Part 8
Cordelia took the stairs two at a time, blurry and uncertain beneath her feet. The tears were streaming down her face so fast, she was marvelled that they hadn’t left little liquid skid marks.
She reached the last step and bounded towards the exit, grabbing her purse along the way.
“Cordelia, ah good, there you are. Gunn and I were going to…what’s the matter?”
Cordelia brushed away Wesley’s hand on her shoulder and muttered a quick ‘I’m fine’ before attempting to leave again. This time she was stopped by Gunn’s strong hand on her arm.
“Barbie?” she looked up at him, observing the way his concerned eyes widened slightly at the sight of her grief stricken face.
“Please let me go.”
It was barely above a whisper but Gunn heard it and it was enough. He let go of her arm, hand hovering hesitantly as if unsure as to whether or not to let her out of sight in the state she was in.
She rewarded him with a small grateful smile which came out more as a grimace, then quickly turned on her heel and ran out of the Hyperion. Fred swallowed, pushing her glasses up on her nose and turning to face Wesley, who wore a worried expression.
“That was…odd.”
***
It took Angel approximately two minutes to realise what had just happened. Awareness of what he had just revealed hit him straight in the face and fear and anger clutched at his spine, refusing to release its painful grip.
He lunged out of his room, barrelling down the stairs as fast as he could. When he reached the lobby, a nagging feeling made him wish he’d stayed in his room.
Charles Gunn stood, face expressionless, arms crossed over his chest. He was looking directly at Angel, and it made the vampire feel uneasy, as though he was obligated to do something. He just wasn’t sure what.
“So?” Gunn asked shrugging his shoulders. “What did you do this time?”
Angel’s demon growled internally, wanting to swipe at Gunn for his cockiness. But his soul recognised his concern for Cordy and Angel sighed.
“She found out…I…I slept with Darla.”
Gunn’s eyes widened and he stumbled back slightly. Well, that wasn’t what he was expecting. Wesley opened and closed his mouth unable to say anything, resembling a fish. Fred just looked between the men before asking, “Who’s Darla?”
That snapped Wesley back to attention. “You slept with Darla?” There was a lack of anger in the watcher’s voice, more disappointment, and it struck Angel straight to the core. Gunn’s nostrils flared furiously and his fists curled into balls.
“Look, I know you’re gonna wanna talk about this and probably beat the crap outta me but I gotta go talk to Cordy.” Angel rushed forward, stopped by Gunn’s hand on his chest.
“Cordy didn’t look like she wanted to see you.” Gunn said.
This time Angel did growl, glaring at Gunn. “Why don’t you let me decide that boy?” he snarled. Wesley frowned and cautiously told Gunn to let him go. Gunn did.
Angel grabbed his coat, the black material swirling around him effortlessly. “I’m sorry guys.” He managed, sounding as sincere as he felt. “Lorne will tell you the rest.”
Lorne’s red eyes widened as three pairs of eyes turned to him, two angry, one clueless. This gave Angel the chance to make the getaway he needed and the vampire slipped out of the Hyperion doors.
“You knew about this?” Wesley shouted, shocked and angry. “You knew about this terrible secret and you didn’t tell us?” He moved forward, making Lorne swallow the lump in his throat and move back.
“Pumpkin, it wasn’t my secret to tell.” Lorne held his hands up defensively. Gunn looked as though he was about to throw something. Fred just looked confused.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.” Wesley ground out, glaring at the green demon. Lorne’s eyes narrowed.
“Ya know Wesley, if I were to tell all your friends about what goes on in your head every time I hear you singing, would you be able to forgive me?”
Wesley’s head jerked up. The demon was looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. “No.” he said softly, imagining the shock he’d be in if Lorne were to reveal his feelings about Fred, or Cordelia…Wesley looked back up at Lorne, smiling sadly. “No I wouldn’t.”
