"Keep pushing me, lover. I might just surprise you one day"

"I didn't come here for round 24 of the Buffy- Angel saga. I came here to make you get rid of that bitchy persona, as that road leads to loneliness. I may be responsible for most of that attitude- credit where credits due- but you can't blame me for everything. I did not mould you. You're an independent woman, Buffy. If I thought for a second I may be responsible for all your actions, that you were without a will of your own..."

Angel's voice trailed off in mid-sentence, his coherent thoughts escaping him as his eyes concentrated on her body. He stifled a moan. He was all animal.

"You'd do what?" Buffy asked directly. She smoothed the words in her mouth to imply that Angel wouldn't be able to do one damn thing.

Also, she was mesmerised by Angels sweaty chest, heaving up and down like a humans would. Was he scared of what she might do to him? He was pretty much in a do or die situation.

Damn that curse, and damn him.

Angel lowered his voice conspiratorially

"All sorts of naughty things..."

So this is what it had come to. An admission of love to someone she could never have. She'd have to let him go. Watch him leave, to go back to LA, promise him that she was a good gal now, and that he shouldn't worry about her. She could return to her boyfriend, who had sacrificed his job and friends for her. They could have sex 24/7, and maybe she could even destroy Adam. Cue happy ending, with a daytime ceremony and plenty of confetti on standby. But this wasn't a kids tale with a happy ending, this was real life. Gut wrenching life. She'd lost Angel long before that day, but it was only then that the finality sank in. When she said goodbye this time, it really meant forever. Thanksgiving was something she didn't remember, and something she'd never recreate. Time to accept this. Buffy was a warrior, a slave to fate.

Yes, but Buffy was a *warrior*. And she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Eyes alight, she took a hungry step forward, savouring Angel's body in all its muscular glory. Her mind flashed back to the night they made love all those years ago. Images of raking her hands down his back and feeling his skin against hers. She mentally thought about thanksgiving, but there was a void- she couldn't remember the day Angel was human, it had been taken away from her. But what did that matter when he was here, with her once more? The threat of Angelus returning had always put their hormones on standby, but now he was chained up. He couldn't escape. They could have sex as often as they wanted, and when Angelus showed up he wouldn't be able to do one damn thing to escape. She could call Willow later, ask her to repeat the curse. Willow would be angry, but Buffy could make up some story as to why Angelus had returned. Hell, she'd do the spell herself for one last fling. With her lover in chains, they could have sex without consequences.

"Show me." she said.

Angel shook his head in surprise.

"What?"

Another step forward.

"Show me what you know. Show me everything." Buffy said.

And another.

"Taste me. Feel me. Take me. Love me. Show me your dark side. Do it. Now."

A final step brought her to him.

"You don't want my dark side" Angel reminded her, reclining in his chains as best as he physically could. "That side locked you in the bathroom and tortured you all week. How could you possibly want that? I could do anything to you"

"Not in those chains you can't." Buffy interjected. She slowly took the key from her pocket and purposely set it aside, out of reach. "Come on lover, you'll be leaving tomorrow. We only have one last day."

She was telling him he was leaving. Indicating that she'd set him free.

Angel's face was a mask. Buffy held back, waiting for the green light.

He broke into a smile.

She reached for the chains and adjusted them, lowering Angel to the ground, his back falling on the floor.

He didn't mind. Even in chains, he wouldn't be underneath for long.

She brought her right knee down between his legs. The heat was within her, her cheeks revealed as much. It was a fever, the anticipation was overwhelming. The leather trousers he was wearing would be the first thing she'd rip off. Wait- it was the ONLY thing he was wearing anyway.

Leaning forward, she whispered "Are you ready?"

Angel's head was everywhere. He swallowed.

"Yes. I'll show you everything you want." he husked.

Buffy's leant on top of him and traced his lips with her finger.

No going back.

She parted her lips, brought her face closer to his and kissed him passionately. Angel responded, desiring to wrap his arms around her body, but the bonds encasing his hands prevented him from doing as such. He didn't like that, but he didn't get time to reflect. Buffy was all over his thoughts, her hands all over his body. He'd have to exert his ecstasy in other ways. He kissed her harder.

Harder.

The chains rattled violently, but this time, the captive didn't want to escape.

He wanted to stay. Here. With her. Forever.

PART TEN

The sun had set already, Buffy could work that one out. Lying in bed with Angel's comforting arms wrapped around her body, she didn't have any energy left to stand up and check.

"Mmm, this is nice."

Buffy had a tendency for pointing out the obvious. She turned over to face Angel, who she found was staring at her with an intense heat in his eyes.

"I'm not sure whether to be apologising to you, or to be grateful that I'm still here." he confided.

"Sssh" Buffy placed a finger on his lips to stop him talking, and Angel obeyed. "I understand." she whispered, and then she kissed him.

