They will not know each other, but the world shall know them. They shall save the lives of all, unwittingly, by existing together. For they are the balance of good versus the world of evil. But if their differences create a separation that will last for long, the world will be doomed and there shall be no hope.

A child shall be born from these Chosen Ones. There shall be two paths it may follow. One of darkness that leads to the night, and one of light, that leads to the day. If the child is not lead to the day, Hell shall overcome the earth. And it shall be the End of the world.

Prophecies of the Old Ones. 453 A.D.

--------------------

May 1999

Sunnydale, California

Spike and Drusilla stood behind a tree, watching as their friend, the official Demon Hunter, beat the crap out of two vampires and one demon. The first vamp threw a punch at him, got knocked down, and a stake landed in his heart.

“Bummer,” the vamp sighed as he disintegrated. The demon attacked the Demon Hunter from behind, and the remaining vamp went for his neck. The Demon Hunter flipped the demon off of him, then kicked the vamp. He grabbed the knife, which he’d dropped, and slammed it into the demon’s chest. He yanked it out, and with the other hand, sent a stake through the vampire’s heart.

Then Angel looked around for a moment, checking for more danger, then relaxed when he didn’t see any. He looked at his two friends. “You guys okay?”

“Fine.” Spike said immediately, smoothing the black leather duster he wore as he stepped back out into the open.

“I love the way they explode like that,” Dru said, grinning as she dusted off her long crimson skirt. Then she frowned as she spotted the demon guts. “But that’s gross.”

Angel followed her gaze. “Yeah. But that one will disappear at sunrise too.” He nudged the demon with the tip of his boot, then grimaced as he noticed some slime on his long black trench coat.

“Oh. Cool.” Dru sighed as the three of them began walking towards the cemetery exit again. “Okay. Are you sure that this club is this way?”

Angel nodded. They were going to a club called the Bronze. The threesome had just moved to Sunnydale a few days ago from England, and this was the first time they’d gotten a break from moving boxes and things. Angel had talked with one of their neighbors, and the woman had told him about the Bronze, and how it was the only hangout for anyone in the area. Of course, then she’d wanted to know all about him, and that he was only twenty-three and why he’d moved to Sunnydale, and blah, blah, blah.

He’d gotten a feeling though, and ever since his Watcher, a woman named Darla, had told him about being the Hunter, he’d learned to trust his feelings. Often, even the weird ones, were accurate. Spike and Dru had come with him, being his best friends and all. They were both as rich as he was, but they’d all gone in on a huge mansion on the outskirts of the town, simply because Spike and Dru didn’t think Angel should be stuck by himself. Of course, Spike and Dru’s parents were not pleased with the decisions. Especially Dru’s, when they had learned that she was to live with two men. One of them, Spike, being her boyfriend.

Angel on the other hand, no longer had parents. His Watcher, he’d dubbed her ‘Darla the bitch’, had died after she’d betrayed him and his ex-girlfriend, and he had fled before the Council could send him another. In his opinion, they were just a big pain in the ass. His birth mother had died when he was very young, and his father had died just after Angel’s eighteenth birthday. As horrible as it was, Angel really hadn’t cared when his father died. He’d been a bastard in life, and he’d left Angel a very rich man, and now Angel was free to do as he wished. His father had been a tyrant to the extreme, and tight with money. His mother, on the other hand… she’d been killed by vamps one night when he’d been patrolling. Those vamps were no more, needless to say.

But the other reason for coming to Sunnydale, the first but less important one, was that he and Spike had gotten a job offer that they couldn’t refuse. They would be working at the local high school.

As the threesome walked, they fell into a comfortable silence. They’d been friends since they were just babies, and best friends since before they knew what that meant. They were the only ones that knew about Angel’s secret identity, and they’d been helping him over the past eight years, since Angel was sixteen and he’d learned about vampires and demons. They were also the ones who teased him about his irresistibility to women. Dru had always said that if she weren’t taken by Spike, she’d be taken by Angel.

Angel barely even noticed when they got to the front of the club, until someone screamed happily inside. He exchanged looks with the other two, then they paid the man at the door their three bucks and went inside. Loud music, laughter, and conversation immediately surrounded them. “Shall we get a table then?” Spike questioned, gesturing to the only empty table in the place.

Angel glanced at the table and noted the purse and jacket on the chair behind the table, where Spike couldn’t see. “Someone’s sitting there.”

Spike looked again and saw it. He shrugged. “My bad.”

Angel rolled his eyes. “Picking up the slang already, Spike?”

The younger man grinned at him. “Well, let’s get a drink then.”

“You have to be twenty one, don’t forget.” Angel reminded them. Drusilla was only twenty. She didn’t look it, but none of the three wanted any trouble this quick into their trip to the United States.

Dru sighed. “Bloody hell.”

Angel smiled a little. “I’ll wander around for a bit.”

“Have fun,” Dru said sweetly. “Find a girl and get laid, dear.”

Angel gave her a look, which she ignored.

Then he went of to find a girl. Not that he’d ever admit it to Dru.

--------------------

Buffy Anne Summers, Willow Rosenberg, and Cordelia Chase all sat down at their table to wait for their boyfriends and friends, Oz and Xander Harris. Buffy was casually checking out the place for hotties and danger when she saw the man who’d just walked into the club. Immediately, she nudged Willow and Cordy. “Check out the hottie,” she murmured, then realized how valley-girlish that was.

Cordelia inspected the man in question, and had to smile. “Hello salty-goodness.”

Willow had already seen that it wasn’t Oz, so she wasn’t interested. “I guess he’s nice looking,” she said, shrugging.

The two other girls looked at her, then sighed. “He’s not from around here,” Cordelia said, ignoring Willow and inspecting him again. “He dresses way too cool for that, and the girl he’s talking to is just too… I don’t know, foreign looking.”

Buffy nodded, but inwardly she frowned. There was something… something about him. She didn’t know if it was good or bad, but it was definitely there. The man turned away from his friends, and looked around. Suddenly, he looked at her, and their eyes met. She felt a shiver go through her as his cool gaze inspected her, and she couldn’t deny the strangeness of her attraction to him... And there was still that something else. Something very familiar, but she couldn’t think of what it was. She looked away first, unable to hide the feeling that she got just looking at him. She wanted to jump him and have crazy wild sex. Again and again, until neither one of them could move. Of course, with him being a normal Joe, she’d probably wear him out quickly. Oh god, she was thinking about screwing a guy she’d never even met, and…

“Buff?” Willow called.

Hurriedly, Buffy looked at her best friend. “Nothing! What?”

Willow looked amused. “You mind too much if we go dance?” Buffy realized with no small surprise that Oz and Xander had arrived.

“Oh, go ahead,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes at herself. “Hi guys.”

“Hey, Buffster.” Xander said lightly. “See ya,” he called a moment later as Cordy dragged him away.

Willow just gave Buffy a small smile and went with Oz onto the dance floor.

Buffy watched as her friends began dancing to Bif Naked’s Lucky, and smiled at Xander’s antics.

“This seat taken?” a man asked from behind her.

Buffy turned and was startled to see the man she’d just been having thoughts about looking at her. “Oh, well, now it is,” she smiled at him as he sat down next to her.

“Angel O’Connor.” Demon Hunter extraordinaire.

“Buffy Summers.” Vampire Slayer.

“You’re here with friends, right?” Boyfriend?

“Yeah.” She caught the casual question beneath that. “Nobody special.” She frowned. “Well, actually, they’re all pretty special, but in a good way.”

“Of course.”

“You from around here?”

“No, I just got here from England, with two of my good friends,” Angel told her. Damn, she was easy on the eyes… “You?”

