Disclaimer: You gotta ask yourself one question, "Do you think I own em?" Didn't think so. Yeah, the whole kit and kabootle belongs to the man, Joss Whedon and his company of monkeys.
Rating: You watch? Good, you can read.
Feedback: Do crayons come in 64 packs?
Notes: This is my first fic! Go me! I've never tried this before, so I don't know if it's good or not. You decide.

"Old Warrior, go, go to the one that holds your heart."

Angel was dreaming. Dreaming of the Oracles telling him that he and Buffy could be together. That it was real. "But what if she doesn't want me?" He asked the Oracles unsure.

The female Oracle laughed and said to him, "It is certain to everyone here and everyone around you and her that all is well. Go. She needs you. She wants you."

Angel awoke to the feeling of his heart beating. I can't believe it he thought. I'm alive He quickly got out of bed and got dressed. He had to get to Sunnydale right away. He threw some clothes into a duffel and rode the elevator upstairs to Angel Investigations.

"Angel? What are you doing? Where are going?" Cordelia asked him.

"I have to go to Sunnydale. Now." Angel told her as he opened the front door and walked out into day.

"Oh my God, Angel! No!" Cordelia yelled after him as she ran outside where he was. She saw him standing there bathed in the sunlight, and almost fainted, but Angel was there to keep her standing up. "Angel? What the hell? Is there something you want to tell me?" Cordelia practically scolded him.

"I can suntan." He told her with a smirk.

"Oh no you don't. No joking around here, mister. You better tell me why you're not Angel Crispy, or I'm gonna make you wish that you were back in there sleeping." Cordelia threatened.

Angel laughed and then told her about his dream. "And so you're alive?" Cordelia asked Angel unsure.

"As alive as you are." Angel told her with a grin.

Cordelia smiled and then broke out in laughter. "This is great! What are you doing here? Go! Go to Sunnydale and tell Buffy!" Cordelia shoed him off and went back into the building to finish filing her nails.

Back in Sunnydale..

"Why is it that they always have to tell me what to do? Buffy go slay. Buffy do your homework. Buffy go to your classes. Buffy do this. Buffy do that. Blah blah blah blah! I'm sick and tired of everyone living my life! ARGH!!!!! Where the hell are all those vamps that Giles sent me to slay?" Buffy was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Giles had sent her out to slay and there was nothing to slay. No demons, no vamps, nothing. "Come on you stupid vamps! Come out! I'll even give you a free taste!" Buffy yelled into the darkness.

"Well, that does sound interesting, but I've given up type O," someone said from the shadows. Every hair on Buffy's neck stood up. She turned around swiftly and was face to face with the only man she ever loved.

"Angel?" she asked uncertain. "Is it really you?" She lifted a tentative hand up to his face and ran it across his cheek. It was almost like she thought he would disappear if she touched him.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm back." Angel wasn't expecting what came next. Instead of her launching herself into his arms, she threw a mean right hook at left side of his face.

Slightly dazed and dizzy, Angel carefully got himself off of the ground. What he saw was not the Buffy he had left, but a young girl who had obviously grown and matured in his time of absence.

"You left me!" she yelled at him. "You left me and you just expect to come back here and welcome you with open arms! Do you know how much you hurt me? Do you even care?"

"Of course I care, Buffy. I came back because something has changed."

"Oh, something's changed? What?"

"My soul. It's attached and." he didn't have time to finish because Buffy started yelling at him again.

"Oh I see! So you just think you and Buffy will fuck like bunnies and then you can decide to just leave again. It's not going to happen, Angel. I'm not going to let you hurt me again. For so long I wished that you would come back to me. For months, I cried myself to sleep, wishing and hoping for my guardian Angel. But you never came and I finally gave up hope. Because fairy tales don't come true. They never have. You told me that once and now I'm listening. So just leave. And get out of my life. Forever."

Buffy turned to go, but Angel grabbed her arm and spun her back around to meet his eyes. He locked theirs gazes together. "No, Buffy, I'm nor going to leave you. Not now. Not ever again. You may think that you don't need me, but I know you do."

"Oh yeah, and how do you know this?" she asked him.

"Because I feel it too. Everyday since I left, I felt like there was something inside me missing. Like there was a hole in my soul and only one thing could fill it. And you're in, Buffy, and you know it. I need you just as much as you need me. And you can preach that you don't need me in your life and you can tell everyone that I'm just a memory of the past, but you and I both know that that's not true. You and I both know that we're bound to each other forever."

"We may be bound together forever, Angel, but it takes two to make things work. You didn't want to listen to me five months ago when I said I need you. So what makes you think I should listen to you now?" Buffy put her hands on her hips and waited for him to answer.

"Because I know you want to." He told her simply.

"There you go again! Thinking you know what I want. Newsflash, Angel, I make my decisions. No one but me. You want to make decisions for me? Fine, but keep them to yourself. I'm not a little girl anymore. In case you failed to notice, I've grown, but I don't know if you have."

"Yes I have Buffy. I wasn't making a decision for you, and you know it. I was telling you what you know is the truth. I know that you're scared. You're scared that something will tear us apart again. And I know that that hurts more than life itself. I know because I'm scared that I'll lose you every time that you have to go up against something evil. You fear that I'll leave you again, but it's different this time because I won't. I can't. Not with what I know now."

"Oh yeah, you're soul is bound. What does this mean, Angel? You still can't take me into the sunlight. Can't have kids. Was it really all about the sex?" Buffy knew she was lying about what she was telling Angel, but she had to hear it for herself.

"Buffy, it was never about the sex. You and I both know that. And you know that I wouldn't have come back if just my soul is permanent." He looked at her, hoping she would get the hidden meaning to his words.

"You wouldn't have come back if only your soul was permanent? But Angel, that would mean you would have to be.." All of a sudden, Buffy felt faint. She stumbled over to Angel and put her hand on his chest. Ever so lightly, she could feel something move under her hand. Thump thump. Thump thump. "Human." She whispered so softly that Angel could hardly hear. She looked up at him and with a question in her eyes, asked, "How?"

"The Oracles." She looked up at him and he answered the question she was about to ask him. "They are other realm beings. They aid the Powers That Be in their mission. Basically, they are the messengers. They told me that in order to fight in the End of Days, I would have to be human to aide in the daylight battles, too. They made me human, with a little strength on the side."

"So basically, you're a male Slayer?" Buffy asked.

Angel laughed and told her, "Well, I prefer to be called a warrior, but yeah, it's the same."

Buffy looked up at Angel, "So does this mean we're back together?"

Angel looked down at her, but didn't say anything. Instead, he lowered his lips to hers in a sweet kiss of promises for the days to come.

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