04 - Shimmering Tears
Author: Starla
Email: fuzzylittlepackrat@hotmail.com

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"I don't see why I have to meet them." Buffy grumbled. "They're *your* un-stepkids."

"Buffy, we've been over this. They don't know anyone in town." Joyce sighed.

"And that merits the missage of quality time with Angel??" Buffy asked, looking up from the tomatoes she was chopping.

Joyce rolled her eyes. "Three hours away from Angel: Whatever will you do?"

"No, not just three hours. Four days!" Buffy said. "Four entire Un-Angely days!"

Joyce stopped what she was doing and looked up at her daughter. "Four days?"

"Giles is sending him west to check out some gathering of evil forces or something like that." Buffy told her. "He's leaving in an hour and a half." She said, glaring at her mother. "Around the same time we'll be sitting down to a nice, polite, dinner with people I don't know."

Joyce stared at her daughter, knowing instinctively that the next couple of days were gonna be hell on the Slayer's temper. She could already picture her daughter's moping. And worrying. If he was fighting some evil monster type, there was no guarantee that he would be back.

"Go. Say goodbye." Joyce said. "I'll finish up here."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Really??" She almost squealed.

"I don't think I could stand the moping if you didn't." Joyce said with a smile.

"You're the best." Buffy said, hugging her mom tightly. "I won't be too long, I promise."

"Now, we both now that's a big fib." Joyce smiled, but Buffy was already flying out the door.

"Bye Mom!"

****

Angel sighed to himself as he dumped a couple of shirts in his duffel bag, then zipped it up and dumped it next to his bed. He lay down on his bed slowly, passing the time until the sun's last rays faded and he could set off.

Not that he really wanted to set off. He wanted to stay here, wrap his arms around Buffy, and fall asleep with her in his arms. He sighed again, and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come.

He wasn't tired.

He groaned and rolled over, burying his head into the soft pillow, inhaling the scent that still lingered there.

And then the scent got stronger, and the tingle that signified her presence spread throughout his body. He smiled to himself, quickly rolling over and playfully grabbing her around the waist, pulling her on to the bed next to him.

She giggled. "Hi."

"Hi." He replied, staring into those big hazel eyes, memorizing every curve of her face, every movement she made. Not that they weren't already burned into his memory.

"I thought you had to help your mother with dinner." He said, pulling her closer so that her head lay on his chest. He tried not to concentrate on the lazy patterns she was tracing on his stomach.

"I did. My Mom let me off to say goodbye." She explained, lifting her head and placing little, open mouthed kisses on his chin.

"Remind me to thank your mother." Angel grinned, cradling her chin in his fingers, tilting her head up so that he could press his lips against hers, nibbling hungrily at her lower lip.

Buffy groaned, nuzzling her nose against his. "Angel, honey, I really don't wanna be talking about my mother right now."

"I get your point." He rolled them over so that she lay beneath him, lifting himself up, balancing his weight on his forearms. He smiled down at her. "I love you."

"God, how many times do you have to tell me that?" Buffy said with a playful grin. "I get it, ok???"

"Just as long as you know." Angel replied, his lips descending on hers again.

"I love you." Buffy said when he finally let her get some air.

"Am I going to get in trouble if I tell you again??" Angel asked with a small grin.

"I lied. *Never* stop telling me." She said, reaching up a hand to carress his face. "It makes my stomach go all loose and wobbly, and my skin all tingly."

"Me too." He replied. "I love you."

"Mmm. Love you more." She said, moving her hand to the back of his neck.

"Everything is a competition with you." He huffed, but couldn't stop the smile from reaching his face.

She tugged his face down to hers. "Just kiss me."

"I'd be a fool to complain." He told her, slanting his lips across hers.

They kissed hungrily, hands tangling in hair, legs twisting and twining through one another, lips roaming away from each other to carress necks and fingers and utter words of devotion. Flesh was bared, and hungry fingers devoured naked skin.

And all thoughts of departure were forgotten....for the moment.

***

Buffy and Angel sat in his car, Buffy curled up to his side as he drove her home.

