06 - Good to Be Home
Author: Starla
Email: fuzzylittlepackrat@hotmail.com

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

Buffy stretched out on the pavement in front of Xander's house, relishing the last rays of late afternoon sun even as she willed them away.

Soon after the sun set, Angel would arrive home.

This knowledge brought a smile to her lips, and a gentle buzz of anticipation to her bones. She turned her head, and grinned happily over at Willow, who was nestled in Oz's arms besides to her.

"He'll be home soon," she chirped, trying to stop herself from giggling.

Willow rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "You've only told us that, oh, what, 300 times?"

"I'd have said it was closer to 400," Oz commented lazily, smirking at Buffy.

"Well, I like to keep you informed," Buffy said, smiling, her good mood not spoiled by their teasing. Letting out an inexplicable giggle, she shifted, pillowing her head on Oz and Willow's ankles and gazing up at the clouds.

"What do you see?" Oz asked, his trademarked calm curiosity clear in his voice.

"Clouds," She replied absentmindedly.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "I believe I speak for everybody here when I say, 'duh'."

Startled, Buffy shook herself out of her daze. "Huh?"

"What do you see in the clouds?" Willow repeated on behalf of Oz.

"Oh," Buffy said, turning her attention back to the sky and studying it for a few moments. "Lips."

"Lips?"

"Lips." She confirmed, lifting her arm and pointing at the cloud formation that had caught her eye.

"Looks more like a bottle." Cordelia said, shielding her eyes.

"I think it looks like a fairy," Willow frowned.

Oz glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes, "You guys are weird."

"It's part of our charm," Buffy said, stretching lazily, trying not to look at her watch too often.

"If you say so," Xander teased as he appeared among them carrying a tote bag.

"That's my story and I'm sticking to it," Buffy said firmly.

"I thought you guys were coming here to help me," Xander said, glaring at them.

"Well, that's what we told you, but we're really here to make fun of your sleeping bag," Willow said, waving a hand in the direction of the bag that held his Superman sleeping bag.

"You should see his snoopy pyjamas," Cordelia snorted. She averted her eyes when everyone turned to look at her. "Not that *I* have."

Her friends shared an amused grin.

"So what are you gonna do with Angel once you get him home?" Willow asked, gesturing for Xander to throw her a candy bar.

"And please, details," Xander said, wiggling an eyebrow.

"Mom wants me home to entertain Ariel and Clint," Buffy said, a little grumpily, "So we'll probably just hang out and watch videos. You guys should come. It'll be the last chance we have to hang out with Xand for a while."

"Our baby is abandoning us," Willow mocked, pouting.

"Yet somehow we find the courage to live on," Cordy drawled, smiling maliciously at Xander.

"I'll miss you too, darling," Xander smirked, unfazed by her contemptuous glare.

Cordelia huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back against his brick fence.

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing that if the two got into a verbal slanging match that it wasn't going to end any time soon. Determined to distract them, she said, "So, Videos. Who's in?"

Ignoring her, Xander and Cordelia continued to squabble.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Ariel fell onto the bed next to her brother, groaning and glowering at the wall in front of her.

"What's wrong with you?" Clint asked, not looking up from his book, a copy of Steven King's 'It' that had obviously been read more than once.

"Dad just told me that we're spending the night with Buffy and her friends," Ariel moaned, "while he and Joyce go to some play!"

"So?"

"They're so *boring*!" Ariel exclaimed, pouting. "I doubt they've ever done anything rebellious, or exciting, or even relatively *interesting* in their whole life. They never will. They'll do the same thing every day until they die. Because that's what boring people do."

"*I* like them." Clint said, lifting his eyes finally to peer at her over the page.

"You would. You're a boring person too."

Clint ignored her, used to her frequent fits of obnoxious and bratty behaviour. He went back to reading his book, and Ariel fell silent for several minutes.

When she spoke again, her voice was calmer, without a trace of the whining tone she had used only a moment ago.

"So what do you think this boyfriend is like?"

