Author: Jill
Disclaimer: let me check ... nope, still don't own them. Sigh! Parts of this is
taken from the Buffy-season-5 episode "Intervention" and from the
Angel-season-2-episode "Disharmony". They are not mine. Important Note: In order to bring Angel into this, the whole scene has to be
during the night, for obvious reasons, not during the day. Just so you know.
Author's note: I just can't get over this fluffy Spike copy they're having in the
show at the moment. I mean, come on. Where is Spike? The evil vampire who wanted
to kill the slayer, who wanted to sacrifice his (grand-)sire. I miss him. And as
far as I'm concerned, I'm just not buying the idea about the chip that somehow
gives Spike a conscience, equals a soul. That's just bullsh.. So I changed the
events a little bit.
"Angel's lame. His hair grows straight up, and he's bloody stupid."
Angel was startled for a moment at the words he was hearing from the balcony.
He'd been looking for Buffy all over Sunnydale after she hadn't turned up at the
mansion the way they had agreed on the phone. Now that he had obviously found
her, he was more than slightly surprised by the words he was hearing.
"Okay," Willow was saying, "look, I just wanna help you. Let me help you."
"You're my best friend," Buffy replied. But something was different. It was
Buffy's voice, sure, she looked exactly like Buffy, true, but he didn't get any
vibes from her. Granted, there was some distance between them, but that hadn't
disturbed their connection before. Besides, he was pretty sure, Buffy would never
mock about his hair. Or call him bloody stu-. His unnecessary breath caught in
his throat. A thought shot through his mind, something so incredible, he had a
hard time grasping it.
"Yeah. Again, I ... really am, but-"
"You're recently gay," Buffy was saying, or rather that ... person ... thing,
whatever it was. Angel was pretty sure it wasn't Buffy. Had they exchanged her?
God, what had happened to her? And why for God's sake could none of her friends
see it wasn't her in front of them?
"Um...," he saw Willow turning red, but kept looking at Bu-, no, not Buffy. The
thing, he told himself firmly.
Suddenly he heard the door, and Xander came storming into the apartment, "Guys,
guys, wake up," he yelled. Willow turned and walked back into the apartment with
... the thing ... following her. Torn between wanting to know what was going on,
and finding Buffy, to get to the bottom of this, Angel let out a long sigh, then
turned and disappeared into the night. It seemed, the night wouldn't go the way
he'd planned.
*
Buffy was tired and a little bit uncomfortable, not to forget deeply annoyed with
the way the so called distraction, the journey into her inner self, Giles had
called it, had turned out.
She had met the First Slayer. Big deal. She hadn't given Buffy anything but
riddles and if Buffy was completely honest, she didn't understand any of this. A
gift? Death is your gift? Gee. Maybe being dead for so long had muddled the First
Slayer's mind. How could being dead probably be a gift? Her mother would
certainly not think so.
Shaking her head she made up her way towards the house, and stifled a cry the
last possible second when suddenly a figure parted from the shadows.
"Buffy," the figure said, and took her arm.
"Argh, Angel," she shouted, glaring at him. "You're going to give me a heart
attack one of these days."
A grin appeared on his handsome features, "Hardly," he said mercilessly. "You're
the slayer, you can handle it."
"This better be true," she replied on a sigh, then smiled, glad he was here.
"What are you doing-," she started, when it hit her, "Oh, shi- … I mean, oh,
Angel," she reached out, put a hand on his other arm, "I'm sorry. I completely
forgot. I mean, not about you, but about-"
"It's okay," he said, not quite successful in hiding the hurt in his eyes. "I
mean, you've got a lot on your mind, and-"
"It can never be too much to forget such an important thing as you coming to
town," she interrupted him firmly, stepping on her toes and kissing him. "But I
had ... uh ... some problems to work through. And then Giles suggested I'd go,"
she rolled her eyes, "on a trip to find my inner strength, or something like
that."