"Do you have to go??" She asked, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

Angel pulled into her driveway, and dropped a soft kiss on her forehead. "You know I do, baby."

"Are you sure I can't come?" She questioned. "I mean, it's not like I have school or anything."

"Your Mom needs your support." Angel reminded her. "She needs you right now."

"I know." She sighed, then looked up into his eyes. "Angel... " She whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "What if we never see each other again???"

"Baby, it's only four days." He said, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "I'll be back before you know it."

She closed her eyes to try and stop the current of tears that ran down her face as she repeated the words from long ago. "In case you haven't noticed, someone pretty much always wants us dead."

"And in case you haven't noticed, we have a habit of killing them first." He told her, trying to be reassuring.

"We've been lucky." She said.

"OK, so reassurance isn't working." Angel said. "How about distraction?"

"Huh?" She was confused.

He fumbled in his pocket. "I was going through some boxes the other day." He explained. "And I found this. I've been waiting for the right moment to give it back to you."

She gasped when he produced her claddagh ring. It glinted in the moonlight. "My ring!" She cried happily, and then. "Are you sure you still want me to have it?"

"Beloved, I can't think of anyone, ever, who I'd rather wore it."

Her eyes welled with tears again as he slid it on to her finger, heart facing inwards. She smiled at the way it nestled perfectly into place, as if it were an extension of her hand, rather than an accessory.

"You're a sweet talker, you know that?" She said, moving into his hands as he wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.

"Well, it's a talent." He joked, leaning over and pressing his lips against hers in a soft, gentle kiss. "Now, I'll be back in Four days. Try not to forget me by then."

"Never gonna happen." She whispered, leaning her forehead against his. "I love you."

"Always." Angel said.

They shared one last, brief kiss, and then Buffy got out of the car, clasping his hand desperately or as long as possible before closing the door. She leaned toward him over the side of he convertible. "Call me, ok??"

"I promise." He said, sensing her still present anxiety.

She gave his hand a squeeze, then straightened.

She blew him a kiss as he pulled away, and didn't go inside till the car vanished from sight.

*****

Buffy stopped short when she went into the lounge room. She'd forgotten all about her guests.

The guests who sat on the loungesuite, staring at her.

"Uh....Hi." She said slowly. "Sorry I'm late." She realized that she must look a lot like a racoon, or maybe one of it's cousins. She could still feel the dampness on her cheeks, a result of the tears that had flooded her cheeks only minutes earlier.

"Buffy!" Joyce exclaimed, entering from the kitchen, carrying a tray of antipasto. "Did Angel get away okay?"

"Yeah...." She sighed.

Eric stood. "Buffy, I'd like you to meet my kids, Ariel and Clint. Clint and Ariel, this is Joyce's daughter Buffy."

Bufy surveyed the boy and girl standing before her. Eric had told her that they were 18, twins, and that they had never been to Sunnydale before. Apart from that, she had to make her own conclusions.

The girl, Ariel, was just a little taller than Buffy, with long, wavy black hair and striking blue eyes staring out at her from behind black framed glasses. Definitely exotic, and definitely gorgeous. Buffy made a mental note to keep her away from Angel.

< Not that I'll have to worry about *that* for a few days. > Buffy thought grumblingly.

She moved her gaze to Clint, who was tall and muscular with the same blue eyes as Ariel, but dusty brown hair in place of her jet black locks. He too, was gorgeous, and in the old days, pre-Angel, Buffy would have been drooling all over her sneakers.

But these weren't the old days, so she just smiled easily and waved. "Hi."

"Hi.....Are you okay??" Ariel asked.

"I'm bad at goodbyes. My boyfriend just went away."

"For how long??" Ariel asked, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"I don't wanna say....It makes me sound really pathetic." Buffy said sheepishly, then groaned. "Four days. It's just...circumstances....It's a long story."

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Clint said.

"Likewise." Buffy said, then looked around the room. Her mother and Eric had left the room to prepare the dinner, and Buffy flopped into a chair, picking up an olive and popping it into her mouth. "You guys don't do this much either, huh?" She said after several long, silent moments.

