Into The Night
Author: Copper Email: [email protected] Disclaimer: Owned by JW, WB, Mutant Enemy, Fox, the writers and the actors who bring these amazing characters to life. Anything you recognize is theirs, only the plot is mine. Spoilers: I Will Remember You, nothing else as far as I know. Synopsis: Buffy remembers. Rating: You watch the show, you can read this. Notes: Inspired by the 'gut-wrenching sewer talks.' Thanks: To Garnet, Serena, and Jess for their help. Dedication: To Kate.for feedback, support and hugs.
"So, then let's just stick to the plan. Keep our distance until a lot of time has passed, and given enough time - we should be able to." Buffy played with her bracelets. "Forget." He completed the thought in a whisper. "Yeah," she replied, her lips turning up in a parody of a smile. "So. I'm gonna go. start forgetting." Angel just stared at her, still dazed by the time shift. The Mohra crashed through the window behind Angel with a scream. He turned, grabbing the clock from his desk and coolly smashed the Mohra's jewel with it. It disappeared in a flash of light. Slightly stunned, Buffy said, "That was unreal. How did you know how to kill it?" "It's a Mohra demon. I - I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading." She looked skeptical but accepted his explanation. Buffy nodded slowly, "Yeah. Okay. So I guess we've covered it, right?" "I guess we did." "And that's all there really is to say." Angel took a deep breath and looked down on the smashed clock. "Yeah." It stopped at 9:02. He turned back only to see Buffy's skirt and hear the click of her heels as she left the outer office. "That's it." ***** I can't believe. We just redid that whole conversation as though nothing ever happened. Of course, since he doesn't *know* that I know. I'm not sure why I didn't forget but I don't really care. I kept my promise. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with this knowledge. ~ Buffy closed her diary and sat thinking, letting her mind wander over the events of the past 'day'. Eventually, though, she was brought farther back in their past, to their first 'heart-breaking sewer talk' and she wondered if he had connected the two. If not, she was going to make him understand. But first, she had a demon to see. ***** Knowing that Cordelia hadn't expected her to leave so soon, Buffy headed for the Starbucks that she'd seen near Angel's. Looking in the window, as she opened the door, she saw Doyle blowing whipped cream off of his drink, and she walked over to their table. "Buffy! What are.? That was quick. Did you stake him?" "No, Cordelia, I didn't stake him." She glowered at the seated brunette, then turned towards her companion. "Doyle, I need you to take me to the Oracles." "The Oracles?" he sputtered, coffee splashing as he set his cup down abruptly. "How do you.? Why do you.?" "That's not important. I just need to see them. And I need a gift." Cordelia perked up at the mention of a gift. "Shopping? I'd be glad to pick out something for you, so you don't offend them with something trashy." Too focussed on her mission to care about the backhanded insult, she said, "Fine, but I need it immediately." The other girl wanted to protest but a look from Buffy silenced her and she left hurriedly after they arranged a meeting place. "Are you sure you want to be doing this, lass? The Oracles are tricky beings." "I know what I'm doing. Let's just go, all right?" With that they left the shop, and went to pick up the necessary supplies before heading to the post office to meet Cordelia. ***** The silence was thick as Doyle tossed bits of various spices into the bowl (that reminded Buffy of her grandmother's birdbath). Even Cordelia just held her tongue and watched as he reached into his pocket for the lighter and intoned, 'We beseech access to the knowing Ones' and lit the flame. The portal opened and Buffy walked in. "Come before us, lower being." Buffy was preparing a retort but the female Oracle prevented it. "What have you brought?" Buffy held out the antique necklace that Cordelia had found and watched as it flew to the female's hand. Instead of beginning to question her, the Oracles just stared and waited for her to speak. "You messed up; I remember everything and.I thank you for it." When they didn't react she became confused. Seeing this, the female said, "It is no mistake, Slayer. We knew that you would not forget for your powers make that impossible. However, it reassured him to believe you would not bear that burden and since it was necessary for him to revert." she trailed off knowing the girl understood. "I know. Angel needs to be able to 'make amends,' to fight. Having him human was a dream but in the real world. I wouldn't want him to change but-" She broke off with a shake of her head. "There's something I must know." They just continued watching her and pacing. "You told Angel that you would turn him back to a demon with a soul so I need you to confirm what I believe: that you removed the clause from his curse." "Why should we have done that? What have you done to deserve it?" "You know what we have done. You know we have saved the world many times over. And you also know that we are much stronger together than we are apart. Even the Mohra demon said this. If Angel dies then I lose my hope, and if I die, then he loses his reason to keep fighting. It probably wouldn't kill us, I'm not na�ve enough to believe in Romeo and Juliet, but you will lose us the same as if we were those two." The male grimaced, "You are only saying this because you want your lover back." "Yes, I do. But since you haven't been paying attention, I will repeat what I said. Together we are strong. Our love makes us better fighters, not just the love we have for each other but the love we have for those we fight for. Time and time again we have proven this - " "Enough. Brother, cease your torment. You are correct; the clause is no longer there. Now go, and convince him to return to you. Do not make all this for nothing." With that Buffy was thrown back into the antechamber, right into Doyle