Demon Hunting and First Dates. With angelbuffy
((Follows this post.Angel didn't get much sleep that day. The curtains that had been brought up were perfect, heavy velvet that let in no light at all, and he felt perfectly comfortable walking around the room during the day
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What did she know though? He’s already showed her that he had more strings to pull than she ever had guessed. Case in point: The Hotel that they were at.
She was listening to Angel talk about the date. And shopping.
“Right. Vampires, or…whatever it is, then on to fun.”
She started walking with him. She didn’t know how cold it was,so she dressed kind of warm…but she couldn’t hide the excitement of shopping and date. That was a surprise.
“The suspense will kill me. While we’re fighting vampires, all I’m going to think about is the surprise, you know.”
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Date. He couldn't believe they were doing this. He was slowly getting past the whole 'I'm in a relationship with Buffy' disbelief, and moving into, 'I can't believe we're having a normal relationship'. So, there was still disbelief, just, over something else.
Whenever he felt it start to overwhelm him, Angel did what he did best--pushed it aside. Focus on something else. So it was hard to believe - it was still happening, and he had to deal with it. This might be the first time it was something good he had to deal with, though... no, second. But still, this was almost unprecedented for him.
They left the suite, and Angel hesitated before heading for the stairs. He actually didn't mind Buffy seeing his non-reflection (okay, he minded, but it didn't bother him nearly as much as it had yesterday), but they were 15 floors up; if anyone was in the elevator, or got on while they were still descending, it could bring up questions that were impossible to answer. Except with the truth, but he didn't want to go there. So, the stairs it was.
In an effort to take both their minds off why they were taking the stairs, he asked, "Do you know which stores you'd like to visit tonight?"
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She shrugged. You know what? That was probably the truth. This is how much she wanted to go on a normal date for once. Not to mention the fact that she looked really good tonight too. Was it bad that she didn’t want to find anything either?
The started to head for the stairs which didn’t bother her one bit. She had the strength and endurance of ten men. Going up and down fifteen steps of stairs was pretty much nothing. She could probably run up them. Not in the shoes that she was wearing though, and they were, in fact, going down the stairs.
“Would it be a bad call if I said all of them? I want new shoes, but I need a winter coat. I want a winter coat, but I also need new shoes. Does that answer your question?”
She snorted. It was so typical. When she was allowed to be a girl, she took it to the twentieth degree.
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Angel laughed at her answer about shopping. "I'm pretty sure you don't need new shoes. You don't have a winter coat, so let's find you one of those, first. And, I did actually have something more than just shopping in mind for tonight, so maybe you could parce it down to-- winter coat, a pair - or two - of winter boots, and... anything else that catches your eye in the store," he finally capitulated.
He reached for her hand and drew it up to his mouth for an affectionate kiss. "I didn't mean to imply this was the only time you'd get to go shopping. I'll point out any stores I think you'd want to go to that we don't get to tonight, and you can shop to your credit card maximum during the day sometime." While he was stuck inside the hotel room. He hated having to miss seeing her shopping-- but he knew he wasn't really a shopping person.
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It was half a joke…but really. She always needed shoes, and she almost brought up the heel factor. She knew better than to fight in them, yeah, but they did break on her all the time.
She’d never tell anyone, but that obsession with shoes probably could be her demise. She signed at his comment. The store, mentioning one. It was true, they did have plenty of time to go shopping. During the day, she had plenty of time not to have another conscious on her when she went out alone. She didn’t like the thought of going alone, but she did like the thought of putting some serious weight on that credit card.
And, he had a surprise for her. Which is almost as good as buying new shoes.
“Okay, winter coat, and a matching scarf and gloves. Maybe a new shirt if I like it enough. Is that fair?”
By this time, they were already six floors down. She grabbed the piece of paper, and handed it to Angel.
“Do you think we’ll be able to find this?” It was the address.
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He saw her face fall slightly when he mentioned her going out alone, but didn't say anything. What could he say? Sorry, I'd love to go with you, but I don't really feel like bursting into flame? He'd take her to do other things, and maybe even shopping some night. Not for clothes, because she didn't have a problem buying those for herself. No, something she wouldn't ordinarily buy... Jewelry? Girls liked jewelry.
Girls, yes--the question was, did Buffy like jewelry. She didn't really wear any anymore, except for earrings. He'd have to start paying attention to that sort of thing.
"That sounds pretty fair," he agreed. Then, because he could and he felt like it, Angel teased her a little. "Course, it also depends on how long it takes you to find exactly the right coat, and then the matching hat and scarf..." He grinned and winked at her.
When she handed him the address, he glanced at it. Then frowned. That wasn't right... was it? "Yeah," he murmured, then louder, "yeah, it's not too far from here, actually. A few blocks from Central Park." That probably wasn't good, was it?
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She was positively elated. He knew that it was never going to be a just in and out trip. It never was, especially not with her.
“I need to find a color, then a type. It’s not an easy endeavor. Shopping actually takes a lot out of you. And, don’t let me wear my brand new coat when we go check this whatever it is out. Cause with my luck, it’s so going to get ruined. Same thing goes with boots. I’ll put everything on afterward.”
Speaking of, he actually frowned at the numbers, but they were right.
“Okay, what’s up? Is this bad? Is there a bad thing at this address?”
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He folded the paper back up and handed it to Buffy. He noticed her mood becoming subdued, and smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry. Even if it is something, we'll take care of it. Then you can put on your new coat and boots, and we'll have a lovely evening."
Finally, they reached the lobby. Once they were outside, Angel noticed how cold it really was. Buffy was going to get cold pretty fast, so Angel doffed his coat and draped it over her shoulders. He couldn't help but smile in remembrance. "Seems we've done this before."
