Vampires, demons, and slayers, Oh My! {Angel}

[buffy anne summers]

She was early, of course she was. She was always early when she was nervous. And she was always nervous when it came to Angel. Her ex. The one that just recently came into town on his white horse. It hadn't been her idea, she was determined to stick by that for as long as possible. She just had the feeling it was going to end badly, of course she wasn't expecting it to start badly either. But that is exactly what it did when Spike waltzed in with her ex. She felt kind of bad about the night before...they had talked for maybe ten minutes before Angel left and she stayed to talk with Spike. She didn't even want to know what he thought about that. She was sure it bothered the dark haired vampire enough as it was to know she was with Spike at one point. She knew it sure as hell bothered her to think of Angel with anyone else.

She spared a quick glance at her watch: 9:42. They planned to meet sometime around ten in front of one of the local vampire haunts. She knew a few people who liked to talk for money. She also knew a few people who enjoyed talking when she slammed her fists into their face. Either way was effective, the latter more so, surprisingly. Of course she had bills to pay, she didn't really enjoy throwing her money away on lifeless scums that occupied places like Vikings. The bar was located in the heart of downtown Cleveland, the only thing was it was hidden. Hidden so well, that normal human beings didn't happen to stumble upon it. Of course there were the few that found it, but they were always quickly taken care of. Vampires loved lost humans as it was. Buffy tried not to think about that part. She had too much on her conscious as it is.

Standing outside the small and unnoticeable door to the bar, she leaned her back up against the wall. She was standing outside to make finding the place easier for Angel. She wasn't sure if he had spent anytime in Cleveland, but she knew it was always a growing and rapidly changing city. She figured it would be easier for him to find the place with her vague directions if she stood outside waiting. So that was what she had been doing for the past 20 minutes. She had shown up way to early.

Buffy ran her hands down her black halter top, smoothing out any wrinkles. She had done it again, dressed up. She tried not to care, but she always ended up doing just that. So she had taken an extra long shower, curled the ends of her long blonde mane, and put on a bit of makeup. Not enough to look trashy, just enough to give her that natural beauty look. A little light pink blush, light eye liner and lip gloss. The perfect combination in her opinion. Then she threw on a hundred different outfits before deciding on the black halter with a little bit of lace around the bottom and the tight black jeans. A skirt would have looked better, but not for fighting. She didn't want to flash everyone after all.

Not wanting to look too goth, she added silver jewelry (along with the silver cross Angel had given her...she wondered if he would notice that), and a red belt. Hopefully she wasn't too dressed up. She was starting to wish she had just worn something simple.

She glanced both ways down the sidewalk, searching for his form in the small crowd of people walking by. Nothing yet. But then again, she was early. She glanced back down at her watch, another nervous habit deciding to pop up all of a sudden. She didn't want to seem anxious. Hardly a minute had passed since the last time she looked at it. Calm down Buffy. He will be here when he is here. You shouldn't have been so early...stupid Buffy. She mentally scolded herself, why oh why did she have to be so nervous? It was the same way with Spike. Damn those vampire, making her emotions go all squiggly. Suddenly she paused at the thought of the bleach blond vampire. She really hoped Angel didn't ask about that. She didn't know what was going on with the two, and she certainly didn't want to have to talk about it.

Hopefully tonight would just be a normal night.

Hey, a girl can hope.

[angel]

When Angel left Buffy and Spike to talk, his excuse to get his team settled hadn't actually been put to much use. There was very little that he could focus on except for what was happening after he left the pair. Now, it wasn't that he wanted to know. He would rather not hear a word about it. And a part of him feared that something had happened and that Spike would saunter up and brag nonstop about how he won. It wasn't a game and it wasn't a contest. Angel knew it and felt the weight of guilt just by thinking of it that way. Yet, when it came to the peroxided vamp, the ensouled vampire's maturity points might have fled. The thought of Buffy and Spike never changed for Angel, not from the moment he arrived in Sunnydale and could smell the other vampire on her. He didn't want to be pushed aside for him. And yeah, there was jealousy that his pride wouldn't admit. For over 100 years Angel had known Spike and in those years, he never felt the way he did when it came to his relationship with Buffy. There was never reason to envy him, definitely not as Angelus, and not in all the time he was in Sunnydale. Not until it came to Buffy. For some damned reason Spike seemed to have everything easy. And between the two of them he could actually give Buffy more than Angel could. He was too risky and he couldn't hurt her again. It didn't change how he felt. He would always love her and he tried to respect her need to move on but to have her move on to Spike—how was he supposed to pretend that it didn't hurt?