"Dad isn't much on the dating scene." Ariel confirmed.

"Mom either. Her last boyfriend...I really don't wanna go there." Buffy said with a shudder. Ted freaked her beyond the telling of it.

"So...Have you lived here all your life?" Clint asked, taking a seat across from Buffy.

Buffy snorted. "No. Thank God." She nibbled on a breadstick. "I grew up in LA. Moved here when I was sixteen."

Ariel made a face. "Big transition."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Buffy said. "And I guess it was, but there was the same old high school politics."

"I don't think they ever change, no matter where you go." Ariel said knowingly.

"All I can say is, thank god it's over." Buffy laughed.

"So, what is there to do around here?" Clint asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Well...." Buffy said. "We enjoy a spot of berry picking."

"Please, tell me you are joking." Ariel grimaced.

"Yes. I'm joking. There's the usual...cinemas, a cool coffee shop...the beach...oh and the Bronze. It's a club in the 'bad part of town'. A friend of mine is in one of the regular bands. They're playing tonight. Maybe we could stop by."

"Okay..." Clint said, then smiled. "The 'bad part of town'?" He repeated. It was clear that he found the idea amusing. "Is it dangerous?"

Buffy grew serious, looking at him for several moments before speaking in a low voice. "All of Sunnydale is dangerous."

"Be serious." Ariel laughed.

"I am." Buffy said. "If there's one piece of advice I can offer you to make your summer more enjoyable, it's don't go out alone at night. Stick to well lit, public areas." She paused. "And don't talk to strangers."

"Yes, mother." Clint said, smirking.

"I'm serious. Sunnydale has a....darker...element. We have more unexplained disappearances and unsolved murders in relation to our population than anywhere else in America."

"Well....that fills me with confidence." Ariel cringed.

"We live in New York." Clint said. "I think we'll be fine."

Buffy sighed. She wasn't gonna get through to them. "Humour me?"

"Yeah, ok." Ariel said.

"Thank you."

Moments later, Buffy's mother called them to the table, and they were freed from the awkward silence.

*****

"So...Buffy, I was hoping you could give Ariel and Clint a tour of Sunnydale." Eric said, spearing a piece of chicken on his fork.

"Yeah, okay. Tomorrow, though." Buffy said. "I was kinda hoping to go to the Bronze tonight."

"Is Oz playing??" Joyce asked, eating a french fry.

"Yeah, there'll be a little dingo action." Buffy said. She caught Ariel and Clint's confused expression. "Dingoes Ate my Baby. The band I told you about."

"Are they any good??" Clint asked, playing with his glass.

"They suck with style." Buffy grinned.

"Sounds promising." Ariel laughed. "Am I going to have to change??" She looked down at her clothing, a black tanktop and dark grey trousers.

"Nah, you'll be fine." Buffy said, then looked down at her cut off jeans and maroon gypsy style shirt. "I, however, am going to. May I be excused?"

Her mother nodded, and Buffy wiped her mouth with her napkin, stood, and went upstairs.

Clint glanced at her plate, still almost full. "She doesn't eat much, does she?"

*****

Buffy closed her door behind her, crossing to her closet and rummaging through it. She mumbled to herself as she pushed garments aside. "Too green...too tight....too loose...too seethrough....Couldn't hide a stake in *that* if my life depended on it...which, technically it does, so....moving on..."

Finally, she pulled out a knee length silver silk skirt and a black v neck sleeveless tee. Quickly, she changed into the outfit, twirling in front of the mirror.

She frowned. Not seeing Angel in the mirror tricked her into thinking he was there.

And so began the moping. He was *supposed* to be lying on her bed, casually flicking though a magazine as she changed. He was *supposed* to be giving his opinion on her outfits, which she never listened to anyway because he would tell her she looked beautiful if she was wearing a flourescent green boob tube and under bright pink overall shorts and a pair of navy slouch socks.

He was supposed to be there, with her, instead he was on his way to the demonic mardi gras.

