DISCLAIMER: All Buffy/Angel characters belong to Joss
& Co. The Song is by M2M. Part One: Why don't I like the girl I see? I must be stupid, must be crazy, must be out of mymind Mirror, Mirror hanging on the wall Mirror, Mirror, lie to me *~*~*~* Buffy stood in front of the mirror, looking at
herself. She was disappointed in what she had become.
Of what she had done. She felt empty, hollow. It was
three days from when she had returned from LA. She had
felt hollow since then, and the song on the radio
didn't help either. It described her perfectly. *~*~*~* Why did I let you walk away? I must be stupid, must be crazy, must be out of my
mind Mirror, Mirror hanging on the wall If only wishes could be dreams, and all my dreams
could come true, *~*~*~* Buffy sighed. She was a fool. She had told off the
one person that loved her the most, because she knew
it would hurt. It was like squeezing lemon juice on an
open wound. Then, when she got home, Riley dumped her,
something about 'trust issues' or some crap. She
really didn't listen. She was mad at herself, mad at
the Powers, mad at destiny. She flopped down on her
bed, a singular tear coursing down her face.
*~*~*~* Mirror, Mirror, hanging on the wall Mirror, Mirror, hanging on the wall Mirror, Mirror, lie to me *~*~*~* The song finished, and another one started. She really
didn't notice. She was staring blankly at the ceiling,
when Willow came in. Willow sighed. She knew why Buffy
was moping, she had called Cordelia, who was about to
call her, because Angel was brooding with his 'Buffy
face'. Then Willow and her formed a plan. *~*~*~*
Buffy finally snapped out of it, when Willow turned
off the radio and sat on her bed. "Buffy. I'm going to be frank. I'm tired of your
moping. You've been like this since you came back from
LA. Did something happen?" "No, Wills, it went fine." She trailed off, seeing
Willow's resolve face. "Ok, it didn't go fine." "Tell me what happened."
Buffy sighed. She didn't want too, but it would
probably be good to get it off her chest. "I went down
to his apartment and found him hugging Faith. She had
blood on her hands. I didn't think. I just acted. And
that isn't an excuse. She tried to apologize, but I
wouldn't let her. Angel made her go upstairs. We
fought. I totally bitched him out. Said things he
shouldn't have had to hear. Later, I found Faith on
the roof. I started fighting with her and she didn't
try to fight back. The Council surrounded the place in
helicopters. We got down, but it seemed they had
called the police. We couldn't find Faith. Since Angel
was housing a murderer and wouldn't tell them where
she was, because we honestly didn't know, They
arrested him. But Faith had turned herself in first.",
She paused, trying to hold back tears. "Outside the
police department, well, you know, with my pride, I
had to get the last word in. I rubbed Riley in his
face. I knew how much I was hurting him, but I kept
going. Finally, he told me to leave. I did. I was half
way home, when I realized what I had done. Willow, I
bitched out, told off, and totally devastated, the
person that I love the most. And to top it off, Riley
dumps me, right after I get home, with some crap about
trust issues." She paused, her tears running freely
now. "That's irony, for you." She said bitterly. "I
want so bad to apologize to Angel, but I really don't
deserve his forgiveness. I wouldn't hold it against
him if he never saw or spoke to me again. I hate the
person I've become. I wish I could be the old Buffy
again Willow handed her friend a tissue and hugged her. She
new it was bad, but not that bad. Buffy pulled away,
hastily wiping away her tears. "I have to patrol now.
See you later, Will." Willow waited till she was out of the room, then
pressed the stop button on her tape recorder. She
popped the tape out, then walked to the computer. She
had a letter to write. *~*~*~ Part 2: LA "Mail's come!!!" Cordelia shouted. "Bill, Bill,
payment. Oooh! Payment! Letter from Willow, Bill."