Whatever he did, he wasn't going to let it become a wedge between them. He was in Cleveland and it was never going to work if he was standoffish because he couldn't stand the idea of the two. It made him want to shut his ears and eyes off to the whole ordeal. He still planned to help Buffy out with the snitches and maybe beating around someone that wouldn't talk would be cathartic enough to take his mind off of the slayer and second ensouled vampire. Just like the night before, he felt nervous about it. The only difference was that Spike was at his side before. He could try his best to avoid it being awkward and reminiscent of before with him there. Yet, Angel was more than happy not to have him anywhere near tonight. As many bitter feelings that came up lately, it didn't change that they were on the same team and over the last few years the two were better at tolerating and working together. They still bantered and argued, but if Buffy was thrown into the mix then it all reverted straight back to old times, didn't it? Some things didn't change. But, maybe it had to.

He tried to show up somewhat early. Maybe not as early as Buffy did, but shortly before ten. Angel hadn't stayed in Cleveland before now, so he was still getting himself accustomed to the layout and the different places within it. It was easy enough to locate the demon bar, however, and he caught himself admiring how no matter where he was, he could always count on a place like that. His thoughts were distracted, however, when he saw Buffy. There she was. And immediately, after he tried to swallow down everything personal it came right back up to the forefront of his mind. He followed the sidewalk to the building and to her, hoping that he hadn't left her waiting too long. It wasn't quite ten yet, was it? Just like before, she looked stunning. But, Angel never once thought that she looked short of that. No matter how he saw her, that stayed the same. He took her in, memorizing her. "You look nice," he complimented immediately, and while he thought to do it before as well, having Spike shock her with his return from the dead kind of dampened any niceties that might have been announced. It was impossible for Angel to just look at Buffy and see through her. He noticed everything, even the glint of silver of a very familiar cross. It had been years ago... So many years ago, but he didn't forget it. Frankly, he was surprised that she still kept it. "You still have that,"Angel commented in a quiet, thoughtful way and gestured to it with a nod of his head, a smile ghosting his face. There might have been a lot of fear of the future and a painful reminder of what he couldn't have, but honestly he felt like he would much rather take all of that to at least be around her. After all, in addition to all of that, his spirits were actually heightened around her, despite his perpetual brood.

[buffy anne summers]

Biting her lip, Buffy glanced down at her shoes. It wasn't as if she had too much to do at the moment. She could have headed inside to get a head start on beating up the snitches, but she wanted to wait out in the nights air for Angel. It was a nice night, with the wind blowing just softly enough to give you goosebumps and a chill here or there. The moon was almost full (still had another week, so no changing werewolves to worry about, Cleveland was full of them), and the stars were bright. So it wasn't too dark out. It didn't matter if it was pitch black though, her slayer eyes would still be able to cut through the dark. Maybe not as good as say vampire eyes, but still not half bad, and a whole lot better than regular ol' human ones. Still, with the bright stars and practically full moon, there would be no straining on her eyes tonight.

With all the light out you would think she would have easily spotted the vampire. After all, they had known each other for a while. She may not have been a vampire, but she had that whole spidey sense thing down pat. She must have been lost in her thoughts, thinking about the night before, Spike, the potentials getting turned, and the new guy who claimed to be a slayer and from the future. That would be the only real reason for not noticing him as soon as he turned down the block. But as it was Angel made it almost seven feet away from her before she felt him. That wasn't normal. She really needed to clear her mind of all these issues, or else she could end up getting herself seriously hurt. She glanced up, giving him a small smile as a greeting.

They had so much history that at times just seeing him was difficult. Now was one of those times. It might have been easier if they hadn't gone so long between visits. They used to see each other at least once a year, and that was at the very least. But somehow they had let the last few years go by without hardly a phone call between them. How had that happened? It was true, seeing him still gave her the shivers and made her heart skip that extra little beat. Something she was positive he noticed every time. She couldn't help but wonder why they couldn't be together, why fate had to step in and say no. The two were perfect, they fit each other quite nicely. But still. His little pesky curse liked to step in and mix things up for the both of them. Not to mention there was this whole Spike issue...her feelings on that subject were still a bit old blob of confusion. And she didn't expect that to change any time soon. But standing in front of Angel, all thoughts of Spike disappeared, even if it was just for a second of two. She wondered briefly if they were going to have to talk about that. She was sure he wouldn't want to hear anything about it, and she was sure she didn't want to tell him anything about it. But that didn't mean it wouldn't end up coming out sometime during the night.

