Bronze - Next night

**Archivist's Note: This part is rated NC-17 for sexual situations. If you are underage, go 'way! Go read some G stuff!**

"I can't believe she actually wants me to do a 16-page paper, a videotaped interview and an oral presentation and all on the Kryptianiums!"

"Buff, I think you mean the Ukraine. But it should be interesting; Eastern Europe is rich in old folklore and traditions, especially that region. It has been taken over several times during the past two hundred years, so you can imagine the different races, traditions and cultures that have flooded into that area. Also the vast amount of genocide, wars and violence have left a mark on the land..." Angel's voice trailed off as he noticed Willow, Buffy and Oz all looking at him strangely.

"Angel, I didn't know you knew so much about that area." Willow was constantly surprised by how smart Angel really was. *I guess you really do get smarter with age.*

"I've been around there a time or two." Angel looked away. He was there when he was Angelus. He had contributed to that area's death toll and folklore.

Buffy sensed Angel's pain and quickly changed the subject. The last 3 1/2 months had been hard, but not any harder than usual. Angel hadn't brought up breaking up again and neither did she, she was afraid to approach any subject that might lead to that topic. They were cautious around each other, she tried not to touch him too much, but sometimes it was so damn hard. Like now.

"You didn't wear one of those big, hairy hats did ya? Not that you wouldn't look cute!" Buffy leaned over to kiss him, he didn't realize her intent and he turned his face to say something to her. Her kiss fell on his lips instead of the cheek she had been aiming for.

Angel breathed her in, her lips were so soft and responsive under his. He meant to pull away, but when the tip of her tongue slowly traced his lower lip, he leaned in slightly. They stayed like that for what seemed hours, but was only seconds; they knew not to deepen the kiss but they didn't want to break apart.

"Uh...guys...maybe you shouldn't...OH! Buffy! Look!" Willow was about to interrupt the lovers but the sight of Xander and Cordelia walking through the doors of the Bronze got her attention.

"It's Xander and Cordelia, they're back!"

Buffy and Angel broke apart and watched Xander and Cordelia walk toward the table hand in hand.

"Awww look! They didn't kill each other." Buffy was the only one not surprised when Xander and Cordelia had gotten back together after Graduation, but she was mildly taken aback when they actually took off on the road together.

Xander spotted the foursome and began to walk faster. His friends! His amigos! He was so excited to see them he almost starting running.

"Relax, Harris, it's not like they're going to disappear. Well, at least I hope not." Cordelia was happy to see them too, but wondered at what type of reception she would receive.

"Will!" Xander let go of Cordelia's hand and went to hug the redhead first. They had been friends since they were 5 and he really had missed her. But only as a friend. He was secure enough now in his relationship with Cordelia to express all the affection he felt for Willow without worrying about hurting Oz or Cordelia. They were best friends; it was time they started acting like it.

"Xander! I missed you!" Willow sprang up and threw her arms around the boy she considered her brother. "I had nobody to ramble to and to dispute cartoon myth with!"

"Gee, thanks!" Oz and Buffy replied at the same time.

"Sorry guys, you know what I mean. Of course, I had you guys and you mean the world to me..."

"We know what you meant, Will, you and Xander have a history. That's cool." Oz was okay with Xander and Willow's friendship; the kiss he had witnessed was officially a non-issue.

"Buffaloon! I missed your wacky slaying ways!" Xander released Willow, leaned over and picked Buffy right up off of her chair.

Buffy giggled and playfully tugged his hair.

"You've got to stop picking me up! I've got a reputation to uphold, ya know. If any vamps saw this, I'd be a laughingstock!"

Xander put Buffy down and stuck out his hand to Oz. Oz took it.

"Good to see you, man."

"You too, Xander. Hate to admit, but things weren't the same without you. Less absurd, but definitely not the same."

Xander knew Angel was at the table, he noticed the vampire looking towards the band. He knew Angel was trying to make it easy for him to ignore him. Xander didn't want to take the easy way out anymore. Over the summer, the boy had become a man.

