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Disclaimer: ::sigh:: No, in case you're wondering, these characters aren't mine. Not that you didn't know that already. I'm not mean enough to own them. They are the property of the evil mastermind Joss Whedon, who won't share with me. It's all that acid, it's going to his head...
Author's Notes: Ninth in the fluff series. I know I haven't written any for it in forever, I haven't been in a fluffy mood because of all the bad news about the show I've been hearing. But after seeing The Harsh Light of Day, the evil episode, I decided it was time for fluff. Lots and lots of fluff.
Buffy groaned as she flung the door of the guidance office open and stalked into the room. She threw her bag on the floor and plopped into a chair opposite Angel's desk. Her beloved was hard at work at his desk, carefully transferring information from the printout in front of him into a book. His sprawling handwriting covered most of the page and he didn't even look up when Buffy stormed in.
"I take it the test didn't exactly go well?" he said, his head moving back and forth as he copied. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, sinking into the plush chair and flinging her head back, closing her eyes.
"That's the understatement of the millennium," she replied, bringing her hands up to rub her sore temples. Her head ached from the rigors she had just put it through--trigonometry.
Smooth fingers eased hers out of the way, taking over the motions. She cradled Angel's hands in her own, moving gently with him as he worked the tension away slowly. Her head lolled forward until her forehead touched his, her eyes remaining closed the entire time, allowing him to relieve the built-up frustration. Warm lips caressed her forehead as Angel pressed a soft kiss on its center before he pulled away and sat back on his heels, gazing at the beautiful girl before him.
"Better?" he asked, his voice airy. She smiled and leaned towards him.
"Almost," she breathed, catching his lips in a passionate kiss. Angel pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her body as their mouths fused.
The door to Ms. Corrigan's office opened suddenly. The two pulled away guiltily as she fluttered past, waving her hand in the air.
"Wasn't here, didn't see anything..." she laughed as she exited the small office. The two smiled at her playfulness and made sure the door was fully closed before looking back at each other.
"What happened? You had that stuff down cold last night," Angel said as he rose and sat down in the chair next to her. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, loving the way the cotton of his shirt brushed her skin.
"I know, but in class I just stared at the paper and had no clue what anything meant. Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that it was in Chinese..." she trailed off.
"Chinese?" he repeated incredulously. "Buffy, that's just simple math--"
"Simple?" she cried. "There were backwards E's and upside-down A's! It was complete and utter chaos on my paper, how in the world am I supposed to translate that?"
"We went over it all last night," he reminded her. She bit her lip.
"Yeah, and then we got kinda distracted..." she smiled. Angel chuckled.
"If you recall correctly, that was *after* you had studied. The last thing I want is you moving back to your mother's. Study before play."
"And what about now?" she asked, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Angel glanced to the side, his gaze disbelieving.
"Buffy, you're well aware of the fact that we're in school, right? There's no way we can!" Angel argued. She turned so her face was next to his, gazing at his profile while she rested her chin on the edge of his shoulder.
"Sure we can. There was...a book I need from the stacks. And I don't want to go back there by myself...you don't know what lives in the stacks," she said in a little-girl voice. Angel bit back a grin. He did so love the way her mind worked.
"And what would Giles and Katrina think of this?" he asked, turning so his face was centimeters away from hers.
"Wouldn't you know they went out to lunch. And I thought I saw the fire exit door ajar just a tad..." she whispered. Angel smiled.
"And if we get caught?"
"C'mon, Angel, where's your sense of adventure?"
"I think I lost it a few decades ago," he joked. She grinned and silenced him with a kiss, pulling him up at the same time.
"Meet me there in ten minutes," she said with a peck on his cheek. With a backwards glance and a wiggle of her hips, she was gone.
Angel grinned like a fool and glanced at his watch, willing the second hand to move faster.
The day passed quickly for the ex-vampire and his Slayer girlfriend. The final bell rang, signaling the end of another day of torture. Kids spilled from the high school in throngs, eager to get far away from the evil place in record time. Buffy and the gang strolled at a leisurely pace, enjoying the afternoon California sun. Buffy led the pack, Willow and Oz walking quietly behind her and Xander and Cordelia bickering incessantly at the back. Angel called his girlfriend's name as he crossed the courtyard and caught up with them.