“I moved here sophomore year of high school.” Buffy told him. “So, I’ve got a good four years on this hellm-hellhole.” Buffy silently cursed herself for slipping. Not that it would have mattered. Most people didn’t exactly know about the Hellmouth.

“Anything else to do around here?” Angel questioned, ignoring her slip.

“Not a hell of a lot.” Buffy answered honestly, smiling. She frowned slightly as she got a weird feeling that passed thought her quickly. “These your friends?” she questioned as Spike and Dru joined them.

Angel looked back. “Yeah. This is William,” Spike glared at Angel. He hated being called by his real name! “And his girlfriend Dru. This is Buffy.”

“Spike.” The younger man corrected.

“Nice to meet you, Buffy,” Dru said, smiling. “Don’t let our little Angel sweet-talk you into-”

Angel covered her mouth quickly, glaring at her. He actually liked the blond-haired beauty that sat next to him. Of course, he did want to sleep with her, but for once it wasn’t a priority.

Buffy had a very good idea what the other woman had been about to say, and she recognized the smooth manner in which Angel flirted with her. She was a little disappointed. Obviously one of those guys who had a girl a week. And he definitely had the looks for it. Not even close to what she needed or wanted in a guy. Distractedly, she began playing with the cross around her neck. She noted that he also wore one, of course a more masculine one.

“Hey Buffy,” Willow said, as she and Oz returned to the table. Cordy and Xander were still dancing-mating.

“Oh, this is my best friend Willow, and her boyfriend Oz.” Buffy gestured towards the couple. “This is…” Buffy hesitated. He was definitely a player, so it would be best to just get out ASAP. But he was so hot! “I’m sorry, I…”

“Angel O’Connor,” Angel finished, getting the clue. It annoyed him, and pissed him off a bit, too. “And my friends Spike and Dru.” He looked back at Buffy, his eyes no longer warm and interested. “Unfortunately, I’ve got to get going.”

“Nice to meet you.” Buffy said, smiling even though inside she was screaming for him to drag her away. Whoa. Slow down girl.

Angel nodded politely at her, and then he led Spike and Drusilla away from the table.

Buffy sighed a little.

“So, what was wrong with him?” Willow asked, knowing her friend too well. She and Oz sat on Buffy’s right side.

“He was a player,” Buffy answered glumly. “So I’m not even gonna go there.” She sighed. “It’s just as well. It’s not like I can afford to have a real boyfriend. I’d have to worry about him finding out about the slaying stuff, and it would be bad.”

--------------------

“If she found out about me being the Hunter, well…” Angel trailed off, sighing as they exited the Bronze. Neither Spike nor Dru had been impressed by the place. “It wouldn’t be good.”

“Sorry man,” Spike said, holding Dru’s hand as they walked.

“You probably only liked her because of your father’s little thing against blonds,” Dru said thoughtfully. She was studying the human psyche, and tried it out on everyone. Angel’s father, in her opinion, was the cause of almost all of Angel’s problems. She was probably right. “You tend to rebel against him, even now. You even had a thing for Darla ‘cause when your father saw her, he thought she was a blond ditz.”

“Maybe I’d know that for sure if you’d keep your mouth shut.” Angel said tersely.

Spike snorted lightly, ignoring Angel’s comment. “Bloody ass that he was, he hated me ‘cause I bleached my hair.”

Angel rolled his eyes. “Just forget about it.”

“Yeah. We gotta patrol,” Dru agreed.

--------------------

Buffy and the Scooby gang wandered around the huge (for Sunnydale) park, chatting as they looked for vampires and other unmentionables.

“Just a moment of weakness,” Xander sang off key, smiling happily as he remembered the way the singer had danced. “I should examine my heeeaad,” He finally noticed everyone looking at him. “What?”

No one bothered to explain about the irony of him examining any heads. He continued singing. Buffy rolled her eyes and turned back to Cordy, who was quizzing her about the major hottie from the Bronze. “Anyway, so then his friends got there, and the girl, who was dating the other guy, started to say something to me about not letting him sweet talk me into something. So, I put two and two together, and figured it out. He was way to good at the whole

flirting feeling, and way too hot to be anything but a real player…” Buffy sighed. “But he really didn’t seem like that.”

Cordelia nodded sympathetically. “It’s okay. It’s not really a good idea for you to get involved with guys anyway. You’re the Slayer, so you’d die too fast.”

Everyone looked at her. Buffy sighed. “Oh, joy, another pleasant thought.”

Xander hurried to Cordelia’s side and slipped his arm around her waist. “See, Cordy, honey, that’s one of the things you aren’t supposed to remind us of.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Buffy said, looking at them for a moment. “Let’s just move on.”

Silently, the group followed Buffy down the path, towards the latest vamp hangout. Buffy tensed as they drew closer. “Do you guys hear that?” she questioned, frowning.

The others paused for a moment. “Sounds like a fight to me,” Xander said, sighing.

Buffy nodded and took off towards the crypt she knew was down there. The rest of the gang followed behind.

--------------------

Angel swore out loud as two more demons joined the two vampires fighting against him. Spike and Drusilla were already trying to fight the vampires, but they weren’t having very much luck. The couple that had been attacked now lay unconscious on the grass, where the vamps had left them.

The two demons grabbed him and shoved him against the walls of the crypt, then pushed him through the doors and into the crypt. Angel sighed and kicked one of them back away from him. Then the two vamps entered the crypt and began to try to beat him up. Angel swore again. Where were Spike and Dru?

--------------------

Buffy spotted the couple immediately. She looked around quickly, and saw another couple on the ground a few feet away. They looked familiar…. Like the couple Angel had been with. What were their names? It didn’t matter. She swore softly. It had taken longer than she’d thought it would to get there, and she knew that the vamps had probably killed the other couple. The couple she was nearer too stirred. The woman opened her eyes first.

Buffy knelt by her. “Who did this?” she asked carefully. “I’ll go get them.”

“Black coat,” the woman murmured, just as the rest of the gang arrived. “Tall, handsome.” She tried to move. “Where’s Johnny?”

“Take care of them,” Buffy ordered the Scooby gang, ignoring the woman’s question, and running towards the crypt where she suddenly heard noises coming from. She had a stake pulled out already. As she entered the crypt, she saw a tall man in the back of it, climbing down into a hole of some sorts. “Oh, no you don’t,” she murmured, seeing the black jacket. He dropped down into the hole, and after a moment’s hesitation, Buffy followed, landing in a puddle of something she didn’t even want to think about. He whirled around, startled by the noise, and she immediately attacked. He defended himself with ease, and fought back.

--------------------

Angel swore as the girl hit him in the ribs, and pain shot through him. Great. On the trail of one vamp, only to get attacked by another. He kicked the girl, and she flew against the wall. He could hear her muttering something about vamps, and it confused him. He was even further confused when he saw her jump up, and in the dim light that came from in the barely-lit crypt, he could see that she carried a stake.

--------------------

Spike jumped up, looking around frantically for Angel. He saw Dru lying next to him first and knelt by her side. “Dru!” he cried, checking for a pulse. She opened her eyes after a moment. “Angel. Where is he?” She raised her hand to her head, fighting off a headache.

Spike pulled her to her feet, just as Xander and Cordelia joined them. “There was a tall man here, dark hair, leather jacket.” Dru looked at Xander. “Where did he go?”

Xander frowned. “I didn’t see…”

A loud cry came from the crypt. Spike and Dru jumped up and ran towards it, absently noting that the others followed them.

