the hurricane i'll never outrun;

[todoright]

They're taking it slow.

He learned his lesson, the last time during the day that's now only a memory. One that he alone possesses. It's bittersweet to think about, because for every perfect moment they had together, he remembers Buffy crying in his arms. This is something Angel hadn't ever hoped to reclaim, even if he had thought about it (and

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[chose]

To wake up next to the one you love. While a lifelong dream and goal for some people, this has always been something of an impossibility for Buffy, too many factors constantly standing in between herself and the one she loves. A vampire. For a long time, the mere idea of it made her angry, wishing she could find whichever higher power scripted that particular brand of torment and show it just how unappreciative she could be. It was a cruel joke, and one she felt most undeserving of, given everything else she was expected to sacrifice

[todoright]

"Morning," Angel nods, showing no hint of sleepiness as he'd already been awake for more than an hour. Even after a few weeks on the island, the idea of sleeping at night was an entirely foreign one to him - after all, his nights were when he was most active. Yet it seems like such a small sacrifice to pay in order to have moments like these.

There's static in her hair and it makes strands of it float up, which makes the corners of his mouth tug upwards a millimeter as he gently bats them down. It feels like a dream.

It feels like that day.

Only the steady beating in his chest convinced him otherwise.

This can't last, can it? Angel's been far too accustomed to the temporary when it came to Buffy. He sees the big picture - or is forced to see it, because of the longevity of his life. It's a natural human defense mechanism to only be able to live for the now.

It can't last, but he wants it to.

[chose]

There is a part of Buffy which understands just as well that this cannot last. But there is an equally (if not more) powerful part of her that needs to ignore that fact, if only for the time being. A part that, from childhood, was promised the world and anything else she could possibly desire, only to have it violently torn away at the tender age of fifteen. A part that still dreams of a far away land with a castle and her charming prince, naïve though it may be. It's the part of her that never grew up, while the rest of her was forced to do so quicker than expected and in rather unpleasant ways.

"Been up long?" wonders Buffy, instinctively burrowing in closer to him, still utterly giddy at the idea that she can soak up his body heat. He has body heat. It's all that a girl could ever dream of, which makes it so difficult to think clearly at times like these, and to be rational. To understand that there is no forever for them, no matter how hard she might wish it so.

[todoright]

She's not the only one that's surprised to feel his heart beat and the fact that there is blood pumping through his veins or mundane things like back pain that has become an unfortunate reality sometimes, when he forgets that he's human and overexerts himself. Every sense is natural as opposed to landing squarely on the 'super' end of that spectrum, but he still feels her small body burrowing closer to him and this time, the requisite hunger and the ache at the back of his throat is gone.

"Not too long," he replies casually - knowing that the truth will inspire worry in her, but he can't deny that it's cute when she does. Still, Angel sugarcoats, even with these small things. If she knew, she'd be furious - but she doesn't, and that's what counts.