"Wait? A letter from Willow?" Angel asked, worried
something was wrong. "Yep. It's for you." She said, trying to hold in the
big smile she was about to break into. She handed the
Manila envelope to him "I'll leave you alone now." She
said, as she walked out of his apartment and up to the
office. In the elevator she finally let in and smiled.
*~*~*~* He opened up the envelope as soon as Cordelia was
gone. A tape and a letter fell out. He started reading
the letter. Hey Angel, Hi! It's Willow here, and I'm writing this letter
because of what happened when Buffy came to LA. Buffy
has been not all there since she came back. I had
called Cordelia because of this, to see if anything
was wrong. She told me what she knew. We both didn't
want moping friends. So, we formulated a plan. I'm not
telling you what, you'll find out later. Contained in
this package is a tape. I talked Buffy into telling me
about what happened. Listen to it. It pretty much is
an apology. I'll tell you now, that she doesn't blame
you at all. So, Listen to the tape. You decide what to
do next. Your Friend, P.S. Riley broke up with her, right after she came
home. It explains why on the tape.\\ *~*~*~* Angel finished reading the letter. He drew an
unnecessary breath. He contemplated listening to it.
He gave in. He put the cassette in his tape player and
pushed 'play'. Buffy. I'm going to be frank. I'm tired of your
moping. You've been like this since you came back from
LA. Did something happen?" "No, Wills, it went fine"\\ There was a pause "Okay,
it didn't go fine."\\ *~*~*~* I want so bad to apologize to Angel, but I really
don't deserve his forgiveness. I wouldn't hold it
against him if he never saw or spoke to me again. I
hate the person I've become. I wish I could be the old
Buffy again"\\ The tape finished, playing dead air. He sat there for
a moment, then got up, slowly and packed his bags. He
had to go to Sunnydale. He wasn't going to have her
think that. *~*~*~* Cordelia was talking on the phone when he went
upstairs with his bags. "Hold on." She said, into the
phone. "Where are you going?" "Sunnydale." He hurried out the door and then peeked
back in. "Oh, and Cordelia." "What?" "Thank you." He said, and left. Cordelia turned back to the phone. "Willow, he's going to Sunnydale." She said excitedly. "I'll be there in a
hour or two." *~*~*~ Angel wandered the lovely graveyards of Sunnydale. He
knew Buffy would be out patrolling. After wandering a
while and staking a few vamps, he felt her. He came
closer. She was being attacked by about ten vampires.
He rushed in, staking one from behind. Buffy glanced
up for a moment and saw Angel. Her eyes were full of
confusion and a slight bit of happiness. She went back
to fighting. The fight was over in a matter of
minutes. She walked up to him. "Angel." She said, as if it were a usual greeting.
"Buffy." He said in the same manner. "It's not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?" "Looking for you. Come on, let's get to your dorm.
Willow might help explain." She looked confused. Willow? What did she have to do
with this? She didn't voice her questions, just
nodded. *~*~*~* They reached her door. "Come on in." she said, casually inviting him in. She
was surprised to see Cordelia and Willow chatting
happily on Willow's bed. They looked up. "Well it's about time. I guess you wanna know stuff,
right?" Cordelia said in typical Cordelia style. "It would be nice." Buffy said.
Willow sighed. "Sit down." They complied. "Cordelia
and I talked a day after Buffy got back. She told me
what she new of what happened. We figured it must have
been pretty bad, judging how you both were acting.
Like I said in the letter, Angel, we didn't want
moping friends. And Buffy I'm apologizing in advance,
I'm so sorry, but the conversation we had? I taped it.
I sent it to Angel. I'm sorry." Buffy looked a little dazed, she was angry, but she
knew Willow was sorry, so she kept her peace and said
calmly "You're forgiven." Willow smiled, "Anyway, I sent the tape to Angel. I
told him it was his choice for what to do after what
happened. He came. So, the goal of this plan is to get
you guys on a civil relationship, we're not asking for
you guys to get together again-" "But, it would be nice." Cordelia butted in.
