Title: Great Minds
Author: Gabriella
Posted here: 08/05
Email
Rating: R for language and adult situations
Category:
Content: C/A
Summary: A tired Angel accidently does the unforgivable to Cordelia leaving her angry, hurt and frustrated…..things only get worse when the gang fights a demon who curses our favourite couple with mental interlinkage.
Spoilers:
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: Nothing Fancy and anyone else, just ask.
Notes: Angel and Cordy are together now. Set just after Billy and before Offspring. Angel’s curse is also explained in this chapter. The italics are thoughts. I hope it isn’t too confusing!
Thanks/Dedication:(1) To Queen Mab, for the inspiration and the encouragement, to Daisy for just being my star, and to psychofilly & Princess Trippy, for looking over this for me and helping me put any final touches required on this chapter. You guys are the best. (2:)To Frazi cos she keeps trying so hard to comply to my demands. Ooh, and to anni, Kelly22 and Daisy cos I just feel sorry for them. Do they really think they can outstalk me? Ladies, I am and will always be the queen of stalking, my crown isn’t as yet up for grabs! So post the next chapters of your stories soon, or else I’m gonna put on my stalker shoes and come after you! (3:) To Daisy because I stole a line she actually said to me once and made Cordy say it! There’s a cookie here for you if you spot it hun! And to Princess Trippy for reading this over for me and making sure I didn’t put in anything stupid. Ooh, and toLuna because I’ve kicked her thrice already today!
Feedback:Hell yeah
Part 1
Los Angeles. The City of Angels. Calm, peaceful, serene and beautiful. Citizens enjoying its undisturbed solidarity. Revelling in its tranquil atmosphere. A silently composed metropolis, where the only sound that can be heard is…
…a demon screaming.
“You did WHAT????” Lorne’s squealing voice echoed off the walls of the Hyperion, making the already grimacing vampire wince. Angel, the former scourge of Europe, the most feared vampire in the world, slowly looked up at him from underneath his eyelashes, hoping that his infamous ‘lost puppy dog’ look, would work just as well on the green Pylean as it did on Cordelia. No such luck.
“You fell asleep?? How could you fall asleep?? And during… Angelcakes!” Once again, Lorne shrieked out his name and Angel couldn’t help but wish that his sensitive vampire hearing could be turned off at will.
“Lorne, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. It just happened! I couldn’t help it; do you think I would have if I could have helped it? No matter what Cordy says about my hair, I still like my head enough to not want it severed from my shoulders!” Lorne rolled his eyes and spared him an exasperated look. Angel sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands.
“Angel, why don’t you tell me exactly what happened sweetie? That way, maybe it’ll be easier for me to curb the urge to KILL you.” Lorne said sweetly, smiling at him evilly, his red eyes narrowing worryingly. The vampire with a soul lifted his head from his hands and rubbed them over his face.
Taking an unnecessary breath, he flinched slightly at Lorne’s posture. His arms were folded defensively across his chest and his expression was as menacing as Lorne could get. He also looked like he was going to sing and surprisingly enough, that thought in itself scared the hell out of the vampire.
“I don’t really – ” Angel started.
“Tell me.” Lorne commanded through gritted teeth. Once again, Angel took in an unneeded breath of air and sighed. Lorne simply raised both eyebrows, arms still firmly crossed over his chest.
“Well…I uh, you know, we were…” Angel made an awkward gesture with his hands. “Then I sort of…well, it wasn’t really my fault, I was just so tired. I didn’t realise until she, you know.” He stopped abruptly.
“She?” Lorne prompted.
“She hit me.” Angel grimaced remembering the painful blow that awoke him from peaceful slumber. Lorne looked almost sympathetic for a moment but then his eyes narrowed again and he lifted his chin, a gesticulation suggesting he continue.
“And then she… maybe she… threw me out… without my pants.” Angel frowned and looked up when he heard snickering. Lorne, who was desperately trying to contain his laughter, quickly bit his lip. But the vampire could see in the way that his upper lip twitched and the way in which his crimson eyes sparkled with humour, that his laughter was far from controlled. Angel’s frown deepened.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing” came the quick reply.
“Then why are you laughing?”
Lorne snorted. “I’m not laughing. It’s just…you know…without your pants?” He smirked and then finally, the laughter that had been restricted from showing its face in the open, bubbled out of the green demon’s throat and echoed round the Hyperion, just as his voice had done a few moments ago.
“Aah, cupcake! The visual is just yummy!” He bent over, clutching his stomach, loud chuckles escaping his large mouth.
