Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.
Feedback: Do you even have to ask by this point?
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue, I'm only a high-schooler without a job anyways.
Rating: Same as the TV show
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "Earshot ." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.
Concept: The favor Giles's friend did (in "Enemies") to repay him was not taking Angel's soul away. But what if that's not all he did?
Author's Notes: Fic Number 16 and counting. I'm glad these are almost done because I'm running out of ideas.

"If you're not too busy having sex with my mother." Buffy said with faked nonchalance.

Giles walked into a tree.

Buffy rolled her eyes and kept on walking.

"Whoa! Giles having some problems there?" Xander asked as he came up on one side of Buffy.

"What did you say to him?" Willow asked as she got on Buffy's other side.

"Just something I found out by reading someone's mind. Believe me when I say you don't want to know." Buffy said with a grimace.

"So, are you gonna see Angel again tonight?"

"Yeah, I think so." Buffy said with a small grin. "I actually talked to him and all about the Faith thing. He said every one of my fears was unfounded. Which I knew, but still...."

"It's nice to have him confirm it?" Willow said with a grin.

"Yeah, it is." Buffy replied with a smirk.

"So all that stuff you said to him about wanting some time and space...." Willow questioned.

"All that stuff flew right out the window the minute I thought I could read his mind." Buffy said, slightly embarrassed. "And then once he told me the truth...."

"So are you guys back together?" Xander asked, almost angrily.

"No. I mean, I don't think so. We....we really can't be. But...."

"But what?" Willow asked more gently.

~~"Are you still my girl?"~~

~~"Always"~~

"I love him." Buffy said, smiling at the memory. "Come on, class it starting." And with that, she rushed off to her last class, leaving two very confused friends in her wake.

**

Buffy was in her room later that night loading up on weapons for patrol when she felt a presence behind her. It was definitely supernatural but it wasn't Angel.

Without turning around, she tightened her grip on a knife that was in her chest of supplies and said to the room, "Who is it and what do you want?"

"I am a friend of your Watcher. And I wish to know why you are not with your lover."

"Friend of..." Buffy turned around to face the man, whom she recognized as the one who had helped her, Angel, and Giles with their plan to trap Faith. "Oh, it's you. And what do you mean, my lover?"

"The vampire. It's been days since I completed the spell for him and yet you are not together."

"Spell?" Buffy asked in confusion. "You mean not taking Angel's soul away? Well, that doesn't change anything, he's still...."

"'Not taking Angel's soul away.'" The man looked at her in shock. "Is that all you think I did? Simply pretended to take his soul while I put on a light show?"

"Well, yeah. That was the plan after all." Buffy was extremely confused.

"The vampire did not tell you the request he made of me? He did not inform you of what my spell actually did?"

"What are you talking about? God, you're more cryptic than Angel ever was." Buffy said, almost yelling. Yet she had seen the type of magick at his command so she knew better than to get him too upset.

"Speak of it with him, then. I cannot...."

"I'm speaking of it with you." Buffy said through gritted teeth.

"It must come from him, or...."

Buffy took a menacing step towards him, forgetting all about the magick he commanded and what it could probably do to her. "Tell me."

"Ask him." The man said as he vanished in the same manner as he had in the library.

"Geez, that creeps me out." The very angry Slayer muttered to the empty room before marching out the door. She headed straight for the mansion.

**

Angel was surprised a few minutes later by a very loud knock on his door. It was repeated angrily twice in the twenty seconds it took for him to get to the front door.

He opened the door cautiously, not certain who or what he would find there.

Buffy was certainly the last person he expected.

"Buffy, what..." He trailed off when he noticed the look in her eyes and unthinkingly took a slight step backwards.

She used that as her opportunity to walk into the house, taking the door from his hand and slamming it behind her. She faced off with him. "What didn't you tell me?"

Angel warily put some distance between them. "What you are talking about?"

"Well, see, remember the dude who owed Giles a favor? How he pretended to take your soul and all and didn't do what the Mayor wanted?" Buffy was fuming.

"Yeah...."

