Angel winces. "She... She brought up the fact that... you're still young, and..." he really feels like he's throwing Joyce under the bus if he tells Buffy what was said, and he knows Joyce had good intentions. But looking back now, he recognizes that it was misguided, in more ways than one. Finally, he just sighs. "She didn't mean for it to play on my mind like it did, but after the mayor..."
"What I mean is, I think we—" he shakes his head; he's done deciding what's best for Buffy, even in hindsight. He does think it was best, in the long run, for them to be apart for a while, but he's not going to speak for her anymore. "Buffy. When I first saw you, the day you were called — if you'd seen me, you would've avoided me at least, and possibly called the cops on the creepy homeless guy.
"I will never regret meeting you. Or falling in love with you. But I've never... had a chance to be a good person, on my own, away from you, to prove that I could. I've never had friends at all until being with you, but it wasn't until I moved to LA that I had any friends that weren't yours first. At least, I'm assuming you don't wanna claim Cordelia or Wes as friends?"
He frowns a little, looking down at his hands in thought. "I needed to leave, to get perspective on us, and to learn how to be someone on my own. To know that I could be a good man, even if it wasn't for you. It's because of you, but it's not for you, anymore."
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Angel winces. "She... She brought up the fact that... you're still young, and..." he really feels like he's throwing Joyce under the bus if he tells Buffy what was said, and he knows Joyce had good intentions. But looking back now, he recognizes that it was misguided, in more ways than one. Finally, he just sighs. "She didn't mean for it to play on my mind like it did, but after the mayor..."
"What I mean is, I think we—" he shakes his head; he's done deciding what's best for Buffy, even in hindsight. He does think it was best, in the long run, for them to be apart for a while, but he's not going to speak for her anymore. "Buffy. When I first saw you, the day you were called — if you'd seen me, you would've avoided me at least, and possibly called the cops on the creepy homeless guy.
"I will never regret meeting you. Or falling in love with you. But I've never... had a chance to be a good person, on my own, away from you, to prove that I could. I've never had friends at all until being with you, but it wasn't until I moved to LA that I had any friends that weren't yours first. At least, I'm assuming you don't wanna claim Cordelia or Wes as friends?"
He frowns a little, looking down at his hands in thought. "I needed to leave, to get perspective on us, and to learn how to be someone on my own. To know that I could be a good man, even if it wasn't for you. It's because of you, but it's not for you, anymore."