Part 29

      "Buffy, what are you doing here?"  Angel asked in a surprised tone when he
saw the blonde Slayer at the door.  "Why aren't you in school?"
      "Well, funny thing just happened in the library," she answered, walking
into the vampire's house and looking around, trying to make sure that any
trace of Willow was truly gone.  "A certain red head that we both know came
in and was crying about how the person she was involved with had dumped her
for someone else."  Angel nodded her head as his face held a look of
understanding.
      "You talked to Willow this morning," he said.
      "Yup."  Buffy turned to face her love.  "Is it true?"
      "Is what true?"
      "That you told her that you were still in love with me," Buffy replied.
"That you asked her to move out."
      "Its true."  Buffy ran over and jumped into Angel's arms.  He wrapped them
around the blonde's waist as she began to shower kisses all over his face.
      "Oh Angel, I knew you would finally see what I've been trying to tell you,"
she cried happily.  "That you and I were true soulmates.  I mean, I'm so
sorry for what happened between me and Oz and I promise that I won't do
anything like that again.  Especially since we can be together again."
Angel put Buffy down, turning away from her so that his back was too her.
      "Buffy, I have no right to ask for your forgiveness for what I've done," he
declared, his voice sorrowful, but his eyes full of mischief.  "I mean, I
know how hurt you must have been at seeing the way Willow and I were with
each other.  She was your best friend and here she was, involved with me."
      "But that doesn't matter now," Buffy told him.  "All that matters is that
you've realized that you and I belong together and that we can move on.  We
can make our relationship work if you only let it."
      "But why would you want to be with me?"  Angel rebutted turning and taking
her hands in his.  His eyes glistened and Buffy thought they were from
unshed tears.  "I'm a monster who used your best friend to try and get back
at you for cheating on me."
      "That doesn't matter now," Angel almost flinched at how callously Buffy
mocked Willow's emotions.  "All that matters is you and me.  Willow will get
over it.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that Oz is making her forget
all about whatever pain she is going through at losing you.  It will be hard
getting over you, I know how difficult that is from personal experience, but
she will get better.  Trust me."
      "How can you be so sure?"
      "Because, I know Willow.  And I know that she will eventually realize that
you and her were never meant to be.  That she belongs with Oz," Buffy stated
flatly, cupping Angel's cheek with her hand.  "He loves her and will be
there for her, just like I will be here for you."  Buffy stood on her toes
and placed a soft kiss on Angel's mouth.
      "I don't know what I did to deserve you," he said.  "I'm so lucky to have
you in my life."
      "I'm the lucky one," Buffy answered.  "But I'll be the unlucky one if I
don't get back to school, although I could be persuaded to stick around
here." Buffy batted her eyelashes, living Angel no doubt of what she meant.
Angel just shook his head.
      "We'll have plenty of time for that," he promised.  "Besides, I don't want
you to get into anymore trouble because of me.  Especially with Giles."
      "Giles doesn't want anything to do with me," Buffy said quietly, still hurt
at the Watcher's reluctance to forgive her.  "He hates me."  Angel lifted
Buffy's chin so that he could look into her eyes.
      "He doesn't hate you, Buffy," he told her.  "He was just disappointed in
you.  Give him time.  He'll forgive you.  Trust me."  'And he will, leave it
to me.'  Buffy smiled at Angel, glad that he was once again in her life.
"Now, get going before that troll of a principal realizes that you're gone."
  Buffy placed another kiss on Angel's lips before turning to go.  He walked
her to the front door and watched as she left.  Once she was gone, Angel
shut the front door, placing his head on it as he expelled an unneeded
breath at the thought of Buffy's touch.
      "How could you even let her kiss you, mate?" Spike inquired as he entered
the living room.  He had been in Cordelia's old room, listening in on the
entire conversation and had to stop himself from laughing out loud at how
dense the Slayer truly was.
      "I kept imaging that it was Willow in my arms, although it was difficult,"
Angel replied, moving from the front door to the kitchen, where he pulled
out a blood bag from the refrigerator and poured the contents into a mug.
"Willow had this soft scent of raspberries and cream, while Buffy just
smells of someone who took a bath in ode de toilet."   Spike laughed at
Angel's reference.  He remember Angelus talking that same way about the
prostitutes in London back when the two of them ran together before the
gypsy curse.  Spike had once asked his sire why he always went for the sweet
ingenues instead of the more easily accessible street whores and Angelus had
replied that he preferred his women to have an innocence about them, instead
of smelling like street trash that had been out too long.
      "Still haven't changed, Peaches, even after all these years.  Glad to see
you back to your old self, including playing head games with the damn
Slayer," the blonde commented.  "About time, too."
      "Thank you," the elder vampire answered.  "I have to admit, it did feel
good making Buffy think that I was still in love with her, although I nearly
lost my breakfast when she kissed me."
      "I think I did lose mine.  So what's next?"
      "Well, if all goes to plan, and so far it is, Oz and Willow should be
making up right about now."  Spike noticed that tension that formed in his
sire's shoulders at the thought of his mate in the arms of the werewolf and
felt sorry for him.  While the blonde agreed that Willow's plan was truly
for the best, he knew how difficult it was going to be for Angel to see
Willow with another man.  He also knew that the feeling would be mutual for
the small red head.
      "So, just how long do the two of you plan on being apart?"
      "Not long and we won't really be apart," Angel informed Spike.  "Just in
public.  This is still Willow's home."
      "Bloody hell, I said it last night and I'll say it again, I think we should
just kill the chit and the wolf and be done with it," Spike cursed.  "All
this lovey dovey crap is sickening.  You can barely stand the Slayer, and I
know the wolf disgusts Red, so why are the two of you so willing to play
kissey face with them?"
      "Because it's the only way we can make them finally realize that we want
nothing to do with them."
      "Yeah, making out with someone always lets them know that you aren't
interested," Spike sarcastically replied.
      "Spike, I'm not getting into this again.  I'm tired and I've just been
kissed by Buffy.  All I want to do right now is get some sleep so that I can
spend as much time with Willow as possible when she gets home," Angel said
as he started making his way to his and Willow's room.  "This is only the
beginning.  Give it time, the plan will work."
      "If you say so, sire.  If you say so."  Spike had his doubts about the
merits of the plan that Willow had come up with, but knew enough that
neither person would be willing to back away now that they started working
on it.  Spike just hoped that things didn't get too far out of hand in the
next few days, not wanting to see his sire and Red gets hurt.
 

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