Email: mail@cbaird82.freeserve.co.uk
Summary: Response to Elisha's challenge at ST... Angel's gettin' annoyed 'cause he can't spend time with Cordelia. He's a vampire! He has needs too!
Spoilers: Birthday in Angel, Waiting In The Wings in Angel - No Groo, whatsoever... I sorta twisted it a bit...
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: Anywhere, just ask...
Notes: Sorry about the loofah thing, just had to get that in somewhere!
Feedback: I will beg... Honest!
Dedication: To Spiralivy and Ando - because you guys rule... To all the people who followed this fic even AFTER it went into hiatus - thank you!
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~Part: 1~
"Angel, there's no way I can bend like that, what am I, Houdini?" Asked an annoyed (and frustrated Seer). So far, they'd been good. So far, they'd kept their hands and lips off each other...
And so far, Angel (of the No-Boner Variety) had a damned boner. "Okay, okay! Time out!" Said Cordelia, practically leaping away from Angel's roving fingertips, "You're just trying to stretch me in ways I can't go for your own perverse pleasure, aren't you?"
The training session had just begun. Angel knew this because he'd spent the first ten minutes, trying blatantly to look at the clock on the wall and anywhere but the places his eyes had drifted in the last couple of seconds.
"No!" If he could've blushed, he would've, because Cordelia, like she usually was, was right. He was watching as that little bead of sweat had dripped from her delicate tan skin to the valley between her breasts... Had watched as...
"Uhm, hello? Earth to Angel!" Cordelia frowned and glared at him, "You zoned out again..." She said, shaking her head.
Apologetically, Angel stepped closer, "I can't help it, I want you so..."
"Don't!" She held up a hand and shook her head, insistently, "Angel, no! I me- ugh..." She whimpered as a large, comforting hand took hers. It was amazing how the slightest touch of his fingertips could make her feel weak. His lips slid to the tip of her finger and Cordelia closed her eyes, whimpering slightly as his lips slid down her hand, then up her wrist, brushing the pulse point...
"A-Angel, we're supposed to be training..." She whispered.
"We are training."
"Training for what exactly?" She asked, raising an eyebrow slightly as his lips dotted the crook of her arm, his tongue slipping out ever so slightly to taste her.
"Uhm... The 'Getting Groiny' phase, perhaps?" He asked.
"Angel!" Yelped Cordelia, exercising more restraint than she was aware she owned. She moved away from Angel and picked up the sword, "You come near me and I swear I'll stab you with this thing."
Angel pouted, "I wanted to do the stabbing."
Promptly, the brunette blushed and glared at him, "You're supposed to be training me."
"And you're not supposed to look as good when you're sweating!"
"I am not sweating!" Yelled the brunette, indignantly, "Perhaps I am a little... Over worked but that's because I'm trying to keep your hands off me."
Quick as a flash, Angel was behind her, his arms around her waist and his lips brushing gently against her neck, her collarbone, "My hands aren't touching you..." He whispered gently.
"Lips!" She said, only half-heartedly, "Lips are classed as touching! Angel, y'know what will happen. You'll get overworked, I'll get overworked and then we'll get all sweaty and icky."
"Sweating can be fun."
"You don't sweat, you're a vampire." She stated, matter-of-factly. "You drink blood, you brood, you sleep all day and you... Mmm, Angel..." She whimpered, realising that she sounded like just another Angel Groupie...
"And I 'Mmm, Angel?' huh?" Asked the vampire, "So, I take you like the fact that I 'Mmm, Angel'?" Nibbling gently with blunt teeth, Angel chuckled as Cordelia's warm body slumped back against him in defeat. Then, cruelly, he took his lips away from her and gently plucked the sword from Cordelia's hand, "But you're right, we *should* be training."
Gasping, Cordelia spun and settled her icy glare on Angel, "NOW you say we should be training?"
"We have to keep focused on the mission, Cordelia, it would never do t - "
Angel's sentence never had a chance, Cordelia crushed her small body against his and kissed him, hard... Her hands sliding up to his hair, pulling him closer. The clatter of a sword fell to the floor and Angel grinned against her lips. "Training, huh?"
Gently, Angel picked Cordelia up in his arms, her legs locking around his waist as he pressed her against the wall. One hand lay flat against the cool brick surface, whereas the other one reached up to run gently through her hair. Pulling back slightly, he looked down into dark eyes, a hand running across her cheek, "Did I mention I loved you?" He whispered.
"About five minutes ago, but it never hurts a girl to hear it again..."
"I love you..." He whispered as his lips pressed gently to hers again...
Meanwhile, Upstairs...
"I'm not going! It's not my turn, you go!"
"But I went yesterday!"
"Yeah, and what did you find?"
"They were only kissing..." Objected Wesley, "Why do I have to go?"
"Because we need Angel and we need Angel, now." Said Gunn, "Simple. And you're the boss."
"But..."
"And plus," Said Gunn, "You know this chick, Fred and I don't." He wrapped an arm protectively around Fred, smiling mischeivously.
"This isn't fair, you know." Said Wesley, putting his paper down on the desk and shaking his head, "You two joining forces to outrule me is..."
"Effective battle plan." Said Gunn with a grin, "Just think of it as strategy."
Sighing, Wesley walked away from the two and down towards the basement, knocking gently on the door, "Angel? Cordelia?"
Nothing. Damnit.
Then, Wesley frowned, if they were going to work in this hotel together, they couldn't have boundaries separating each other from their respective workers, they had to know where they could and where they couldn't go and... Oh, holy God they were having sex! Wesley stumbled backwards, managing to fall over one of Cordelia's utterly ridiculous potted plants and trip back up the stairs. In haste, he ran - to a mortified look from Angel and a burst of the giggles from Cordelia.
"We weren't doing anything!" She laughed, watching as the ex-Watcher retreated back into the main area.
Angel sighed and pulled back, buttoning up Cordelia's shirt again, "I don't think that constitutes as nothing, Cordy." He said, frustrated.
Cordelia slung a wet towel at his head (okay, so maybe she was sweating!) and shook her head, "Angel, breathe... We'll get some time alone later. I think Fred said she was going to Gunn's..." She offered hopefully.
"And you're staying?"
"Duh - where else would I be? My two favourite guys are right here, not going anywhere." She said with a smile, taking a drink of her bottled water.
Angel nodded, "Okay, let's go see what they want now..." He half-grumbled, turning and walking up the stairs.
"Oh, Angel..." Said Cordelia sweetly, glancing up after him. "Might wanna fasten that..." She said, pointing to the fastening of his sweat pants.
Angel grinned and did as he was told, before taking her hand and walking into the lobby to a giggly Fred, a mortified looking Wesley and a grinning Gunn.
"What is it?" Said Cordelia, looking at Wesley, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
"No..." Okay, come on, admit it. Even we know that Vampires have needs. And this was one needy vampire, so it probably comes as no surprise to US that Angel's 'I Was Boss For Two Years, Don't Mess With Me' voice rang throughout the hotel, but to Gunn, Fred, Wesley and Cordelia - the fact that he was even *suggesting* pulling this was... Well, weird.
To puzzled looks from his friends, Angel continued, "No, I don't see any case files lying, OR any customers standing..." He turned, giving a brief check to his theory, "I didn't hear the phone ringing, Cordelia didn't have a vision so for now, I'm content on spending time with HER!" He jabbed a finger angrily in Cordelia's direction, "I have needs!"
Cordelia raised an eyebrow as Wesley tried to rationalize with him, "But Angel, this is..."
"No! I don't care if it's an Apocalypse, a herd of Flying Monkeys trying to take over the world - I'm Spending Time With Cordelia! Do you mind?"
"Not a problem..."
"Nope..."
"That's fine..."
"Okay..."
"Fine," Said Angel, pleased, "I'd just for once like to spend some time with Cordelia... Is that too much to ask?"
"Right then," Said Wesley, picking up his coat. "So, I'll just tell Mrs. Robson from the only night-time Parent and Toddler Group in Los Angeles that YOU can't make the meeting and enrol your son four years early like the over-protective Daddy you are because YOU want to spend time with your Seer."
Angel growled and yanked his coat from the chair, shaking his head, grumbling as he went out the door, "The one time I want to spend time with..."
The rest of his sentence was cut off and Cordelia giggled, looking at Wesley, Gunn and Fred as Angel's car roared off into the distance. "I think he was pissed." She laughed.