“Exactly. Now I know it’s different with you cos you didn’t sleep with some blonde chick in order to feel something other than the cold and you aren’t gonna go evil if you do but Angel’s privacy is Angel privacy. And at the time he was trying so hard to gain back your trust that he was scared that if he told you, you’d never accept him back again. And he needed you guys. All of you.”
Lorne finished sadly. “I did warn him that this was gonna come back and bite him in the ass. But look at it this way,” he turned to face Gunn, who still had a scowl on his face. “If he didn’t sleep with Darla, he wouldn’t have had an epiphany. And he wouldn’t have stepped back onto the path to redemption again. He would have just gone on being dark and broody and grumpy and without the leather pants…”
Lorne stopped at the strange looks he was getting. “Aw come on! You gotta love those leather pants!”
Wesley sighed loudly. “Right. Well Lorne, you can tell us this magnificent story once Gunn and I get back from our ‘something precious to the demon’ hunt…”
“Wha?” Lorne looked a little put out. “I thought you wanted to hear the story. I love telling stories!”
“We hardly have time for that Lorne. Cordelia and Angel may go completely insane, God knows they’re behaving slightly off already. We need to find this precious object and destroy it instantly.” Wesley answered.
“Fine.” Lorne said, mock-indignantly, “I’ll just stay here and tell my new favourite person all about Angel’s little melodrama.” He wriggled his eyebrows at Fred who smiled and then blushed.
“Lorne, I don’t know if that’s wise.”
“Wes, it’s okay, I wanna know.” Fred said, reassuringly.
Wesley opened his mouth. “Yes, but…”
“Wesley, you can’t protect me from everything.” Fred’s statement came out harsher than she had expected it to and she realised the deeper implication of what she had just said.
Wesley’s shoulders slumped slightly and his eyes saddened. It was only for a spilt second though and the Englishmen cleared his throat and grabbed his coat.
“Right. Lorne, don’t say anything I wouldn’t.” he raised his eyebrows at the demon in question and Lorne silently nodded. “Let’s go Gunn.” Wesley beckoned the black man with his index finger and walked out the basement door, before Fred could say a word.
Gunn stood in shock for a moment before moving his feet. “Oh you did not just go all Timmy and Lassie on my ass!” he growled, storming out the door, after Wesley.
***
“Cordelia!” Angel yelled, hammering on her front door. He’d lost count of how many times he’d done that in the past five minutes, although he was pretty sure it was high enough to be a record of some kind. He tried again.
“Go away Angel.” Cordelia said evenly, sitting on her couch in the living room. She turned up the volume on her music system, hoping to drown out the noise of his the vampire banging on her door but it didn’t even soften, let alone stop. She had told Dennis strictly not to open the door to him and her ghost had complied so far.
“Cordelia, please. I just want to explain.”
“You really think I want the details of your sex life with short, blonde and skanky? Nuh uh!”
Angel sighed. “I don’t want to give you the details. I just want to tell you why it happened. Cordelia, I love you, please don’t throw this away because of one stupid mistake.”
Cordelia shut her eyes, head falling onto her knees, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. She loved him so much but how could he? How could he sleep with her? Anger and hurt and a small amount of jealousy bubbled up inside of her and she swallowed back a sob, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Cordy, open the door or I’m gonna break it!” Angel shouted, frustration getting hold of his demon. He waited for a few minutes, listening intently, making sure that she wasn’t near the door. Then he vamped out and barrelled into the wood, feeling it splinter underneath his weight.
There was a sharp cracking sound and the door gave way, breaking off one hinge and flying open, banging against the wall. Angel stood in the entrance staring at Cordelia, who was gaping at her broken door.
“Oh that’s just great Angel! First you break my heart, now you break my damn door!” She leapt of the couch and headed towards him. For a moment the vampire thought she was going to slap him but she turned to the right and began inspecting her door, muttering something about damn vampire strength and a leash.
“Cordelia…”
”I don’t want to hear it.” She cut him off, abandoning the door and walking towards her kitchen. Angel grabbed her arm.
