Search No More

by Angelle

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize from BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon, the WB, Fox, blah, blah, blah….
Spoilers: References to a few flashbacks in Becoming (1 or 2 I don't remember), and basic things from Angel, if you've never seen it.
Feedback: Yes please!
Distribution: Want it? Take it, just tell me where it's going.
Summary: Buffy runs away after being called and Angel's been searching for her for over 4 years.
Author's Note: This story would take place sometime in the 5th season. It's my weird Buffyverse so nothing that's happened on Buffy has ever happened, meaning that Buffy never met anyone who is on BtVS at the moment. Sorry to anyone who likes them, but that's just the way the story is! Angel still has his detective agency, he still met Cordelia and she's working for him, Wesley works for him too but he never was a watcher, Doyle never died, and I might add Gunn in if I can figure out how to write his character properly.

Buffy walked through the dark Los Angeles streets. She knew she shouldn't be out there, it was a bad part of town, lots of abandoned buildings and dark alleys. All of which, were perfect places for muggers or gangs to hide, not to mention other things. She shuttered at the thought. It wasn't that she couldn't handle them. She was the 'Chosen One' or the 'Slayer' or whatever that strange man had called her. It was the fact that they actually existed. And that of all people, she's been chosen to fight them. She hadn't come across any 'forces of darkness' since that man had found her, but she knew they were out there. She'd seen one, she'd killed one, then she'd ran away. Why? Because it scared her. She had all this power, and she was supposed to use it to kill. She didn't care that they weren't human, that they were evil, she didn't want to kill anything. And so she ran, thinking that it was the only way out of this so-called destiny. She still had worried about them finding her, but after four years she'd begun to think they'd given up. So she stayed out on the streets, she was sure that her parents would hate her f she went home, so she lived like the rest of the homeless in the city, finding shelter wherever she could, and stealing whatever else she needed if the chance arose. She hated stealing, she felt dishonest, even criminal. But it was to survive. She had no other choice, unless she wanted to starve.

She continued down the road when suddenly she was pulled into an alley and pinned against a wall. She looked up at her attacker and was her eyes met to yellow ones. His forehead was ridged and when she looked down at his mouth, his lips pulled back in a snarl, she saw fangs. She let out a startled shriek. It was a vampire. The creature lowered his head to her neck. Instinctively she kneed him in the stomach. He stumbled away from her. She started to run but he charged her and she went flying into a pile of garbage and debris. He was about to grab her again when she kicked him down, picked up a broken piece of wood she'd landed on and clumsily shoved it through the vampire's heart. He disintegrated and Buffy huddled next to the wall in horror and shock.

~*~

Angel stalked through the bad part of town. He had decided to take a quick look around before heading aback to the office. Vampires liked to hang around there, feed off the poor homeless teens that tended to populate that area. Mostly for shelter. More than half of the buildings were old and abandoned. Although they didn't seem to be to comfortable looking. Angel's mind started to wander. If she was still alive did she have to hide out in places like these? Was she in one of these buildings right now? This would be the 6th year that she was missing. She'd be 19 now, turning 20. Buffy. She was his whole reason for starting Angel Investigations. He would have never listened to Cordelia's completely insane idea if he hadn't thought that in saving souls, he might find her. He didn't even know her. All he knew was her name, her age, what she looked like and that she was the slayer. Angel shook his head. Not only was he in love with someone who he didn't even know, who was probably dead, he was in love with a slayer. His sworn enemy. Whistler always laughed at him, said he was a sap. Maybe it was true. But for some inexplicable reason, he loved her. He'd tried to explain it to them all, but he couldn't. They'd all just stare at him in pity. The poor tortured vampire with a soul, desperately in love with the slayer. One who'd gone AWOL on top of it.

When it had first happened he'd blamed himself. He had been there, watching her, she'd been scared and crying, but he'd left, thinking that she was strong, that she'd be fine. And when he went back the next night, she was gone. He always thought that if he'd stayed just a little bit longer, he would have seen her leave, and been able to convince her to stay. So he would sit in the little basement apartment of the future Angel Investigations and would brood. Whistler would come around once and a while, "to make sure he didn't do anything stupid" as Whistler would put it. Angel didn't think that that was it though. Why would the "Powers That Be" be interested in a lowly vampire with a soul? He started getting suspicious when Whistler started mentioning that he should make something of his existence. That he could help people, Angel always refused though. Until Whistler mentioned that he might be able to find Buffy. After that it didn't matter what the real reason he was fighting evil was, all he concerned about was finding Buffy. Until four years after Buffy had disappeared when Whistler said he'd had to leave, but introduced him to Doyle, a 'seer' for the Powers, he was going to help Angel with his 'missions' as Whistler called them. That was the same year that he'd saved Cordelia from a vampire named Russell Winters. She'd become enthusiastic about helping Angel save people. He figured it was only because she saw it as a moneymaking opportunity and her career as an actress wasn't taking off. Later in that year they'd met Wesley, a demonology expert who they'd added to the team.

