SERIES: Passing Time (POV #2-- Cordelia)
AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue
E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com
DISCLAIMER: Not Joss. Own no-one he created.
RATING: R-ish, I'd say.
PAIRING: A/W/Liam
DISTRIBUTION: Charity, Jen:), anyone else I've said yes to... others, just ask.
FEEDBACK: sure.
DEDICATIONS: Di, for the challenge; also:Ali, Tania, Nutmeg, Mitch, and Angel S-- for telling me they liked Floored... thanks, luvs!!!
NOTES: Cordy's thoughts on what's happened to date... and * *= emphasis.
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Okay, so I don't know what's going on. And ordinarily, that wouldn't be a big deal for a girl, but... I'm a *Seer*-- Hello! I'm *supposed* to know what's happening! And, yeah, so maybe part of my problem is that even before, I always liked to be in the loop... to know everything that was going on around me, and granted, it was usually so I could use the information for my own benefit, but... I've *changed*! I'm not the same self-centered, me-me-me girl I was in high school. And *yes*, part of the reason for that is that I saw how... unattractive conceit could be when Buffy Summers moved to town, but... that doesn't matter. Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, I'm different now... but I *still* hate being in the dark.
So, there I was, sitting in the lobby of that dusty pile of stone Angel and Willow call 'home', and of course I was talking to Willow... because she's actually a very cool girl, which I would have known a long time ago, if I hadn't been so caught up in my own perfection, but... anyway. I'm talking to Willow about how she can make her move on Broodboy and his human twin, when all of a sudden, my guilt-ridden boss is there. And, okay, he's not as 'I'm gonna sit alone in the dark' as he *used* to be, but he's still a far cry from being anyone's favourite party-animal... except Willow, maybe, but I'm getting to that.
So Broody shows up, and he's looking all... aroused, so I just *know* he wants to talk to my friend, and sure enough, he asks her into his office. Okay, can't blame him for that, and frankly? It was totally past time for him to say *something* to the girl!So she goes, and who do I see standing at the top of the stairs, looking like his world's just died, but Liam... of course, technically, his world *did* just die, but that's not the point. He's looking like that because Willow's in Broodboy's office, and I find myself thinking that maybe he's just a little bit psycho, because, okay, he had a Willow of his own in *his* world, but... he doesn't really know *this* one well enough to have the sky falling just because she's in with Angel. But he looks crushed, so I take him out for coffee, mostly because I have this very strong Seer-y-type feeling that once Broody tells Willow how he really feels, the hotel is the last place Liam's gonna want to be. Of course, *I* don't want to be there, either. I mean, it sucks bad enough not having a sex life of my own, so I *really* don't want to have to listen to my friends'.
Okay, we get to the local Starbuck's, and things are going pretty well. He seems to have pulled out of his funk. *Seems*. Because, when I come back from grabbing a few extra napkins, he looks like he's practicing to face off against Angel in the olympics of Brooding, and oddly enough, it just doesn't look at *all* attractive on this version of my souled-vampire boss. So, now it's up to me to pull him out of it, which I do pretty easily. After all, when you're used to dragging the master of self-flagellation out of his own darkness, it's not too hard to yank a rank amateur into the light, kicking and screaming or not! So he stops thinking about what my redheaded friend and my boss might be up to, and starts talking when I ask him about myself in his world, and let me just say... ewww.
See, it seems that in *his* world, when Buffy showed up in Sunnydale, she was pretty much alone. According to Liam, the only people she had were Giles-- who was rather inept on that timeline-- and Oz, of all people. No Willow, because in *that* world, her parents got divorced when she was ten, because they'd each gotten very good offers to teach from Universities on opposite sides of the country, and she'd moved to San Francisco with her dad. And no Xander, either! He didn't even *know* about a Xander, which I guess makes sense, since it was Willow and Sunnydale he knew about... Willow, by virtue of the three years he'd had with her, and Sunnydale, well, because of the whole 'Eternal Warrior for the PTB' thing.
So, anyway, when Buffy showed up in Sunnydale, she just had her Watcher, and a guitar player, and... when she went down into the tunnels after the Master, she died, just like she did here, only... there was no Angel to go after her, and no Xander to breathe life back into her water-logged lungs, so... The Master was *out*! And that's when all the big *lack* of fun started.
The Master-- who, by the way, was just as gross and hairless there as he was here-- *rose*. And the Slayer was dead, so he *stayed* rose... risen? Yeah, *risen*, and... he turned Sunnydale into his own personal playground. There was no-one, apparently, who could stand against him... without dying in less than a minute, anyway, and... Okay, here's the part that just... freaks me, big time... When that World's me realized what was going on, she... offered herself to him. She went to him, and begged him to turn her, and... he did. And boy, let me just say, my stomach's *still* churning over *that* one!
Well, apparently, the Master didn't realize what he'd gotten himself into, because... by the time *I* was working my damned butt off to buy that stupid *prom* *dress*, this *other* Cordelia, who was calling herself Queen C by then, had pretty much undermined any authority the Master might have had. From what Liam says, he was basically her slave, until the day she'd had enough of his creepy, slimy ways, and staked him. And that was when things went from bad to worse for Liam's world, because Queen C didn't share the Master's vision for Sunnydale... She wanted that for the entire *world*, and damned if she didn't manage to pull it off, too! Well, okay, she only got the ball rolling, but still!
I'm actually kind of torn over the whole thing, to tell the truth. I mean, she destroyed the world, which is really, really bad, but... damn, was she ever motivated! I always knew I could do anything I set my mind to, so I guess that just proves it, right? Fortunately, *my* mind is set on helping Angel, and maybe finding myself some hot, funny, great in bed guy to worship me like the Goddess I am. Of course, now that I *know* how... unstoppable I can be, I'm sure that'll come along in good time.
But, okay, so we spent a couple hours at the coffee shop, and after I'd gotten over my shock at hearing about the other me, I told Liam about how things had gone *here*. He didn't seem to like hearing about Buffy much, but I guess I can understand that. I mean, I don't even like *thinking* about her, and she wasn't responsible for destroying *my* world. And no, I'm *not* in denial! If she hadn't gone down into the sewers alone, maybe she wouldn't have ended up setting the Master free, and then my other self would never have been turned! But that's not important.
Okay, so we talked for a while, and when I figured it was safe, we headed back to the hotel. And what did we find when we got there? Good question.
We found Willow. Sitting at her desk, calm as could be, doing *research*! She smiled at us when we walked in, and told us that Angel was in his office, doing some *paperwork*! Liam, of course, perked right up, and ended up sitting in the chair by Will's desk, chatting her up something fierce, and... if it hadn't been for the smug, sated look around her eyes, I would have thought that I'd been wrong. So, just to test my theory, I went and knocked on Angel's office door.
I walked in when he said I could enter, and there was that same look, only *his* was accompanied by a very small, but *very* satisfied smirk, and... I knew. And when he turned to pick up a pen from the desk, and I saw the bite on his neck, I was *sure*! But when I asked him if anything had happened while we were out, he said 'nothing important', and when I asked him next about what he'd needed to talk to Willow about, he just smiled and said it again, 'nothing important'.
So what, you may ask, is so confusing for me? Well, it's simple, really. They're in love. And they just became lovers. So, why the big secret? It can't be out of concern that I won't approve, and it for *damned* sure isn't worry over Liam, so... What in the *hell* is going on? And why won't they tell me? I mean, it's not as though I can't keep a secret!
End.