Disclaimer – I don’t own them; Joss and Mutant Enemy and all the various other Powers That Be do. If I owned them, I think they’d have been much, much happier.

Angel strode silently through the almost empty halls of Sunnydale High. The few students milling around shot him mistrustful looks, and he did his best to look at them and smile and act as if he belonged there. Most of them relaxed and a few smiled back at him, and inwardly he shook his head. The truth was, he could probably go up to any of them and tell them he was a 240-year-old bloodsucking fiend, and they’d laugh in his face, right up until his features shifted and he sank his fangs into their jugular. But a strange adult in these hallowed halls set off all their internal alarms. He wondered how mankind had survived at all with that kind of mentality.

He shook off his dark thoughts as he reached the door to the library. Before pulling the door open, he glanced through the small window set into it. He was simultaneously reassured and alarmed by the sight that greeted him. Reassured because Buffy was there, safe and sound and in one piece. Alarmed because she and Xander and Willow all had their heads intently bent over books. More books were strewn haphazardly across the table at which they sat. Angel’s brow creased in concentration as he thought furiously. He had heard no word of any new threat in Sunnydale, so what research could be occupying their attention so completely?

He was caught up in his thoughts, and he didn't sense the presence behind him until it was nearly on him. He whirled to confront it, but his preternatural reflexes allowed him to rein himself in just before he actually took a swing at Giles. The Watcher’s eyes widened and he compulsively tightened his hold on the books he was carrying.

“Angel!”

“Giles. Sorry, you startled me.”

“It’s quite all right. No harm done.” He leaned around the vampire to peer into the library. “Still hard at work, I see.”

“What are they researching? Things have been pretty quiet since Spike and Dru…” He trailed off; the deaths of his chylder had provided him with an ever-changing mix of emotions. Grief at what his demon had done so long ago warred with relief that it was finally over. He glanced back at Giles, surprised to see a wry smile gracing the Englishman’s face.

“I believe they’re wrestling with the periodic table of elements. Or, as I heard Buffy refer to it, the periodic table of contents,” he finished. Angel knew he must have looked confused, because Giles chuckled softly. “They have a chemistry exam tomorrow.”

“They’re studying for a test?”

“Yep.” The door swung open, and Angel turned, a half-smile gracing his handsome features when he saw who the new voice belonged to. “It’s a big ‘un. I thought I heard your voice… whatcha doin’ here?”

Before he could answer, she stretched up to kiss him. It was a quick kiss, more of a peck than anything, and they broke apart even before they heard a throat being quietly cleared behind them. Buffy peered around Angel’s shoulder, grinning wickedly.

“Gosh, Giles. If I knew you’d get that red when I kissed him, I’d kiss him more often!” She stretched up, whispering in Angel’s ear, and he struggled to hide the shiver that raced through him as her warm breath skated over his cool skin. “Not that I need a reason to kiss you more often…”

“Yes, well, perhaps we should move this into the library so that Angel can tell us the reason for his visit.”

They entered the library, drawing the attention of the other two occupants. Willow smiled openly at him, but Angel saw a flicker of annoyance in Xander’s eyes.

“Deadboy!” he cried, ignoring the glares he received from Buffy, Willow, and Angel and the serious look he got from Giles. “What brings you here?”

Angel glanced from face to face; all of them were staring curiously at him. He shrugged. “I just came by to see if anybody’d heard about anything new in Sunnydale’s… nightlife.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. “Why? What have you heard?” Her voice sped up, her excitement growing. “Is it dangerous? We should go kill it. Right now.”

He rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. “No… I haven’t heard anything. That’s why I’m here. It’s quiet.”

“Too quiet. I bet there’s something out there; we should go.”

“Buffy, you have to study for tomorrow,” Willow said worriedly.

“Will, I’m the Slayer! Sacred destiny, remember? Gotta go slay!”

“Buffy, there’s nothing to slay,” Giles countered, slightly confused by the girl’s sudden burst of energy.

“There might be. Whatever’s out there might be coming out of evil hibernation mode any second. The hellmouth could open up and swallow us all.”

“Considering we’re sitting on it, I think we’d be the first to know, Buff,” Xander said, and she shot a frustrated glare at him.

“Buffy, if you’re that worried, I’ll go do a quick patrol. You don’t have to-“

“No!” She grabbed Angel’s hand. “I’m the Slayer, it’s my job. I mean… I should go. We can go together."

