Christmas In New York City

Christmas everywhere has it's own traditions. Whether it's with family or friends, but then other people like to visit different places to see how they celebrate Christmas. In New York City Christmas is celebrated with the theme of the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. For this young couple from California this will be a whole new experience.

"Angel, honey I was thinking that maybe we should spend Christmas in New York. It'll be fun," she said with a smile.

"Are you sure? How about your family and friends that you'll be leaving behind?"

"Yes, I'm totally sure. Besides Mom is staying with Aunt Arlene, Willow doesn't celebrate Christmas and her Oz are doing something special. Xander well I know how much you two guys get along. Cordelia I don't want her being near you. Giles is going to England and my Dad has his new girlfriend. I think I've covered all bases. Also there's the factor that I'll see actual snow."

Angel laughed. He couldn't believe how clever she was. Then again that's what he loved about her.

"Okay. Since you want to go to New York we'll go," he said with such little enthusiasm.

"Fine. Be that way. I'll just go by myself and hopefully meet some really cute guy. He'll show me all the sights of the city," Buffy said in all seriousness.

Angel knew that Buffy was joking. He wouldn't let any man touch her. So he had no choice he was going.

"Buffy, sweetheart you know I'm kidding, right? I'd love to spend Christmas with just you and no interruptions," he said looking at her pleadingly.

"You know I should be mad at you right now. But I'm not. So let's get ready."

"Whoa aren't you in rush to leave Sunnydale. Why don't you tell your friends and your mom first? Before everyone thinks I've taken you away from them." He then kissed her.

~*~*~*~*~*

The next couple of days in Sunnydale went pretty smoothly. The vampire population seemed too low so that was great news for Buffy. Buffy met up with all her friends at the library.

"Hey guys!" she said with such enthusiasm.

"Well, well if it isn't the Buffster. Why are you so excited? If I recall we have reports that are going to be done during our Christmas break," Xander said.

"Well can't a girl be happy. Especially me. You know the Chosen One. I really hardly have any breaks to enjoy."

"I can sense something Buffy spill," said Willow.

Buffy smiled from ear to ear. "Well if you must know. I'm going to spend Christmas with Angel."

"Gee, Buffy that's nothing new. You always have him over your house for Christmas," Cordelia said.

Willow noticed something about Buffy when she said that.

"I know Cordelia we always spend Christmas at my house, but this year we're going to spend it in New York City." Buffy was waiting for the reactions of her friends.

"That's so romantic."

"I can't believe your going to New York with him."

"Good Luck. I heard there's a lot of crazy lunatics and muggers over there."

Buffy rolled her eyes at Cordelia comment. 'She's just jealous because Angel won't be around for her to put her hooks in him.'

"Yes, I agree with you their Willow. I knew you'd react that way Xander. I will never understand why you can't accept my relationship with Angel."

"Hello! There's the factor that he's older than you and could take advantage of you. What more do you want me to tell you." Willow smacked him in the arm and looked at him.

"What did I say? It's the truth and you know it," Xander said looking at Willow.

"How can you be so inconsiderate? You know Angel would never take advantage of her. He loves her too much to pressure her into something she's not ready to do."

Cordelia was watching the whole scene before her. She kept wondering when would Xander stop his obsession with Buffy.

Giles entered the room and noticed everyone was there. He was inside his office researching the other Watcher diaries.

"Buffy it's good to see you. So what's new?"

"Nothing much Giles. Just that I'll be spending Christmas in New York."

"That's wonderful. I hope you have a great time."

Xander couldn't believe Giles' reaction. How could he just accept what she had said without any questions?

"Giles did you hear what Buffy just told you? She's going to New York and with Angel."

"Yes, Xander I heard her and I had the feeling she'd be with Angel. That's why I see no need to worry."

~*~*~*~*~*

Angel came by Buffy's house later in the evening. He was going to tell Joyce where he and Buffy were going to spend Christmas. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Buffy came rushing down the stairs quickly. She knew who was at the other end of the door. She opened the door, saw Angel and jumped into his arms.

"I missed you today. I was so bored in all my classes. I was just counting the hours until you were going to come," Buffy said and kissed him.

"Really. I was thinking the same thing. I guess great minds think alike." He then placed her down and entered the house. She took his hand and they sat down on the couch.

