Part 5

Even after Buffy had began her college classes, the previous routine that Angelus had set for them didn't alter much - except for the fact she now spent her evenings between Kathy retiring to bed and Angelus ultimately coming home doing her homework. There was also the tiny fact that Angelus was at present spending more verbal communicating time with her, meaning instead of rushing her off to bed whenever they were alone he made an effort to ask her opinions on things and ask her how her day was. Not that they didn't exhaust an exceptional amount of time working on their mutual endeavour. And much to her own horror, Buffy found her feelings towards Angelus were growing stronger, no matter how hard she fought against them or tried to push them from her mind.

Joyce was naturally jubilant that Buffy had returned to college and was getting an education, so that she would not be dependent upon Angelus for anything. Plus Joyce figured that being around young and carefree people would force Buffy to rethink her hasty marriage. Not that she didn't owe Angelus; he had in fact saved her gallery and her home. Plus he had removed Dawn from Sunnydale High and placed her in the confines of the influential Kent Academy. Joyce just basically thought that Buffy was too young and emotionally stupid to make a life altering decision such as marriage. After all marriage wasn't some fairytale where everyone lived happily ever after, it was hard work. Also she didn't want Buffy to go through what she had with Hank - trapped within a loveless marriage she wasn't ready for and then before she knew it there were children involved in the mess.

As a consequence of her mother's relentless criticism of her, Angelus and their marriage, Buffy rarely saw her mother and when she did visit her it was only for fleeting periods of time. Even Dawn - the most stubborn teenager ever born - had revised her opinion of her new brother-in-law; she thought he was okay and no longer a giant asshole. Plus Dawn's new friendship with Kathy allowed Buffy to spend time with her little sister without having to deal with Joyce's criticism.

At least Buffy was enjoying her college experience this time around. That was of course until the impossible occurred and she spotted her old boyfriend Riley Finn walking around campus - it was impossible because last she had heard he had moved back to Iowa, but that had been two years earlier. Not wanting to have to deal with any of the crap from the past, she avoided him like he had the plague. Unfortunately she had the bad feeling that she'd be seeing him again.

Her bad feeling was unfortunately correct. When she and Willow walked into their abnormal psychology class, they came face to face with him. Both girls were naturally flabbergasted because it had been so out of the blue, but Riley was now their new TA because their old one had been expelled for suspected drug dealing. Not knowing what else to do they took their seats, but as the lecture droned on Buffy found she couldn't concentrate on it. All she could think about was escaping the class without talking to Riley - an impossible task.

As soon as the class was dismissed Buffy's already upset stomach filled with butterflies of doom. She was of course only nervous because she and Riley hadn't parted under the best of circumstances - he had proposed and she had told him she didn't love him, that she never could love anyone and that she never intended to marry and yet here she was a married woman who had the sneaking suspicion that she was in love with her fake husband. She and Willow slowly and cautiously made their way to the exit and they were almost out when they heard their names being called.

"Buffy... Willow."

"Hi Riley," Willow said trying to smile at him and failing.

"Hey," Buffy replied semi-scowling at him.

Riley ignored Buffy's expression and stepped towards them, "It's great to see you guys. How is everything?"

Willow nodded, "Fine... I'm still a lesbian."

"Great. How about you Buffy?" Riley asked staring at her.

"I'm okay," she said reluctantly. "Wils, we have to go now."

"See ya," Willow yelled as Buffy dragged her away. They were halfway down the hallway when Willow spoke again, "That was rude."

"I just didn't want to talk to him."

Willow forced Buffy to stop and then asked, "Why? You and Riley dated for over a year."

"It's hard to explain..."

"Try," Willow demanded.

"I just feel... it's like I'm doing something wrong. Like I'm doing something behind Angelus' back," Buffy said walking off.

Willow simply rolled her eyes and followed Buffy down the hallway. The more time she and Buffy spent together the more that she could see Buffy's feelings towards her husband change. If she could see Buffy was totally nuts in love with him, then why couldn't he?

