Title: Exhilarating
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Angel, Buffy.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 350
Spoilers: Early Season Two.
Summary: Angel relishes fighting alongside Buffy.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 393: Amnesty 65 at fan_flashworks, using Challenge 83: Fight.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.



Angel’s blood no longer circulated the way it had when he was human and alive, but even though he couldn’t enjoy the adrenaline rush of fighting, it still gave him a thrill to engage the enemy alongside Buffy.

Fighting demons and other vampires made him feel he was doing something good for once. He’d slaughtered his way across Europe and the Orient, left so much death and destruction in his wake before his soul was restored, but all that was behind him now. He’d made a vow to help Buffy in any way he could, and the best way of doing that was to be her champion, covering her back in battle.

It was exhilarating, but not in the same way as when he’d been a soulless monster, revelling in the fear and panic he evoked in his victims. Memories of his former bloodlust made him feel soiled somehow, unclean, while this… There was a kind of purity to it; not a sense of righteousness, because his soul would be forever stained with the evil he’d committed, but still a feeling of doing what was good, what was honourable, battling evil to make the world a safer place for humanity. He was a protector now, rather than something people needed to protect themselves against.

As for Buffy, in the midst of battle she was a force of nature, spinning, kicking, punching, driving a stake through the heart of one vampire before whirling to face the next. Watching her fight was a privilege, while being permitted to fight at her side was an honour he didn’t deserve.

The last vampire exploded into a cloud of dust and Buffy stopped, poised and ready, scanning her surroundings, alert for further threats. She was breathing hard from the exertion, her skin flushed and her hair in disarray. To Angel’s eyes, she’d never looked more glorious.

“Did we get them all?”

Angel nodded, then realised Buffy wasn’t looking at him, her eyes still searching the darkness.

“Looks like it.”

“Seven in one evening; Giles will be so pleased. Another decisive victory for the good guys.”


The End