Title: Unexpected
Author: rgw (Robin)
Posted: 11-25-2002
Rating: NC17
Email:
Content: Cordelia/Angel
Summary: Angel and Cordelia discover something unexpected while attending Xander and Anya’s wedding in Sunnydale. This takes place some time at the beginning of Season 3 after everyone is over the trauma of Buffy dying and then coming back, but before the whole Darla/Connor mess.
Spoilers: All of Angel Season 2 and Buffy Season 5.
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution:
Notes: This is my first attempt at fanfic, so constructive criticism is gladly accepted. It's really just a silly bit of fluff that I wrote a while ago, and I'm a little bit intimidated by all the great fics that I've been reading here, but I thought it might be a mood-lifter. This is a response to a challenge on Stranger Things.
"Any situation which involves Angel and Cordy having to vacation together in a room with one bed, one shower ... you get the drift :-) One of those "learn they have feelings for one another" pieces." ~SealedNFate
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Part 3: I’m Not Jealous
Cordelia awoke to find herself precariously close to the edge of the bed. She tried to scoot away from the edge and found her progress blocked by something large and immobile.
“Stop moving,” said a low voice from directly behind her.
She tried to turn to see the owner of the voice when an arm reached around and pulled her up against what she assumed was the rest of a body. The arm was cool and seemed familiar.
“Hey,” she protested.
“ ‘s too early,” Angel’s sleep roughened voice responded. “Go back t’sleep.”
Oh yeah. Angel. The room was pitch dark with the blanket draped over the window, so Cordelia really had no idea what time it was. Too early? To a vampire that could mean three o’clock in the afternoon. She, however, had business.
“Hey, sleepy vamp, let me up,” she said, trying to lift his arm.
“No.” He snuggled against her. “Warm.”
She sighed. Well, she supposed she could wait a little while. It wasn’t too uncomfortable having Angel spooned around her, holding her against him, snuggling into her hair. And he really didn’t get to enjoy the warmth of body heat very often, she rationalized. She knew he missed it. Besides, he was still mostly asleep, and waking sleeping vampires was a touchy business. No, she could definitely wait.
But what an incredible bed hog, she thought.
* * *
An hour or so later, Cordelia came fully awake. Angel was wrapped almost completely around her. And it felt nice.
No! Not going there. Just friends.
She slid off the edge of the bed, out from under his arm. He grumbled and moved into the warm spot she had vacated.
She shook herself and headed for the bathroom. A shower and food, in that order. That’s what she needed.
When she came out of the shower, Angel was laying on his back.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“A little after one o’clock.” She watched him stretch. “Sleep well?”
He sat up. “Actually, yes. I had the nicest dream.”
“And most of the bed,” she replied caustically, trying not to stare. He was incredibly cute at the moment, still relaxed from sleep, his hair all messy. Stop, she told herself.
He looked around, realizing for the first time that he was getting up on the opposite side of the bed from the one he’d gone to sleep on. “Oh. Sorry.”
She snorted. “I managed.”
He got up and headed for the shower. Black silk boxers were very appealing, she thought.
“Hey,” she called to him. “Can I borrow your car keys? I’m starving.”
“Sure, just don’t take too long. I’m going to call Willow and see if they can do that spell.”
She smiled. “Good. I’m glad you decided to. I’ll be back in a jiff.” She waited until he was safely in the bathroom before opening the outside door and heading off in search of lunch.
* * *
A couple of hours later, Angel, Cordelia, and the entire Scooby Gang were all gathered in the back room behind Giles’ magic shop. Some of Buffy’s training equipment had been moved to leave a large open space on the floor. Willow, Tara, and Giles were making last minute preparations.
Angel stood nervously to one side, watching everything carefully. It had been a strange day so far. First, he’d had the most wonderful dream where he’d been standing on a beach, watching the sun set, his arms wrapped around a beautiful woman. It had been incredibly warm and nice, and he’d been extremely happy. Which was fine. Then the woman had turned to look up at him, and he had kissed her lovingly. Which was also fine. However, the woman he had been holding and kissing had been Cordelia, not Buffy. And that was not fine. He and Cordelia were just friends, so why was he dreaming of kissing her?
And then he had awakened to discover himself on her side of the bed. He desperately hoped she had gotten up during the night and he had rolled into the empty space. Unfortunately, he was afraid that while he was asleep, he had been drawn to her body heat. He risked a glance at her. She didn’t seem to be upset. Surely she’d be mad at him if he had touched her during the night? Surely she’d be ranting about his violating her ‘personal bubble’? Instead, she just seemed happy for him. Maybe she’d yell at him later, when they were done with the spell.
“Angel.” Willow gestured for him to join her in the center of the room.
“OK,” she explained. “You should probably lay down for this, make yourself comfortable.”
He looked at Cordelia, and she gave him an encouraging smile. He did as Willow suggested, stretching out on a mat in the center of the cleared space.
Willow took some kind of red powder and drew a circle around his prone form. Then Tara joined her and they drew a second, larger circle around all three of them. Willow then seated herself near Angel’s head while Tara took a seat by his feet.
Willow explained the procedure to Angel and the rest of group. “The red circle is a containment. In the extremely unlikely event that something goes wrong, and you become, you know, evil, it should keep you in until we can fix it. And if not, that’s where Buffy and Xander come in.”
Xander brandished his tranquilizer gun. “I’m really a better shot with a crossbow,” he said.
“Hey!” Willow said sharply. “None of that. You be nice.”
“Sorry.” Clearly, Xander wasn’t.
Willow continued, ignoring him. “The blue circle is a protection to keep harmful energies out. Tara and I will be the primary casters here. Giles will be our second.” Giles took a seat just outside the red circle near Angel’s right hand. “Cordelia will handle the herbs, if that’s OK.”
“Sure,” Cordelia replied lightly. “Stinky herbs seem to be my specialty.” She gave the other girl a knowing smile.
Willow obviously remembered that part of their adventure several years ago when she had restored Angel’s soul from her hospital bed. Cordelia had handled the herbs then, too. She grinned mischievously at the brunette. “Experience helps in these matters.” She gestured Cordelia to the spot near Angel’s left hand.
“OK, I think everything’s set. Are you ready, Angel?”
“Yeah,” he replied nervously. “I guess. Do I need to do anything besides, well, lay here?”
“Nope.” Willow smiled down at him. “You just lay back and enjoy the ride.” She nodded to Cordelia. “Go ahead.”
Cordelia bent to light the herbs, then looked up. “This isn’t going to hurt, is it?”
Buffy stood with her hands on her hips. “No, Cordelia. Holding a bunch of smoldering plants isn’t going to hurt you. Must everything be about you?”
Cordelia rolled her eyes. “I meant *him*. Is it going to hurt *him*?”
Willow shook her head. “No, it shouldn’t. It’s not like pulling his soul out, or stuffing it back in. The soul stays put. We’re just tacking it down with a little spiritual super glue.”
