Before there was a couple on every show, before the term OTP was common knowledge, back when we were just starting to get used to the word ‘ships’ …there was Buffy and Angel.
They weren’t the first couple that captured our imaginations, but they were one of the special ones, because it’s been a good twenty years since the show premiered and here we still are, talking about them.
And sure – they were together, and then they weren’t, and they moved on (or didn’t), but we still believe – like Sarah Michelle Gellar, that Angel is the guy for Buffy. He will always be the guy for Buffy. And their journey might not be playing out on our TV screens right now, but it’s not over. Death could not stop their love, after all …what’s time going to do?
So, here are our ABCs of Buffy/Angel, because we love them so much there’s enough love for every letter of the alphabet!
A is for Always
Because no matter what happens – no matter who happens, no matter the time or the place, Buffy will always be Angel’s girl. Always.
B is for Bad-ass
Which is what Buffy is – separate from Angel. And also, what Angel is, not because of Buffy or for her alone, but because he’s made a choice to be. Yes, they make each other better …but they’re pretty damn impressive when they’re not together too!
C is for Carbon-Dated
Which is basically what Angel is. He’s not old – he’s ancient. And yet, a very modern girl and a truly old-fashioned man, I mean vampire, can still find middle ground. That’s the thing about love!
D is for Dateville
Which, for Buffy and Angel, was bump after bump – you know, dating a vampire while you’re a slayer has its ups and downs. And yet, they never gave up on each other. They kept trying. That’s what you do when you care, isn’t it?
E is for Eternal
Because Angel said “I love you. Nothing can change that. Not even death,” and then he and Buffy both proved it. Love like theirs endures. Forever.
F is for Fate
Because, a vampire in love with a slayer? What is that but fate? What is that but The Powers that Be pulling the strings? How can we look at these two and think that “the greatest love story” Joss ever told could end in any other way than with the two of them together.
G is for Grandest
Or, as Joss Whedon said it: “Buffy and Angel is the grandest love story I will ever tell.”
H is for Happiness
The kind that’s so overwhelming, so infinite, you can lose your soul over it. Literally. And yet, when you get it back, you can still feel like it was all worth it. What other couple can say that?
J is for Jealousy
But not the kind of jealousy that wishes to own or control, no, the kind of jealousy that wants something it cannot have and yet, it cannot resign itself to the loss. If everything was ideal, if they both could choose, Buffy and Angel would always choose each other.
K is for Kisses
All the kisses. The ones they had, the ones they dreamed of, the ones they might yet get to have. The quiet ones and the loving ones and the desperate ones. We want them all – and more!
L is for Love
The type of love that time, space and even death cannot alter. Because Both Buffy and Angel know what it’s like to die and come back to life still loving each other just as much – or, if possible, more than they did before. And there’s not many couples (in fact, are there any others?) who can say that.
M is for More
Because Buffy said “I loved him more than I will ever love anything in this life” and Angel said “In 243 I’ve loved exactly one person …you,” and that’s the kind of love that endures.
N is for Normal
A Vampire and a Slayer having a normal life? That’s impossible! And yet, for all of the supernatural things going on around them, when Buffy and Angel were together they were just that …a normal couple. That’s all they wanted to be.
O is for Office Romance
Or code for slayers-shouldn’t-really-be-having-affairs-with-vampires-right? But hey, when it’s love, it’s love. Even with the undead.
P is for Passion
Passion cannot rule an OTP, but every OTP that has ever worked has had it, and Buffy and Angel were not the exception. In fact, if possible, the fact that they had to keep their passion in check just took the sexual tension to new and seemingly impossible levels of angst. Want pain? Re-watch Season 3 of Buffy.
Q is for Quotable
Because these two have so many lines that we repeat, over and over again:
“If I was blind I would see you”
“No matter what I’ll always be with you.”
“When I look into the future all I see is you. All I want is you.”
R is for Respect
If there’s one thing about these two is that they respect each other. Buffy is not damsel in distress and Angel is no lost boy in need of a savior. They’re both strong, capable and independent and they know that about each other. They operate based on that fact. They would never put the other down.
S is for Soul
The one that allowed Angel to love Buffy, and the one that let him accept the fact that she could indeed love him back. The one that dreams of a future together. The one that will never stop yearning.
T is for Together
And that’s the dream, isn’t it? For Buffy and Angel, the dream has never been anything but that – a future together. That thing which, for a normal couple, would be just the start and for them is the sweetest dream in the world.
U is for Us
Against the world. Against all the bad guys this Earth can throw at us, and a few others that come straight from Hell. Because when Buffy and Angel are together, is there anything that can truly get in their way?
V is for Vampire
Because it never mattered to Buffy that Angel was a vampire and she was a human – no, a vampire slayer. Their love was never about who they were supposed to be or how they were supposed to behave – it was about who they were, and what they brought out in each other.
W is for Whole
Because they are whole together in a way that they’ve never managed while apart. Not because they can’t function without each other, they obviously can, but because when you meet the one person who makes you better, the one person who inspires you, the one person who makes you look forward to every day together – that’s who you want to be with. Forever.
X is for Xander
The boy Buffy might have ended up if it weren’t for Angel. The entitled best friend who thinks he deserves to be with the girl just because he’s her friend. That guy. Thank you for saving us from this pairing, Angel!
Y is for Yearn
Otherwise known as the constant state of existence for Buffy and Angel. When you love something so much and you can’t have it there’s always a buzzing, a sense of something missing. Each other – that’s what they’re missing.
Z is for Zealous
Because these reason these two are not together is because, time and time again, they put others – and the world at large – first. And needed be, they will continue to. That’s what heroes are for.
Agree? Disagree? Have your own ABCs for Buffy and Angel? Share with us in the comments below!