"Angel, how you doing? Taking good care of Buffy?" Xander extended his hand.

Angel was trying to look anywhere but the reunion-taking place in front of him. He knew Xander hated him and wouldn't acknowledge he was at the table. He looked up in surprise when Xander said his name. He was further surprised to see the hand extended to him.

Angel looked into Xander's eyes while he shook his hand. He saw a maturity that hadn't been there when he left. He wondered how much of that maturity was due to Miss Chase.

"I'm fine, thanks. Welcome back. I think Buffy takes more care of me than I ever will of her." Angel smiled at his love. Angel noticed Cordelia hovering behind Xander, she looked uncertain of her welcome. The old Cordelia would've just walked right up to the group and start shooting off her mouth. Angel figured Xander wasn't the only one that had done some growing up. He felt bad for her; he knew what it was like to be the outsider.

"Cordelia, welcome back. Sunnydale was a much less attractive place without you here." Angel flashed Cordelia his killer smile.

"Thanks, Angel. You're a true gentleman." Cordelia hesitantly hugged the vampire.

"Welcome back, Cordy! There should be an award given out for surviving Xander for 3/12 months!" Buffy playfully elbowed Xander then turned to give Cordelia a hug.

Cordelia returned the hug and smiled at Buffy.

"At least a T-shirt!"

"Hey, Cordelia, we missed you." Willow looked at the brunette; she didn't know what type of reception she would get. She never apologized for the Xander incident and they never spoke about it.

"We missed you too, Willow. Now that we're back, maybe we can finally do that double date thing. We were rudely interrupted last time!" Cordelia smiled at Willow. All was forgiven and in the past.

"That would be great! We would love that, right Oz?"

"Yeah, super."

"Well, cop a spot and tell us about your trip." Buffy offered her seat to Cordelia and went to sit in Angel's lap. She didn't look at him, so he couldn't frown at her.

"About our trip." Xander looked over at Cordelia who pulled a piece of paper out of her handbag. "We brought you back a souvenir, Buffy. Hope you like it."

Cordelia handed the paper to Buffy. Buffy took it but looked confused.

"What happened to that T-shirt Cordelia mentioned?"

Buffy unfolded the piece of paper and began to read. As she read, her eyes widened then filled with tears.

Angel looked alarmed.

"Buffy? What is it?" She was soundlessly crying now and mouthed the words 'thank you' to Xander, who nodded. She passed the paper to Angel.

Angel bent his dark head and began to read. No expression crossed his face, when he finished reading he briefly closed his eyes, stood up and pulled Xander into a hug.

"Uh...Angel...not that there's anything wrong with two men sharing a manly hug, but it kinda makes me really uncomfortable." Xander was trying to break free of Angel.

Angel released Xander and turned to Buffy. She jumped into his arms and passionately kissed him.

"I'm totally confused. What did you give them, an affection spell?" Willow and Oz were looking at Buffy and Angel making out.

"Something better, Will." Xander handed her the paper that Angel had left on the table.

Willow began reading, then her eyes darted up to Xander's.

"Where did you find this?"

"It's a long story."

"Blind Indian Guy." Cordelia supplied.

"Ok. Not so long."

"So, let's get to Giles's and work this puppy!" Willow sprang up; she looked around in confusion when nobody else made to leave.

She then noticed everyone staring at Buffy and Angel. Buffy had wrapped her legs around his waist and Angel's hands were all over her back. She could swear she heard Buffy panting!

"Uh, guys? Buffy? Angel?" She tapped on Angel's shoulder, but he ignored her. She looked back at everyone and shrugged.

"I'll handle this." Cordelia Chase switched back into bitch mode. "HEL-LO! Maybe you two didn't read the fine print, you know where it says 'Screwing before casting spell may be hazardous to your health'."

Buffy and Angel reluctantly broke apart. Buffy looked sheepish, but Angel just shrugged.