So here Angel was, going into a second year of professionally 'saving souls'. And he wasn't really minding it. At least when he was fighting it kept his mind off of Buffy.

He snapped out of his daydream when he heard a shriek come from an alley. He ran towards the noise and arrived just in time to see a vampire turn to dust and a small figure huddle near a wall. He walked forwards slowly and knelt down next to what he could see now was a girl. He got the strangest feeling in the pit of his stomach as he neared her. He reached out for her but she shied away and whimpered slightly.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise," he told her. He put his had on her shoulder, a shock went through him when he touched her. But she didn’t' move this time.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked her gently.

"N-no," the girl stammered, "not really,"

Angel could smell blood, so he knew that she'd been hurt.

"Let me see," he asked.

The girl lifted her head to show him a cut on the side of her forehead. But Angel couldn't concentrate on it, his eyes were wide in shock, and all thoughts were jumbled around in his head.

It was Buffy.

She's alive…. She's alive…. And she's here…. He thought in shock.

He couldn't believe it. She was safe, she was alive, and he'd finally found her. He finally snapped out of his trance, realizing that he'd been staring at her and that it was making her uneasy.

"Can you walk?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can," Buffy replied.

"Come on then," he said, helping her up, "You'll come back to my place. It's not safe for you out here,"

Buffy didn't question him; she just let him lead her out of the alley and through the streets. And it wasn't just because she needed to find someplace to sleep. There was something about him. The feeling she got in her stomach when he came close to her, the shock that went through her body when he touched her. She didn't understand what it was. But for some strange reason she didn't care. She just followed him, trying to sort out what she was feeling towards this strange mystery man, whom she'd just met. Secretly, she was hoping she'd have a lot of time around him to figure things out.

~*~*~*~*~

Angel gently cleaned Buffy's cuts. Neither of them spoke. Angel was still shocked that she was here, that he'd finally found her after all this time. His heart broke at her appearance, the dark circles under her once bright eyes, the wrinkled clothes hanging off her thin frame. She obviously hadn’t had it well off these past years. He put a bandage over the cut on her forehead then looked at her for awhile. She had her eyes focused on the floor, like she was purposely trying not to look at him.

"You look tired," Angel said.

"Yeah well, abandoned buildings don't really make for comfortable beds," she replied with a slight grimace. Angel frowned at the thought of her in one of those buildings where he'd found her.

"You can stay here. The bedroom is back there. You should go get some rest," Angel told her.

"Oh, thanks but I really don't wanna -"

"No. It's all right. Go," Angel told her.

She smiled at him slightly, Angel felt like his heart melted. She got up and walked towards the bedroom. She turned back around to face him once she reached the door.

"Thank you. I really mean it," she told him.

"Anytime," Angel replied with a half smile. She smiled back then turned back around.

"You gonna tell me your name? Or is that gonna stay a mystery?" Angel asked. He didn't want to accidentally call her 'Buffy' and then have her wonder how he knew. She turned back to face him again.

"It's Buffy," she answered.

"Buffy… it's different, I like it," he replied.

She smiled again. "What about you?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Your name. What is it?" she asked, now with a slight smirk on her face.

Oh, nice going Angel. Now she thinks you're an idiot…. He told himself. "Angel,"

"Angel…." she repeated. It suits him. She thought "It's different, I like it," she replied grinning.

Angel grinned back, even though he wasn't sure if he was supposed to. Was she making fun of him? Or was she flirting with him?

"Goodnight… um, I mean good morning…. You know what I mean…." She said.

"I get it," Angel replied.

Buffy closed the bedroom door and crawled into Angel's bed. What was she doing? She was flirting with a strange man that she'd never met or even seen before... She wasn't one to do that. Not that she'd had any opportunities. Up to know all the guys that she'd met on the street were perverts, with the exeption of Xander, but she'd never even think of dating him. There was just something about this man, this… connection, she felt with him. She could it be love? She nearly laughed out loud. She wasn't one to believe in those sorts of things; love at first sight. He probably was just some nice guy who felt sorry for her, didn't see her as much of a threat, and decided to let her have a little bit of a better life for one night. That was it, just a nice… tall, dark, mysterious, handsome…. She shook her head. Why was she thinking this way? So he let her sleep in a bed for once, it wasn't a reason to think that he wanted something to do with her. But the way he was staring at her in the alley… did he feel it too? The 'connection' if that's what it was. She closed her eyes. She was so confused, all her thoughts were mixed together, she couldn’t even think straight. She decided to take advantage of having a warm fluffy bed and drifted off to sleep. Thinking of this Angel. Wondering if he felt the same way.

And sitting in the other room, the same thought were running through Angel's head, as he stared at the bedroom door, thinking of the girl sleeping behind it.

~*~

Cordelia pulled open the door to Angel's bedroom the next morning.