Cordelia nodded, and went back to lighting the herbs. As soon as they were smoldering, Giles began to chant, and both Tara and Willow closed their eyes in concentration. After a few moments, Willow and Tara began to recite the words of the spell in unison.
When they reached the end of the spell, Angel’s eyes snapped open and he gasped, his whole body rigid. A bright blue light enveloped him for a moment before fading out. He slumped back to the floor, apparently unconscious.
The room was silent for a moment.
“Willow?” Cordelia asked timidly.
Willow opened her eyes and smiled. “We’re done.”
Cordelia looked back at Angel’s unmoving form. “Is he...?”
Willow and Tara exchanged a look. “We won’t know until he wakes up. The spell worked, though. Nothing went wrong.”
At that moment, Angel started to stir. Buffy and Xander gripped their tranquilizer guns and took a step closer to the circle.
“Angel?” Cordelia asked hopefully.
He turned and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Cordelia’s worried face, and he smiled.
“Hey,” she said. “Welcome back. How do you feel?”
“Tired.” He shifted around. “And sore.” He closed his eyes. “And kinda the same. Did it work?”
“Willow and Tara need to take a look. Can you sit up?”
He struggled to a sitting position. He turned to the blonde witch. “What do I need to do?”
“Nothing,” she replied, capturing his gaze with her own. She looked into his eyes for several minutes before turning to Willow. “It’s good. It worked.”
Willow smiled brightly and turned to Buffy. “We rock!”
Willow and Tara broke both circles while Cordelia helped Angel to his feet.
“I guess we should have brought some blood, huh?” she asked him.
He tried to roll the kinks out of his shoulders. “Might have helped.”
“I could go get you some, unless Giles has some on hand.”
“I might,” the older man said.
She shrugged and turned back to Angel. “You want?”
“Nah, that’s OK. It’ll wait...”
Just then Buffy made her way to Angel, and pushing Cordelia a little to the side, wrapped her arms around him in a huge hug.
“Oh, Angel,” she said. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Um, thanks,” he replied, awkwardly putting his arms around her.
Cordelia stepped away from them, totally annoyed with Buffy’s behavior. OK, so they weren’t exactly friends, but that didn’t give the other girl the right to treat her like a piece of furniture. She watched Buffy snuggle herself deeper into Angel’s embrace, her annoyance slowly transforming itself into anger. And people thought she was selfish. Huh. Buffy could outdo her any day. And it was just plain rude. Yes, that’s what really made her mad, that Buffy could be so rude to her. Her anger had nothing to do with Buffy being all over Angel, because she, Cordelia, was not jealous.
She noticed Xander step up next to her. “Did I hear right?” he asked.
“About what?”
“Did I hear you offer to go get blood for Deadboy?”
She snorted. “Yeah, what of it?”
“Cordelia, you’ve always hated the sight of blood.”
She shrugged. “You get used to it.” She looked over to see Angel slowly disentangling himself from Buffy. The sight made her anger fade a little. “He’s a vampire. He drinks blood.” She turned back to Xander. “He heals faster if he feeds after he’s been hurt. Besides, watching him drink it isn’t nearly as disgusting as having to dig bullets out of him.”
Xander shook his head. “Cordy, you amaze me.”
“What? Someone has to do it. It’s not like he can always do it himself.”
Xander smiled. “No, I mean, I’m impressed as hell with the new you. I’m glad you’re going to be around for a couple of more days. I want to get to know you.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Xander. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time.”
He threw his arm around her shoulders in a companionable way. “Come on, let’s go share the good news with my lovely bride to be. If there haven’t been any customers, she’ll be bored to tears in the shop.”
* * *
Angel gently extracted himself from Buffy’s embrace. Not that he didn’t like it. It was nice, and she was warm. But his dream was still fresh in his mind, and he could almost feel Cordelia’s softer, fuller, curves. And that thought was making him very uncomfortable, indeed.
“So, Willow, you’re certain that it worked?” he asked again.
She smiled indulgently. “Yes, Angel, I’m certain.” He watched as her smile turned a little more devilish. “But I suspect that the only way you’re going to convince yourself that it worked is to take that newly permanent soul for a happiness test drive.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively. “Isn’t that right, Buffy?”
The Slayer blushed prettily. “If that’s what’s best for Angel.”
His discomfort factor was increasing, and he was very grateful that vampires couldn’t blush. He cleared his throat nervously.
Giles sighed loudly. “I’m well aware that you all do, but could we please not discuss your sex lives while I’m present? Surely we can manage some small degree of propriety?”
Buffy grinned at him unrepentantly. Apparently, they’d had this discussion before. “Sure, Giles. Whatever you say.”
“Thank God,” he muttered as he began cleaning up the mess.
Angel turned to help move some equipment when he noticed Xander put his arm around Cordelia and lead his seer into the front of the store. He was a little bothered by the sight. Sure, Cordelia had said that Xander had been pleasant the night before, but that was yesterday. Xander could be pretty annoying when he wanted to be. Angel knew that Cordelia had cared a great deal for Xander at one time, loved him even. Maybe she still did. He stifled a growl. No, Xander had hurt her badly. She’d never open herself up to that again. But, if she loved him... This time the growl escaped before he could stop it. No, Cordelia did not love Xander. She was just renewing their friendship. And that only upset him because he really didn’t like Xander. Yes, that’s all it was. He was not jealous.
* * *
“So,” Xander was saying, “we all meet back here at 7:00 for the bachelor and bachelorette extravaganzas. Everyone better rest up, because we intend to do some heavy-duty partying.”
“Oh, joy,” said Giles. “I’ve been meaning to go out and get good and drunk lately.”
“Cheer up, G-man!” Xander replied. “You get dinner and entertainment later on.”
Giles rolled his eyes. “Well, that makes it all worthwhile.” He shook his head. “I’m getting way too old for this.” He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Run along then, all of you. You, too, Anya.”
She gave Giles an awkward hug. “Thank you.” She turned to Cordelia. “Weddings are the best.”
* * *
Cordelia removed the last hot roller from her hair and ran her fingers through it to guide it into place. She could hear Angel stirring in the other room. He had taken a nap while she ran a couple of errands, including picking up some fresh blood for him, before coming back to the motel to dress for the party.
Coming back to the motel room that they were sharing. She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she contemplated spending another night in the same bed as Angel. She watched the slight blush that crept onto her cheeks as she thought about the way she’d woken up with Angel draped over her. She had liked it, and it had certainly not been appropriate for two people who were just friends.
Oh god, what if it happened again?
“So, what exactly is this bachelor thing going to entail?” Angel asked hesitantly.
She jumped at the sound of his voice and then turned from the mirror to pick up her makeup bag. “The usual, I guess. You’ll start with dinner, then probably go for drinks somewhere, and then you’ll end up at the titty bar.”
