Sequel to 'Duet'.

Angel slipped into the rink and closed his eyes, smelling the sharp, cold scent of the ice. He walked towards the bench and sat down to put on his skates, remembering all the times he'd done this as a child in Ireland.

He had arranged this date with Buffy last week, following their impromptu performance in the Sunnydale High auditorium after the Talent Show participants had left. Giles had slipped out quietly while they only had eyes for each other Angel was grateful and relieved beyond words that Buffy's Watcher didn't object to him and Buffy renewing their relationship. Angel's head came up as he heard footsteps.

"Hey, gorgeous. Come here often?"

Angel stood and turned to face Buffy. She wore tight black velvet jeans and a red lycra top under the leather jacket he'd given her almost two years ago. He grinned and replied "Only with my girlfriend, she's a big Dorothy Hamil fan. We tried a date here once before, but we got…interrupted."

Buffy tilted her head to the left, swinging her skates in her hand, then slowly sauntered towards him. She stopped with her body inches from his, looked into his eyes, propped her free hand on her hip and asked, "Will I do?"

Angel wanted more than anything to take her in his arms and kiss her, but settled for smiling at her and said "Oh, I think so. I should warn you though, my girlfriend's very possessive."

"Really?" Buffy asked him, arching her eyebrows. "Well if you were mine, I wouldn't let you go anywhere without me. I keep what's mine very close."

Angel's eyes gleamed and his voice was husky as he whispered "So am I yours?"

Buffy gazed into the deep brown eyes of the man she loved, and her nerve broke. She stepped away from him and sat on the bench, quickly changing into her skates, then walking onto the ice, feeling Angel's eyes upon her like a laser beam the whole time. She didn't know what on earth had possessed her to say that.

Actually, she knew very well. She needed to push Angel to the limits, because if she did and he reacted like Angel, she would know once and for all that Angelus was under control.

As Buffy reached the center of the ice rink, she spun to face Angel, who had come up behind her. Only now did the music register she looked up at him in astonishment and Angel answered her unspoken question by nodding towards the portable radio he'd left on top of the railing.

He offered her his hand and Buffy took it, then they pushed off in unison, moving in time to the music. After circling the rink once, Angel stopped and used their linked arms to guide Buffy in a circle around him, bringing her into his arms. As the pounding beat of a rock song started to play Buffy slid her arm around Angel, mirroring his arm around her waist under her jacket. They started skating again, faster this time, trying out some moves together.

Angel tried to concentrate on the freezing air of the rink, and the feel of the smooth ice beneath his feet-anything to distract him from Buffy. He could feel the warmth of her body through the thin top-why had she chosen the exact shade of deep red that he'd always found irresistible on her?

Angel was so busy trying to distract himself from Buffy, that he lost track of the move they were trying and his feet got tangled in hers. Buffy turned against him in a vain effort to keep her balance, but all she did was send him crashing to the ice beneath her.

Buffy's breath was knocked out of her for a second by the impact, as Angel landed on his back on the ice with her body on top of his.

"Are you all right?" Angel asked. Looking into his eyes, Buffy heard the song fade away. The silence before a new one started seemed to stretch out forever then it condensed, folding around them, until it started to heat up and pulsate with tension.

Buffy laid her hands and arms on top of Angel's and eased her fingers through his, until they locked into two double fists, palms pressed together tightly. The only pounding beat that Buffy could hear now was that of her own heart Angel's eyes told her that he heard it too, and the strength of the grip his fingers held on hers told her that she wasn't the only one affected by their closeness.

Buffy's voice was faint and breathless as she asked him "Aren't you cold, lying on the ice?"

Angel smiled at her and replied "I don't feel the cold, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

Angel gazed into Buffy's eyes, struggling against the urge to kiss her. He knew that if he wanted their relationship to be mended, he had to repair the shattered trust between them. He had to hold back and let her make the first move-but oh, Lord, it was so hard when Buffy looked at him like that.

Buffy swallowed hard, and the spell was broken. She could hear the music again now, a romantic ballad by Celine Dion. As she pushed herself off Angel's body, she knelt on the ice so she could stand, not noticing the way Angel stiffened from the effort of restraining himself from her unconsciously provocative position. As she pulled him up to stand with her, Buffy looked into his eyes and all her fear and doubt faded away. She remembered the last time they had been at this rink, and asked Angel "Show me your true face."

Angel stared at Buffy, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. "Are you sure?" he asked. When Buffy nodded at him and smiled, Angel braced himself for her reaction and shifted into his game face. Buffy gazed into his eyes then cupped his face in her hands to bring his head down to hers.

Tenderly, she kissed both his eyelids. Then, as Angel kept his eyes closed, Buffy left a gentle trail of kisses across the ridges on his forehead, across both cheekbones and along his chin, wanting to cover every inch and crevice of his face with her kisses before her lips finally came to rest on his. Just like that night on the ice rink so long ago, Buffy didn't care what face he wore. She just wanted Angel.

Angel wrapped his arms around her tightly, not able to hold back anymore, needing to show Buffy how much he loved her. As they kissed again and again, Angel knew with a surge of joy that he and Buffy would rebuild their relationship. It would take some time and a lot of effort, but he and Buffy would get back everything--all the love, all the trust, all the passion--that his broken curse had taken from them.

Go here for the sequel. Go here for the prequel.

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