Morning came. Leaving her place on the couch, Buffy had helped Spike downstairs after stealing a few kisses. Giles woke and came down to witness Anya, Xander, and Willow all arrive. Presently a black car with its top up pulled into the shade of the house, and Angel and Cordelia joined them.
Pleasantries were exchanged, but no one was actually saying much of anything. Cordelia glared at Xander, who returned it, Angel's gaze flickered between Buffy, Spike, and Willow, Willow eyed Angel uneasily, and Giles stared mutely at Spike. Finally Anya, who had watched the whole spectacle, stood up, "This is boring. Are we going to do anything? Xander and I could be having sex now."
Xander had the grace to blush, but he did not protest as she led him toward the door. "Bye, Angel, Cordelia. My problem with Dead Boy Junior can wait until later."
Willow stood also, "Giles, I think I need you to bring that stuff you had to the dorm room."
"What stuff?" Giles asked, clearly confused.
"The stuff we talked about. Come on." Getting the hint, Giles left with her. Angel's eyes followed Willow out.
"Now that everyone else left, I think you and Angel have something to say to each other, outside," Cordelia suggested.
Buffy kissed Spike's forehead. "Sure." Angel and Buffy stepped outside.
Spike shot Cordelia a look of annoyance. "Why did you do that?"
"She needs to smooth things over with him. You didn't have to listen to him rage all yesterday night."
"Who cares? She's my girl now."
"The fact hasn't escaped him," Cordelia observed. "And judging by those finger-shaped bruises on her shoulders, I'd say it didn't escape you either."
"You helped," he pointed out. "I do need to ask you something. Is Seeing all bad?"
"Beyond the ultra-powerful headaches? Not always, just usually. I can't see the winning lotto numbers or anything majorly helpful. But I am good at saying things like, 'Evil is rising on the corner of West Main and Ninth.' Also I'm good at finding demon-eaten corpses."
"So there are good points."
"Yeah, what did Angel say, 'You are now an indispensable member of the slaying team.' It'll get you lots of gratitude, assuming it doesn't get you killed."
"Charming. Any ideas what I should do with this other new gift, the empathy?"
She was startled he wanted her opinion on something other than seeing, "Other than helping the helpless, which you're gonna be forced to do anyway? If I were you, I'd learn how to sneak around with it. It'll keep the whole Scooby gang from finding out what you're up to. Besides, who knows how long you and Buffy will be together."
He glared at her, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, duh, she's the Slayer. I've had fish with longer life spans than what she may have. I mean things look good now, but who knows what will happen months from now. If you don't get your grr back and try to kill her-"
"I've never been able to kill her," he interrupted.
"-then someone else will. It's not like vampire and slayer couples have real staying power. You'll probably just get tired of her and ditch her or eat her."
Outrage warred with indignation across his face, "I am not going to get tired of her. Ever!"
Cordelia clicked her tongue, "Boy, you've got it bad."
"Look, I know," Buffy said. "'He's dangerous. He's bad. He doesn't have a soul. It will never work.'"
Angel caught her arm. "No, I didn't come to fight." He let her go. "I just wanted to tell you to be careful."
"I understand, but, Angel, you can't look out for me forever."
The intensity of his gaze physically pushed her back. "I wish I could." Angel took her hands in his. "You know I love you."
She slowly pulled her hands back. "And I can't love you back. At least not the way we did that one time."
"I would almost trade my soul for that. If only-"
"Don't say it!" she cried. She couldn't go through that ever again. "Being with Spike doesn't mean I hate you. We have different lives now. You chose LA. I choose Sunnydale, and Spike."
He considered her words for a minute, "Was it worth it?"
"What? Spike or you?"
"Me."
There was no uncertainty in her tone, "Yes."
"Is he worth it?"
Again, no hesitation, "Yes."
"How do you know?" he practically begged.
Buffy looked off into the distance. "If you could have met Eve. If Eve had lived . . . She brought up something in him I had never let myself see. It was the last thing I was searching for, but it found me."
"Do you love him?" Angel voice was harsh.