"Don't know, really," Clint said, "The guys didn't mention him much."

"Buffy mentioned him incessantly, but I didn't really get a picture of what he was like. It was all pretty erratic information...." She paused for several moments. "I hope he's fuckable."

"Don't you dare." Clint fixed her with a disapproving eye, but she just smirked lazily at him.

"If I want to, I will," Ariel reminded him, "and we both know it."

"Ariel, she *loves* him," He hissed, "You can't play with people's hearts, it's not fair."

"Fair, Schmair," Ariel laughed as she stood and stalked out of the room. "Fair is for losers. I like to play dirty."

"Don't I know it," Clint muttered as he, disgusted, threw down his book and flopped back against the mattress, rubbing his temples.

So much for a quiet summer.

*^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^

Ariel smiled at Joyce as the older woman passed her a can of soda. "So when will Buffy be back?"

"She shouldn't be too long, I know she wants to be here when Angel arrives," Joyce told her, "Finally, the moping will stop. Next time he goes away, I'm sending her with him whether they like it or not. She's been driving everybody mad."

"I'll bet," Ariel grinned. "So they're pretty serious, huh?"

Joyce laughed. "They're like an old married couple, sometimes," She rolled her eyes, "It's adorable. And terrifying."

Ariel looked away to hide her grimace. When she turned back to Joyce, her calm smile was once again set in place. "Do you think Buffy ever wants something a bit different? You know...something exciting?"

Joyce slowed noticeably for several moments, as if she was considering how to respond. "I don't think that's a problem for Buffy."

Ariel could tell that if she pressed the subject, Joyce might start to get a little suspicious, so she dropped it, grinning. "So what have you and Dad got planned tonight?"

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

It was almost half an hour later when Angel pulled his car up in front of the Summer's home on Revello Drive. He knocked on the door , and , not getting a response, opened it quietly and stepped inside. He could hear people moving about inside, smell their blood, their sweat.

He was barely inside the door when Buffy came hurtling down the stairs and into his arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, nuzzling into his jaw, playing with the collar of his shirt.

"I take it you're glad that I'm home, then," he said in amusement, but he held her just as tightly, rubbing her back lovingly, breathing her in, like oxygen to a dying man. She didn't reply in words, just kissed his neck, only once, so softly that he wasn't entirely sure that he hadn't imagined it. Smiling gently, his kissed her brow, whispering against her skin, "I missed you too."

"Damn straight, you did," she muttered, pulling away, "I don't like it when you're not around. I worry."

"I know, I do too," he said, holding her hand and letting her lead him into the kitchen.

"So, what's the verdict? Demon dead?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Dead demon," he said, nodding. "No problem."

"That's m'boy," She said, her voice an odd combination of adoration and mockery.

"How about here," he asked, sitting at a stool, playing with the straw of a soda she handed him, "everything been okay?"

"Disaster-free," She assured him, sliding from her own stool into his lap, twining her arms around his neck. She kissed his chin, then his cheek, then finally, his lips, which were cool and soft against her own. It was like finding water after months in the desert; She could barely keep herself from absorbing him completely. Her hands found the back of his neck, and one wound itself into his hair. The other ran along his shoulder, feeling the coolness of skin and muscle underneath the soft silk.

"Mmmm...." he moaned, "You taste good...." He kissed her quickly again, tasting her, "I missed that."

"I missed your smell," Buffy confessed, burying her face in his neck. "You always smell so....clean. And sorta spicy. Irresistible."

"I missed your stomach, " Angel said, bringing one hand to her belly and slipping it under the hem of her shirt, lightly stroking it with his thumb, back and forth, "Your skin, it's so soft...soft and warm. I love the way you squirm when I touch you right..." He moved his hand a little, searching for the right spot, "...here...Because you're *so* ticklish, but you won't admit it."

She laughed, "Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

He kissed her again, sliding his hand around to her back, pulling her fully up against him.

It was good to be home.

:: Chapter Seven ::