"You're the strongest person I know," he told her, closing his arms around her
waist, lowering his mouth to kiss her properly, when he remembered why he had
been looking for her in the first place. "Buffy," he said, raising his head
again, looking into her eyes. He saw the disappointment there at his action, and
nearly grinned. "Something is going on here."
She rolled her eyes again, a pout appearing on her sweet, kissable mouth,
"Something is *always* going on here. Hello, this is Sunnydale. Hellmouth,
remember?"
He sighed, "I know. But that's not what I meant."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Well," she whispered, "That sounds
really," she licked her lips seductively, which made his groin tighten instantly,
"interesting, but ... I'm seeing you not very often. Whatever evil is around
here, it can wait. I'm slaying it tomorrow night."
"Buffy-"
"No," she shook her head firmly, "Slaying time, tomorrow. Boyfriend time, now."
She grinned and was about to pull his head down, when he closed his hands around
her shoulders.
"Something is wrong, Buffy," Angel said urgently.
"I already said-," she began, but he shook his head, pulled away from her,
taking her arm, pulling her with him.
"Angel, what..."
"Very, very wrong."
She planted her legs firmly, and refused to be moved, "Angel!," she almost
yelled. "What is going on?"
He took a deep breath, then turned and looked at her, "I ... uh ... can't really
explain." He gave a helpless shrug. "It's really ... weird." As if to assure
himself, he nodded, "Yeah, weird. I think you have to see yourself."
"Why can't you tell me now?," she asked, the pout appearing again. "I could
listen, really hard. Then nod. And then I'm going to slay this tomorrow. So go
on, tell me. So we can come to the ... more ... private things."
"Uh ... Buffy, sorry. But I have a hard time understanding this myself," the
vampire admitted. "I think it's probably for the best if you just come with me."
With this he pulled her again after him.
More staggering, than running, she shouted, "Where are we going?"
"To your house."
"My house?," she asked, and when he didn't react she followed him full speed.
*
She could hardly believe her eyes when she stormed through the front door to find
all her friends assembled there. "Whoa! Group hang time?"
Angel who was right behind almost bumped into her back and stopped the last
possible moment. He saw the surprise on Buffy's friends' faces, that instantly
turned to shock when they saw him standing behind her.
"Tha- that was quick," Willow stammered, staring at him. "Hi, Angel," she
chirped.
He gave her a quick smile, then let his eyes travel over the group.
Buffy scoffed, "Didn't seem like it to me. Death is my gift...," she scoffed
again.
The others seemed to be completely dumbfounded for a moment, before Xander spoke
up, "Buffy, we ... need to talk."
Angel felt her stiffen in front of him, and resisted the urge to wrap his arms
around her. None of their friends knew anything about their new relationship, and
they agreed to keep it that way, for now. "What's wrong?," he heard the alarm in
her voice and knew instantly what she was thinking. "Is Dawn okay?"
"Dawn's fine," Willow assured her, her eyes constantly flickering from her best
friend to the vampire who was still standing behind her.
"Buffy," Xander said, "we care about you, and we're worried about you. The way
you're ... uh ... acting, the things you're doing-"
"It's wrong," Anya cut him off, looking sternly at the slayer. Angel had met the
former demon only once, but Buffy had told him about her. She'd said he had to
get used to her first. The vampire had a feeling that might be true.
"Wait," Willow interrupted in true Willow-fashion, "This shouldn't be about
blame."
"Blame?," Buffy gazed at her in confusion, "There's blame now?"
"No," the redhead said quickly, "There's only love. And ...," her eyes again
flickered to Angel, "some fear."
"Which is kind of thrown by the you having sex with Spike," Anya said bluntly.
"The ... who whating how with huh?," Buffy stammered staring at her, while Angel
couldn't hold back any longer and yelped "WHAT?"
"Okay, that's denial," the ex-demon stated. "That usually comes before anger."