"Angel I need to…." She stopped when instead of Angel she saw a petite blond woman, about her age, lying in his bed.

"I'm in here Cordelia," came a voice from the couch.

"Who is she?!?" Cordelia demanded, stalking over to him and pointing towards the bedroom.

"She was attacked by a vampire last night, she was hurt so I brought her here," Angel replied calmly.

"And you couldn't bring her back home after?" she asked hotly.

"She doesn't have a home Cordelia," Angel replied, he didn't understand why she couldn’t handle this.

"So you give her yours?"

"Why is this such a problem for you?"

"Whoa! What's goin' on down 'ere?!" Doyle asked as he came down the stairs followed by Wesley.

"Yes, we can here you all the way upstairs! Wesley agreed.

"There's a girl in Angel's bed." Cordelia answered.

"Really? So ya finally got some eh?" Doyle chuckled.

"What? And this is okay with you?!?!" Cordelia nearly shrieked.

"Well Princess, if Angel wants to…" he nods his head back and forth (like that thing he did in IWRY) "Then that's his business,"

"No Doyle, I didn't 'get some'. She was attacked by a vampire last night. She was hurt so I brought her back here. She's homeless so I let her rest. I thought I'm supposed to help people right?"

"Yeah. So what's wrong with that 'Delia?"

"Okay, so maybe we had a little bit of a misunderstanding…." Cordelia replied a bit embarrassed.

In the meantime Angel had walked over to the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe looking in at Buffy's sleeping form. Doyle walked over to see what he was staring at.

"Hey, well, no offense man, but why didn't you do anything with her? I mean, she's…."

"Doyle shut up," Angel snapped. He had to control himself to keep from growling.

"Whoa…." Doyle whispered backing away.

"Angel?" Wesley asked when he noticed how preoccupied Angel seemed with this girl, "What is it?"

"She's Buffy" Angel finally answered.

"Buffy? As in the slayer?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah,"

"That's your Buffy? Oh…. Heh, heh, sorry about the comment man…. But I mean…you know… she's…." Doyle stammered.

Angel still wasn't paying attention to them.

"I found her," he said, "I finally found her," Angel turned around and smiled slightly.

~*~

Buffy walked quietly into the kitchen to find Angel at the over with his back turned to her.

"Morning," Buffy said.

Angel spun around.

"Oh, good morning. I didn't know you were awake…. I made breakfast," Angel greeted her.

"Breakfast sounds good," she replied sitting down at the table. Angel slid a plate of eggs in front of her and she picked up her fork.

"What happened last night, the person that attacked you…."

"I know what he was. You don't have to explain it to me," Buffy replied.

"Oh, okay. That's good… I think. Do you mind if I ask how you know?" Angel asked. Maybe if he got the truth out of her he'd be able to help her in some way.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she

"You'd be surprised to know the things that wouldn't surprise me," Angel answered.

Buffy looked up at him. Could she trust him with this? Was it safe? He'd just saved her, given, but she still wasn’t' completely sure. She'd been told that this was to remain a secret. That no one could know. She wanted to tell him, she really did, but she was afraid that he'd think that she was insane.

"If I tell you this, you can't tell anyone. This isn't something that I'm supposed to be telling people,"

"I understand,"

"Good. Okay then. Well, um… I'm… I’m the Vampire Slayer, 'the one in every generation who must fight the vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness'. Well, at least I was supposed to be, but I got wigged and I ran away. And I know this sounds completely insane, but I swear to got I'm not crazy, it's the truth,"

"I believe you. Actually, I know about all that stuff. And don’t worry, I won't tell anyone or anything. I'll take that to the grave," again…. Angel replied.

"Thank you. Well, now that we have an understanding about this, although I'm still confused as to why you know all this creepy demon stuff… I guess I should be going,"

"What?" Angel asked,

"Well, you probably don't want me hanging around here so…."

"Where are you gonna go?"

"Back where I was I guess," she replied.

"It's no safe for you out there. More vampires will come," he told her.

"And apparently they'll keep coming so it's not like that's gonna help me at all."

"You can stay here. I really don’t' mind. I could help you. And having a slayer around might help a bit," Angel replied. She couldn't just leave now. He needed to think of something to make her stay.

"Help me? How?" she asked.

"Help you… with your situation, I guess, and with the slaying. I do the same thing. I can help you train," Angel replied.

"It's all very flattering of you, but I think I may have killed two vampires in my time, and that's including the one last night,"

"All the more reason why I could help you,"

Buffy smiled slightly. He really wanted her to stay. That had to mean something right? And she guessed that she could help him out with… whatever he does, if it meant that she got to spend time with him. She did owe him for helping her.

"I guess I could. Only if you really wanted me to," she replied.

"I do," Angel replied, You have no idea how much I want you to.

"Okay, so I stay,"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Is she still here?" Cordelia asked when Angel finally came upstairs to the office.

