RATING: You watch it? You can read it.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, don't sue.
DISTRIBUTION: Ask and ye shall receive.
FEEDBACK: I crave it! It's like cigarettes, ya know? Just when I think I've quit...
SPOILERS: Nope.
SUMMERY: Angelus' POV. Angelus thinks about how things have changed since Buffy entered his/Angel's life. Set between WML & Surprise (not that it matters unless I decide to write a sequel).

She is the enemy. My hatred for her should be eternal, more enduring than the stars themselves and yet. When he holds her in our arms, I know peace. At first I hated myself for wanting her, despised myself for loving her, yet I was unable to break the hold she has over me and as time passes I lose even the desire to be free.

In this one thing he and I are truly one. The longing for her presence is the constant between us. When she is with us our fight halts as we bask in the light she brings to our existence; when she is hurt or unhappy our only desire is to ease her pain; and when she is threatened, we combine - control shared between us as we unite in the overwhelming need to protect our love. He knows my feelings, as I know his. My love for her calms his fears and gives him the confidence to grow closer to her, secure in the knowledge that I would never harm her even if his control were to slip.

Its strange.for a hundred years we've been the bitterest of enemies, waging a war in which neither side could be destroyed, and now, suddenly, we've found the common ground that we didn't believe existed. I'm not saying that he's become a friend, that's something that can never happen, but we have become allies. Our battles are now minor skirmishes instead of all out war and, sometimes, we just.talk.

Her happiness and safety have become our common goal and the two of us work together to find ways to achieve that end.

Sometimes he even lets his guard down enough for me to talk to her myself. He's always wary, ready to pull me back if he needs to, but his trust in my love for her is growing and as it grows, so does my freedom. I exist for those moments when I can actively respond to her, when I can react to my desire to reach out and touch her instead of waiting for him to make a move. I sure that she knows I'm there; knows instinctively which of us she's speaking to, but she doesn't seem to care that I am the demon within him.

She loves us - the combination of two that makes up the one she loves. I know that she loves him, her heart and soul are inextricably linked to his but the predator within her is just as firmly connected to me and there is no jealousy between us.

It is the combination of sentiment and savage that makes us perfect for her. Without him I alone would be too brutal for her and she would eventually hunt me down as she does the rest of my kind. By the same token, without me he would lack the strength to meet her as an equal, unable to match her strength and passion and would become just another person she had to protect and 'be strong for.'

We both know this to be true and for the first time, we each find ourselves grateful for the others presence. Being together is what brought us to her; she turns the curse that has tormented us for a hundred years a blessing and, with her beside us, we are content to remain as we are.

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