~Part: 2~
"You couldn't have just called him to let him know about this demon?" Asked Xander, glancing backwards at Buffy in his rear-view mirror. He was, effectively sweating. 'This Demon' in question was a vengeance demon, sworn to strike every happy couple as far as the eye could see. And that was one damned powerful eye. Not only did it make the happy couples crazy but it made other wacky, love stuff things happen.
"Xander, I almost had sex with Spike..." Said Buffy, shaking her head, "I'm thinking that if this made me go wacky, what's it going to do to Angel?"
She was right, the perfect happy for Angel would cause Angelus to return and that just wasn't on Xander's list of things to do in the next... Ever. Plus, like Buffy had said, she'd almost had sex with Spike. This, spelt bad. "Yeah, but... I mean, the only hottie he's got round is Cordy, right?"
The snigger was unanimous from all but Dawn and Tara in the car... "Yeah, 'cause Angel and Cordelia are the perfect match." Said Willow, dryly, "They're like... Buffy and Spike in the perfect match stakes."
"What's wrong with Cordelia?" Asked Dawn, frowning. Okay, so she had been a bitch back when in High School but ever since they'd started on this trip, the 'Cordy-Bashing' had started. "We saw her at the fune... Uhm... We saw her a few month back and she seemed nice enough. You all pretty much fell over yourselves to be nice to her then, what changed?"
"She could see us?" Said Xander, then sighed, "That's really not going to be the winning argument here, is it?"
"You said yourself she'd changed!" Said Dawn, indignantly, "Or is that just 'cause Anya's giving you the evil eye that you're suddenly deciding she's still a bitch?"
"Look! Gas Station!" Said Xander, swiftly changing the subject and avoiding Anya's evil glare...
Hopping out of the car with Tara, Dawn looked at her friend, "Seems to me Buffy's just jealous of Angel and the fact that he might actually be moving on with his life."
"Where did that come from?" Asked Tara, a little stunned.
"Well, they all bitch about her when she's not there," Said Dawn, "And they be nice to her when she is... Somehow, it just strikes me as wrong... And makes me wonder what they say about me when I'm not there." She shrugged.
* * * * *
If his heart was beating, it would surely have stopped by now...
Cleaning day at the Hyperion... Or Cleaning Night, so it seemed. Usually, Cordelia preferred to get with the collecting of Satan-Dust's Spawn on a day where she was fresh-faced and ready to tackle the task at hand.. (Usually when she was wearing old clothes). But now... Oh, holy God... He'd must have died and gone to heaven. It was the only explanation for it. Angel watched from the shadows, his eyes pinned to every move her body made as the notes of the music danced throughout the hotel. He vaguely recalled the song as being called 'Wild Thing'... Something which might have struck him as mildly ironic, if he'd had the strength to process thoughts right now. His son lay in his crib, sleeping, while his self-proclaimed Aunty Cordy gave new meaning to the word gyration. Her hips bounced and wiggled with the song... Her lips moving in perfect sync to the words while her butt... Oh God... Even Brooding Angel had to admit that Cordelia had a body on her. It was only recently that he began to *really* notice her properly... The way her hair swung delicately around her face when she laughed, the way her hands would raise and fall animatedly when she spoke. The way her eyes closed when she was in pain, like letting anyone see her pain would make her something less of a person. And that body... Down in the basement while they were training, her small body pressed against his and... That first kiss. The one they'd shared only days earlier, the one that Angel couldn't help thinking about...
He hadn't offered a profession of love, not yet anyway. That would come later... He was afraid that pushing her too much, too soon would get them nowhere and as yet, had said nothing. They were in that phase of having to be in each other's arms, touching or kissing or... Even just talking, being next to her was like a breath of fresh air for him... One he certainly cherished and didn't want to lose...
"Y'know, doing the whole Brooding boy thing isn't becoming anymore." She said, her body still swaying to the music as her hand flicked out the duster.
"I thought women found brooding sexy!" He said, petulantly, his lower lip jutting out, having realised he'd been caught brooding again.
Cordelia laughed, "Now that's sexy..."
Coming towards him, Cordelia tossed the duster in the bin and smiled, "Connor's asleep, Fred and Gunn are away out for the night and Wesley's looking over some prophecy thing. We have the night to ourselves... And the whole hotel, any ideas what we can do?" She knew the boundaries, knew when they needed to stop - where her safe point was. She wouldn't let things get out of hand, not now.
"Cordelia, I have something to tell..."
"Ssshhh," She said, shaking her head and pressing her lips on his, "No talk... Just this..."
Even Angel, "He of the Restraint-ey Kind" couldn't fight his Seer, especially when she had her lips on his. Closing his eyes, his hands slid round to meet at the small of her back and gently, his tongue slid inside her mouth. Tentatively, a hand slid inside the waistband of Cordelia's jeans, down past the tattoo and inside of her panties. The answering shudder he received made the demon inside of him stir and gently, he pulled back slightly, his hand removing itself from the smooth, soft skin. Puzzled, and officially missing the taste of him, Cordelia looked up, "Angel?"
No matter what, he was still a demon, a demon that could effectively kill her. His eyes betrayed thoughts that Angel had believed he'd been able to hide - his "Brood Mode" thoughts. "Angel, don't." She said softly, reaching up and placing a palm on his cheek, "We've had this discussion before, it's not like..."
"Why?" He asked quietly.
Cordelia was puzzled as she met his eyes, eyes that betrayed two centuries worth of hurt, "Why what?"
"Why do you stay here? Why are you so good to me?"
"Duh," She frowned, "Because I love you, you're my best friend, Angel. Best friends stick together. Always."
"For the life of me, I don't understand you, Cordelia Chase." Said Angel, shaking his head.
"You're not there to understand me. You're there to love me, now kiss me!" She ordered, a bright smile passing across her face.
The brief interlude in which Angel had allowed himself to reflect had passed, now, that time had left only a smile and a chuckle for his Seer as his lips came down on hers again. Slowly, a hand slid up and cupped her face gently, the other one unfastening the snap on the front of her jeans, "Angel, what are - "
"Shhh," He shook his head, "No talk... Just this..."
The jerk was using her own words on her and... Oh, holy God that felt good. Cordelia whimpered as Angel pressed his fingers against her through her panties, her lips and tongue ravishing his. "Angel, we have to stop..." She murmured, shaking her head only half-heartedly.
"You're right," He nodded as he pushed the thin scrap of lace out of the way, "We do." Gently, his finger flicked against the hood of her clit and Angel smiled at the guttural moan he received, her body slumping bonelessly against him. Oh yeah, never lost that touch. He thought, rather smugly as he sped up his tender ministrations.
Cordelia half-groaned, "Angel... Why aren't you stopping?"
"Do you want me to stop?" He asked, brushing his lips against her earlobe, then down her jawline to suckle gently at her soft skin.
"Yes." She nodded without a trace of enthusiasm, one hand gently stroking up and down his back as he touched her. She couldn't really do anything else in this state, her legs refused to acknowledge that they could actually work, her skin was flushed and tingling as his lips and his fingertips created feelings Cordelia had long-since forgotten about. Her eyes fluttered closed as Angel moved further, sucking softly at various points on her throat.
He could feel the erratic beating of her heart, the tell-tale thump-thump sound that he loved to listen to when she slept, inches away from him. Every morning, regardless of whether she was still there or not, he'd wake up to the two best smells in the world. A Cordelia-Smell and a Connor-smell. Weird how something could touch you like that, but the best feeling in the world was certainly waking up to a part of Cordelia, a part of her warmth, her sunshine. His other hand slid down from her cheek and gently, he turned her away from him so that she was resting against his back, his lips dancing over her shoulders as he pulled down the straps of her spaghetti top. He listened to her soft mewling noises and smiled, "Are you okay?" He whispered gently.
Cordelia nodded breathlessly, a little puzzled by the question. Was he asking for her permission to continue? Or something else?
"Just say the word and I'll stop." His voice sounded like soft silk, rustling gently over smooth skin. Oh, he had a way with women - when he wasn't being the dork she was used to.