She smiled secretly at him as he sidled up to her and slipped his hand into hers. Together, the six of them walked down the steps and stepped off school property. Angel swept Buffy off her feet and kissed her gently as soon as they were on the sidewalk.
"I missed you," he said as he buried his face into her golden hair. She giggled and pulled him close.
"I missed you more," she whispered.
"You two make me sick," Cordelia scowled as she watched the two whisper to each other.
"You'd greet Xander that way too if you guys had snuck into the library during lunch for smoochies," Willow said as she raised her eyebrow at the happy couple. Buffy glanced up at Angel, her cheeks rosy.
"I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about," Buffy laughed, her eyes shining. Xander groaned.
"You can't go eight hours without making out? Where's your self control?" he asked with the shake of his head.
"Probably on vacation with yours," Angel muttered. The three couples continued down the sidewalk towards student parking.
"So, Bronzing it tonight?" Oz asked.
"I think the question you meant to ask was are you two Bronzing it with us tonight?" Cordelia asked as she brushed a stray lock of brown hair out of her eyes.
Buffy glanced up at Angel. "We were actually planning on staying in tonight...vegging on the couch with Adia and watching movies."
"Don't you ever get tired of staying home all the time? I mean, you're only young once, Buffy. Sooner or later you and Angel will be old and wrinkly and will wonder why you wasted your youth sitting around when you could have easily done it when you were old and retired..." Cordelia said. The others gave her strange looks. "What? It's the truth."
"Thanks, Cor, but I think we're gonna stay in. Rain check, 'kay?" Buffy said as the others veered off, heading to the student parking lot. Angel and Buffy continued on to the staff lot, which was located right next to the building and was a reasonable distance from the school. The others crossed the street and began the trek of half a block to the student parking.
Buffy pulled her keys out of her purse, giving Angel a wicked grin as she unlocked the car and got into the driver's seat. Angel slid into the passenger's side and buckled his seat belt at once. Buffy driving was a very scary thing.
They arrived home a few minutes later without so much as a scratch. Adia greeted them at the door, purring and rubbing against her owners' legs when they stepped over the threshold. Buffy scooped the black kitten into her arms, cradling her to her chest. Adia sniffed her hand, licking it with her tongue and causing Buffy to giggle. With a pat on the head, she set the cat down. Adia looked up at her quizzically before running up the stairs to their bedroom.
Buffy and Angel followed, carrying their things up to their room. While Buffy changed, Angel sorted through the mail, throwing out the junk and putting the bills aside to be dealt with later.
"Thank God it's Friday," Buffy moaned as she crawled up the bed to where Angel lay, his nose in a golf magazine. She snagged the latest Victoria's Secret off his chest and gave him a look as she settled into the satin comforter. The red material that usually hung down and covered the sides of the bed had been carefully wrapped around each post so it would not get in the way of them exiting the bed. She rested her head on his stomach, propped her knees up so she could read the magazine without killing her neck. They read in silence for quite some time before Angel realized his love had fallen asleep. Chuckling softly, he pulled her up to him, carefully moving her body so she lay next to him. Angel wrapped his arms around her, settling in to a peaceful nap at the side of his Slayer.
"Angel, give me the remote. There is no way I'm watching Xena again," Buffy said as she reached over, grabbing a handful of cheese doodles and giving her boyfriend a look. He shook his head.
"I don't think we've seen this one..."
"And I'd like to keep it that way. C'mon, Star Wars is on and I want to watch it!" Buffy said, exasperated.
"I don't like Star Wars," Angel replied from his recliner. Buffy stretched, arching her back off the couch before slumping back down, turning her head to the side so she could actually see the television. Adia was seated on her flat stomach, curled in a little ball as the lady of the house argued with her boyfriend.
"You've never even seen it," she said.
"True. But it looks stupid."
Buffy shook her head. "One of these days you're watching all three, and you'll love them all," she told him firmly.
