Rating: G
Disclaimer: *Wild Crazy Laughter*
Feedback: if you want to,
Authors Notes: Thanks, as always to Heather. Also, big huge thanks to April and Sara-Lee.
Authors Notes 2: Takes place directly after The Beginning. Also, the title has NOTHING to do with the story itself, but I suck at figuring out titles of stories. Just to be safe, the title comes from a song by Natalie Imbruglia, and it does not belong to me< i was simply amused by the title.

"Wake up sleepyhead."

"Mmmph."

Angel had just driven up to the front of his Hyperion Hotel and was trying to wake the sleeping blond curled up next to him, but his attempts were in vain. A thought dawned on him and he tried a different tactic.

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Buffy's lips.

She responded to his ministrations in the way he wished, she deepened the kiss. When they broke apart, she smiled, "That's a very nice way to wake up."

"I thought you might like that," he replied, "come on, we're at the hotel."

"Ugh," came the answer after Buffy tried to uncurl herself from the ball she had been in for the last few hours.

"Need some help?" Angel asked, laughing gently.

"Yes, please."

And with that, Angel pulled the slayer in his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder as he walked to the door.

The next time Buffy awoke it was of her own accord, an hour later. It took a moment for her to become coherent and figure out where she was, and when she did, she smiled. She was sitting in Angel's living room, in Angel's lap with his arms around her. Buffy's head was resting on his chest, right where his heart was beating.

The movement in his lap caused Angel to be broken out of the stupor he was in. He looked down to see big hazel eyes staring back up at him. The two shared a brief kiss before turning back to the fire, which wasn't really necessary, but seemed appropriate.

"Have a good sleep?" Angel asked some time later.

"Mmm, best I've had in a long time," she responded.

"I'm glad," he stated before kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" Angel questioned, quite confused.

"Because I've been sleeping and you've just been sitting here, I am sure you can't walk and there are other places you would have rather been," Buffy said in rapid fire. She had a lapse of fear that Angel didn't want to be with her, 'I am going to have to work on that,' she thought to herself.

"Buffy, there isn't anywhere in the world I would rather be. And walking is highly over-rated."

They laughed, but as Buffy tried to move off his lap, Angel tightened his arms around her.

"Do you need anything?" he inquired.

"Umm, coffee. I need coffee. Do you have coffee?" She said, causing him to chuckle.

"Yes, I have coffee. And I will make you an actual fresh pot as opposed to what Cordelia calls a fresh pot," with that, he picked Buffy up again, this time depositing her on the couch as he stretched out his legs and moved to the kitchen.

Buffy lay on the couch, contended just to stay there, but reason took the best of her and she began to wonder what the future held for them. Was she going to stay in Los Angeles? Would she stay with Angel? Would they be together? What about her mom? What about Giles? And Willow? And Xander?

"You have pensive face," said the soft voice that interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah, but it can wait."

Angel could tell that what ever she was thinking about was bothering her, but he had learned not to prod. He, too, wondered about the future, but as she did, he kept it to himself.

"Coffee will be ready in a minute or so."

"Ok, thanks so much," Buffy answered as he once again took his place on the couch and she reached for him.

Angel sat on the couch, playing with Buffy's hair as she lay in his lap yet again.

"Angel," Buffy began, broaching the subject cautiously.

"Hm?"

"Did you, I mean, do you have, can you," she stuttered, not wanting to hurt his feelings or cause any discomfort.

"Buffy?" Angel was pretty much used to Buffy's stuttering and babbling, but they had been apart for quite sometime and he had no clue where she was headed with this.

"Ok, I guess I will just come out and ask. Did you retain any of your strength when you turned human?" She spit out quickly.

Angel hadn't really thought about it. When he first grasped the reality that he was indeed human. He didn't know what to do with it. Didn't know how he should act. But now that the subject was brought up, he was curious as well.

"I don't really know. I haven't really thought about it, plus unless I want to go out looking for a fight, there isn't really anyone who I would risk going against full strength. I just can't see sparring with Cordy or Wesley, or even Gunn," he said aloud.

"Who's Gunn?" Buffy questioned as she turned to look up at Angel.

"He helps, or used to help me out. He is quite good actually."

"Oh," Buffy stated, happy that Angel had people in his life other than Cordelia and Wesley, "we can work out?" She made it a question in case he wasn't to keen on the idea of testing his ability, only to find he had much less that he anticipated.