Her eyes drifted slowly open and she tilted her head towards his, glancing up into chocolate-hued eyes, filled with lust and something else... Love? Perhaps. The smile that passed across her face was sunshine enough for Angel not to burn in, she brought to his life what he could never have. Sunlight. Brought to his life what he never thought he'd deserved... Happiness, friendship and most definitely, love. A family. In her, he saw his redemption, shining brightly. His lips brushed across hers, until Cordelia decided she'd had enough of tenderness... Turning, she kissed him full on the mouth, her hands slipping up to knot in his hair, "I... I..."
Angel pulled back slightly and glanced at her, "What?"
"I'm only alive when you're inside me." She whispered.
That was it. Any resolve Angel might have had from that point, broke. Snapped clean in half - he could almost swear he actually heard it. He kissed her back, his hands divesting her of her clothes quickly. Vaguely, he recalled something he needed to tell her, about the curse... About his feelings for her... But Cordelia... HIS Cordelia was kissing him back and running her fingers through his hair and Angel could almost swear that nothing had ever tasted this good. The words she'd uttered weren'tbecause she was posessed, this was her... And this was him... And they were together - right now, that was all they'd ever need.
Backing her up against the wall, Angel kissed her, his hands gliding gently over the soft swell of her breasts, tantalising the soft skin. His fingertips reached out to brush against her, but paused, cool air hitting his Seer's skin, causing the peaks to swell with need she wasn't sure she could control. "Angel..." She half-whimpered against his lips, before groaning as his lips slid away...
Okay, so she'd been here before, Angel's lips on her skin, causing warmth to flush her body, sending electricity bolts of white hot pleasure to her core but... Possessed much? This time, there were no excuses... No barriers holding them back except... Her mind vaguely tried to process something, but her heart wouldn't let it. All she knew was, as Angel's lips closed around one pert nipple, that this was right, totally right... Her fingers slid down, to tangle in his hair and gently pushed him downwards in a motion he instantly understood. His lips left her soft skin, cold, cold air hitting her breasts and making them harden more as his tongue dipped into her navel, causing her to giggle, "D-don't tease..." She whispered.
She'd had enough of teasing... And ghosts with loofah's incidentally. Thought Angel with a smile. Slowly, his fingers pulled at the scrap of blue lace that covered her and glanced up, "Patience is a virtue, Cordelia Chase," He whispered with a grin.
"I'm female," She ground out from under gritted teeth, "I don't know the meaning of the word..."
Leaning forward, Angel pressed his lips to the triangle of soft curls at the apex of her thighs and chuckled, a deep throaty chuckle that reverberated through his chest and deep inside Cordelia's stomach, causing the fluttering that had been there a while now to intensify.
"Do you want me to beg?" She choked out, "Because, I can beg if you..."
Her supposedly indignant statement was halted as Angel lifted her leg gently, setting it over his shoulder and sliding his lips further down into her warmth, the tip of his tongue flicking gently over the soft folds of skin. Her hands scrabbled for purchase against the wall and she groaned softly, "A-Angel, I can't... If I..."
He pulled away gently, blowing cold air over the warm skin, "I won't let you fall." He whispered gently, watching as her own tongue flicked at the sheen of perspiration on her upper lip. "I've always loved the way you smelt, Cordelia." Said Angel, his fingers stroking up and down the tops of her thighs to release the tension, his other hand holding her up, "The way you look... You're like a breath of fresh air in the darkness... The way you smell, like peaches and cream..."
"Angel..." She moaned, "Stop teasing...!"
"I've always wondered, how you... Taste?" With that, he leaned forward again, slipping his tongue gently into her warmth, Cordelia's body almost keeled over with the intensity of his touch and she mewled softly under his hands. "Angel, please..." She begged.
They hadn't noticed the door open... Angel was so wrapped up in his Seer, he didn't hear or feel anyone behind them, until the words were spoken, "Can I be blind?"
Cordelia yelped... Angel pulled back... Buffy frowned... Dawn dropped the coffee that she'd been holding... Willow, Anya and Tara gasped...
And Xander raised an eyebrow, "Uh, quite the welcoming commi - OW!" An elbow to the side from Anya halted *that* sentence.
"Looks like we were just in time, huh?" Said Willow, glancing away as Cordelia pulled Angel's leather jacket around the top half of her body to cover herself.
"Just in time for WHAT exactly?" Growled Angel, standing with his back to Cordelia and shielding her from prying eyes (mainly Xander's) with his body.
"To stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life, or unlife..." Said Buffy, "That's what. I believe... Thank you, maybe?"
"Which mistake's that?" Asked Angel.
Buffy laughed, "You... Cordelia... Getting groiny with each other."
"Uhm, hello?" Said Cordelia, stepping out from behind Angel, wearing only his leather jacket, her clothes strewn across the floor, "Still in the room here. Think you could stick to bitching about me behind my back?"
"Oh, I didn't mean... There's a demon," Babbled Buffy, "I almost slept with Spike, it was actually kinda scary... And it looks like you two were close to scariness together so..."
"What's scary about that?" Asked Angel, frowning.
Perhaps, if he could have blushed, he would have... As Buffy's eyes slid down to the rather noticeable... Well, boner. He had a boner... HAH! Not such the no-boner after all...
"Wait a minute, you *wanted* this?" Asked Buffy, incredulously, "But... But... This is Cordelia... Wait, you know that, right? You know it's Cordelia... And you haven't been possessed or... Right?"
A hard frown slid onto Cordelia's face and she glared at Buffy, "No, the possession was last week, but if you excuse me, I have a SON to take care of."
The satisfaction that Cordelia got from Buffy's face dropping, was immeasurable. In fact, she'd go as far to the Nyer, nyer thing... But, even Cordelia, at this moment in time (when she was very pissed off indeed) could remain with dignity...
Picking up Connor, she brushed her lips against his forehead and smiled, trying to calm her breathing down. "Aren't you just the sweetest thing I've ever seen?"
And as came a baby, so went the Scooby Allegiance. Anya, Tara, Willow and Dawn all rushed forward, cooing over the baby in front of them, while Buffy and Xander stood, looking completely, totally and utterly flabbergasted.
"Buffy... He's so cute!" Said Dawn, "Come look!"
The Slayer remained where she was, "I think I'll pass." Her eyes slid onto Angel, "You have a *lot* of explaining to do..." She bit.
"Since when?"
Cordelia's voice stunned Buffy momentarily and she turned, looking at her former High School nemesis. "What?"
"Like I said, since when does he have to explain himself to you?" Asked Cordelia, frowning. At Dawn's request, she handed the baby over, smiling briefly before turning back to Buffy, "He doesn't have to explain anything to you, Buffy. Nothing at all."
"But..."
"No buts," Said Cordelia, not unkindly, "You're not in his life anymore..."
"Oh and what, you are so you get to dictate?"
"Grow up, Buffy." Snapped Cordelia, "Not everything's about you."
"Considering the source, that's highly ironic." Said Buffy, dryly, "Or did you have an identity crisis as well as a moment of complete insanity?"
"Or maybe people change and you're just not willing to accept it." Cordelia's voice was firm, but not unkind. Determined and yet not arrogant. Why was it that Willow and Dawn could now both see that Cordelia had changed, but Buffy and Xander refused to acknowledge it.
"You're telling me you've changed?" Asked Buffy, skeptically, "Mind telling me how?"
"Why? So you can go pull me apart with your friends? If you'd open your eyes for even a second, you'd *see* that I have."
"What I see? Is the result of a spell, Angel with his head between your..."
"That's enough." Angel's voice was harsh and he glared at Buffy, shaking his head, "She's right, you're not in my life anymore, so don't think you can stand there and pull apart my family."
"Family?" Asked Buffy, her voice coming out an octave higher than she'd expected, "FAMILY?"
"Yeah, family." Said Cordelia softly and stepped forward, linking her hand through Angel's and squeezing gently, "We're family."
Buffy felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, she wasn't so much jealous as she was shocked, not really. "Uhm... This demon," She said glancing away, afraid to acknowledge what she saw in front of her, "This demon it... Uhm, Tara tracked it down here with magicks and... We thought that... What about your soul?"
The question was spoken harshly, her eyes flashing dangerously as she glared at Angel, "Remember that thing of... Hey, I'll lose it if I experience perfect happiness?"
"I... It's not... It's not a problem anymore." Said Angel, tentatively.
"Not a problem? Not a problem?!" Yelled Buffy, "How can you... Oh, because she's not perfect happiness? Is that it?" Okay, so a small part of her *did* feel bad for Cordelia but...
