Rating: PG13
Feedback: Please? - druscilla@cox.net
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Willow glanced at the clock, excitement and apprehension turning her stomach into a whirling knot. Nearly six months had passed since the last time she had seen Angel and Cordelia. Things had gotten too busy. First things with Wolfram and Hart in LA, and then the stuff that had happened with Glory in Sunnydale. It was so bad that even Spike and herself had rarely found a free moment to just relax. Tonight was Friday, though – the traditional night of merrymaking and movie watching.
And Cordelia and Angel would be joining them.
‘They should have been here by now…’ The red head thought. Her eyes strayed to the apartment she shared with her lover, checking for any last minute spots of clutter or junk. She knew, deep down in her heart, that her friends could care less what her home looked like- but it mattered to *her*.
“Stop that, luv.”
She looked up, flashing her mate one of her brilliant smiles. “Stop what?” Pure innocence reigned on her features as she put down the pillow she had slowly been pulling to threads.
“Stop fretting, pet. They’ll be here when they get here. You can’t make them get here quicker – Peaches already drives like a vamp out of Hell. Which I guess he is, and all.” He smirked. “The apartment is beautiful – everything will be fine.” He stood with those last words, taking her head firmly in his hands and kissing her soundly on the forehead.
Nodding, the red head gave him a small smile. “Is it that obvious?” His quick nod made her wince. “Ok, ok. I’m just excited to see them again. It’s been so long! I want everything to be…well…perfect!”
The blond haired vampire chuckled. He stepped behind the couch, resting his hands on the shoulders of the woman sitting in front of him. With firm movements he began to massage out the tension and stress he could feel radiating from her. “I just hope Peaches didn’t let the cheerleader chose the movie.” He smirked, breathing in residual vanilla scent from the shampoo his lover had used only that morning. “Last thing we need to be watching is a bloody chick flick.”
Willow leaned into his hands, closing her eyes and surrendering to the pleasure of her mate’s touch. “I suppose you’d rather watch something with lots of violence – a macho guy movie?”
“Of course, luv.” He leaned down, kissing her earlobe. “That’s what us real men do – watch ‘macho’ tough guy movies and talk about how we ‘could do that ’ or ‘have done that’.” He could feel her shoulders shake with laughter. “’ Course, Peaches probably would prefer the chick movie, poof that he is.” A knock on the door ended his ministrations. “Speaking of the poof…”
“Be nice.” The witch whispered, well aware that Angel could probably hear anything they were saying. She stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in her t-shirt before crossing the room to the door. “Delia! Angel!” The smile on her face was genuine as she hugged the two.
“Wills, nice to see you again.” Cordelia grinned, hugging the red head and stepping into the apartment. She set down her bag on the couch, turning to look around the apartment. So much time had passed since the last time she had visited that she felt like she was seeing everything for the first time. Her eyes found Spike and she gave him a smile. “Spike, hardly saw you lurking over there.”
“Lurking?” The vampire smirked. “I don’t bloody lurk, Princess.” Stepping further into the room he gave her a toothy smile. “That’s trademarked by my old man – maybe you know him? This tall, ugly git named…”
“Spike…” Angel growled, the warning a playful one.
“No, no. I think his name’s Angel…” Spike grinned, turning to face his Sire. “I see you’re still a poster boy for the darker side of GAP, pops. OW!” He turned, rubbing the back of his head, to face the smiling eyes of his mate. “Okay, okay. I get the picture, witch.”
Still smiling, Willow turned back to the new arrivals. “Its so good to see you guys again. It feels like its been years instead of just months.”
Cordelia nodded. “I know what you mean. It seems like decades since we saw our vamps dress up in tights and parade through…”
“HEY!” The vampires in question interrupted, their dead faces amazingly flushed and blushing.
“If it’s all the same to you two chits I would prefer not to ever hear about that night again.” Spike sulked, throwing himself onto the couch. His blue eyes shot daggers of playful anger at the women. If there was one movie night he regretted – it was that one – the night they had lost watched “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and then lost a dare soon thereafter. Who would have guessed that those two innocent-looking human women could be so devious?
“Sure, thing, *luv*” Cordelia drawled. She leaned in close to Willow and whispered, loud enough for the men to hear, “We’ll just reminisce about it when they aren’t around.”
Willow laughed. She sat down next to Spike, ignoring the mock glare he was throwing at her. “So. What movie did you bring, Delia?”