“Titty bar?”
“Sure. You know. ‘Gentlemen’s club’? Strip joint?”
“We’re going to a strip joint?” That didn’t really sound like his idea of a good time.
She nodded. “Mmm hmmm. Unless you’re going to someone’s house and having the strippers come to you.” She turned to look at him. “Why? You sound worried.”
He shrugged. “A little.”
“Hey, you’re Mr. I-Have-a-Permanent-Soul now. No need to worry about avoiding women.” She gave him a sly grin. “Just remember, if you decide to meet one of them after her shift, you can’t bring her back here.”
“Cordy!”
She gave him her best innocent expression. “What? You are a guy, after all. And it’s been a while for you. You might meet one you like.”
He shook his head, smiling slightly. The chance of that was so unlikely as to be non-existent, but he was willing to play along with her. “OK. I promise if I decide I need to do a little hanky-panky with a stripper, we’ll go to her place.”
“Phew!” Cordelia said in mock relief. “I would have hated to have walked in on that.”
He rolled his eyes, and she went back to doing her makeup. She hoped Angel had fun. Well, not too much fun. She sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Angel to have fun, because he definitely deserved it. No, it was the thought of Angel and one of those strippers. It was really beginning to bug her. Surely Angel wouldn’t sleep with some total stranger who’d been had by dozens of men before him? Then again, his pre-vamp self had used tavern wenches.
She turned and watched Angel button up his shirt. No. Angel was different. He couldn’t be so desperate for sex that he would turn to a stripper. Surely he’d turn to Buffy first. She was definitely willing. Cordelia frowned. Somehow, she didn’t find the prospect of Angel in bed with Buffy much more appealing than the prospect of Angel in bed with a stripper.
She shook herself. It wasn’t any of her business. Angel was a grown man, several times over. If he wanted to sleep with a stripper or with Buffy, that was his business and his right. God. What was wrong with her? She was acting as if she were jealous. Which, of course, she wasn’t.
“So, what are you ladies going to be doing tonight?” he asked as he watched her finish her preparations.
“Oh, pretty much the same, I guess. Dinner, drinks, mostly naked men,” she replied breezily.
“Naked men?” He must have heard wrong.
“Yep. Well, mostly naked, anyway.”
“Huh?”
“You know, the Chippendale’s dancer kind of thing.”
He frowned. “You’re not actually going to be touching them, are you?”
She looked at him as though he were insane. “Of course, not. Well, except for putting money in their g-strings. That’s sort of required.”
The thought of Cordelia touching some strange, mostly naked, man was very disturbing. “What do you mean, required?”
She sighed. “It’s just like the strip clubs, Angel. The guys dance for you, and you give them tips.”
“You’re not touching them,” he said firmly.
“No, unless I need to tip one.”
“You’re not touching them,” he repeated.
She looked at him oddly. “Angel, you don’t have to worry about me bringing a strange man back to the room. Not going to happen.” She gathered her jacket and her purse. “Besides, most of them are gay.”
Well, that was encouraging. The thought of Cordelia touching some strange man was definitely disturbing. The thought of her bringing a man back to the room and having sex with him was completely unacceptable. Not that he actually had any say in what she did, but he was determined to keep her from doing that. Because he was concerned about her well being. Not because he was jealous. Because he wasn’t.
“Gay?”
“Unfortunately. Come on. We’re gonna be late.”
* * *
Two limousines were sitting outside the magic shop when they arrived. Not a bad idea, Cordelia thought. At least this way, no one was driving drunk.
Xander greeted them as they came in the door. “Hey, guys! Looks like we’re all here now, so we can get this party started.”
Cordelia smiled. “Nice touch with the limos.”
“Yep. This is supposed to be fun, and copious quantities of alcohol will be involved, so no one will be driving.” He held his hand out to Angel. “Car keys, please.”
Angel fished his keys out of his pocket and reluctantly handed them to Xander, who dropped them into a large jar with several other sets of keys.
“You’ll get them back tomorrow,” Xander assured him. “We just don’t want you ending up dead. Well, deader.”
Anya joined them. “Cordelia, you’re here! Great. We can go and start having fun.” She gave Xander a big kiss. “Have fun, too.”
“I’m sure we will.”
Willow and Tara came in from the back of the store. “Are we ready?”
“Yes!” Anya replied. She grabbed Cordelia’s hand and lead her towards the door. “Come on everyone. Time to go have fun.”
Cordelia looked at Angel. “Try to have a good time.”
He nodded.
“Be careful.”
“You, too.”
* * *
Well, it wasn’t the *longest* night of Cordelia’s life. Yet.
Dinner had been... dinner. There were only the five of them, Anya, Willow, Tara, Buffy, and herself. She had tried to keep as many of the others between herself and the Slayer as possible, but wasn’t having much luck. Anya had chosen a Chinese restaurant. The table was round. It had taken all of Cordelia’s will power to keep quiet as Buffy went on about how wonderful it was that Angel had his soul and how happy she was that they could be together now. Cordelia had wanted to scream.
And now, here they were in Vito’s, a club in the neighboring town of Springfield that featured an all-male revue. The five of them cozily seated at a table for four. Sigh. At least with Buffy this close, she didn’t have to worry about her running off for a roll in the hay with Angel. Cordelia frowned. The thought of Buffy and Angel going at it was really upsetting. She really didn’t want the Slayer anywhere near the vampire. Not that she was jealous, of course.
Anya slid a five dollar bill into the g-string of the nearest dancer, giggling as he preened and strutted for her.
She turned back to the rest of the table. “This is very entertaining.”
“Well, that’s the idea,” said Buffy. “This is supposed to be your last big fling before you become a married woman.”
Anya looked back at the dancers. “They’re very nice to look at, although none of them are as attractive as my Xander.”
Tara giggled.
Willow smiled. “Yes, Xander does have his charms.”
“Definitely,” Buffy agreed with a laugh. She surveyed the men on stage. “Although I don’t know that I’d say none of these guys were as good looking.”
Cordelia agreed, but she supposed that since Anya was marrying him, it was good that she found him so appealing.
Buffy went on. “Now there’s not a man alive that’s as good looking as Angel.”
Anya cocked her head and looked at Buffy for a moment. “Yes,” she said, “Angel is attractive in a big and glowery sort of way, but I’ve never seen him naked. What do you think, Cordelia?”
Cordelia was struck speechless momentarily. What did she think about Angel naked? And then a slightly evil thought came to her. She smiled. “I’ve seen pretty much all of Angel, and I’ll have to agree with Buffy on this one. There’s not a piece of him that’s not nice to look at.”
Buffy frowned. “When did you see most of Angel?” she asked suspiciously.