"No, that's NOT it." Growled Angel, annoyed. She was making an already potential bad situation worse... "Cordelia, I have to tell you something, I wanted to tell you earlier but..." He faltered and looked at her. Buffy's words hadn't hurt, or... They didn't even look like they'd made an impact. "Cordy? Are you..."
"Why's she floating?" Asked Dawn.
"Demon, of the large and... Purple kind..." Said Cordelia, "It's headed right towards us... Give or take an hour or two, kinda vague with the time and..." She looked up, "It's a lust-setting demon... THING... It kinda uhm... Makes you have sex until you... Die. It's a killer."
"I always knew sex was bad." Piped up Willow with a small smile.
"Oh no, sex can be good, in fact, sex is always good with Xan - "
"Anya... Don't even go there..." Said a still stunned Xander, "Can we discuss for a moment why you were doing what you were doing... Then, why Cordelia is uhm... Floating and why she's seeing things... Is she crazy?"
"She's not crazy but she is seeing things and SHE is still in the room so could YOU stop talking about her like SHE isn't here?" Asked Cordelia, frowning. Turning towards Angel, she looked at him, "What is it you wanted to tell me... About uhm... Your soul?"
Angel sighed, "It's a... Spell..."
"Oh, and we know how well *those* work out." Said Buffy, dryly.
Angel frowned, "Cordelia, can we talk? ALONE?"
Cordelia nodded and sighed, glancing at Dawn, "Can you uhm... Watch Connor for me?"
Dawn grinned, "Sure..." Glancing over at her sister as Angel and Cordelia went into the office, Dawn shook her head, "Buffy? Breathing and counting to ten usually works..."
Buffy looked at Xander and frowned, "How about I join you in the being blind category?"
"Add to that list deaf and offically stupid, and you and I have it made." Said Xander, running a hand through his hair. This day was seriously...
WEIRD.
~Part: 3~
She stood in the office, smiling as Dawn, Anya, Willow and Tara cooed over Connor. If she didn't know any better, she'd have said both Buffy and Xander were standing brooding in the corner. Slowly, the brunette turned back towards Angel and smiled, "So? Talk..."
"Cordelia, I..." It wasn't that he was nervous per se it was just that Angel was completely, totally and utterly dreading telling her the thing that would, like it or not, affect her life in the biggest way possible.
"Look, whatever it is? Just say it..." Said Cordelia, watching him carefully. His eyes were dark, pensive - kept drifting to Buffy and the others, and then back again. "Angel..."
"I know." He nodded, "I know I have to tell you, I just... Don't know how." His gaze cast downwards for a moment and Angel searched the top of his desk for the answer, of course, not finding. "I - It's not - It's... Complicated."
"And who does complicated better than me?" She asked with a bright smile. Cordelia met his eyes, her own open, trusting - his guarded almost, as if he didn't want anyone to see what was behind them. He'd perfected 250 years of guarded, even expressions - only to have them blasted apart by Cordelia in the three years he'd spent with her in Los Angeles. When he brooded, she knew... When, what she affectionally called 'Dork Angel' was in full effect, Cordelia knew. He should have been worried, no one should know *that* much about a person. Instead, Angel loved it... She held the key to his heart and there was no way would he take it away again.
"It's about my soul..." He said gently, watching as she rolled her eyes, "What?"
"Stop being all cryptic... I'm getting worried." It showed. Her own eyes were dark, a trickle of light falling through that had previously been reserved for when visions had hurt and Cordelia had left the room, leaving Angel to bathe in the River of Denial...
"We've never actually... Y'knowed... Have we?"
"Y'knowed?" Cordelia looked at him, puzzled, "What does tha- ohhh..."
The vampire approximation of a blush involved Angel looking away, mildly embarrassed. "Yeah," He nodded, "Oh..."
"Well, no... I guess we haven't." Said Cordelia, "I mean we've gotten close but... Well, y'know."
"Curses and..."
"Things and..."
"Curses..." Finished Angel. Truth was over the past few weeks he and Cordelia had come very close to getting groiny with one another, spurring Angel to do something about it. The last thing he wanted was Angelus harming his son, Cordelia - his friends. "I-I went to see someone. A woman, she uhm... She specialises in all sorts of demon stuff and it was just... I mean, nobodies saying we-" Again, he faltered. If this was simple, something as simple as perhaps a potion - then he'd just say it and then it would be over with. But what he was asking of Cordelia was something bigger than that. Bigger than anything Angel would ever ask anyone to give of themselves.
"Angel? While one of us is young?" Cordelia frowned, "I want to go play with Connor!" Cordelia, jealous of the fact that Connor was getting bounced by every female in the hotel BUT her and Buffy, was getting impatient. "Angellll..." She whined, "Come ON..."
Angel knew then. He knew then that yes, what he was asking of her was a big deal - but he also knew that he loved her enough to want to spend the rest of his life with her. That this was right, that they belonged together, that the decision he'd made - though not easy, was the right one. "There's a spell that I can do. Get rid of Angelus once and for all. It involves joining with some- with you. It involves you anchoring your soul with mine. The plus side? Some of your demon transition phase would be passed to me. I guess the disadvantages would be-"
"Okay."
"What?" Angel looked at her, really looked at her, "Cordelia, this isn't as simple as a 'demonise me already' there are side effects and-"
"I said okay - Angel, look, I didn't have to think about becoming a demon. It wasn't the mission, or it wasn't *just* the mission, it was you too. I didn't want to leave you. And while we're playing the game of 'Will They, Won't They' on the groiny front, the chances are, we could lose you too. Already, we have two plus sides - less demon-transition suckiness for me, no threat of Angelus for you. Even with the vision pain, the good always outweighed the bad, Angel, it still does..." She said softly.
"Just hear me out for a second, please?" He asked. He didn't want her jumping into this not knowing what would happen. How could he forgive himself if three months down the line Cordelia regretted it?
"I'm listening."
"With our souls joined, it means that... Well, there'll be memories, things I'm not proud of. You might remember them... Might see them? Memories of Angelus - if those were to come up then..."
He faltered and Cordelia knew exactly what he was thinking, "If those were to come up, maybe I'd love you less?"
Angel's gaze left hers and Cordelia reached up, placed her hand on his cheek, "Nothing Angelus did or can do, will make me fall out of love with you. What happened with him was in the past, you make up for that every day. A couple of memories isn't going to make that any different - plus, does it work both ways? Do you get my memories too?"
"I think so," Admitted Angel, softly.
"Then the road to redemption really is a rocky path. You do know what you're letting yourself in for, right? I mean, come on - memories of Harmony? Are you sure YOU want to go into this?"
Despite himself, Angel chuckled and shook his head, watching as a smile passed across her face. "You always do that," He whispered.
"Do what?"
"Get me to smile," Reaching up, he pushed a strand of her hair back from her face, "Even when I don't want to."
"It's a substantial gift." Cordelia smiled as Angel's hand placed against her cheek and gently, she turned into it, pressing a tender kiss against his palm. For all the world, she looked peaceful, like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders and Angel moved, intending on capturing her lips with his when an almighty crash resounded in the lobby.
"Angel! Get your big undead butt in here!" Called Xander, having been tossed unequivocally across the interior of the hotel.
They both moved, spurred into action by Xander's derogatory comment - into the lobby where said Purple demons from Cordelia's vision had infiltrated the hotel - one of them being assaulted by Buffy. "I can kill this, right?" Called Buffy. It seemed LA was getting worse for how many demons you couldn't kill, when she'd thought Sunnydale was bad. Maybe they should start making lists...
Number one - Spiny looking demon, eats mould.
Number two - ...
And so on. Buffy didn't really have time to compile her list, she was too busy getting hammered by a demon. "Help.. Would... Be... Good..." She coughed, not seeing as the brunette she loved to hate slammed a sword into the back of the demon...
Propelled backwards, Buffy was knocked next to Xander - compelled only to watch as Cordelia helped Angel (quite skillfully, actually)...
~Part: 4~
"Has to be."
"No doubt about it."
"After effects of that demon we encountered earlier?"
"An alternate universe?"
"Twisted dimension?"
"It can't be real."
"Course not."
"That would be silly."
