Disclaimer: Not mine, never have been, never will be. Don't remind me.
Summary: Buffy and Angel meet after 20 years.
Rating: Probably PG... In fact, make that most definitely PG.
Spoilers: The setting's in 2010. Everything up to S4 and IWRY. No Sanctuary and yelling at each other, no Angel beating Riley up in the Yoko Factor. Sadly... They haven't met each other since IWRY.
Feedback: C'mon, you're the only one reading this, how'd ya think I'd feel if I didn't get feedback from the one person who's reading this?

Angel's POV.

I swear, I was just going to buy a newspaper. I needed to see what the media thought about the new serial killer in town. It was a vampire, but they didn't know that. I was just wondering if they had any clues or if anybody was getting suspicious. I didn't know I'd meet her. I didn't even know she was in LA.

I'd been feeling weird ever since I stepped into the station. I'd been to this subway station quite a few times, and yet... it'd never made me feel this way. I shrugged it off as nerves. I just got a cup of coffee from a vending machine and bought the newspaper and turned around, and she was standing right next to me.

I dropped my coffee. The people standing next to me looked at me. Including her. "Sorry. Excuse me." I apologized to a person standing next to me, the coffee had decided it liked him, and splattered all over his coat. She stared at me. "Hi, Buffy." I said nervously.

She was still staring at me, surprised to see me in a subway station, I guess. "Angel." She uttered. God, she was beautiful. She was older, but that just made her look even more beautiful. She'd matured into a beautiful woman from a beautiful girl. Her voice... Let's stop my ranting, ok? We stood there, not talking for a while. Take my word for it, it was REALLY awkward. The train arrived, and we got on, sitting down next to each other. I made a go for some conversation. "So... how are you doing these days?" I asked. She started almost imperceptibly. "Ah.. Good. I guess, good. You?" I wanted to say 'Missing you like hell' but that would sound way too corny and inappropriate. "I'm good. Fine." And then the silence reigned again.

Buffy's POV.

Have you ever been in a really awkward position? Well, think about how you felt then, and then multiply that feeling by about a thousand. That's how I felt. Because I didn't feel awkward at all. It was like meeting an old friend, which it technically was, I guess, but it wasn't like meeting an old ex. Meeting old ex-es was supposed to be awkward, and instead, I felt too comfortable with him. Like I'd woke up next to him last morning. Fully clothed, get your mind outta the gutter, people. And I knew I should feel awkward, and I wasn't feeling awkward at all, and that made me feel really awkward. Did that make any sense to you? Probably not, since it doesn't even make all that much sense to me.

He asked me how I'd been. Nobody ever says that they've missed their ex-es a lot, even if they have. Especially if you keep getting these new cuddly feelings for them. "Ah...Good. I guess, good. You?" I asked back. I had a hunch he'd say "good" or "fine". He in fact, said both. And then it got more awkward as silence settled.

Angel's POV.

The last I'd heard, back in 2004, she'd got married. I didn't go to the wedding. Wrote a very polite note that there was a lot of important stuff I had to do. Which wasn't entirely a lie. We'd been fighting an Aynohyeb demon, a demon that had powers that could suck you from one time dimension to another. If it started to concentrate on you and its eyes grew red, you had to be careful, cause it'd fire a kind of blast that would send you to some bizzaro dimension if you got caught in it. You had to be extremely quick on your feet. But in truth, I just didn't know if I could watch her exchange vows with another man. I might've lost it and ripped the guy apart. I still kept in touch with Willow a little, via email, and she told me that Buffy was happy.

"You got married, right? Any kids?" I asked suddenly. She seemed faintly surprised, but smiled. "One. A little boy." "Oh," I said lamely, nodding. "Do you have pictures?" I asked, wanting to see what her child looked like. "Yeah." She took out her wallet. "His name is Angel. Liam Angelus Timber. He's five this year." Yeah, I remembered now, the bastard she'd married, his name was Nicholas Timber. Stupid name, if you ask me, although it was better than Riley Finn. "You named him after me." I whispered, looking at the boy. He was a handsome little kid, he had her eyes. He was her child, of course he was beautiful. "He's beautiful. Takes that from his mom." I said, smiling at her. She blushed. I grinned. She looked so cute like that. The atmosphere was starting to thaw.