“Oh, I stayed with him for a few days when I first got to LA, and he lived with me after our old office blew up,” she said lightly. “He routinely wanders around his living space in his boxer shorts.” She grew thoughtful as she pictured the image. “Very nice.” She watched the male dancers for a minute. “I’ve had my hands on quite a bit of him, too, bandaging his wounds, and while he’s perhaps not as... lean as some of these guys, he’s definitely put together nicely.” She smiled at Anya.
Buffy said nothing, but her frown deepened. Cordelia felt a little petty. OK, maybe she was a teensy bit jealous. And what, exactly, did that mean?
Willow seemed to sense the rising tension at the table. “Well, not that I’m into guys any more or anything, but for my part, having seen all three of them without their shirts on, no one has nicer abs than Spike.”
“Really?” Anya asked with interest. “Do tell!”
“He’s very well muscled,” Willow said. “Not like Arnold Schwartzenegger or anything, but really well-defined. Real washboard stomach.”
Buffy looked at Willow thoughtfully. “Now that you mention it, from a strictly physical perspective, Spike is pretty nicely built.”
Cordelia raised an eyebrow.
Buffy looked mildly embarrassed. “Last year Willow had a spell go a little wacky, and I ended up engaged to Spike for a little over a day. Thankfully, Willow fixed it before we ended up boinking, but we did... touch... a bit...”
“Please,” Anya interrupted. “You were all over him. The two of you could hardly keep your hands off each other, and you were permanently attached at the lips.”
Tara giggled, and Cordelia was unable to suppress a smile.
Buffy squirmed in her seat. “It wasn’t *that* bad.”
“Yes, it was,” Anya affirmed. “So, he has nice abs, huh?”
Buffy nodded. “And nice shoulders.”
“Hmmm,” Anya started, “maybe, but my Xander has nice shoulders, too.”
Willow nodded vigorously. “I’ll have to agree with that. Xander’s shoulder are perfect for crying on and leaning on.”
“Yes, and holding onto,” Anya agreed.
Buffy laughed. “OK, I’ll have to go along with that. What do you say, Cordy?”
She smiled. “I’m willing to concede that Xander may have the best shoulders, but in my opinion, Angel definitely has the best butt.”
“Oh yeah!” Buffy said. “I won’t argue with that.”
“I don’t know,” Anya started.
“Trust us on this one, Anya,” Willow said. “Angel. Leather pants. Need I say more?”
Buffy and Cordelia both sighed.
“Hmmph,” Anya said. “So, basically what we’re saying is that they’re three really hot men.”
Buffy grinned. “Yep. Aren’t we lucky?”
Cordelia agreed.
Tara spoke up then. “Can you imagine the three of them dancing like that?” she asked, referring to the men on stage.
The other four women watched the dancers for a moment.
“Nah.”
“Nope.”
“Definitely not.”
* * *
It was going to be a long night, Angel thought as he looked around the club they had just entered. It was dark, and a long, U-shaped stage dominated the center of the room. Several brass poles ran from the stage to the ceiling, and women wearing nothing but high-heeled shoes and g-strings were dancing sinuously around them. The place was kind of crowded, and Angel was already beginning to feel uncomfortable as he followed the other men to a table near the stage.
As soon as they were seated, a scantily clad cocktail waitress approached. Xander waved her over to his end of the table.
“What can I get you?” she asked.
Xander gave her a winning smile. “Ma’am, this is my bachelor party, so we’re probably gonna be here for a while.”
“Congratulations,” she said.
“Thanks! So, I think we’ll start with Kamikazes all around. And every time you bring one for the rest of us, bring two for the two of them.” He indicated Angel and Spike.
The waitress raised an eyebrow.
“They have a really high tolerance to alcohol,” Xander explained. “And don’t worry. None of us is driving.”
The waitress went to get their drinks.
Angel turned to Giles. “So, how exactly do these things work?”
Giles looked at him strangely for a moment. “Ah, I don’t suppose you’d be familiar with this particular ritual. I believe the idea is to get Xander as drunk as possible. In the mean time, we’ll be entertained by the, er, ladies, and someone will be taking pictures in order to use them as blackmail against Xander in the future.”
“Oh,” Angel said. “Sounds... fun.”
Giles raised an eyebrow. “Yes, well, after sufficient alcohol, I’m sure it will be.”
The waitress arrived with their drinks. Angel looked at the shot glasses doubtfully.
One of Xander’s work buddies stood and offered a toast. “To your last nights of freedom, Xander. Salut!” The others all downed their shots. Angel tossed the first one back. It wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. Highly alcoholic.
He watched Spike down both his shots. “Ah, that has a bit of a bite, eh?” He looked over at Angel. “Drink up, mate. Second round’s already on its way.”
Angel sighed and drained his second glass. He could already feel the alcohol. It was definitely going to be a long night.
Three rounds and several dances later, Angel was feeling much more relaxed. For their fourth round, Xander had switched to a different shooter. This one had three layers, all different colors. It was very pretty. He wondered how they kept the different liquids separated.
He looked up at the stage. Several of the dancers were rather attractive, definitely more so than when they’d first come in.
Giles leaned back in his chair. “You know, some of these ladies are quite appealing.”
Angel nodded. “Yeah, actually. But some of them seem, well, not quite natural.”
“Implants,” Spike said knowingly. “If they have bigger tits, they get better tips.”
“Ah, yes,” Giles said watching one of the dancers carefully. “I can see the logic behind that.”
“And some of them are quite nice, eh?” Spike asked.
“Quite nice, indeed,” Xander chipped in.
“As nice as Anya?” One of his construction friends asked.
Xander looked thoughtful. “Now, let me tell you. Anya, very nice. But of all the women I know, Cordelia definitely has the nicest tits.”
Angel frowned. Xander may be drunk, or fast approaching it, but he really shouldn’t be talking about Cordelia that way.
“Oh, really?” Spike asked.
Xander nodded, a goofy smile on his face. “Yep. They’re just the right size, you know, big, but not too big. And definitely real. Full and soft...”
Angel felt a growl building in his chest. “OK, that’s enough. Don’t talk about Cordelia that way.”
“Hey, there’s no harm in it, man,” Xander replied. “Why? You don’t think Cordelia has nice tits?”
Angel’s eyes narrowed. “Cordelia has beautiful breasts. That’s not the point.”
“You’ve seen Cordelia’s breasts?” Giles asked in mild surprise.
Angel froze. “Well, not exactly.” Giles just looked at him. “She was filming this commercial. For sunscreen. And I had to ask her a question, so I went to the studio, and they had her in this bathing suit.”
“A bathing suit?” Spike said, somewhat disappointed.
“Yeah, it was a two-piece thing that really covered, well, not much. And I am kinda taller than she is, and you know, looking down...”
Spike grinned evilly. “You checked out her tits.”
“No! It wasn’t like that at all.” He shifted in his seat. “And this is not about me. I don’t go around talking about her like she’s an object. You’re supposed to be her friend, so you should treat her with a little more respect.”