"I don't know!" she threw up her hands in exasperation. "Is love trusting someone completely? Is it wanting to be with someone every minute of the day? Is it what drives me to sleep with my mortal enemy?" Buffy faced him again, pain plain on her features. "I never planned on any of this; it just happened."
Angel couldn't stand to see the pain and turned away, "I'm sorry."
"So am I."
"No, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for what I put you through with Angelus, I'm sorry I left, and I'm sorry I put you in this position."
"It's not your fault. People change. We have to. You changed since you left, and I knew things with Spike were different after our first kiss, before Eve came into the picture."
He faced her and held her arm tightly. "I want you to be happy. That's all I ever wanted. If he ever hurts you . . ."
"He won't. He's the one who needs to be careful."
"Still, I'm here if you and he don't make it."
"Don't hold your breath. We're thinking long term," Buffy matched his eyes without flinching.
The door opened behind them as Angel let her go. Cordelia said, "Angel, your turn."
"For what?"
"Get into the house and talk to your newly psychicked childe." She left no questioning. Angel obeyed.
"Okay Buffy, I don't feel like dancing around this. Do you plan on being with Spike for a long time?"
"Yes," Buffy said in irritation. "You too? Does everyone think he's that undependable?"
"I wasn't talking about him. I was talking about you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Cordelia faced Buffy with undisguised agony in her eyes. "I loved Doyle. I did, but he was never mine. He was good and kind, even if he was half demon. But he was never ever going to be mine. The PTB's had a different plan." She pointed at Buffy. "Now you have Spike."
"No biggie. I don't own my own life. I'm the Slayer. Spike and I are even."
"It's not the same. We have this thing inside of us. It's gift or a curse, I can't be sure. When I found I had it in me, I kissed every guy in a three block radius trying to get rid of it.
"You must have really wanted to get rid of it." Buffy commented.
"You have no idea. Either way, it's in me, forever. Or until I die. Which could be very soon or not so soon."
"Yeah, I'm the Slayer. I already have the pronouncement 'You will not live past twenty-five' hanging over my head."
"It's different for a seer. Spike will be able to see his own death coming. Or yours."
Buffy closed her eyes, "Something bad is ahead, isn't it?"
"Yep. Something so icky it forced me to show up in Sunnydale again. So powerful it's getting Spike and Angel to call off their fight. So great the PTB's are letting their favorite Tool and Voice get it on."
"I got the idea," Buffy said feeling the atmosphere around them darken.
"I hoped you did. I laid it on pretty thick," Cordelia admitted. "Doesn't mean I was lying. I usually save the gloom and doom for Angel to say."
"That doesn't surprise me."
"Since you don't seem to know what to say, I'll say it for you. 'Spike, I love your girlfriend. You hurt her and I'll kill you.'"
"Something like that," Angel agreed.
"Okay. Now that we got that out of the way, we can return to our regularly scheduled programming, you in LA and me here."
"Why did you stay?"
"What?"
"Why did you stay here in Sunnydale?" Angel asked.
"I was bored. Sunnyhell isn't short on excitement with a Hellmouth and the Slayer. I ended up with more than I ever needed."
"Then why didn't you leave after that? You live to kill, and now you can't," Angel pointed out.
"So I was bad off for a while, my whole unlife was screwed. I only tried to stake myself a few times."
"You tried to stake yourself!" Angel exclaimed in disbelief.
"At least I didn't try to sit outside and wait for the sun to rise." Spike raised a hand dismissively, "I know; the snow came and all that. You lead a charmed life. I'm starting to fancy that maybe I'm just as charmed as you. Every time I tried to do the deed, the Slayer or her friends stopped me."
That was a revelation for Angel. "So what changed?"
"A lot. First I kissed the Slayer. And then Eve comes along, and now I'm back to the whole Slayer bit."
"So Buffy and Eve are why you are alive."
"Basically." He shrugged his shoulders, "Killing demons and fledglings almost makes up for the pig's blood. Shagging the Slayer more than makes up for all of this torment."
His sire gave him a fierce stare. "I'm only going to ask this once, but I need to know. Do you love her?"
