DISCLAIMER: No way. No how. Just no.
SUMMARY: S2, pre S/I. Buffy has a crappy day. But it's getting better.
WORDCOUNT: 1711
Written for the Full
Monthly at Blood Roses Forum. Requirements: B/A, mention of March and
something/someone from Ireland.
Winner at Still His Girl Awards, By Jove, Joss Was Right Runner-Up at The Potential Awards, Reader's Choice at Shades of Grey
STUDY DATE
by Leni
Buffy banged her head thrice against the crypt's fence in despair.
"Buffy?"
She moaned and did it again. Even Murphy's Law was after her today. Of course Angel had to
find her exactly when she was acting childishly. He couldn't have arrived five minutes ago
when she was sexily leaning against the crypt, neither could he have come when she was
re-applying her make-up with that come-hither look she'd practiced for hours. No, Buffy
Summers couldn't be so lucky. Now she only prayed that the blush invading her skin would
disappear... or that she'd find a hole to crawl into.
"You alright?"
There being no other option, she turned around slowly, relieved that at least her face
didn't burn so much anymore. She pasted her brightest smile to her face. "Yup, I'm
fine. Let's go patrol!" Tugging at his arm, Buffy directed him further into the
graveyard.
Angel cocked an eyebrow at her even as he let himself be lead by the smaller girl.
Buffy sighed. She really hated that 'I know there's more to it' look, but she had to admit
that it looked way sexier in him than in her Watcher. "Oh, the fence thingie?"
she said airily, "Nothing important." She laughed and hoped he'd buy it. "I
was just..." But Angel was looking straight into her eyes and she cursed inwardly.
Damn him and her inability to lie to his face. "I had a bad day?"
His expression mellowed instantly. He stopped their walk, stepping towards her and hugging
her tightly. Buffy felt him kissing her hair and grinned foolishly. Suddenly her day
seemed a lot brighter. She stood on her tiptoes and raised her head, allowing him to kiss
her slowly. Yup, definitely brighter. "You certainly know how to make a girl's day a
lot better," she muttered when the kiss finished.
A smile crossed his lips before he kissed the top of her nose. "What happened?"
he asked, loosening his hold on her and instead just leaving an arm comfortably resting
around her shoulders.
Buffy whined as he brought back her horrible, horrible day and the reminder that the next
day would only be worse.
"Giles didn't let you use the large crossbow again? Ouch!" He looked
increduously at his girlfriend. She'd elbowed him. A Slayer elbow did hurt. He
stopped a chuckle and didn't remark that the last time he'd found her in this state that
had been the exact reason for her mood.
On her part, Buffy huffed indignantly.His midsection wouldn't suffer from the hit. Not
much. Besides, that had happened a long time ago. Okay, only two weeks, but girls matured
a lot in fourteen days! No, Giles wasn't at fault this time, even if he had not let
her use the shiny new crossbow tonight either.
"What is it then?" Angel enquired again.
"Literature teacher is a demon I oughtta slay," she muttered with an annoyed
frown.
This time he did chuckle. The Slayer making a fuss about school, how incongruous was that?
"Don't laugh! She is a demon. Xander is researching her and even Willow
agrees."
He patted her shoulder reassuringly. "What did she do?"
Her face clouded as she told him the infamy Mrs. White had committed. "We're having a
big test tomorrow, that's what she did!"
Angel looked at her expectantly, weren't there supposed to be tests at school?
"It's mid-March! We're not supposed to have tests now," she explained.
But Angel still failed to understand the logic behind her argument. "Is there a rule
against it?"
Buffy frowned as she thought about that for the first time. "Well... no... not
technically... But no other teacher gives out tests in March!"
Angel smiled. "Haven't you considered that maybe this is a good thing? That you will
have a test less to worry about next month?"
Her eyebrows furrowed. "But..." Suddenly she bumped against Angel. She glared at
her boyfriend, who'd stopped out of the blue. "Angel?"
He just pointed towards the grave marked William Duncan. Buffy smiled sheepishly, taking
her notebook out of her bag and checking the name and dates against the ones Giles had
given her earlier at the library. "Yep, this is it," she finally confirmed.
They settled down on the grass, leaning against a tombstone directly in front of
William's. First they were on their respective sides, careful to maintain a professional
composure. But minutes passed with no signs of the fledging and suddenly Buffy was leaning
her head against the vampire's shoulder, her body cosily cuddled against his. She eyed the
peaceful grave before them. "It'll be a while, won't it?" Buffy didn't wait for
his answer before she began tugging at her bag until a rather large book was in her hands.
"I brought my Lit book just in case," she explained. "Glad that at least
this vampire has the grace to give me time to study."
