Getting On...

* * * * * * * * *

PART 23

“Um, I guess what I’m trying to say, Sir…” Angel swallowed hard, his eyes darting nervously away from Rupert Giles to skim skittishly over the form of the man’s lover, “Um, I mean Sirs… is that I… well, that is, Buffy and I were um…”

Oh, bloody hell. There was no way the young man was ever going to manage to spit it out in the next few hours, Ethan decided, and as he had some fairly time-sensitive plans for his beloved, that just wouldn’t do.

“Are you planning to shack up, or do you intend to do the honorable thing and marry the girl?” Ethan demanded, his lips twisting into an obviously evil smirk when Liam Aurelius blushed, then paled, then started to stammer. “After all,” he continued as though the elder Aurelius brother wasn’t making a sound, “We would like some grandchildren eventually and Buffy isn’t getting any younger, is she? It’s not as though we can look to Xander for that, and Willow has many more years of school ahead of her.” His smirk deepened. “Well, boy? Speak up, for God’s sake!”

Rupert barely held in the loud laugh he felt building in his chest. He had been the one to insist upon Ethan’s presence during the ‘meeting’ the large and glowery-looking Liam had insisted upon, and now… well, now he knew why. His lover had never been one to pull punches, after all, and in this case, it was entirely too amusing to see the puffed-up young man at a loss.

Of course, he also felt a tiny twinge of sympathy for the fellow. He could only imagine what it would have been like had he ever been in similar state, so as much as he hated to deny Ethan further amusement, he stretched out one hand, taking his love’s oddly long fingers in his own and squeezing slightly.

“I believe that what Ethan means to say is… we’d like to know your intentions, Liam. Buffy is a good bit younger than you are, and while she has never been foolish with regards to… romantic entanglements, she seems to be rather more taken with you than would indicate a casual connection.”

Okay, it took him a good fifteen seconds to work through what Buffy’s father meant, but that was better than trying to find a way to respond to her Uncle’s insinuations and downright rude comments.

Of course, none of that made what he had to say any easier.

“Um… we want to… I mean, I know…” And there was no way to put it politely; not when he was so fucking flustered just because two old guys were staring at him… and suddenly Angel understood how Rupert Giles and Ethan Rayne always managed to come out on top. They were scary. Individually scary, but even more so when they were together, as they were right then.

“I love her,” Angel finally said, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two older males’. “And she loves me. And I know she’s younger and all that but we get each other. I… honestly, Sirs, I’ve never felt anything like this and I know it’s fast and everything, but…” He gulped, even as he clenched his fingers into fists and hoped for the best. “I do want to marry her. I almost asked her earlier, but… Hell. I figured it would be best to do this the old fashioned way, you know? More… romantic.”

Ethan who saw the nearly invisible eye-roll Liam Aurelius was trying to hide, though the subtle shaking of Ripper’s shoulders mere moments later told him that he wasn’t the only one. ‘Well, well,’ he thought with a great deal of internal laughter, ‘she’s got him firmly wrapped around her finger already. Nice to know that all my years of coaching haven’t gone to waste.’

Rupert Giles didn’t even have to look at his beloved to know what the man was thinking. Fortunately, he found it all equally funny although he took great pains to keep that particular expression from his face.

Instead, he sighed dramatically—almost too much so—before nodding slowly. “Well. I can’t say that I have any particular objections, assuming Buffy is willing to hear your suit. Ask her, Liam, and if she agrees, then we can set our legal staffs on it and try to come to some sort of equitable arrangement.”

The older men somehow held in their laughter until the tall, dark and broody younger man had left the room looking stunned. Once he was gone, however…

“Oh, bloody hell, that was fun…” Rupert gasped, small tears leaking from the corners of his eyes as he collapsed back in his chair.

“Ripper… the boy’s so bloody twisted up in his knickers, he’ll be decades getting untangled! That girl is a master!”

The laughter continued nearly to morning, though it changed many times… and if there were a few loud-soft-cried-whispered pleas thrown in randomly, well… they’d been together for a very long time and both of them were rather good at… multi-tasking.

* * * * *

It always made Oz uncomfortable to be with his girl in her family’s home, and not just because he worked for her father in more than one capacity.

It would be one thing if he and Willow were a recognized ‘item’, but since they were secretly involved, he had no way of explaining why he was in Willow’s wing of the house at an hour that would normally have had him at home in his bed. Or at Willow’s dorm in her bed.

Unfortunately, he’d gotten way too used to sleeping beside her over the last year or so, and now… he just couldn’t stand being in an empty bed.

So he snuck, using what degree of stealth he’d managed to acquire since their whole relationship had begun. It didn’t make him feel good about it, though.

He didn’t truly believe that his Boss—or bosses, if he included Ethan, who only a moron would disregard—would have too much of a problem with the idea of him being involved with Willow. They’d known him forever, after all, but still there was the difference in their… situations, not to mention…

There were certain things that Oz was sure would upset the two men if they found out by accident rather than by design, and… honestly, sneaking around where he had no legitimate reason to be might just clue them to the truth… or enough of the truth to make things very… uncomfortable for him and Willow.