Buffy was stunned to find that Angelus was home when arrived back from her class; it was the first time he had been home early since his altercation with that bitch Darla. She merely stared at him for a few moments and tried not to snigger at the way his brow furled with concentration as he worked on his latest project. Leaving him to his work, she headed upstairs to their bedroom to dump her school work and climb into a hot, relaxing bath.

Running the water and dumping into the tub a good half a bottle of her favourite bubble bath, she slid into the large tub. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and tried to forget about her troubles at college and her growing feelings towards a certain brooding husband. Buffy must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was being jostled as Angelus climbed into the tub with her.

She opened her eyes a fraction, "Do you have a thing about smelling like a girl?"

"Not as long as that girl is you," Angelus replied as he lowered his hands beneath the water and rubbed his hands down the length of her legs.

Buffy tried to shift away from his wandering hands, "Not right now. I'm too tired."

"But..."

They were interrupted by a knock upon the bathroom door. "Buffy, I'm home," Kathy called through the door to her. "Have you seen Angel? His car's here, but..."

"I'm sure he's around," Buffy cut her off as she put her hand over Angelus' mouth.

The scam didn't work, "Well can you tell him to come and help with my homework... once you two have finished playing, that is."

As soon as Kathy had gone, Buffy tried to climb out of the tub and away from her husband.

"Where are you going?"

"Kathy's home and wants you to help her," Buffy hissed back at him.

"So? She can wait," he told her, pulling her towards him.

"Angelus?"

"Just shut up," he told her as his mouth claimed hers and they sank beneath the layer of bubbles.

Riley Finn was depressed. He had spent the last two years of his life trying to move on back in Iowa - hell he had even married his old high school sweetheart - but he just couldn't get over Buffy. So when the TA job came up he jumped at the chance to return to Sunnydale, giving him time away from his failing marriage and also to see if Buffy had changed her mind since he had been gone. However if their meeting today was any indication of her feelings towards him, he really should just pack up and head back home to his wife.

He wandered around Lowell House - where he was rooming with Forrest - and slumped down into an old chair. He was still there sulking when his friend's, Forrest and Graham wandered through almost an hour later.

"Okay, what is wrong with you?" Forrest asked staring at Riley.

"Buffy."

Graham rolled his eyes at him, "Ri. You are a married man; don't you owe it to your wife to keep away from your ex-girlfriend?"

Riley shrugged, "But its Buffy..."

Both Forrest and Graham exchanged a look of disgust. They had assumed that Riley wouldn't be able to stay away from his obsession. However they had hoped that he would have finally gotten some common sense on the matter.

"Ri... we need to tell you something," Graham said.

"Yeah, what?" Riley asked curiously.

Graham stuttered, "W-well..."

"The Buffy-bitch is married," Forrest told him.

"WHAT?!" Riley screamed. "When she broke up with me she was all 'I'm never marrying' and now she's married!"

"Jeez, Ri. You're also married," Graham pointed out.

Forrest nodded in agreement, "Forget the bitch, Ri. Move on from it."

Riley didn't answer either of them; he just sat there feeling hurt and betrayed by the woman whom he had considered the love of his life, his soul mate. Then suddenly a thought occurred to him, what if Buffy had married for the same reason he had? To help to get over the other. That had to be what had happened, so because of that it was his duty as Buffy soul mate to rescue her from the sham of a marriage she found herself within. Riley was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice his friends walk away with looks of disgust and pity on their faces.

Angelus was not focused on his multi-million dollar multinational dealings as he ought to be, as an alternative he was thinking - as was customary - of simply one solitary thing, his wife. He was at a complete loss by her current conduct. For the last couple of weeks she had been acting erratic, like she had some secret she didn't want him to know about and it wasn't that she was pregnant, because she would have told him - he knew she wouldn't be able to suppress her own anticipation - in one of their many tête-à-têtes she had divulged to him how much, growing up she had wanted to be a mother. He just wished he knew what the hell was wrong.

Needing to get both his private and professional lives back in picture perfect - or as near as it got these days - accord, he decided to astound Buffy by personally picking her up after her final class and treating her to a romantic afternoon. If by good fortune he should happen to ply her with an adequate amount of wine to relax her tongue on what was bothering her then all the better.