"Cordelia bugged me about that too. I don't know. Why can't anyone be happy that she is my reason for living. Or not living," Spike growled in annoyance.
"She is?"
"Hair gel blocking your ears? We just went over that! Are you surprised? Come one, Dru was the center of my universe once. Well, Dru and killing of course. What's wrong with me and the Slayer? She's a far cry from Dru. Most of Buffy's brain works."
"Nice to see you noticed," Angel observed dryly. "So she made all the difference in this new nice you?"
"Bugger it all. I'm no saint like you. I'm still the same Spike. I just don't bite anymore, hard. Does that suddenly make me a nancy-boy like you? The Slayer and I like each other fine. We shag. Neither of us sees this as undying soul stealing love. We'll settle for years of mind-blowing sex if that's okay with you."
"If you think that, you're an idolt."
"Thanks Poofy. I watched you walk that road once. I'm not the ninny you are. It's not gonna happen to me."
"You keep telling yourself that Spike. I know I did."
"Can you go now?"
"I'm going. Remember, hurt her, and I will kill you."
"No, you hurt her or screw this up for me; you'll find your way back to LA in a dustbuster. Sides, don't try to get in my face. I saw the way you and Red were checking each other out."
Angel tensed, "It was nothing."
"Bull. You're trying to lie to the wrong person. It was bad enough when it was demon-girl and Xander with sex on the brain, but now you and Red."
"Could you shut up?"
Seeing he'd struck a nerve, Spike continued without mercy. "Why a little attention is good for her. She's not dealing too well with dog-boy leaving. If you ever come back here, maybe it should be to see Red instead of planning how to steal my girlfriend. Break the vicious cycle already. Hell, I'll even give you advice on how to get some from her." Spike considered his words. "Or not get some. I like this you better anyhow. I miss the bad-ass, but that one would have killed me after I moved in on the Slayer."
"This one still might," Angel said under his breath.
"I heard that. Still, you and Red, I saw it."
Angel didn't bother to deny any of it. "I think it is time to go."
"Don't let me stop you," Spike said. "Take care of Cordelia, too."
"What's that mean?"
"She needs to talk to you about that Doyle character. Be gentle, she's still grieving."
"I thought I'd seen it all. I was wrong. William the Bloody, grief counselor, is new."
"It happens. You take care of her. She's gonna need it," Spike thought about what he said, "And I don't have a bleeding clue where that came from."
Buffy and Cordelia reentered. "Time to go," Angel told Cordelia.
"Bye, 'Dad,'" Spike called from the couch, and Buffy watched them leave in silence. When they were gone, Spike addressed his quiet girlfriend, "So I take it they cornered you too?"
"Yeah, serious much," Buffy sat next to him on the couch. "They aren't sure we have a chance."
"Honestly, Vegas odds wouldn't give us a snowballs chance in Hell." Buffy frowned at him, and he laughed, "Vegas would also give the same odds for you living past sixteen."
She smiled at his comment, and he returned it. They were on the same wavelength, happy to be defying the odds, again. No one did it as well as they did. It was a perfect moment in time, no danger, no pain; simply two people falling deeper into an unexplainable attraction. "Can we hold hands?" She blushed at the intense look on his face.
"Sure, pet. Whatever you want." They twined their fingers together and enjoyed their moment, ignoring the gathering darkness on the horizon.
"So, do we have a winner?" Cordelia inquired in the car.
Angel nodded, "They're in love. Nothing on heaven, earth, or hell is going to keep them apart."
"I got the same feeling. Those two pretend they don't know, but they're almost ready to say it." Cordelia looked thoughtful, "They do have a lot going against them. She Slayer; he vampire."
"I don't think it will matter. Nothing can compare."
"So I've heard." Cordelia adjusted her hair in the mirror, "I actually hope they can be happy." She seemed very sad in that moment.
He thought for a second, judging her face. "It could happen." He paused.
"What?" she said annoyed.
"Well, seeing Spike become a seer has made me start thinking. I miss Doyle . . ."
A silent unseen figure watched the black car pull away with anger on its face. Despite the calm, there would always be a storm on the horizon.