Part 4

It was a peculiar sensation waking up next to a man for the first time, especially after being so intimate - so exposed - with him. However part of it was because of who he was to her, Angelus - enemy, husband and now her lover. Lifting her head from her pillow, which she was shaken to find was his chest, she stretched and started to arise from the bed. At least she did so until she realized one thing, she was naked. Even though she had allowed him to see everything that there was the night before, she just could not bring herself to walk across the bedroom naked.

Grabbing the silk sheet from the bed, she pulled it as far as it would extend and picked up the closet item of clothing she could get his shirt. She took a split second to enjoy the feeling of the luxurious material against her skin and then - against her better judgment - she inhaled the scent of him that lingered on the fabric. Deciding that she was going insane, she made herself stop the ridiculous behaviour and marched off into the oversized bathroom that adjoined the bedroom.

Once she had enclosed herself within the confines of the bathroom, she took a good look at herself in the mirror, trying urgently to find something that would elucidate the way she had acted the night before. Something that would explain to her why she had given and allowed Angelus to take what she had been saving all these years to give to the man that she eventually would fall in love with. However as she looked closely at her reflection she was forced to come to a most unwelcome conclusion - that even though she didn't like him, she did want him. And the most distressing of all, she couldn't imagine not wanting him or wanting anyone else with this intensity.

Quickly turning away from the mirror, she moved over to the monster-sized bath tub and began to run the water, adding some of the bath salts she found by its side. Waiting until the water had reached a few inches deep, she shed Angelus' shirt and sank down into the warm, fragrant water; letting it soothe her tired, sore muscles and ease her troubled mind - at least temporarily.

Although her solace did not last for long. It seemed like only a small amount of minutes had past when Angelus barged in, causing her to retreat further under the water in a non-sensical demonstration of modesty.

In response Angelus simply smirked at her, "It's not like I haven't seen you naked."

Buffy sank down lower - to almost beneath the surface, wishing that she could simply hide under the water until he disappeared.

"What no scathing comeback?"

Buffy groaned, "It's way too early. If you want me to snipe at you, you'll have to wait until after my morning cup of coffee."

"In that case, I may have to rid the house of all caffeinated beverages," Angelus replied.

"What do you want?" Buffy asked trying to distance herself from him.

"Just a friendly reminder that Kathy will be back from her friend's house soon and I still need to use the bathroom."

"It's a big house - in fact it's a damn mansion. So I'm pretty sure that there's more than *one* bathroom," she told him rolling her eyes.

"But none of the other one's have my personal items in them," he answered.

Buffy looked at him and sighed, "I guess I could... uh... leave."

"Or," Angelus began as he let his robe drop to the floor, "I could join you."

"I g-guess you c-could do t-that," Buffy stammered, her mouth going dry at the sight of him naked.

With a total lack of modesty, he crossed the room to the tub and climbed in, causing water to overflow and spill across the floor. He reached out and pulled her close to him, so that she could feel his erection pressing into her. Before she had a chance to even gasp at the sudden contact, he was once again kissing her - overriding her senses.  A moment later they sank under the water.

"Hello?" Kathy called out as she slowly entered her home. She restrained herself from rushing inside, because she was uncertain of what she might walk into. After all it had been her brother's wedding night and who knew what he might be doing and in what room he might be doing it in.

"Hey kid," Angelus' voice came from the study on the ground floor.

Kathy shook her head as she walked in that direction. If Angelus was in the study it definitely meant that he was working and not spending time with his bride. Only her brother would be insensitive enough to work on his so-called honeymoon.

"Hi Angel," she said looking at him, "How did everything go?"

"You’re too young to hear about that."

"And you have a dirty mind," Kathy replied pulling a face. "I was only trying to see if you and Buffy had, had a fight or something."

Angelus finally looked up from his work, "Why?"

"Well, why else would you be working and not spending time with the woman you *just* married?"

Angelus had the good sense to look embarrassed, "It had to be done by tomorrow... besides Buffy understands about work."

"Then she must be a saint, because if I ever married someone who pulled this shit on me... well, let's just say I'd kick his face in," Kathy told him as she left the study and headed up to her room.

Angelus couldn't help but stare at his younger sister's withdrawing form. Partly because she was correct about how he should be with Buffy right now and partly because it was the first time she'd actually stood up to him and said what she thought. He was also ashamed of himself about hiding away from Buffy, but he had come to close to showing her his true feelings and he couldn't do that, he couldn't give her that much power over him.

He pushed himself away from his desk and stood up; stretching his knotted muscles and then went off in search of his bride.