Before he could reply, the doorbell rang. Buffy sat up, shifting Adia so she could hold her while she answered the door. She tried to snatch the remote from Angel's grasp, but he was anticipating it and held it out of her reach as she passed.
Buffy unlocked and opened the door to find her friends on the other side, standing in the waning sunlight with their arms crossed. She stepped aside to let them enter, watching them all carefully.
"Okay, okay, you guys caught us. We just snuck into the stacks for a quickie, I had to relieve stress from that killer math test and Angel needed a break and that is in no way related to what you guys came over here for, is it?" she said in one breath as her friends gave her confused looks. Her meaning dawned on them and Xander suddenly started coughing. "A quickie...quick...study session! Yeah, um...Angel helped me...study...in the stacks during lunch...after the test...okay, I'm just gonna shut up right now and let you guys talk."
"Good idea," Cordelia snapped. "I so didn't need to know that...well, I would've found out anyway but still..."
"We came on a mission," Willow stated. Buffy looked over at her, her eyebrow quirked as Adia purred loudly, coating Buffy's white tank top with her black fur.
"Mission? Is it like a mission impossible mission or is it in the realm of possibility..." Buffy trailed off as Angel joined them.
Xander turned to him. "Does she always babble like this when she's nervous?" he teased.
"So what are you guys doing here?" Buffy asked, changing the subject as she ushered them into the living room. She snatched the remote from the chair before Angel could stop her and turned to MTV, cutting off Xena's war cry.
"We've come to take you two out for a night on the town. You haven't come out with us in over three weeks," Willow informed them.
"Yeah, you two are like an old married couple...except without the wrinkles and the fake teeth," Cordelia chimed in.
"Guys," Buffy said, "that's really sweet and all, but--"
"No buts," Oz cut her off. "The correct answer is 'okay, we'll be ready in a few minutes.' Try it again."
"Buff, maybe they're right," Angel said, slipping his arm around her shoulders. "We haven't gone out in a long time, and who wants to stay home on a Friday night?"
"Hey, you don't have to tell me twice. Give us five minutes," she said as she handed Adia to Xander. At his look, she grinned sheepishly. "Okay, fifteen?"
Half an hour later Buffy and Angel made their way back downstairs. Buffy had changed into a short black skirt and a tan tank top that had the Chinese symbol for love embroided on it. Angel was in simple khakis and a polo shirt and they quickly went down the stairs to the living room where their friends were seated watching television.
"Ready!" Buffy said cheerfully as she strided into the room.
"It's about time," Cordelia said. "Your house is making my hair flat."
"You should really talk about taking time," Xander said under his breath. He was rewarded with a smack to his arm by his glaring girlfriend. They gathered their things and left the house, piling into Oz's van.
"So, where're we going?" Buffy asked as they pulled away from the curb.
"Mini golf!" Xander cried. Buffy cringed.
"Mini golf? Do you remember our last experience with mini golf? Psycho robot bent on killing my mother and tranquilizing you with cookies?" Buffy reminded them.
"Hey, Buff, do you have that recipe for those cookies? They were so good..." Xander said. Buffy silenced him with a look as she leaned into Angel.
"Where was I when this all went down? Psycho robots aren't on my list of vanquished demons," Cordelia said.
"You were too cool for us then," Buffy told her, patting her arm gently. "Don't worry, we've forgiven you."
They arrived at the Sunnydale Miniature Golf Course and paid the entrance fee as the last rays of sunlight faded away into the darkness of night. Buffy had brought a few stakes, just in case, but she was more concerned with not hitting her ball into the next county.
"Okay, I can handle this," she said as she eyed the first hole, a simple straight line with a few small hills. She placed her blue ball into the correct slot and aimed, shooting way off target. At Angel's look, she shrugged. "I just...gotta get warmed up."
Warming up took several holes. After a while, Angel had to help her with her technique, wrapping his arms around her and aiding her in her attempt to master the art of miniature golf. Oz was in the lead with Xander and Angel right on his heels--proverbial heels, of course--as they came to the infamous thirteenth hole.