--------------------

Buffy grunted as the man shoved her against the wall, and kicked her hard. She cried out a little, and flew at him, knocking him down. He managed to roll so that she was beneath him, and regretted it instantly as she kicked him between the legs. He cried out in pain, and she managed to get free. “Okay, that’s not fair,” he said through clenched teeth. She stood for a moment, panting to catch her breath. Angel realized this with a start as he tried to recover from her kick. Wait, vamps didn’t have breath…

“Whatever works.” She grunted as she kicked him again. He barely managed to avoid the kick going in an unpleasant place again, and he rolled out of the way.

Behind them, several more people jumped down into the sewers, just in time for Angel to kick Buffy back away from him, and for her to land right in front of them.

“Buff!” Xander cried, pushing past the others and running towards her.

“Angel!” Dru exclaimed unhappily, seeing her good friend in the shadows. Buffy jumped up, preparing to fight again. As soon as she realized the new people posed no threat, she and Angel were fighting again.

Buffy blocked a punch from him, and tried to hit him in the ribs again, where she knew she’d really hurt him earlier. If she could get a good shot at between his legs again, that would be good too, but for now…

Angel grunted and blocked yet another punch. She was a damn good fighter. But… He grabbed her wrist and yanked it above her head, twisting it at a painful angle. She cried out in pain and he heard the clatter of her stake falling to the floor. Yeah, she was good. But he was better.

“Buff!” Xander exclaimed. He looked around frantically for a way to help his friend, but he couldn’t find anything. Then, he got an idea. No one noticed when he slipped out of the sewers into the crypt above them.

Buffy struggled to get free, but the man held tight. He shoved her against the wall of the sewers. If she hadn’t been so scared for her life, she might have been disgusted. Who knew what kinds of things were crawling on the wall.

Angel pushed her against the wall, conscious of her friends behind her. He’d already figured out she was human. The stake in her hand, the fact that she was breathing, and the fact that she was warm. Surprising them all, he released her, stepping back. She wasn’t quite ready for that, and stumbled before falling on her but in the middle of a puddle of more stuff she didn’t even want to think about.

She was on her feet in an instant, her eyes watching him warily. It was dead silent except for their labored breathing.

“You’re human.” Angel said simply, crossing his arms in front of himself.

“Yeah.” Buffy agreed, doing the same with her arms. “You?”

“As far as I know.”

“What’s goin’ on here, mate?” Spike questioned, stepping around the Buffy’s friends, to back up Angel. Dru followed cautiously.

“Damned if I know.” Angel answered bluntly.

“Who are you?” Buffy asked suspiciously as her friends gathered around her.

“Mind reader, too.” Spike muttered.

“After you, of course.” Angel said, oozing politeness.

Buffy snorted. “Fat chance. This is my town buddy, you talk first.”

Angel looked at her for a long moment. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her with a smirk on his face.

Buffy nearly snarled at him. How dare he! He couldn’t just come around and not tell her what he was and what he was doing there! It wasn’t right. She was the Slayer. And he couldn’t have just beaten her like that!

Then she saw someone moving in the shadows and had to hide her grin.

--------------------

She wasn’t fast enough. Angel noticed the slight change of expression and was instantly wary.

Unfortunately, he didn’t hear anyone behind him, so when a pair of strong arms grabbed his own arms from behind, he was caught off guard. Buffy sprang at him, helping the girl Angel couldn’t see.

Angel swore loudly and yanked his arms free. He managed to get a hold of the other girl’s arm, but Buffy slammed into him before he could do anything with it. Angel barely managed to turn to avoid hitting his head on the hard cement wall behind him, but he still swore as Buffy and the other girl grabbed his arms and managed to pin him.

--------------------

Spike watched from the side, amazed. He’d only seen a few people take down Angel, and none as well as these two. He forced himself to relax. Angel could handle them. It was his job. And my job, Spike mused, is to provide the sarcastic comments. “Oh yeah, ladies. Helluva punishment. Mud wrestling.” He finally caught a glimpse of the other girl. She had long brown hair, and dressed like a slut. “Loose your tops and it’d be perfect.” Dru scowled at him.

“Bite me, Blondie,” the brunette said, looking more amused than anything.

“Faith,” Buffy sighed, shaking her head. She released Angel’s arms. Not really because she wanted to, but still… she had to show him that she was confident that she was the boss and she could handle him again. Kinda like he’d done to her. Only he’d been by himself, she added bitterly.

Faith released Angel’s arm as well. She smiled seductively at the Demon Hunter. “I’m Faith. Wanna screw?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. Angel raised an eyebrow, grimacing as he wiped the mud from his hands on his jacket. It was filthy anyway.

“Okay, now that we all know Faith’s horny, can we move on and get this mess figured out?” Xander frowned at the strange man who stood in between the two Slayers. “Starting with, who the hell are you?”

“It doesn’t work that way.” Angel said, looking at both of the women who stood in front of him. They had their hands on their hips and both looked annoyed.

Buffy sighed. “Look, I don’t really care who you are, I just wanna know why you’re here and why you attacked me.”

Angel raised an eyebrow. “Me? Attack you? I think you need to check your facts, lover.”

“Don’t call me that.” Buffy snapped.

Angel threw up his hands in a sarcastic gesture that infuriated Buffy even more. “Sorry.” He said, smirking. “Lover.”

Buffy bit back another snarl. Faith tried to hide a smirk.

A loud shout came from above them. “Buffy!” someone yelled.

“Xander,” Buffy whispered, and ran towards the ladder. She was halfway up before anyone else had moved.

Angel, as much as he wanted to make sure they were all okay, stayed back, holding Dru and Spike back too. “As soon as you can, get out of here,” he told them softly. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Spike nodded, understanding even what Angel didn’t say. Angel would be along as soon as he could, but not before then. No matter what the danger was.

“Come on, Ducks.” Spike murmured, motioning for her to go before him and after Angel on the way up.

--------------------

Xander groaned as he came to, and was immediately surprised to fell his head in someone’s laps. A girl’s lap. He opened his eyes a little, and saw a girl’s long legs in tight leather pants. And another girl’s legs next to hers. And a girl with a beautiful face looking down at him. “I’m in heaven…” he groaned, seeing the even more promising sight of a girl’s bosom above his face.

Cordelia, whose bosom he was seeing, rolled her eyes. “You okay?”

Xander struggled to sit up, looking up further and seeing the girl’s faces instead of just their legs. He’d never realized how hot all his friends were… Well, that was a lie, but the realization had just been reinforced, several times over. “Oh, I’m fine. Very fine. You get the vamps?”

Buffy scowled as she glanced behind her. “Yeah. We got them.”

“Where’s that guy?” Xander questioned next. “What’s his name again?”

Buffy scowled even more. “He got away.” She looked away. “His name’s Angel.” If anyone noticed the odd note in her voice, they didn’t mention it.

“We go see Giles?” Willow guessed.

Buffy nodded. “We go see Giles.”

“Good.” Xander said, nodding as he stood up. Buffy grabbed her slaying bag. “There was something funny about that guy.” He frowned. “I didn’t like him.”

Buffy rolled her eyes again. “There’s a surprise.” She had. She had liked him very much.

--------------------

Rupert Giles sat in the center of the library, surrounded by a stack of books.

He was knee deep into translating a prophecy, one that confused him thus far. Something about the Slayer, he knew, and since he was the Watcher of two Slayers, it was doubly important that he understood it.

“The Slayer… shall…gain a… a…” The next word in the prophecy was blurred out, and Giles sighed in exasperation. Damn it!

So engrossed in his books was he that he barely noticed when footsteps approached the library, and he didn’t even hear the door open, and Buffy, Faith, and the Scooby gang come in.