"Uh... Yeah..." His last sentence faltered. The banter that had been exchanged between Buffy and Xander had attempted at being lightweight, but was now bordering on pants-wettingly scary. Cordelia... Cordelia was getting in there and fighting.
"Won't she break a nail?"
"What if a hair gets out of place?"
"Are we in the right place?"
"HEY!" Cordelia's attention was diverted from her 'demon' to where Xander stood, tossing insults back and forth with Buffy who was kicking a demon... About HER! "I am still in the room, y'know..." The sentence was cut off as the demon shunted into her side, effectively knocking her to the floor like a rag doll.
"That's more like it," Said Xander, "For a minute there, I thought she could actually fight."
Angel had listened to this with passing annoyance and with a growl, he spun on Xander and Buffy, still clutching his demon by the throat, "You don't know her any more, don't pretend like you do."
Xander was effectively pissed. For one, they'd walked in on what was possibly the most disgusting thing ever, Angel proceeding to go down on Cordelia. For two, this didn't seem to be the effect of some spell, oh no, in fact, this actually looked to be quite normal. And for three, Angel thought he knew her after three years? Uh, hello! He'd known her for almost 15 and she'd never changed in that full time. Frowning, Xander looked over at Buffy who was taking out her current frustrations on the demon, "Uh, Buffy, I think you can kill it..."
"Want... To... But... Can't... Stop... Kicking..." Growled the Slayer.
"They're Mat'nak Demons." Called Anya, "The only way you kill it is by snapping its tail..."
"They have tails?" Said Buffy, "Where?"
Anya pointed... To where Buffy promptly blushed. "Ohhh, I thought it was uhm... I thought they... Uhm... I thought they were just all guy demons," She said, frowning slightly.
"Easy mistake to make." Said Anya, brightly, "But oh, if those were what you thought they were?" A dreamy look passed across her face from where she held the baby to which Xander yelled, "Hey, are you saying you want to have all the sex with a demon?" He spat.
"Newsflash, Xander! I *was* a demon and... Hey! What's wrong with sleeping with demons? You do it every night!"
"Ex-demon, An, ex... And besides, it's not every night!"
"Okay, so it's some mornings... But what's wrong with sleeping with a demon?"
"Well for a start, eww. An, you're human now..."
A flying book hit Xander across the back of the head. In actual fact, it wasn't flying as much as simply flung from the position held by the Seer and currently very-demonized Cordelia, "There's nothing wrong with demons..." She said, her eyes flaring angrily. She turned back to the one she'd been fighting and frowned, "Maybe there's something wrong with these kind but some demons are... I'm not touching that!"
Angel, having snapped his demons "tail", knocking it to the floor to where it dissolved went over to aid Cordelia in the killing of her own demon, smiling at her shriek. Demon or not there were some things his Seer just wouldn't do, this being one of them. Two other snaps were heard and the demons that had been fighting the habitants of the hotel fell to the floor, Buffy and Angel both effectively killing the demon they'd fought. "Is that it?" Asked Cordelia, a little breathlessly. Her gaze drifted to Angel, a gash on his arm from one of the demons claws, "You're hurt." She said softly.
"So are you." He'd smelled the blood before he'd seen it, a cut to the forehead where she'd been thrown across the room was allowing dark red liquid to slip down her cheek. Angel watched as she went for the first aid box, his gaze drifting to Buffy who stood there, her gaze dark. Her reason? Those demons were probably the easiest things in the world to kill - either Angel was slipping, or he liked the 'fixer-upper' part of the end of fighting a little too much. Her gaze remained on the pair as Angel took a little gauze from the first aid box, gently dabbing it at Cordelia's cheek, mopping up the blood with tender fingers and pressing the material gently to her temple, where the blood was coming from. "You'll be okay." He whispered softly.
"I know."
To everyone else but Xander and Buffy, the scene was sweet... Tender... Loving. As Cordelia bandaged Angel's arm, the foursome of women (and of course Connor) would have to admit that this was sweet. To Buffy and Xander, however, it was ridiculous. "Oh, God! Can we stop? I mean, really!" Said Buffy, "This is more disturbing than even I care to admit!"
Backing that up with a nod, Xander watched as a pair of dark eyes swivelled onto his and suddenly, he felt all kinds of guilty. Those eyes, he'd seen before - a couple of days before a certain betrayal he'd be reluctant to mention. Those eyes, were something he'd found himself wishing he could see again, after he and Willow had kissed and Cordelia had found out about it. Those eyes, were in love. If the eyes then, were the window to the soul, hers were certainly singing. She was happy. With him. But then...
"Why did you get so worked up about me saying demons were disgusting?"
"I am one."
The words were simple - their meaning having an effect on both Xander, Buffy and the rest of the gang that would last a lifetime.
"Did I... Hear you right?" Asked Willow, softly, "You're a demon?"
"Yep, on weekends mostly..." She teased with a grin, "I sprout these antlers that drip with... Guys, I'm joking. Well, about the antlers and weekend parts."
"How did this happen?" Asked Xander, "If I remember, you were still normal when you left Sunnydale..."
Cordelia frowned, he just couldn't help putting his foot in it, could he? "I was normal... I got sucky-vision brain from the Powers That Be - or Doyle to be precise and the visions were killing me. The short version is that I chose to become half-demon to stay with Angel."
"Visions?" Said Willow, softly, "You're a Seer?"
"You know what one is?"
"Well, yeah." Said the red-headed witch, "Giles' books had some stuff in about them... I can't believe I know one though! By name! And to talk to!"
Laughing, good-naturedly, Cordelia smiled at Willow, "Yeah, well, if I can't be famous for the acting..."
"And how's that going?" Put in Buffy, bitchily, "Can't say I've seen you in much..."
Cordelia bristled, "Could you stop being a bitch for like five minutes?"
"And again, I say let's consider the source of that comment. What's wrong? Can't hack the competition?"
"No," Said Cordelia, "I'm not putting up a fight. You want the Bitch of the Year title? Take it, go back to Sunnydale and mount it on your wall if that's what makes you happy. Just don't come down here and think you can stand, pulling the people who are supposed to mean something to you apart."
"I thought you weren't putting up a fight," Said Buffy, coldly.
"Oh, you listened?" Bit Cordelia, "I said I wasn't putting up a fight, didn't mean I wasn't going to play..."
The two glared at each other for a second until a whistle came down the stairs, followed by a green anagogic demon. "I see we have visitors," He said, coming further into the lobby before stopping at Buffy, "Woah, honey - you're dealing with some serious rage there, aren't ya?" Sidling over to Angel, he whispered in his ear, "I'm getting the Ex vibe... And also the slayer thing. That's your ex honey, right?"
Nodding, Angel's gaze fell on Buffy's, "We need to talk."
She'd known it was coming, known what and exactly who it would be about, but Buffy realised with a great degree of sadness that she didn't *want* to talk. She didn't want to listen to what he had to say. Sad though it was, Buffy - knowing they couldn't be together, didn't want the knowledge that never again would there be another... Maybe. Sighing, she shrugged, "Whatever." Walking through into the courtyard with Angel to a - "Hey, didn't anyone notice there's a green demon standing here?"
* * * * *
"Don't you get that this is weird?" Asked Buffy, "Look at this from my point of view. I come here to help you with this demon and I find you... I find you with your... Your..."
"I know."
"No! You don't know, Angel! You don't know how damned embarassing that was! God, you couldn't have been doing that somewhere else? In fact, not even doing it at all? Way better!"
Watching her pace the length of the courtyard, Angel sighed. "Buffy, there's something I have to..."
"Are you in love with her?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"A while now, I think." He said softly, "I didn't realise it until..."
"Until what?"
"I have enemies," Said Angel, "A LOT of enemies. I didn't realise I was in love with her until I almost lost her. She's... She's everything to me, Buffy, if she died..."
Buffy winced, "Sooo not needing to hear this."
"That's just it," Said Angel, "You do need to hear this."
"I don't!" Said Buffy, "I don't need to deal with this, Angel. It wasn't just the jealousy thing, it wasn't the hurting thing either. It was the whole Angelus thing! You know what happens if you... Wait a minute," She paused, "Either she's not perfect happiness, which, judging by what you just said I'm thinking she is or... Is something else going on? You're not Angelus. You're not, I'd know. You're not Angelus... Right?"
"No, I'm not Angelus," Said Angel quietly, "And I... Perfect happiness would come into it..."
