Disclaimer: None of the charactes featured in this fic are in any way mine.
Summary: Buffy and Angel go on a date to the cinema...
Couples: B/A (implied Willow/Oz, Xander/Cordy)
Spoilers: None, really. Set back in season 1/2 of Buffy.
Rating: PG-13
Author's comments: God, i haven't written anything for ages. I doubt anyone even remembers me! This is a fic i dug up off my old computer, and thought i'd post it. Just fluffy lightness. When i wrote this i wrote the characters as they were then, rather then now. Just go with it. Also, i apologise if this layout is weird- Yahoo has done something to paragaphing spaceing... arghh. And the curse is NOT an issue.

"The Cinema?" Buffy blinked and stared at him as if he'd just suggested going on a trip to Mars.

It had been completely on impulse that Angel had suggested they go. She had been curled up in his lap, complaining about a film that had just been released which was supposed to be really good, but how she had no one who wanted to go see it with her. Angel had no idea what had possessed him to suggest she should go see it with him, but whatever it was, it had given Buffy such a surprise that after she'd opened and shut her mouth for the fifth time, he began to get nervous. Had he said something wrong? He wasn't aware of any childhood cinema related traumas she'd experienced, or any demon relating to it. although this was the hell mouth.

"We don't have to, if you don't want to. It was just an idea-" Angel hastened to add.

"A great idea!" Buffy exclaimed grinning. "You just. took me by surprise."

Angel quirked an eyebrow. "Surprise? Buffy, I was beginning to think that maybe you'd gone into shock."

"I didn't look that surprised," She replied defensively. "Did I?"

"You're cute when you're surprised." Angel assured her, planting a gentle kiss on her lips. She returned the gesture enthusiastically before allowing Angel to help her up. "Go get your coat." He ordered.

"It's not cold." Buffy replied stubbornly, her arms folded across her chest.

"It's not cold because you're inside." Angel pointed out logically. "It will be once you get outside."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Angel, I go patrolling every night without a coat."

"I know, and you always end up borrowing mine." Angel replied with a look of amusement; "I don't even want to take a guess at how many of my jackets are now in your wardrobe."

Buffy smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "You can have them back, if you want-"

"You're welcome to keep them, they look better on you," Angel assured her, mirth dancing in chocolate brown eyes, "but please put your coat on now, or you'll end up getting ill."

"But then you could play doctor," Buffy retorted swiftly.

"Buffy Summers, you are the most stubborn woman I have ever met!"

"But you know that's why you love me," she replied sweetly.

"I love you for many reasons, Buffy, but refusing to wear a coat is not one of them."

Their banter continued for a few minutes before Angel won the argument with 'I am older and wiser then you, Sweetheart, and if you refuse to put on a coat I shall be most upset.'

"It's not fair, you shouldn't be allowed to use that argument." Buffy grumbled.

"Well, like it or not, I used it. Now go get your coat." And with that the couple headed out for the cinema, Buffy still protesting and Angel still chuckling.

The walk to the cinema was short, but Angel couldn't remember ever feeling so carefree and happy. He'd spent so many nights walking through Sunnydale's streets; sometimes with a purpose and sometimes just wandering aimlessly, but never before had he noticed the warm glow from the streetlights, or the cosy scent of burning wood from chimneys. If you walk through the shadows for long enough, Angel reflected, then eventually that is all you're going to be able to see. But she was his ray of light, a flicker of hope in a cruel world.

They paused to take a look at the listings board before going in and Angel couldn't help noticing, not without male satisfaction, that she had wrapped her body around his in an attempt to shut out the cold night air. He was all too happy to snuggle up to his native Californian girlfriend and earned himself a grateful smile when he wrapped his duster around them both, shielding her from the wind.

Angel turned his attention to the listings board, unsure whether what he was studying was in English or some sort of code. It made absolutely no sense, so he hoped she wouldn't look to him for an opinion.