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“Right, so there’s got to be something there. There’s probably a nest. Where there’s one nest, there’s always the potential for more. It’s like a gang thing. Well, you know.”
Tourists were the easiest to get because of the lack of ties. Buffy knew this. It wasn’t really a damper. She needed a good fight. It was a good thing that she lodged her stake in the band of her jeans. Another good thing is that Angel was right, the vampires were probably not even there, or not all of them would be. It was prowling time for them. Meaning that there was going to be another trip back to wherever it was they were going.
It was really cold out! She had seriously underestimated it. He put his coat on her, and she had to giggle a little bit at the comment.
“Yeah, I remember. Wouldn’t have to do with me being thrown in the water, huh?”
So long ago.
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He smiled at her giggle, and her comment. "It might have," he conceded. "Not even the same coat, and it still looks better on you than me." She deserved a nice, fancy winter coat... but Angel couldn't help but secretly feel a little disappointed he wouldn't get to see her in his coat anymore.
That thought, somehow, led his brain to imagining her wearing one of his shirts. Nothing, but one of his shirts. That was such a bad place for his brain to be.
Angel hailed a taxi, then held the door for Buffy to get in before climbing in after her. He leaned forward so the cabbie could hear him, and said, "Macy's Department store."
He relaxed against the seat, then reached over and took Buffy's hand in his. He was allowed to do this now, this ordinary show of affection, and he was going to take full advantage of it. He looked at Buffy and asked, "Macy's is alright, isn't it?"
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They were in a cab together, he was holding her and he asked if Macy’s was a good place.
“Angel. Macy’s is the place you go when you want everything. You’re so setting me up for failure, it’s not even funny. I’ll try to stick with the deal…but you might have to hold me back when we walk in. Macy’s in NYC? I’ve seen LA Macy’s. I can’t imagine this one.”
She gave his hand a squeeze then looked out the window. New York was full of fascinating things. Angel was hilarious. She’d actually never shopped with him before. He could possibly not want to ever do it again. The last time she went shopping with a guy, it was with the Immortal. Even the Immortal was annoyed.
It took less than ten minutes to get to Macy’s. She was beginning to love that hotel. Macy’s did not disappoint.
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Once they reached Macy's, he figuratively let Buffy loose. She looked at coats, hats, scarves, boots, sweaters, cardigans, even pants and some skirts (he was sure they'd never mentioned those during the 'negotiations', but he kept quiet).
It was a bit tedious, standing there while Buffy held clothes against herself, checking her reflection, asking, "What about this one? Or maybe this one?" But he'd been dragged on several shopping expeditions with Cordelia, years ago. And unlike Cordy, Buffy wasn't upset when his answer was pretty much the same every time.
It took about two and a half hours, but eventually Buffy was satisfied with the three bags she'd purchased, and they left the department store. To be honest, Angel wasn't even sure what all she'd bought, other than the requisite winter coat and accessories. He was just glad she was pleased.
And, he admitted to himself, thankful they were finally done.
They found another taxi, and headed back toward the address Giles had given her.
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Especially since, he was right in the fact that they still did have other plans. She got a scarf alright, and gloves, and a red pea coat. It was either going to be red or brown. She already had a brown one. She looked better in red anyway. Only one pair of boots, Jessica Simpson. She had three shirts, and two pair of jeans. It all came out to…well, she didn’t know how much she spent. It was more of a blur than anything.
They had gotten into the cab, and she had to smile at her bags, and the fact that they were going out to huntish. When the cab arrived, they had both gotten out, and looked around. Where they were, Buffy couldn’t help but notice the place wasn’t worn down or raggety.
“Okay, so I kind of feel like this might be off Interview with a Vampire. They live in style now?” She knew the answer to that, but it sort of fit.
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"It looks like something Angelus would live in," he finally murmured. It always made him anxious to face vampires with the same mentality as his own demon.
Angel physically shook his head, trying to clear it. "This is pointless. All we're doing is freaking ourselves out. They're vampires. We go in there, we find any still there for the night, we kill them. Then we get on with our plans. Right?"
He was being ridiculous. Scaring himself with the same boogey-man he had worked so hard for a century to create. It wasn't like he'd never hunted other vampires before. This would be - relatively speaking - pretty easy.
Right?
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She looked at him when he mentioned Angelus. She hated that name, and she hated everything that was associated with Angelus. Angel did not come out of Angelus. She’d fight till she was dead about that comment. He was actually right though. If there were vampires here, they were older, experienced.
Dracula.
Kidding, no, not Dracula. She didn’t want to go there, especially not with Angel. Better not to crack a joke about that one.
“It’s no big. We’ll go in and stake away.”
She grabbed the stake that she had brought. She still had her bags in her hands when she gave Angel a reassuring smile and walked through the doors of the building. Maybe they were mob vampires.
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Angel wasn't sure it would be that easy... He hoped it would be that easy. He reached into his jacket and drew out a stake. He was surprised when she walked in with her bags, her stake hidden among the handles in her hand.
Actually, that was a good idea. Walk in, act like you got lost, walked into the wrong building... Buffy was better at that ruse than he was, but it did work.
Once they were inside...
"Well," Angel finally said, glancing around, "that's not what I was expecting." The place was empty. Not just empty, abandoned. Nothing had lived here, or even existed, in probably years. Dust covered everything, and it rose in the air as they disturbed it walking through.
It was a nice studio apartment, with a high ceiling and an open floor plan, even a few chairs and a couch were left behind.
Angel turned back to Buffy. "Are you sure this is the right address? I mean..." He looked back around and muttered to himself, "This can't be right."
Unless there really was no demon preying on New Yorkers, and it was all just a way to get Buffy here for a vacation. But wouldn't Giles have told her that, once she'd arrived here? Angel just didn't know.
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