Her face turned slightly red at his compliment, as she looked down slightly embarrassed. That was new. Then again, this whole thing felt new. Seeing Angel for the first time in years...all their old chemistry was there, but it was also somehow different. It reminded her of the first few months they had met. Back when he had given her the cross she had put around her neck tonight. And he noticed, of course he did. She wasn't sure why she even thought there was a chance he wouldn't. Without even thinking about it, she brought one small hand up to the silver chain, caressing the cross lightly. "Of course I do. You think I would have thrown it away or something?" She said jokingly, glancing up to meet his eyes. She saw the trace of a smile on his face and wanted to grin, but stopped herself short. It was nice to see that small smile, he always had been the master of brooding. So even a small smile was welcomed, and she was willing to take anything she could get.

"Ready to kiss some demony ass?" She asked, pushing herself away from the wall she had been leaning on, giving him a grin as she glanced towards the door of the demon and vampire bar.

[angel]

"Of course I do. You think I would have thrown it away or something?"

Angel didn't know why he imagined that to be an option, but she could have. Of course, he couldn't just outright say that he feared she might have tossed anything that reminded her remotely of him. It would be like a magnifying glass held over his every insecurity—that feeling of inadequacy that he wasn't accustomed to. And if she had, maybe he wouldn't have blamed her. Because, he deserved it and she should be able to move on without Angel clinging to the hopelessness of what they used to have. When Angel left Sunnydale, he hoped that she would find someone that could give her a normal life. He wanted her to be happy, even when he wasn't going to be half as lucky. While he didn't need to her to parade it in front of him, he wanted it for her. Being close to her was indescribable like always. Angel thought that maybe the years between them might have changed something, but they hadn't. It was the exact onslaught of emotions that always bombarded him when she was around. The chemistry wasn't lost, but neither was the reminder that he could never have her. He hated whatever possessed him to think that they ever could, and missed it at all once—missed that time before Angelus, when he believed that they could actually make it work. That a vampire and a slayer could somehow stay together.

And now, after all that time, he feared his theory was going to be burned in front of him. Buffy could be with a vampire, she could have Spike and he wouldn't hurt her. Because, he fought for his soul, he was able to fight alongside of her when Angel had to stay back and maybe he did have her heart. He was talented at not showing any of the thoughts that raced through his mind. Even as he forcibly banished them from the forefront of his head. Angel's expression didn't change and he didn't hint that any of it was going on. But the tension... Could she feel it? He knew that he could, just as he always did. But it was better, better than feeling nothing at all. And if push came to shove, he could swallow everything he felt. He was good at that too. The last thing he wanted was to complicate things for Buffy. She didn't deserve that. And she definitely didn't deserve his jealousy. "No," the answer was only a slight venture from the truth and he continued, "it's just been a while since I've seen it." Back to the truth again. That did make it more surprising and so reminiscent of when he saw her wear it and when he gave it to her initially. It was strange how he felt it so similarly to how he did before. Only now, he knew the danger. The gypsies really knew how to lay on the punishment. Angel loathed the curse; the soul might have been something he never wanted to lose, but he despised the curse and that little clause that caused so much damage.

Decidedly, he left out that he was glad that she kept the necklace. It meant a little more to him than he led on, although his smile might have spoken for him. He knew of the people that knew him, it was Buffy that read him better. But, even around her Angel knew how to plaster on a façade that could fool anyone. There were times when lying came badly, but if it was important enough and if he felt moved enough to do it, there was no one that could see through him. Although he volunteered to help her knock around a few snitches, he knew that that wouldn't be the entire course of the evening. They would talk and he hoped that they did. As much as Angel tried to stress working alongside of her as an ally more than the exboyfriend he was, he couldn't just leave it there. She meant too much to him and even if it was only as a friend, he wanted to catch up with her, to know exactly how she felt about him being there. —even if he part of him claimed it irrelevant.

"Let's get to it." Angel was fast to agree to get in there. And not only because he didn't want to spend too much time dwelling, but because he was itching for something to beat around and to watch her. He never got tired of watching her in action. It was something he missed through not working at her side anymore. She was really something else. Thinking ahead to kicking around some demons actually gave him the anticipation that helped stifle his uncertainties. With her, he walked to the door and pushed it open, immediately welcomed by the noise and smell of every demon bar he ever entered in his long life. "Is it a rule that every demon bar has to look exactly the same?" Angel asked, glancing at Buffy. Okay, so maybe not exact, but they were all pretty damn similar and nothing more than a hole in the wall somewhere where humans weren't likely to wander in. And the occupants... Well, they were basically the same too.