The brunette smiled, pulling the videocassette from her purse. Willow narrowed her eyes, sure she had seen something out of place on the ex-cheerleader’s hand. The lighting was dim, though – and the other woman too far away to be sure. “’My Best Friend’s Wedding’,” Cordelia paused for a moment. “It was…recommended by the woman at the video store.” Her eyes traveled to her lover, a question in her eyes. The dark haired vampire shook his head at her unspoken question.
Spike watched the exchange between his Sire and the ex-cheerleader, perplexed. What did the chit want to tell them? Aloud he snorted, “Great – a chick flick – I knew it.”
“Can it, Blondie.” Cordelia murmured, popping the tape into the VCR before returning to the embrace of her mate. The secret she was carrying was like a burning sensation in her mind – something that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. It could wait until after the movie though.
~*~*~
“That was…”
“A movie for girls and nancy-boys?” Spike drawled. He stood up, raising his arms above his head in a stretch. The truth was – the movie hadn’t been that bad. In fact, he had found himself more than slightly amused at times. But that wasn’t something he was going to let his mate, the cheerleader, or his ponce of a Sire know.
“It wasn’t that bad, Spike” Angel grinned. He leaned back into the leather of the loveseat, trying to ignore the look his mate was giving him. Finally, unable to avoid it any longer, he turned to her. Their lips met in a brief kiss before he nodded ever so slightly, giving her the permission she so eagerly sought.
Cordelia grinned and stood. “Hey Wills…come to the kitchen? I need a drink.”
“But..you still have some soda…” The red head began, confused. She watched in growing confusion as the brunette woman picked up the glass and downed it in nearly one swallow. “Oh – I guess you do need a drink… I’ll be right back, Spike.”
The blond haired vampire turned, watching his mate leave the room – his eyes planted firmly on her rear. With a wide grin he turned back to his Sire. “So – what do you think Delia wanted to talk to Red so bad about?”
Angel shrugged. He leaned forward, as if looking at the magazines on the coffee table, to hide his own smile. “Dunno, Spike. Probably just wanted to tell her I proposed.”
~*~*~
Willow took the bottle of soda from the refrigerator, carefully pouring some into the glass on the counter. She knew Cordelia had wanted to get her alone for some reason – but what that could possibly be was a mystery to her. “So…” She murmured, handing the glass to the other woman.
The ex-cheerleader didn’t wait too much, longer, thankfully. “Bleh – I didn’ t really need another drink.” She giggled, placing the glass back onto the counter. “I just wanted to show you this.” Holding out her left hand she waited for the inevitable reaction.
“HE ASKED YOU TO MARRY HIM?!? When, how, where? Why didn’t you call?” The red head’s questions poured from her lips in an excited torrent.
“Last night – didn’t call because I knew we were seeing you today.” She paused, taking a deep breath – the memories of the night before bringing happy tears to her eyes. “It was so romantic, Will. He took me to this little French restaurant, hardly even in LA. He ordered wine…and when it came – there was the ring, on a string around the neck of the bottle.”
Willow laughed at the dreamy look in her friend’s eyes. She hugged the brunette, her own tears of happiness on the verge of spilling over her cheeks. This was the dream of just about every girl – to have a handsome man propose in a romantic way – to marry the man of her dreams. It was a dream she hoped to someday share – even though there had been no other word on it from her lover since their night coming home from the theater a few months before. “I’m so happy for you two!” She whispered fiercely, giving the other woman one final squeeze before pulling away. “So…when’s the wedding – we’re invited, right?”
“Of course!” Cordelia grinned. “Who do you think is going to be the maid of honor?”
"Woo!” The red head exclaimed.
“The wedding itself is going to be soon – just a simple ceremony at night. We’ll probably do it here so the other ‘Scoobies’ can come.” Pulling a chair out from under the small dinette set in the corner of the room, she got comfortable. “I need to get a gown, choose the flowers, the colors, hire a baker for the cake…” She ticked off the points one by one on her fingers, her mind whirling with the reality of it. Sitting at home and dreaming of getting married was one thing – discussing it with another human being was an entirely different one.
Willow grabbed her own chair, her eyes sparkling with happiness. Not even the dull ache in her own heart – the one that wanted this to be her own wedding – could mar the joy of the event. “Don’t worry – I’ll help.”
Time, and the vampires in the living room, were soon forgotten as the women began to talk and plan the impending wedding.
~*~*~
“Oh, bloody hell!” Spike snarled, banging on the door of the public restroom in front of him. How his Sire had managed to get it locked, he wasn’t quite sure – all he knew was that the infuriating demon had been in there for almost twenty minutes. He looked around the darkened park his Sire had chosen for the ceremony, the dim light of the magical candles, courtesy of one red haired witch, making the area of the wedding seem to glow under the night sky. “Get out of there you ponce!” He raised his fist to bang on the door again, surprised when it opened after the first rap. “Finally! Did you get your hair all perfect?” The blond rolled his eyes.
