Title: Sticky Night (1/1)
Author's: Evil Hands of Akasha and Seabreeze
Email's AngelsChilde@aol.com and LornesGirl@hotmail.com
Rating: Hard to say. Let's say R for adult content to be on the safe side :)
Pairing: A/C
Spoilers: ATS up to That Vision Thing
Disclaimer: All characters belong to ME and 20th Century Fox. No profit has been made.
Feedback: Yes, please, we crave for it!!!!!
Summary: Angel, Cordelia and a bottle of maple syrup. The story happens right after the events of **That Vision Thing**.
Sticky Night
Concentrating, he was able to pick up her faint scent, but he had to find it among the many scents lingering in the park and it wasn't easy.
It took him to a tree on the edge of the park, where Cordy's silk scarf was caught in a low hanging branch. And then it stopped at the curb right outside the park where tire marks indicated a rushed exit of a car, or van, or truck, in short, anything with four wheels and something LA had millions of.
So Cordy must have been taken here and wheeled off.
At least that told Angel that it hadn't been a random attack, since whoever had staged it had had their transportation here waiting for them.
He didn't know if that should make him feel better or worse. It was good, since that could mean it hadn't been just a couple of vamps out for an early evening snack, and it seemed bad because now the possibilities, and dangers, seemed endless.
Angel knew he needed help, but he'd be damned if he'd call Wesley or Gunn for assistance, he just couldn't face them with the news that Cordelia had been taken from right under his eyes.
He fought a brief inner struggle, and in the end, his pride won and he decided to find her on his own.
Since the sun had just set about an hour ago, he had time, and he wasn't going to waste another minute of it.
He sprinted back to the hotel in record time, jumped in his car and was on the road to the first address that had come to mind.
He didn't know of too many vampire groups in LA, but he knew some lairs and some of their stomping grounds, so that's where he went. And that's where he came up empty handed.
If the lairs weren't empty, the few surprised vampires he found didn't know what hit them and wouldn't know anything about a kidnapped girl even after he had dusted one or two of their "friends" as a threat.
"Cordy, I'm glad you're feeling better, but I'm, y'know..."
Angel gestured at the plate in front of him that was holding his toasted waffle.
"... you're not really a foodie. I know." Cordelia finished his thoughts.
"But I am, and I'm tired of eating by myself. So there!"
She picked up the syrup bottle and spread some over her waffle. When she reached over the counter to pour some over Angel's plate, he tried to stop her by holding her wrist.
"What? Trust me, it's better with syrup!"
She tried to tip the bottle further in his iron grip. Angel tried to steer the hand holding the bottle away from him while Cordelia was teasingly tilting it further.
"Stop fighting it, Angel." She joked when he still wouldn't let go.
He shot her a questioning look, having clearly missed her meaning, and loosened his hold on her wrist, distracted. Cordelia didn't anticipate him backing down, so before she knew it, she had already tilted the bottle too far and before she could stop, the sticky goodness spilt out of the bottle over Angel's hand.
"Eeek! Now look what you have done!" She shrieked.
"What **I** did?" Angel started, but Cordelia interrupted him.
"If you hadn't squirmed like a kid, the syrup would be where it belongs now, not on...well, lick it up already, will ya!! Geeez!"
Angel just stared at her, not really getting her point.
"Come ON!"
She coaxed him, still holding his hand, trying to push it closer to his mouth, so he could lick up the sticky liquid.
"What, you're scared of anything that's not red and bloody? It's good, trust me! Here..."
Following an instinct, she licked up the syrup that had dropped onto his hand. She had tried to convince him, like one would convince a kid, tasting something to show them it was eatable.
When her eyes met Angel's, who had stopped resisting, she immediately stopped, realizing what she was doing and released his thumb from her mouth.
"Uh...um...sorry." She mumbled, before she turned around and approached the coffee machine, seemingly to refill her cup, but really only to hide her blushed face from him.
Angel was glad **his** face didn't blush, because the feeling of her hot tongue on his hand and fingers had sent shockwaves through his body that had settled in his groin.
"That's...err...no problem, really." He managed to say before he got up. "I'll just get, you know, cleaned up and I'll be right back."
