IVORY ALONE, TOGETHER
A Buffy and Angel romance story. It takes place after Buffy's initial move to Sunnydale. For some reason the two parts were in different formats (one over-paragraphed and one under-paragraphed) but you can still read it. Mail Ivroy at AngelBuffy@aol.com.
She lay curled up in a fetal position on the bed in her mother's room,
hugging herself tightly and wishing she could makeall the pain go away.
Her eyes were bloodshot with all the tears she had shed, and she imagined
her hair was a mess. But she didn't care.
The day had been unbearable, and Buffy still didn't know how she had
gotten through it without collapsing. Perhaps it was because her friends
had been there, and she didn't know how to beweak in front of them.
Now she was all alone, and there was no need to put up a brave front. She
had come in here more than three hours ago to vent some of her grief,
only it appeared that it wasn't going away anytime soon.
This is probably what every girl fears, Buffy thought. Losing a parent is
the worst.
Her mother had died a mere two days ago, the victim of the vampires
that stalked Sunnydale. Joyce Summers had just closed her art gallery
for the night and was walking to her car when it happened. An unknown
vampire had taken her life.
Buffy pounded the pillow with her fist at the memory, a loud sob escaping
her throat. "It's not fair!" she screamed. "She had nothing to do with my
life! She didn't deserve to die like this!"
When the last of her shouts died in the air, Buffy became aware that
someone was standing in the doorway, looking in on her. The hair on the
back of her neck prickled, and she knew there was only one person who
could have that effect on her.
However, she didn't want to deal with even him just now. Without
turning, without so much as a glance his way, she said, "Go away, Angel."
He didn't, simply stood there watching her in silence a few moments. It
hurt him to see her like this. Awkwardly, Angel said, "Giles called and
told me what happened... Buffy, I'm so sorry."
She shut her eyes tightly, willing him to leave her in peace. Angel must
have picked up on these vibes, but he did the exact opposite. He walked
closer and lay one hand on her arm. "Buffy," he started.
That alone was enough to unhinge her. She sat up in a fury, pressing her
hands to his chest to shove him away. A moment later, Buffy was up and
had him pinned to the wall, an intense amount of anguish and resentment
showing in her eyes.
"Just stop, okay?!?" Buffy screamed at him, all sorts of irrational thoughts
coming to her. "You have no business being here! You can't bring her
back!"
Angel looked down at her calmly. "I would if it were even remotely
possible," he said quietly. "Don't you know by now that it affects me
when something bad happens to you?" He paused, his dark eyes flooding
with tears. "You mean the world to me, Buffy."
Buffy didn't want to listen to any of that, simply wanted to stay mad at
him. Just for the reason that another of his kind had stolen the most
important person in her life. But, there was something about the situation,
either in the gentleness of his voice or the look on his face, that made her
drop all her defenses.
Caught up in a flurry of emotion, Buffy reached up and pulledhis face
towards her, kissing him passionately on the lips. She could feel him
moving to pull away, but she didn't let him. She couldn't let him.
Angel soon gave in to her demands, swept up in the same passion that she
felt. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime and yet only a few minutes.
When it was over, he and Buffy stared at each other in silence, then she
whispered, "I didn't mean what I said. I'm glad you came, Angel."
He managed a sad smile, the same one he had worn years ago during
their farewell kiss at the Bronze. "Everyone else had a chance to offer
their condolences. It was only right that I get to do the same," he said, not
sure why he felt a need to explain.
Buffy nodded absently, not caring about the reasons. Suddenly, all that
mattered was the fact that the love of her life was here now, exactly when
she needed him the most.
The flurry of events that followed were initiated when Buffy casually
asked him to stay. The next thing she knew, it was hours later, and she
was awakening to find herself and Angel in bed together.
Buffy blushed when she recalled just what had occurred between ten
o'clock and now. With a goofy grin, she turned to the vampire beside her,
laying one arm across his bare chest.
Angel went to stroking her blonde hair, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
"How do you feel?" he asked her gently.
Buffy paused, aware that every inch of her body was glowing.
"Incredible," she said with a slight giggle. "You sure know how to cheer
me up."