“Yeah – just perfect.” The dark haired vampire sighed, looking out over the park. There was no way in hell he was going to admit to his cocky Childe that he had been in the bathroom trying to get his nerves under control. No way he would *ever* admit that kind of weakness. “I guess we should get over there, huh?”
Spike snorted. “Yeah, mate – unless you want to be late for your own wedding. Don’t count on the Princess letting you live if you are, though. I don’t think a pile of dust is her ideal honeymoon companion.” He clapped his Sire on the back. Underneath it all he knew the older vampire was nervous. He wouldn’t admit to knowing that, though. One day this would be him, after all – and he didn’t want the poof taunting him in revenge.
“Right…” Angel whispered. “I just need to…check my hair…again.”
“No – nothin’ doin’ mate.” Ignoring the protests his Sire was throwing out the blonde took him firmly by the arm and led him to archway where the Justice of the Peace was waiting. The blond looked out over the sea of faces, recognizing the Slayer and her soldier boy, the moron and his demon. Even the Watcher was there. There were others, too – friends his Sire and the cheerleader had supposedly made while playing floofy Batman and Robin in LA.
The pair watched in silence as a limo rolled slowly across the grass, stopping at the end of the aisle farthest away. As the bridal procession began to play the door slowly opened. Spike smiled in pride at the sight of his little witch, the green of her bridesmaid’s dress accenting the delicate coloring of her skin. She was beautiful – and she was his – for the rest of his life. ‘Maybe we should do this ourselves sometime soon.’ He thought to himself.
Angel’s own thoughts were a jumbled mess of nerves. When his bride-to-be finally emerged from the limo he exhaled an unnecessary breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. She was gorgeous. The short white dress was perfect for the outdoor ceremony – neither too casual nor too formal. It was Cordelia in every way. A short veil covered her face, held in place by a headpiece of white roses. Strands of pearls were laced throughout her upswept hair.
In a word – breathtaking.
As she reached the end of the aisle Angel took her small hand into his own, giving her a small smile. The words of the official flew by, the responses coming automatically. The world narrowed for Angel to include only the woman in front of him and the man saying ‘repeat after me’. Finally, it was over.
“You may kiss the bride.”
Chuckling, Angel lifted the veil. He smiled into the teary eyes of his new wife, capturing her lips with his own. The cheers of their loved ones went unheard as the two took pleasure in the kiss they had waited their whole relationship for.
”We should probably leave. Still have to do the reception thing.” Cordelia breathed, pulling back from her husband. Her face was flushed with longing – her eyes dark with desire.
“Mm Hmm…reception…” Angel grinned. He gave her a final kiss before taking her hand. With the cheers of their friends following them, the two ran to the waiting limo.
~*~*~
“That’s one for the photo album… Well, if we could’ve gotten a picture of Angel, anyway.” Willow laughed, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. She looked up to the front of the small reception hall. Angel and Cordelia were still standing there – trying their best to clean off the cake they had only so recently smeared all over each other’s faces.
Spike nodded, taking another sip of his beer. “Never thought I’d see this day – the great Angelus with wedding cake on his face…” He chuckled, leaning over to kiss his mate’s cheek. Their hands linked underneath of the tabletop and he squeezed instinctively.
“Oh – she’s going to throw the bouquet!!!”
“What?” The blond haired vampire looked around in confusion, startled at the sudden loss of his witch. He spotted her again, at the front of the room, bunched up in a tight circle with the Slayer, Dawn, and the other ‘single’ females in the room. Then the bouquet was in the air and all Hell broke loose. The formerly organized pile of females turned into floor-diving, giggling madness. He watched with pride as his red head crawled out of the pile, holding something against her chest. Standing, she held up the bouquet – waving it for everyone to see.
~*~*~
“WAY TO GO PET!”
“Think he knows what it means?” Buffy whispered, coming up behind the red head.
Willow shrugged, a genuine smile on her lips. “Doubt it – but that doesn’t mean the tradition won’t hold true – in fact, I’m sure it will.” She watched as Angel walked over to her mate. Though she couldn’t hear the conversation that was occurring between them – she knew Angel was letting his Childe in on exactly what the tradition was about.
And the shaky grin Spike threw her way only confirmed it.
“Yep – I’d say they’ll definitely be a dress and cake in my future.” She smirked. “Even if I have to propose to *him*.”