Title: The Art of Seduction
Author: Gabriella
Originally Posted: 04-27-2003
Email
Rating: NC-17
Category: Humour, smut
Content: C/A
Summary: Response to Psychofilly’s F/A kiss challenge (challenge at bottom of page)
Spoilers: Not really…maybe for those who haven’t seen The Magic Bullet but none other than that.
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: Nothing Fancy, GT and anyone else, just ask.
Notes: Sorry about the slight angst in this chapter. I promise the rest will be all light hearted and smutty and plotless… Oh and Cordy lives at the Hyperion cos firstly, that has tons of smutty potential, and secondly, her flat’s gone.
Feedback: Hell yeah! It makes me all warm and fuzzy and stuff…
Part 1
“Was it cold?”
Fred snorted, glancing at the brunette seated opposite her. Cordelia had been rapidly firing questions at her ever since she had learned that Fred and Angel had kissed. At first her glare had been lethal, then Fred had explained the circumstances under which it had occurred and Cordelia had relented.
Fred sighed to herself. There were still a lot of unresolved feelings in the hearts of a certain vampire and seer she knew. No one had said anything about their relationship, determined to let them sort it out by themselves, aware that the wounds were still fresh.
But neither of them had confronted the other about their feelings. It was clear to Fred that they still loved each other, more than anything in fact. But they were too scared, Angel still cautious and unclear about what had happened and Cordelia overwhelmed by the damage an evil force with her face had caused.
She had seen it all, watched as her family and the man she loved were torn apart by the beast and its master, the personification of pure evil that wore her beautiful face. And all the while she had been helpless to stop it. What made it worse was that Angel seemed guarded towards her somehow, nervous to touch her, sometimes even to look at her due to what he had seen her do.
But when she broke down, defeated by a disappointing arrival and an emptiness somewhere deep inside her, Angel’s heart had broken for her and he had been there, holding Cordelia when she cried, explaining that he understood it wasn’t her, that no one blamed her for what had happened because that thing with her face, wasn’t the real Cordelia, the one they all adored.
He finally got it then, that it wasn’t her, that it was never her, that his Cordelia would never hurt him that way, destroy his relationship with her and with his son that way, would never commit any of the awful crimes that the beast’s master did.
The real Cordelia was before him now, back from the higher realms, beautiful and vibrant as ever. Her smile and her heart gave him strength and he finally accepted that.
He had told her the truth, about everything that had happened while she was up there, floating above the clouds, oblivious and clueless of anything malevolent or wicked. It had taken her days to finally get the courage to look at Connor again, but when she did, it hadn’t been so bad. In fact, they had formed a friendship of sorts, one that made Angel’s jaw clench at first but then relax when she flashed him that thousand watt smile of hers, reserved only for him.
He had promised her that he would get past it, that everything would be okay now that she was back and he had her friendship again. But it was obvious to everyone, including Cordy who carefully chose to avoid it, that he wanted more. It was a change in demeanour, but it had been understandable. With the woman he loved back in his life, Angel wanted to stake his claim, all the while aware that he couldn’t push her, couldn’t put their friendship at risk.
But Fred could tell that Cordelia wanted him too. There was only one man she wanted, had always wanted, and that was Angel. They were both holding back though, so weary of snapping the beautiful friendship that they had built. The thread had already been through one round of hell, it couldn’t take anymore.
So they laughed and joked like they always had, sharing a hungry look when their eyes met for longer than necessary, and then quickly glancing away embarrassed, staring at the other longingly when they thought they weren’t being watched. A small part of Fred just wanted to bang their heads together or lock them up in a room so that they got over the crap they’d been through. But another part of her sympathised completely. They needed time so that was what everyone was giving them.
What made Cordelia even more nervous was the fact that Angel’s soul was no longer a problem. Willow had altered the spell when she had restored it to him the previous year. It hadn’t been tested yet, but both Angel and Cordelia were desperate to try it out. Of course they would never admit to that-
Fred stared back at the brunette in front of her, her lips pulling into a small smile. It was so good to see her again. It was like watching the girl she met two years ago, the one with the big smile and the confidant stride. She was the same Cordelia from the short brown hair to the glow of her skin. Except there was one thing missing. And Fred knew exactly what it was.
Cordelia snapped her fingers. “Hello? Fred? Don’t space out sweetie.”
Fred shook her head and gave Cordy and apologetic grin.
Cordelia grinned back, popping another chip in her mouth. “So? How was it?”
“How was what?”
