DISCLAIMER: Joss's. Don't sue. Don't steal.
TIMELINE: Season 6, Angel and Buffy's offscreen meeting.
SPOILERS: Up through that episode where Angel calls Buffy to tell them to meet somewhere.
SYNOPSIS: Angel and Buffy's offscreen meeting.
DISTRIBUTION: Land of Denial, obviously. Take it if you want it, just tell me where it's going!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: The song, "Handle With Care" that the story is based around is by the Traveling Wilburys, which consists of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynn. The story is dedicated to the memory of George Harrison.
FEEDBACK: SEND IT! Please, dear god, send it! I live for it, man. LIVE for it.
RATING: PG

God, he was beautiful. He was like a marble statue against the inky night sky and she was absolutely breathless with him. He stood there, waiting for her to make herself known, and the night wind ruffled his hair slightly as he stood, leaning against a tree. Buffy stood stock still by her car, not even daring to breathe. She knew that he knew she was there, but he would continue with the charade until she was ready to approach him. He must know; after all, her own body was going haywire with his presence, how could his not?

They had talked about that a long time ago, about their bond and their link after he fed from her. No one knew they'd been keeping in touch, not Willow, not Giles, not Xander, and especially not Riley before he left. He would have never been able to handle knowing that they spent hours and hours talking at night. It was normal-talk, but not the normal-talk you would usually call normal. She had heard every single detail of his downward spiral during the Darla debacle. He had listened with shock as she told him that Dawn wasn't who he remembered at all, and about the whole Glory deal. She couldn't help but smirk at the thought that Spike's speech all those years ago had been dead wrong; they *were* friends, despite the odds against them. Best friends. Best friends with.. benefits. Well, not really. They had kept miles of distance between them physically, but their hearts were closer than ever.

She had felt his howl in heaven.

That thought brought her back to why she was standing in a clearing in a forest full of ridiculously tall redwood trees. Not that they weren't pretty, but.. a forest? Angel had more imagination than that.

"Angel."

She said his name as she stepped forward and it was their weird verbal foreplay coming back into existence. He calmly turned to face her, confirming her suspicion that he knew she was there the whole time, a smile lighting his face.

"Buffy."

She looked weary, wearier than ever before. He kept the smile on his face, even though he wanted to frown, but it wasn't too hard considering he was standing here looking at the love of his life and she was breathing and he could hear her heart beating and she wasn't just a tombstone like he had seen her last time. In fact, the smile threatened to grow wider against his will, but he kept it closely in check. There would be time later to pull her into his arms and kiss her silly.

"Do you realize that in six years of knowing each other, we have never just said 'hi'?"

Angel couldn't hold back his chuckle at her question, "No, I never realized that. Thank you, Buffy, for enlightening me."

"Yeah, well, you learn something new everyday."

The wit, the sarcasm in her voice belied the fear and exhaustion she felt deep inside of her. What a year it had been.

Been beat up and battered 'round
Been sent up and I've been shot down

"You look good."

She laughed an empty laugh at that one and shook her head, "If by good you mean 'not dead', then yes I do. Don't lie to me Angel. You're sweet as ever, but you've always been a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying," he slowly walked towards her and reached out to brush the back of his hand against her cheek, "You look like an angel."

That was all it took; those sweet words so deeply laced with love murmured in the darkness. In the blink of an eye she was in his arms and they were probably going to crush each others' ribcages if they weren't careful but neither of them cared because oh god she was ALIVE.

You're the best thing I've ever found
Handle me with care

Buffy wasn't sure when they sunk to the ground, but the next thing she knew she was being pressed into the soft forest ground and his lips were on hers and dear GOD in heaven, did he always kiss this well? Had it really been so long since she'd felt this way? Her hands came up to tangle in his hair ((it was longer, his hair, and she could twist it between her fingers now)) and crush his face closer to hers as they each tried to swallow each other whole. He pulled away briefly, giving her just enough time to suck in a breath and make her head spin with want, before crushing his lips to hers again. After another momenthoursecondeternity their kiss slowed to a languid, passionate, sweet kiss. Finally, he let her breathe again and she just laid there, sucking in deep gasps of air as she stared up at him in shock.

"God I missed that."

His face was so cute and so genuine that she couldn't do anything but pull his head down for another kiss.

Reputation's changable
Situation's tolerable
Baby, you're adorable
Handle me with care

"Mmmm," he moaned when she pulled away, nuzzling her cheek with her nose, "God, I missed *you*."

"Me too," she pulled him down next to her and cuddled into his side, not caring that her new cashmere sweater was probably stained with grass and mud and god knows what else, "So how've you been?"

"Wracked with grief. You?"

"Dead."

"Hm."