"You have But-Face..."
"Huh?"
"You look like you're about to say... But..." She explained quietly.
"Oh... There is... A but, I mean." Angel faltered, looking her in the eye, "There's a spell. I found out about it a couple of days ago, it's not easy, it means joining my soul with hers and..."
"And what?" Asked Buffy, coldly, "It means you get to have sex with the woman you love, great."
Angel frowned and shook his head, "You know, of all the people I thought might be happy about this, I thought it would be you."
"Sure! You're in love with a person I can't stand to be in the same room with!" Yelled Buffy, "Just tell me how peachy that ISN'T."
"Now you're being ridiculous," Said Angel, glaring at her, "You never hated Cordy, granted you didn't get on but you didn't hate her."
"And now you're telling me how I feel about people, God, could you contemplate getting over yourself for at least one minute?"
"Do you think YOU could?" The force of his words were like a stinging slap to Buffy, who promptly reeled back from him, her eyes wide, incredulous. "You've been acting like a spoilt brat since you got here, huffing about me being with Cordelia and generally getting digs in on her whenever you feel like it, well this stops, Buffy, it stops right now. GROW UP!"
Her eyes darkened, her face drawn and pinched with anger, "Grow up?" She said quietly, "GROW UP?"
Not giving her time to get the rest of whatever she was going to say out, Angel nodded, "You heard me. Grow up. I love Cordelia, Buffy. I'm sorry that you can't handle that but it's true. I love her. I'm not doing this thing so that I can have sex with Cordelia, I'm doing it because it gets rid of the threat of Angelus once and for all. My soul is anchored by hers, it means she gets to handle her demon transition phase a little easier by... Handing some of it to me, sort of."
Breathing out a sigh, Buffy looked down at the floor, "If things had've been different..."
"They aren't." He said quietly. His voice wasn't harsh, but Angel didn't want to say anything that would hurt her more.
Buffy ran a hand through her hair and shook her head, "You get that... This is a lot for me to deal with, right?"
"I know," Said Angel, nodding. "That doesn't give you the right to pull her apart at every opportunity though..."
"But I..."
"No buts, Buffy. Some of the things you and Xander have been tossing back and forth were downright nasty. I know Cordelia can hold her own but she's a different person to the one you knew..."
"I'm starting to get that." Said Buffy, quietly.
For a while, they just stood there, until Buffy found her voice again, "Are you... Happy?"
"Yes."
"Oh..."
"What about you?" He asked softly, meeting her eyes.
Buffy sighed, "I don't know... I just... This is too weird to even consider, I mean..."
"I didn't expect you to be automatically okay with this... I just wanted you to know."
"And now I do."
"Yeah, now you do."
Again, the silence grew until Buffy looked up again, "Uhm, if we get time can you... Explain Connor? I'm having monumentous weirdness with that concept too."
Nodding, Angel stood, gesturing to the hotel, "I just wanna check on him..."
This, even though she didn't actually *want* to, made Buffy smile. "Over-protective Daddy, huh?" She asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe." As they entered the hotel, Angel glanced towards the other door, hearing something on the other side. "Buffy?" She'd heard it too, put on instant alert, the Slayer stepped forward, "What is it?"
As it turned out, it was a mountain of books. Well, attached to that would be Wesley - but they didn't know that! "New demon?" Asked Xander, dryly - until the mountain of books toppled to the floor, "No, that would be me." Said Wesley, frowning as his books scattered, "Oh, bloody hell..."
"What's this?" Asked Angel, puzzled.
"More books on demons... Connor... Among other things." Said Wesley, beginning to pick up some of the books, "We know he's here, we just need to know why..."
"Because he's my son, it was prophecised." Said Angel, firmly, "Y'don't get a bigger reason than that."
"Angel, Connor was born to two vampires, that never happens..."
"Uh, hello? I'm thinking a child born to one vampire never happens..." Said Buffy, "We just bumped the Connor conversation up to first priority and then I say... HUH?"
Angel sighed, "It's a long story..."
"We have all night..." Said Xander, folding his arms across his chest in a many display of... Manliness.
"Which is just what I was worried about." Said Angel, sighing as he began...
~Part: 5~
"You had sex with Darla?" Buffy made the mother of all 'ewww' faces, to which Cordelia nodded, in total agreement, "Exactly my reaction, but we got that little guy out of it so..."
It seemed that Buffy was dealing a hell of a lot better than she had before. Of course she wigged - who wouldn't. Seeing your ex-honey in the process of going down on someone you thought you hated wasn't exactly fun. Unfortunately, Connor had taken quite a shine to the slayer - or her finger at least - his little fist wrapped round it like it did Cordelia's and he jammed it in his mouth, babbling happily.
"You can so tell he's your kid..." Said Willow with a smile, glancing at Angel.
The grin that spread across his face made Buffy laugh and for the first time since they'd got to LA instead of jealousy burning through her, an ache started inside. Had he ever smiled like that for her? She remembered smiles, sure... But never this. She could leave herself locked firmly in Denial Land and tell herself that it was all Connor, that just like her Mom and Dad had gotten sappy over Dawn, this was what had happened here. But it wasn't - and right now, Buffy wasn't sure she wanted to be seeing this - someone else making Angel happier than she ever could.
Angel, however, wasn't stupid - noticed the shift in her demeanour, how guarded she looked again - she always did that. In some ways, Cordelia was a lot like her. If there was something she either couldn't, or didn't want to deal with, she'd guard herself - tell the world that she was fine and go off, deal alone. Of course, the fact that he did it too - and had done particularly with Darla wasn't a factor here. "When Darla got turned again, it felt like everything I had worked for had been for nothing. I gave up."
It wasn't exactly easy for Angel to admit this, especially in front of Buffy and her friends - even Cordelia was shocked at how open he was being about it, "I'm not proud of what I did, of what happened to my friends while I was... Gone. I hurt the people I loved the most but out of it I got a son, a family and it makes me happy."
"Ohh, come on..." Xander, still having major trouble with the 'Angel as a Father' concept, shook his head, "Is anyone forgetting that this man, back in his day, was the definitive bloodsucking fiend?"
"Ohh, not you too!" Said the youngest Summers' girl, frowning, "It's bad enough that you're on Spike's case ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time... Can't you leave at least one of them alone?"
"But..."
"Not but! God," Said Dawn, snarkily, "Be nice!"
Xander pouted, "So the guy has a kid, what - are we supposed to fall all over him now?"
"Ah, the baby thing..." Said Anya, "Xander hasn't even took a second look at Connor. He knows that his eyes will fill with... That thing we call, fear."
"I've looked at Connor! He's... He's cute and... Baby like!" Xander was desperate to try and cover the fact that Anya was right, not so much so that he'd look again at the child of the evil undead of course, but he could try.
"Xander," Said Dawn, the picture of innocence, "What colour jumpsuit is Connor wearing?"
"Uh... Uh... Red?"
"Purple." Dawn grinned, having proved Anya's point. "Why can't you look at him? He's so cute and... Cute!" She cooed over the baby in Buffy's arms before looking back at Xander, who hadn't yet answered the question.
"I'll tell you why!" Said Anya, "Because the minute you mention the word 'baby' or 'diaper' Xander gets this look on his face. This look which clearly states, 'I shirk responsibility of all kinds'..."
"I do not shirk responsibility! I have a home, a regular income..."
"And you run at the first sign of the diaper stall in the Mini-Mart... Face it Xander, you... are... a... wimp." Said Anya, punctuating every word.
The Scoobies sniggered, the Fang Gang tittered until finally, Cordelia stood and held her arms out to Connor, "As much as I'd love to stay and witness this particular bickerfest, I'm starting to smell something that's increasingly not pleasant..."
Waiting until Cordelia had gone to the office with Connor, Willow slid along the seat she'd previously shared with Buffy, Cordelia and Tara, so she was sitting next to her friend, "Should I start the vilifying and grousing now?" She asked softly, "Or should I wait until we leave?"
The slayer turned, "It's not that I'm not happy for them, I really am but..."
"It's hard, seeing him be happy with someone." Finished Willow, nodding, "I get that."
"It's just - did it have to be her?" Asked Buffy quietly, "I mean, he could have picked anyone and he picked her..."
"Be honest Buffy," Said Willow gently, "If you had been able to look into the future and see that Angel was with someone else down the line, who would it have been? Would anyone have been good enough?"