"Yeah, she's … um… in the shower," Angel answered uncomfortably, not really wanting to think about it.

"Okay, so I'll go down and see her after," Cordelia replied.

"Cordelia…." Angel said, sounding almost like he was warning her.

"What? No, no! I won't be mean! I do have some tact! But I was just thinking, you know, she's gonna be here for awhile right?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," Angel replied

"Okay, so I should get to know her then!"

"I guess, what do you have in mind though?" Angel asked suspiciously, he didn't like Cordelia's tone of voice.

"Well shopping duh! It's what girls do! Besides, she must not have any belongings, or not many, at the moment. Considering…." Cordelia replied.

"Okay, fine. But don't give her the third degree, she's had it rough," Angel told her.

"Okay Angel! Don't worry!" Cordelia said sweetly before turning around and walking downstairs. Or maybe you should…. Cordelia thought. She was determined to find out everything that this Buffy felt for Angel. Whether she liked it or not. He'd been brooding over her for years! He deserved some happiness.

~*~

Buffy had just gotten out of the shower and walked into the main room of the apartment. She found a girl that looked about her age, with long brown hair standing in the room.

"You must be Buffy! Hi I'm Cordelia Chase, a friend of Angel's. It's nice to meet you," she said in the fake bubbly voice she's started using in high school.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too,"

"Yes well, Angel said you were going to be here for awhile so I figured I'd get to know you better,"

"Okay," Buffy replied, she wasn't really sure how to act around this person. You don't meet to many fake-happy-bubbly people on the streets. And since she hadn't been in school for awhile she'd forgotten how to act like one. That kind of attitude doesn't help you on the street.

"Great! Well, I was thinking we could go shopping or something like that. You know, just take some time out for us girls," Cordelia replied.

"That really sounds like it would be fun but I really don't have anything that I could wear in public," Buffy replied.

"Oh, well that's okay! You can borrow something of mine. I keep some stuff here. This is kind of a dirty job. You don't know what you're gonna be fighting! You wouldn't believe my dry cleaning bill!" Cordelia replied as pulled a duffel bag out of the corner of the room and took some clothes out of it.

"Here. You can wear these. Go change then we can leave," Cordelia told her handing her the clothes.

"Thanks," Buffy answered, then went back to the bathroom.

~*~

"We're leaving now Angel!" Cordelia shouted when they got off the lift and entered the office. Buffy noticed for the first time how dark the office was.

"Okay. Oh, wait, before you go, where did you put Mrs. Morris' file?" Angel asked coming out of an office.

He froze when he saw Buffy. She was wearing a red tank top and a long black skirt of Cordelia's. They were a bit big on her but in his opinion she looked gorgeous.

"Oh, yeah, I put it under 's'," Cordelia replied, but Angel wasn't listening.

"Angel? Hello? Stop oogling Buffy!" Cordelia said loudly.

"What? No! I-I wasn't, I mean, why would I… there was no oogling…. Just…you look good," Angel stammered.

Buffy felt like she was turning as red as her top, "Thank you," she replied.

Angel nodded, "Where did you say the file was?"

"Under 's'" Cordelia repeated.

"'S'? Why 's'?" Angel asked going over to the file cabinet and opening one of the drawers.

"Well, she was a snob! 'S' for 'snob'," Cordelia answered.

Angel sighed, "Only you could figure out a filing system like that Cordy,"

"I happen to like my filing system!" Cordelia shot back, "Now if you don't mind, you're wasting our shopping time!"

"Okay, go. Have fun. Just don't be too long, we need you to find all the files," Angel teased.

"Ha ha, bye," Cordelia said and left.

"She's cute…." Doyle said coming in from outside.

"I thought you had a thing for Cordelia," Angel said,

"I do, but she's still cute…."

"Yeah, cute…."

"Oh, and you think so much more…." Doyle sighed in a teasing fashion.

"Is it really that easy to see?" Angel asked.

"Yep, sorry man,"

"Well, I'd better figure out how to hide it soon, before I get caught 'oogling' again," Angel said.

"Is that what 'Delia said?" Doyle asked laughing.

"Very loudly while Buffy was standing right beside her," Angel grumbled.

Doyle laughed again.

Angel stared at the door she'd just walked out of.

"C'mon man, say it. I know you want to," Doyle said.

"Say what?"

"You know what,"

"Do you think I've got a chance Doyle?" Angel asked.

"I don't know. I really don't. Would help if I knew how she felt,"

"It doesn't matter what she feels. She's a slayer, I'm a vampire. She's gonna figure it out eventually," Angel replied.

"Well hey! It could work anyway! I mean, Montague…Capulet… it didn't matter to Romeo and Juliet," Doyle replied.

"They killed themselves,"

"Yeah well, that doesn't mean that you two have to resort to such drastic measures!"

"I hope not," Angel mumbled, "Could it work out? Or would we be doomed from the start?"