Her bark of laughter split the silence and Angel couldn't stop the smile that almost split his face and the kiss that just seemed to fall naturally to her lips. A brief peck, a wet smack that echoed off the forest as a physical manifestation of his happiness.

"Why was it never this easy before? Why didn't we ever do this?"

"Make out? I seem to remember doing that plenty of times-"

"No! Angel, stop acting like a horny college student. I have Xander for that."

"Alright, alright. As the newly ressurected lady wishes, so shall I do."

"Really?"

"Yes, m'lady."

She giggled and snuggled her face into his neck, "Well, this newly ressurected lady just wants you to kiss her again."

"I can do that."

And he did. Buffy sighed against his lips with the unspeakable pleasure of it. This was right. This was true. Why hadn't they seen it before? It was so easy. Nothing else mattered; just them. They were all that should have counted. All that did count.

"I love you, Angel," Buffy whispered when they pulled apart, their lips still brushing against each others' as they spoke.

"I love you too. I never stopped, Buffy. Ever."

I'm so tired of being lonely
I've still got some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care

Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine and dream on

They stared at the sky for what seemed like forever to Buffy before Angel spoke again. "So, before you died.. what's been going on?"

Buffy sighed; she knew they'd have to talk about this sometime, "I told you all about Glory."

"Not that. Your life. You have a life outside slaying. You always have."

"Riley left."

Angel couldn't help the glee that shot through him at that piece of news, despite the fact he could hear the pain in his beloved's voice, "I'm sorry."

"No you're not," she was smiling as she elbowed him in the ribs, "I'm not *that* dumb. You *hated* Riley."

"Okay so... yeah, I did. But I *am* sorry he left you."

"He was going to vamp whores to get his blood sucked."

"WHAT?!" that was the *last* thing he had expected to hear.

"Spike told me about it."

"Is he still hanging around?"

"He thinks he's in love with me."

"Huh," Angel wouldn't be surprised if his childe was actually in love with the amazing creature in his arms. She was a very easy woman to love.

"'Huh'?? That's all I get? You go psycho over Riley, but Spike doesn't even warrant a word of concern?"

"I'm not exactly surprised. After all, his taste and mine aren't that far spread."

Buffy made a face of disgust, "Now I feel like a bottle of wine, or something."

"I love you."

"Forget I ever cared about you not reacting to Spike," she snuggled even closer to him, "It's been hell, Angel. It's just... everything went wrong over and over again. Dawn, then Mom, then Spike, then Glory... everything. God, I'm done. I'm raw. I don't think I can take it much longer."

"Don't say that."

I've been fobbed off and I've been fooled
I've been robbed and ridiculed
In day care centers and night schools
Handle me with care

Been stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with care

"Come back with me, Angel. Come back to my life. I don't want to do this anymore if I can't have *this*," she gestured to the two of them, "What's the point of fighting if I can't find my peace?"

"Buffy, you know I can't just come back. I have a life. I have a job."

"What about me?"

"I love you. I will never stop loving you. But on this one... this one, we have to compromise."

"But I came back from the dead.." she hated the whine that crept into her voice, but couldn't help it. She felt Angel's chest rumble as he laughed.

"That warrants an extended visit, but I'm not moving back. I have my life. I haven't had anything remotely resembling my own life in 250 years."

"I hate it when you make a good argument," she grumbled, placing a kiss on the base of his neck, "I just love you, and I just want to be with you."

"We will be together again, my love. I promised you that a long time ago."

"Forever, that's the whole point," she whispered, the real words echoing in her skull as her memory whispered to her invitingly.

"Exactly. It's not over. It's never over."

I'm so tired of being lonely
I've still got some love to give
Won't you tell me that you really care

Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine and dream on

"So I'm still on my own?" she asked weaky, giving him a pathetic pout.

"On your own, yes. Alone.. never."

"You suck."

Angel laughed again and leaned down to give her a deep kiss, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Tell you what," he said softly, as he pulled them both to their feet, reaching over to brush off Buffy's clothing, "Call me in a week. We'll arrange for everyone to come down to Sunnydale. A big party weekend."

"What if I just want you?"

"I think Cordelia would bust a vein if she didn't get to come down and see everyone."

"Right, like she misses us."

"You'd be surprised. Plus, everyone really wants to see you in your new fully alive state."

"That seems like such a weird thing to say."

"Tell me about it."

Buffy smiled and leaned up, kissing him again. Their kisses didn't stop for a long time, each just building on another and another and another until they seemed like they had almost grown together at the lips. Not that she would have minded that. At all.

"I love you," he said when he finally pulled away, leaving her utterly breathless, "Call soon, okay?"

"Absolutely," she kissed him softly one more time, "I love you too."

He smiled and turned to leave, but her voice called him back, "Angel?"

"Yes, love?"

"Am I still your girl?"

He had to smile at that one, "Always."

I've been uptight and made a mess
But I'll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care

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