and Cordelia, who was not pleased. "I'm going to have bruises because of you!" "Did you find out what you wanted to know?" Buffy nodded. "And.?" The Irishman was curious. "I need some time to think. I'll be in touch." She started to walk away but turned around and said, "Don't tell Angel about this, all right?" When they both nodded, albeit reluctantly, Buffy gave a brief smile and left. ***** Two days later Rrriiinnnggg. "Cordelia Chase, actress and model." Buffy laughed. "And here I thought you were a secretary/detective." "Oh, it's you." "Yes, it's me. I said I'd be in touch." "I know, but -" "But you were hoping I was lying? Sorry, Cordelia. I know you're worried about your job and your friend Doyle, and." She paused and her voice softened, "and that I'm only going to hurt Angel." The brunette started to protest, uncomfortable with the Slayer's perceptiveness. "It's all right, I promise not to tell anyone. Angel and I have always been really good with the pain.but we've got a chance, Cordy. A real chance!" Cordelia heard the suppressed joy and fear in the other girl's voice and wondered what was going on but Buffy continued before she had a chance to ask. "Now, do you have any clients this weekend?" A rather inelegant snort preceded Cordy's launch into complaining about the lack of paying customers, which Buffy cut off as quickly as possible. "Okay, then take the weekend off. Relax, go to a movie, ask your Irish friend there to dinner, my treat. Don't come back until Monday." "Wait a second, why would I want to go out with Doyle? And." But as she was denying it, she acknowledged that this was the perfect excuse to get to know him without seeming at all interested. Then she realized, "Hey, you said Monday! I'm not leaving you two alone all weekend to send the world into another apocalypse." "Cordy, you know I would never do that to Angel. Don't worry, you enjoy your weekend off, and when you come back your job will still be intact and, knock on wood, two much happier people." She heard the brunette's gasp as the meaning of what she was saying sunk in. "And Cordelia, give Doyle a chance. Don't let fear or pride keep you from finding out if you can be happy together. And.thank you both." With that, Buffy hung up the phone and went to finish her preparations for the coming weekend. ***** Buffy set her bag by the stairs and walked over to his room. She watched him for a few minutes, admiring the pale skin that seemed to glow over the taut muscles on his chest, remembering how she'd licked the ice cream off it only a few days ago. She jumped when she heard him say her name in a husky breath but realized he was still asleep and breathed a sigh of relief. Quietly Buffy walked to Angel's side and sat on his bed. She leaned over and began to place feather kisses on his face, slowly working her way to his lips. Strong arms came around her to pull her close as the kiss deepened and tongues dueled. Just as she realized that she would have to stop before things got out of control, (not that she didn't want them to, but she knew it couldn't happen yet), Angel's eyes flew open and she was pushed away so quickly that only a quick twist saved her head from banging against his bedside table. "Buffy...you're real. You're here. How...why...What in hell do you think you're doing?" A thousand emotions rushed through him as she stood up and looked down at him. He swore she was trying not to laugh. "Afternoon, Sleeping Beauty. You never used to do that when I kissed you awake. Must be losing my touch," she muttered to herself. "Oh, well. We have to talk and as much as I love looking at your naked body, I don't think we'll get much talking done if you don't cover up. I mean, it's hard enough to control it just by being around you." She trailed off seeing his look of disbelief. "But.I thought.weren't you going to go start forgetting?" He was trying to make sense off all this, but it wasn't working. Waking up to Buffy's lips devouring his. He snapped out of his reverie at her words. "Oh, Angel. I was but I always try to keep my promises and I promised you I'd never forget." And he watched, stunned as she turned and walked out of his room with a soft smile. ***** Buffy was just stirring the milk and sugar into her tea when Angel emerged from the bedroom. "Hey, why don't we take this to the living room? Get comfy." As she walked over to the couch, he noticed she was wearing one of his old button shirts with a pair of old, soft jeans. Not her usual fashion-conscious look but sexy in a natural way.besides, the sight of those jeans over her firm. He shook his head, and picking up his mug followed her into the room where she gave him another hesitant smile as he sat in his chair. They sat drinking the tea in silence until Angel finally said, "You are really here, right? I'm not still dreaming?" "Yes, I'm really here, but seeing as how you're still having doubts.I'm willing to try another kiss." Seeing that she was serious, he quickly said, "No! Really, I believe you." but trailed off upon hearing her soft laughter. Despite his confusion the sound warmed his heart, particularly as he'd thought he would never hear it again. Which brought him back to the question he'd asked earlier. "Why are you here, Buffy?" "I'm here to convince you to give us another chance." "Another chance? You know that's impossible, the reasons I left still apply." "Angel, the reasons you gave for leaving were total bullshit. But before I get into that," She cut off his protests, "first I have to explain a few things. "I left here with you believing that I was still upset about you coming to Sunnydale and that I hadn't remembered. I'm sorry for that, because the pain you were feeling over having it all and having to give it up-" He looked at her in surprise. "Angel, I know you. You've been blaming yourself and telling yourself what a fool you were to give it up, even though you really had no choice. I still don't like that you didn't talk to me first, but I do understand." "But I don't." His voice was pleading, "How can you remember? The Oracles