SUMMARY: Buffy & Angel deal with her breaking whatever their relationship was off
SPOILER: Lover's Walk
DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just email me & lmk where it's going - I like seeing my name in print =)
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-14
DISCLAIMER: Joss owns 'em, and I despise him for it.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Five minute fic, done while doing research and realizing I didn't have an Afterthoughts for this eppy.10/28/00

The store was crowded, but Angel knew that if she was there, he'd find her.

There were sooooo many girls there today. She just *had* to be in that crowd though, she just had to. The girl never let a Saturday go by without going to the mall.

Finally, he spotted a familiar face. Angel put on his best friendly smile and approached her, using her name.

"Cordelia."

She turned around and smiled. "Angel, hi."

"You haven't seen Buffy by any chance, have you?"

"No. And why would I see Buffy here? We're at *Nordstrom*."

Angel looked at her. Cordelia had to know that Nordstrom was Buffy's favorite store in the mall.

"What are you doing here?" Cordy pulled a skirt off a rack and handed it to the personal shopper whose arms were already loaded with various articles of clothing. "I didn't know vampires liked to shop," she added.

The personal shopper took one look at Angel and booked.

"We don't," Angel said. "Or at least, I don't. I'm just looking."

"For?" Cordy glanced at him, not wanting to take *too* much attention away from a new pair of designer jeans.

He stared at the girl. "Buffy."

"She's not here, so what are you still doing here?" Cordy asked as nicely as she could, which wasn't very.

"I'm leaving." Angel turned around and ran directly into--

"Buffy." he actually smiled.

She refused to meet his eyes. "Angel. I didn't know vampires liked to shop."

"What is it with everyone putting us all into one big group nowadays?" he asked, annoyed. "People watch one lame TV movie with Keanu Reeves--"

"It was Brad Pitt," Buffy corrected. "And Tom Cruise, and it wasn't lame. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Why? Is something after me? Did something happen to Giles? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Everyone's fine, nothing's happening."

Her eagerness to talk with him faded slightly. "Oh. Well. I told you that--"

"You couldn't have meant it."

Buffy stared at him. "What?"

"You can't just..."

"What?" she asked, folding her arms. "What can't I do?"

"You can't just spend that time with me and kiss me like that, and then tell me that it doesn't mean anything. You can't pretend it doesn't mean anything."

She shrugged. "It doesn't."

Angel let her walk away until she was just past him and then he reached out and stroked her cheek. "Look me in the eye and say it."

She stayed with her back to him, fighting the tears that were trying desperately hard to fall. "I can't."

"Buffy--"

She pulled away. "Just leave me alone. It's the only way this can work."

"The only way what can work?"

She sniffled and looked at him. "You. Me. Slayer. Vampire."

"It's difficult, Buffy. Not impossible."

"I used to believe that," she rubbed her eyes. "Not anymore."

"Why not?" she started walking and he stood in her way. "What changed your mind?"

"Everything."

"Elaborating would help." he managed a small smirk.

"You. Giles. Spike. My mother. Everyone is telling me that it's for the best for us to be apart. So maybe we should be."

"What does your heart tell you?"

"Don't be ridiculous." she stepped aside and started down the aisle towards the Guess? department.

"You can't deny it, you know," Angel called after her. "It'll eat at you until you do what it wants."

Buffy kept right on walking.

"I'll be here," he went on. "If you wanna talk, or workout, or--"

She ran at him, throwing her legs around his waist as she jumped on him, throwing them both to the ground.

"Ow," Angel commented.

"You okay?" Buffy asked, lowering her face to kiss him.

"I'm fine now."

"BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"

Buffy slapped her alarm clock off and sat up in bed, panting. She was hot and sweaty, and she couldn't get the image of her body on top of Angel's out of her mind.

"Need to take a shower," she mumbled as she got out of bed. "A *cold* shower and I'll be much better."

*****

"A cold shower," Angel took his shirt off and headed into his bathroom. "All I need is a shower. A shower and then I'll feel like new."

He turned the water on, and it hit him like daggers, it was so cold, but it did nothing to wash away the image of he and Buffy making love in the middle of the Hilfiger department at Nordstrom.

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