"I don't know. I guess only time will tell," Doyle replied.

~*~

Buffy had to admit, she was having fun. It had been awhile since she'd done anything as simple as shopping. And Cordelia was proving to be a lot more interesting and a lot nicer than she first seemed to be.

"So, what do you think of Angel?" Cordelia asked while they were looking through a clothing rack in maybe the 7th or 8th store that they'd visited.

"Excuse me?" Buffy asked, with a bewildered look on her face.

"Angel. What do you think about him?" Cordelia repeated.

"Well, I…. I mean, I'm really not all that sure yet. I just met him last night you know…."

"True,"

"Why are you asking?" Buffy asked. Had Cordelia picked up on something?

"Well, I don't know. I just think he might like you. I mean, this isn't anything definite but…"

"Well if it's not definite then why are you assuming this?"

"Oh come on! 'Huh? What? Who me?! No! There was no oogling… just…. You look good….'" Cordelia mimicked Angel, "No, he doesn't like you a bit," She said sarcastically.

Buffy smiled slightly. Maybe something could happen between her and Angel….

"Now I mean, I know you must feel something for him, cause I don't think you would follow some strange man you meet on the streets home. I mean, he could be a serial killer, or a pimp, or just want you for sex…." She stopped when she noticed the look on Buffy's face. "But he's not! Not at all! Trust me, I know Angel very well and he would never do that. I was just trying to say, why did you trust him?"

A look of puzzlement crossed Buffy's face, "I'm not sure. I guess I just had this gut feeling that I could trust him," Buffy replied. Besides, if he tried to pull anything I could kick his ass…. She added to herself.

"And of course you can! Angel is a very trustworthy man! I mean, you have to be trustworthy in the kind of business he runs!" Cordelia replied.

"What exactly does he do?" Buffy asked.

"He's a P.I. for… strange cases. Ones the police, and people like that couldn't deal with,"

"Like say… vampires and things?" Buffy asked.

"Yep. You got it," Cordelia said a little uneasily. She didn’t like the way she'd said 'vampires and things'. Cordelia figured that this matchmaking job would take a little more effort. And of course A LOT of trust. What would Buffy think of Angel once she found out that he was a vampire?

"So that's why he asked for my help…." Buffy said.

"Why did he ask for your help?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy hesitated, "Well, you work for him, so it'd be pretty hard to hide it from you…I'm a vampire slayer," Buffy told her.

"Oh! You're one of those! Cool! So this means that Angel won't have to fight everything all by himself anymore. This is good! I mean, me and Doyle and Wesley fighting? It's a sorry sight!" Cordelia replied.

Buffy laughed slightly, "Yeah, I guess,"

"Yeah! And because he likes you…. Well, I think he likes you. But I still have to do some digging so we just won't mention that to him. Oh, and about the slayer thing, What about Doyle and Wesley? They're bound to find out somehow,"

"Yeah, I guess…. I'll see about that," she paused thoughtfully, "Why are you trying to find out how I feel about Angel?" she asked.

"Well, Angel's been…I don't know. Just this past year, he's seemed kinda… depressing. I mean, I think that's just the way he is, but he's been a little different since you showed up. I just want him to be less broody. He's no fun that way." Cordelia replied. At least she didn’t' have to lie about that.

Buffy nodded and smiled.

"Oh, and about you being… you know… if you don’t' want me to say anything to anyone, I won't tell a soul,"

"Thanks," Buffy said. She paused, "You really think Angel likes me?" Buffy asked smiling.

"Oh yeah! And trust me! I can sense these things! Just give it some time and I can guarantee it!" If I can find a way around the whole him being a vampire thing…. She added silently.

"Buffy just smiled and followed Cordelia to another store.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A Week Later

Buffy landed on the ground on her back in front of a tombstone. She tucked her knees up to her chest and Angel jumped on top of her. She used her legs to throw Angel over her head and he landed flat on his back. Buffy kicked herself up and span around to face him. He swung a punch at her and she ducked. He tried again but she blocked his arm. She tried to kick him but he ducked it, then got knocked back onto his back when she kept spinning downwards and used her leg to sweep his feet for m under him. She straddled his waist and pretended to stake him with the blunt end of her stake.

"I win!" she announced smiling.

"What else is new?" Angel asked sarcastically. "What? Can't except the fact that I can kick your ass?"

"No… that's pretty evident," Angel said, then noticed what kind of position they were in. Buffy seemed to have noticed too, then turned red then scrambled off of him. She tried to regain her composure.

"Well, um… you seem to be up to strength, that's a good thing. Although I still don’t' see why we can't train in my apartment," Angel said.

"In your apartment?! Are you crazy?! Do you have any idea how many things you'd end up breaking?" Buffy replied.

"I'd end up breaking?" Angel asked incredulously.

"Yeah you. Cause you'd be too busy getting pushed around by me!" Buffy replied laughing.

"Right. Funny," Angel chuckled.

