Rating: PG
Pairing/Couple: Buffy/Angel
Disclaimer: All rights belong to Joss Whedon and Co. I own none of the Buffy and/or Angel characters or background. I wish I did, but, unfortunate, I have to live in reality...and not just a delusional one.
Summary: It's just pretty much fluff and stuff. It's fun. Sequel to "The Wholeness of Feeling" and the fourth story in the "Spinning Into Infinity" series.
Feedback: I think asking for feedback would be a little redundant...
Dedication: To whoever it was that asked me to write sequels and turn it into a series. A couple of people suggested it and I don't remember them by name but I just wanted to recognize them anyway. Thanks.

Buffy woke up to the smell of bacon. The aroma invaded her comfortable state of unconsciousness, rousing her from her bed. She groggily walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes.

Not only did she smell bacon, but she heard laughter. It was all coming from the kitchen. She walked down the hallway, coming to the kitchen doorway. And what she saw was...well, new.

Angel was standing by the stove, cooking. He was cooking bacon and eggs. Dawn was sitting on the counter next to him. She was talking to him and he was smiling. Dawn looked up to see Buffy watching them. "Hey, Buff."

"Hey." She said, walking further into the kitchen. "So, what are you guys doing?" She asked if it weren't completely obvious.

"We're making breakfast." Dawn informed her older sister. "Or more accurately, Angel's making breakfast and I'm watching him."

"Yeah, I got that part. Since when does Angel cooked?" She asked, her eyes showing that of mock surprise...well, some of it was genuine. She never knew Angel could cook...well, at least, she didn't think him the type. In that he was a vampire and didn't eat.

"Since forever." Angel answered. "I cook Cordy breakfast pretty much every morning. I think she's afraid of the kitchen...that's probably because anytime she sets foot in one, she manages to set something on fire." He moved the eggs around the pan, making sure they cooked thoroughly.

"You spend a lot of time with Cordelia?" Buffy asked, nonchalantly hopping on the breakfast bar.

"Yeah. No more than Gunn or Wesley though. We're pretty much all together all the time. We work together...and it's pretty much a 24-7 thing." Buffy took notice of his phrasing: 24-7. He had obviously picked up some things from Cordelia. Angel was just a little bit oblivious to the jealousy that Buffy obviously held.

She wasn't just jealous of Cordelia but their relationship. She was jealous because for the year and a half that they weren't together, Cordelia still got to be in his life. She got to spend time with him. She got to know what he did. She got to help him. And she got to do all this without him pushing her away.

She tried to shake the thoughts from her head. None of that mattered now. They were together. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else could ruin that.

"Dawn, grab me some plates." Angel said, turning off the stove.

A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting at the breakfast bar, Dawn and Buffy eating their breakfast. They had come to realize that Angel was amazing when it came to cooking.

The telephone rang and Angel took it upon himself to answer it. "Hello?"

"Angel, it's Willow."

"Oh. Hi. Do you want to talk to Buffy?" He asked, turning around to face Buffy.

"I was just wondering if it was okay if we came over. We didn't want to interrupt anything."

He smiled. It was just like Willow to call first. "You wouldn't be interrupting. It'd be fine."

"Okay. Well, we'll see you guys in a little while."

"Bye." Angel said, hanging up the phone. He looked at Buffy and Dawn. "That was Willow. She and...whoever are coming over."

"Well, I better go get dressed then." Buffy said, standing up.

Dawn stood up as well. "Me too."

"We'll be back." Buffy said as they left the kitchen.

Angel sighed. "Well, I guess I'll do the dishes then." He said, taking their plates from the breakfast bar and moving to the sink. Cordelia always left him with the dishes too.

A half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. Angel answered it and, unsurprisingly, it was Willow, Xander, a girl he remembered being Anya, and a girl he didn't even know. "Hey." He said, opening the door wider to allow their entrance, all the while making sure to avoid the sunlight.

"Hey, Angel." Willow said, hugging him. "Where's Buffy?"

"She and Dawn are upstairs getting dressed. They've been up there for like an hour. I'd forgotten how long it takes Buffy to get ready for something. Then again, with Cordelia it takes like two hours." He and Xander exchanged a glance. Things were still a little if not a lot tense between them.

Willow cleared her throat, noticing the look. "Uh, you remember Anya, right?" She motioned to the blonde.

Angel nodded. "It's nice to see you again." He said, shaking her hand. "Last time we met, things were a little..."

"Deadly." Anya supplied, smiling that Anya smile she had. "Well, it was okay. I mean, you helped us kill all of those Indian guys so Xander didn't have syphilis anymore. That would have been unpleasant...you know, because then we wouldn't be able to have sex."

Angel raised his eyebrows, shocked at her candor, all the while trying to hide a smile. "Excuse me?"

"I said-" Anya started but Xander interrupted her.

"Honey, I think he got what you said. We all got what you said. How about we don't keep saying it, though." He turned to Angel. "Anya hasn't quite mastered the art of tact yet."