“I respect Cordelia,” Xander said defensively. “I just also happen to think she has great tits.” He paused thoughtfully. “Now that I think about it, she’s got a pretty nice ass, too.”
“That’ll do, Harris.”
“Yep,” Xander continued, “we had some mighty pleasant times there in the closet...”
Xander and Cordelia had dated, Angel recalled as Xander continued with his story. Angel remembered Buffy telling him that they had gone into the janitor’s closet at the high school to make out. The thought of Xander’s warm sweaty hands groping Cordelia in a dark closet sent a burst of anger through him. He didn’t want the other man even thinking about his seer, never mind touching her. He wasn’t aware that he was growling or that he’d started to stand. He barely felt Giles’s hand on his arm pulling him back into his seat.
“Let it go, Angel,” Giles said quietly.
“Yeah,” Spike added, “it’s hardly polite to go rippin’ the groom’s head off at the bachelor party.”
Giles gave Spike a disgusted look. “Yes, quite.” He turned his attention back to Angel. “Xander doesn’t mean anything by it. We’ve all had a lot to drink.”
Spike snorted. “Course it might be kind of funny watchin’ Xapper’s regular work mates go screamin’ when Peaches here goes vamp on ‘im.”
Angel shot Spike an angry glare, but relaxed back into his seat. He realized at that point that he’d been growling and stopped. He felt Giles release his arm. Xander was still rambling on about his exploits in the closet with Cordelia. Angel picked up his shot, drained the glass, and slammed it down onto the table with a loud bang. The other men jumped slightly, and Xander immediately fell silent.
Angel fixed Xander with a deadly stare. “Enough about the past,” he said in a silky smooth voice that was decidedly reminiscent of his not so pleasant half. “Why dwell on that, when there are so many lovely things to admire here in the present?” He pulled a twenty out of his pocket and waved one of the dancers over. “I think my friend here, who’s getting married in a couple of days, could use a dance.” The woman took his twenty and glided over to Xander, to the hoots and whistles of his other friends.
Angel watched the woman dance for, well, on, Xander and tried to calm his emotions. Xander and Cordelia did share a past. He knew that. It surprised him that hearing about it now would make him so angry. Well, maybe not angry, exactly.
He drained his second drink. More like... jealous.
Maybe he was, just a bit. He had actually thought about ripping Xander’s head off.
OK, so maybe he was more than just a bit jealous.
OK, so maybe he was extremely jealous. What was that about?
He heard one of Xander’s other friends order another round. Maybe that would help. Or not.
Spike leaned back in his chair and pulled out a battered leather wallet. “Now that was a good idea, mate.” He waved to a couple of other dancers. “The broody chap there could use a little cheerin’ up.” He gestured at Angel.
“Um, no, that’s OK, I...”
“Nonsense,” Spike cut in. He handed a twenty to one of the dancers, who happened to be small and blonde. “Why don’t you see what you can do to help him out, eh?” She smiled.
Spike then handed another twenty to the second dancer and pointed her at Giles. “And this fellow here hasn’t had any excitement in longer than he can remember. He’s due for some fun.” Giles began to stutter.
Spike watched with a satisfied grin as the blonde made her way over to Angel. She straddled his lap and pushed his coat off his shoulders before starting her ‘dance’.
Spike sniggered. The look on Angel’s face was priceless.
“Oh, um, hi... oh, that’s... oh my...”
* * *
Cordelia looked at her watch for the thousandth time. 4:07 am. Exactly three minutes after the last time she’d checked. Where was he?
The girl’s party had broken up around 2:00 am. They’d gone back to the magic shop, and she had picked up Angel’s car and come straight to their room. The room that they were sharing. That thought still gave her mild butterflies.
So, she had gotten back to their room to find she was alone. No Angel.
Not a complete surprise, really. She figured there would be plenty of alcohol at the bachelor party and that they’d try to keep Xander out as late as possible. And she knew that Angel could take care of himself.
Still, she worried. What if he had decided to stop by Buffy’s on his way home? What if he’d gone home with a stripper? What if he didn’t come back?
She shook her head. No. He’d be fine.
She laid down in the bed, turned out the lamp, and tried to sleep. No luck. Weird how she was nervous about sleeping in the bed with him here, but she was more anxious about him not being here.
She sat up, turned the light back on and checked her watch. 4:09 am.
She flopped back into the pillows.
She was staring at the ceiling when she heard a car pull up. There were a couple of loud voices, and then a thump against the door. She got out of bed and started toward the door, when it opened and Angel half staggered, half fell into the room.
She helped him stand and when he looked at her, his eyes seemed sort of unfocused.
“Cordy! You’re up.”
She reached behind him and closed the door.
“Yeah. Are you OK?”
He gave her a goofy grin. “Yep. I’m great.” He wobbled and she steadied him. “Just great.”
He smelled of cigarettes and alcohol, and had obviously had more than a little bit to drink. Cordelia wasn’t certain she’d ever seen Angel drunk before, but she’d definitely give him credit. When he did something, he did it all the way.
“OK, let’s get you out of that coat.” She let go of him to help him remove the coat, and he swayed unsteadily on his feet.
“Wow,” he said. “The room is moving.”
She laughed. “No, Angel. That’s you.” She pulled his coat down one arm, and put that arm around her shoulders while she pulled the coat off the other arm and dropped it onto the floor.
“OK, drunk vamp, let’s go over this way.” She helped him stagger over to his side of the bed.
“Sit.”
He sat.
She bent down and started untying his boots. “So, did you have fun?”
“Yep. I think so.” He paused. “Well, except for that part where I wanted to rip Xander’s head off.”
She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. “Why did you want to rip Xander’s head off?”
“He was making comments about your...” His gaze traveled down to her chest. “About certain parts of your body, and I didn’t think he should.” He looked at her very sincerely. “You have very beautiful... you’re very beautiful, but he shouldn’t talk about you like you were one of those naked women at the club.” He reached out and touched her face clumsily. “You’re way too good for that.”
Despite the fact that at this point he was drunk enough to say anything, she was touched by his gesture. She patted his hand. “So what did you do?”
He shrugged. “I made him stop.” He grinned mischievously. “Then I bought him a lap dance.”
Cordelia raised her eyebrows in momentary surprise. Then she shook her head and went back to pulling off his boots and his socks. That accomplished, she stood and watched him a moment.
“They’re very forward,” he said.
“Who are?”
“Those dancers.”
“Really?” This was bound to be good. She stepped closer to him and held out her hand. “Wrist.” He held up his left wrist and she undid the button on his shirt cuff. “Other side.” He lifted his right wrist and waited while she undid that button.
“Yep,” he said as she began undoing the buttons on his shirt. “They just get right on you... well, first of all they’re just about naked. I mean they wear these little strappy satin thingies that are supposed to be underwear but cover, like, nothing.” He paused while Cordelia helped him take off the shirt.