Angel looked into her pleading eyes, and he knew that her request was twofold. She didn’t want to be here, but she didn’t want him to leave, either. That knowledge, the knowledge that he was wanted, sparkled momentarily in his soul.

“There’s nothing out there, Buffy; we’ll patrol later before I take you home if you want.”

She glared at the books with a quiet growl. Angel squeezed her hand and turned to Giles.

“You haven’t heard anything, have you? I’m assuming you would have told Buffy.”

The Watcher shook his head. “No, things have been rather quiet of late.” His eyes lit up. “I did, however, acquire two of the volumes we discussed the other day.”

Angel’s eyes widened briefly in curiosity. “The Dorvanian Pentatexts?” At Giles’ nod, the vampire added, in a tone of almost wonder, “They’ve been missing for several centuries.”

“It was quite… uh, quite a feat, actually, to locate them. I have volumes two and five. I’m still attempting to detect the whereabouts of the others. Would you like to take a look?” he asked, gesturing toward his office.

Angel moved in that direction immediately, stopped by the small hand tugging on his arm. He looked down to see Buffy in full pout mode. Unable to resist, he leaned toward her and brushed a quick kiss over her full lower lip.

“Sit,” he whispered. “Tackle your chemistry. I’ll be right back.”

He was almost to Giles’ office when his superior hearing allowed him to hear as she muttered, “Somebody help. My boyfriend’s gone all Giles… should I put him out of his misery?”

“At this point, it could only be considered a mercy slaying,” Xander answered solemnly. Angel half-turned to glare at the boy, but the cheerful smile on Xander’s face stopped him. It was only a joke; Xander might not be Angel’s biggest fan, but the vampire no longer expected a stake in the back whenever the boy was around. He reached the office to find the Watcher poring over two large, intricate books.

š š š š š š

Angel leafed through Giles’ latest acquisition, spread open on the table in front of him. The ancient text was fascinating, but his attention to it was half-hearted. His gaze kept drifting to the small group around him. Buffy’s small sounds of frustration, Willow’s quiet but reassuring words, and Xander’s constant joking wrapped themselves around him.

Buffy sighed yet again, and slammed her book shut, making her friends jump. “I hate this! I’m never going to need it, Will! I need to know the difference between a Veklar demon and a Bretel demon, not the difference between… a cation and an onion!”

“Well,” Xander drawled, “A cation is a positively-charged ion, and an onion is a vegetable that makes a wonderful addition to many recipes.” At Buffy’s glare, he playfully flinched back and added, “Maybe it’s break time.”

Buffy perked up immediately, and Willow looked up, exasperated. “Xander! We had a break fifteen minutes ago!”

“Yeah, but I’m hungry.”

“You had five slices of pizza for lunch, Xander. Plus a bag of chips, a Snickers bar, and a soda after school.”

“I’m a growing boy!” He pulled a bag of popcorn out of his backpack, pulling it open and glaring at Buffy when she immediately reached across the table and snatched some. With a scowl, he slowly reached into the bag and deliberately flicked a kernel at her.

Angel’s book lay abandoned on the table as he watched the three before him, completely caught up in the scene. They began a brief popcorn war, and the library was filled with shouts and giggles as they threw kernels at each other, ostensibly trying to get it into mouths, but more likely trying to see where they could hit each other with it. Angel noticed that even in their fun, they were careful to confine their battle to the table, aware of their surroundings, and he wondered how many other kids their age would do the same. He blinked, brought back to the action, when a piece of popcorn bounced off his nose, and he looked up to see Buffy grinning impishly at him.

“Open your mouth,” she ordered. Before he could obey or protest, Xander opened his.

“I think you read the label wrong, Buffster. This popcorn is cheddar flavored, not hemoglobin flavored.”

The hint of a smile that had been playing around the corners of Angel’s mouth disappeared abruptly, and he looked away. There was a yelp from the boy as Willow’s foot came down audibly on his and she hissed, “Xander!”

Angel felt slightly better when he saw the ferocity with which Buffy was glaring at the boy. “Go get me a soda, Xander. And, hey, thanks for paying for it. I owe ya.”

“Hey-“ He evidently saw how serious she was, because his indignant protest cut off almost before it had started. He sighed. “Fine,” he muttered, pushing himself up from the table and stalking out of the library.

“Root beer for me, please!” Willow called after him with a grin, and he snarled something unintelligible right before the door swung shut behind him.

Buffy bit her lip. “Angel-“

“It’s okay, Buffy.”