“Cordelia, please let me just explain…”
“Why? What’s there to explain Angel? You did the dirty with Darla, could have easily lost your soul and killed all of us, lied to me about sleeping with her and oh hey, you gave up on everything we’ve been fighting for!” she screamed out. “That about cover it?”
“You don’t know what it was like…”
“What was what like? That time? That period when you completely discarded us as though we were these tiny little pieces of crap that didn’t spend God know how much time dedicating our lives to you…”
I just wanted to feel something other than the cold…
“Then wear a damn sweater!” Cordelia shouted, taking in a deep breath at the heartbroken look on Angel’s face. I will not feel sorry for him, I will not feel sorry for him, dammit!
Angel looked up at her hopefully. “I’m sorry Cordelia. I would take it back if I could but I can’t. What I did has happened and I never meant for you to find out…”
Oh that’s reassuring!
“Would you let me finish?”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“But I can hear you thinking!”
“How is that my fault?”
Angel ran a hand through his hair, taking in an unnecessary breath. “Then, could you…try not to think maybe?”
Cordelia glared. “You don’t get to say what I do and don’t do.”
Angel growled. “Cordelia stop acting like a child. Let me…”
“Oh, bite me Angel. You don’t have the right to preach about how I behave when the way you act on impulse is so damn crappy!”
“Cordelia, I don’t get why you’re so angry! We weren’t together at the time, I didn’t owe you anything!” The words were true but he regretted them as soon as they left his mouth. An odd fear settled in his stomach at the pain replaced quickly by fury, that flashed in her usually warm, hazel eyes.
“You…you think that’s what this is about? You think I’m jealous? You think that’s the only reason that I’m so pissed off? Ha! Shows what kind of person you think I am.”
“Cordy…”
“You wanna know why I’m so angry? Let’s see shall we? You pushed us away, pushed me away, and there I was, poor pathetic Cordy, thinking I was your best friend! Well, that must have made you and your lady love laugh like hell.”.
Angel tried to interrupt but she continued with a broken laugh. “What’s even better is that you hurt me so that you could go out and kill her. But you ended up sleeping with her instead! Hey, I have an idea. Let’s start that as our business! L.A would have demons lining up to be shot down!”
I tried to save her…
Cordelia ignored him, despite the twinge of guilt that fluttered through her heart.
“And let’s not forget the fact that after this fabulously fun event, if you had lost your soul, who would you go after first? Huh? Some random guy on the street? Or me, Wesley and Gunn?”
Her words contained so much venom that Angel wondered how they could be escaping her soft mouth. She scoffed at his train of thought, which brought him back to the matter at hand.
“Cordelia, I didn’t lose my soul. I had an…”
“Epiphany, right.” She rolled her eyes and glared at him. “So great, you have an epiphany and while you’re trying to get back on my good side after the hurting and the betraying and the crappy treatment, you lie to me! You looked me straight in the eye and lied to me!”
Jesus, shut up already!
Cordelia’s eyes flashed once again and she stared hard at the vampire before her. “What did you just say?”
Angel’s eyes snapped to hers and mumbled an apology before adding, “Darla meant nothing.”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“Well you did.”
“Cordy, if you’d just let me ex…”
“I don’t want to hear your stupid explanation!”
Angel grabbed her by the arms and yanked her up against him. “Are you going to let me talk or is this going to be all about you?”
“It never was all about me, that’s the damn problem!” she screamed. Angel’s eyes widened slightly and he loosened his hold. She wriggled away from him and put both hands over her face, willing her tears not to betray her, make her look weak.
She should have known that he didn’t care about that. She should have known that all he wanted to do was hold her and apologize and make everything better. But anger and a strong sense of betrayal controlled her senses and she refused to think rationally.
“Please go.” She whispered.
Angel felt sudden and surprising tears prick at his eyes and he rapidly blinked them away. “Cordy…”
“God Angel, I don’t want to talk to you! I don’t! You betrayed us! You completely gave up! After everything we’ve been through, you pushed me away and you went to her!” the sob that Cordelia had been holding back pushed it’s way out of her throat and into the open. Angel moved forward to embrace her but she held up a hand, preventing any further advancing.