With that, he got up, checking that his shirt was covering his crotch and sped for the bathroom adjacent to the lobby. Closing the door behind him,he took a deep unneeded breath. What he really needed right now was a cold shower, but he figured that would seem excessive for a little spilt syrup. Of course, he reasoned, the syrup was the least of his problems.
Images of Cordelia spreading the maple goodness all over his body and licking it off flashed through his mind and he was shocked.
Half his mind was reprimanding him for those thoughts involving **Cordelia**, while the other half encouraged him to continue.
He was utterly confused and realized, if he was going to leave the bathroom to face her decently anytime soon, he had to put and end to these thoughts.
He discovered he didn't feel as guilty as he expected for thinking of his friend **that** way, which rendered him even more confused. As if his body had had to convince him of his growing feelings toward her.
Angel shook his head, trying to free himself of the images before his inner eye.
"No, no, no!" He scolded.
"This is Cordelia! Whatever ideas you have in your head, forget them! Never going to happen! She sees you as a eunuch, remember???"
He wished he could see his reflection in the mirror, so he could have an earnest man-to-man talk with himself, and sighed. Instead, he opted for washing his hands, where he could still feel the heat of her touch.
Cordelia wasn't that much better off. She had been relieved he had left, so that she didn't have to hide her face any longer. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she tried to calm down.
What was wrong with her? Sure, she shouldn't have touched Angel in that way, sucking each other's fingers was really not a game they engaged in often, but that only explained her embarrassment.
It did not, however, explain the tingling sensation in her body and her quickened breathing.
Feeling his cold digit in her mouth had been a sensation so strange and yet so...right, it scared her.
She was glad the look in his eyes had pulled her back to reality in time. Well, almost in time.
She wasn't quite sure what to say when he came back, if she should comment at all.
It would probably be best to joke about the situation to ease the tension, but she didn't know if her voice wouldn't betray her.
This was silly, she tried to convince herself, she was probably just worn out from the vision aftermaths.
"Ooh, shouldn't have gone that way!"
She told herself, as she now remembered how gently Angel had held her hand after one of her latest visions, when she had rested on her bed. How his eyes had burnt with concern for her. How his thumb had gently stroked the back of her hand, slight pressure that had comforted her so much.
She heard him leave the bathroom and took one last deep breath, aware that he could sense any nervousness in her.
"Do you want some coffee?" She asked him in her most casual voice.
He wanted. In the worst way. But it wasn't 'coffee' he was craving. Still fighting to shake all these disturbing thoughts from his mind, he was unable to look her in the eye. He just grunted a reply, which Cordelia took for a yes, as she needed an excuse to busy herself. She placed the steaming cup in front of him, where she had already cleared away his plate and the spilt syrup.
As she took her own cup, she noticed how he still wouldn't look up at her and frowned.
"Angel?" She tried to get his attention.
"Hm?" He finally looked up.
"What you did for me was unbelievably selfless and brave and amazing. And it's so great to think that my next vision will just be blindingly painful and not turn me back into the Elephant Man or anything." She sighed.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is: Thank you! You didn't even consider the dangers, you just..." She trailed off.
He tried to hide his embarrassment by waving a hand at her.
"No need to thank me. I just did what I had to do. If I weighed all the pros and cons before every fight, I would have been dusted a long time ago." He took a deep breath.
"You're my friend, Cordy. And I don't hesitate when my friends are in danger."
Cordelia tried not show the pain his words had caused her.
'Oh.' She told herself. '**That's** what it was. I was just 'a friend' in distress...' She hated the disappointment this realization caused. 'Of course! What was I thinking? I was just another helpless in need of his 'services'. Geeez, over-react much?'
She didn't realize Angel had never taken his eyes off her. Her inner struggle was clearly displayed on her features, but he couldn't figure out what he had said or done to cause the turmoil.
"Are you okay?" He asked insecurely, trying to stop the urge to gather her up in his arms and soothe all her troubles away.
She snapped out of her reverie, quickly flashing him one of her trademark Cordelia Chase smiles.
"Sure!" she beamed. "Right as rain!"
But he wasn't convinced.
He still didn't understand the turn their conversation had taken, couldn't place the emotions coming from her in waves that his vampire senses picked up. He'd be damned if he ever understood women, Cordelia in particular.