"What do ya wanna go see?" She tilted her face up to look at him and in that moment Angel knew that there could never be anything more beautiful in life then her. Her eyes were bright and shiny, sparkling with life and excitement, and he noticed for the first time the snowflakes caught up in her hair like sparkling glitter on a priceless jewel. Her cheeks were flushed a wonderful pink, and her nose had an adorable red tint to it.

It was Buffy's voice that brought him out of his thoughts and into the wacky world of cinemas and listing boards with "Earth to Angel, have you been kidnapped by aliens?"

He grinned at her question and shrugged. "It's pretty pointless asking me which film to go see. I thought you wanted to go see that." He paused, trying to remember the name.

"Scream?" She supplied, shrugging slightly. "I did, but it's not really a date movie, you know?"

Angel looked at his girlfriend in confusion. "A 'date movie'?"

"You know, the romantic, soppy type where you get to cheer me up at the end coz it was so sad."

"If it's sad, why do you want to go see it in the first place?" Angel queried, now completely confused.

Buffy shot her vampire lover an exasperated look and rolled her eyes. "That question coming from *you*? Fine, I'll just pick one."

'Just picking one' took a lot longer then Angel had expected and when he finally asked the Slayer why she was taking so long, she launched into an detailed explanation about how it was important to choose not only the right 'type' of film, but the timing and length as well. Angel finally managed to coax her away by pointing out that the queues for tickets were getting longer and longer.

Next stop was the food and drink. Angel had eventually managed to get hold of some tickets, after 15 minutes of queuing, only to find himself faced with yet another queue; this one for popcorn, which Buffy had insisted was as important as the tickets themselves. And when he at last reached the counter, he ended up not only ordering popcorn, but also cola and an assortment of junk food under her instructions. The cute pout she had used had not helped his resistance one bit; it really was unfair game of her to use it.

"Sweetheart, please don't take this the wrong way, but how can you possible eat all this without being sick?" Angel turned to Buffy as he waited for his order to be served.

"This is for both of us." Buffy replied casually.

"Buffy, you know I would do almost anything for you, but eating this popcorn is not one of them." As he spoke his eyes skimmed over the popcorn in disgust, as if it were actually a large cockroach in disguise.

"Angel, have you ever even tried it?" The slayer challenged, her hands on her hips in a stance that Angel recognised as 'I mean business and I am not going to give up'.

"Honey. Buffy. asking me to try popcorn is like asking me to try garlic. I've never tried that, but that doesn't mean I don't already know that I hate it."

"You don't know whether you like garlic or not, the only reason you hate it is 'cause it's dangerous for you," Buffy retorted just a little too loudly. Upon seeing the curious stare of the man behind the counter she quickly covered up her slip up with a mumbled; "He's allergic."

"To popcorn?" The man asked in confusion.

"No, garlic." Buffy replied at the same time that Angel muttered, "Yes, I'm allergic to popcorn. and all other forms of junk food," earning himself a glare and playful swat from Buffy.

"Fine, don't try anything, but it's your loss." She warned before collecting up her- or rather Angel's- purchases and carrying them into the cinema, pleased to find that they had back row seats.

*****

The lights dimmed and when she was quite sure that nobody was about to turn around and see them she moved to straddle his waist.

"Buffy!" He yelped out in surprise, more then a little startled by her action. He had been preoccupied with absorbing everything, so much being a new experience for him that he hadn't heard his girlfriend's movement until she was snuggled deeply in his lap. He also had a feeling that her slayer abilities had definitely come into play.

'Ssssh.' She whispered, trying not to laugh. "You're not the only one who gets to play stealth guy. I just thought we could make out a little, the previews will be playing for ages."

She shifted slightly and felt the large bulge in Angel's crotch. She raised her eyebrows at him, a gesture she knew he could see perfectly well in the dark, and smirked knowingly.