“Please…just go.”
The broken door creaked slightly, opening slightly further, and Phantom Dennis made his presence evident. Cordelia refused to look at Angel. The vampire stubbornly shook his head. I’m not leaving.
Cordelia glanced up.
“No.”
Cordelia’s eyes narrowed. “No?”
“No, I’m not leaving until we sort this out. I want a chance to explain why I did what I did and I’m gonna get it because you’re too important to me to just throw this away.” He placed himself on the couch and put both legs up on the coffee table.
Cordelia looked at him open mouthed, unable to think or speak for a second. “I’m not joking Angel, get the fuck out.”
Twice in three days? Jeez Cordy, that’s just mean.
She bristled. Fine, if you won’t go, then I will. She grabbed her coat off the rack and walked out the open, broken door, without turning back. And you don’t even give me a chance to slam the damn door!
Angel’s eyes widened and he sat up straight, staring open mouthed at the broken doorway and the woman who’d just walked through it. Okay, that wasn’t meant to happen…He scratched his head and sat still for a moment, debating with himself whether or not to go after her.
Then he relaxed, letting out a groan and leaned back against the couch, exhausted. He knew Cordelia, and when she needed space, that was all one could give her. I’m such a shit. Angel banged his head again and again on the couch, closing his eyes. Maybe he’d just sleep for a little while…
***
“Aww, now I’m getting all nostalgic.” Gunn said dryly, as Wesley and him entered the familiar sewer tunnel. “Just bring back Scully and the sexual tension and we’ll have ourselves a part-ay.”
Wesley didn’t even look at his friend. “It’s Sully.”
Gunn stopped. “What?”
Wesley bent down to check underneath a large rotting piece of material. All he found was dust. “The character you just mentioned. His name was Sully, not Scully. Dana Scully is a character on the X Files, a show about…”
“I know what the show is about!” Gunn yelled, unable to get over his friend’s condescension. “I am a pop culture expert Mr I-don’t-have-time-for-TV-because-all-I-do-all-day-is-drink-tea-and-bury-myself-in-some-dusty-old-book.”
Wesley glanced at him warily. “You’ve been spending far too much time with Cordelia.”
Gunn shrugged. “True. Next thing you know I’ll be calling Scully cute.”
“Sully.”
“Whatever, I don’t watch cartoons.”
Wesley sighed and pushed up his glasses. “It’s not a cartoon. It’s an animated movie.”
Gunn glared at his friend. “English, I’m gonna be kicking a whole mesh of ass…” Gunn stopped as something crunched under his foot. He grimaced as Wesley glanced over. “I don’t wanna know. Don’t tell me. What is it? Left over brain bits? Old teeth?”
Wesley rolled his eyes. “It’s a dead leaf Gunn.”
Gunn looked down. “Oh. That’s cool.”
Wesley raised his eyebrows. “Are you going to help me look or are you just going to stand there whining?”
Gunn grinned. “Do I get a choice?”
***
“So then he decided to tell the big fat fib because he just wanted, hell he needed to be accepted by them again. Cordelicious especially. He knew that if she found out, it would take even longer to gain her trust again, and I don’t think Angel could wait that long. Plus, you know our vampire. He’s as dense as the next when it comes to feelings and crap like that. And Cordy’s not your average…”
Lorne was interrupted by the slamming of the Hyperion door as a red faced, puffy eyed Cordelia stormed into the lobby, ignoring the her two friends completely and bounding up the stairs.
Lorne rose from his seat but was stopped by a warm hand on his arm. “I’ll go.” Fred said softly, getting up and following Cordy. The demon watched her walk up the stairs. It was strange how women grew so fast. How they became so strong, strong enough to hold up anything that was thrown their way without physically keeling over.
Fred spent five years in hell dimension and survived. She was stalked and threatened through the corridors of the Hyperion by a man she trusted with her life and she survived, attempting to be strong for the both of them when he couldn’t.