She sighed and slipped a stake into the waistband of her skirt, then sat on her bed, pulling on her black mary janes. The glint of her ring caught er eye, and she brought her hand up to the light to inspect it.

It'd been so long since she'd looked at it...really looked at it. Even before she'd left it in the mansion all those months ago, she'd deliberately avoided looking at it. It hurt to remember everything they'd had before.

It hurt to picture never having it again.

Which is why his absence frightened her so. Shewas scared that if something happened to him... She wasn't sure she could survive being without him again.

She wasn't sure that she could sleep if she was in a lonely bed for too many consecutive nights. She slept best with his arms around her, her head pillowed on his broad chest, the flesh of her cheek rubbing against his cool skin. She was happiest when she woke up to find him watching her, one of his hands entangled in her hair, the other slowly tracing the length of her body.

She sighed, knowing that she was making herself crazy. "He'll be back." She murmured to herself, but the words held no comfort. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold. Making a snap decision, she went to her closet, taking out his leather jacket. She lifted it to her face, breathing him in, the scent making her smile. She pulled it on slowly. It was still huge on her, her tiny body swimming in the leather. She wore it like her armour, as if it could protect her from the darkness and death.

It made her feel closer to him.

She had a feeling she'd be wearing a lot of his clothing in the oncoming days.

*****

Angel pulled his car into the parking lot of a bed and breakfast, flickering his gaze over the white front of the quaint little bedsit. It'd been just over 2 hours, and already he missed Buffy so much that he thought he might be driven insane.

He sighed, and checked in.

Once in his room, he dropped his duffel bag onto the bed, stripping off his jacket and shirt and draping them over the back of the desk chair. He kicked off his shoes, removed a book of poetry from his bag and flopped into the large, soft armchair that sat in the corner of the room. He opened the book, attempting to concentrate on the words, but the letters blurred on the page, and all he saw was her name. He groaned, rubbing his eyes and dropping the book. There was a remote sitting next to the chair, so he picked it up, switching the tv on and flicking through the channels before settling on a station that was showing the local news. The presenter's face morphed into Buffy's, and her voice was all that reached his ears.

He admitted defeat, making a grab for the phone. Quick as lightning, he dialed her number, tapping his foot impatiently as it rang.

*****

Buffy was almost out the door when she heard the phone ringing.

"Hold on, I'll just get that." She told Clint and Ariel, and grabbed the hall phone, smiling at them apologetically. "Hello?" She said into the receiver.

"Hey. It's me." There was a pause. "Angel."

"Honey, I can recognize your voice." She smiled. "I'm not a complete flake."

There was a chuckle. "Sorry, baby. Little spacy myself, tonight."

"Why's that??" She asked, leaning against the wall, a lazy smile spreading across her face.

"I miss you." He said simply.

"*You* have no self control." She giggled.

"Is that a problem for you??" Angel asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Not at all." She replied, and then paused. "I was doing your brooding thing earlier. I'm wearing your jacket."

"Don't brood, beloved. You can never beat me." Angel said seriously...and then: "You're wearing my jacket?"

"Mmmhmm. How bout you?" She asked, her mouth twisting into a mischeivous grin.

"I'm *not* wearing my jacket." Angel said. "Or my shirt. Just the pants. It's hot here."

She groaned. "Angel, honey, don't tease me." She realized that she wasn't alone. "I'm on my way to the Bronze. With Eric's kids. They're waiting for me."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me that you aren't alone?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll let you go then."

She sighed. "Okay. Be careful."

"You too. I love you." He said softly, his voice quiet and fond.

"I love you too." She said. "Are you going to call again?"

"If you want me to."

"I do."

"Okay. I love you."

"You already said that." She laughed.

"You said never to stop saying it."

"I did didn't I?"

"You're supposed to be going."

"I know. G'night, sweetie. Love you."

"Always."

She put down the phone, letting her fingers linger on the receiver before turning back to Ariel and Clint, who had identical amused expressions playing across their faces.

Buffy blushed. "Welcome to the Buffy and Angel Show. Where every day is mushfest."

:: Chapter Five ::