"I am not having sex with Spike," the slayer shouted, stomping her foot on the
ground.
"Anger," Anya nodded.
"No one is judging you. It's understandable. Spike is strong and mysterious and
sort of compact but well-muscled-"
Buffy's eyes narrowed at him and her voice was very firm, "I am not having sex
with Spike! But I'm starting to think that you might be." She raised a brow, her
eyes nailing him. Angel had to stifle another grin.
Xander scoffed indignantly, "Buffy, I saw you. Anya too." The ex-demon nodded,
and he went on, "We saw you and Spike ...," he gestured vaguely, "with the
straddling."
"Spike's mine," came a voice from the doorway, "Who's straddling Spike?"
Buffy's mouth fell open coming face to what was an excellent copy of her, and
recovering only slightly, she whispered, "Oh my god."
"Not exactly," Angel whispered into her ear, "But that's what I was talking
about."
She shot him a quick glance, then looked back at her double.
"And so say all of us," Xander said.
"Say," the double spoke, "look at you. You look just like me! We're very pretty."
"Two of them!," Willow exclaimed.
"Hey, I know this," Xander grinned, "They're both Buffy."
The slayer's head snapped around and she gave him an annoyed glare, "No, *she's*
a robot. She acts just like that girlfriend-bot that Warren guy made. You guys
couldn't tell me apart from a robot?" At least Angel had instantly, she thought
in relief.
"Oh," the robot piped, "I don't think I'm a robot."
"She's very well done," Anya commented, and the robot smiled at her.
Xander stared from one Buffy to the other, "Spike must have had her built, so he
could program her t-"
"Oh God," Buffy exclaimed, horrified, wanting to disappear in a hole. This was
awful. She felt the man, the vampire, behind her stiffen, but he didn't touch
her. At the moment, she was grateful for it.
"Yikes," Willow shuddered, "Imagine the things-"
"No!," Buffy cut her off, "No, no imagining. Any of you."
Xander raised a hand, "Already got the visual. And by the way," he went on,
"What's he doing here?," he nodded towards Angel.
"He," Buffy replied, "knew instantly it wasn't me," she told him. "He came to
warn me," she raised a brow, stepped towards him, "None of you did."
Xander held up two hands in defence, and gave her a sheepish smile. "Uh ... I was
just asking."
"Yeah," the slayer huffed.
"People. Friends of mine," the robot said, "You're forgetting the important
thing. Glory has Spike and she's going to harm him."
Buffy's head slowly turned towards her and her voice was soft as silk, "Glory has
Spike?"
Xander laughed nervously, "We were gonna bring that up."
"Are we getting weapons?," Anya wanted to know.
"Grab 'em," Buffy replied, already reaching for one. We're going now. I have to
kill him."
"Be my guest," Angel whispered, his face grim.
"We don't even know where to look," Willow said hesitantly.
Buffy considered that for a moment, then looked at Angel, "I know where to
start."
They were already heading out of the door, when they heard Anya's voice. "You
know, Xander, the last time he was around I only saw him in the dark, and I
didn't really get a good look. But he *does* look strong and sexy."
Angel and Buffy exchanged an incredulous glance, then both shook their heads and
left the house.
*
They were standing in the park now, and under different circumstances Buffy would
even have thought it a little bit romantic, to stroll around, with Angel, all
alone ... as it was, however, the place was a little bit overcrowded for any kind
of romantic feelings, plus it was very disturbing to have a robot with your face
next to you. "Glory's key-sniffling snake was about here when I killed it," she
told the others, "It was headed back to her."
"Do you think she lives around here?," Willow inquired.
"It's not a lot to go on," Xander mused.
Buffy shrugged, exchanged another glance with Angel, who was scanning the area
and trying to sense something, anything. "It's all we got."
Giles, who wasn't quite certain what irritated him more, the fact that a
Buffy-copy was running around or that Angel was in Sunnydale, again, stared at
the robot, "Quite extraordinary, really."