“Hey G-man.” Xander said in a not-so-happy tone of voice.

Giles looked up, noticing them for the first time. “I told you never to call me that.”

Buffy set her bag down on the table. “Something’s rotten in the state of Sunnydale,” she announced unhappily.

Again, Giles sighed. “Why am I not surprised?”

--------------------

Dean Snyder was a fair man, in his mind anyway. He had never punished anyone without just reasoning, once more, in his mind anyway. No one else agreed, but he really didn’t care.

Unfortunately, he had no say in hiring teachers. The board of directors was in charge of doing that. He just got notified of it after it happened. Frowning, he studied the two men who walked with him. Both of them were taller than him, not hard, and nicer looking, too.

Once more, that wasn’t hard. The older one looked to be about twenty something, and his file said 23. He was dressed in black slacks and a long-sleeved button down black shirt. The top two buttons were undone. The younger one was also 23, and dressed similarly, only he had a red button down shirt. They were both history teachers, who specialized in the abnormal, and the older one also taught an English and history class. The younger one also specialized in biology. Perfect, Snyder mused, for Sunnydale. But Snyder didn’t like them. They were too… attractive. And young. Too young. They’d both graduated from Oxford though, with honors, despite their young age. But he’d seen the looks the secretaries had given the two men as they walked in. Disgusting. But Snyder had no choice about this, and he’d have to continue assisting them to their classes. The good news was, as soon as he got them to their classrooms, they’d be out of his hair.

And their classes were filled with the trouble students. Snyder had made sure of that.

“Here are your class lists.” Snyder said brusquely, handing them each folders. “There is no excuse for tardiness from you or the students. There is no excuse for misbehavior. I trust you two will manage your classes, and any one who doesn’t follow directions will be punished.”

“Of course.” The older one, Angel O’Connor said simply, exchanging a look with his associate, William Dalton.

Snyder stopped at the door to a dimly lit classroom. He looked at Angel. “This is your room.” He looked at Spike. “You share a room with him for two hours, and another woman, Ms. Calendar, for your other three hours. Questions, comments, or concerns? Ask someone else. First hour starts in half an hour. The schedule is in your folders.” With that, Snyder turned and walked away, leaving the two teachers behind.

--------------------

“Hail Hitler,” Spike muttered as the dean walked away.

Angel smiled a little and opened the door to the classroom. Not too bad, he decided. “We’ll have to have Dru come in and decorate, or whatever she likes doing.” Neither he nor Spike were big on that stuff, but it was Dru’s favorite thing to do whenever she got the chance to.

Spike nodded in agreement. The room was bare except for a bunch of desks, for the students and one for the teacher. There was also a table and a closet. Other than that, it was pretty much empty.

Angel tried the closet door and it opened easily. He was a little relieved to find supplies in there, but none of the books he’d need. There was a note on the desk. Spike saw it first and picked it up. “Says books are in the library.”

“Where’s the library?” Angel questioned aloud.

“I can take you there,” a woman offered.

Angel and Spike both turned, surprised to see the woman standing in the doorway. She was rather short, but pretty. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders, and her dress was stylish but original. She smiled. “I’m Jenny Calendar. You must be Angel O’Connor and William Dalton.”

“Call him Spike,” Angel said, smiling as he moved to shake Jenny’s hand. “And I’m Angel.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jenny smiled back at them. “You said you needed to find the library?”

“Yeah, we do.” Angel smiled again. “Dean Snyder didn’t exactly mention where it was.”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “He’s not exactly… well, that’s not a surprise. No one likes him.”

“That’s not really a surprise either,” Spike said dryly.

“No, it isn’t.” Jenny smiled again. “Come on, and I’ll show you where the library is, and you can tell me about yourselves.”

“Oh. What fun.” If Jenny heard the distinct lack of enthusiasm in Angel’s voice, she ignored it. And somehow, the two new teachers, one of whom was actually a Demon Hunter by trade, followed her to the library.

--------------------

Buffy, Giles, and the Scooby gang sat in the library, discussing the events of the previous night with Giles. Giles wasn’t sure what it could be, and Buffy was wigging. She was so distracted, that she didn’t even notice as the doors behind them opened.

--------------------

Angel stepped into the college’s tiny library, and was immediately grateful that Jenny Calendar had gotten side tracked talking with a fellow teacher. It was the girl from the other night, and all of her friends. She sat with her back to the door, and everyone was distracted with what she was saying.

“I’m the Slayer, Giles,” Buffy said, looking at her watcher worriedly. “And he took me down. It took me and Faith to get him down, and a demon or whatever that takes two Slayers is not cool.” She sighed. “And yeah, I was a little off my game last night, but not so much that it should have been that hard.”

“No, it…” Giles finally noticed the two men who stood in the doorway. He glanced quickly at Buffy again, silently stopping her from continuing. Then he looked at the two gentlemen. “Can I help you?”

“You just did.” Spike said, smirking a little.

Giles took off his glasses as the rest of the group turned around to see who it was. Buffy’s eyes widened as she recognized the two. “How… what are you doing here?” she demanded, standing up again.

Jenny entered the library at that moment, apparently not noticing the tension. “Oh, Rupert. This is Angel O’Connor and William Dalton. The new teachers?”

If possible, Willow’s eyes bulged even more. Cordelia got a smirk on her face, and the rest of the group just stared at the two men.

“Oh, um, I…” Giles put his glasses on and looked at the two men. From the way Angel stood slightly in front of the other man, it was obvious that Angel was the one Buffy had been talking about. “If you don’t mind my asking, what the devil are you?”

Spike grinned. “He’s good, don’t worry about that part.”

Angel looked at Spike, silently sending him a look that meant not to say more. “I kinda like having the advantage here,” Angel told them, looking at the group. He let his gaze rest on Buffy, longer than necessary.

Giles noticed it. He frowned. Jenny looked confused. “What’s going on?”

“He’s the one from last night,” Buffy said tightly.

Jenny looked startled. “Wait, what…?”

“Excellent questions,” Giles said, standing. “Mr. O’Connor, if you would please, we must know what you’re doing here. Otherwise, we’ll have no choice but to assume you’re an enemy of some kind. And then the two Slayers will have no choice in their actions.” Though his tone of voice never changed, the threat was obvious.

And ineffective. Angel looked at him, his gaze cold. “And I’ll have no choice in my own actions if they do anything.”

“Then we understand each other.”

At that moment, the library doors opened, and Snyder came in, glaring at everyone. Even he sensed the tension, and he looked at Angel, a hint of hope in his voice. “I would guess Ms. Summers did something.” He glared at the blond, who was caught between defending herself to Snyder, and staring at the hottie in the doorway… who Giles had just waged war on.

Angel looked away from Buffy and at the dean, forcing himself to revert back into his teaching self. “Not at all. Mr. Giles here was about to help me find the textbooks for my classes.” He smiled thinly. “And he was about to introduce us to these students.”

Snyder looked disappointed, but then he looked at Giles. “Well, get on it. And shouldn’t you students be in class?”

--------------------

As luck would have it, Buffy had his friend for her science teacher. And Angel was her History and English teacher.

Neither student nor teacher had realized this until Buffy arrived late to her history class. She wanted to die right then and there.

Angel looked up from the class list when she came in. He raised an eyebrow when he recognized her. He had to fight a grin when she stopped mid-step. “Ms. Summers. Nice of you to join us.” He motioned towards the empty desk in the back corner, right by his desk. “Xander will be able to update you after class, assuming he’s not sleeping.”

Xander looked up, blinking. He hadn’t been sleeping. Just… dozing.