“Then they just crawl right into your lap and start rubbing all over you.” He looked at a spot on the wall over Cordelia’s shoulder. “In my day, we had tavern wenches and they’d sit on your lap, but with all those layers of clothes on, it was hard to really feel anything. Unless you paid to take her upstairs.” He seemed to drift off, then he looked back at her. “But these women were virtually naked, and all over you. And you could see and feel everything. It was... weird. It wasn’t... exciting.”
Cordelia snorted. “I’m sure it wasn’t.” She grabbed his hands. “OK, we’re going to stand up. Can you manage that?” She helped pull him to his feet, and then placed his hands on her shoulders so he wouldn’t fall over. She started to unbuckle his belt when she heard him giggle. She stopped and looked up at him.
He had a silly smile on his face. “She probably thought I was gay,” he said as if he were sharing a great secret.
“Why is that?”
“Cuz I didn’t get... interested.” He snickered again.
Interested? Oh! “Well, I’m sure she knew how much you guys had had to drink.”
He shook his head and then grabbed her shoulders as he started to lose his balance. “Nope, this was early on.”
Cordelia unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants, and pushed them to the floor. “OK, sit.”
He sat back down on the bed. “Later on, I was definitely too drunk, but that one just didn’t do anything for me. She was pretty enough, I guess, but she just wasn’t the right girl.”
Cordelia patted his left ankle. “Lift.” He absently lifted his left foot, and she pulled his pants leg out from under it. “Down.” She patted the other ankle. “Other side.” She freed the pants, and bent to collect his strewn clothing.
“A couple of them invited me home,” he said.
“Oh? Did you go?” she asked as she folded his discarded things.
“Nah. Didn’t really want to. None of them were right.” He grinned at her again. “Besides, I was too busy drinking Spike under the table.”
“And did you?”
“Of course.” He was very pleased with himself. “Giles and I were the last two standing. I have new respect for that man.” He shook his head. “Xander and Spike went down at about the same time. All of the others had already either passed out or gotten sick.”
Cordelia just shook her head, and went to the refrigerator to pour Angel a glass of blood. He manages to drink himself stupid, and one of the three functioning brain cells he has left is the one that tells him not to have casual sex with titty dancers. Amazing.
“Well, it sounds like you had a very good time.” She held the glass out to him. “Here, drink up.”
“I’m OK.”
“Uh huh. When was the last time you ate?”
He looked puzzled. “I don’t remember. There were some chicken wings not too long ago, a couple of hours maybe.”
“Like that would do *you* any good. When’s the last time you ate vampire chow? Before you left?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Trust me, you need this.” She handed him the glass and watched him drink it down, before washing it out and setting it next to the sink.
“OK, let’s get you into bed.”
He looked hesitant. “Cordy, I don’t think I could. I mean, I’m still pretty drunk...”
She sighed in exasperation. “To sleep, Angel. You need to go to sleep.”
“Oh,” he seemed disappointed.
She waited until he laid down and swung his feet onto the bed before pulling the covers up to his waist. She checked the locks on the door and walked back to her side of the bed.
“I would have wanted to,” he said quietly.
“That’s sweet.”
He smiled. “G’night, Cordy.”
She turned to look at him, and smiled. “Good night, Angel.” Before she could turn out the bedside lamp, he was out.
Part 4: What’s Love Got to Do With It
Cordelia awoke the next morning curled up against Angel’s side. He didn’t appear to have moved at all during the night, well morning, and seemed to still be out. She watched him for a moment. He was definitely going to be hating unlife when he finally returned to consciousness.
She rolled away from him and looked at her watch. Nearly eleven. She stretched. She’d have to get up soon. Well, a few more hours of sleep would have been nice, but she really didn’t feel that bad. She didn’t even think about how *not* weird it was this morning to wake up next to Angel.
She managed to drag herself out of bed for a shower. After dressing and doing her hair, she wandered back out into the bedroom. She was putting some last minute items into her purse when she heard a groan from the bed.
“Angel?” she asked quietly. He still hadn’t moved, and she went back to her sorting.
“Stake me.”
She got up and walked over to the bed. “You live.”
“No. Just stake me.”
She laughed softly. “Sorry. No can do.”
He groaned again.
“Hangover pretty bad, huh?”
“Worse.”
“Hmmm,” she replied and wandered back into the bathroom.
Angel couldn’t remember ever feeling this bad. Not even after Lindsay McDonald had beaten him with a sledgehammer and run over him with his truck. A small flock of jackhammers were pounding in his head, his eyes felt like sandpaper, and his mouth felt as though he’d been snacking on slime demons. The room was spinning, which really wasn’t helping his nausea.
He could faintly hear Cordelia moving around in the bathroom, and he smelled fresh blood. Not a good smell.
She came back into the room and sat down gently on the bed next to him. “I have something for you. It’s going to taste *really* bad, but it should make you feel better.”
He cracked open one eye. “I don’t think I can...”
“We’ll just take it nice and slow, then,” she said softly. “Can you sit up a little?”
She helped him struggle into a more upright position. The room spun wildly with the movement, and she waited patiently while he regained control of himself.
She was holding a glass in one hand, full of something that looked like blood but smelled horrible.
“What is it?”
“Hangover remedy. I’m sorry about the taste, but it’ll be good for you.”
He sniffed at it tentatively. “Smells awful. I’m not sure I can drink that.”
“You can,” she gave him an encouraging smile. “It’ll settle your stomach.”
He reached for the glass, but his hand was shaking so badly, he couldn’t hold it steady. She steadied it for him, and he took a taste.
“Gaah! That’s disgusting.”
“I know, but you need to get as much of it down as you can.”
He looked at her carefully, but there was no malice in her expression. She wasn’t trying to torture him. She was genuinely concerned about him. “OK.”
She patiently helped him drink the nasty mixture, and then helped him get settled back into the bed. She got up to rinse the glass, and then returned to her spot at his side. She gently reached up and brushed her fingers across his forehead, running them lightly through the hair at his temple.
“You should try to go back to sleep,” she said gently.
He tried to relax and focus on the soft stroking of Cordelia’s fingers through his hair. It felt very nice, very soothing. He let his eyes drift closed.
Which only caused the spinning of the room to intensify.
He snapped his eyes back open. Cordelia was looking at him sympathetically. “Dizzy?”
He nodded and then grimaced as pain lanced through his skull.
“Oh, sweetie, try not to move. It’ll only make it hurt worse until the medicine kicks in.”
He lay perfectly still until the pain subsided a bit.
“How long will it take?”
She was still running her fingers through his hair. “I’m not sure. For normal people, about 20 minutes, maybe half an hour. For you, maybe less.”
Worst case, half an hour. He could manage that. Especially if she kept touching him in that wonderfully soothing way. Which begged a question.
“Cordy?”
