Rating: umm...I'm thinking along the lines of PG...in the meantime. Who knows what the future might bring:).
Disclaimer: nope, last time I checked, nothing was mine.
Spoilers: well...better safe than sorry: everything up to the end of season 3 can be spoilery.
Synopsis: I have a strange drive to rewrite season 3 of BtVS. I just don't seem to like the way it ended...beats me why. Anyway, so despite the fact that the original plan was to begin with "Helpless" (that's around the time everything really started getting screwed up B/A-wise), as you can see, plan's changed and I'm going to start with "Anne". If you expect to find in this series events/quotes from the original season....I seriously mean it - I'll try my hardest keeping them to the very minimum. But all in all - it's probably a yet another attempt to end the season on a more "positive" B/A level. See how it goes:).
Pairing: the conventional ships: B/A, W/O, C/X. If I decide to torture any/all of them, you'll be the first to know:).
Distribution: ask first.
Feedback: please, yes, please.

They say
There's three doors to go through
I only want the one
That leads to you
Because only one leads to you
This is your only chance at immortality
I'll give you strength
But I cannot give you the keys

- Vast, "Three Doors"

******

"So have seen Faith recently? At all?" Willow asked her friend, while the entire gang, minus Angel, were assembled one evening in the Bronze.

The blonde Slayer apathetically tilted her head in a negative response, but it was distinctly written allover her face she wished for things to have happened differently.

"Personally, I'm glad to have psycho-Slayer out of the club," Cordelia picked that moment to voice her opinion.

"Don't call her that," Buffy muttered, looking into her half-empty glass instead of at the brunette.

"She's a Slayer, and she went mental," the former cheerleader mused, "how should I call her?"

The Slayer looked up at her unequivocally, finally, she said, "There are things you don't know, Cordy."

"Aren't there always," the brunette shot her a look. "And not that either one of you, 'inner circle'," she air-quoted the phrase, "ever bothers to let me in, mind that. They do that to you, too, don't they?" she sharply turned on the unsuspecting Oz.

He stared at her for a moment with a typical blank expression, as if trying to understand what she meant to say by that, after which, he just shrugged, "I'm good."

"Let's dance, honey," Xander stood up with an impish smirk, and held one hand out for Cordelia, who, with a sigh, followed his lead, and the couple left for the dance-floor.

"I wonder if I ever really get used to her," Willow pondered, eyeing her two dancing friends.

"I'm gonna give her credit and say she…used to be a lot less tolerable," the Slayer considered with a shrug and a half-grin.

"Still, I think she'll always be the *last* possible match for Xander, in my opinion. I mean…Cordelia Chase…"

"Will?" Buffy gave her a look that made the redhead look directly at her.

"Yeah?"

Buffy nodded at Oz. "You're dating a rock-musician."

The witch glanced at her boyfriend for a moment, then smiled sheepishly. "Right. Hey," she suddenly looked over Buffy's shoulder. "I seem to be not the only one *dating* tonight, after all."

The blonde peered at her oddly. "Do explain."

Willow nodded pointedly at something behind the Slayer, her lips curved in an only too familiar grin. "I think there's at least on guy here tonight who'd *love* to dance with you."

Buffy turned her head around, only to find Angel, obviously searching for her face in the crowded nightclub. She looked back at Willow. "How long has he been standing there?"

"Just came in," Oz replied instead of his girlfriend.

"You're…not gonna say hello?" the redhead frowned, knowing that if things were right, the Slayer would have been in the vampire's arms a second after being told he was there.

"It's weird…"

"*What's* weird?" Willow couldn't understand.

"Apart from that time he found me here dancing with Faith, the subject of coming to the Bronze for *anything*, let alone, a date, has never even been brought up ever since he…you know," she made a gesture with her hand, preferring it over speaking the words.

"Maybe he changed his mind," the redhead beamed, letting the hopeless-romantic in her take over.

Buffy grinned, and after a beat, stood up, heading in the direction of her boyfriend.

******

"Looking for someone?"

Angel sharply turned at a voice behind his back, and his grave expression broke into a smile, "Maybe."

Buffy returned the grin equally. "Someone I know?"

"Probably," he angled her chin up with his index finger and met her halfway in a sweet kiss.