Angel closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the sofa, remembering exactly what had happened the previous night. The warm feel of Cordelia’s body on his, the sweet taste of her on his tongue, the soft caress of her fingertips as they skimmed his chest, the harsh sting of her slap as her palm connected with his face.
Angel’s brow creased and he rubbed his still injured cheek. Lorne was still laughing.
***
Cool hands slowly slid up her arms and over her neck, tangling in her hair and dragging her face down to his, kissing her with a ferocious passion that left her begging for more. But Cordelia Chase didn’t beg. Instead, she slowly, so slowly, unbuttoned the small, round buttons on his black silk shirt, her fingertips brushing lightly over his nipples as she slid the unwanted garment off him, making him arch into her.
She smiled, the smile of a temptress, a woman who knew she was desired by the man beneath her, his hips slowly gyrating against her own, making her ache for his touch. She leaned down and captured his lower lip between her teeth, swallowing his moan when she kissed him, long and deep, their tongues duelling against each other, neither willing to back down first.
Eventually, Cordelia gasped and released him, her need for air forcing her to lean up and take greedy gulps of it. Angel’s lips moved slowly down her throat until he reached the delicious curve where neck met shoulder. He latched onto that point, suckling, leaving a mark, his mark. She moaned deeply and bit his earlobe, rocking slightly faster against him now, feeling his erection hard and ready against her inner thigh.
She grinded down hard, hearing the groan that shot out of his throat, feeling the hands that grabbed her hips and steered her directly over his shaft. They both gasped at the movement, Cordy rocking much faster now, Angel slowing slightly. It didn’t occur to Cordelia as to why, she was in her own frenzy of passion.
She whispered his name softly as she kissed his belly button, tongue dipping into it momentarily to experience the salty taste of him. He mewled softly, slowing even further. Painfully slowly, she kissed up his chest and eventually placed a soft kiss on his chin. He didn’t make a sound. His hips slowed some more. She didn’t notice.
Using both hands, she speedily pulled down the zip of his trousers, flipping open the button at the top with a quick snap. She failed to notice that the once slow, yet moving body beneath her had gone completely still. She pulled down his pants to as far as his knees and slowly rose to her own. Grabbing his hands, she put them on either side of her hips, waiting for him to hook his fingers in the elasticised fabric and relieve her of the brutal barrier between them.
But he didn’t. She pushed his hands slightly, urging him on. Not even a twitch. Cordelia jerked her eyes up to Angel’s face questioningly, only to discover that his eyes were firmly closed and that his head had turned to the side, resting comfortably against a pillow, mouth hanging wide open…and was that drool??!!
A cold glare swept over her face and settled in her hazel irises. Her mouth pulled into something between a snarl and a frown and she jerked the fabric of his trousers hard. When that got no reaction, she crawled swiftly up his body, knees resting on either side of his shoulders and raised her hand. She slapped him, hard. In fact, hard was an understatement.
Angel jerked awake, startled out of his dreamy reverie by a sharp tingle to his left cheek. His eyes slowly focussed on the black lace panties at eye level, then to the very angry brunette wearing them. Her eyes sizzled with rage and Angel felt himself burning.
“Cordy…wha? OW!” She hit him again and rolled off him, grabbing her robe from the back of the door and his shirt from the floor. Once her robe was securely tied around her slim waist, she threw his shirt at him with all the force she could muster. Next came his socks and then his shoes.
“Ouch, Cordelia! Fuck…Cordy!” Angel cried out as a leather boot hit him straight in the nose. Cordelia grabbed at his forearm and with a strength that shocked him, yanked him by the arm and out of her bed. He toppled in an ungraceful heap on the floor.
“Cordelia!” Angel’s outraged voice rang through the apartment, muffled slightly by the hand that was busy rubbing soothing circles onto his bruised nose. Cordelia stood her ground, her hands on her hips and glared at him. Her eyes contained a fire that Angel could swear he hadn’t seen even in the deepest, darkest, crevices of hell. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. He opened his mouth once again.
“Shut up!” Cordelia shouted. “Just shut up, and get your big, fat, stupid ass out of my home!” She stalked towards her bedroom door and out into the living room, with Angel hot on her heels. Grabbing the handle of the front door, she yanked it open brutally, all the while glowering at Angel who was hastily trying to button his shirt and find his pants at the same time. Being a man, multi task he could not.
“Get out Angel, I mean it.” Cordy’s face contorted in anger and Angel stifled the urge to scream like Wesley.
“Cordelia I’m sorry…”
“Yeah, and I couldn’t give a rat’s ass. Get the fuck out!”