Angel smiled slightly, then froze when he saw the two tiny bite marks on
her neck. He couldn't remember having bitten her during... But the
telltale signs were there nonetheless.
He got up abruptly, feeling sick. Buffy looked at him a moment in fear,
then automatically began to feel her throat with one hand.
Tears sprang to her eyes, her senses numb as she watched him dress.
Finally, Buffy pushed herself off the bed wrapped in a sheet, and went to
him, a sure sign he hadn't taken enough to do her harm. "Angel," she
whispered, voice filled with sorrow.
He refused to look at her, too ashamed at what he'd done. After all the
years of fighting his true nature, to give in on a night spent with her... It
was too much for him to take.
"We shouldn't have done this," he said, breaking her heart and his own
with those words. "And it can't happen again... God, what if I had killed
you?"
"But you didn't," Buffy said softly. "I'm still here, Angel." She paused,
then reached out to turn his face towards hers, but he only expanded the
distance between them. "Don't leave me. Not now," she begged. "I love
you."
Those words made Angel freeze in his tracks, and he simply held his
shirt in his hands in preparation to put it on. He was silent for a long
moment, then, without turning, he said, "We come from two different
worlds, Buffy. It's not wise for us to pursue a relationship, and we both
know it."
She paused, her emotions in turmoil as she glanced around the room.
Finally, anger descended on her and she grabbed a pillow of all things,
throwing it at him roughly. "Fine!" she screamed. "Just go ahead and run
then! You've gotten good at it over the years we've known each other, so
one more time shouldn't matter, should it?!?"
Her angry remarks cut into him, bringing tears to his own eyes which he
didn't let her see. Numbly, Angel finished getting dressed and simply
walked out, aware that she had sunk to the floor in a fit of sobs.
All the way back to his apartment, Angel didn't allow himselfto think over
what had transpired. But he knew that he had done the opposite of what
he had set out to do. He had only meant to comfort Buffy, and instead
made her feel worse. His conscience plagued him to no end over it.
Only now in his loft, more than two miles out of her hearing range, he
finally found the courage to say what he couldn't in her presence. "I love
you too, Buffy... And that's why I can't be around you," he whispered to
the empty room...
Three Weeks Later In the first few days, Buffy didn't see Angel at all, mostly due to the fact that she was extremely mad at him. Then, when he put in an appearance to help her fight a new deadly vampire in town, she barely said a word to him, simply going through the motions. But her memories of their illicit affair always came back to haunt her, and Buffy began to feel sort of nostalgic after a time. Finally, when she realized she would have to confront him,Buffy stubbornly traveled to his apartment in the middle of the afternoon. Angel was surprised but also wary to see her when he opened the door. He didn't invite her in, but Buffy entered anyway, noteven allowing him to shut her out. "We need to talk," were the first words out of her mouth, after her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the room. Angel sighed, shutting the door, and going to the refrigerator for a snack. Buffy noticed this and said, "Do you have any Saltines?" Then, catching herself, she added, "Of course you don't. What am I saying?" That got Angel's attention, for it wasn't like her to forget what he was, what he fed on. Grabbing a plastic bag of blood from the fridge, he turned to face her. "Where do you want to start?" he asked. She looked up at him with what looked like regret. "Well, there's no easy way to say this," she stated as cheerfully as she could, "so I'm just going to come right out... I'm pregnant." Angel's eyes widened slightly, arms dropping to his sides in shock. He remained speechless for a moment, then looked up at her, setting the bag down and walking closer. "Are you sure?" Buffy nodded. "Way sure," she told him. "And, it's yours, by the way." With that, she crossed her arms, waiting for some sort of response. Angel stood there for a long while, appearing deep in thought; Buffy wished for once that she could read his mind to see what was going through it. Finally, he looked up at her, walking closer and embracing her tightly. "I always thought," he whispered, "that there wasn't any way for us to be together on a permanent basis. But this...Buffy, this changes everything." Angel paused, then pulled back and gazed into her eyes. "I love you," he admitted. "I can't deny that anymore... We can find a way to make this work. We have to." She smiled, gazing up at him with those beautiful green eyes of hers. Without a word, she stepped forward to kiss him passionately. They still had much to cover to make their relationship work, Buffy knew, but kissing was a good start... THE END
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