Angel waited until she’d taken her seat before continuing on with his basic intro to the class. Oh, this would be quite interesting.

It got even better two hours later, when she entered the class again, this time before the bell rang to signify the start of the English class. She looked furious to be there.

Angel glanced at her, then looked at Spike again. It just so happened that this was one of Spike’s prep hours. Which meant that Spike could watch Buffy and her friend, who they now knew was Willow Rosenberg, while Angel taught the class.

After Angel gave the usual my-name-is talk, he hesitated. He’d originally planned on having everyone write a traditional what-I-did-over-the-summer-paper, but he changed his mind. Smirking slightly, he looked at Buffy Summers. “For Friday, I want a one-page essay on whether or not you believe in… oh, lets see… vampires, demons, witches and magic and things like that. If you believe, tell me why. If you don’t, tell me why. I’ll let you have the rest of the period to discuss whatever you want with your friends, or you can start writing. I want to be able to judge your writing style. Questions, see me.”

He went back to his desk, where Buffy and her friends were gathered in the corner, and Spike stood, smirking too. “Ms. Summers, is there a problem?” he asked as he sat.

Buffy looked at him, and once again had to fight off an onslaught of lust for the man. “Not at all, Mr. O’Connor, sir.”

“Good. Why don’t you get started on your essay? I’m sure it’ll be an interesting read.” For the benefit of the students, and not because he really wanted to, he smiled pleasantly at her. He wanted to shove her against the wall and kiss her senseless.

Buffy studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “Oh, I’m starting to think it will be too.”

--------------------

Friday night, Angel, Spike, and Drusilla sat in the graveyard, sitting on blankets, resting against headstones. Spread about them were several stacks of papers, most of them from Angel’s English class. Drusilla was reading one stack, Spike another, and Angel was reading the stack with the papers from Buffy and her friends. Not really surprising, but they were the only ones who’d said they believed. And from the way the papers were written, it was clear that the experiences mentioned had really happened.

Buffy’s was the most detailed, and to Angel, the most horribly real. Her story told the tale of being a sixteen year old suddenly burdened with the responsibilities of saving the world from hell. It told of finding out that her school was built right over the mouth of hell, and directly under her favorite hangout was the weakest point. It told of dying at sixteen, and being revived by her best friend, who’d only found her because the other tunnel he could have gone through had a rat in it. It told of watching one of her friends suffer because one of their friends died. It told of seeing the girl who was supposed to replace her in life suddenly being there, then dying, and her being replaced by yet another. It told of having her mother kick her out because she thought she was in some kind of crazy cult. It told of seeing her mother held captive by an insane vampire on her eighteenth birthday, and being betrayed by her Watcher. It told of her twentieth birthday being held in a cave by yet another insane vampire, this one who’d tortured her for an hour before hand. Of course, it was edited so that she didn’t actually say these things had happened to her, but it was obvious, to Angel at least, that they had.

It reminded Angel of his life, in almost five years instead of the eight that he’d had. Minus the torture. When he’d been tortured, something that had happened coincidentally on his twentieth, it hadn’t been as bad as it could have been, because Spike and Dru had found him.

Before he could ponder Buffy’s paper any further, a vamp began crawling out of it’s grave. Sighing, Angel set the paper aside and grabbed a stake.

--------------------

After only a short and easy fight, Angel sat back down again, wiping the dust off of him. “Hey Dru, read this.” He handed Buffy’s paper to the woman who sat next to him. Dru sighed and took it, leaning against Spike as she read it. After a while, she handed it to Spike, frowning. Spike read it, and then looked up. “Sounds tough,” he said somberly.

“Yeah,” Angel agreed, frowning. “It does.”

“It also sounds like your life.” Dru said after another moment. “I mean, you were called… when you were sixteen, right? And then your mum died, and then your father. And then there was the whole mess with your ex, and Darla.”

Angel grimaced. He tried not to think of Julia and the deception Darla had gotten both Julia and him to fall for.

Spike saw the grimace and forced a grin on his face. “Hey, you survived, and you’re a better man for it.”

Dru nodded. “And I’m sure she’s better off for it too.”

Angel sighed and began gathering up the things needed to patrol. “I’m gonna check out the other side of the cemetery. Stay here and be careful.”

Dru held up her cross. “Always Angel.”

--------------------

It was an accident, really. She hadn’t meant for him to find her, and especially not this close to his friends. But somehow, she just hadn’t moved fast enough.

--------------------

Angel entered the crypt once more, looking around quickly. He could have sworn he’d heard noises coming from this direction… Then he saw her. She sat in the back corner of the crypt, frowning at the book in her lap. She didn’t look up as he entered. He leaned against the pillar next to her, peering at the book. “The human psyche, hmm?”

Buffy stayed perfectly still, despite the fact that she hadn’t heard him come in. “Uh-huh. We’re exploring the average person’s psyche. We don’t get to study people with your psyche at all.”

Angel raised an eyebrow at the insult. “And what is my psyche?” She looked up and their gazes met. They were both still for a long moment.

Then he raised his hand to push hair out of her face. Her eyes met his again, startled and confused. “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly as his other hand gently touched the other side of her face. She drew an unsteady breath finally, as he traced her jawline with the tip of his fingers.

“Damned if I know,” he murmured softly, honestly having no idea. Except that he liked it.

Then she closed her eyes, and they were kissing, lost in a world that neither was ready to admit they wanted, and possibly never would. But it didn’t really matter.

--------------------

Almost a half hour later, Angel returned to the gravesites that his friend’s were camped out on. “Where have you been?” Drusilla demanded when he returned. “God, I was worried!”

Angel looked at her, but didn’t really notice her. “Vamps,” he said blandly. And a make out session with Buffy. Who’d run off once she’d realized what they’d been doing.

Spike eyed him curiously. “A vamp that wears pink lipstick and gets it on your face?”

Angel shrugged. “She was trying to distract me.”

“Did a good job, didn’t she.”

--------------------

Buffy ran down the paths in the cemetery, running towards the safety of her dorm room with Willow. She was at the door when she finally realized what she’d been doing just shortly before. She stopped cold. She’d been kissing him. Kissing her teacher! Although, that part really didn’t bother her. He was only a few years older than her, and she’d met him before he was her teacher. But she didn’t know him. She knew his name, she knew two friends, and he was a foreigner. She knew he was incredibly strong, but that was it! For all she knew, he was a demon of some kind, and was just gonna kill her.

She shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around her. Just thinking of the man… “Get a hold of yourself, Buffy,” she murmured, opening the door to her dorm room. There was no way it would go beyond what it already was. And it wasn’t anything, she amended. It was just… She sighed. She didn’t know what it was.

--------------------

Saturday took forever to pass. Angel spent the day training, grading papers, and trying to keep himself from thinking about the beautiful girl who was the Slayer.

And his student. Even if she was just three years younger than him. Angel couldn’t decide if the fact that he’d graduated so early was a blessing or a curse. He’d be able to look at these students with eyes of someone their age, but a job of someone who really couldn’t do that. Even Buffy Summers. Even if she had a nighttime job like him too. Even if every time he closed his eyes he saw her face, looking at him with that innocence of hers, that made him want to die.

Damn it, Angel, he thought. Chill out.

Sighing, Angel punched the bag hard, then again and again. He didn’t even notice when his knuckles began bleeding, and the bag became spotted with blood.

And when he finally did, he just sighed, not really caring.

--------------------

That night, Buffy patrolled the outer cemeteries. It was an area she patrolled only when she needed time to think. It was a populated vamp area, and gave her something to beat up. After all, when she needed to think, it was normally because she was pissed. Tonight was the exception. She just wanted to think, and she knew it wasn’t likely she’d run into Angel out here.

