TITLE: Fireworks
AUTHOR: Lex, lex@bitchenvy.com
RATING: Tame for me. I'd say PG-13.
SYNOPSIS: Buffy and Angel cuteness on the fourth of July. It's fluff. Deal with it.
SPOILERS: Nary a one. From "Innocence" on has not happened here. In my universe, things are happy, damn it!
DISCLAIMER: Let's see. Buffy, Angel, and anyone else you recognize from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" do not belong to me. They are the property of Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy/WB/FOX and probably a couple of other people. I'm just borrowing them for a bit of angst free fun. That's right, you heard me, angst free. Don't pass out from the shock.
FEEDBACK: Please. It's always welcomed.
The sound of a fist being applied violently to his door brought Angel out of a very nice dream involving Special Agent Dana Scully, Buffy, and a pair of *very* sturdy handcuffs.
//Damn, I'll have to write that dream down and post it to alt.sex.stories. Who knew that Dana Scully would be so flexible -- //
The banging resumed.
"Angel, honey, you in there?"
//Oooo. Buffy. Maybe I can talk her into getting a pair of those 'cuffs -- //
The door vibrated from the force of her pounding.
"Coming, Buff. I'm coming. Be there in a second."
Angel dragged his butt out of bed, crossed his apartment in a couple long-legged strides, and wrenched open the door. Buffy was standing there, arms crossed in front of her, right foot tapping out a seriously annoyed beat.
He gulped. //Uh-oh.//
"Hi, honey," he schmoozed, purposely using his most adorable, most endearing grin.
"What took you so long to open the door?" she questioned archly. "Got someone else in here I should know about?" Pushing past him, she entered the room, eyes searching around for any potential threats.
"N-no, I was just sleeping, it *is* still bedtime for me, remember?"
Buffy had the grace to look abashed. "Oh, Angel, baby, I'm sorry. I forgot. With school being out, my days are a little mixed up. It's not of the good." She walked over to the fridge and withdrew a diet Coke. She popped the top and took a long swallow. "So, it's the Fourth of July. I thought we might do Fourth of July type stuff."
Angel closed the door and walked across the room. "Such as..."
"Oh, you know, the usual. Have a cookout -- well, we can't do that 'cause you can't go out yet, and well, you don't eat, so scratch that, but...fireworks?"
"Call me crazy, but I thought that they canceled fireworks in the rain." He pointed to her slightly damp clothes.
Buffy stuck her tongue out at him. "It's only drizzling."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the sky opened up with a loud clap of thunder. The rain beat against the windows in Angel's apartment, pounding furiously.
He looked at her.
She threw her hands up in the air. "Okay, so no fireworks. But we have to do something! It's like the two hundred and twenty second birthday of our nation."
"*Your* nation. I'm Irish, remember? And you do realize that I am older than the US, right?"
Buffy looked at him, as always slightly amazed when the true difference in their ages was driven home. "Whoa. That's unbelievable. So you saw the whole fight for independence from the British, huh?"
He grinned. "I did my part. I ate my share of redcoats."
Her eyes widened. "Angel! You made a joke! A joke about yourself! I'm so proud of you."
Angel reached over, and hauled the Slayer into his embrace. Squeezing her tightly, he said, "I'd be careful about teasing a vampire. Could be dangerous for you."
Buffy looked up at him, giggling. The love shone from her eyes as she smiled prettily. "I think I can handle it."
He arched an eyebrow. "You think so, little girl?"
"Yeah. I do." Wriggling out of his grasp, she walked over to the bed. Fingering the comforter, she whispered, "Wanna see how?"
Angel nodded his head enthusiastically.
She crooked a finger at him. "C'mere."
Obediently, he walked over to her, moving to touch her again.
"Uh, uh, uh. Grab the end of the blanket."
The frustrated look he shot her was comical. "Can I ask why?"
"Sure. We're gonna spread the blanket on the floor and watch the fireworks on the tv. We can pretend we're outside."
Laughing, he grabbed the edge of the spread, and yanked it off the bed. Together, they moved the couch away from the tv, and threw the blanket on the floor.
Angel plopped down, spreading himself out on the blanket. "This is nice," he noted, closing his eyes. Buffy looked down at him, a grin forming as she realized her cradle robbing creature of the night boyfriend was sound asleep once again. He looked so tempting lying there...
Seconds later, she was curled up against his chest. She let out a small happy sigh, and snuggled closer. Even in his sleep, Angel sensed her presence, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer to his body.
*****
An hour later, Buffy cracked open an eye, noting immediately that Angel was crouched in front of the tv, fiddling with the remote.
"Having technical difficulties, lover?"
"Whaa -- um, no. Not at all."
She eyed him suspiciously. "Give it to me." She held out her hand. Grudgingly, he dropped the remote into it. Buffy clicked the tv on and switched the channel. "There."
Angel frowned, his ego wounded at his inability to work modern technology. Just then, a commercial for the fireworks flashed across the screen.
"Who's hosting this thing?"
"I dunno -- some guy from a tv show or something," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Oh, wait, that must be him."
Buffy's jaw dropped. She whistled. "What a hottie."
"Him? He lookes kind of dorky to me. Must be that hair. What's with that hair?"
"Nope," she shook her head, "Definite hottie material. I should probably call Willow and alert her to the existence of this man."
Angel glared at her. "Well, if you think he's so hot, why don't you go stalk him or something?" he said testily.
Grinning, she patted his knee. "Don't worry, sweetheart. You're *much* better looking. You're the Supreme King of the Hotties."
He puffed up his chest at the praise. "Well then, maybe I can forgive you."
Buffy turned to her boyfriend. "Doesn't he look familiar to you?"
"I think he goes out with that pretty girl from Scream 2 -- you know, the girl that got tossed off of the roof?"
"Awww, I bet they look cute together." Buffy sighed. Then she narrowed her eyes. "You think she's pretty?"
"Yeah she -- no, no, not at all. She's a hag. You blow her away. No competition." Angel shook his head furiously, trying to get himself back into her good graces.
Buffy forgave him. She held out her arms and Angel sat back down next to her, hauling her into his lap. He kissed the top of her head.
"Now watch the fireworks like a good girl."
"Aren't I always a good girl?"
"Sometimes. Hey!" he said as she elbowed him in the ribs. "You're perfect to me, which is why I love you so damn much."
"That was the *correct* answer, thank you very much."
Angel grinned down at her. As the lights and noise from the first set went off, he tipped her head up and claimed her lips.
And the fireworks were soon forgotten.
THE END