Joyce came out and saw them. She could tell how much her daughter loves Angel. She noticed it by the look they gave each other when they were in a room.

"Hello Angel." They both stepped out of their reverie to notice Joyce.

"Mom. I didn't hear you come in."

"Hello Mrs. Summers," he said, stood up and placed a kiss on her cheek. He went back down and sat next to Buffy.

"So Angel I hear you have something you wanted to ask me. So ask me?"

There was a part of Angel that was nervous about asking Buffy's mother permission. Buffy sensed this and gently squeezed his hand.

"Mrs. Summers I was wondering if it's not a problem that Buffy could spend Christmas with me in New York?" Angel was waiting for all the reasons why Buffy wouldn't be able to spend the holiday with him. What he heard was totally unexpected.

"Sure. As long as you take care of my daughter. I can't see why not."

Buffy was stunned by her mother's response. She couldn't believe she was hearing this from her own mother. "Mom, are you okay? Did you hear what Angel said?"

Joyce laughed. "Yes, Buffy I heard what he said. That doesn't mean I'll allow this all the time."

Buffy hugged her mother. "Thanks Mom."

~*~*~*~*~*

Today was the day. Buffy decided to spend last night at Angel's. Even though there was little sleeping.

"Wake up Buffy."

"I want to go back to sleep," Buffy said sleepily.

"Fine then. I guess we won't be going to New York then."

"I'm up. Let's get ready." Angel knew saying that would wake her up.

~*~*~*~*~*

They were done packing their bags and headed to the airport. The flight would be six hours. So definitely when they arrived they would be tired. The flight went smoothly. They took a taxi from La Guardia Airport to Manhattan. Buffy and Angel stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which was located at 301 Park Ave and 50th St. Both of them were so tired that they only took off their shoes and headed straight to bed.

A couple of hours later Angel woke up first. He felt a bit uncomfortable because of his clothes. Sleeping with jeans on can do that to a person. Of course with Buffy right next to him he didn't really feel the discomfort. She shifted slightly and buried her head against his chest. Buffy always loved the feeling of her head on his chest. It was just the perfect fit.

"Hey. How long was I out?" she said sleepily.

"Not that long. So do you want to buy a tree?" he asked.

"Really? We can get a tree and ornaments. Then we can sit by a roaring fire and drink hot chocolate," she said childishly.

"Yeah, we can do all that. Let's change and go out." He leaned his head down and kissed her.

~*~*~*~*~*

Now they both wondered where they were going to find a tree and ornaments to decorate it. Angel asked desk clerk if knew where he could find a tree, decorations and stores to buy gifts. The man told him go to Lexington Ave. It wasn't that far off it was only one block across. Since they were going to buy a tree Angel figured that he should get the decorations first and get the tree on their way home. As they stepped out the sky was blue and the stars were out. The weather was 46 degrees and very windy. If you didn't live in New York then you're probably not use to the cold weather.

"Angel's it's freezing outside," Buffy said. She was all bundled up with her coat, hat, gloves and scarf on.

"Buffy we're in New York City in December. It's cold here during this time. Don't worry we won't take long. Let's start walking and we'll go to the nearest Rite Aid store."

They walked to their destination. As soon as they were in the store they felt the warmth of the heat. Angel bought all different kinds of ornaments, lights, candy canes and tinsel; let's not forget the mistletoe. When they were done shopping they found a man on the sidewalk selling Christmas trees. Buffy went looking around for the perfect tree. She spotted one.

"Look Angel. I found the perfect tree."

The tree was the perfect size. It wasn't too tall or too short. The scent of the pine from the tree had such a smell that made you feel like being home.

"I can see that. I wonder which one of us is going carry it?"

"Come on Angel. Be the strong and loving boyfriend that you are."

"Flattery will get you everywhere. The things I do for you."

Buffy just smiled at him. Angel paid for the tree. He hailed for a cab and they arrived back to their hotel room. When they headed upstairs they placed their bags on the floor and Angel placed the tree in the corner. Buffy took a seat and looked at him and the room. She just realized how beautiful the suite was.

"Angel, this room is so beautiful. This must have cost you a fortune. You didn't have to go through all this trouble." The view of the suite was exquisite. The bedroom was enormous. From the outside you could see the taxicabs and people walking down the streets. The sky was gray and snow had just started to fall down.