Angel…

A sore topic with her lately. Since they’d kissed the previous night, he’d been on her mind nonstop. Well, he’d been on her mind before that, but this… this was different. Before the kiss, she’d only thought about him once every other minute. Now, it was nonstop.

But there was a damn good reason for it. The man had lips that were made for kissing. A face that was worthy of his name. A body that was made for… whoa. Buffy shook her head a little. She wasn’t even gonna think about his body. But it was very nice. That much she knew from their fight a week ago.

A week ago. Wow. It seemed like he’d been there for much longer. But it hadn’t.

And she still didn’t know anything else about him, except for a few little things she’d picked up in class. And that pretty much consisted of him hating kids who slept in his class. He and Xander were not on good terms thus far.

She also knew that he was a very good teacher, and her grades, as much as she hated to admit it, already showed improvement over what they’d been when the previous teacher had been killed two weeks ago.

But she’d never tell him that.

“Slayer…”

Buffy sighed, turning to face the vamp who’d interrupted her thoughts. She winced a little and corrected herself. Vamps. Plural. A quick count told her there were five.

Great. That meant it wouldn’t be easy. “Yeah, yeah, that’s me. Who’s first?”

The vamp that stood towards the front smirked and pointed behind her. “They are.”

--------------------

Angel didn’t know why he’d gone this way to patrol. He’d never even been on this side of town, except when he’d been driving in. But, he needed to check it out anyway, find out what the vamp situation was. Gazing at the cemetery that he walked through, he was almost convinced he should turn around. There’d been no action that night, and quite frankly, he was bored. In London, there had been demon action regularly, and in Galway, Ireland, where he had spent his summers, there was usually a gathering of vamps regularly, vamps that liked feasting upon the drunken human populous. Although, the nights there weren’t, there was usually a girl who was willing to liven things up a bit…

He sighed a little, thinking of one of his past girlfriends, the one who’d taken his mind off of Darla and Julia.

But then his thoughts went back to Buffy. He muttered a curse once he realized this. It seemed so natural to think of her, that it took him a while to realize he was doing it. Damn it! He’d never been like this before. Never wanted a woman so bad, never thought about a woman as much or as often or as fondly, for that matter. Usually, he just used the woman for sex, and she did the same with him. But this girl… this Slayer… she was different.

And in a way, it scared him.

Then he heard a short scream, and all thoughts of Buffy left him as he ran to help.

--------------------

Faith was patrolling in the bad end of town as well. She usually did this end unless Buffy asked her to switch. Tonight, Faith knew Buffy was on this end of town, but she planned on meeting up with the other Slayer so they could have a talk about the hottie guy who was B’s teacher, and what they were going to do about him. And what Faith wanted to do to him if she got the chance. She smiled faintly, remembering the feel of his muscles. She’d got a good grope in when she and B had been fighting with him Sunday night.

Then she heard the scream coming from the cemetery she’d just walked past. Faith swore loudly and turned around, running towards it, all thoughts, or most anyway, of Angel out of her mind.

--------------------

Angel got there just in time to see Buffy shoved against the wall of a huge monument, and a vamp start going at her neck. Swearing once more, he grabbed a stake, running at the vamps. He staked one that stood watching the spectacle, and kicked another one into the one holding Buffy. The remaining vamps growled at him, and started to attack them. But with the motivation of Buffy’s life being at risk, the vamps had no chance.

--------------------

Faith watched from the shadows as Angel kicked vamp ass, and had to smile. Looked like he had everything under control. She smirked as one of the vamps grabbed him by his shirt, and part of it tore away, revealing a very nice taunt stomach. Yeah, he was a honey. As he finished off the last one, Faith grinned. She knew he was a good guy, she had since the start. This was just further proof. As he looked around again, she smirked and slipped away. She couldn’t wait to find out how B ended up.

--------------------

Angel glanced around, searching for any more danger, then hurried over to the injured girl on the ground. She was clutching her foot, and holding her neck, trying to stop the bleeding from where the vamp had bit her. “How bad are you hurt?” Angel questioned, kneeling by her.

She stiffened a little as he touched her foot. Not because it hurt, but because of the tingle that shot through her at his touch.

Thankfully, he misunderstood. “Sorry,” he murmured, releasing the injured limb.

She met his gaze again, and couldn’t look away. And she couldn’t breath right.

Angel studied her expression for a long moment, and felt something go through him. And then he kissed her, and all rational thoughts went away. In the back of both their minds, they knew what they were doing, and they knew that they were making a choice. And after this, there was no backing out. Knowing this but not caring, Buffy kissed him back, pulling him closer to her, needing to feel him against her. Needing to touch him, to hold him. Needing to have him.

Somehow, they ended up on the ground, and he was slipping her shirt off. She was franticly pulling at the buttons on his shirt, but she stopped when she felt him fumbling with the clasp of her bra. “Angel, wait,” she said breathlessly.

He paused, looking at her, staring at her with such lust and need that she wanted to die. “I’ve… I haven’t done this before…”

His thoughts cleared. “Buffy…” He didn’t know what to say. But then she began kissing him again. He forced her to stop for a moment, though it was the last thing he wanted. But he had to be sure… he couldn’t stand it if she regretted it later… “Are you sure?”

Staring into his warm brown eyes, Buffy nodded, her own eyes filling with a desperate look. “Please.”

Slowly, gently, he kissed her again. And looked into her eyes. There was no doubt in them. And he kissed her yet again.

--------------------

Buffy woke up slowly, and was confused. This wasn’t her bed. This wasn’t her room. She wasn’t wearing pajamas. Hell, she wasn’t wearing anything.

She bolted upright in the bed, clutching the sheets around her. It was then that she noticed Angel sitting in the chair by the bed, watching her. She clutched the sheet around her, a little embarrassed, and still very shy. He smiled faintly. “Morning.”

Somehow last night, they’d made it to the mansion where he lived. Remembering that, she couldn’t look at him without blushing. “Yeah.” Her voice sounded a little funny, and Buffy decided that it was one of those things she really didn’t care to think about. He must have understood she was still feeling shy, because he stood up. “What do you want for breakfast?”

She looked at him, surprised. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Uh, whatever you want then.” She looked at him curiously, and he smiled, shrugging. “I learned to cook a long time ago.”

The perfect man, Buffy mused. She wondered if he cleaned, too. “That’s good. I didn’t.”

“Your clothes are on the chair there.” He looked somewhere between amused and embarrassed. “Your shirt’s really badly ripped. Go ahead and take something from my closet.”

“Oh.” Unsure how she should feel about that, or how to respond, especially since she could remember exactly how it got that way, she looked away again.

“I’ll be in the kitchen.” He told her softly, smiling at the look on her face. “Follow the noises.” He hesitated a moment. “Spike and Dru are here, so…” he trailed off, uncertain what to say beyond that.

She blinked. “Wait, they’re in this house?” Her eyes were wide and her cheeks went pink. “Last night too?”

Angel realized what she was thinking, and smiled again. “They’re in a room at the other end of the mansion. Very far away.”

Buffy looked away again, still a little embarrassed. “You kinda left that part out last night.”

He sighed a little, moving to the side of the bed to sit for a moment. “Sorry.” Unable to resist the temptation of her slightly swollen lips, Angel kissed her gently. After a moment’s hesitation, his comment about Spike and Dru being around still fresh in her mind, she kissed him back. She was still careful to hold the sheet up around her.

“Breakfast.” He said out loud when he’d finished, more to keep him from ravishing her than because he was actually hungry.