"Well, he materialized in my bedroom about ten minutes ago. Lovely guy. Asked me why I wasn't with you yet and then got way cryptic, even compared to you, about some spell or something that he was absolutely stunned you hadn't told me about. So what's the what?" Buffy calmed down slightly as she got it all out.

"Buffy, I..." Angel looked slightly guilty. "Let's sit down." He moved carefully into the living room where he had just built a fire, keeping an eye on Buffy as he went.

Buffy followed reluctantly, taking a seat on the couch next to him but not getting too close.

"I was going to tell you, that night. Then you came in and were so upset about everything, you said you needed space and all. And I didn't want what he had done to be the reason you came back to me. I wanted it to be just because of love, nothing else." Angel said slowly with his eyes downcast.

Buffy reached out a hand and tipped his face up so that he was looking at her. Her anger began to drain away as he softly confessed something that was obviously of great importance.

"Angel, what did he do?" Buffy asked him with pleading eyes.

"I was going to tell you later, once we'd both cooled down." Angel went on as if she hadn't asked a question. "But then you had that whole telepathy thing going and I didn't want one more thing on your mind. Everything I told you when you came to me to try and read my mind was the truth, about Faith, about you, and about me. I just left something out because I didn't want one more thing for you to deal with."

"Is it that bad?" Buffy didn't like the way he was talking.

"No, no it's not bad at all. It's incredible. But it was for us, and I wasn't even sure afterwards that there still was an us after Faith and...."

"Angel, I believe everything you said. You love me. I love you. No one's ever gonna come between that." Buffy took both of his hands in hers, trying to prepare herself for whatever he was going to tell her.

"Buffy. The spell Giles's guy did, it wasn't just some light show. As long as he was here, I asked him if he was capable of doing something and he said he was and he would." Angel looked her right in the eyes. "He bound my soul to me. There're no clauses. I'll never become Angelus again, no matter what happens."

Buffy didn't comprehend for a second and then slowly her eyes glazed over with tears. This was her dream coming true. Her face took on a look of wonder, then a look of hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wasn't even sure if you wanted to be together anymore. We've both been playing the friends thing pretty well, even though it's been hard. And despite this new variable, I still can't give you a normal life. I'll never be able to take you in the sunlight, or give you children, or...."

"Angel, stop." Buffy whispered as she put a finger on his lips. "I don't care about sunlight, as the Slayer I'm better in the dark anyways. And there's no way I can ever have kids. A pregnant Slayer would be a dead Slayer very quickly. Plus I may not live long enough anyways."

"Don't say that." He whispered as he wiped his thumbs over her cheeks to erase her tears.

"It's true." She said. "But whatever time I have, I want it to be with you Angel. I'll never have a normal life and I don't want one. If I was normal, you'd have never come near me. And if you were a normal guy, I'd never have met you. Plus anyone normal couldn't patrol with me. And I'd still be making Cordelia look like a great humanitarian." She grinned a little through her tears.

"You're sure this is what you want? Like I said, it doesn't change much." Angel was almost too scared to get his hopes up.

"It changes everything. The reason we've been tip-toeing around each other all these months is because we knew we couldn't truly be together. We love each other so much that eventually it would have been too powerful for us to resist. And since we couldn't risk that happening, we couldn't be around each other much at all. But now, God Angel, now we can be together in every way we've ever dreamed." Buffy slid closer to him on the couch and wrapped her arms around him.

After a slight hesitation he returned her hug, everything in him singing for joy. This was exactly how she responded to his announcement in all his dreams, but he had been too afraid of getting his heart broken again to believe them.

Now he held her in his arms and he had no intention of letting her go.

"I love you." Buffy whispered into his ear as she pulled back slightly, just enough to kiss him soundly on the mouth.

When she pulled away minutes later to get some air, he said, "I love you."

"Forever?" She asked with a teasing grin.

"And Always." He responded as he pulled her back in for another long kiss.

In one smooth movement Angel scooped her up and, never breaking the kiss, carried her towards his bedroom and his red satin sheets.

Buffy said a silent prayer of thanks to Giles's friend as Angel laid her down on the bed and joined her. She thanked him for giving her back her very reason for living.

A voice drifted into her mind. "You are welcome, Slayer."

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