"Or else. I could always go sit back down in my seat. I mean, I wouldn't want to cause you any more problems then necessary, and you already seem to have a rather big one. Probably very *hard* to deal with." She added before cracking up, her giggles muffled by his chest, which she had promptly buried her head into.

Angel could only shake his head in amusement and wait for his girlfriend to calm down. He also began having second thoughts about getting her a coke. slayers and caffeine did not mix well.

As Buffy finally began to calm down, and Angel began to think that maybe things could run smoothly, he heard the very voice he dreaded hearing. The voice he knew had the power to send him on a homicidal murder spree if given enough time and effort. Xander Harris.

Buffy had apparently heard him too because she immediately looked up, her head rising just in time to catch him entering the cinema, followed closely by Willow, Oz, and a rather distressed looking Cordelia.

Angel muttered something in Gaelic and began to silently pray Xander wouldn't spot Buffy and himself; all the calmness and self-restraint in the world would not be enough when faced with that boy. It had crossed his mind once or twice that perhaps Drusilla had been relatively sane in comparison to the male slayerette, but Angel had learnt long ago not to mention the thought to Buffy. His girlfriend was still a little touchy about references to any of his past involving women, especially Dru and Darla.

"Angel, look, its Willow and everyone." Buffy announced none to quietly.

Angel sank down in his seat as far as possible and pulled Buffy down with him. "Ssssh, maybe they won't notice us."

She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, trying to give him her sternest look but failing pathetically under his puppy-dog eyes. "What, you want us to hide from them?"

"No, I want us to hide from Xander," Angel corrected her. "Buffy, you know Xander and I never get along. You really don't want me to turn homicidal and kill him do you? Because that could happen."

"Hey, Buffy!"

"Too late." Angel groaned out as the Slayerettes began to make their way towards the Slayer and her Vampire. Angel was actually surprised when Xander reached them without any major disasters.

Upon seeing the expression on Angel's face- a combination of distress and something that remotely reminded Willow of a deer trapped in headlights- the redhead shot Buffy a questioning glance. "Is everything okay? We can sit somewhere else, if you want-"

"No, it's fine," Angel spoke up absentmindedly, his attention still focused warily Xander.

"Sit," Buffy grinned slightly, trying her hardest not to laugh at the expression still remaining on Angel's face.

Suddenly conscious of her position in Angel's lap she slipped off and re-seated herself next to her boyfriend, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Cordy announced with a long-suffering sigh. "The rain has completely ruined my hair and I seriously need to sort it out. Anyone coming?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at her friend's melodrama but reluctantly stood. "Okay, I think I'm gonna go as well, before the film starts," she informed Angel before planting a quick kiss on his lips and following Cordy and Willow out of the aisle.

When the girls returned five minutes later they were all relieved to find Xander in one piece, although the look on Angel's face was definitely not good.

"You okay?" Buffy asked him in concern as she sat back down.

"Fine," Angel replied through clenched teeth. "Absolutely fine, although I feel that I should warn you that according to Xander I've been 'checking out' the neck of the guy in front of us, which obviously means I'm about to kill him." He paused for a minute in an imitation of thoughtful remembrance. "Ah, yes, I've also lured you here for a purpose Xander has yet to decide upon although he has promised to let me know as soon as he's dreamt one up, and that about sums it up."

Buffy grinned at her boyfriend's sardonic humour before bestowing a warning look on Xander. "Behave."

"Yes ma'am."

"And move up," A third voice belonging to Cordelia added. "I want a good seat for the money I've just spent."

Xander sat up indignantly. "You mean the money *I've* just spent," he protested.

Cordy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I just want to be able to see the film."

"What are we seeing, by the way?" Angel murmured softly into Buffy's ear.

"Scream Two," she returned just as quietly, sustaining the intimacy.

Angel frowned. "But I haven't seen the first one."

"Don't worry, you'll still be able to get it; basically a whole bunch of people died and the sequel is really just the same story over again but with the surviving cast and whole bunch of new people who are destined to get killed off first." Willow explained cheerfully.