Leaving the workplace much, much earlier than he ever had previously, he drove to the UC Sunnydale college grounds and arrived a few seconds after Buffy's very last lecture was programmed to conclude. Walking over to where Willow had parked her vehicle, he sat down on the hood to await the girl's appearance. A few minutes later on he caught sight of Buffy and Willow approaching the parking vicinity and smirked at the way the two women were so occupied talking that the whole world passed them by without them even noticing. He watched as they made it to the periphery of the parking lot and were approached by a young blond man, judging by his wife's change in expression she wasn't pleased to talk to whomever this man was.

Angelus started to move towards the group unhurriedly, but increased his pace when he saw the man grab Buffy's arm. Ignoring the others standing there, he swooped in and kissed Buffy passionately. Finally he spoke, "Hi Willow and - uh - Darling, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"He's not my friend," Buffy muttered underneath her breath as she glared at Riley.

Willow decided that now was a very opportune time to butt into the conversation. "I'll make the introductions. Angelus McKenna meet Riley Finn, he's our psych TA."

"And you are?" Riley asked irritably.

Angelus held out his hand, "Didn't Buffy tell you? I'm her husband."

Riley paled; he hadn't anticipated stumbling upon his rival quite so rapidly. "N-nice to meet you..." he ultimately managed to articulate, but he didn't shake Angelus' hand.

Ignoring Riley, Angelus brought Buffy's hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. "Are you ready to go my love?"

"Never been readier," she replied quickly. She turned to Willow and said, "I'll call you later."

"Okay, bye Buffy," Willow answered.

As soon as Buffy and Angelus had walked away, she told Riley adieu and rushed away as rapidly as she possibly could. It wasn't that she didn't like Riley; she just figured that he was being an idiot over the Buffy thing and wanted get away before he asked any dim-witted, uncomfortable questions. When she tossed a swift glance back over her shoulder he was still standing there watching Buffy's retreating figure.

The students hanging in the region of the periphery of the college grounds weren't the only ones to observe the exchange between Angelus and Riley. Darla had been probing the campus looking for scandal on Angelus' miniature Barbie Doll and had been coming up empty - every person who met the little bitch seemed to like her for some unspecified reason. Then she had been walking to her sports car when she spotted Angelus and the boy. She merged into the crowd until Angelus and his so-called spouse had departed and then she approached the young blond man.

"Hello cutie," she said to him.

Looking around Riley become conscious that she was talking to him. "Uh... hi."

Darla smiled her most charismatic and calculating smile. "I'm Darla and I think I can help you."

"Help me how?" Riley asked confused by this woman's sudden appearance.

"Well... what's your name?"

"Riley Finn."

"Well, Riley Finn," Darla said. "You want that Buffy person and I'm interested in her husband. If we work together to split them up, then we both will get what we want."

"I don't think anyone can split them up, they seemed pretty *together*," Riley said dejectedly.

Darla shrugged her shoulders, "Angelus disclosed to me that he wasn't contented. That Buffy wasn't happy either. In fact they are only together because neither wants to admit that they made a terrible mistake rushing into a marriage."

Riley looked at her suspiciously, "They looked happy enough to me."

"Are you willing to let your friend Buffy stay in an unhappy marriage? How will she feel when she finds out that you could've helped her to escape from it?"

Riley had been thinking since he had met Angelus and saw how Buffy lit up around the guy. She didn't seem unhappy or depressed in fact she seemed happier than he'd ever seen her. She looked like she was in love, a look she had never given to him. He needed time to think things through.

"Sorry... uh... Darla. I can't help you," Riley said walking away from her.

Darla felt the rage boil up inside of her, how dare this asshole deny her. "You'll regret this you blond weenie!" she yelled after him. "No one tells me no."

"So would you like to let me know what is going on?" Angelus requested as he drove towards their home. He had decided to forgo the passionate afternoon until an alternative time.

Buffy heaved a sigh, "It's nothing. Riley and I dated at one time... it was years ago."

"And?" Angelus pressed intolerantly, not looking forward to what her response might be.

"And... he seems to have a *minuscule* crush on me still," Buffy revealed fairly unenthusiastically.