He nodded in response, "I turned the basement into a workout area."

Buffy jumped off the couch, "lets go!" she nearly yelled, before she stopped, "I got just a little too excited about that didn't I?"

He laughed at her excitability, rising from the couch, "No. You didn't. But I have a question."

"What's that?"

"Do you plan on working out in that?" He asked, pointing at her outfit, which consisted of a simple black floor length skirt and a white shirt.

"Yeah, I see your point. Do you think maybe," she started.

"Yeah, I will be right back," and with that he left once more.

Buffy smiled wildly at how they fell back in sync with each other.

Angel returned wearing black sweatpants and no shirt or shoes, the sight made Buffy stop and stare at the man before her, a goofy grin on her face.

"What do I have something on my face," he teased, handing her the sweatpants and shirt he had brought for her to put on.

"No, nothing at all," she stuttered and blushed before grabbing the clothes and making a dash for the bathroom, leaving a laughing Angel behind her.

After more than five minutes later, Buffy still hadn't returned and he began to wonder where she had gone.

No sooner had he started to look for her, she appeared in the door with a sheepish look on her face, which sent Angel into a fit of laughter.

In between gasping for air, he managed to choke out, "You got lost didn't you?"

The look on Buffy's face was enough to tell him that he had guessed correctly, which of course sent him into another fit of giggles.

He took a look at Buffy in his clothes, the shirt hung down to her knees, and the pants were bunched at the ankles, yet again causing him much amusement.

After a minute he calmed down, "You know, that is the second time in less that 24 hours you have giggled like a crazy person," Buffy stopped and looked at him with tears of laughter nearly streaming down his face, "I like it. Now tell me how to get to the basement."

With a grand gesture towards the door and a smile, "Right this way Ma'am," he said.

They entered the basement, after Buffy asking on several occasions if he was sure he was going the right way and was he sure there wasn't going to be any creepy crawly bug things that were going to attack her.

Angel was amused at the fact that she fought demons of all sort, kind, and description, yet she was fearful of bugs, when he questioned her the only response he got was a swat on the arm.

Buffy let out a low whistle and a small glee of joy as she surveyed the area. It was set up much as her workout area in Giles' Magic Shop but with more room and more devices.

Quickly Buffy turned around and began her attack on an unsuspecting Angel, who didn't let her have the upper hand for too long.

The two battled for quite some time, trading blows and the advantage, neither one ever truly winning out.

Finally Buffy pinned Angel to the mat, "Guess we can say that strength is a go," she said before collapsing on top of him.

They sat on the floor for a while, both cooling off and calming down before Angel abruptly stood, effectively bringing Buffy with him.

"Ooff," was all she said as she landed on her feet.

"What's the matter?" Angel asked with a grin, knowing that they were both going to be very sore in the morning.

"It's been a very long time since I have been able to work out with someone and use all of my strength. Fighting doesn't count as it's been a year or so since I have fought anything big enough to really matter," she stated.

"That's good, though," he half stated, half questioned as they began to make their way up the stairs.

"Yeah, I guess. But I kind of miss it. All I get to fight anymore are minions who have nothing better to do."

Angel snorted, "and a death wish."

The finally made their back to the living room, "Ugh. I need to shower something awful. I am sure I smell," Buffy said.

"Well," Angel started, with a smirk on his face.

"Well what, mister? You don't smell like peaches yourself," she responded laughingly.

"I have to go out to my car and get some clothes," Buffy stated as she began to make her way outside, half limping half dragging her self out the door.

"Well, while your gone I am going to take a shower before all the hot water is used up," Angel told her with a smile.

"Yeah, Yeah," was her only reply as she stepped outside.

Buffy returned, setting her bag on the floor and went in search of the kitchen, hoping she didn't get lost, "Leave it to Angel to live in a hotel," she said aloud while wandering around.

Several minutes later she found herself standing in the enormous kitchen, "I'm going to have to get Angel to cook for me," she muttered.

She padded over to the cabinets to rummage around looking for coffee cups to drink the abandoned coffee of earlier, hoping it was still hot.

Once she located the cups, she placed two on the counter and picked up the coffee pot just as Angel walked in the room, still wet wearing, once again, only sweat pants.

Buffy did not notice that she was pouring coffee all over the place until it came in contact with her hand, "Bloody Fucking Hell," she shouted, looking for a rag to wipe the offending liquid from her hand.

Upon tracking down a rag, she risked glancing at Angel, who wore an amused mask, with one eyebrow raised.