"Thank you," the Buffy-copy replied. "But I really think we should be listening
to the other Buffy, Guy-les. She's very smart and she's gonna help us save
Spike," she gave Angel a bright smile when he gazed at he. "Your
hair grows straight up," she told him.
The vampire closed his eyes for a moment, then chuckled. "Uh ... yeah," he said,
"It does. All the time," he told the robot.
"It looks stupid," the Buffybot said, looking back at Giles.
Angel only shook his head, then glared at Xander who was grinning at him.
"Can we please skip the discussion about Angel's hair," Buffy's annoyed voice cut
it. "It's spiky," she said, her eyes meeting the vampire's. "I like it."
"Guy-les," Giles said, wearing an annoyed expression, then turned towards his
slayer, "Spike didn't even bother to program my name properly."
"Listen, skirt girl," Buffy said, looking at her copy, "We are not going to save
Spike. We're going to kill him. He knows who the key is, and there's no way he's
not telling Glory."
"You're right," the robot replied, "he's evil." She smiled again, "But you should
see him naked. I mean really."
Buffy grimaced in disgust, then saw Angel rolling his eyes and couldn't help but
grin.
"Wait a sec," Xander frowned suddenly, "Does Angel know who the key is?"
"Sure," the slayer answered. "I told him."
"Doesn't this anybody strike as odd. I mean, you kept the information from us for
... for months. And Angel is in Sunnydale twice and already knows all the stuff.
What's going on here?""
"Guys," Buffy cut in, not wanting her friends to dig too deeply into her private
life. Besides, it wasn't really the time to discuss it. "Okay, guys, split
up and spread out. Check the priciest-looking places first. Xander, you come with
me. Angel too. Willow, Anya stick together, and Guy-les," she grinned at his
annoyed look, "you can watch ...," she pointed at the robot, "... it."
The watcher turned his speculative gaze for a moment on Angel, then sighed and
turned back to the robot, who grinned at him hugely.
*
"I can't believe they just dumped him in his crypt," Angel said as he and Buffy
were walking to the entrance in the graveyard. They'd left the others and the
robot in the magic shop.
"I'm sure he has to look awful to have Xander pitying him," the blond mused,
giving her lover a quick glance. He looked pretty bruised and battered himself,
but thanks to vampire healing it would fade fast.
"I really don't give a damn, how he looks. I still can't believe he did ... that.
I mean how twisted can a guy be to-," he stopped himself, then sighed, "On a
second thought. He is a vampire. Twisted is their middle name."
"Yeah. And believe me if I say, ewwww. I mean, a robot, looking like me," she
shuddered slightly, "to have sex with ... the copy. That's pretty sick. A major,
major yuck-factor."
She stopped in front of the entrance, and looked at Angel. "Let me go first," she
whispered, kissing him. "We need to know what he told Glory. I have to be sure he
didn't give her any information about Dawn."
"I don't like it," he growled.
"I know," she smiled slightly, "But remember. I'm the slayer."
He sighed, and kissed her fast and hard, "Yeah."
"Wow," she was a bit breathless, "Can we continue this later ... somewhere more
... private?"
"Sure," he grinned, then shoved her towards the entrance. "Go. The sooner we know
what we need to know, the sooner we can ... get private."
A sensuous expression came into her eyes for a moment, then vanished instantly,
and the slayer was back. "Stay close behind," she whispered, opening the door.
*
Stepping into the crypt she found Spike, even more badly bruised and beaten than
Angel. He turned his head, his eyes hardly visible beneath the swelling. "Spike,"
Buffy exclaimed, mimicking the robot, batting her lashes at him, "You're covered
in sexy wounds."
"Yeah," he groaned, tried to sit up, "I feel real sexy. Where have you been?"
"I fell down and got confused," Buffy told him, enjoying the situation, "Willow
fixed me. She's gay."