"Good answer," the Slayer whispered, wrapping her arms around his waste, giving in as he drew her closer. "Not that I'm not *thrilled* to see you, but…what are you doing here? You made it seem like the whole concept of…*this* was this big…no-no for you, so I didn't even try asking you if maybe you wanted…"

Angel cut into her rambling. "Concept of what?"

"You know what," Buffy abruptly looked down, feeling a bit uncomfortable, for a reason she didn't even understand.

"No, I don't," Angel persisted. It was obvious he knew, but it was just as obvious he wanted her to say the words herself.

The blonde ultimately gave in. "Dating," she breathed out the word. "Of any kind. You never took me out, except for that one time when you took me to the ice rink after my birthday. We haven't gone out since you," she swallowed, briefly casting her eyes on the floor, "came back." She looked back up. "But I don't mind. That was okay with me, I just…never asked you to come- What?" she asked, smiling, when she realized he wasn't listening to her anymore, just looking at her. She could never explain how she knew, when he was just looking at her, not doing anything else. When his eyes washed over her, they had the power to arise sensations in her that she was unable to explain, and a part of her didn't even want to try. She just knew. That he was watching her.

"I missed you," was all he said, tenderly stroking the side of her face with his fingertips, while his other large hand was cradling her to him. Her small body in his arms filled a hollow in him he never knew he even had, until he got to hold her.

"I missed you, too," she whispered back, in the same thick passionate voice he had used with her, even though both knew the last time they had seen each other was less than two hours ago, and if he didn't come, they were about to meet again in an hour or so. Drawing closer, her eyelids started to suddenly feel heavy and softly descended over her green orbs, as he pulled her even closer, crushing her to his wide chest.

"Dance with me?" he asked, in a low whisper, as a slow tune began to play and he planted a kiss on her golden crown.

Buffy's response was by simply lifting one hand from his back and finding his hand that wasn't around her, lacing their fingers together and letting a soft sigh to escape her lips. "I'm glad you came, Angel," she whispered.

"Me, too," he smiled and closed his eyes, inclining his cheek over the top of her head.

*************

"So," Buffy looked up at her boyfriend, as the two were slowly walking hand in hand home later that night. "Do you have any more surprises like that one up your sleeve?"

Angel looked down, flashing her a half-smile.

"Was that a 'yes' smile or a 'no' smile?" she probed playfully, trying to steal a glimpse into his eyes.

He pulled her to his side. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"It's okay, you didn't," she nestled closer to him. "I had a good time tonight. I know clubbing was never one of your most favorite pastimes…or anything even remotely close to it, not that going to the Bronze is necessarily clubbing, but…thanks," she looked up, beaming. "Thanks for doing it for me."

"I did it for both of us," he looked down at her pointedly. "We needed that. It's about time we started at least *trying* to achieve *some* normalcy…got our lives back on track." He averted his eyes from her, looking ahead as they resumed their mutual walk towards the mansion. "You don't do that, and you never will do that, because you had to take the first step too many times, because *I* drove you to it, being unable to do it myself. What came of it was that I made you afraid of initiating something, on some levels, more drastic than usual…as ridiculous as it is to classify a date as 'drastic', because you were less and less sure if I was ready. So…" he inhaled a deep breath, "now, I initiate," he lamely summed up, frowning at his strange usage of words.

Buffy just smiled, squeezing his hand. "Whatever you choose to do though, just…know that I'm happy with what I have…right now. It's important for me that you know it."

"I do," Angel replied. "But it doesn't mean it can't get better than this. And I wanna try and make it better," he smiled down at her. "For you and me. For both of us." His smile faded and earnestness took over. "I can't make things the way they used to be…before…"

"I know that," the Slayer squeezed his hand lovingly, without looking up at him. "I don't expect you to."

"But I expect me to. I expect to…make it this time as close as it gets to be to…before."

"Then that's fine by me," his girlfriend assured with a grin, rising on her tiptoes to meet his lips. "As long as I get to keep you," she murmured between kisses, relishing the so familiar embrace of two strong arms supporting her back, "I'll take you any way I can have you."

"Be careful," he retorted softly, brushing his slightly smiling lips over hers as he spoke, "I might just take it the wrong way."

"Oh, but I meant it just the right way," she managed a husky whisper, just before his mouth finally plugged her burning lips in a fervent kiss.

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