Raising an eyebrow, Buffy stared, "You?"
An easy grin slid onto Willow's face and she laughed, "Hello, kinda gay, remember? Besides, even if you had chosen me, I still wouldn't have been good enough... It's the whole, 'I'm the ex and you're new' thing."
Buffy knew she was right - of course she did. Sighing, she watched as Angel got up to join Cordelia and felt Willow's hand slide over hers, "She makes them happier than I ever did..." She said gently.
Willow shook her head, "No, she doesn't. For a start, the hair's all the wrong colour. Angel loves BLONDES... And... She has no special fighty powers, or at least she had considerably less than you and she can't do that thing with your mouth that you can do..."
"Will?" Buffy interrupted, looking at her friend, "What're you doing?"
"Being supportive friend. Telling you how wrong for him she is."
"That's just it." Said Buffy softly, "She's not wrong for him."
* * * * *
"Are you sure you don't mind us crashing here?" Buffy looked at Cordelia who was helping her change the sheets on one of the beds in the hotel, "I mean we could go somewhere else..."
"Are you kidding me?" Asked Cordelia, "68 rooms, 66 vacancies. You could have a room for each one of your outfits... Y'know, if you wanted to." She laughed, placing the finishing touches in the room that was strategically placed as far away from Angel's as possible. Buffy's request, not her own. "Wait 'til Connor grows up, he'll have one room for every girlfriend he brings back here."
"He will not..." Said Angel, instantly, a growl slipping from his lips.
"See, can you say overprotective much?" Cordelia yelped as Angel pulled her into his arms and kissed her, tenderly, leaving Buffy to cough, trying to grab their attention. "Angel, uhm... Are Tara and Will talking to Wesley?"
The en-souled vampire pulled back, embarrassed - having almost forgotten Buffy was in the room. He loosened his grip on Cordelia but didn't let her go, stood with his arm locked firmly around her waist, "Yeah, they're discussing the spell."
"Spell?"
"Soul-spell..." Said Angel, shuffling nervously on his feet.
"Oh-thatspell, huh?" Buffy nodded, "Guess I should go, see what I can do..." She slipped out of the room, her cheeks pink and flushed. It wasn't that she was embarrassed, not really - it was that right back in there, she was watching as Angel kissed someone else, hugged Cordelia the way he never had her. She made her way back downstairs to where Xander and Anya were arguing not-so-good-naturedly about babies, to where Dawn, Tara and Willow sat in the office discussing soul spells...
"Can I help? I want to help," Said Dawn, glancing up as her sister came in the room, knowing full well that that had shot *any* chances Dawn had of helping. Dawn was fragile... Pfft, yeah...
"No." Said Buffy, Tara, Willow and Wesley in unison, making Dawn frown. "Guys, I'm almost 16 years old! Come on!"
"No." Came the automated reply. Wesley looked at the girls, "So, you think you can help, yes?"
Nodding, Tara spoke softly, "It won't be easy. But we'll try... We can give you that much."
Wesley smiled, "Thank you. For this, I mean."
The girls nodded, until Dawn's gaze drifted up to Buffy's and she moved, crossing the room to stand with her sister, "Buffy?"
"I'm fine." Smiled the slayer, turning slightly, "It's just..."
"Mondo-weirdness?"
"Yeah." Said Buffy, "Mondo-weirdness. But I'll deal, I always do."
* * * * *
"I think she's dealing well, under the circumstances..."
"Excuse me?" Cordelia arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow and stared at Angel, "You think she's dealing well? Are we in the same hotel?"
"What? She is!" Said Angel, "She's..."
"Pretending." Said Cordelia, "Think how you'd felt if you walked in on... I dunno, me and Groo and he was going down on me - would you be pleased?"
Angel growled. He could still hear Cordelia's "I love you" back in Pylea to which Angel thought his heart, though unbeating, might burst from - and then her, "Not you, dumbass, HIM! I love him!" Groo. All teeth and... Stupid hair and...
"Hello?" Cordelia looked at him, "Earth to Angel, anyone home?"
His gaze slid up to meet hers and he sighed, "Will she be okay?"
Cordelia, as brutally honest as always, shrugged her shoulders, "Not your problem any more, Angel. Buffy's a big girl... Did she care about you with Riley? Or Spike?"
"SPIKE?!"
"Angel, breathe. You're turning colours."
"She had sex with Spike?" Angel's eyes were wide as he tried to process THAT bit of information, "Buffy... Had... Sex... With... Spike?"
"Did I say that? ALMOST - she *almost* had sex with Spike. That demon thing they came here for? A lust demon... Buffy managed to stop herself..."
"Oh," Said Angel, "Right."
"Were you jealous?"
"What? No." Said Angel, firmly. "Just..."
Cordelia smiled, "It's 'the whole ex-thing' huh?"
Angel grinned, "At least you know what I'm talking about, I saw Xander checking you out while we were downstairs..."
"Angel!" Cordelia raised a hand to punch him, which he promptly grabbed, pinning her against the wall with a grin and a growl, "You're fast, Chase, but not that fast..."
Grinning, Cordelia raised a hand to unbutton his shirt, peppering kisses on his neck, "Really? I thought I was pretty quick..."
Angel groaned as her tongue flicked across his skin, grinning to himself...
* * * * *
"Didn't you hear me right? I want this soddin' chip out NOW..." Growled the vampire, hurling the Doctor against the wall. Thankfully, the Doctor was a demon so Spike *could* get his point across, quite effectively, point of fact.
Dr. Gregson frowned, "It's not as simple as..."
"I'm making it as simple," Growled Spike, "Now - can't stay long. Got to go find a girl... She reckons I'm beneath her, Doc... I'm gonna show her just how beneath her I really am."
His smirk widened and the terrified Doctor nodded, "O-okay, take a seat..."
~Part: 6~
"Feel like a new man... Pire." He smirked, smoothing down his long, black duster. He stared into the mirror, of course, it didn't catch any reflection, but tonight, he humoured only himself as he stared. The last time he'd seen a reflection staring back would have been a long time ago, back in the 'powdered wig' days as he'd heard one of the Scoobies refer to those times. Back when Drusilla had been enough to keep him happy... Back when Cecily had reminded him just how beneath him he really was.
Just thinking of how he was in those days, all poncey bloody poetry and heartfelt sentiments was enough to drive him mad. He'd be crazy to think any girl would fall for that crap now.
And oh, how the mighty had fallen. Girls nowadays, liked a bit of monster in their man. Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen. Spike had just forgotten all that in a bid to get closer to Buffy... His pathetic attempts of making her love him had turned sour but now... Now she'd see...
Spike turned, "Let's see, does this cover it? Or not?"
The Doctor, safely muted and strapped to the seat looked wildly at Spike, his eyes staring but not taking in the inevitable - through his hands, Dr. Gregson had had many patients. The vampire only months ago that had requested his heart removed when his love died... The demon who requested his hands be removed for sacrificial purposes (what else?) and now, this. The vampire with a chip that wanted only to show the woman who'd turned him down -- the woman who he loved -- that he was no longer beneath her.
"See, Doc... Bloody slayer thinks she's above me. That just 'cause Spike doesn't play with the puppies any more, he can't bite. Well, I got news for her - " His sentence stalled and Spike stalked towards the Doctor, watching as his eyes spun wildly around the room, anywhere but Spike. Fear was a wonderful thing indeed...
* * * * *
"Angel, how many times do I have to **grunt** tell you... It doesn't FIT..."
"Push harder!"
"You push! It's yours, isn't it?"
"Cordelia... **growl** ..."
"Don't get all grrr-face with me. It's not my fault it's so big..."
"It's not THAT big, Cordelia... Stop exaggerating..."
"Well you try to put it in a hole that's considerably smaller - see how well it works for you!"
"I've tried it," He offered, shaking his head, "It *did* work for me..."
"Okay, now? You're gloating. Just shut up and PUSH..."
A creak of the bed springs later and Cordelia yelped, "OWWW, damnit, Angel! That HURT!"
"You told me to push!"
"I didn't mean for you to push THAT hard!!! I'm never going to get out of here..."
"If you just move your leg like..."
"Angel, I do NOT bend that way, ex-cheerleader or not..."