"Buffy, honey you know that when it comes to you money is no object. Come on let's start decorating the tree."

They took out all the ornaments and lights out of the bag and started to decorate the tree. When they were done decorating you could see how beautiful it was. They had lights around the tree that were flashing, ornaments of red, green, gold and silver, tinsel, candy canes and a shining star on top. The only thing that the tree was missing was gifts. Well that problem would be solved by tomorrow.

"Angel I was wondering if you could make me some hot chocolate," Buffy asked.

"Sure just let me set up the fireplace and I'll go make it." While Angel was arranging the wood in the fireplace, Buffy slipped her boots off. She then sat down on the carpeted floor waiting for Angel's return. As if she could sense him he sat down beside her and handed her a mug. Buffy placed herself in between his legs and laid her back against his chest. She then placed her candy cane in her mug, swirled it around and took a sip. The warmth of the chocolate and the cool mint soothe her body. Angel placed his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. Buffy turned her head and looked into his eyes.

"Angel have you ever tried tasting the hot chocolate with a piece of mint?" she said this while she placed the mint into the hot chocolate and licked it off with her tongue.

"No. Care to show me a demonstration," he said as he flashed her a wicked grin.

Buffy did the same thing she had done previously except she broke off a piece of the mint, kissed him, opened his mouth with her tongue and let him taste it. The taste was exhilarating. Angel loved sucking on her tongue to taste her even more. Buffy pulled away briefly and leaned her forehead against his.

"Wow. That was a whole new experience," she said breathlessly.

"Uh huh."

Buffy turned around facing the fire and Angel wrapped his arms around her while they watched the wood crackling in the fireplace.

The next morning Buffy and Angel were in bed. After Buffy's little demonstration last night they both decided to take it to the next level, which was the bedroom. Buffy stirred up and felt a slight pain in her body. The pain wasn't bad, but good actually. Her head was on his chest. His arm was around her shoulder. She slowly shifted her body on top of his, slowly kissing his chest, letting her breasts graze on him and kissed him. Angel felt his body getting aroused by Buffy's movements. When he felt his lips on hers he thought his body was going on fire. He deepens the kiss, placed his hands on her back and pulled her closer to his body. The body heat between these two was increasing rapidly.

"Morning," he said as he released the kiss.

"Morning Angel," she said then kissed him again. She released the kiss and rubbed her body against his.

"Angel, honey I was thinking we could repeat last night's performance," she said batting her eyes innocently.

"Hmm. Buffy I want you…" His voice sounded as if he was about to interject.

"But what Angel? We're in New York. We're far away from family. We also have no interruptions. So what's wrong?"

Angel laughed. She had all her reasons laid out before him.

"Buffy, honey I thought maybe we'd go Christmas shopping; unless you'd rather want to stay here with me. We could just stay in bed and come Christmas I wouldn't have anything to give you," he said innocently.

Buffy was in deep thought. 'Staying in bed with Angel. That's not bad at all. Then there's the factor of not receiving any gifts. I love gifts.'

"Okay. You win, but you have to promise me that you're not going to complain about my long hours of shopping." Then another thought occurred to her.

"Angel, how am I suppose to buy your gift when you're around?"

"If you want we'll get our friends gifts first. Then for our gifts to each other we'll split up." She nodded in agreement.

~*~*~*~*~*

When they were outside Buffy noticed all the different kind of stores on the East Side. From Saks Fifth Avenue to Salvatore Ferragano. The two stores that caught her attention like a child were FAO Schwartz and The Warner Bros. Store. She heard FAO was a big toy store. Each floor had different types of toys from bears to dolls. There was a section that had jellybeans. Buffy went over and tried some.

"Buffy I don't think the candy is there for you to try."

"Shh, don't tell anyone. Have one." She placed a jellybean in his mouth. It tasted good in his mouth.

"Let me buy some. So are you getting anything?"

"Yeah, I saw some bears that I wanted for my room. You could never have enough toy bears." Angel looked at her explaining her reason for wanting a toy bear.

They paid for their purchases and headed to Warner Bros. From the outside you could see the elevator showing Superman pushing it up.

"Look up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's Superman," Buffy said like a child.

Angel laughed. He led them inside the store. Angel had never seen so much memorabilia of cartoons. They had souvenirs from various television shows as well.