"Don't worry. There's no one else around. No one will know that you got beaten up by little ol' me. Your macho image won't be ruined," Buffy joked.

"Good to know," Angel replied chuckling, playing along with her as they walked out of the graveyard side by side. Angel wishing so badly that he could reach out and take her hand in his.

What they didn't notice, was the blonde woman watching them from the bushes.

~*~

Angel and Buffy were about to turn into the office when she heard someone call her name.

"Buffy?"

She turned around and saw Willow and Xander standing behind her.

"Hey! It's our Buffster! Where ya been? Haven't seen you in awhile!" Xander said cheerily. Then he noticed Angel. "Who's your friend?"

"Um, oh yeah, this is Angel. Angel, this is Xander and Willow," Buffy replied.

Angel just kind of nodded.

Willow smiled and waved but Xander glared at him suspiciously.

"So, Angel… how'd you meet Buffy?" Xander asked coldly.

"I… um… I saved her from…."

"This creepy guy! He attacked me. I think he was crazy or something like that, yeah, and Angel was walking by and he helped me get rid of him." Buffy lied.

"Someone attacked you?! You sure you're okay?" Willow asked.

"Oh yeah! Never been better! Angel's been taking good care of me," Buffy answered patting Angel on the arm. He felt a shock again, like the first time he touched her in the alley.

"Has he now…." Xander asked sarcastically.

"Yes, and NOT the way I know you're thinking Xander Harris!" Buffy scolded.

Angel smirked at the boy, he seemed jealous. He normally wasn’t one to rub anything in people's faces, but he was having fun with this. He really didn't like the guy at the moment.

"So… you mean you're staying with him?" Willow asked. She was happy her friend was off the streets but she was sad to see her go.

"Yeah. Well, at least for now. He'll probably make me leave once he starts to realize how annoying I can be," Buffy joked.

"You can stay as long as you want Buffy," Angel told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She felt that shock again.

"Really?" she asked, beaming up at him.

"Yes," Angel looked at Willow and Xander, "And you're welcome to drop by if you want to," he added politely, but was looking at the scowl on Xander's face the whole time.

"Thanks, that sounds great," Willow thanked him,

"Yeah, peachy," Xander replied hotly.

"Ooh! This is so cool! And I'll still come see you guys of course!"….

…. From across the street the blonde woman and a young man watched the four people as they talked.

"How will we get her away from him?" the man asked. "They're too strong together. We'll be dust before you could lay a finger on either of them!"

"We'll just have to give her a reason to stay away from him," the blonde replied.

"Like what?" the man questioned.

The blonde's eyes followed Willow and Xander as they walked away from the building.

"Them…."

~*~

It was early morning and Buffy had decided to go out somewhere with Cordelia, so Angel was left alone in the office. He took the lift down to his apartment. He walked over to the couch and turned on a lamp. That was when he felt someone watching him.

"Who's there?" he demanded. It didn't feel like Buffy's presence.

"A friend," came his answer, and the blond woman came out of the shadows.

"Darla…."

"Hi, it's been awhile," she greeted him, smiling slyly.

"A lifetime," he replied.

"Or two, but who's counting?"

"What's with the Catholic schoolgirl look? Last time I saw you it was kimonos," Angel replied coldly.

"And last time I saw you it wasn’t teenage girls from the streets," she bit back. She flared out her pleated skirt. "Don't cha like?" she walked closer to him, "Remember Budapest? Turn of the century? You were such a bad boy during the earthquake,"

"You did some damage yourself,"

"Is there anything better than a natural disaster?" she asked, wandering around Angel's apartment, "The panic. The people lost in the streets. It's like picking fruit off the vine," she wandered into his bedroom, "Nice! You're living about ground, like one of them. You and your new friend are attacking us, like one of them," she walked over to the window, "But guess what precious? You're not one of them," she pulled back the blinds leaving Angel standing in the sunlight. He growls and stumbles backward to get out of the light.

"Are you?" Darla asked.

"No, but I'm not exactly one of you either," he answered.

"Darla walked over to the kitchen.

"Is that what you tell yourself these days?" she opens the fridge and pulls open one of the drawers, revealing bags and bottles of blood.

"You're not exactly living off of quiche," she told him.

Angel glared at her.

"You're trying to hide it from her aren't you? What you need?"

"Keep her out of this," Angel almost growled.

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's who we are. It's what makes eternal life worth living. You can only suppress your real nature for so long. You can feel it brewing inside of you. I hope I'm around when it explodes," she said.

"Maybe you don't wanna be,"

"I'm not afraid of you. I bet she will be though,"

Angel's expression changed. Finally she'd hit a nerve.

"You can't hide it from her forever. I don't think she's that stupid. She'll figure it out eventually," she taunted him. She smiled when she saw the look on Angel's face.