"Will fixed you?," Spike asked incredulously, "I though they'd melt you into
scrap."
"They were confused too," she smiled brightly, "Do you wanna ravage me now?"
"Give us a minute," Spike said weakly, "Got some bones need mending."
"Why did you let Glory hurt you?," she asked.
"She wanted to know where the key is," the vampire replied, groaning again.
"Oh, well, I can tell her," Buffy told him," and then," she turned towards the
door, "you'll-"
"No!," Spike shouted, coughing, "You can't ever. Glory never finds out."
"Why?," she asked, batting her lashes again.
He sighed, "'Cause Buffy ... the other, not so pleasant Buffy ... anything
happened to Dawn, it'd destroy her. I couldn't live, her bein' in that much pain.
Let Glory kill me first. Nearly bloody did."
Buffy stared at him in shock for a moment, studying his swollen face, his eyes,
when the clapping of hands snapped her out of her daze.
"Great performance," Angel said, stepping into the crypt.
"Bloody damn hell," Spike growled, seeing his grand-sire coming to stand behind
the slayer.
"Yeah, you could say that," Angel replied, tilted his head.
"What do you mean, great performance?," Buffy turned to look at him.
"You didn't believe in his show for one moment, did you?," he narrowed her
eyes at her. "He knew you weren't the robot from the moment you stepped inside,
Buffy. He's a vampire. The Buffybot doesn't have a heartbeat."
"Oh," she said, frowning. When it sunk in, her head whirled around, her furious
eyes nailing Spike, "Oh. You disgusting pervert," she shouted.
"Oh, come on, luv," the blond vampire smirked at her. "I was good. You liked it,
didn't you." When she snorted in disgust, he chuckled, then coughed, feeling his
broken ribs, "Hey, I built a robot who looks exactly like you. Can't you see how
much I love you."
"Shut up, Spike," she warned, turning away, gazing at Angel. "Let's go. Let's
hope he said the truth about Dawn."
"I did," the blond vampire said from behind her. "I wouldn't get Nibblet in
danger. I swear."
Buffy didn't turn back to him, just nodded and left the crypt, Angel behind her.
At the entrance, he suddenly stopped, touched her arm, "I forgot ... something.
Wait a moment, I'll go and get it."
She gave him a tight smile, and he disappeared in the crypt again.
Spike saw him coming and grinned, "Hey, mate, forgot something? Or can't just
stand it that the girl has the hots for-"
He couldn't finish his sentence because Angel hauled him in the air and up the
wall. Pressing his free hand on the already broken ribs of the younger demon,
Angel grinned coolly when Spike groaned in pain. "I already told you," he
growled, "I'm not your mate. And Buffy isn't the object of your twisted
obsession." He pressed harder, and Spike yelled, his eyes rolling back, he was
almost fainting. "Did I make myself clear?"
"Yeah," the blond groaned when Angel let him down again and he sank to the floor.
"Good," the dark-haired vampire said grimly. "Next time, if you even as much as
look at her again, I'm not just going to play. Understood?"
"Yeah," Spike hissed through gritted teeth, and spat when Angel turned and left
the crypt. Then his eyes suddenly turned speculative. Something was going on
here. Something he had missed so far. But he would find out. As soon as he
could walk around again. He was sure the pressure Angel had inflicted on his
already battered ribs, had pushed several through his dead lungs. Groaning he let
his head fall back against the wall. His day would come, he swore, his day would
come.
*
"We have to find another place to meet," Angel said an hour later, when he and
Buffy were lying on the floor of the mansion, gloriously naked.
"You think?," she looked up from her spot on his chest, "I think it kinda ...
romantic. Holds a lot of memories."
"Maybe," he admitted. "But my back hurts like hell. It was a hell of a ride,
Summers," he grinned.
"Oh," she grinned too, "Getting old, are we? 250 is a lot of years."
"247," he said indignantly, "But that's beside the point. A nice bed would be
good. And we can't meet at your house."
