DISCLAIMER: Everyone in this story I don't own. (Well I do own Lydley and Jazper)
TIMELINE: Future fic, Buffy is in her senior year of college.
SPOLIERS: None really.
SYNOPSIS: Buffy and Angel go out for a picnic.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah, it's been a while, but I have been trying! I really have. Let's see, Angel's human (Yeah!), and that's pretty much it. If you want it, take it. All I ask for is a link.
FEEDBACK: Please please please?
RATING: PG-13 or so
SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE: Fluff is Fun! Right?

Angel opened the door to enter his home. His dark hair was slicked back and had a green shade to it. He wished to sit on the bench next to the door, but restrained himself due to the emerald goo sliding down his coat. It was at this moment, he decided that it was a good idea he chose not to wear his leather jacket. It would have been ruined. His shoes were placed on the tile, as well as his coat. It would be a lot easier to clean tile than carpet.

He reached for the light switch on the opposite wall. His fingers pushed the switch, but no light came. He shrugged and ventured further into the house. The house was unusually quite. Candles were scattered around on tables and flat surfaces. Their flames dancing through the darkness, providing a glow that could only be described as peaceful.

Angel walked into his kitchen and opened a cabinet. He removed a glass and turned on the faucet. He let the water flow for a short while before filling his glass with ice cold water. Angel gulped the water down quickly, loving the taste of the cool drink. He placed the glass in the sink, deciding that a shower would feel great right now. He blew out all the candles and ascended the stairs. Taking slow steps, to reach the bedroom, Angel grabbed a towel from the laundry basket outside his door.

Later he stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed, though very tired. He wrapped a towel around him, and he opened the dresser. Grabbing out a pair of boxers and sweatpants. He slipped them on, and turned down the covers. He relaxed against the soft mattress, and the silk sheets. He turned to his side and wrapped an arm around his already sleeping love, drawing her near him. She smiled at his touch. He kissed her temple and lulled himself in a deep sleep.

*~*

His eyelids fluttered. She giggled a bit, stopping what she was doing. After a couple seconds she started blowing on his eyes. Once again, the lids fluttered. She stopped, and relaxed against the pillow. A perfectly manicured nail traced the perfect edges that created his face. It traced his eyes, his nose, his cheeks, and stopped to fully take in his lips. She leaned in, gently kissing him, as if not to wake him.

Angel returned the kiss whole-heartedly. He slipped an arm around her waist, bringing her nearer to him. She giggled a bit and deepened the kiss, wanting more. He pulled away to tease her, again returning to his laying down position. His eyes opened, the dark orbs smiling. His hand ran through her gold tresses, hitting a few knots, which he gingerly worked through.

She sighed and re-positioned herself against his body, her back against his wide chest. His right hand stroked her arm up and down, his left arm providing a pillow for her head. Her neck was exposed, and he began kissing it. He loved her skin, so smooth, smoother that the sheets. He placed a feather light kiss on her scar, a reminder to all those who dare come against her, that she was his. And only his.

His hand rested on her belly stroking it, ticking even. He smiled with the thought that his child lay there. She placed her hand over his; they lay in that position for a while, savoring the silent connection.

*~*

Buffy woke to the sound of cooking bacon and the scent of eggs. She sat up and yawned. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she dared not move for fear of dizziness. After she was sure that a chance of nausea had passed, she grabbed the robe she had discarded before entering the bed. Yawning as she wrapped the buttercup robe around herself, she was slow to come down the stairs.

She made a slight gasp when her bare feet hit the cold tile floor. She stepped onto the carpet of the family room; intent of finding the socks she had left last night. The blue snowflake socks were pulled on and she sat down on the couch. Leaning back, she realized that the mess on the floor was hers, and that it needed to be organized. But now, breakfast.

She padded to the kitchen, and sunk into a seat. The entire house seemed to be freezing. Buffy wrapped her robe tighter around her self, leaned back into the chair and closing her eyes. She shivered a bit, then heard the clicking of the thermostat. He was probably adjusting the control.

The clinking and clacking of pots and pans was pretty much all she heard. Though she was used to it. He cooked for her quite often; he had expert hands. Expert at... everything. Her thought traveled to a naughty place. She quickly opened her eyes and shook her head.

She looked around; he was gone. Buffy was just about to get up when a plate of eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice was placed before her. She looked up into his eyes. Such beautiful eyes. So filled with love and trust, never with hate. He leaned down to kiss her. She loved his lips most of all, lips that used to be cold, now warmed with humanity.

