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Part 5
The first sound Buffy heard as she woke up was the door knob to her bedroom turning. She didn’t register it at first, instead she snuggled closer to Angel, fulling intent to sleep away her Saturday morning. Her eyes fluttered when she heard the door creak on its hinges as it was opened slowly, and she turned her head to see who was at the door.
“Buffy, sweetie, I brought you some juice. I thought maybe we could go shopping...” Joyce Summers trailed off as the glass full of orange juice she was holding slipped out of her hand, spilling all over the carpet. Buffy...her baby... was in bed...naked...with a man. Joyce brought her hand up to her mouth, covering it as she stared in shock.
Buffy, meanwhile, had bolted up, startling Angel awake. She gasped as she quickly sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest and staring wide-eyed at her mother.
“Baby? What’s wrong?” Angel asked groggily, his eyes still half closed. Before Buffy had a chance to say anything, her mother angrily cut in.
“Buffy Anne Summers!” Angel’s head snapped up from the pillow as he heard Buffy’s mother’s voice, and he groaned. This was not good.
“What is the meaning of this? I leave you alone for two days, and I come home to find you in bed with some guy? I cannot believe this! Who is he?” Joyce shouted.
Angel raised his head, slowly opening his eyes as he did so. He blinked several times. Even though the shades were closed, the windows were bright with sunlight.
Joyce gasped.
Buffy sighed, her face a very pale shade of white.
Angel tore his gaze away from Joyce’s accusing stare.
“Buffy...that’s-that’s your ex-boyfriend. The one who took your virginity!” Joyce’s voice echoed through the room, full of accusations. “This is unbelievable! I will not stand for this in my house--”
“Mom, chill, will you? Angel’s...Angel’s changed. He’s not like he was the last time you saw him. Okay? Just give me a minute and I can explain--” Buffy said hastily as Angel slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Joyce looked at him with murder in her eyes.
“What’s there to explain? Huh, Buffy? TELL ME WHAT THERE IS TO EXPLAIN!!! You had sex with your ex-boyfriend--”
“No, Mom, we made love.”
“You’re too young to know what love is,” Joyce retorted, enraged. “You had sex with your ex-boyfriend, who last time threatened you and left you. How do you know he won’t do it again, huh? Did you even think of the consequences? Answer me, dammit!!” Joyce shouted and Angel cringed, but kept silent. This was between Buffy and her mother. He was there for moral support...plus he couldn’t exactly go anywhere, even if he’d wanted to. His boxers were on the other side of the room.
“Mom, God, will you calm down? Just give me a minute to explain. Angel and I are back together. We’re in love, and this was my idea. Everything that happened before...well...um, it-it wasn’t his fault. He was...different. But he’s better now, I swear,” Buffy said, a hint of pleading in her voice.
“He’s the reason you’ve been getting in so much trouble, isn’t he, Buffy? He’s the reason you’ve been doing so badly in school, getting into fights, sneaking out late. It was him, wasn’t it?”
Buffy stared at her mother, a stare full of sudden anger. She spoke in a low, deadly voice. “Don’t you ever say that again. That has nothing to do with Angel. He can’t help who I am, what I have to do. He’s saved my life on more than one occasion. You should be grateful,” Buffy spat out, becoming angrier and angrier by the second. How dare she accuse Angel?
“Grateful? For what? That he dragged you into a gang? That he turned my baby into a trouble-maker? Is that what I’m supposed to be grateful for?” Joyce demanded. Buffy just laughed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Oh, yeah Mom, it’s all Angel’s fault I’m the way I am. Of course, it has nothing whatsoever to do with that pesky little thing called destiny.”
Angel gasped as she said this, and he realized what she was about to say. “Buffy,” he said warningly, but she ignored him. He groaned and prepared himself for what Buffy was about to do.
“Destiny? Buffy, what are you talking about?”
“Yeah, destiny. See, Mom, there is a reason for my weird behavior. It’s just that I’ve been protecting you from it for about two years now. But I can’t hide it from you anymore,” Buffy stated flatly.
“What? What have you been protecting me from?” Joyce asked, suddenly confused.
“Mom, have you ever heard of a thing called a vampire?” Joyce nodded, and Buffy smirked, the kind of smirk that all parents hated. “Good, then I don’t have to explain that to you. See, out of all the girls in the world, I was chosen to slay them. Yep, that’s right, I’m a Vampire Slayer. Surprise.”
Joyce just stared at Buffy, completely confused. “Buffy...that’s crazy.”
“No, it’s not. I’m a Vampire Slayer. I slay the vampires. I also kill zombies, demons, you name it, I’ve slayed it. See, there was a reason for all my weird behavior, all the times I snuck out of the house. Why I got kicked out of Hemery. I just can’t believe you’ve been so stupid that you never noticed.”
“Buffy...this is crazy! I know that you’re in a gang. There’s no such thing as a vampire,” Joyce said and laughed lightly, in a carefree manner. She shook her head and continued. “I think you’re going to need some counseling, yes, that sounds like a good idea. Maybe we’ll even have to move again, before this gets too serious. But honey, seriously, you couldn’t have come up with a better story? I mean really, a Vampire Slayer? Who’s ever heard of such a thing?” Joyce laughed again.