Angel didn't hide his surprise. He could count on one hand the times his girlfriend had
willingly brought a book to patrol - when there was no Willow to bully her, of course -
and on those three occasions he'd had to exchange kisses for studied pages. Now, as Angel
watched his girlfriend settle cosily at his side and pay all her attention to the book, he
suddenly discovered that he liked their past method far better.
For the next several minutes he counted the leaves on the ground, the tombstones within
his sight, the trees around them. He was studying the lone owl in a tree nearby when
suddenly a mouse came into view, peeking from between the grass. The sound of wings
spreading and the rustle of leaves announced that Angel hadn't been the only one to notice
the smaller animal. He watched curiously as the hunt took place. It didn't last long until
the owl was proven winner. When it was finally over he looked down to find Buffy still
immersed in her text. Over the past minutes she had shifted, now lying on the dry grass
while her head rested comfortably on his lap. Angel smiled as she unconsciously licked her
lips in concentration as she flipped the next page open.
He sighed loudly, something that would normally make his girlfriend turn to him.
Nothing.
One hand went to rub her right shoulder in lazy, concentric circles. He frowned at the
tension he found there. The position she had chosen now couldn't possibly make it better.
Angel shook his head. He had to be crazy. They barely spent time together without her
noisy friends or an enemy intending to destroy them. But still, here he was, shaking her
shoulder lightly to call her attention.
"Hmm?" Buffy asked distractedly, her eyes still riveted to the book.
"Why don't you head to Willow's?" he proposed, not wanting her to leave at all.
"You'll be more comfortable there."
"Can't," she mumbled.
"I can take care of Mr. Duncan on my own," he said, slightly miffed that his
girlfriend didn't think he could do it.
"It's not that, silly." She finally turned to face him. "Xander called dibs
on her."
Angel shook his head in confusion. "I'm sure they'd welcome you anyway."
"Yeah, of course they would. But Willow'd kill me afterwards." Her expression
slowly turned into an amused one. "She's still peeved about me interrupting,"
Her fingers made quotes in the air. "what could have been the most beautiful second
kiss in history."
"Was there ever a first?" Angel laughed, he still didn't understand the
redhead's crush on Alexander Harris.
Buffy chuckled and decided to give him the Cliff Notes. "They were twelve and playing
doctor. Xander sniffed something from Mrs. Rosemberg's cabinet from way too close and
fainted. Willow gave him mouth-to-mouth."
Angel couldn't help but smirk.
"And no," Buffy continued without missing a beat, "you cannot hold that
over Xander's head."
He pouted.
"No!" She slapped his arm disapprovingly. "Willow would kill me
then."
Angel rolled his eyes, clearly not believing the sweet girl capable of such a thing.
"No way," she said in a tone that admitted no arguments, then she dutifully went
back to her reading. A minute hadn't passed when she suddenly sighed in annoyance, shut
the book closed and shifted until she was sitting fully on Angel's lap, her legs demurely
to one side and her right side resting against his chest. His arms automatically went
around her waist to steady her.
She threw her head back with an anguished moan. "Mom will so kill me if I fail
Lit!" Then came another distressed sigh. With a free hand Buffy stroked his neck
upwards, his cheek and finally his lips. "I've had a very bad day," she pouted,
looking at him with pleading eyes. "Make it a little better?"
That puppy-eyed look would be his downfall one day, Angel could bet on that. What had
Xander called Giles when he agreed to go with Miss Calendar to the Internet&Laptops
Expo next town? Oh yeah. Whipped. He should tell her to keep studying; he really, really
should. But if his girl was asking him to make her day better, how could he deny her?
Angel smiled as he bent down to kiss her.
"Tell me about James Joyce?"
He froze. What? "What?"
Buffy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Literature test tomorrow, hello?"
Angel just stared at her as if she'd suddenly grown a second head.
"You Irish. He Irish. You can't possibly be harder to understand than this stupid
book."
Comprehension finally grasped him just as it dawned on Buffy what he'd first intended.
"I guess. He was born long after I was turned but..." "Oh God, you actually
meant..."
They stopped, looked at each other and laughed at their own silliness.
"So you want to..." Buffy squirmed suddenly uncomfortable. "to..." She
breathed deeply. "Because James Joyce won't go anywhere and..."
Angel smiled at the blush rapidly spreading on his girlfriend's cheeks and the nervous
rush of words. Sometimes she was too cute.
"...I guess there's plenty of time for Lit because we have all nig-"
He closed her lips with a light caress and just nodded.
Buffy didn't say another word as he closed the space between them and finally kissed her.
James Joyce and William Duncan could wait.
The End
31/03/04
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