"Ooh. Look Angel Tweety! Can you get it for me? Please?" she said with her lip pouting.

"Do you have to make that face? You know how helpless I get when you do that. I'll get it, but you have to buy me a Bugs Bunny one."

"You like Bugs Bunny, why?" she asked. Angel approached her and his lips only inches apart from her and said, "Because he's funny and very sneaky just like me." He then kissed her.

As they left the store it was time for them to go their separate ways. Buffy and Angel decided to meet back at the hotel at 9 pm. Who ever arrived first would wait for the other. Buffy had no clue what to get Angel. Angel on the other hand had no problem looking for the right gift.

Buffy found all the gifts she wanted for Angel and a surprise for him as well. She headed back to the hotel. When she arrived she found Angel waiting for her.

"I see someone had fun shopping," he said smiling. Buffy had a huge amount of shopping bags.

"I'll have you know that not everything in this bag is for you mister," she said looking at him.

They took the elevator up to their suite. Buffy and Angel placed their gifts under the tree.

"Angel I'm hungry."

"Okay. I'll order us something." He called room service. Twenty minutes later a bellboy came with their food.

As they ate they both glanced at one another.

"Hmm. Angel this is so delicious."

~*~*~*~*~*

The next day they both stayed in. After all the shopping they had done they were both exhausted. Today was the annual tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. Buffy turned on the TV and saw the announcement. She had always heard about the big tree and the ice skating rink. Angel heard voices and wondered where it came from.

"Honey do you realize what time it is? Come back to sleep," he said sleepily pulling her down.

"I wanna go see the tree Angel," she said all excited.

"Okay we'll go. Just come and sleep," he said incoherently. Angel had no idea what he got himself into.

~*~*~*~*~*

They got up and got ready to go to Rockefeller Center. As they arrived by train on 6th Avenue and 50th St they passed by Radio City Music Hall. Then they spotted the tree. It was really tall. Buffy and Angel had never seen a Christmas tree like that. People everywhere were walking, standing or sitting around Rockefeller Center. As time went by they ate. Buffy dragged Angel to a spot so they could have a perfect view of the tree for the lighting.

"Buffy it's only one pm. The show starts at seven. Don't you think we're here early? What are we going to do for the next six hours?"

"We'll look around and wait. You promised me, remember?"

"Yes, I remember." He then kissed her.

Time seemed to be ticking by very slowly, but eventually it got dark and 7 pm arrived. The music started and hosts of the show appeared. Al Roker and Ann Curry from NBC 4 started the show off. There was music played by from Destiny's Child, 98 degrees and Marc Anthony. As for the people skating on the rink you had Tara Lipinski. Santa and the Radio City Rockettes performed as well. Finally the Mayor of New York City Rudolph Guliani appeared to start the countdown.

"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1"

The lights of the tree flashed. The colors of red, blue, green and also white bright lights were flashing. During the show they gave the history of the tree. It came from a family upstate in New York. The tree stood up eighty feet tall and was adorned with 30,000 lights.

Buffy leaned back on Angel. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Isn't it beautiful Angel? Look how the colors shine."

"Sure is."

The rest of Rockefeller was beautiful as well. The skating rink had trees adorned around with white lights twined on them. People were also skating in the rink.

"Buffy as much as I'd like to stay. My feet are killing me and it's freezing."

"Gee you sure know how to ruin a romantic mood." He lifted his eyebrows at her comment.

"But you're right let's go."

~*~*~*~*~*

The following two weeks have pasted and today was Christmas Eve. There was snow falling outside on the streets of Manhattan. As the evening approached Buffy thought she'd be spending it inside.

"Buffy, honey I thought it'd be nice if we went to Mass for Christmas Eve."

Buffy's face had a look of disappointment. She had different plans. Her were plans in the line of making love with Angel. Angel saw her face. 'She doesn't want to go. I guess I'm going to have to explain.'

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just…" She couldn't think of a real reason.

"Buffy when I was a little boy I'd always attended Mass with my parents. I know I never mentioned them or attended Mass in Sunnydale."

"Fine. I'll go with you. Where to?" she asked.

"St. Patrick's Cathedral. I heard that the church's architecture and stained glass windows look magnificent." Angel's face was lit up when he was talking about this.