“Fred!” Cordelia punched her playfully on the shoulder. “The kiss! Was it good?”
Fred relaxed, forgetting her earlier thoughts momentarily, and then shrugged. “I guess.”
Cordelia rolled her eyes. “What do you mean, I guess? Come on Fred. It’s Angel. Was it good? Was it cold? What was it like?”
Fred shrugged, glancing back at Cordelia. Then she took a deep breath.
“It was-kinda bad actually.”
The chip that was halfway in Cordelia mouth was immediately forgotten and it fell out her hands uselessly, hitting the table without a sound.
“WHAT?”
Fred winced. “Well-Cordy, I don’t know what to say. It was under pressure. I mean, we were trying to make sure Jasmine’s followers didn’t catch us so-“
“But-but how could it be bad?”
Fred shrugged. “I don’t know. It just was. One of the worst I’ve had actually. Well, that’s not saying a lot cos I’ve only had a few but out of the very few I’ve had it was definitely one of the worst.”
Cordelia gaped at her, unsure of how it was even possible. Angel, a bad kisser? The thought didn’t make sense.
“Cordy, I’m sure he’s a great kisser when he actually wants to kiss someone.”
When she got no response other than wide eyes and an open mouth, Fred looked at her friend worriedly. “Cordelia, are you alright?”
Cordy snapped out of it, glancing at her watch. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Fred raised her eyebrows in confusion, then nodded and followed the brunette out.
***
Cordelia sighed exasperatedly, running her hand through her hair as she stomped down the hotel landing towards her room. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get Fred’s statement out of her head.
“It was-kinda bad actually.”
How could Angel be a bad kisser? How? That was like suggesting that Houdini wasn’t a great magician. Or that Columbus wasn’t a great explorer. It simply didn’t make sense to suggest that a vampire who had 250 years of incredible experience, who had woman after woman falling desperately in love with him, who was ANGEL, wasn’t a great kisser.
What frustrated Cordelia even more was that it bothered her so much. Hell, who was she kidding? She knew she was in love with him, she even knew he felt the same way. But both had assumed that because neither had made a move to escalate the romantic side of their relationship, those feelings would somehow have to be repressed. The curse wasn’t an issue anymore but they had a lot to deal with regardless.
Screw that! She wanted to check for herself if he really was a terrible kisser. Curiosity was getting the better of her and she wanted to know, dammit!
She growled as she reached her room, slamming the door shut behind her. Why did Fred have to say that? And Cordelia knew Fred. The girl hero-worshipped the ground Angel walked on. She would never lie about something like that.
Collapsing on the bed, Cordelia lay back against the pillow and considered her options. She could just forget about this newfound information, which would eventually eat her up from inside and make her head explode-she closed her eyes and sighed. Or, she could take action.
All Cordelia wanted was for Angel and her to be able to put everything behind them. She wanted them to move past all that had happened, all that a demon with her face had done without her consent, and she wanted to be swept of her feet by the man she loved, especially now that perfect happiness was actually possible. She wanted him more than anything and if she didn’t act fast, she would lose him completely. Plus, she wanted to know if he really was a bad kisser.
There was only one thing she could do. She had to take the first step. It would be a big one, but she’d take it. Anything that would help her and Angel on the path to being more than friends. They had what they had before now, but she wanted so much more. And she knew he did too. But they were both too cautious, too scared. Well, she was Cordelia Chase and she was sick of being scared.
If she wanted to find out whether or not Angel was a crappy kisser, she’d just have to test him herself. And that would mean she’d have to get him to kiss her. In order to get him to kiss her, she’d have to seduce him, make him want her more physically than he already did. Her eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, a wicked smile creeping onto her face.
In high school, Cordelia was a seductress. Men would trip over each other to hold the door open for her, fall at her feet, begging to be stepped on just to feel worthy of her presence. She was far above all that now but she still had her charm, her beauty. Cordelia’s smile widened. Angel was gonna have no idea what hit him.
He was going to find out just how seductive Cordelia Chase could be.
F/A kiss challenge.
Pretend that everything on ATS has happened except WITW and the Cordy/Angel possesion.
It’s season five, Cordy is back. She and Fred are talking. Fred brings up *the kiss* that she shared with Angel, only she thought it was kinda bad. Cordy can’t get it out of her head that Fred thinks Angel was a horrible kisser, so she decides to try and seduce Angel into kissing her.
That’s about it. She never really thinks it through, and she’s stuck dealing with a horny Angel.
Can be as smutty and pointless as you desire.
Bonus if Angel finds out what Fred said.