He went back to the counter to pick up his plate, napkins, and some silverware, "Morning."

"Good morning," she smiled back.

"And how is my lady today?"

"She is just fine," Buffy replied, reaching for a piece of bacon from her plate. She brought it to her lips, loving the taste.

"And the child?" he asked, taking an orange from the basket of fruit that lay on the table.

"Behaving today, being nice for mommy."

"Good," Angel smiled piercing a small hole in the skin of the orange. He began peeling the orange, placing the skin pieces on his plate. Holding out a section to Buffy she gladly took it.

"Thanks."

"Anything for you, love. Anything."

After a few moments of silent eating Buffy spoke, "Ugh, I have to finish my paper this weekend."

Angel looked at her with sympathy, wishing to take away anything that might burden her. But he knew that this was one of the things he couldn't help with. For two weeks she had been researching for this paper. The times and tribulations of the Great Depression. Angel had told her how remembered it, but unfortunately his word could not be taken seriously for her paper.

The teacher of this particular class was very strict, and would only rely on the written word. The published written word that it. Even if you knew someone from the Depression, as long as the words were not published, the paper was not credible. Angel did understand this, and respected it. He just wished he could make this easier on her.

"But remember that you only have a few months left. After that, you get to do the job thing."

"Ugh! I'll take college anytime," she groaned, putting her head in her hands. Her ring shone in the sun.

The memories flooded him. He smiled at this particular one, their wedding. Buffy had never looked more beautiful that day, the day she became his lawfully. He has the image of her burned into his mind. Her off the shoulder wedding gown accented her curves very well. She looked radiant. The only other time he could compare would be how she looked when she told him of her pregnancy with their child.

She waved her hand in front of him; he was yet again off in space, "Hello?"

"Hi," he smiled.

"Where were you?"

"Thinking about you, and how beautiful you are."

Crimson rose up her cheeks. Everyday he told her how beautiful she was, and everyday she always blushed. He always knew when to insert little compliments. It was incredibility thoughtful. Buffy was just lucky to have found him so early in life.

"So what does Madame wish to do today?" Angel asked her, taking his dirty dish.

"I don't know, relax. Maybe do some reading. Kiss you," smiled at the thought of the last one.

"Well, do you wish to stay inside all day?" Angel asked, taking her plate, and grabbing a quick kiss with it.

"Nah, how about a picnic? Just us, lounging on a blanket in the park. Doing nothing, just laying there soaking up some rays?" Buffy was relaxed just thinking about it.

"Sounds good. But what about your paper?"

She made a sour face, "I'll work on it all day tomorrow."

"Or you could work on it outside."

She grinned, "Or that."

Buffy stood up and pushed her chair in. She walked over to Angel and wrapped her arms around Angel's waist. She released him and starting working on the dishes with him. Him washing, her drying.

"How about I finish these and make us some snacks. What do you say?" she suggested.

He gave a grateful smile and made his way up the stairs.

She continued the dishes and placed them all in the dish drain. Buffy walked downstairs to the basement, to get the basket that had been given to the as a wedding gift. From who she couldn't remember. The 'outside' blanket was next to the basket, placed there for picnics and other outdoor events. Grabbing both objects, she jogged back up the stairs.

*~*

Angel slipped on a polo shirt, and was reaching for socks when he stopped to view the picture on his dresser. It was one of him and Buffy. The sat on a park bench, his arm around her. That was the day he had become human. They sat on that bench for hours, talking about what they planned to do. She had never looked more beautiful in the sunlight. Her long blond tresses glowed in the rays. He could still picture her, the way her lips tasted, how soft her skin was.

He finished up, and started down the stairs. He rested on the couch, softer than it was, from a couple years of use. Buffy heard him from the kitchen. She walked past the kitchen table and into the family room. He lay, sprawled over the couch, his feet hanging over the edge. She quietly tiptoed over to him.

"Boo!" she kissed him.

He jumped a bit, but he eased into the kiss quickly. Angel pulled Buffy on top of him, holding her deep in his embrace. The kissed ended and she laughed into his cheek. She slid down a bit to place her head on his chest. She loved his heartbeat; it beat in perfect synchronism with hers. She closed her eyes, sighing a sigh of contentment.

"I love you," she told him.

He savored the words for a moment before returning them, "And I love you. With all my heart."

She was about to snuggled further into the couch and him, but Angel sat up, placing her in his lap. She made a small noise of protest, but allowed him to pick her up and place her back on the couch. She reached for his arm, and instead grabbed one of his legs.