"But, I translated the curse, and the truth was, it
wasn't a curse, it was a gift. So there is no way out
of it. There is no clause." Willow said. "And, so you guys can talk, I reserved you guys a
table at that new French restaurant down the street,
for tomorrow night." Cordelia said. "And we." She
said, motioning to Willow and Buffy "Are going
shopping." Buffy and Angel just looked like they were soaking in
information. Buffy turned to Angel "I'm so sor-" "I know Buffy, you don't need to say it."
"Yes, I do! I'm sorry Angel," She looked down. "You
heard the tape, so you probably know that I didn't
think. But that's not and excuse. I'm so sorry." He lifted her chin up. She was crying. He wiped a tear off her face, "Shh, it's ok, you know I hate it when
you cry." He pulled her into his arms. "You know, this is why I reserved that table.
Puh-lease." Cordelia said, ruining the moment. "Angel,
we need to get ready to shop. Go." She said, making
shooing motions. He looked at Buffy. She nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow. We need girl talk time." She laughed. "I'll be staying at the mansion, if you need me." "Ok." She replied and he walked out the door. "So. Shopping?" Cordelia asked. *~*~*~*
Part Four: "So you're serious, Will. It's permanent?" "Yep. So totally sure."
They were at Sunnydale mall, the next day, currently
window shopping. Buffy hugged her best friends,
something she had been doing for the last day now. "Enough, with the hugging. We get it, you're thankful." Cordelia said, then her eyes turned to the window. "We
so have to get you that." *~*~*~* "How do I look?" Buffy said, emerging from the
bathroom. Willow and Cordelia both gasped. "Wow." Willow said, "Angel's going to love it." She was wearing a powder blue, satin dress that came to
her knees. Her hair was up, except for a few pieces,
that hung around her face. She was wearing matching
strappy, high heeled sandals. "Blue is definitely your color." Cordelia said. She
so didn't want to admit that Buffy looked better than
her. Buffy smiled, making her even more beautiful. "Thanks
guys." Someone knocked on the door. "That would be Angel." Cordelia said, getting the
door. *~*~*~* "Buffy you look." If Angel could breath, he would be
breathless. "You look great too." He was wearing all black.
'Nothing new there' she thought to herself. "Have a great time!" Willow and Cordelia said, as they walked out the door. Willow, Oz, Doyle, and Cordelia were going on a
double-date to the movies. "Well." Angel said. Buffy was the only person that
could make him search for words. "Let's go." She finished, smiling brightly.
"Right." He held out his arm and she took it. *~*~*~* Cordelia and Willow met up with Oz and Doyle outside the cinema. "So, Princess, how's the matchmaking gig goin' for
ya?" Doyle asked, after giving Cordelia a quick kiss
on the cheek. "It's good. I think Angel forgave her the moment she
left. She just needed to forgive herself. I think it's
going to be good, the curse is gone, they're in the
same town, most of the obstacles are taken out."
Willow said. "The rest of the obstacles are the ones they need to
talk out." Cordelia finished up. "Now, let's get to
the movie." *~*~*~*~
Part 5: Buffy woke up in a different bed. She turned over and
smiled at who she saw next to her. She started
thinking about last night, and her smile grew bigger.
* * * The restaurant was wonderful and dinner was delicious,
halfway into the salad, he spoke. "So. we need to talk." "Yes. We do." She said seriously. "Now, I know the reason's why you left, and now I'm going to tell you
what I think of them." He opened his mouth. She held out her hand. "I need to
do this without being interrupted. Now, reason number
one, you want me to have a normal life. Well, I tried.
I got as possible to normal as I could, and the truth
is, I can't be normal. My last boyfriend was a demon
hunter by night, for God's sake. And also, what I've
found during my 'normal' experiment, is that a normal
life is *boring*. Normal is highly overrated. Second
reason, walks in the sunshine, Angel, my life is
darkness, it's my job, my comfort. Third reason: You
can't give me children. So? Being pregnant would be
dangerous to my line of work, If I was, I could be
killed, as would a baby. Third reason: You can't grow
old. Who says I'm going to live long anyway?"