Cordelia was pushed into a life that she never demanded, pulled into the darkness inch by inch as she fell more and more in love with Angel and his mission, his redemption. She had the gift of sight, visions that deadened her beautiful hazel eyes, shattered her skull into a million pieces with brutal imagery and choking emotions. And she survived, due to strength, due to heart.
Lorne took another gulp of his seabreeze, smiling softly. These men had no idea just how lucky they were.
***
“Cordy?” Fred pushed open the door to the room in which Cordelia usually slept, quietly padding over the floorboards and over to the bed where the young woman sat, shoulders slouched, head against the headboard. Fred smiled at her friend softly, taking Cordy’s hand in her own and squeezing. Cordy squeezed back, giving her a grateful smile.
Cordelia’s breathing was heavy and despite the tear tracks on her face and the dullness in her eyes, Fred had time to notice that she still looked beautiful. Everything about this woman was radiant. From her hazel eyes, to her dazzling smile, to the flatness of her stomach, to her stunningly long legs, to her wonderful heart.
She glowed no matter what she was put through. Fred inwardly cursed the PTB, then apologized because they sent Angel to rescue her from the monsters.
“What’s the matter?” Fred winced at the obvious question. “I’m sorry, that was stupid. I know what’s the matter. Here.” She picked up the glass on the side of the table and filled it with water from the flask, also sitting on the tabletop. “Drink this. From the looks of it, you’ve been crying for a long time and that makes you dehydrated.” Fred nodded enthusiastically.
Cordelia grinned slightly and took the glass, taking greedy gulps of the cool liquid. It travelled down her throat, soothing the soar flesh. All that yelling really took a lot out of her. She placed it back on the table.
“Drink some more.” Fred ordered.
“Fred, I’m fine…” Cordy started.
Fred shoved an already refilled glass at her. “Drink it Cordy. Trust me okay? It’ll make you feel better.”
“It’ll also make me wanna pee.” Cordelia said, smiling.
“Yeah, but it’s worth it.” Fred winked. Cordelia took the glass again. This time Fred cut straight to the chase.
“Cordy, I know you’re upset about this whole Darla thing, and of course you have every right to be. Lorne explained everything to me and I can imagine Angel wasn’t fun to be around at that time…”
Cordelia snorted.
Fred continued. “But he loves you. He really does. I know he does because…well I just do! Okay, so I don’t know this Darla lady and I’m sure she’s very nice an’ all…or maybe she’s not, okay she’s not.” Fred quickly adjusted her statement at the look Cordelia sent her way.
“But, I’m sure he didn’t look at her the way he looks at you. Cordy, do you have any idea how he looks at you? It makes my stomach go all gooey. And he’s a good man, he’s a lovely person and he…”
“Yeah well, you would say that, what with the leftover hero worship thing you had going for a while!” Cordelia snapped angrily. Fred lowered her gaze and closed her mouth. A brief pain flashed behind Cordy’s eyes and she sighed, covering Fred’s hand with her own.
“Fred, sweetie, I’m sorry. I just…God.” She buried her hands in her hair and bent forward. “I’m so sick of everything. I’m so sick of people telling me it’s gonna be alright when I know it’s not. I’m sick of people defending his ass when he’s the one who does something wrong. I’m sick of loving him so much that I let my guard down. I’m sick of…”
“What do you mean you let your guard down?” Fred asked curiously, eyes searching her friend’s. Cordelia looked up at her. “Cordy, I know you’ve been hurt by people in the past, and I know it’s the last thing any woman needs but you are the centre of his universe. And of course everything isn’t going to be fine. We live in a world of soulless evil people and even some of the ones with souls aren’t that great…” Cordelia smiled. “But you just have to take it as it comes. And know that he loves you and you love him and that should be enough.”
Cordelia sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I know.”
“Then why are you still so angry?” Fred grabbed Cordy’s hand and shoved another glass of water in it. Cordelia shook the glass slightly, causing the contents to move around as she watched them, fascinated.