At that moment, Buffy decided she'd had enough - walking in on Angel going down on Cordy was bad enough, but this? Nuh-uh. "Okay guys, that's ENOUGH - I walked in on you earlier but I refuse to listen as... Oh..."
Cordelia was trapped at one end of the bed, Angel at the opposite side - both trying to push the heavy iron headboard that they'd been trying to move into a corner for the past hour. "You refuse to listen as what?" Asked Cordelia, puzzled, blushing when she realised how that must have sounded. "Ohhh... Uhm, we were talking about this. The furniture in the hotel is all heavy metal and cast iron fifties crap, we were trying to move it and, uhm... Angel kinda pushed it on my leg and now... I'm stuck..."
"You... Thought we were having... Sex?" Angel asked, looking incredulously at Buffy.
"Do you BLAME me? Hello, that conversation was up to Anya standard and it wasn't even on purpose!" Said the slayer, blushing furiously. "Besides, with your recent track record..."
Cordelia frowned, "Uhm, excuse me? As much as I'm loving this conversation, do we think we could move me? I think I'm losing all feeling in my leg..."
"Sure." Buffy stepped forward, moving the bed without so much as breaking a sweat - to which Angel and Cordelia both frowned, "You knew you could do that?" Asked Angel, shaking his head, "And you let us struggle in here?"
"Where was the struggle?" Asked Buffy with a grin, "From the sounds of it, you two were enjoying yourselves."
"Yeah," Replied Cordelia, "Because I just *love* getting my leg stuck between cast iron headboards... Pffft..." Stooping, she rubbed her leg and looked at Angel, pouting, "You didn't have to push that hard..."
"Do you know how cute you are when you look at me like that?"
Rolling her eyes, Buffy shook her head, "And it's time for me to leave again..." She said, dryly, sauntering out of the room and back downstairs into the lobby. "I see you guys made up." Said Buffy, smiling at the sight of Anya and Xander, sitting in each others arms.
"We're having a baby!" Announced Anya.
"Woah-what?" Buffy's mouth fell open, "You're having a... A..."
"You look like Xander," Observed the ex-vengeance demon, "Yes, we're having a baby."
"An-"
"And we're going to get lots of nice baby things when she's born, because that's what people do..."
"ANYA!"
"What?" She asked, severely huffed, "You said we were going to have a baby..."
"When we're ready! Do you see my face? Still looking terrified? I'm... NOT... Ready!" Said Xander, hurriedly.
"Operative word being you," Snapped Anya, "What about me?"
Xander turned and took her hands in his, "Anya, listen to me. I want babies, I do. Just not yet. I like it just being us. I like waking up next to you and seeing you asleep. I like that we can go where we want, when we want and not have to worry about parents or being back in time for babysitters going home. I would like nothing better than to be having your child, but not now, not yet. I like it being us..." He said gently.
Anya huffed... Fumed... And then almost melted into a puddle on the floor, "I'm going to have to stop listening to you," She warned after kissing him, "I keep listening to things I don't want to listen to, then I get talked out of having something I wanted."
Xander chuckled -- thankful the conversation was over with -- and kissed her again, his lips locked with hers when the door opened. His gaze slid upward, locked on the couple that stood there.
"I think I ate too much..." Groaned Fred, softly, eyes widening as she saw all the people gathered in the lobby, "Uh, did we open the hotel for business?"
An eyebrow raised, Gunn backed that up with a, "Who are you guys?"
"Scoobies." Said Xander simply, "Firmly known as the 'We Walk in On Vampires And Half-Demon Seers When They're Having-umph!" His sentence was cut off by an elbow to the ribs and he turned, glaring at Anya, "What was that for?"
"They weren't doing anything! Besides, I've lost count of the amount of times Giles almost walked in on us. That time up against Buffy's pommell horse, when..."
"I BEG you not to finish that sentence," Said Buffy, shuddering slightly.
"Is the B-Word here?" Asked Fred, "I always wondered what she looked like, I mean she had to have been pretty 'cause Angel only goes for the pretty ones. And besides-"
"The B-word?" Asked Buffy, frowning. "If you mean Buffy - then that's me. If you mean anything else? It's not." 'Bitca? Bitch? Bint?' Buffy frowned - thinking of Spike just wasn't big on her list of things to do today.
"No..." Said Fred, awestruck, "I meant you. We've never had a real live slayer in the hotel before... I mean, not to my knowledge." She turned to Gunn for confirmation, "Was that girl that tried to kill Wesley in the hotel? Anyway, it doesn't matter... It's nice to meet you after only hearing about you from Cordelia and... And Wesley. Well, that was when we were allowed to talk about you. We weren't. Not when you died, anyway and... I'm babbling, aren't I?"
Gunn smiled and put his arm around Fred's shoulders, "Where's everyone? Wes? Angel and Barbie?"
"Wesley's talking with Tara, Willow and Dawn. Angel and Cordy are upstairs..."
Gunn tossed a conspiratorial wink in his girlfriend's direction and chuckled, "They're usually in the basement getting-"
"That would be another sentence I don't want finished." Said Buffy, "Isn't it enough that-" Buffy's sentence was cut off by a scream -- a female scream. A Cordelia scream.
They moved up the stairs quickly, Buffy heading the small group of friends and family, until she got to the door... Angel was struggling to his feet, obviously dazed - blood running from a cut in his forehead. His eyes were wild, panicked, giving weight to the notion that something was very wrong with Cordelia.
Suspended a couple of feet from the bed, Cordelia's body bucked and twisted reflexively - a blue light encompassing the room. She screamed again, so very obviously in pain and Angel ran forward, only to be propelled backwards, back into the self-same wall he'd hit earlier. He growled, prepared to launch himself forward until Buffy stopped him - a hand placed on his chest, "Angel, don't... You'll only get hurt."
The calm he'd felt earlier, being with Cordelia, was replaced with a sudden fear, an anger that Angel couldn't shift - his game face slid on and he glared at the slayer, "Back off, Buffy. This is none of your business."
The light dimmed and as Angel moved forward, Cordelia was dropped to the bed, left mewling and whimpering in pain.
"B-Buffy?" Whispered Dawn, from her position at the door, "What happened to Cordelia?"
"I don't know..."
In silence, the friends backed away - watching as Angel gently smoothed the hair away from her face. "Cordy? W-was it a vision?" He asked, his eyes searching hers. "What was it? Talk to me..."
Her gaze slid to his, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Just stay with me? Please?"
"Cord-"
"Don't leave me?" She whispered.
"Never."
* * * * *
"You wanna tell me what's going on around here?" Asked Buffy, now back down in the lobby with the others, pacing the floor. "What's wrong with Cordelia?"
Wesley's face was drawn, pinched, "The demon that offered Cordelia a way out of her visions informed her that the 'demon transition' phase would be particularly difficult. That her visions would be like a stroll in the park compared to-"
"What park?" Asked Anya.
"Excuse me?" Wesley glanced at the former vengeance demon, puzzled.
"What park?" She asked softly, "Because there are some parks I've seen and nobody would want to take a stroll in them..."
"Yes," Said Wesley through gritted teeth, "But we're not talking REAL parks, we're talking metaphorical..."
"No need to get testy with her, Wesley." Said Xander, frowning, "She's only trying to help."
"Well, she's not, is she?" Asked Wesley, simply worried about Cordelia. When he looked up though, Anya's gaze slid away and he sighed, "I'm sorry, it's just... I'm worried, I didn't mean to get 'testy' with her. It's just... This is what Angel feared, the demon transition phase beginning before he had the chance to help stop it hurting so much..."
Anya smiled, "It's alright... I'm used to Giles doing it."
Xander smiled, pulling Anya towards him and placing a kiss on her forehead.
The friends sat quietly for a while, waiting for Angel to come down with news of how Cordelia was... Waiting for a breakthrough in the spell that Wesley, Willow and Tara were researching - Dawn twiddling her thumbs... And Buffy nervously pacing the floor. No one saw the figure slip through the doors of the Hyperion, in complete silence.
The slayer in her felt it... Felt the figure hurtling towards her, foot outstretched. Even Buffy wasn't quick enough to counter it - she went down, startled by the attack. A flip later however and she was standing, eyes wide as she faced Spike.
"That's right, luv..." He grinned, vampire face having slipped on, "I'm back... And this time? No bloody chip's going to stop me getting what I want..."
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