Angel POV
I know that she’s watching me; part slayer, part girl, all sunshine… if that’s possible. She doesn’t know what I am, that I’m pretending to sleep here on the floor. She doesn’t know that normally I sleep in the daytime, and that while my soul wants to protect her, there’s a demon inside of me that wants to torture her.
I lay as still as possible and mimic breath and false humanity. Breathe in. Breathe out. Soon she’ll fall asleep and I’ll allow myself to watch her. The sun always goes down eventually. So for now, I let her watch.
**
“You’re staring at me.” A small grin graced Angel’s lips.
“So? You do the same thing to me. And besides, you’re so stare-able.” Buffy quipped, her fingertips tracing his jaw line.
Angel chuckled lightly. “And I’m distracting you from patrol.” He still had no idea what he was doing here with Buffy. She made him feel and his soul selfishly couldn’t get enough.
“I like this distraction.” Buffy smiled and leaned in to press her lips to his, feeling the thrill inside of her the same as she did every time he returned a kiss. “Just let me look at you.”
Buffy POV
He’s back. I killed him and somehow he’s back. Part of me wants to rejoice and hold onto him without ever having to let go again. Another part wants to run and hide. And no matter how difficult it was I know that he has every right to hate me.
I’m not sure I could handle his hate. Right now he’s far too disoriented for me to know exactly how things will be. My fingers itch to reach out and touch him, but I won’t let myself yet. So I wait… and watch with my heart in the balance.
Buffy POV
Another apocalypse under my belt. I should be excited and in celebration mode. Hey, I even blew up the school, which was pretty cool. But I’m watching and living my worst nightmare unfold before my eyes.
He’s leaving and he’s taking more than half of me with him. I want to run after him, beg, plead, curse hypothetical theories of me having anything resembling a normal life. Instead I stand and watch him disappear through the smoke. The void inside already stretches out like a chasm and a cold numbness takes over. I hate looking at this side of Angel.
Post Series
Buffy entered her apartment she shared with Angel, finding him reading a book on the couch. “Hey you.” She plopped down into his lap.
“Have a good day?” He dropped the book, buried his nose against her neck, and drew an unneeded breath of sunshine and promise.
“Mmmhmm. Now patrol time. I just have to change.”
Angel tightened his hold around her waist to hold her in his lap. “It can wait a few minutes, can’t it?”
“Yes, but why?”
He scraped his teeth over her neck just light enough to not break skin. “I want to look at you.”
The End