“Hmmm?”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
She graced him with a soft smile. “Why wouldn’t I be nice to the very sweet man who so gallantly defended my honor last night?”
“I told you that?”
“Mmm hmm.” He watched her expression slide into a wicked grin. “And I doubt anyone really thinks you’re gay.”
Oh boy. “I, uh, told you that, too?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Can this get any more humiliating?” he asked rhetorically.
She laughed. “I have no doubt. We haven’t talked to any of the others yet. I’m sure Giles, Xander, or Spike have some juicy tidbits to add.”
“Great.” He stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and they won’t remember any of it.”
“Anything’s possible.” She looked thoughtful. “Of course, if Xander or Giles drank nearly as much as you must have, they’re probably lucky to be alive.”
“No, they were ordering me and Spike two for every one of theirs. Said it wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”
She shook her head. “Men.”
He shifted his gaze back to her, looking for any signs that she was upset with him. “So, you’re not mad at me?”
She cocked her head slightly. “Why would I be mad at you?”
He shrugged slightly. “For coming in drunk and obnoxious. For imposing on you.”
She stopped her hand. “Angel, you were at a bachelor party. You were supposed to get drunk. That’s how they work.” She ran her fingers lightly down his cheek. “And you weren’t obnoxious.” She grinned at him. “You were kind of cute. And very obedient.”
“Obedient?” He was horrified.
“Yep. Did everything I told you, no questions asked. I kind of liked it. Maybe we could work on that at the office.”
He glared at her.
“Or not.” She clasped both of her hands in her lap. “Anyway, you didn’t impose. I don’t mind taking care of you.” She paused. “I’m used to it.”
He smiled slightly. “Thank you.”
They sat a moment in silence, and then she looked at her watch and stood. She went into the bathroom and came back with a glass of water, which she set on the nightstand next to him.
“OK, I don’t know if vampires get dehydrated, but I’ll leave you a glass of water. There’s fresh blood in the fridge when you want it. Unless you want me to leave a glass out for you.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Just for a little while. I’m having lunch with Aura and some of my other friends. From before.”
“Oh.”
She shifted a little. “We’re meeting at an outdoor cafe, and it’s a nice sunny day, so it’ll be fine. No repeats of the Harmony incident.” She picked up her purse. “So, I really should be going. Do you think you’ll be OK?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’ll probably go back to sleep.”
She watched him a moment. “OK. The ‘Do Not Disturb’ is on so the housekeeper won’t bother you, and I put your cell phone on the night stand in case you need to call me.”
“Thanks.”
“Right.” She turned toward the door. “You might want to close your eyes. It’s kind of bright out there.”
He did. “Have fun.”
He waited until he heard the door close behind her and the lock click into place before opening his eyes. The room was dark and empty. He hadn’t wanted her to go. Strange how he had been uncomfortable about sharing the room with her yesterday, and now he was unhappy because she wasn’t here sharing the room with him.
He stared up at the ceiling and decided that now was as good a time as any to have the conversation with himself he’d been avoiding since they’d been in Sunnydale. What exactly was going on between him and Cordelia? He loved her as both his best friend and part of his LA family, there was no question about that. She was not only his friend, but also his confidant and his partner on his quest for redemption. But was there more?
He thought back over the last couple of days. He had definitely been jealous last night when he had wanted to decapitate Xander. He was jealous of Xander’s past relationship with Cordelia and of the possibility that they might have a relationship in the future, even if Xander was getting married. But he had also been jealous when he’d thought about Cordelia ogling the male dancers at the bachelorette party. He hadn’t wanted her anywhere near them.
OK, so he was feeling both jealous and possessive.
He wished he could remember what he had said to her last night. He had only the vaguest memories of coming in. She had been up, but he didn’t know if he had awakened her. He couldn’t remember if she had been angry, but he didn’t think so.
He had obviously told her about Xander’s crude remarks, and his resulting desire to relieve Xander of his head. She hadn’t seemed upset about that then, or this morning. She had seemed, well, kind of pleased. Which was weird considering her reaction the last time he had offered to rip someone’s head off for her. Of course, she wasn’t working for Xander...
Apparently, he had also told her about his lack of interest in the dancer who’d done the lap dance for him. If anything, Cordelia had seemed amused about that. He thought back to the event. At first, the woman had reminded him a bit of Buffy, being small and blonde, and oddly, he hadn’t wanted her. Once she began her ‘dance’, her behavior had reminded him very much of Darla, and he definitely hadn’t wanted her. No, the whole thing had left him mildly embarrassed but not at all aroused.
The second one, a little later on in the evening, had been better. Xander had bought him a dance from a fuller, rounder brunette, saying something about Angel’s tastes having changed. He had found her a little more appealing. She had been attractive, but no where near as beautiful as Cordelia.
He wondered what it would be like to touch Cordelia. He let his eyes close and breathed in Cordelia’s scent, which was all around him in the room. He imagined Cordelia sitting in his lap, running her hands through his hair as he kissed her. He wondered how she would feel as he ran his hands down her back and then around to caress her soft, full breasts. He felt himself begin to stir with the awakening of desire and quickly opened his eyes.
OK, so he cared about Cordelia, he was jealous and possessive of her, and he desired her sexually. He swallowed. He desired her a lot.
And then there were all of the other people who thought that he and Cordelia were already lovers. Were they seeing something that he didn’t? Until yesterday, even if he had had feelings for her, he would have ignored them, denied them. As long as he had the happiness clause attached to the possession of his soul, there would have been no point. He couldn’t have had any kind of romantic relationship with her.
But the clause was gone now. He was free to pursue her, if he wished. Did he? He thought that maybe he did. Maybe everyone else had seen what was there all along, and he was only now able to acknowledge.
Or maybe they were completely off base.
And even if he decided he wanted to pursue Cordelia, would she have any desire to be with him?
* * *
Cordelia pulled Angel’s car into the parking space outside their motel room. She was definitely beginning to like his car. It had a certain coolness to it, and it reminded her of him.
And she was beginning to think of the motel room as home. She shook her head. Sunnydale was definitely having a weird affect on her.
She sighed. She had enjoyed lunch, in a way. It had been kind of fun seeing her old friends, kind of normal. On the other hand, she would really rather have stayed and watched Angel sleep. And how pathetic was that? she thought as she unlocked the door to the room and carefully stepped inside.
Angel was still in bed, although it looked like he had at least moved a bit. She hoped that meant he’d been able to get some sleep.
She put her purse down and was heading for the refrigerator when Angel stirred.
“Cordy?”
“Yeah. It’s just me.”
He stretched. “What time is it?”
“Almost four. How are you feeling?”
He considered. “Better, actually. I must have slept for a while after that nasty concoction you gave me kicked in.”
“So it did help, then?”
“Yeah, it helped.”
She placed the paper bag she had been carrying on top of the refrigerator. “Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Feel like a little something? I stopped at Willy’s on the way back and picked up some fresh O-pos.”