Buffy just shook her head, then looked at Angel. “See,” she said to Angel, “She’s doing that selective-memory thingy again. I bet she wouldn’t believe me even if she got bit by...” Buffy gasped, then looked back at her mother. “Hey, Mom, do you remember that girl Darla who came to our house last year? She was a vampire. She bit you and you went to the hospital. Remember that?”
“Buffy, that wasn’t a vampire, I slipped and cut myself. On the barbecue fork--”
“That we don’t have. Don’t you get it? Vampires are real!” Buffy glanced desperately at Angel, and he saw how much it hurt her that her mother didn’t believe her Suddenly, he got an idea.
“Buff, why don’t you bring your mother to meet Giles?” Angel suggested. Joyce just glared at him, her maternal instincts taking over once more.
“You,” she said, pointing at Angel. “I never want to see you again. Buffy, you’re forbidden to see him anymore.”
Buffy just laughed at her mother in that sadistic laugh once more. “Oh okay Mommy, whatever you say. Can I go play with my Barbies now?” Buffy retorted, causing Joyce to become even more angry at her. “Yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen. I had to live without him once, don’t even think I’m about to repeat that experience. As if you could really stop me, anyway. But go get dressed,” Buffy said.
“Why? Where are you taking me?” Joyce asked.
“To meet my Watcher. Now go. Angel and I need to get dressed.”
Joyce just shrugged, deciding to play along with whatever it was Buffy had up her sleeve. But she was definitely in trouble. Sleeping with her ex- boyfriend? Grounded till she was five hundred and two. Turning, she left the room, closing the door behind her.
As soon as she was gone, Buffy sighed and leaned into Angel’s arms, grateful that he had been there for her. Turning to him, she smiled at him. “That’s twice now that we haven’t had a typical ‘morning after’ thing. You know, like me waking you with a kiss, us staring at each other for a long time. Normal stuff.”
“Well, we could try it. I’ll pretend I’m asleep, and you can pretend to wake me up,” Angel grinned, then lay back down and closed his eyes.
“Ooh, and then can we play house? You know, I’m the mommy, you’re the daddy, I can cook pretend food for you and we can have pretend kids?” Buffy joked. Angel opened one eye and gave her a look.
“I think we played enough ‘house’ last night, don’t you?”
“Enough? Are you crazy? No way.”
“What?!”
“What I meant was, we’ll definitely have to do that again.”
“Oh, we will. You don’t have to worry about that,” Angel teased.
“Good. Because that was...is there even a word for it?” Angel laughed and pulled Buffy back down with him. He pulled the comforter up to their chins and closed his eyes once more. Buffy took the hint and played along. She closed her eyes, waited a beat, then opened them again. She sat up and stretched, faking a yawn.
“Oh, what a beautiful morning. I think I’ll tend to my roses in the garden while I bake cookies and do laundry, and maybe I’ll even sew while I’m doing everything else. What a stereotypical life,” Buffy was about to go on, but Angel reached up and pushed her in the arm, causing her to laugh. “Sorry, I got carried away. I was playing pretend.” Angel sighed. “Okay, okay. Fine. I’ll be good.”
She lay back down, closing her eyes again. When she slowly opened them, all hints of laughter were gone. She would be serious about this. She lifter her head and kissed Angel’s lips lightly, willing him to wake up. A moment later he pulled her closer, not opening his eyes, and kissed her, except this time it became much deeper.
Angel rolled over, lying on top of her. They broke off and looked in each other’s eyes. “I love you,” Angel whispered, then leaned down and kissed her again.
“I love you too. And as much as I love this, and believe me I do,” Buffy indicated with her hand. She gently pushed Angel off of her body and sat up. Angel sat up with her. “We have a date. With Giles. And I really don’t want my mom coming in to check on us again. And I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t know she was coming home last night.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. A little awkwardness can be a good thing.” Buffy just looked at him. “Okay, so it’s not good.”
“Thanks for being here,” she said, touching her lips to his.
“No problem. Even if I had wanted to leave, I don’t think I could’ve. Seeing as how my clothes are on the other side of the room.” They both laughed and got up. Buffy walked to her closet and Angel began picking up his clothing from their spots on Buffy’s floor.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his love, her back was to him and she was pulling a maroon tube top over her head. His breath caught in his throat. She was so beautiful. And she was all his. He watched as she pulled on a pair of black capri pants. How did this happen again? he thought to himself.
Buffy felt her lover’s eyes on her, and she turned her head to meet his gaze. He gave her a sly smile and faced the mirror again, pulling the t-shirt over his head and his jeans on. Fully dressed, he turned to Buffy, just as she turned to him. They stared into each other’s eyes for a second, then both took two shorts steps, which brought them together in the middle of the room. They began to kiss again, wrapping their arms around each other and losing themselves in the other person.
The door opened again, and they broke off sheepishly. “Buffy,” Joyce warned. Buffy just shot her an annoyed look. “Let’s go.”
Glancing one more time at each other, Buffy and Angel linked hands and
followed Joyce out of the room and down the stairs. Buffy grabbed two apples
on the way to the back door, handing one to Angel. She bit into hers as she
stepped outside into the morning sunlight. They got into the car and began
the trip to Giles’ apartment, where Buffy’s mother would finally know the
whole truth about her daughter.