“Breakfast.” She agreed, her eyes still partially closed. She opened them the rest of the way and looked at Angel. “What time is it?”

He pointed to a clock on the wall. Buffy’s eyes widened. “Oh my god! I was supposed to check in with Giles last night…”

Angel caught what she meant immediately. He stood up, not really wanting to, but knowing it was the only way to keep from going any further. “I’ll go check and see if Spike and Dru are awake,” he told her.

She nodded a little, and waited until he’d left to get out of the bed and yank on her clothes. And one of his shirts.

--------------------

Willow was at the computer, typing away when Buffy hurried in, still somewhat disheveled. Angel had offered to drive her, but Buffy had declined. She didn’t want to risk her friends seeing him. Not when she still didn’t know what kind, if any, relationship she had with him. Not when she felt as weird about him as she did. Weird in a good way.

“I am so sorry Willow,” Buffy said immediately.

“For what?” Willow asked, not looking up from her computer, but still frowning.

“For not calling…” Buffy looked at her uneasily.

“Faith called and told me you were staying over there.” Willow grimaced. “She made it sound as if you were having an orgy with a boatload of hot guys.”

“Faith called you.”

“Yeah, she didn’t tell you?” Willow frowned this time as she finally looked at her friend. Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, were you really having an orgy? ‘Cause that’s not your shirt!”

Buffy looked down in surprise. “What? No, I mean, no, I wasn’t. We weren’t. Ew. No, I ripped my shirt fighting last night.”

“Oh. Good. ‘Cause I was starting to think…” Willow shook her head a little.

Buffy smiled a little nervously, and Willow went back to her computer. What exactly had Faith seen?

--------------------

Faith was expecting Buffy to drop by, so she didn’t bother to get up from the couch when Buffy knocked. “Come on in, B.”

Buffy opened the door, and shut it tight behind her. “Hi.”

Faith grinned. “Well? How was it?”

“What?”

Faith’s grin got even broader. “Is he good? He use his tongue? Kinks or vanilla?”

Buffy blushed. “Faith, that’s not…” she trailed off. “Um, what… what…”

“What did I see?” Faith finished, raising an eyebrow as she shoved a pile of clothes off the couch so Buffy could sit down. The other girl did, but still looked uncomfortable. “Not a lot. I saw Angel beat the crap out of the vamps, then I pretty much stayed around long enough to make sure he wouldn’t need help. He’s a honey.”

Buffy smiled a little, very relieved. Thank God. Bad enough that Faith knew what they’d done last night, but if the other Slayer had actually seen some of it… God, that would be awful. Really awful. “Um. Are you, well, planning on telling everyone? Anyone?”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “Not unless I’m ‘spossed to.”

“No.” Buffy looked away from Faith, at anything but the other girl. “I just don’t think anyone needs to know until I get it sorted out myself.”

Faith nodded. “That’s fine, B. But I’m the first to know.”

Buffy chuckled humorlessly. “At the rate I’m goin’, you’ll know before I do.”

Faith laughed. “Oh, and B?”

“Yeah?”

Faith pointed to her neck. “You got a hickey.”

--------------------

Two weeks passed with much of the same. Each night, Buffy and Angel would wander around the cemeteries, searching for each other, while pretending not to. And each night, they met in the same place, and they made love under the stars, or in one of the nearby crypts. No one but Faith knew about it, and the other Slayer had stayed silent, true to her word.

During class, Angel treated her no different than normal, and Buffy pretty much did the same.

It was only at night, when they were alone, that they allowed each other to show any emotion. But the L-word was never mentioned. Not much else was, either.

--------------------

Giles was starting to get worried about his oldest Slayer. She rarely checked in anymore, and was almost always exhausted. According to Willow, she often got home well past four or five in the morning. But on the plus side, she was killing more, and she seemed… happier. Giles sighed. He really shouldn’t complain. But still. She was making him worry.

Giles glanced at the book on the library table in front of him. He’d been trying for almost three weeks to find out what Angel was. He’d had no luck. He was almost to the point of calling on the Council. Not that he wanted to, but this was bloody well important. A man who could defeat the Slayer? A possible catastrophe, just waiting to happen.

Next to him, Jenny looked up from the computer, rolling her eyes as he stood up and began pacing as he read. He was a cute guy for a librarian, and she loved him to death, but he could be a little too intense sometimes.

“Rupert Giles.”

Giles looked up and nearly dropped the book. He closed it and set it down. “Quentin. Collins. Smith. Weatherby.” The four men stood in the doorway to the library, all looking dangerous. Which they were. Three of them were special agents sent out by the council in emergency situations. The other one, Quentin Travers, was used as Giles’ main contact on the council.

Quentin and the others stepped further into the library. “I believe we have a problem, Rupert.” He completely ignored Jenny.

--------------------

On the other side of town, in one of the cleaner and nicer crypts, Buffy and Angel were getting their clothes on. Buffy was still shy about it, so she dressed quickly, in silence. Even so, when she’d finished, Angel was already done. Silently, they walked out of the crypt, and down the paths that took them towards the high school, where Buffy would leave him. “I talked to Giles today,” she sighed, looking down at her hands.

Angel looked at her curiously. She did that every day, didn’t she? He stayed silent, knowing it must have been something somewhat important. Buffy sighed again, continuing. “I just realized, he has no idea that you’re not one of the bad guys.”

Angel frowned this time. “Right. No one really does.” They hadn’t even mentioned any of this since their second time together. In all honesty, he hadn’t really thought about it. His friends weren’t the ones he told everything to, and they didn’t tell him.

“No, except Faith.”

Angel nodded a little. “What do you want to tell them?”

Buffy looked away. “I was kinda hoping you could go with me, tomorrow night maybe? And help me explain what you are.” She looked at him quickly. “Which, by the way, I still don’t know.” She frowned at that. She knew the details about how he liked his sex, but she still didn’t know his middle name or what the hell he was.

He didn’t comment.

She sighed once more. “In case you didn’t catch that, it was a hint for you to spill.”

Angel sighed. “Tomorrow night? In the library?”

A little disappointed, Buffy nodded. “Yeah. I’ll have the gang meet there, and you can tell them everything.”

Angel stopped walking and touched her arm. She stopped, and they faced each other, close together, but far apart. Like always. “Buffy,” he said quietly.

She closed her eyes for a moment, then shrugged him off. She started walking towards the school again. “Buffy.” He said again, catching up with her easily. She didn’t look at him. “What? Am I doing something wrong? Should I not go tomorrow?”

“No, it’s not that.” She turned, looking at him again, suddenly frustrated by everything. “It’s just… I don’t know you. I’ve been having sex with you for two weeks, but my god, I don’t know who the hell you are. I don’t know anything about you, I don’t even know what you are.” She threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. “I don’t know your middle name, but I know you wake up early in the morning, before dawn, and you can cook breakfast. I don’t even know how old you are or when your birthday is, but I know you’re living in a huge mansion with two friends, and…” she trailed off, turning away from him. “My god, I know which side of the bed you like sleeping on, but I don’t even know what your house looks like in the daylight, and why you decided to become a teacher.”

“Is that what you want to know?” he asked, a little sharper than he’d wanted to.

“Yes! I want to know the little details of your life, I want to know about whatever you are, I want you to ask what I am, and I want to know you.” She looked at him, and he saw the desperateness in her eyes. “And I’m sorry, but yeah, I want a relationship that’s more than sex.”