"We have sand *and* water?!" Buffy cried. "I give up."
"Baby, you can do this. I'll help," Angel grinned, jumping at the chance for an excuse to hold her. The others went, Cordelia and Oz getting trapped in the sand and Willow going in the water. Xander managed to stay on land, but he hit his ball too hard and it flew into some bushes. Angel was the only one to get it remotely near the hole. Buffy didn't do too badly, her ball just landed at the next hole over...
They finished the mini-golf part of their night with a free game won by Oz. He had won, not surprising everyone else in the least, with Angel in second and Xander in third. Cordelia was a close forth and Willow and Buffy had tied for last place.
The gang headed to Shawn's Pizzeria for dinner before going off to the Bronze to dance their butts off.
"Aren't you glad you came?" Cordy cried over the music to Buffy, who was having her way with Angel on the dance floor, much to his enjoyment. Buffy glanced up at Angel and laughed at the look on his face.
"Oh, yeah. It beats sitting home watching Xena!" she said as a slow song came on. Angel wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. Buffy draped her arms casually around his neck, pressing her body into his and moving in time with the music. She rested her head on his broad chest and Angel took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her vanilla perfume. Buffy sighed in utter contentment and turned her head up to look at her lover.
"We should get out more," she teased, gazing up into his eyes, feeling hopeless to their hypnotic pull. At that moment she felt so loved and worshipped and whole, Buffy felt herself fall in love with her Angel all over again. Angel, too, was feeling the same emotions. He could not believe, after the two months he had been human, that he felt as loved as he did at that moment.
"I love you," she whispered as she traced his lips with her finger. He nuzzled her hand in response and gently took her finger into his mouth, biting down on it teasingly.
"I love you too, sweetheart, more than anything in this world," he replied, leaning down to kiss her softly. Buffy rose on tiptoe as the kiss deepened, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck once more. They broke away only when their need for oxygen took over.
"Mind if I cut in?" Harmony asked as she sauntered up to the happy couple. Angel groaned as he saw the blond, he hated the annoying airhead.
"Yeah, actually we kinda do. Go away, Harmony, Angel doesn't like you," Buffy said tiredly, leaning into his arms as she spoke.
"I could satisfy him way more than you ever could," she snapped, tossing her blond hair.
Buffy laughed. "Harm, dear, our relationship isn't just physical. It's love and trust, two things you never have to worry about. Your heart of stone has seen to that."
Harmony glared at the Slayer before making eyes at Angel. He brushed her off and looked down at Buffy. "Sorry about the interruption," he said with a grin, knowing full well that Harmony was standing right next to them. "Now where were we?"
"Right about here," she replied as she once again captured his lips in a fiery kiss. Harmony's shriek of rage vibrated through the entire club.
"Thanks, you guys, we had a great time," Buffy said as Oz pulled to a stop in front of their house.
"We're on for same thing again tomorrow, right?" Willow asked. Buffy and Angel nodded.
"Seven o'clock. We'll meet you there. The thirteenth hole will *not* win," she said as they got out of the car and waved as Oz pulled away. Angel took Buffy's hand and led her up the walkway and into the house. She dropped her purse on the small table in the foyer and removed her heels as Angel switched on the lights.
"God, I'm tired," she moaned as they made their way upstairs. "I'd forgotten how much partying and playing golf wears you out."
Angel laughed as he took off his shirt, slipping on an undershirt. "And just think, we get to do it again tomorrow."
"Well, I guess we should be happy the Hellmouth behaved," she said as she changed into her pajamas, a pair of Angel's boxers and a tank top.
"There's always that," he agreed as he went into the lavender bathroom to brush his teeth. Buffy followed, keeping with the tradition they had began a few weeks before. They would always brush their teeth together, it was a cute little thing they did together. Adia bounded into the room, jumping onto the bed and attacking one of the red pillows that was lying helpless to her attack. The two laughed as they turned out the lights and climbed into bed, Angel immediately drawing her against his chest. Adia nestled on the pillow above them, the two fell asleep, happy and in love.