Sure, he had **known** a lot of women. As a mortal, he had done whatever it took to get under their skirts. Back then, his good looks and charm had usually been sufficient. After he had become a vampire, he became an artist at torturing women, so none of his experiences had taught him the fine art of truly understanding them. He admitted to himself he really wasn't good with the subtleness. Ask him to beat the crap out of a bad guy, and he was in his element, but have a meaningful talk with his friend and he was lost. Now, there was a joke. Cordelia was so much more than a friend to him and he was still trying to lie to himself. He sighed.
"What do you say we get out of here? The sun will be down in a couple of minutes and I could use some exercise. How about a walk?"
She nodded absently.What she really needed was to get away from him, distance herself from his longing eyes and toned body. But at the same time, the thought of leaving his side was too much to bear. She reckoned a walk would be the best of both worlds; outside, away from the temptations of a couch or
"I'd like that." She finally replied softly.
"Great!"
He fought the instinct to take her hand in his and pull her with him, as he got up and grabbed his coat instead.
Cordelia was going to make her usual remark about the heat outside, but she bit her tongue.
Instead, she stole a glance as his flexing muscles under his shirt as he slipped into his leather coat and headed for the door.
She glanced outside and as if he had read her mind, she heard his voice close behind her:
"Let's just keep to the shadows for now. I'm old-fashioned, I'd like to be able to take my girl home at the end of the evening..."
He missed her widening eyes as she strode past her, Cordelia had to pinch herself not to respond to what she considered his careless remark. His girl.
There, he had said it. She was his girl. He thought maybe Cordelia had missed it, because she didn't comment.
Dammit, what did it take?
Well, him rushing out of the courtyard with her barely able to keep up was probably not the right way, but he was nervous. And she was far more experienced in recent years, she **could** say something. She would never leave a comment like his out there. Unless she hadn't heard. No way he could repeat it though.
He slowed down a little to let her catch up, carefully avoiding the last rays of sunshine. Inhaling deeply, he caught the scents of the flowers in some front yard and caught a whiff of her perfume. He made a mental note to find out what it was and surprise her with a bottle soon.
Granted, he didn't want to buy her affection, but she had once hugged and kissed him for a couple of clothes...
Deeply lost in his thought, he missed what Cordelia had said.
"Huh?"
"Oh sure. We already had a five minute talk, I forgot your interaction with people was carefully timed!" She scolded him jokingly.
"No, no..." He rushed to object."I was just thinking, we could cut a couple of corners and go to that park on Wiltshire, I bet it's pretty at night..."
She liked that idea.
"Yeah, and we could stop by the ice cream parlor on the way, I could go for some frozen yogurt!"
He was relieved she had bought his hasty excuse. They made mostly small talk on the way, Angel bought her the desired ice cream and was content with stealing glances at her while she was licking it with her rosy tongue, trying hard to not let his mind wander **too** far.
By the time they reached the park, the sun had finally set, but there was enough light left to make it a romantic stroll, rather then an eerie reminder of graveyard patrols in Sunnydale.
Angel was trying to come up with a comfortable subject, but by trying too hard, he couldn't think of anything. Very well then. He could do this.
"So, Cordy, are you...you know...seeing anyone?"
Cordelia was glad she had finished her ice cream cone a while ago, she was positive she would have choked at his question. She knew she could have bought some time by pretending she didn't hear him but she realized that was silly. He was walking right beside her and the park's current occupants didn't make enough noise for her to not have heard him.
"Um...do you mean like, am I dating someone?"
'Ugh. Idiot! What else could he have meant? Was that the best she could do?' She knew the answer to his question. Yes. She had heard it before. But...but she'd have to be in flirt mode to engage in this kind of conversation, and this was Angel! She didn't flirt with Angel!
Oh, and Angel didn't flirt with her. He had probably meant it as a way a concerned friend would catch up with his friend's life. What else?
He looked up.
"Yeah. I mean, you haven't mentioned anyone in a while and...and I know you don't like bringing your boyfriends to the office, because..."
"Because you give them the third degree and embarrass me even before the first date?" She interrupted him.
But she regretted her remark when she saw his face fall. He dropped his head and resumed studying the pavement.
"If that's how you want to put it."
He said, and Cordelia thought she could sense pain in his voice. But that must have been her imagination, they had played this game before. The emerging silence made Cordelia uncomfortable. She decided a change of subject was in order.
"How did you know about this park, do you come here often?"
But he wasn't distracted so easily.