Angelus didn't respond as he pulled into their driveway and turned off the engine. After a few seconds he asked, "D-do you still have feelings for him?"

Buffy gave Angelus a strange look, "No. I didn't really even have those sorts’ feelings for him when we dated; if I had then you wouldn't have gotten yourself a virgin bride. I don't mean I didn't like or care about him... he just wasn't the one for me."

Buffy's words lifted Angelus' spirit inside and he couldn't stop himself from leaning over and kissing her. She was obviously surprised, it was the first time he had done something so spontaneous, not that she was complaining. A bereft feeling overcame them both when he pulled away from her.

"Why didn't you just tell me that he was bothering you?"

Buffy could still scarcely inhale, nevertheless think. In the end she managed to reply, "I thought I could handle it."

"Alone?"

"I've always handled it alone," Buffy acknowledged. "I've always had too." She climbed out of the car as speedily as she could and crossed the threshold into the mansion.

A few moments later Angelus followed her in and spotted her marching up the staircase. Sighing he followed her and eventually cornered her in their bedroom, "Buffy... I know we don't exactly have the most conventional marriage in the world, but I just wanted you to know that you don't have to handle everything alone anymore. I'm here to help."

{For how long?} Was the unbidden thought that popped into her mind at his words. "Thanks," she muttered as she sat down on the silk duvet.

Angelus crossed the room and sat next to her, "I'm not just saying it, Buffy. I do mean it."

"I know," she answered as she leaned her head onto his broad shoulder.

He looked down at his wife snuggled into his chest and gently kissed the top of her head in a gesture of comfort. A second later he found her lips pressed against his own and he was pushed down onto their king sized bed. Angelus was surprised because he had always had to take the lead with their love making, Buffy had never once even initiated it and now she was straddling him as she roughly plundered his mouth with a built up passion. He felt her rub her diminutive body against his to arouse him - not that she hadn't already succeeded - and to give contact between their bodies.

Not able to take it anymore he flipped her onto her back and rained kisses along her body, starting at her neck and moving down it. He undid the miniature row of buttons on her satin blouse exposing her tanned flesh to his lust filled gaze. Trying not to make any awkward movements, he wanted to make sure he brought her such an intense pleasure that all memories of dating that Riley person would be erased and he would be all she could imagine. He didn't even realize what a primitive thought that was, as though he was branding his life mate.

He paused temporarily as he toiled to strip off the jeans from her body. Finally he managed to remove them from her body and he gazed at his wife laying there half beneath him in nothing but the sexiest underwear he had seen her in. "I bought it for you," he heard her speak softly. He almost combusted on the spot, but he pulled himself together and set about removing the scraps of silk and lace that she wore. As soon as he had her naked, he moved away - despite Buffy's passion filled protests - and removed his own clothing, returning swiftly to his wife.

Buffy moaned as she tried to move against him, but he wouldn't let her, his control was hanging by a thread and he wanted to make it last more than three seconds. He moved to her nest of curls and breathed in the scent of her, uniquely Buffy - an uncommon mixture of vanilla and what he guessed was her own scent. He placed his tongue along edge of her lower lips and licked along them, before thrusting his tongue between them and exploring her deeper regions. Feeling that this was driving her insane with want, urged him on more - his tongue moved within her, in and out, up and down slowly exploring, tasting and savouring her.

Angelus brought her to the brink of her first orgasm before removing his tongue from her inner regions, ignoring her whimpers from the loss of contact. He shocked when his tiny wife tossed him onto his back, so that she could have her own way once more. Buffy straddled Angelus and guided his jutting erection into her throbbing core. She stilled the second he filled her, she set the slow pace and thought of nothing but the moment. The pace eventually increased and as she neared orgasm, Angelus reached down and flicked his thumb across her clit and sent her into a blissful spiral and a few moments later he followed, calling out her name as he made his final thrust.

She lay on top of Angelus and wondered what had come over her, she had never acted that way - or thought of acting that way - before. Not that she regretted it, it had been the most intense love making session she and Angelus had ever indulged in. Feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of Angelus' chest beneath her she simply lay there as sleep claimed her, unwilling and not wanting to break the connection they had made.