DISCLAIMER: Would I want to claim credit for making wonderful characters absolutely MISERABLE??? HELL NO! TIMELINE: The usual "Perfect Human Angel" Future... *grin*
SPOILERS: NADA!
SYNOPSIS: More plotless fluff. Somebody's a bathroom hog...
DISTRIBUTION: If you've got some already, feel free! Otherwise, email me! :) Find more at my site:
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Still MORE manifestation of my current Human Angel Obsession
FEEDBACK: But of course… how else will my fragile ego get stroked?
RATING: PG
DEDICATION: To all the wonderful people who take the time to send me feedback. Praise and constructive criticism are like drugs... and I'm TOTALLY junked out... but I never get to thank all of you enough! So, THANK YOU! :)

I knocked on the closed bathroom door.

"I'm in here!" he called dismissively.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm kind of aware of that. You've been in there for like, an HOUR!" I tried not to shout, "There's a whole other human being in this house, you know! And I have to go! NOW!"

Silence from the other side of the door.

"ANGEL!" I whined, "Come ON! I have to GO!!!"

The door unlocked. With a great deal of relief, I opened it and went inside.

Predictably, he was standing in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection, inspecting himself closely.

"You're beautiful," I assured him, giving his tattoo a little kiss as I brushed past, "Now get out."

He turned around and looked at me. "Why?" he asked innocently.

I glared at him. "Because I have to pee."

"So?" he said, giving me a little grin, "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Excuse me," I corrected him, "But you've never seen me pee before." God, he's so dense, sometimes.

Angel cocked an eyebrow at me. "I've drunk your blood, Buffy. I think we're intimate enough that I can stay in the bathroom while you pee."

Frankly, my bladder couldn't hold out long enough for me to argue with him anymore.

"Fine," I relented. Shoving my pride and dignity aside, I plunked down on the toilet. Thankfully, Angel turned his attention back to the mirror. "You know, someone who didn't know you better might think you were getting vain," I told him.

His reflection shot me a look.

"I'm just saying. You're the only guy I've ever met that takes longer to get ready than I do," I added.

"You try not being able to see what you look like for a couple hundred years, and see how you like it. I'm willing to bet you'd whither and die within a day," he said nastily, turning on his electric razor. With easy, practiced motions, he mowed down a night's worth of beard growth.

"Just what are you trying to say?" I asked incredulously. I was only half-offended… it's really hard to get mad at him, these days.

"Who, me?" he said, his now-baby smooth reflection giving me a smirk, "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

I finished doing what I had to do, flushed, and moved over to stand beside him at the sink. It wasn't the first time, but I still got a little charge at seeing our reflections side by side in the mirror. Damn, but we're a good-looking couple.

Angel glanced at me out of the corner of his eye as he tapped the hair out of the razor on the edge of the sink.

"Did I miss a spot?" he asked, noticing my staring, and gave me a knowing wink.

I realized I was gaping at him like a moron, and blushed.

"No. You're perfect," I said, barely able to choke out words.

His little grin became a blazing, full-faced smile, and he turned to face me. One of his big, warm hands reached up to gently touch my cheek. The gesture didn't do anything to help ease my trembling.

"I keep looking in the mirror, trying to see what you see when you look at me like this," he told me softly, tracing my features in illustration, "And I just don't find it."

I gulped, and a shiver ran down my spine. I put my arms around his waist, and let my hands brush up his bare back, relishing the feeling of the warm, rolling curves of his muscles under my fingertips.

"You mean you don't see the most incredibly beautiful human being that ever walked the face of the earth?" I whispered, losing myself in the deep chocolate of his eyes.

"Actually, that's what I see when I look at you," he told me, and leaned down to lightly brush his lips to mine.

His kiss is so different, now. Fundamentally the same in form, of course, but the new heat of his skin tends to send an extra little shock through my system, starting at the point where our mouths meet, and spreading like a fire in my blood. Human Angel is amazing.

I sighed as he pulled away, and gave me that wonderful sunrise of a genuinely happy smile that I know belongs only to me.

"I feel a sudden need for a shower," he said, his eyes lit by a wicked twinkle.

"That's funny," I replied breathlessly, "So do I."

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