"No," she sighed, put her head back on his chest. "I wish we could just tell
them. But it's not a good time. There's too much happening, and I *so* don't want
a discussion with Xander, or worse, Giles." She giggled, "Guy-les."
He chuckled too, "He surely didn't appreciate that Spike didn't bother with his
name."
"No," she agreed. "What did you say to him?," she asked the question that had
burned inside of her since they'd left the cemetery.
"Hands off," he said simply.
"Good," she sighed again, stretched, then wiggled her brows, "But I'd appreciate
if you would put your hands on now."
"Would you now," he replied, pulling her on top of him. "Mmmm, that feels good,"
he said, "I suppose my back can stand another one."
"Oh, I truly hope so," she said, kissing him hard.
*
"When will I see you again?," she asked, when they were standing at his car some
hours before sunrise.
He pulled her in his arms, kissed her crown, "As soon as possible."
"Thanks to Glory we hardly got to talk tonight," she said, pressing her head
against his chest, "How is it going in L.A?"
He chuckled, "I suppose you could say as expected. Cordy was ... pissed. Wesley
and Gunn ... they don't trust me ... yet. But I'm going to win it back."
"You will," she said, tightening her hold around his waist. "And Cordy ... *was*
... pissed. What happened?"
"I got her some clothes."
She giggled, "That's Cordy."
"Yeah," he smiled, kissed her crown again.
"No more running into Darla?," she asked after a moment, not sure if she should
bring it up, but not able to leave it either.
"No," he said, and she felt a slight shudder run through his body. "I'm sorry,"
he whispered. He hadn't told her about his night with Darla. Besides the fact
that he had no idea how he should tell her, he still understood only half of it
himself.
"That's okay," she replied, "I understand that you can't talk about it yet. You
will. When you're ready, you will tell me. I'm glad she's gone."
"Me too. And Dru seems to have disappeared with her," he told her. "I can't say I
miss either one."
She sighed then, pulled back to look at him. "You need to go now, don't you?"
"Yeah," he confirmed, his eyes tinged with sadness. "But I don't want to."
"I don't want you to go either. But this," she stepped on her toes and kissed
him, "is better than what we had before. So let's not complain."
He chuckled slightly, kissed her back, "I think you don't have to worry about
growing up, Buffy. You're sounding very mature to me."
"I do?," her eyes lit up, then she frowned, "Really? Does that mean I'm getting
old?"
"You could never get old for me?," he assured her, kissed her thoroughly.
"You're sweet," she said when their lips parted.
"Don't forget it," he smiled at her, opened the door of his car and slipped
inside. "I'm going to miss you terribly."
"Me too," she said. "Drive carefully."
"I will. Besides, it's not as if I could die in an accident."
"No," she agreed. "But you could scar that gorgeous body of yours. And we don't
want that."
He laughed, started the ignition. "I love you, baby."
"I love you too," she whispered, then watched his taillights disappear into the
night.
END
Go to Midnight Song
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: B/A (strong in this part!), and the usual pairings from the show
Distribution: my site (http://www.never-ending-love.de), Land of Denial, if you
have any of my stories, take it; anybody else tell me where it goes
Summary: Set within "Intervention" and after "Disharmony". Angel goes to
Sunnydale to see Buffy. This is set into canon, in an attempt to make the
whole series more B/A-friendly. But don't expect too many smootchies!
Spoilers: the whole B/A-canon to be sure, follows loosely "Midnight Angel",
"Midnight Whispers", "Midnight Rainbow", "Midnight Hour", "Midnight Memory",
"Midnight Letter", "Midnight Encounters", "Midnight Eyes, and "Midnight Lovers".
You should probably read it to understand this. And you should have seen season
5/2 or you won't know what they're talking about.
Feedback: oh yes, please
Dedication: this goes to Mariah because I completely missed that she was
continuing her great story, "Back In Time". Sorry, hun!
Feedback
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