Angel nodded slightly. Okay, she was obviously a strange one. He figured he would just avoid the situation for the time being. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." He said softly, smiling slightly at the brunette standing next to Willow.

Willow took the opportunity to introduce them. "Oh, Tara, this is Angel. Angel, this is Tara...my girlfriend."

Angel smiled. "It's nice to meet you." He said, trying to hide his current shock. He had obviously missed a lot in the time he was gone. "I'm just gonna go and see if Buffy is coming down anytime today." He said, heading up the stairs.

"I think we shocked him." Willow couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Poor Angel."

They entered the living room, making themselves comfortable as always.

Angel knocked on Buffy's bedroom door. "Come in." He heard from the other side of it. He opened it, standing in the doorway.

"You ready?" He asked, watching her brush her hair, pulling it up into a ponytail.

"Just finishing up."

"Hey, why didn't you tell me Willow had a girlfriend?" He asked, causing her to glance at him, smiling.

"A bit of a shock?"

"Just a little...it's okay though. I recovered."

"Good." She walked over to him, placing a light kiss on his lips. "We better go downstairs." She took his hand leading him down the hall. Dawn came out of her room as well, following them down.

******

"Morning, guys." Buffy said, entering the living room.

"Morning." They all said back.

"So, what's up?" She asked, sitting in one of the chairs.

"Nothing really. We were just seeing what you guys were doing today." Willow said, crossing her legs.

"Oh, well, we were just gonna do whatever. We weren't really gonna go anywhere seeing as how Angel has that allergy to...well, sunlight. Him turning into a pile of ash really isn't my idea of a fun day." She smiled slightly.

"We figured that. We figured we could just like have lunch and stuff." Xander said, putting his arm around Anya. "You know, cause we haven't done anything together in a while."

"Unless you guys want to be alone. Then we can do it some other time." Willow offered, understanding what that was like. Sometimes, she didn't want to be bothered either.

"No. It's fine. I'm sure it'll be fun." Buffy said, looking at Angel who agreed. Even though he might want to be alone with her, it wasn't like he wanted to kick them out. It had been a long time since he had seen them. It could be nice. "Do you guys want anything to drink or something?"

"Uh, sure. Iced tea would be good." Willow said, standing up. "Do you want me to get it? I don't mind."

Angel stopped her. "No, I'll get it. You guys just stay." Buffy smiled up at him, silently thanking him. "I'll be right back."

"I'll help you." Dawn said, following him out.

Once he was gone, Willow smiled at her best friend, raising an eyebrow. "So, how are things going? Good?"

"Oh, they are so beyond good. This morning, he cooked breakfast. It was amazing of course. I had no idea he cooked. And it was just so nice to talk. I'd forgotten how easy it is to just be with him." Buffy said, sitting up in her chair.

"We shouldn't be worried though, right? I mean, you're not doing anything that would be considered...well, happy?" Xander said, ever so subtly.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "No, Xander. He slept on the couch alright? I mean, I would have rather him slept in my room, but you know Angel." She smiled remembering the first time he had slept in her room. "Just like when we were attacked by the three and he insisted on sleeping on the floor. It's just so adorable in that annoying way."

"Well, just as long as he remains all soul-having, I don't care what happens." Xander said, sitting back, at ease with the situation now that he knew there was nothing to worry about."

A knock at the door disrupted their conversation. Buffy stood up, heading for the door. When she opened it, she found Cordelia, Wesley Wyndam-Price, and some guy she didn't know. "Uh, hi. What are you guys doing here?"

"Where's Angel?" Cordelia said, walking in.

"It's nice to see you too." Buffy said sarcastically, shutting the door after the three had entered.

Angel came out of the kitchen, having heard Cordelia's voice. "Cordy, what are you guys doing here?"

Cordy walked over to him, hugging him. "I was so worried."

He looked at Wesley and Gunn but they just shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong! Hello! Did you forget our conversation last night? I was worried. And then I imagined all these bad things happening."

"What are you talking about?"

"Primarily, Buffy. You and Buffy. Together. It just equals a bad scenario. You really can't lose your soul right now." She took her jacket off, laying it one of the chairs. "I mean, we're not just talking about Rebecca Lowell anymore. This is Buffy."

"Yes, Cordelia, I am aware." He said condescendingly.

"Well, if you are aware, then why the hell are you here? Huh? I thought you were staying at the mansion? You know, at a safe distance from this house?" "There was a change in plans...you know, I really don't need to be lectured."

"Obviously, you do."

Angel could tell there was something more going on. "Alright, before you start, could you help Dawn bring out the iced teas." He had left Dawn in the kitchen when he had come out.

"So now I'm your waitress?" Cordelia crossed her arms.

"There are some eggs and bacon left on the stove from this morning. I cooked." He knew that would get her.

"Okay." She said, immediately leaving.

Once she was gone, Angel turned to Wesley and Gunn. "What's really going on with her?"

"Well, you know, Cordelia. She has worrying issues." Gunn said, crossing his arms.