"Stay," she commanded, her eyes still closed.

"Buffy, I would, but I want to go outside, get some sun. Wasn't that the plan for today?"

Buffy's eyes opened and she stood up next to him, "Oh yeah. I wanna leave soon."

She looked down at herself, still wearing her robe, and climbed the stairs to look presentable. Angel looked after her, thinking about her, as always. He looked down at the mess of papers in the room, and decided to clean them up with Buffy before they left, and traveled to the kitchen to see what Buffy had made.

He found the basket, set on the table and peeked in. She had packed two sandwiches, probably peanut butter and jelly, some oranges and apples, and some grape juice boxes. A bag of chips was next to the bag, as was a container of already cut watermelon. He placed those into the basket.

Angel walked back to the family room and stared down at the jungle of papers. He studied them, trying to see if they had particular groups. He found certain papers went in certain folders, which Buffy marked. She was always very organized when it came to schoolwork. Which had surprised him, though he never really thought about it.

He placed all the papers in the correct folders and placed them on the coffee table. He checked the battery on the laptop, making sure it had enough power. It did, but he plugged the laptop in just in case. It wouldn't help that much, but he might as well try it. The floppy disk was already inserted into the disk drive and he ejected it, placing it in one of the folders.

*~*

Buffy took her fluffy towel from the basket outside and reminded herself to put away the contents of the basket later. She spent five minutes searching for the outfit she wanted. A simple skirt and tank top. It was a warm day after all. That was one of the many reasons she loved California. The winters were still warm enough for a skirts and picnics.

She stepped into the purple and yellow bathroom. It was actually very plain. A standalone deep purple sink in front of her, a purple toilet to the right, and the shower to the left. She remembered picking out that sink and toilet. The walls of the bathroom had been painted yellow with a purple strip on top. They were at the store and Buffy tried to convince Angel that white was too plain of a color. Because he was a softy on her, he ended up buying the set for her.

She smiled as she turned on the shower. She stripped from her clothes and stepped into the shower. She was in there only as long as she had to be. Without Angel with her, it just seemed... empty. She finished her shower within ten minutes.

Buffy wrapped a towel around her to dry off, holding it in place with her hand. She opened the door to the room, in order to air it out. She walked to her dresser, taking the shirt and skirt off the hangers that hung on the knobs. Buffy turned around and saw Angel.

"Hi," he greeted.

"You scared me," she told him, hand to her heart.

He rolled to his side, "Sorry."

She waved her hand, "No problem, just don't do it again, mister."

Buffy came over to the bed. She kissed him lightly and started to get dressed. She dressed and stood in front of the full-length mirror to examine herself. She turned around for Angel's approval. She help up her hands in a 'voila' style.

"You look beautiful, though I suggest a bra for that shirt."

"Really? I thought you liked me without one."

"Oh, I do," he grinned at the thought, "but if we want to keep our trip to the park PG rated you will have to put on a bra. For the children's sake."

Buffy caught on to what he was saying, blushed, and took the shirt off. She laughed a bit and returned to the bed. He kissed her forehead and rolled her over him. They were locked in a passionate kiss; Angel's hands began roaming.

Buffy stopped and got off the bed, "So what do ya say to a trip to the park?"

Angel growled at the break of contact and started kissing her again. He pulled her back to the bed with him.

*~*

An hour later the couple walked downstairs, grabbing the basket and blanket. Angel made a quick trip to the family room to pick up the laptop and folders. He walked through the family room, seeing Buffy putting her sandals on. He put on a pair of the shoes nearest to him; he probably wouldn't be wearing them anyway.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, though I think that it wouldn't be a problem if we forgot something."

"Good point," Angel opened the door for her.

Buffy stepped through the door and waited for Angel. He closed the door and locked it. The neighborhood was safe, but you could never know. The sun was bright, and Buffy slipped on her sunglasses. She reached into the basket and handed Angel his.

"Thank you," he said.

The couple linked arms and walked across the street to the park. There was another couple already there. Lyndley and Jazper were easily recognized. She had long red hair, which today was in a French braid. She had pale skin, while Jazper had olive skin and dark brown hair. The thing that Buffy remembered about Jaz was that he had deep green eyes, almost brown.

Angel waved to them and they set up their blanket underneath a tree. Buffy sat on the blanket and smiled up at Angel. He smiled back and sat next to her. She lay against the blanket and pulled Angel down with her. He complied and provided support for her head. His hand resting on her stomach, trying to feel the child that lay within.