He opened his mouth to protest. She held her hand out
again. "Angel, I'm just looking at the facts. I'm the
longest living Slayer in history, but someday, there
will come a demon that is a little stronger and a
little faster than me. I don't want to die alone,
Angel. See, I don't want any of these things if it
means I can't be with you." By the time she was
finished, the main course was almost done, and her
eyes were shining with tears. He nodded. "You're right. As much as I tried to deny it,
they were stupid reasons, but I didn't like being on
your mother's bad side-" "What does my mother have to do with this?"
'Damn.' He cursed in his head he took an unneeded
breath. "Your mom came over and pointed out the
reasons why we shouldn't be together." "And you listened to her? She told me once that if I
left my house I shouldn't even think about coming
back. She can't accept things, Angel. And, though she
is my mother, the women is dense." She laughed
lightly, "Must be your 18th century manners, to listen
to her." Everything went smoothly from there.
* * * "Why don't. we try out. that clause-free curse." She
said, between kisses at the mansion. They were hungry
for each other, and with the touch of a hand, passion
arose (think IWRY). There was a lot less talking from there.
*~*~*~* Buffy yawned, awakening herself out of her reverie.
She looked at the clock and groaned. It was ten am.
'Ah, hell, forget about classes.' She rolled over and
curled herself up against Angel. *~*~*~* It was one when she awoke again. She stretched out her arm and found the bed was empty. She got up, put on
Angel's bathrobe and walked into the kitchen. She
smiled when she saw him in there, his back turned to
her. She walked over and out her arms around him.
"Hey." "Hey. You were asleep, and I figured you might be
hungry when you got up." "You're right about that." She said, grinning. "Mmm.
Ham and Cheese Omelet, my favorite." "I know." He said, smiling back. He handed her a
plate. She slapped her forehead. "Damn!" "What?" "I told Willow and the gang that I'd meet them at the Bronze tonight. "But I wanna stay here." She said with
a coy smile "So we'll both go." "Okay." She said, a mischievous smile crept on her
face. "But not too long." "No. Not too long."
*~*~*~* Epilogue: "Where is she?" Xander asked. Buffy was ten minutes
late. "She'll be here soon." Willow said, a smile
threatening to appear. She knew what they were
probably doing. No. Bad thoughts. Bad mental images.
"There she is," Anya said, apparently bored, "She got
over Riley fast. She went directly for the tall, dark,
and handsome. Hey. he looks familiar." Xander whipped
around, only to see Buffy and Angel walking towards
the table, a little ruffled. "Deadboy??" Xander said loudly enough for only the
table to hear. Angel raised an eyebrow, "How many times do I have to
tell you-" "Quit calling me that. I know." Everyone laughed at
Xander's response. They talked amongst themselves for
awhile. The song playing ended and a new one started. Familiar
chords filled the air. Buffy jumped off Angel's lap.
"I love this song! Dance?" She asked. Angel led her to
the dance floor, she laid her head on his shoulder and
let the words wash over her. /There are times Watchin' over me And take me Where you are And I can see your face Oh, how I see your star And you and I will breathe together And baby there are times when selfishly And anytime I feel alone Where you are *~*~*~* Mystick One's Abode Kay, one of the Mystick Ones, watched the reunion through a shimmering pool. She sighed happily, and
only then noticed the presence behind her. "Nice song choice." Said Danielle, one of her fellow
deities. "Thanks.", she replied, not turning around. "God, do you always have to have mushy endings. That's just. try a little variety." Came another voice, this
one belonging to Devyn, third One to show up. Kay didn't notice, but Dani turned to her friend and Sister and scowled, "Let her have her fun. We let you
have yours, and yours is much more elaborate. At least
she doesn't go party on other planets!" "Shut up, midget." Devyn said, not as harsh, affected
by her Sister's words. She perked up, though, when she
saw Dani trying to hide her anger. "What are you watching?" asked Casey from the door,
the Four Mystick Ones gathered. "I'll give you three guesses." Said Devyn.