"Been spending time with anyone I know?"

"Yeah, it's complicated," she said, picking up the pot of coffee in order to continue her task.

She finally handed Angel a cup and held her own.

"Why don't you tell me about it," Angel asked.

"Tell you about what," Buffy questioned, still more than a little flustered at the site before her.

"Spike, your life, whatever," he replied.

"Can I take a shower first? It's going to be a pretty lengthy story," she told him, placing her half empty mug on the counter.

She walked pass Angel, stopped right next to him, place a kiss on his check and left.

Angel sat stunned for a minute before calling out, "Do you need a map?"

Within seconds Buffy returned, "Ha Ha Mr. Funny man. Its good to know humanity gave you a sense of humor."

"I don't think it was the humanity," he responded with a twinkle in his eye.

Buffy blushed, "No, I don't need a map. Maybe I can find my way."

"You can use any of the rooms, they all have fully functional utilities. We usually use the ones on the second floor though."

"We? Whose we?" Buffy inquired, trying not to sound at all jealous.

Angel, noticing her jealously right off, thought of toying with her, but feared he might regret it, so rather he answered truthfully, "Just Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn. They stay sometimes when we have particularly nasty cases."

"Oh, Ok," and with that she turned on her heel and left.

Whilst Buffy was taking her shower, Angel busied himself doing small unimportant tasks.

Soon, Buffy returned, wearing sweat pants and a tank top, hair pulled in a ponytail and no makeup.

Angel handed her a cup of coffee.

Buffy gratefully accepted the mug and sat in a small ball on the couch.

He followed her lead, but instead of being close as they had been for the last few hours, he sat on the opposite end.

Buffy briefly frowned and wondered why, but assumed that the closeness would distract him as much as it distracted her.

"So, I guess you want to know about the last five years huh?" She started after a brief moment of silence.

"Yeah," he told her.

"Frankly I would have thought you would have known."

"Why would I know?" he questioned.

She looked down, "You've always known more about me that I did about you. I just assumed that you kept some contact with Giles and I know for a fact that Willow has talked to Cordelia, albeit briefly but still."

"Yeah. But that's all business."

"I know, but-never mind. You don't know, so that means I get to tell you and also that you must return the favor," Buffy stated with a slight grin.

"If I must," he said.

"You must. Ok. Where do you want me to start?" She asked, shifting her position to face him more directly.

"I hear the beginning is a good place," he replied with a smirk.

"Mr. Wise Guy, what am I going to do with you?"

With a mischievous look in his eyes Angel turned to her, "Anything you want. Anything you want."

Buffy blushed, and then wondered at how he could make her blush even after all these years.

"Well, I will have to think about that one. For now, the story, I made it through my freshman year of college, I wouldn't say with flying colors, but I did ok. Fought some demons, destroyed the initiative-"

"Wait. What is the initiative?"

"The initiative was this army type deal except for demons. They captured them of all sorts, kinds, and descriptions. Then they did experiments on them. Which brings me to Spike, they put a chip in his head, thereby neutering him," she stated with a huge grin on her face, which of course sent Angel into hysterics.

"Spike? As in William the Bloody as in Dru's boy toy?" He managed to ask.

"Ew, thanks for that imagery. Yeah. That'd be him. But Dru dumped him, again. So he came to Sunnydale for God knows why and they chipped him. So he came to me, and actually asked for help, ok not actually asked, but it's the same principle. Anyway, we got blood for him and he helped us."

She paused to let this settle with Angel, she knew that when she told him the rest that he would be a bit upset or jealous, or something.

"But back to me," she began again with a smile, "So I survived. We survived. Willow and Oz broke up and she found someone new. Xander finally found his match in Anya and I still worry about Giles."

"I'm sure he is fine," Angel said soothingly. Buffy shot him a gracious smile, "I know, but I still worry. So my 2nd year came along and was possibly the worst in history."

"I think I can relate, we, I had it pretty bad that year, too," he stated solemnly, "but me later, continue."

"Ok. There was thing about the key who was my sister but not really my sister since I don't have a sister and this great big evil person who was a bitch to destroy and Riley left me. My mom got sicker and sicker. She got better, then sick again and so on. She is better, for now," Buffy spit out rather quickly, but somehow Angel managed to catch it all.

"Ok, I will not even try and figure out anymore, but what's wrong with your mom?"