“Fine. You want to know more, I’ll tell you more.” He grabbed her not so gently by the arm and they went over to a bench. “I’m William Christopher O’Connor. I go by Angel. I was born on May 14th, 1977, and I’m twenty-three years old. I have no siblings. My mother died when I was a baby, and my father died when I was eighteen, of a vampire attack. I hated him, so I really didn’t care, and quite frankly, still don’t. When I was sixteen, I was approached by a woman, Darla, who told me I was the Demon Hunter. She died. I moved here with Spike and Drusilla, who I’ve known since I was a child. I was born in London, but I spent most of my time growing up in Galway Ireland.” He looked at her, a hint of anger in his eyes. “You want to know more. Fine. I hate kids. I can’t handle them, and they always annoy me. I hate crossbows. I shot myself in the foot with one when I was sixteen, and I ended up in the hospital. On my twentieth birthday, I was tortured for a while as well. My eighteenth birthday, I got the wonderful Cruciamentum test. Only my Watcher gave me the test, then turned evil. I ended up in a huge fight with her, and she’s in some kind of Watcher prison, now. I teach because I want to, because I need something to do to keep me from going crazy thinking about what’s really out there, and the role I play in all that.”

“Angel, I didn’t mean…” Buffy sighed, closing her eyes. “You know what? I don’t know what I meant. I just know, I can’t stand having a relationship like whatever it is that we have.” She opened her eyes again. “What the hell are we doing?”

He just looked at her, hurt and anger in his eyes. She sighed, standing and turning away from him. “What the hell am I doing?” She added, not really meaning for him to hear.

He did though. He stood up, standing behind her, gently touching her shoulder. “What do you want from me?” He wasn’t being sarcastic or angry. He truly didn’t know what she wanted… but he did know what he wanted from her. More. And it scared him that he knew this, that he felt this way about a woman. He didn’t want to keep hiding their relationship. He didn’t want to bother trying to hide what he was.

“I don’t know what I want.” Buffy said miserably. She turned, facing him. “I just… I just want…” she sighed again, looking away. “More than sex, for starters.”

Still unsure, he raised his hand, gently pushing the loose strands of hair back from her face. “Good.” She looked up, startled. “I want more than sex too.” He smiled faintly as she stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Oh.” She looked away for a moment, then back at him. “I… uh… um…okay. That means what exactly?”

“I’m not sure. But I’d guess that means that we start over.” Angel said quietly. “I take you to dinner early tomorrow, then we go to the library and talk to your friends. We go dancing, or to the movies, or whatever.”

“Do we tell?” Buffy really didn’t know about this part.

“Do you want to?”

“I’ve wanted to since day one.” Buffy said as she gazed up at him.

Angel nodded. “Me too.”

“But…” Buffy looked away again, then back at him. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

To her surprise, Angel nodded. “I have to agree. Beyond the fact that half your friends don’t like me, I am a teacher at the college, your teacher at that. And God only knows what would happen if someone saw us…”

She nodded a little. “So we wait? And who doesn’t like you?”

“We wait. Xander doesn’t, for starters.”

She nodded. “Don’t worry about Xander. He doesn’t like any other guys who might take some attention from him.” Angel got another faint smirk on his face, then pulled her to him, and they kissed.

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The next night didn’t go as planned, not quite. It started out bad when Angel came by Buffy’s dorm to tell her that he couldn’t make their dinner for the night, because of some stupid meeting he was supposed to attend for school. But he would be free a little bit earlier than they’d planned to meet everyone in the library. Buffy had told him she’d try to meet him before the library.

As it happened though, Buffy didn’t get to meet him until five minutes before they were supposed to meet the gang.

Angel was waiting in his classroom for her, knee deep in a pile of papers he was grading. He didn’t look up as she came in, but he did motion towards her with his hand. After scribbling something down on the paper, he looked up. “Hi.”

“Hi. How was your meeting?”

Angel raised an eyebrow as he set the paper down. “Considering I spent the whole time thinking about you, I’d say it was pointless.”

She smiled slightly as he stood up, capping the pen and gathering his papers and putting them in a folder. He went over to her and kissed her, a soft greeting that made her want to melt. Of course, all of his kisses did.

When they’d finished, they walked out of the class, and down the long halls that lead them to the library. Outside the door, they let go of each other’s hands, and Buffy pushed open the doors, Angel following her in.

Everyone looked up from the table. Faith grinned. “Hey B. What’s up?”

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Buffy laid in bed that night, staring at the ceiling in her bedroom, lost in thoughts about what Angel had said.

No one had been surprised to see them there, and Giles had been surprisingly nice to Angel, even inviting him to sit, and offering him coffee. Angel had refused, but appreciated the offer. Then he’d set about to tell about the Demon Hunter.

It was a tradition older than that of the Slayer, and traditionally, much more of a secret. They served the same Council, and it was the same type of setup. Angel was an interesting case. He was the only one, similar to Buffy, who had friends to assist him. He was the only one that had gone without a Watcher for so long. He hadn’t had a Watcher for four years, since Darla had died. He was the only Hunter who’d lived to be over twenty-two. Officially, the Hunter was supposed to go after demons, but the vampires seemed to be more popular targets, due to their availability.

Angel had quit the Council. After Darla, the next Watcher had shown up, expecting to find him waiting frantically for guidance. Angel had already left for Galway again. Somehow, Angel had avoided the new woman for six months, until she finally caught up with him on his twentieth birthday. At the same time, she was killed, after knowing Angel for twenty minutes, and Angel was tortured for a while until Spike and Dru showed up and managed to rescue him.

There was one big difference between Buffy and Angel’s situations, besides their sexes and official titles. While Buffy often fought alongside her friends, Angel rarely fought with Spike and Dru. Usually, they accompanied him on patrol, but it was only a rare time when they fought. They usually helped research things.

Buffy sighed as she rolled over in bed. She really didn’t know what to think about all this. So much had happened, and just over the last two days. It was… confusing. And hard to think about.

She sighed once more. She’d think about it in the morning.

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As it turned out, she couldn’t think about it the next morning. Or during the school day. She was loaded down with homework that she’d neglected to do, in favor of seeing Angel. So she went to the library early Monday morning and started doing that. In all of her morning classes, she had to take notes, and she had no time to think about their relationship. Then she had to meet Willow for lunch, and since Buffy’s relationship with Angel was supposed to be a secret, she couldn’t exactly think about it then, either.

After lunch, she had her history class, with Angel. She didn’t get to think at all, then. She did make arrangements with him to meet that night in their crypt, but nothing else got accomplished.

Her next class she had a test, and after that, Xander showed up to visit. Then Buffy had fallen asleep, exhausted from her day. She was late meeting Angel.

It sucked.

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The week past by quickly, and without giving Buffy a lot of time to think. She ended up staying up even later than she usually did on Friday night to ponder the situation.

It was a clear night, the sky lit up only a little by the quarter moon. No one was out walking at this time of night, or more accurately, morning. It was the perfect time to think.

Earlier that night, Buffy had met Angel in their crypt, and he’d given her a dozen roses, confessing that it had felt rather odd to carry a bunch of roses and a picnic basket into a graveyard in the middle of the night, but she was worth it. She played with one of the roses now, twirling it between her fingers as she thought.

She loved him. Not just some silly schoolgirl crush, but true, and deep, and scary love. She’d realized that. It was freaking her out. Especially when she considered the cold and brutal facts.

First of all, they were totally different people. Night and day.

He was a Hunter, which was good, seeing as she was the Slayer.

He was quiet and more reserved, and she liked having attention, good attention anyway.

He was a teacher. She was a student. And Buffy wasn’t even sure if it was legal for them to date.

He was a very solitary person, and she definitely wasn’t.

She was in love with him. And Angel… well, it depressed her when she just thought about it.

But she was most definitely in love with him. She’d never been surer of anything.

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