promised me you wouldn't." "I know, I asked them that myself and they said that my powers wouldn't let me forget, whatever that means." "They lied to me?" "Yes, because they needed you to turn back and I guess they thought that you'd feel better about it if you thought I didn't have to have the burden of knowing of the day that wasn't. I know you were trying to do the protective thing, but I don't need it. I'm glad that I have the memory. Do you have any idea how happy it made me to not just be with you but to hear you laugh and smile without all the guilt? I will always treasure that." In the silence that followed she got up and carried her mug to the kitchen, giving Angel time to absorb what she'd said. Coming back she sat on the table in front of him, and waited for him to speak. She was startled when he clasped her hands in his. "Thank you, Buffy. I am glad that you have the memory even though it hurts to know that it can't ever happen again-" He was cut off by her almost growl of frustration. "Stop being so damn noble, Angel. Were you even listening when I said that I was here so we could try again?" Annoyed, she stood up and started pacing. "Angel, you left and it's obvious that you've been doing pretty well too. You've gained confidence in who you are and you've got some new friends, who care a lot about you. You don't need me anymore...and I'm glad. I liked that you depended on me last year, even when my insecurities got the better of me and I pushed you away, you still needed me and it made me feel good, that I could return some of the support you'd given to me in the past. But at the same time, I wanted you back to where you were before you became Angelus. That last month had been perfect, so to see you now. That's why I accepted you leaving and well...I'm just glad, although I wish I could have been part of it." "But what about you, Buffy? You seemed to be doing pretty well - apart from the strange obsession with a perfect Thanksgiving. You've got your friends, family, college, and I saw you with that boy. You seemed to be getting along quite well without me." "Well, you left and after being miserable for more than half the summer, I decided I would try to do what you wanted for you and for me. And with the exception of the first week of classes, the demonic roommate who tried to steal my soul for herself, and Parker - who I'm sure you heard about from Spike, I've been all right. School's hard, especially with the slaying, and the past while I've been trying to help Willow 'cause Oz left. And yes, that guy you saw me with does like me and he's nice. His name's Riley and maybe if this hadn't happened I could have settled for a nice average guy but I don't want to settle. I want you, Angel." "And you've got to know how much I want you too, but we can't be together. I can't go into the sunlight with you, or make love with you or give you any of the things a normal girl would want." Buffy exploded. "Damn it. Do you have any idea how insulting you are being? I am NOT normal, Angel! I haven't been normal in the entire time you've known me so how in hell am I supposed to start now? I'm not a normal girl and I'm not a normal Slayer. You, better than anyone, should know this. One of the first things you ever said to me was something about how it wasn't an option for me to ignore all the things that go bump in the night anymore. And you were the one who comforted me when I lost my powers last year, who listened when I said that I couldn't go back to being that ignorant Spordelia. I have to fight just as you do - it's who I am now. "And as for the things a 'real girl would want', I don't have the most maternal instincts and I would never want to endanger a child by bringing them into my life. Same goes for any normal guy I got involved with, and that's *if* I could tell him about being the Slayer. I would constantly worry about protecting him, about his ego and I don't want that, as much as picnics and beaches in the sun would be fun. That's what I love about you, Angel. You admire my strength, and while I worry about you it's because I care and not because I don't think you can handle yourself. You can and I love watching you, and I love knowing that I don't have to protect you any more than you have to protect me. We're equals in this fight. And as the Mohra, and the Oracles, said, we are stronger together than we are apart." "And they're right. We are stronger together but we're also a much bigger danger together than we are apart both to those we're supposed to protect and to each other." Angel grabbed her hand and pulled her down in front of him. "It's no use, Buffy, as long as the danger is there we cannot be together." She smiled gently as she raised his hands to her lips for a brief kiss. "But there is no danger. I didn't go see the Oracles just to find out why I remembered. I went for an answer and when I left they said that all that had happened, the day that wasn't and my memory of it, was meant to be and that it was to give us another chance." "How? What did you need to ask them?" "I asked if you still had a clause on your soul. You told me that the female said you were to be returned to a demon with a soul, not a demon with soul and a clause, and I wanted to be sure that that was what they really intended and they did. You may not be human, but you don't ever have to worry about Angelus coming back to hurt anyone again." He was stunned. He no longer noticed that she was still caressing his hands with her lips until she asked softly, "Please, Angel, the Powers have given us this chance. I know you're still worried about all the differences and we still have so much to talk about but let's not waste this gift. I need someone who can go with me into the night, and you do too." Buffy's eyes shimmered with tears, tears of hope and of fear that he might walk away. As all that had been said sunk in, Angel lowered his head to hers and whispered. "I do and I won't let it go. Won't let you go." Then he closed the gap and took her lips in a kiss of healing, of peace, and of promise. The End