"God! Can you two like cold shower for about 5 minutes!" Cordelia grabbed Xander's hand and made her way out of the club.

3 nights later

The mansion

Buffy lay on Angel's bed, her head propped up on her hand watching him sleep. She thought of everything they had been through this past year: his return, Cordelia's wish, Faith's betrayal, her death and her return. She knew that one day her luck would run out, that there was a demon out there that was just a little bit faster than her or luckier. But tonight she felt totally safe and happy here in Angel's bed. The future will happen, she had no doubts about that, but as long as she had Angel by her side she was happy. She thought about a line she had recently read for her English Literature class;

'My greatest love sprang from my greatest hate.'

The saga of Romeo & Juliet had touched her deeply; she had cried at the end, but she knew that if Angel were to die, she would want to die with him.

Buffy shook her head clear of her melodramatic thoughts, *Happy thoughts Buffy, think happy thoughts.* She began stroking Angel's hair, hoping he would wake up soon. They had spent the past three days in bed, to Joyce's and Giles's dismay, but she still couldn't get enough of him. He was an incredible lover, though her mind shied away when she thought about how exactly he became so skilled.

She ran her hands over his well-defined chest and down his abdomen. She was so engrossed at what she was doing, she never noticed Angel's smirk.

"Careful, keep going much lower and something's liable to bite you." Angel had come awake instantly at Buffy's first touch.

Buffy jumped; she had thought he was sleeping.

"Well, maybe it's a vampire. Since I'm the slayer, I should go investigate." Buffy's voice had taken on a low, sensuous quality that never failed to make Angel hard.

Angel expertly flipped her onto her back; the first touch of his cock startled her. Her eyes widened and her hands clutched his shoulders. He held her gaze, his big body pressing her into the mattress, and entered with a hard, steady thrust, sheathing himself to the root with one movement. Her body arched at his invasion. His cock was hard, thick, impossibly deep and she writhed around him.

He steadied her, holding her gaze as he withdrew and thrust again. She couldn't stop her gasping cry at the resulting sensation, the pleasure that was almost torment. She clung to him with desperate hands, feeling as if she were about to be torn apart by an internal force she couldn't contain.

He rode her hard through the waves of sensation, pounding into her, holding her thighs spread wide so she had no control, no protection. He showed her no mercy as she convulsed and arched, nor did she want any. She wanted only him, the fierce intimacy of his body locked into hers.

His powerful body bucked when he came and her flesh quivered from the impact of his thrusts. He finally quieted and lay sprawled over her.

Buffy lazily traced his tattoo. No matter how many times they had made love, the beauty of their coming together never failed to awe her. Here in her arms was her gift from God. He may have taken her future, hopes and dreams. But he had given her Angel. Buffy thought it was a fair trade off.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Angel lifted his head from her neck and tenderly brushed her hair away from her face.

"You could never hurt me." Buffy held his gaze and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Buffy noticed his intense look.

"What are you thinking right now, at this very moment?"

"I was just thinking of how lucky we are to get a second chance. I don't know what I ever did to deserve it, but I'm never going to take it or you for granted. I'll love you for eternity, Buffy." Angel rolled to his back and settled Buffy on his chest.

"I love you too, Angel. I'll never, ever take for granted a second of our time together." Buffy felt Angel's arms tighten briefly and she closed her eyes.

Outside Angel's mansion, a lone figure smiled as he stared at the darkened bedroom. Charlie Sees All turned and started walking away, secure in the knowledge that for now love conquered all. As he walked, his body became suffused in light. The male figure began to shift and change until it was a distinctively female body with short brown hair and large dark eyes. A light appeared ahead of her and she started toward the light, climbing upward towards the heavens. Before she took her last step into the heavens, Jenny Calender turned and looked at the little town of Sunnydale for the last time. She had been offered a second chance to right her wrongs and now she said her final goodbyes to the people she had loved but wronged.

"Rupert, I'll wait for you." Jenny turned and entered the light. Her spirit finally at peace.

FIN