"You didn't answer my question..." He insisted.
Cordelia threw her hands up, pretending to ask the heavens for help.
"No. Okay? Rub it in, why don't you!" She stomped ahead.
"No, Cordy, I didn't mean to...I was just..." He started as he quickened his pace to catch up.
He was about to reach out to grab her arm, make her look at him when he heard a growl from the nearby bushes.
Cordelia stopped immediately, as the first growl was greeted with a similar sound, coming from behind a tree a few feet away.
"What was that?" She whispered, hoping he would say 'wild dog' or 'goose' or something equally comforting.
He actually managed to give her an amusing look.
"A life on the hell mouth, three years in LA, and you have to ask what **that** sound is" He arched an eyebrow at her. "Did you bring any weapons?"
"Gosh, Angel, normally I would. What was I thinking, going out for a walk with my champion and not bringing the weapon's cabinet!"
She was so annoyed she didn't even notice her own slip. He didn't have the time to investigate any further though, as the first vampire jumped up from his hiding space behind the bush. Angel shoved Cordelia to the ground and attacked. She landed on a branch, which she quickly freed of all foliage. Calling his name, she got Angel's attention as she threw the makeshift stake at him. He got the right angle and planted the piece of wood in his attacker's chest. Before he went up in dust, a second vampire had jumped Angel's back and was wrestling him.
Cordelia shrieked as now a third demon attacked her.
She heard Angel call her name, but she couldn't respond as she was trying to fend off her attacker. What she wouldn't give for at least a crucifix. For a split second, she was wondering how, on the only night she left the hotel without any means of defense whatsoever, they were ambushed like that.
She heard the familiar sound of a vampire being dusted nearby and was sure Angel would come to her rescue any moment now.
Cordelia was still on the ground wrestling with a badly dressed female vampire, straining her neck to make out Angel and get his attention.
She gasped when she saw him, he was currently fighting three vampires; one was on his back, one was going for the hand holding the stake and one was about to jump him.
"Angel, look out!" She screamed, a moment before she felt the impact of something heavy on the back of her head and her world went black.
Angel was all business. No time for silly one-liners that usually eased the tension when he was out killing demons with the gang. He knew he was outnumbered and he also had Cordelia to worry about.
He managed a powerful groin kick against a vampire dressed in '70's clothes, which gave him time to shake a smaller, almost dwarf-like creature off his back.
"Cordelia?" He yelled out and didn't get an answer. He didn't have the time to turn around though, as disco-guy was recovering and approached him quickly with his fangs bared.
Angel had long since put on his game face, he knew he'd need the extra demon power when he saw he was facing more than one of his undead 'cousins'.
He kicked his attacker right in the face this time, and as he slumped to the ground, Angel jumped him. With one swift grip, Angel held his head tight and jerked it until he heard the spine break. He knew it wouldn't kill the vampire, but it would give him a moment to focus on the other attackers and find Cordelia.
Angel turned around, ready to face Gnome Face, when he realized he was alone.
He saw the back of one vampire, exiting fast. Finding another branch, he quickly dusted disco-guy before he regained consciousness.
"Cordy?"
He yelled again, expecting her to emerge from behind a tree or a bush, making a typical remark about ruined clothing, or maybe reprimanding him for shoving her to the ground. Anything!
"Cordelia???"
His voice was almost a plea at this point. He strained his ears to pick up any sound at all while scanning the terrain. All he could make out was a few frightened people, standing at a safe distance, gawking.
He turned back into his human form, now looking behind every tree trunk. It took him another ten minutes of frantic searching to finally let the truth sink in: They had taken Cordy.
His Cordy.
She was out there, scared shitless, hopefully still alive and he had been unable to protect her.
He had let her down.
"Cordy!!"
He screamed one more time, no longer expecting her to answer. He was beside himself with anger, shame and worry. He would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to Cordelia while she was with him. He always wanted to protect her, but when she was with him, he wanted more, he wanted her to feel safe in his presence.
He sunk to his knees in a moment of despair. Now cursing himself for not going after the last fleeing vampire to at least have a trace to follow, he got up and forced himself to focus.
He knew her scent, he could follow her. And he was not going to waste another minute pitying his incompetent ass while she was out there!
That was when he realized he wouldn't be able to make it on his own, and he could only come up with one possible source.
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