Although it was a fairly large mansion, it didn't take every long to find her. It was probably because she hadn't moved from where he had left her a few hours earlier, the bed. Looking down at her he resisted the urge to wake her once more; instead he simply sat down on the bed and proceeded to watch her.

A moment later she stirred, "Hi."

"Good afternoon."

"Afternoon?" Buffy asked sitting up. "Is Kathy back?"

"Yes, she came home a few minutes ago," he answered staring at where the sheet had slipped exposing Buffy's bare breasts.

Buffy noticed where Angelus' eyes had wandered and pulled the sheet up to cover herself. "I guess I should get up then?"

"There's no hurry," he murmured as her looked at her with a lust filled gaze.

"B-but your sister's home."

Angelus chuckled, "And sooner or later she is going to figure out that married couples have sex."

"And you prefer she figure it out sooner rather than later?"

Before Angelus could even move a voice yelled from down the hall. "Since you're not doing anything. I could use some help with my homework, Angel."

Angelus' face fell and suddenly it was Buffy's turn to laugh at him. "I guess it will be later after all."

He got up from the bed and left the room scowling and muttering under his breath, leaving a laughing and somewhat relieved Buffy behind him.

Within an insignificant amount of weeks after that farce of a wedding she had endured, Buffy saw things settle into an exceedingly monotonous and to some extent lonesome routine. Angelus left a good number of mornings earlier than she awoke and didn't come back until after midnight most nights, in fact some nights he even stayed at his office and Buffy attempted to refrain from thinking about what he could be doing those nights. When he ultimately did come back home early on or leave behind schedule as it was, it was as it seemed only to work on the communal element of their covenant.

Unsurprisingly both her sister, Dawn and her sister-in-law, Kathy were both at school. In actual fact they were both at the same school now, as Angelus had shortly after their wedding and with Joyce's reluctant approval, removed Dawn from Sunnydale High and sent her to Kathy's school, Kent Academy. She wasn't even able to spend a moment in time with Willow, since her best friend had classes all day long and when she was off she was with Tara for some alone time.

So with her days free, she had of course logically tried to be of help to her mother at the gallery - putting it all back together. She had barely been there one solitary day, when Joyce told her to go home and only come back to visit. It turns out she was thinking she was helping out, but she was only hindering her mother's struggling small business. Although Buffy was sure part of it was because Joyce still resented Angelus' help and his so-called - by her - seizure of her eldest daughter.

So subsequent to facing a few additional long and lonesome days at home unpacking her few lingering personal items, an initiative came to her. Essentially the idea only came to her because she had come across one of her old college text books, one of the few she hadn't had to sell. All of a sudden picking up a couple of classes here and there didn't sound like such a ghastly idea. After all she would be nearer to getting her degree, she'd get out of the deserted house, fill up the endless days and best of all, get to spend time with her best friend Willow.

After at long last getting Angelus to take a seat and listen to her idea, he had agreed that it sounded like an ideal resolution for her - at least until the agreed child came along. Buffy was excited, she hadn't even minded his watchful phraseology of the situation and had without delay called Willow, who told her that her timing was just right as applications for the new semester was scheduled shortly.

After applying to the college once again and having an interview session with some college career councillor, Buffy was readmitted to UC Sunnydale for the new semester. For a celebration party Willow, Tara, Dawn and her mother came over and brought with them a cake that said 'Nice One Buff'. Angelus was of naturally working late and missed the party, but Kathy was there and Buffy was happy when she saw how Dawn and Kathy were now getting along. When Angelus in due course did return, they unsurprisingly celebrated in his usual fashion - not that she of course minded that one little bit.

A few weeks prior to when college was due to start and Willow was on vacation, Buffy was headed over to her friend's house so that they could pick classes together. She grabbed her shoulder bag and unbolted the weighty front door, just as somebody was about to knock. To Buffy's instantaneous revulsion the individual standing before her was that blonde from Angelus' office, the one who had attacked her before the wedding. Buffy could do nothing but gawk at the woman whom she had hoped in no way to lay eyes on again.

"You!" the woman yelled, noticeably just as stunned to see Buffy there. "What are *you* doing here?"

"I live here," was all Buffy could manage to say.

The woman's face distorted in fury and resentment, "Impossible. He would *never* let one of his women move in. That would be a commitment."

Buffy smiled evilly at the woman, "Well, I'm not just *one* of his women."

"What in the fucking hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Buffy told her still smirking, "That I'm his wife."