“I think I would.”
She smiled. That was a good sign. “OK, you work on sitting up, I’ll fix lunch.”
She pulled one of the bags of blood out of the paper bag and used a small knife to puncture the plastic. She emptied the bag into a glass and took it to him.
Angel had managed to pull himself into a sitting position on the side of the bed. She handed him the glass and watched him while he drank it. He didn’t look quite as gray as he had earlier, and he seemed less shaky.
She took the empty glass back to the sink.
“You went to Willy’s? Alone?” he asked while she rinsed it out.
She turned back to him. “Sure. There was hardly anyone there this time of day, and I had my handy pointy stick. I don’t leave home without it.”
“You could have gone to the butcher.”
She shrugged. “I figured it’d be OK to splurge on the good stuff. Thought maybe it’d be better for you.” She had actually debated with herself for a few minutes before going into Willy’s seedy bar. But she had wanted to do something nice for Angel, something that would help him, and fresh human blood always seemed to help him heal faster. At least it did when he was injured in a fight.
“Thanks.”
He stared at his feet for a moment. “I don’t suppose you could whip up another batch of that hangover remedy while I shower?” he asked hopefully.
“Sure. No problem. Headache still bad?”
“Very. It’s gone from a whole herd of jackhammers to just one, but it’s still pretty unpleasant.” He paused. “OK, standing up now.” She watched as he carefully got to his feet.
“You going to make it?” He looked a little unsteady.
“Possibly.” He took a step toward the bathroom. Then another. “Yes, I think so.”
She watched him make his way slowly into the bathroom and waited until she heard the water turn on. She smiled and wondered when he’d realize he’d forgotten clean clothes.
* * *
Forty-five minutes later, Cordelia was sitting in a chair reading a magazine when Angel finally emerged from the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips. She looked up. Damp, naked Angel.
She swallowed. Hard.
No one should be allowed to look that... good.
“Cordy?”
She shook herself and realized she’d been staring. “Huh?”
He cocked his head and looked at her. “You OK?”
Damn vampires and their ultra-sensitive senses. “I’m fine. Shouldn’t you be getting dressed?”
“Oh, right.” She waited until he’d begun sorting through his bag before setting down her magazine and going to the refrigerator. She stared into the mirror, seeing only her own reflection, waiting for him to make some indication that at least most of him was covered.
“So, how was lunch?” he asked.
She continued to look into the mirror, trying to imagine him standing there. It was a little bit weird knowing he was there and yet not being able to see him. “OK, I guess.” She shrugged. “It was kind of nice to see them again, but kind of not.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, talking to them was really normal, you know? Just college and work and clothes and hair. But it wasn’t the same. As shallow as this sounds, in high school, I was popular and rich, and I had power. People looked up to me. OK, it was for pretty unimportant things, but still, I was somebody. Now, I’m not.”
“Of course you’re somebody.”
His voice was low and suddenly sounded very close behind her. She turned. He was less than a foot away, but at least he had put on his pants and a shirt, even though that was unbuttoned.
She smiled slightly. “Well, duh,” she said softly. “I know that.” She sighed. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Did one of your friends say something?”
She laughed. “Oh, no. It was almost just like old times, except, of course, that Harmony wasn’t there. No, having lunch with them was like I’d never left, like I was the same old Cordelia Chase.” She thought for a minute. “I sort of felt like a fraud, I guess.”
“A fraud?”
“Mmmm. I’m not really the person I was pretending to be. So, it was kind of nice to have lunch with them so that I could be that socially important person again, but it was kind of not nice because I felt bad for not being honest with them. And I wasn’t really a nice person back then.”
He gave her one of his little half smiles. “Well, you had your quirks, but I liked you just fine.”
“Hmmph.” She opened the refrigerator and handed him the remedy she’d mixed up. “Here. It’s colder than the first one, so maybe it won’t taste quite as bad.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Still smells awful.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You asked for it.”
“That I did.”
She watched as he quickly drained the glass. He was looking much better, now. His hand hardly shook at all, his color was back to what passed for normal for him, and he was moving around pretty well. Definitely on the mend.
He made a face as he handed her back the glass. “Yick. Doesn’t taste any better.”
She smirked. “At least it works.”
He nodded. “Could you bring some of that stuff with you tonight? Just in case.”
“Sure. Glutton for punishment, eh?”
“Yeah, well, I may need it.” He turned back to finish dressing.
She cleaned out the glass. “I stopped by the magic shop on the way home. Anya says that Xander’s been sick as a dog all day.” She turned back to Angel with a little grin. “Willow stopped by to see Giles, and she says he’s discovering religion.”
Angel looked up from tying his boot. “Religion?”
“Sure. You know, praying to the porcelain goddess.”
Angel shook his head.
She paused and took a deep breath. “I, um, saw Buffy, too.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, she wanted to stop by and see you, but I, um, told her that you really weren’t in any shape to entertain guests.” She looked uncertain. “I hope that was OK.”
“Yes. Definitely.”
“I also told her that given the shape you were in, she ought to go check on Spike. He might need a little help.”
Angel looked at her for a moment, but she couldn’t read his expression. She knew he didn’t like Spike. OK, she thought, understatement much? She knew he hated Spike, and probably wouldn’t appreciate her sending the love of his life off to tend him. But Cordelia really hadn’t wanted the Slayer here fussing over Angel. She’d wanted to take care of him herself.
She just hoped he wouldn’t be too mad about it.
“That was a good idea. He’s probably supposed to show up at this rehearsal deal tonight.”
Huh? “You’re not mad?”
He looked puzzled. “Mad? No, of course not.”
Ooookay, she thought. He probably just didn’t want to talk about it.
She watched him pull out his wallet, and shake his head. “Something wrong?” she asked.
“They cleaned me out. We’ll either have to find a cash machine, or you’ll have to loan me a few dollars.”
“I’m a little short of cash myself. We did a lot of tipping.”
Angel slid his wallet back into his pocket. “So, how was ladies night?”
“Pretty good. Anya had a great time, which was the whole point.”
Angel looked uncomfortable. “So, do the, um, male dancers, dance for you personally?”
“Well sure, if you want them to.”
“No, I mean do they do, well, lap dances, like the women dancers do?”
“Eeew! No! Thank god. Fortunately, women are a little less crude. We like the men to dance for us, but not on us.”
He seemed relieved. “Oh. Good. That’s good, then. But you did a lot of tipping?”
“Oh, yes. Some of them were very nice looking.”
He frowned slightly. “They were?”
“Mmm hmmm.” She looked at her watch. “Oops. I’d better start getting ready.” She headed for the bathroom.
“How nice looking?” he asked.
“Mmmm. Very. But don’t worry, we didn’t forget about you guys. Among the men we know, you were the unanimous choice for Best Butt.” She closed the door behind her.
“Huh?”
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