It had begun violently. Two animals, living only for sex and gratification. But something had happened to change that.

Angel's chains broke.

He had pulled on them so strongly that they couldn't take the weight, and snapped away from the ceiling, bringing plaster down with them.

Naturally, Buffy's first thought was that Angelus was responsible, that Angel had been lost to her already. She had jumped off of him and stood in her battle position before the chains had even fallen to the ground. This wasn't meant to happen, she hadn't anticipated it. God, even she couldn't pull the chains out of their sockets when she was in them, and she had Slayer strength.

She looked into his eyes, thinking that she'd see nothing in them, just a ravenous vampire who wanted her dead. But his eyes... they were still warm. Still soulful. They were still Angel's.

A free Angel, who simply stayed where he was and waited for Buffy to realise this. She walked over to him, tentatively at first, and slowly placed the key in the shackles that were still on Angel's wrists. He may not have been chained to the ceiling any longer, but the chains were still joined to him.

Twisting the key once, the shackles fell away.

Angel stood up, leant forward and placed a silent hand on her shoulder. Holding onto her hand, he pulled her back into his bedroom. And there he made love to her so passionately- so gently- that their anger dissipated into nothing. He treated her like a goddess, she treated him like a god. This time, it was different from when they had been screwing. They were making love, proving their love for each other. This was about them- Buffy and Angel- two torn souls fusing back together.

From rough to tender.

From dawn to dusk.

And Angel never lost his soul. The thought of turning into Angelus again, it terrified him. He couldn't do that to her, put her through such an awful ordeal all over again- he loved her far too much. Two years ago, Angel never knew that he could turn evil when they made love, but he did now, and this knowledge made it impossible to feel even a moments true happiness. The consequences were far too horrifying. This underlying fear of being so happy that Angelus would return stopped Angel from even getting to that stage. As he made love to Buffy, he could not feel true happiness. And this was a blessing.

"I've never been happier in my entire life" he whispered into Buffy's neck, hoping to reassure her that it wasn't *her* that made him unhappy, but the curse. "Not truly happy, but the next best thing."

Buffy just nodded, and turned away, pulling the covers over her with one strong pull.

Angel bristled. He touched her arm to regain her attention.

"What's wrong?"

Buffy kept her face to the wall to hide fresh tears.

"I'm more confused than ever. You say that you're happy, but you're going to leave me again, aren't you? We made love without you turning into a monster, which is, like, what I've dreamt about for years. That was one of the main reasons why we couldn't be together, but you've.. we've.. proven that we can overcome that. I just. I'm confused. I mean, if you stayed, maybe Willow or Giles could find a way to cure your curse... but..."

She rolled back over to face him.

"Do you want to stay?"

Angel laid there for a few minutes, deep in thought. Finally, he nodded.

"I do. I don't think I should stay, but I want you so badly. I'm selfish" he confided.

Buffy's frowning face disappeared and she grinned.

"But..." Angel said, trailing his voice.

He sat up, reached under the bed for his leather pants and proceeded to put them on.

Buffy's face froze. What was he doing? Leaving?

"But?" she prompted.

"Us. You're right, it *is* confusing. Your friends hate me, and I have responsibilities in LA I can't walk away from, even if I wanted to. No-one's going to understand what's happened between us over the past few days, and they definitely won't forgive me for kidnapping and torturing you. You have a boyfriend. We have a painful history. There's the whole human/vampire rift that's between us, let alone the fact that I'm still a dangerous person. Just because I survived today, it does not mean that every time we make love, that Angelus won't return. He's waiting, I make one false move and he'll be back."

"You're doing it again." Buffy said, grabbing his hand and forcing him to stop brooding. "You're trying to reason yourself out of it. None of those things you mentioned can't be dealt with. Why can't we give ourselves one more chance? LA isn't that far from Sunnydale, and my friends will accept you if we give them a bit of time. Besides, we don't have to tell them about what happened in this mansion- I don't know, we can make up a story about me fighting some demons and you coming to the rescue."

He wasn't responding. Her grip tightened.

Angel put his other hand on hers, and they made eye contact once more.

He smiled, weakly, but Buffy could tell that he had been talked round.

"Just no daylight picnics, or double dating with Xander Harris. I'm all yours." he smirked.

"Yes!" Buffy shouted, jumping on him with excitement.

He'd said yes!

They kissed again, caught up within each others arms so much that they didn't hear someone clearing their throat from the open bedroom door.

Angel ran his hands through Buffy's hair, moaning her name.

The figure cleared his throat again, hitting the door loudly to gain their attention.

It worked.

Buffy and Angel stopped immediately, and slowly turned to the door. Buffy's heartbeat increased- she knew it was Riley before she even looked at him. He wasn't meant to find out like this-

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