"And don't expect her to run up to you and kiss you when she does. I think her reaction might involve a nice pointy stake instead…. Or maybe I'm underestimating her. Talk to her. Tell her about the curse. Maybe she'll understand. And if she still hates you, you know where I'll be," she told him then left the apartment, leaving an angry and confused Angel behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was late afternoon when Buffy finally walked back down into Angel's apartment. Angel was sitting on the couch, completely confused about what Darla had said. He looked up at Buffy when he heard her reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey! How was your morning?" she asked cheerily.

Angel paused slightly, "Buffy," he replied quietly. A little too quietly, because Buffy didn't hear.

"Oh, you know that restaurant up on Main Street and 5th? Never get coffee there, it's awful…." She trailed off when she walked over to the couch and noticed the serious brooding look on Angel's face.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Angel sighed, "I did a lot of thinking today," he began, getting up off the couch. He turned to look at Buffy, "I really can't be around you,"

Buffy looked up at him with a frown on her face. He doesn't even want to be around me… oh god! Why was I being so stupid!

"Because when I am…." He continued,

"Hey, no big. Water… over the bridge, under the bridge…." Buffy replied, trying to pretend she didn't care.

"When I am all I can ever think about is how badly I want to kiss you," Angel blurted out. That wasn't what I was supposed to say….

"…over the dam…" Buffy looked back up at him, suddenly shocked, "kiss me?"

"I'm older than you, and this can't ever… one of us better go," he explained hurriedly, he knew that if he didn’t' say this now he'd never be able to.

"H-how much older?" Buffy asked.

"One of us should…"

Buffy began to approach him, "…go…. You said…."

Their lips met. It felt like a fire was coursing through their bodies. Angel pulled her closer and Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed for a few more moments when Angel suddenly pulled back and turned away from her.

"Angel? What is it? What's wrong?" she asked. She grabbed his arm and turned him back towards her. Her mouth dropped open in shock. She pulled her hand away from him. Vampire. He was a vampire. She began to back away from him. His yellow eyes widened in horror when he realized that she was going to run.

"Buffy, let me explain," she said softly as he morphed back to his human face.

"Explain what?! I think it's all pretty clear, I don't really see anything that needs explaining," she hissed.

"Buffy please," he pleaded as he tried to near her.

"What is this? Some sort of a sick joke?!" she shouted.

"No, it's not. Buffy I-"

She picked up a crossbow that was sitting on a table near the stairs and pointed it at him. Angel stopped dead in his tracks.

"Stay away from me!" she growled, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "You disgust me!"

She backed up the rest of the stairs with the crossbow still pointing at him. When she got to the top she dropped it and ran our of the office sobbing. She ran right by Doyle and Cordelia nearly knocking them over.

"Buffy? Wh-what happened?" Cordelia asked. Buffy just kept running.

Cordelia and Doyle ran into the office and down to Angel's apartment to find him sitting against the wall, tears in his eyes.

"Angel? What happened? What's wrong?" Cordelia asked kneeling next to him.

"She… she knows…." He muttered.

"Knows what man?" Doyle asked.

"She… she knows… what I am…."

Cordelia sighed, "She knows you're a vampire,"

Angel just nodded, 'Stay away from me! You disgust me!' echoed through his mind.

"She hates me…." He whispered, then buried his head in his hands.

~*~

Buffy sat against the wall of a building about ten blocks away from Angel's office building, trying to stop her crying. Why? When she had finally found someone she actually loved did he have to be a vampire? She choked back another sob just at the thought. This is so unfair…. She thought.

"Why couldn't this have worked?" she asked herself out loud. Why had he been so nice? Been so caring? Was it to make it better when he finally killed her? Or was there another explanation? Should she have let him talk? Should she have heard him out? Tears kept falling down her face. Why couldn't it have worked? Why can't it still work out? She surprisingly found herself wondering.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh yeah! Never been better! Angel's been taking good care of me!" Xander mocked.

"Xander, if she's happy I think that that's what counts," Willow said.

"What?! You think that Angel guy is alright?" Xander asked astonished.

"Well, he seems nice," Willow replied.

"Seems nice. Well, I still say there's something fishy about him!"

"You're just jealous," Willow sighed.

"Damn straight I'm jealous! I've known Buffy for almost 5 years and instead she falls for Mr. Broody-Tall-Dark-and-Handsome. Well, I can be broody!"

"No you can't Xander,"

"Yes I…. Anyway, I'll show that Angel guy! He'll-"

"Hello?" someone interrupted them. "Is anyone there?" she asked.

A blond woman walked through the debris of the old abandoned warehouse that Xander and Willow usually spent the night in.

"C-can we help you?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, I'm a fried of Buffy's and Angel's. Angel said she'd left to come over here…. Is she here yet?" she asked.

"No, but you're welcome to wait for her if you want," Xander blurted out.

Willow sighed and rolled her eyes; 'desperate' she mouthed to him.

"Thanks," the woman said.

"No problem! I'm Xander, by the way, and this is my buddy Willow," he said.

