Chapter 14: Needs (1)
A thought ran through Buffy’s mind as she heard Spike’s words and saw the way he was just standing there, giving no impression of being ready to fight. He wanted to die. He wanted Angel to fight him and stake him. She discarded the idea immediately. No, that was too much unlike him to be true.
Before they could do anything more than glare at each other, she stepped between the two men, her back to Spike, her hands up toward Angel in an appeasing gesture.
“Let’s stop this now and go home,” she asked quietly.
If she hadn’t known any better, she could have been frightened by the fierce yellow eyes that pierced her.
“Buffy ! Sooner or later.”
“Sooner or later nothing. I am going home now. And if you love me, you’ll come with me.”
Finally, Angel’s demonic appearance faded. She stepped closer and leaned against him. His arms closed around her, maybe more tightly than they usually did. Still, he wasn’t moving, and his eyes were focused behind her. He wouldn’t be the first to break away the stance.
“Spike, go. Please.”
Her Sire heard the pleading in her whisper. He passed by the enlaced couple, taking long strides toward the door. Buffy observed him above Angel’s shoulder, noticing the way his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly, the way his jaw was stuck in a stubborn fashion, the way he looked straight ahead, unblinking. His whole body language screamed one word. Pain. There was nothing she could do about it, even if she had known what was wrong with him. But strangely enough, she realized she wished she could.
As the blonde disappeared from her sight, she returned her attention to Angel.
“Let’s go,” she suggested.
He didn’t reply but followed her out. They returned to her home in silence. She was certain he was angry with her, and half expected him to leave her at the door and go back to the mansion. However, he accompanied her inside and up to her room. After closing the door behind him, he asked her the very last thing she would have anticipated.
“Do you love Spike ?”
Her mouth opened without a sound several times before she could force words out. “Of course not!”
The answer was easy, she had given it to both Spike and herself often enough. But she was hurt that Angel could believe that even for a half second, and hurt again when he asked his next question. “Do you love me ?”
“Don’t you know it by now ?” she asked in disbelief.
“You haven’t told me since you returned,” he said quietly.
She hadn’t ?.. No, she hadn’t. She hadn’t felt it was necessary. Apparently, she had been wrong. She stepped closer to him, rising to her toes to brush her lips to his.
“Let me show you exactly how much I love you.”
A/N: If you can’t bear to see Angel’s name in the same sentence as Buffy’s, I would suggest you jump directly to Chapter 16…