“But I didn’t…”
“Do you want me to go all Farah Fawcett on your ass?”
“Farah…who?”
“I mean it Angel, go!” Cordelia, once again, grabbed Angel by the arm and pushed him out the door, with the help of an invisible force who hovered protectively around her. Angel flew into the passageway, turning around just in time to see Cordy grab the handle.
“Cordy…”
Something in his voice made Cordelia stop and she forced her face to jerk up. She stared him defiantly in the eyes and said, “What?”
Angel knew this was a bad time to ask her this. He knew he should have apologized again and again, until it extinguished the hell fire in her eyes. He knew he should have told her he loved her. He knew he should have explained why he fell asleep during their lovemaking.
Yet, despite knowing all these things, the only coherent sentence that came out of Angel’s mouth was, “Can I have back my pants?”
The door slammed loudly in his face.
***
For the third time in an hour, Charles Gunn nearly fell off his chair laughing. Angel’s expression was stony as he watched Wesley Windham Price hide his smirk behind a cup of tea, Winifred Burkle cover her face with her long, brown hair, in order to hide the hilarity lurking there, and Charles Gunn, who quite frankly, didn’t feel the need to hide his amusement, chuckle consistently. Angel could swear he’d wet himself soon.
“Aw dawg!” Gunn finally took a breather. “You…man, I can’t believe…” He swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, slowly raising his eyes to meet the vampire seated behind the lobby counter. Then he burst out laughing. Again.
Fred smiled and patted Angel on the arm. “I’m sure she’ll be fine Angel. She was probably just having one of her insecure days ya know? She loves you. And you made a mistake…”
Wesley snorted loudly and Gunn fell off his chair.
“I’m so glad that you find my pain funny.” Angel rolled his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool, marble counter. Wesley sighed and then asked, “Have you tried calling her yet?”
Angel glanced at him, “I’ve called her thirty two times between now and last night,” he glanced at his watch, “That’s at least four times every hour!”
Wesley smiled and shook his head. “Angel, for the first two hours, she was probably too furious at you and too hurt to even contemplate answering the phone. After which she must have gone to sleep. After which, she must have woken up and remembered that you fell asleep while making love to her. I’m not a genius but I’m guessing that may have something to do with her not taking your calls, don’t you think?”
Angel glared menacingly at Wesley. “Don’t patronise me Wes. I made a mistake. It wasn’t exactly my fault…”
“Oh right, cos y’know, Cordy’s just the kinda girl who’d make you fall asleep at the sight of her naked in bed” Gunn chided in and Angel fought the urge to push him off his chair, on which he was once again seated.
“It wasn’t her. And of course not! I was tired. We’d been fighting that Kryvoski demon all night and I just wanted to be near her. So I went over there. I didn’t expect her to be wearing…what she was wearing.” Angel sighed, recalling the black lace that settled elegantly against tanned, golden skin, a whisper of the beauty hidden underneath.
He swallowed. Hard. If Cordelia were anywhere near as angry as he thought she was, Angel wouldn’t be allowed near that skin for a long time.
Gunn raised his eyebrows appreciatively at the visual of Cordy and punched Angel on the shoulder. “Trust a guy like you to get so damn lucky and then put your big, fat leather boot in it.” Angel winced, delicately massaging his nose again. Gunn smirked. Wesley choked on his tea.
“Well, I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill Charles. Angel, of course Cordy’s gonna be mad, of course she’s gonna be hurt, but she’s not gonna wound you!” Fred laughed at the thought and then turned to see three pairs of eyes looking at her, eyebrows raised so high that they disappeared underneath two hairlines and one…not so much. “What?” she asked.
Gunn smirked. “Have you met Cordy? Heart of gold and all that crap but when you piss her off…man!” Gunn slapped his hands together, making Angel flinch. Once again, he remembered his thoughts from the previous night.
A cold chill crept up his spine at the thought of Cordelia still being angry with him. He’d rather face hell demons, slayers, anything with sharp claws and a tail any day, rather than face the wrath of Cordelia Chase in a bad mood.
But despite her terrifying temper, despite any other flaws that she may have had that he had come to adore, he couldn’t deny his love for her. It consumed him for all that he was worth. Being near her, making her smile, hearing her laughter, touching her skin, losing himself in those beautiful hazel eyes; he loved her. And she loved him. So completely that it scared him. Her trust, her acceptance, her loyalty, every aspect of her petrified him, but he loved her more. He was too selfish, too in love with this one woman, to ever let her go.