The woman gave him a half smile, "Darla…." She answered.

~*~

Buffy finally stood up shakily and wiped the tears off her face. She had to find someplace to go. She couldn't go back there. It didn't matter what he'd been like. She was the Slayer, and he was a vampire. Tears almost threatened to spill over again. She shook her head at her stupidity. She couldn't believe she'd fallen for his act. How could she have been so blind? I'm in love with him. She thought. She gasped, was she? Why was she thinking these things? No! He's a vampire! A demon! He's evil. She kept repeating to herself, but she couldn't make herself believe it. She began to walk down the street. Not knowing where she was going until she realized that Willow and Xander usually stayed in a building not to far from where she was. She turned a corner and headed towards it.

~*~

Angel got up off the floor and grabbed his jacket.

"Angel? Where are you going?" Cordelia asked.

"The sun's gone down, I'm going to go look for Buffy," he replied as he walked up the stairs to the office.

"What?! Why?! She didn't exactly look like she wanted to see you last time I saw her!" Cordelia told him.

"I have to talk to her! At least to make her understand that I don't want to hurt her. I…I know we can't ever be anything but I can't live knowing that she hates me," Angel stated.

"Fine! Just make sure that there aren't any pointy wooden objects around when you find her,"

"Delia…." Doyle said, "Good luck man," he told Angel. Angel nodded then left the office.

~*~

"So… um… you known Angel very long?" Xander asked Darla.

"Oh yeah! Sometimes it seems like I've known him forever!" Darla replied with a smile.

"Really? So what do you think about him?" Xander asked. Darla smiled slightly then turned away from him,

"He's Angel," she replied.

"I see, um… so-"

"You know Darla, I really don't think that Buffy is coming. She would've been here by now if she were. And I mean, you must be getting hungry and there isn't really anything we can offer you…." Willow interrupted before Xander could make a bigger fool out of himself.

Darla smiled mischievously and morphed into her game face.

"On the contrary," she hissed turning around and slamming Xander into a wall, successfully knocking him out. She then grabbed Willow by her hair and dug her fangs into her neck. Willow let out a blood-curdling scream.

~*~

Angel was walking by an abandoned building when he heard a scream come from inside. He turned towards the building and ran inside. He found Buffy's friend Xander unconscious in a heap on the floor and Darla drinking from Willow.

"Let her go!" he shouted.

"I just had a little, there's plenty more. Aren't you hungry for something warm after all this time?" she asked. "Come on Angel. Just say yes!" she shoved Willow into Angel's arms. He looked down at the bite on her neck then turned away, struggling with his demon. Darla watched him smiling. He finally looked back up at her with his game face on.

"Welcome home," she said then left the building.

Buffy walked into the building, heading for the back where Xander and Willow usually stayed.

"Xander? Willow? Is anyone-" she stopped. Ahead of her stood Angel with Willow hanging limply in his arms. Xander lay unconscious a few feet away from him. Angel looked up at her and growled.

~*~

Angel flew through the boarded up window sending shards of broken wood flying everywhere as he tumbled into the alley behind the building. Buffy walked up to the window,

"You ever come near us again and I'll kill you," she threatened him.

Angel looked up at her, knowing that he could never explain anything now, so he turned and walked away.

Buffy watched him leave then turned back to Willow and Xander. She ripped off a piece of her shirt and pressed it to Willow's neck to stop the bleeding.

Xander started to come around.

"Buffy?" he asked.

"Yeah Xand, it's me. Don't worry,"

"She…."

"She'll be fine, don't worry. Here. Keep this pressed to her neck. I'll take care of him. He'll pay for doing this," she said then stood up and left the building.

Xander started after her quizzically, "Him?"

~*~

"She's out hunting you right now," Darla told Angel back at his apartment. "She wants to kill you,"

"Leave me alone." Angel sighed.

What did you think? Did you think she'd understand? That she would look at your face…your true face… and confess her love for you?" she asked. Angel faced away from her, becoming more enraged by the minute.

"For a hundred years you've not had a moments peace because you will not accept who you are. That's all you have to do. Accept it. Don't let her hunt you down. Don't whimper and mewl like a mangy human, Kill! Feed! Live!"

Angel growled and pinned her to the wall by her arms.

"Alright!" he shouted.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I want it finished!"

"That's good…. You're hurting me," she said, she smiled at him, "That's good too,"

~*~

Buffy hid in the back of a weaponry store until the owner had locked up and left for the night. She slowly crept up to the front of the store and broke a display case. She pulled out a crossbow and a bunch of bolts. She loaded the crossbow and pointed it to a poster on the wall. She pulled the trigger and the bolt landed straight in the man's heart. She walked up to the poster and pulled the bolt out of the wall. She looked up at the hole she'd left in it.

"Tonight…it ends…." she said to herself. Then broke the lock on the back door and slipped out of the store.

~*~*~*~*~*~

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