"I only need one.", Casey replied, "Buffy?" "BINGO! And she wins the prize!" Devyn said
sarcastically. The dance ended and Kay turned away, a light pink
beanbag materialized and she sat in it. A blue one
appeared for Dani, a green for Casey, and an orange
for Devyn. "Hey, don't pout there will be more bad things to fix,
happy endings to make." "Unfortunately." Muttered Devyn. Casey shot her a glare but Dani and Kay paid her no heed. "Yeah. Next time." Kay breathed.
Like the ending? Surprise, huh! I'm writing more about
the Mystickal Ones (based on me and my best friends)
in more stories. I'm thinking a series!
Send feedback to Kay Back to the Fanfiction
Archive
TIMELINE: After Sanctuary. Sorta an Alternate 'Yoko
Factor'
SPOILERS: Sanctuary
SYNOPSIS: Buffy regrets her actions in 'Sanctuary'. A
little Angsty, but if I get enough feedback... I will
write more parts and they will get fluffier.
DISTRIBUTION: Just Let Me Know Where
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Erm... if you want more, feedback
please. //\\ indicates italics. Oh! and if I get some
Sanctuary info wrong, I didn't tape it and it isn't
exactly fresh in my mind. Sorry.
FEEDBACK: Yes... Feedback has become a recent
addiction. Any Flames will be used to burn Riley's and
Jheira's demonic bodies.
RATING: PG-13 for a little language
DEDICATION: For Casey, who has put up with all my
'bloody hell's and even made a few herself
The one that's staring right in front of me
Why don't I think before I speak?
I should have listened to that voice inside of me
To say the kind of things I said last night
You don't have to tell me who's the biggest fool of all
Mirror, Mirror I wish you could lie to me
And bring my baby back, bring my baby back to me.
Show me what I want to see
Mirror, Mirror, lie to me
Show me what I want to see\\
When all I had to do was say 'I'm sorry'
I let my pride get in the way
And in the heat of the moment, I was to blame
Now In the cold light of the day, I realize
You don't have to tell me who's the biggest fool of
all
Mirror, Mirror, I wish you could lie to me
And bring my baby back, bring my baby back to me
There would be two of us, standing here in front of
you,
If you could show me, that someone that I used to be
Bring back my baby, My baby to me.\\
You don't have to tell me who's the biggest fool of all
Mirror, Mirror, I wish you could lie to me
And bring my baby back, bring my baby back to me
You don't have to tell me who's the biggest fool of all
Mirror, Mirror, I wish you could lie to me
And bring my baby back, bring my baby back to me.
show me what I want to see
Mirror, Mirror, lie to me
Show me what I want to see
Mirror, Mirror, lie to me
Show me what I want to see
Mirror, Mirror, Lie to me\\
Willow
I swear I know you're here
When I forget about my fears
Feelin' you my dear
My hope sees
What the future will bring
When you wrap your wings
Where you and I will be together
Once again
We'll be dancin' in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
And you'll be smilin' back at me Only then will I be free
When I can be
Where you are
Your kiss I still can taste
Not a memory erased
Shinin' down on me
And I'd do anything
If I could just
Be right there where you are
Once again
We'll be dancin' in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
And you'll be smilin' back at me
Only then will I be free
Then I will be free
So take me where you are
I'm wishin' that you were here with me
So I can wipe the tears from your eyes
And make you see
That every night when you are dreamin'
I'm here to guard you from afar
I'll close my eyes and dream of where you are
Where you and I will breathe together
Once again
We'll be dancin' in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
And you'll be smilin' back at me
Only then will I be free
Then I will be free/