“Because I hate thinking about that time. I hate being lied to Fred, I can’t stand it. I hate giving everything I have to someone and having them just throw it away completely. I did it once and I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again.” She closed her eyes, images of her first love flashing through her mind.
“But I did it again. And every time I think about what he did with Darla. About how he risked all our lives and just gave up…” she let out a breath. “I’ve never wanted anything more than I want him to be able to see the sun. And he just stopped caring.” A tear slipped down her cheek and Fred felt her heart break a little.
“I hate him for it. But then I love him so I can’t hate him and that pisses me off even more.” Cordelia added. Fred smiled. “Plus, I’m a little…jealous.”
Fred grinned. “Of what? Of her? Please!” she smiled at Cordelia. “Angel’s got the hots for one lady and one lady only and that’s you.” She poked Cordy in the ribs, which got a laugh from the seer. “So he did what he did. It’s in the past. And he’s sorry Cordy, he’s so sorry. Remember what you fought about last time? And how you came so close to losing him? Do you want to be in that position again?”
Cordelia closed her eyes in pain at the memory of the wood buried in Angel’s chest. She felt a sudden nausea but swallowed it back down. She felt Fred’s reassuring touch on her arm.
“Cordy, I haven’t been in this world for that long. But from what I remember and from what I’m learning, men are usually the wrong ones. They make the mistakes and we have to pick up the pieces.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
“Yeah but, when you pick up the pieces, which I know isn’t the most glamorous job…it’s worth it. Everything that keeps you together, that gives you someone to hold and love and share something with, is bloody well worth it.” She grinned sheepishly at the slightly odd look Cordy gave her. “I’m under the influence of Wes.”
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. “Fred, when did you become an people person? Let alone a therapist?”
Fred grinned again. “Well, I watch Oprah.”
Cordelia looked at her friend for a minute. Then she laughed, a real happy, beautiful laugh that bubbled out of throat as she embraced Fred tightly. Fred returned the hug, happy to have made her friend smile again.
“Thank you Fred.” Cordy whispered, leaning back against the headboard again.
“Anytime.” Fred smiled warmly, still holding her friend’s hand tightly in her own, as Cordy turned her gaze to the window. Fred hoped, for whatever it was worth that she’d smile again, like she did a second ago.
She hoped that Angel and her would get past this obstacle and just go back to loving each other. She squeezed Cordy’s hand again. Angel had been through enough as an ensouled vampire in a hundred years, he didn’t need more guilt and trauma on his shoulders. What he needed was that someone to keep him happy, to keep him hopeful.
Cordelia was the perfect fit. And Fred could honestly and openly say that if anyone deserved to be truly happy, to smile without a care in the world, to have someone love her and hold her and treat her every bit like the queen she was, it was Cordy.
***
Charles Gunn brought his axe down for the twentieth time in an hour, smashing a large pile of bricks beneath it. He straightened and looked around. Wesley and him had destroyed pretty much everything in the layer. There was rubble everywhere, from smashed bricks and clouds of dust rose out of nowhere when he put his foot down.
They had smashed the wooden planks that had stabbed Angel and pulled down the cobwebs and the hanging mould and moss and destroyed those too. But they couldn’t find anything that looked even remotely valuable.
Wesley pushed his glasses up. “Well, perhaps we’ve already destroyed what the demon held most dear. We just aren’t aware of it.”
Gunn raised an eyebrow. “Demons are thick as hell Wes but I doubt they have fetishes about brick or wood.”
Wesley’s eyes squinted in deep concentration and Gunn was forced to shut up and have a conversation with the wall, which mostly involved him cursing about dumbass demons with blue snot. He knew not to disturb Wesley when he was in this mode. The ex-watcher was scanning the room as though he had x-ray vision, searching for anything that they may have missed, anything vaguely precious to man or monster.
Blue eyes searched carefully but frantically, landed on various shattered objects, forefinger and thumb rubbing his chin casually, deep in thought. And then it hit him straight in the gut.