"I don't know. She had some dream and she thought it might be connected to her visionary ability." Wesley said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, something about you losing your soul. She was babbling. I don't get it though." Gunn said, confused. When they explained 'everything' they hadn't exactly told him about the he lost his soul portion of things. They basically just summed it up to they couldn't be together. "What does your girl have to do with that?"

"Uh, yeah." Angel just looked at Wesley. "So, you just brought her here?"

Wesley nodded. "Well, yeah. She was going on and on and we didn't feel like listening to her anymore."

"Man, she was completely freaking out. She kept nagging and nagging until we said we'd come with her. We figured it would be better for her to complain to you than to us." Gunn said, smiling.

"How is that better?" Angel asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, it's better for us. You, however, get the bad end of the deal."

"Gee thanks."

"So, which one is Betty?" Gunn asked, seeing four different women in the living room.

"Buffy." Angel corrected. Buffy walked over to him. "Buffy, this is Gunn. Gunn, this is Buffy."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Buffy said, shaking his hand.

"Yeah. You too." Gunn could see why Angel was so into her. She wasn't exactly hard to look at.

"Wesley, it's...good to see you." She said hesitantly. Things were still a little tense with them especially after everything that went down at graduation and all. "Been a while."

"Yes, it has." He said, not sure what else he could say.

"I heard you quit the Council." She said, conversationally. Wesley just nodded.

"What's the Council?" Gunn asked, glancing at Wesley.

"They're the biggest bunch of incompetent idiots I've ever met...no offense, Wes." The nickname kind of threw him back in time to Buffy's senior year in which he was her Watcher. "Well, you and Giles had to be the only apparently good ones that came out it." She looked up at Angel. "You know, they came here not too long ago."

"Did they now? What happened?" Angel said, gazing down at the love of his life...or unlife rather.

She rolled her eyes. "They were all about me taking all these tests before they would give me some info I needed. I was ready to tell them to go to hell but then they actually threatened to get Giles deported. If that Travers guy wasn't like sixty, I would have seriously hit him. Well, Giles said I could. I ended up pretty much telling them off. They gave me my info and ran on back to England." She laughed slightly. "I think they're afraid of me now."

He couldn't help but smile. "No, you didn't."

"Oh, you don't believe me?" She crossed her arms.

"Actually, I'm pretty confident that you would do that. Especially after..." He trailed off, figuring she got the point.

Buffy looked down at her hands. "Yeah, well, that's all in the past. We really don't need to rehash it." She looked back up at the tall, broody vampire. "I'm gonna go see what's taking them so long." She told him, placing a light kiss on his cheek.

Just as she was walking in the kitchen, they were finally walking out. "You guys need any help?"

"No, we got it covered." Dawn said, both her and Cordelia carrying full trays.

"Okay. I'll be out in a minute. I'm just gonna finish cleaning up in here." She told them before they gone. She sighed, heading to the stove. She took the empty pans and placed them in the sink. They were already cooled off so she began to wash them out.

Dawn and Cordelia headed into the living room, laying the trays down on the coffee table. Angel noticed Buffy didn't follow. "Where's Buffy?"

"She's in the kitchen. She's said she was gonna finish cleaning up. I think there's something wrong though. You should go talk to her." Dawn said helpfully.

Angel nodded. "Yeah. I'll be right back." He headed to the kitchen.

Once there, he stood in the doorway, watching her rinse the soap off of the pans. He silently walked to where she was standing, wrapping his arms around her waist as she finished rinsing the contents of the sink. "Hey. What's wrong?"

She rinsed her hands off, shutting off the water. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Everything doesn't seem fine." If anyone knew her, it was him. He probably knew her better than she knew herself. And he knew that something was on her mind. He wanted to make whatever was bothering her go away. He wanted to make her feel better. After all, that was what he was supposed to do.

He was always supposed to make things better. He was supposed to right all the wrongs in her life. He was supposed to love her and keep her safe. He was supposed to support her and help her. He was supposed to make her laugh. He was supposed to make her happy. He was supposed to do everything for her. That's what you do when you're in love.

She was everything to him and he never wanted that to change. He wanted to feel that way forever.

She sighed. She could never hide anything from him. He knew her too well. She leaned back against him. "What we were just talking about out there...it just made me think about this past year. All the time we missed together."

"I know." He rested his chin on her head. "I was stupid to leave. I should have stayed."

"It doesn't matter though. I realized that. All that matters is now. We're together." She turned around in his arms. Her arms went up around his neck. "And that's all I want. That's all I need. Always." She reached up, kissing him softly. "I love you."

He smiled down at her. "I love you too." He was just all together consumed by her. She was just so much of everything. For him, forever and infinity were just wrapped up in her.

She pulled him closer to her, laying her head on his chest. She was so happy. It felt like she was finally complete. And he did that for her. He completed every aspect of her...and made her everything she had ever aspired to be.

It didn't matter where she was. Whether she were in Sunnydale or Los Angeles. She could be nowhere and everywhere. It didn't matter. Just as long as she was going there with him.

Go to the next story A Day Without Rain

Send feedback to Chyler

Back to the Fanfiction Archive