Angel blinked and shook his head slightly. "Don't you all find that a little too close to reality for comfort?" he queried.

"Yea, but with this you get popcorn," Oz reasoned, his expression deadpanned.

"And a survival guarantee." Buffy chimed it.

"And the bad guys are normally very, very cute," Cordy added.

"And you normally get at least one naked shower scene." Five pairs of eyes turned to stare at Xander. "What?! Like you weren't all thinking it! Okay, so perhaps you weren't."

Angel threw up his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "I get it."

All banter died out as the lights diminished completely and 'Scream' filled the screen in bold red letters.

Angel sucked in an unnecessary breath and sank back in the hard seat. How bad could it possibly be? Five minutes later he had his answer. It was bad. Very bad.

*****

With as much discretion as he could muster Angel shifted and rolled his now stiff neck from left to right and back again, taking the opportunity to stretch his legs at the same time. Dark eyes fell on his watch face. Ten minutes. Ten minutes left to get through. The expressions on the faces of the teenagers surrounding him were ones of excitement and anticipation, although personally Angel couldn't work himself up past wondering why anyone is their right minds would create such a movie.

And then a warm hand was squeezing his and all his silent complaints fell away. He was in the cinema with Buffy, they were on a date!, an inner voice rejoiced. And she was enjoying herself. Pushing aside the small part of him that actually worried about this, his lips curved into a soft smile. It was worth it.

**********

Never before had Angel been so glad to see the bright glare of artificial lighting, but if it indicated the end of the film then he welcomed it with open arms.

"That was great!" Buffy enthused as the gang made their way out of the cinema and into the foyer.

Angel chose not to comment and merely quirked an eyebrow.

"You didn't like it?" His girlfriend stared at him in disbelief.

Broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. "It was just hard to keep track of which characters had supposedly died." He trailed off and shook his head, "And is it me or did at least two characters who were supposed to be dead keep coming back?"

Willow nodded knowingly. "Oh yeah, classic horror movie must-have. The bad-guys always have to have at least 3 lives."

"And where was the character development?" Angel continued. "Call me old-fashioned but twenty years ago I'm sure films weren't made where people lasted about five minutes before they were killed off. Give me a good Hitchcock film any day."

It was Xander's turn to regard the vampire with disbelief. "But where's the blood? The violence?"

"It was physiological," Angel countered.

"Says the vampire with at least a body count of one hundred on his conscience," Xander snorted.

"Enough!" Buffy exclaimed, intervening and tugging Angel towards the exit. "Angel and I have a patrol to see to-"

"And we should be getting back," Willow finished for her, guiding Xander to the opposite exit even as she spoke. "Have a fun patrol!"

Grinning the slayer and her boyfriend departed from the group with a wave. Once Buffy judged they'd put enough distance between themselves and the gang she slowed pace. "I'm sorry you didn't have fun," she apologised softly.

Angel released her hand to slide an arm around her waist lightly and draw her to him. "I didn't say that," he reprimanded gently. "Okay, so as films go it wasn't my favourite, but I still had fun. You were there." Simple, matter-of-fact, and very, very romantic.

Buffy pretended to consider that and sighed. "You mean you don't want your reward, then? I mean, if you *enjoyed* it I wouldn't really need to compensate-"

Angel chuckled and placed a hand over his still heart. Solemnly he confessed, "It was terrible."

Buffy giggled. "Home it is, then."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Angel murmured seductively. "That was a very traumatic experience."

"And you're going to be needing lots of therapy, right?" Buffy asked hopefully.

Deadpanned, he replied with grave; "In excessive amounts."

"I was hoping you're say that," Buffy returned, echoing Angel's words, and with that the star-crossed couple headed eagerly for the mansion, the night empty and safe and joyous for once. Whatever the future held, tonight was for friends and lovers and fun- no evil invited.

Feedback would be lovely if you have the time. This was unbeta-ed, so all mistakes are mine.

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