The sky was the perfect shade of blue, with white puffy clouds. The temperature was perfect, not to cold, too hot. There was a slight breeze, making it easy to ignore the slightly high humidity. Children could be heard in the playground, basketball could be heard bouncing, and tennis balls were thumped against rackets. Buffy closed her eyes, trying to think of anything possibly better than this. She couldn't.

"Angel?"

"Yes love?"

She opened her eyes to look at him, "How did things go last night?"

He groaned, "Worse than usual." He saw the worried look in her eyes and quickly added, "But trust me, not that much worse."

"What happened?" she wanted to know. Since they had found out Buffy was pregnant, Buffy had quit slaying. The closest thing to fighting she got was sparring with Angel, who held back all the time now, not wanting to hurt her. She loved his protectiveness, but he was almost worse than her mother was.

"Well," he started, "the demon was very slimy, first of all, so I kept losing my grip. Then he had some vamp buddies, which were all newbies, so I didn't really worry."

"Oh," she said looking down.

Angel lifted her chin with his finger, knowing what was going through her mind.

"Buffy, I love you. And you know that I am capable of taking care of myself in a fight."

"I know," she said, her eyes on him. "But I worry, I need you. I always need you. And I don't think I could raise our child without you."

"I will always be there for you," he kissed her, "and I will be there for our child. Always."

"Good," she said, "but the real reason I wanted to know what happened last night is because I saw a slime covered jacket on my floor."

Angel laughed, and Buffy couldn't help but laugh with him. He looked so different from just a few short years ago. His eyes no longer held the guilt that was always there, they held pure happiness. And his eyes always held lust and love just for her.

Angel began to read the book he had pulled out before their talk. Buffy relaxed against him and closed her eyes, ready for a nap. Angel kissed her forehead and turned the page.

*~*

She woke up smiling. Buffy had just had a very good dream, one with Angel. Sure it was a little weird, taking place on one of Saturn's moons, but it was great. They were children playing some weird game. All she could remember was Angel kissing her.

And kissing her he was. He was starting to get hungry, and decided to wake her up. While she slept, he could hear her stomach growling. He woke her with a kiss, and her eyes opened lazily.

"Hey," she grinned.

"Hi there, hungry?" he asked.

"Of course, what do you got?"

"Hmmm, well what did you make?" Angel pulled out the two sandwiches.

"PB & J," she shrugged. "You didn't marry a master chef at all those great foods, but I can make some things."

"Such as?" Angel provoked.

"Peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, cereal, popcorn, spaghetti, as long as the sauce is in the jar, and macaroni and cheese. Oh! Frozen pizza too," she added at the last minute.

"Well, that is a wide variety," Angel chuckled.

"Hey! You can cook all that good stuff, but I can make the foods that our child will eat!" she pointed out.

He held up his hands, "Ya got me there."

She winked at him and began eating her sandwich. They ate their lunch in silence, not needing to converse. That was they thing that Buffy loved about their relationship, words never really had to be said. Their souls could just connect.

Ten minutes later the sandwiches were consumed, along with some chips. Buffy took the container of watermelon out and fed Angel a piece. He sucked on her finger for a while, then fed her a piece, stopping to kiss the juice that trickled down her lips.

After lunch, the couple lay on the blanket and while Buffy worked on her paper, Angel read. Every now and then Buffy would glance down to Angel. He would look up at her and give her a sympathy look, and she would get back to work.

She had all the ideas for the paper, but had severe writer's block. Just knowing that Angel was right there, she was having to many thoughts. And the nearness of him just made her go crazy. Finally she put the laptop down on the blanket and kissed him. He was startled but responded immediately, kissing her with the same hunger. When the kiss ended, Buffy's lips were swollen and she and Angel were out of breath.

"Wow," Angel said.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed.

"Not that I minded, but why?"

She smiled, "I don't really know. I mean there you were, and because I was supposed to working on the paper I had this urge to kiss you. So I did."

"Hmmm, well how much more of that paper do you have to work on?" Angel asked.

"Enough to know that I could easily finish it tomorrow," she said seductively.

"Good," he said and began kissing her ear, "cause right now I think that writing a paper should be one of the last things you should do right now. What do you say to going home?"

"All for it," she breathed.

In five seconds flat, Buffy and Angel had packed up the food remains, the blanket, the laptop, and the folders, and were headed home. When the entered the house they began kissing hungrily, exploring each other's bodies, never breaking a connection.

*~*

"So did you have a good day today?" Angel asked that night.

"Of course, and you?"

"Wonderful, love. Wonderful."

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