The very thought of her leaving him built up a nausea in his stomach that he couldn’t bear. The fear of such a situation clutched at his heart and squeezed painfully. Being near her comforted him, holding her soothed him, kissing her was a sensation he couldn’t describe and making love to her…he’d rather walk into direct sunlight than live a life without having the chance to bury himself deep inside Cordy’s warm and accepting body.
Wesley’ s soul binding discovery hadn’t shocked him at first because he was so used to having his hopes crushed that he didn’t want to consider the possibility being even remote. But having confessed his love for Cordelia less than a week before, having kissed her passionately while sparring and then realising that they would never be able to give themselves to each other physically, having seen the tears in her eyes as he told her they couldn’t be together because there was no way in hell he wouldn’t experience perfect happiness by probably just kissing her, let alone having sex; all that drove hope into his body.
His undead heart lurched with the anticipation of what would come if his soul was anchored, what he would be able to give Cordelia, what he would finally be able to share with her. So he went through with the spell, his heart full, even though Wesley warned him that there was a chance it would not work.
But it did. It worked. When it was finished, he woke up feeling more secure and certain of anything than he had ever been in his life. His chest felt light, as though a huge weight had been lifted off him.
And he had held Cordelia. He had held her so tight and she had stroked his hair and they had collapsed on the floor, him sobbing as 250 years of anguish and guilt broke away, and although still lingering, always lingering, no longer controlled him, frightened him. She had whispered words of comfort into his ear and he had cried and choked and hugged Wesley until the poor man could barely breathe.
But he had his soul. And he had his Cordy. And they had made love and he wasn’t ready to give that up, not now, not ever. Because he fell asleep…
Angel hit his head repeatedly on the marble surface, muttering to himself. Gunn’s voice snapped him out of his trance. “Yo, Angel!” Gunn’s fingers snapped in front of Angel’s face and the vampire glanced up to see a man and a woman seated on the round sofa in the middle of the lobby, looking incredibly nervous and incredibly sick.
“Can I get y’all some water?” Fred asked politely. The woman smiled and shook her head and the man simply stared at his feet. Fred looked at Wesley and shrugged her shoulders, sauntering over to the counter. Wesley asked the couple to follow him into his office.
After a short while, Wes reappeared in the lobby and shut his door. He marched over to where Gunn was now playing his Gameboy and snatched it out of his hands.
“HEY!” Gunn protested.
“Where the bloody hell is Cordelia? It’s 11:30. She’s usually here by about an hour ago.” Wesley stared at Angel impatiently, who shrugged, receiving a raised eyebrow and some foot tapping in response. “Well then, perhaps we should start without…”
“Sorry I’m late!” Cordy’s voice boomed through the lobby and four heads swivelled around to see a figure dressed in grey flared trousers and a white shirt and boots stroll down the stairs. She abruptly stopped at the look she received from Wes. “What?”
“Cordelia where have you been? You’re an hour late!”
“Well, hello to you too, Mister something-crawled-up-my-butt-this-morning.” Cordelia rolled her eyes and set down her bag. “I sort of woke up late. Cos y’know, I had sleeping problems last night.” She glared at Angel. He gulped. Fred blushed. Gunn smirked.
Wesley cleared his throat. “Yes, well if we’re all done with personal problems about sleep or lack of it, I have a couple waiting in my office…”
“So you finally took up my suggestion of a threesome, huh Wes?” Cordy drawled, smirking when Wesley gave her a stern look that clearly stated ‘behave’.
“I have a couple waiting in my office who have a new case for us. Their daughter was attacked and nearly killed by a demon last evening.” Cordy’s smirk faded and she straightened. Angel sighed, watching her, his heart overflowing with love.
Wesley continued, “They described it as a large, round and blue demon which I have identified as a Karranja. They want us to kill it by whatever means necessary before it attacks anyone else. They also said that their daughter was assailed in the sewers.”
Gunn rolled his eyes and Fred sighed in disappointment. Wesley smiled sympathetically. “Yes, quite. Considering that there are several major sewers in LA, that isn’t immensely helpful. However, who is the sewer king amongst us?” All eyes turned to Angel, who fidgeted slightly. “Exactly,” Wes said, “Angel, Gunn, Cordy and I will follow this thing into the sewers and Angel can track it down by scent. We also have a description…”
“Oh yay! Large, round and blue!” Gunn added.
Wesley ignored him. “We also have a description and we can ask…”
“The sewer folk?” Gunn chimed in helpfully.
“Gunn, would you please allow me to finish a sentence and at the end of each one, check to see if I have answered your asinine questions before so rudely interrupting!” Wesley shouted. Gunn simply raised and eyebrow and smiled sweetly. Cordy laughed and Angel smiled at the sound.