She hadn't wanted to believe it; she had of course heard the rumour that Angelus - the perpetual bachelor - had gotten married. Now she was being confronted by the proof of it, his wife. After three years of telling her that he would on no account say "I do", he had turned around and within a year married somebody else. The nastiest element of it all was that he had married that little girl she had seen at his office building and what was she all of twelve?

All of a sudden she grew enraged, "You fucking little whore. How did you do it? Did you get yourself pregnant or something?"

"No, but don't be flabbergasted if you're made aware of the pitter patter of tiny feet coming from here in the near future," Buffy told her, slamming the door in the woman's face.

Angelus was in a fantastic mood, he'd completed all his obligatory formalities and had decided to head home and spend some quality time with Buffy, before Kathy got home from school. He figured that Buffy might be feeling neglected, with him constantly at work and used, because all they seemed to do together was well an indoor sport to say the least. Besides in a few short weeks she'd be starting her courses and he'd never get the chance to sneak home and be with her again.

His excellent mood faded as he pulled into the elongated curving driveway of his home and practically ran headlong into someone that he had hoped had vanished from his life eternally. The ex-bitch Darla Carlton. A scowl replaced his striking smile as he realized that Buffy would've had to deal with that putrid bitch from hell. The scowl grew more prominent as he watched Darla climb out of her sports car and slink towards him and his new BMW.

"What do *you* want, Darla?" he asked with irritation, as he tried to reign in his legendary bad temper.

Putting on her pouty face she said, "What? I can't visit an old friend?"

"We were never friends."

Darla merely smiled at him, "I beg to differ with you. I do believe that we were once really close *friends*."

"That wasn't friendship, Darla. That was convenience."

Darla reeled back as though he had slapped her, "You bastard. You owe me; I wasted three years of my youth on you and then ditch me to marry some fucking twelve year old Barbie Doll."

"Come off of it, you were scarcely young and if you'll recollect I never ever promised you anything," he told her.

A realization dawned upon Darla, "It was her wasn't it?"

"What was?"

"The explanation of why I was strung along for years," Darla spat at him. "You were waiting for an opportunity to get at her." When Angelus didn't answer, Darla grew even more offended, "You fucking asshole. You're going to pay for this."

Angelus watched wordlessly as Darla went back to her own car, climbed in and drove away at a tremendous speed. When he was sure she had gone, he drove up the rest of the driveway and parked his car. Climbing out he spotted the heavy drapes at one of the living room windows moving and realized that Buffy must have been watching his difference of opinion with Darla. Sighing he headed inside, knowing that he was going to have an awful lot of explaining to do.

As Buffy moved away from the window, she tried to tell herself that it was disgust she was feeling and not jealousy. That the way that blonde bitch had been acting had only made her want to scratch her eyes out because of the way it portrayed women as gigantic sluts and not because she had feelings for her husband in any way, shape and/or form.

She sat down on the leather sofa and watched for him to come inside. Part of her wanted an explanation for what had gone on in the driveway, but a larger part of her was scared. Scared that he'd admit the truth that he was messing around on her because she just wasn't enough to satisfy him. Even though it wasn't supposed to be a *real* marriage, she didn't think that she could handle him telling her that. If she was truly honest with herself, she would have to admit that her fear came from her unacknowledged feelings for him, feelings that were growing and that had been doing so since the first time she had met him - way back in high school.

Buffy looked up as he entered the room and she just stared. She watched as he placed his briefcase by the door and took off his Armani jacket and sat down next to her. They just sat in silence, both wanting to talk but neither knowing what to say.

Eventually Angelus spoke, "There's nothing between Darla and myself anymore. It was over before I married you."

Buffy looked into his eyes and for the first time saw sincerity there, "Okay."

"You believe me?" he asked her in surprise.

"Yeah," Buffy said blinking back some irrational tears that suddenly were threatening to fall.

Angelus wasn't sure what to do, he had never really comforted a woman unless you counted Kathy as one and as far as he was concerned his younger sister was still a little girl and wouldn't be a woman until she was at least forty.

He put an arm around her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Buffy?"

Buffy reluctantly pulled herself from his arms and got up, "It's just that... If you need more than I..."

Angelus figured out what Buffy was trying to say and immediately cut her off, "Never. Buffy if I'd wanted more than you could give, I wouldn't have married you."

Ignoring him, she once again grabbed her things, "I'm due at Willow's."

"Buffy," he said. "You're all I want."

When she reached the door, she turned to face him, "You know something? Sometimes I think I could almost like you."

He watched her go and then whispered to himself, "That's a start."