"Good Guess? We don't have a clue. It's not mythical or medical," Buffy told him with a sad look in her eyes.

"One day you will explain to me about your sister that wasn't, right?" Angel asked, trying to lighten the mood slightly.

"Yes."

"Ok," he was ready to tell her to continue, but noticed a look of sorrow on her face, "what's wrong," he questioned gently.

"What? Oh nothing. I was just thinking about Dawn. She was so innocent in the whole thing. She didn't know anything," Angel watched as Buffy seemed to drift back to the past, knowing there wasn't anything he could do, he simply moved closer to her and placed a comforting hand over hers.

Buffy took a deep breath and continued, "I tried to keep it from her as long as possible. Or at least until I knew what she was. And what the Hell the key was about. But after mom got sick everything fell apart. She found out. I'm still not sure if I told her or if someone else did or what," she shook her head, as to remove the memories, "Anyway. It all worked out, for the most part. We still don't know what's wrong with mom. Oh did I tell you Giles' bought the Magic Shop," she asked suddenly.

"No, but that's good right," he pondered, afraid that the 'curse' of that shop had surfaced again.

"Yeah, he's happy. After the school burnt down, or after I destroyed it, he was a almost lost. I think we all were," she said with a sad smile, Angel was inclined to agree.

"So where was I? Oh yeah. Sophomore year, surprisingly uneventful, I mostly stayed at the Shop with Giles, he has a kick ass training area, almost as good as yours. I stayed with my mom, and became great friends with Spike," Buffy said the last part rather quickly.

"Spike?" Angel asked incredulously.

"Yes. Somehow the chip was removed, but I guess he just liked lil' ole me so much he couldn't leave," she responded laughing, but grew serious once more, "he was really there for me when everything with my mom and Dawn was going on, like-"

"Like I wasn't," Angel filled in for her.

She reached up to stroke his face, "I was going to say like I needed. Frankly I was too damn proud to ask for help or to admit that I needed it. It infuriated me that I couldn't fight it. That's how I deal. I go out and kill the baddie and it goes away. I didn't know how to defeat Glory, and couldn't fight the thing with my mom. Spike let me beat up on him," Buffy recalled with a grin, "and now that Xander and Willow have their own lives," she paused, "I'm really glad that he's there, I think sometimes if it hadn't been for Spike, I wouldn't have been much worse off."

"So I graduated, with a degree in Communication, if you can believe that."

Angel smiled, "I can believe it."

"Now I am just waiting."

"For what," he asked, confused.

"All the pieces to fit together," she stated matter-of-factly.

He laughed, "I'm afraid you might be waiting a while."

She grinned, "Yeah I know. You know we more or less closed the Hellmouth. There are still stupid demons that think they can open it, but other than that, its all quite," she told him before shifting her position so she was snuggled up to Angel and he had his arm around her.

"Yeah. At some point Cordelia told me. I'm glad," he told her.

"It was pretty easy once we found the spell, translated it, had the materials shipped from Africa, and taught Xander a little bit of Latin," she recalled, laughing at the memory.

"You taught Xander Latin," Angel laughed at the thought.

"I didn't," Buffy stated, "Giles did, and Willow did, and Tara did. I didn't. I tried but I didn't have the patience for it. I only knew very little to start of with. Giles told me that Latin class would come in handy."

"So that brings us to now, right?" He questioned.

"Pretty much."

Buffy yawned, rather loudly.

Angel laughed, "sleepy?"

"Yeah."

Angel looked down at her in mock horror, "You already slept once today."

"Hey Hey, that doesn't count," she protested mildly.

He kissed the top of her forehead, "Sleep, love."

"You need sleep too," she said in a small voice, "and you didn't tell me what you've been doing."

"It's not important. I'm here with you now and that's all that matters," he answered honestly.

"Don't think you are getting out of it that easily mister," Buffy responded in a sleep filled voice.

"Wouldn't dream of it," and with that, Angel picked her up and started towards the stairs.

Once he made it to his room, he placed her gently on the bed, contemplating whether he should lay with her or not, "Baby," the voice from the bed questioned.

He looked at Buffy on his bed, with her eyes closed and arms stretched out to him, "sleep here with me," she said.

That was all the invitation he needed. In two steps he was across the floor. He got in bed behind Buffy, spooning her, and pulled the cover over them both.

Angel kissed her cheek, "I love you."

A mumbled, "love you," was the response.

Once again Angel kissed her before drifting into sleep.

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