“The wood.” He whispered.
“Say what?” Gunn looked up from the wall and turned to his friend.
“The wood, the wood it’s under the bloody wood!” Wesley rushed over to the splintered and broken pieces of timber and began lifting up each one carefully. Gunn just shook his head.
“Okay, he’s officially lost his coconut…” he muttered, walking over to Wes. “English, I hate to ruin your boy scout moment an’ all but…”
“Gunn, what did Fred say you were?” Wesley interrupted.
Gunn abruptly stopped. “What…what did Fred say I was?”
Wesley gestured wildly with his hands. “Angel’s the champion, Cordy’s the heart, I’m the brain and you’re the…”
“Muscle.” Gunn said proudly, as though he had just answered the most difficult question on earth.
“Precisely, so quit yapping and help me lift this bloody thing!” Wesley panted, lifting a small piece of wood and throwing it to the side. Gunn raised an eyebrow and the larger chunks of wood left for him to pick up. He lifted one off with ease.
“Ya know, I don’t why they think the brainy people got it all. What the hell would you do in the survival of the fittest?”
“Oh I don’t know, survive?” Wesley answered sarcastically, grabbing another plank and hurling it away from the pile.
Gunn glared. “Yeah, if some muscle bound monkey-man didn’t lynch your snooty ass first!”
Wesley smacked him on the arm.
Gunn looked mock scared and spoke in a high pitched voice. “Oh no! You hit me! Please don’t hurt me with your big bad brain! Anything but the brain!”
Wesley glared. “I’ll have you know that what you have in muscle, I make up for in integrity.”
“That’s just something that scrawny people say.” Gunn smirked.
“Wanker.”
“Ass Pansy.”
“Hey! You…you…baldy!”
Gunn’s jaw dropped. “Oh you did not just call me that! I know you did not just say what you just said!”
Wesley attempted to glare but it was incredibly hard when the corners of Gunn’s mouth were twitching upwards ever so slightly and Wesley himself wanted to giggle. Gunn snorted softly and Wesley could no longer hold it in. He burst out laughing.
“Aw man English, you really a piece of work…” Gunn wiped a tear from his eye when he had stopped chuckling and grabbed another plank of wood, throwing it aside. Wesley sighed and smiled, flinging the last piece of wood away to reveal a wooden box, deeply carved with engravings and small relief sculptures of bodies in battle.
Wesley pointed at the box. “Say it. Go ahead and say it. I’m a bloody genius!”
Gunn smirked at his friend. “You da man.”
“Oh yes. I am indeed.” Wesley nodded enthusiastically, making Gunn laugh. The Englishmen crouched down and lifted the cover of the box slowly, the creaking lid opening to reveal a shiny, pink, pyramid shaped crystal.
“That’s pretty.” Gunn said nodding. “All shiny and shit. Cordy would have a freakin’ field day.”
Wesley held the crystal in his hands, turning it with his fingers, exploring every angle, taking in every turn, sharp and blunt, the pointy tip and the shiny exterior.
Gunn looked at him questioningly. “You gonna let me trash it or what?”
Wesley snapped out of the mesmerising effect such a precious stone had on him and shook his head. “Yes. Go ahead.” He placed it down at Gunn’s feet and stepped to the side. Gunn raised his axe high and prepared to bring it down. He moved to smash it when Wesley yelled.
“Wait!”
Gunn jumped, dropping the axe and glaring at Wesley. “What the hell is wrong with you man? Give a brother a heart attack, why don’t you?”
Wesley stumbled forward. “Sorry, sorry, I just realised something.” He lifted the crystal in both hands and turned it again and again, palming it carefully, as if he was looking for something. And then he found it. Gunn was made aware of this by an amazed sigh that escaped the Englishman’s lips.
“What? No eureka this time?” Gunn asked good naturedly. Wesley shook his head, still fascinated by whatever he had found on the crystal. Then he looked up and a large grin broke out on his face.
“We’ve found ourselves a cure, Watson.”