“We will ask anyone we can along the way…demons, I mean” Wesley said, raising his hand before Gunn could open his mouth, “if they have seen or heard about this…”
“Large, round and blue demon, yeah we got it Wes, let’s go kick some fat assed, blue booty!” Gunn interrupted, getting up and Fred could swear she saw the vein in Wesley’s neck turn a very angry and prominent shade of purple.
“Gunn, sit down.” Cordelia grabbed her friend by the collar and sat him down on the seat in front of her, slinging her arms around his neck in an iron grip, so that he couldn’t move without her choking him. Gunn relaxed back, without a care in the world. Angel growled. Cordy raised an eyebrow at the sound but didn’t even spare him a glance.
Wesley started again. “So, we’ll just keep looking until we find it. They’ve even given us a particular area. Not as good as a particular sewer system but with Angel’s sense of smell we should be able to find the demon and kill it in no time.” Wesley smiled reassuringly.
“Wes, I really don’t…I don’t think…I don’t want Cordy to go. This demon sounds dangerous and we can probably handle it by ourselves y’know? Just the three of us.” Angel said.
Cordelia released Gunn and stood up angrily. She ignored Gunn’s “Uh oh” and said to Angel, “Okay, first of all asshole, you just contradicted yourself in one sentence. The demon sounds dangerous but you can probably handle it yourselves? If it’s dangerous, it’s a better idea that more of us go, so more of us can kick it’s…”
“Large, round, blue booty?” Gunn asked.
“Yup, thank you Gunn.” Cordy flashed him a quick grin and a wink before turning back to Angel, all traces of humour gone, and continuing, “And secondly, you’re not the boss of me. I can go where I want and do what I want, and I don’t need your permission or your approval daddy!”
Angel felt his tolerance slip. Sure, she was angry, that was understandable. But there was only so much crap he was willing to put up with. ‘Asshole’ was just pushing the boundary. He leaned forward forebodingly, eyes darkening, till his nose was almost touching hers and whispered in a low, seductive purr. “That’s kinda incest considering your sleeping with me Cor.”
Cordelia Chase simply raised an eyebrow, smothering the delicious shiver his voice sent down her spine and replying in an even tone, “Sleeping with you huh? Is that what you call it now? Cos there was no ‘with’ according to me buster. No, no, you were just big, ol’ fat sleeping! S.L.E.E.P.I.N.G. Sleeping. With yourself.” She poked him in chest for emphasis.
“Yikes! That ain’t a pretty picture!” Gunn muttered. Wesley cleared his throat and turned to face Angel, who had an unbelievably pissed off look on his face. Wesley took a moment to consider that before he said, “Angel, we need Cordelia to be there because…” a throat being cleared forced him to realise his mistake. “I do beg your pardon. Cordelia,” he addressed her, “we need you to be there because the Karranja, it only attacks women. Something to do with it preferring the taste of certain female organs as oppose to male…”
“Whoa! Too much information Wes! I’m good. I’m there. I really couldn’t care less what Sir Broods-a-lot thinks.” Cordelia retorted, grabbing her bag and opening the weapons cabinet. “Although, really not liking the idea of being bait.” She tossed Gunn his axe and grabbed her jacket. Angel grabbed a sword and walked after Gunn and Cordy. Wesley followed but hastily turned around and addressed Fred. But he refused to actually look at her.
“Fred, stay here. If anything happens, and I mean anything at all, give us a call and we’ll come right back.” Fred nodded vigorously and when Wesley, who was still avoiding her eyes, didn’t receive an answer, he jerked his head up and finally looked at her. Fred nodded her affirmation again. Wesley stared at her for a moment longer than necessary, swallowing hard once, before turning quickly and following the other three members of Angel Investigations.
Just as Gunn yanked open the basement door, Cordy stopped. “Ooh, wait, I almost forgot.” She ran back to her seat where she retrieved a plastic bag, removing what looked like black cloth from it. Fred, Gunn and Wes watched in curiosity while Angel cringed. Cordy walked up to him, the material in her hands and slammed it against his chest, just as she walked through the basement door and down the steps.
The three men stood staring at her retreating back before Gunn finally muttered to Angel, “Nice pants.” Angel spared him a glare before throwing the pants on a nearby table and yelling something at Fred about folding them and placing them in his room.
Then he stalked past Wes and Gunn and down the staircase. Wesley glanced at Gunn who had a huge grin on his face.
Wes broke out into a smile and made a gesture with his hand. “After you.”