Buffy's POV.

After we got over the initial awkwardness, we chatted eagerly like we'd never parted. Eager to know each other's lives. Eager to use the little time we had to the fullest. I talked about the gang, what was going on in Sunnydale, how I'd moved to LA last year. I avoided talking about my family. But I talked about little Angel a bit. Angel seemed interested in him, while my talking about Nick brought out a slightly pained expression in his face. Angel told me about the latest demon lore in LA, and how Cordy was doing. Seemed she got married to another employee he had, Doyle. I didn't really remember him. All I remembered was his being there 10 years ago when I'd walked into Angel's office the day after Thanksgiving. Oops, sad memories that always make me mope afterwards, let's not go there. He told me she had a baby girl, two years old, named Francis. Xander and Anya were married, they had three kids, Alex, Katie, and Jeff. Alex was seven, Katie five, and Jeff only three. Willow and Oz had only gotten back together two years ago, and married last year. Willow was currently pregnant, five months, and we enjoyed being over-protective of her.

I stole glances at him as he laughed. He *laughed*. This may seem insignificant to you, but to me, who could count the times he'd *smiled* with my fingers, him laughing was amazing. I never saw him laugh so much in one day. He'd lightened up considerably, I commented on it, and he said it was because Cordelia would punish him with a cup of her coffee unless he laughed more than ten times a day. But all in all, he seemed much more comfortable with who he was than he had been 10 years ago.

Angel's POV

Time passed all too quickly, and I had to get off. Turned out she was getting off too. "I'm going to meet this seer guy, he's supposed to have this prophecy or something." I explained. She said she was visiting her dad. We got off the train, and stood there for a while. I knew I wouldn't meet her again for a while, unless she came to me, which wasn't too likely to happen, or like this time we met in the streets, which wasn't too likely to happen either. I didn't think I'd ever go see her at the home, for fear of meeting this Nicholas Timber guy.

"Well... I guess this is good bye then." I said, a little awkward again. She seemed to feel it too. "Yeah... I guess." I wanted to tell her I still thought about her everyday, that I still loved her, but I didn't want to make her feel bad about me. You know, the whole me still waiting for her and her moving on thing. I was the one who'd wanted her to move on, but if I knew her, she'd feel bad. So I just said goodbye. She nodded and turned to leave. She looked back once, and I smiled at her, or at least tried, then she turned and disappeared into the crowd. And just like it did 10 years ago when she walked out of my office, my heart broke.

Buffy's POV

Love's a funny thing. You think you get over it, and then, you meet that certain somebody and it starts all over again. Nick is a great guy, and I love him in a way, but not the way I loved Angel. So meeting Angel again had been a great experience and a horrible experience at the same time. I wasn't entirely certain that if he came back human and said he wanted me back, that I wouldn't just elope with him then and there. Actually, little Angel might keep me from that, I'd miss him too much. But... Well, "but" and "if" are two words I learned don't really help you move on. I knew I probably wouldn't meet him again while I was alive. That both me and him would avoid each other, giving each other space. It didn't necessarily have to be that way, but it was the way it was.

I turned back while I was walking away. He was still there, watching me. He smiled a smile that oddly made him look like he wanted to cry. I turned back and walked on resolutely. But he didn't see me look back one last time. He'd already turned and left. I stood there, watching him weave his way through the crowd. There wasn't any smoke, or blown up high school, or firefighters and injured people everywhere, but as I watched him leave, just like I did 10 years ago, I realized that I still loved him. I turned and walked away, leaving the subway station behind me. I didn't let myself cry.

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