And now, according to his better half, Xander knew about them.

He’d be damned if he had any idea of exactly how the brunette man might have figured it out, but Willow was sure of it and that… worried Oz.

Xander and Rupert Giles had always been very close, after all. Even after Xander had up and left home, he and his father had kept in touch. It wasn’t likely that Xander would keep Willow’s secret forever, and that meant…

“Oh, hell,” Oz groaned to himself as he slipped silently through a doorway and into more appropriate parts of the house. “I’m gonna have to tell Giles and just… hope for the best.”

He nearly jumped out of his own skin when a quiet chuckle answered his despondent words.

“That would probably be a really, really bad idea, buddy. Dad’s probably going to be kind of upset soon, so you might want to pick your time a little bit better.” Xander grinned dangerously, baring even white teeth. “Assuming you were talking about telling him what’s going on with you and Willow. You know Willow, right? About so tall, red hair, cute as a bug in a rug. My little sister. That Willow.”

And fuck. Things just kept getting better and better.

He was totally nailed, Xander obviously did know what was happening, and… the brunette clearly wasn’t happy about it.

“Uh… look, Xander, I never… I mean, I don’t even know how it happened, okay? One minute we were just friends and hanging out when we both had time and the next thing I knew, we were all…” Oz swallowed hard, editing his words before they could leave his lips. “I… it’s not like I planned it or anything! I mean, how could I know she was gonna be so… Willow!”

Damn… if William hadn’t been waiting for him in his bed, Xander would have spent a bit longer tormenting his friend, simply for the sake of impressing upon the younger man just how much he didn’t like being kept in the dark. But Will was waiting and while Xander truly did want to make sure that his baby sister wasn’t heading for a world of heartache, he was somehow far less worried about her than Buffy. He was pretty sure he knew the kind of man Oz was, after all.

He found himself frowning slightly, the grimace of a smile fading from his face as though it had never been.

“Fine,” Xander said after another moment, “For now. But we are going to sit down and talk about this. No details about… stuff!” He announced the last with one hand held up in the universal ‘stop’ gesture. “Tomorrow. After the dinner but before the dancing. Arrange to be free, Oz, or… well, you won’t like it. Okay?”

It would take some rearranging of his schedule, but Oz nodded almost eagerly. It was cool that Xander knew some of the truth, but if he could get the guy on his and Willow’s side, then maybe the rest of it wouldn’t come as such a shock to Giles and the others.

“Just tell me where,” Oz agreed slowly.

* * * * *

“Well?” Buffy demanded worriedly after exchanging one swift kiss with her boyfriend, “What did he say?”

Angel almost wanted to laugh but he had a sneaking suspicion that Buffy wouldn’t take that at all well… or that she would take it too well and then be upset when she heard what had really happened.

He smiled a bit uncertainly as he held her close. He hadn’t been able to spend the night with her, after all, and he’d missed her.

“I’m supposed to ask you. And if you say yes…”

Hazel eyes rolled and Buffy snorted softly and delicately. “I’m saying yes. Now what?”

Angel did laugh then. “No, you’re not. You’re saying yes later tonight. After I ask you very romantically, with all the attendees as witnesses. So look surprised, love… and remember to gush over the ring.”

The fact that Angel was kissing her long and hard was the only thing that kept Buffy from laughing as well. She did wonder about the ring, of course, because Angel had told her he’d bought it himself nearly a week earlier, and since Heinrich had given Darla the family ring when they’d married and the couple had disappeared along with their yacht so many years earlier, it couldn’t be the famous Aurelius diamond. But Angel insisted that he wanted to surprise her, and… if she didn’t like it, Buffy knew Angel would replace it with one she really wanted.

Her arms tightened around his big body, her hands resting at the small indentations just above his buttocks… and when he finally straightened, pulling his lips from hers, she smiled. “I’ll look as surprised as I was last night,” she promised, “but tell me what they said.”

Buffy sighed silently as Angel explained.

If her father and Uncle Ethan really meant all that, it would be months before Angel was really hers!

Of course, it could take even longer to plan a wedding, she reminded herself, and if she started right away…

Her lips twitched into a sly grin and she laughed softly, already picturing flights of doves and horse-drawn carriages.

Angel nearly groaned when he saw the wicked smile on his girl’s face. She was plotting again. Of course, he’d enjoyed her plots so far, so… yeah. Let her scheme. As long as it ended up with them married and together, he didn’t mind at all.

* * * * *

tbc...

(A/N: Huge thanks to those who have reviewed thus far-- namely: shikiblade, LeSang, Raitseka, Shandrith, dkdaemon, and dkdaemon AGAIN! :P

Adore hearing that people are reading and liking. In fact, it makes me post more and faster! LOL

So thanks tonnes. You all ROCK!!!)