“No, it’s not! God, he can be such a jerk!”

“He doesn’t like me. I don’t much like him. I don’t expect it to change anytime soon, and you know that you don’t either. It’s okay, that’s the way of the world,” he said with a half grin. Buffy rolled her eyes.

“Okay, wise one. Whatever.”

Angel reached across the table and snagged a couple of pieces of popcorn out of the half-empty bag. He popped one into her mouth, his mood lightening even more as she chewed and grinned impishly at him. The grin got him, and he leaned over and briefly captured her lips with his, smiling at the warmth of her skin and the tiny, happy sound she made in the back of her throat. He glanced over at Willow to see her resting her chin on her hand, smiling happily at them, but his mood wilted as Xander trudged back in, plunking down a couple of cans in front of the girls.

“Here, miladies. Your bev-“ He choked briefly as the piece of popcorn that Angel shot neatly through his open lips hit the back of his throat. After coughing for several seconds, he turned to stare at the vampire, who had the barest hint of a smug smile on his face.

“Quick reflexes,” Angel murmured, to giggles on the part of both the girls.

“Nice shot, honey!”

There was a flash of something like rage in Xander’s dark eyes, and then he sighed. “Yeah,” he said grudgingly. “That was a pretty good shot. For a dead guy.” Another kernel bounced off his ear, and he turned to Willow. “That, however, was not. So you want war, do you, Miss Rosenberg? Time to bring in the heavy artillery!”

He lunged at her, bypassing the popcorn on the table, and she shrieked as his fingers found her ribs.

Buffy laughed as Willow batted ineffectually at Xander’s hands, giggling and threatening him simultaneously. The Slayer jumped as Angel’s hands shot out and pulled her into his lap.

“Not gonna help your friend? Then again,” he murmured as his hand wandered up her side, “You might be the one that needs help…”

She lunged sideways to avoid his fingers. “Don’t even think about–Angel!” she giggled. The chaos continued for several minutes until a stern voice interrupted it.

“What on Earth?”

The four immediately stopped, and though Giles looked stern, he was trying desperately to hide his amusement at the sight of three teenagers and a 240-something year old vampire looking like they’d been caught raiding the cookie jar.

“I agreed to allow you the use of the library for your revision, on the understanding that it was to be a quiet affair. And now I return to find spilled popcorn everywhere and shrieks that I’m sure are audible from the gymnasium.”

There were mumbled apologies, and Giles was further amused that he could hear Angel’s rumbling baritone mixed in with the voices of the other three. He turned briefly aside to hide his smile.

“It's clear that you've finished with your work for the day. Go home. But please, tidy up before you leave. And Buffy, a quick patrol…” He waited until she nodded and then he turned and headed for his office.

“I see how it is,” Buffy muttered as she shoved books into her bag. “He only wants us out of here so I can go slay bad guys.”

“There aren’t any bad guys lately, remember?” Xander shot back, picking popcorn up off the floor around them.

“Shh! You’ll jinx it!” Willow exclaimed.

“Besides,” the boy continued. “You were all fired up to go kick some baddie butt earlier.”

“Yeah, well that was when I thought I'd be spending my night slaying chem formulas instead of vampires. As soon as I start having fun with my boyfriend – I’ll get you back for that, by the way,” she vowed, glaring briefly at Angel, who was sweeping popcorn off the table.

He listened as the banter continued, and he realized how completely included he felt when he was with Buffy and her friends. Tonight, he’d teased his girlfriend and been teased in return, he'd been treated as a rival – albeit a bit more strenuously than he would have liked – by Xander, and he’d been yelled at by the authority figure in their lives, a man Angel had a couple of centuries on. He couldn’t remember when he’d ever felt so involved, so alive, not even when he really had been.

There had been times in his past when he’d thought he might be getting close to feeling like this, but his newfound allies or tentative friends had always discovered his true nature and driven him out. Angel had lost count of the times he’d fled in the night, his dreams of belonging left behind amid screams and shouts of terror. But Buffy and her family knew him. They’d all seen his true face, and they were all aware of his past, and none of them – with the possible exception of Xander, he thought with a smirk – held it against him.

Angel quietly accompanied the small group out of the library, his arm slung loosely over Buffy’s shoulder, and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face like dawn. He felt whole. He brushed a kiss over Buffy’s golden head and did his best to ignore the tiny voice inside of him that murmured, Please, God, let this last…

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