Part 26: Two Great Heroes Meet on a Field of Battle and Recognize Their Mutual Fate
Angel turned the car off, smiling at Cordelia as she checked her hair in the mirror. All the evil law firms, scary prophecies, and unexpected pregnancies in the world wouldn’t make Cordelia any less Cordy. And she was his.
It was still too new, too bright and shiny to feel real yet. But that was okay. It was kind of nice, the shaky way everything seemed out of a dream right now. Because he had dreamed this. Him and her, coming home after a night out together. Cruising down the highway in his car, top down, her hand on his thigh and his occasionally reaching to caress her cheek. They would pull into the hotel and he would be Mister Smooth, cracking jokes and having her wait in her seat while he went around and…
Oh shit, she’s already getting out of the car!!!
“Woah, wait,” he hurriedly called out. She glanced over at him, perplexed, but he just smiled. Then he opened his door, raced around the car, and with an exaggerated flourish, pulled open her door and offered his hand to her. As she placed her hand in his, she bit her lip, blushing, offering him a glimpse of the softer, shier side of Cordelia, the one few got to see. He helped her out of the convertible and for a moment they just stood there, inches apart, her hand still in his.
“I shouldn’t get used to that, should I?” Cordelia finally said, in a light-hearted voice.
He could lie, but honestly, how often would they even be in the car alone together? First of all there was Connor and Angel also couldn’t picture any of the other members of AI waiting patiently in the back seat for him to run around the car and open the passenger side door for Cordy. “Probably not,” he told her with a rueful grin.
Luckily his honesty didn’t throw her. She laughed and then, keeping his hand in hers, started to walk towards the hotel. Two feet before the door, she stopped. Since they were still joined, Angel stopped too, looking quizzically at her.
Cordelia turned to face him. This was the man she loved and also her best friend and being with him was wonderful and comfortable but still a bit…new. And she wasn’t entirely sure how to proceed. She turned to face him, freeing his hand and reaching up to fuss with the collar of his button down shirt. Finally, she looked up and met his eyes. “Soooo, how do we do this?” she asked.
Angel smirked. “Welll,” he drawled, reaching around her lower back to pull her closer, “it goes a little something like this.” And then he was leaning down and –
“Woah there cowboy,” Cordy said, putting her fingers over his descending lips. “Not how do we do THAT. I know we know how to do THAT. I meant, are we, uh, do we announce something, or, I don’t know, do you wanna do the secret love thing for a while?”
Angel sighed but kept his arms around Cordy. “Cordelia. Two hours ago you told the entire Scooby Gang that you were in love with me. I think the secret’s out.”
Secretly overjoyed that Angel didn’t feel the need to hide what they now were from anyone, Cordelia’s usually ever-present confidence returned. Even though I’m not entirely sure what we are now.
“Well, I’m glad you feel like telling them. It’s probably a really good idea. Especially considering the fact that they’re gonna see that thing on your neck and guess what happened anyway,” she told him.
“What thing,” Angel practically shrieked, running his hand rapidly over his entire neck region.
Cordy ran her tongue over her lips. Angel with a hickey was incredibly funny and after the weekend she had just had, she deserved a good laugh. “Here,” she told him, reaching into her purse, fishing out her compact and handing it too him. He stared at it blankly. “Flip it open,” she admonished.God he’s slow sometimes.
Angel opened the compact, saw the mirror and gave her a pained look. Ohhhhh, right, vampires and mirrors. Forgot about that one. Okay, maybe I’m a little slow sometimes too. “Sorry, my bad,” she said. “It’s a hickey.”
“You gave me a hickey.” It was half question and half incredulous statement. Cordy couldn’t tell how he felt about it. And ambiguous Angel, that’s never good.
“Yeah,” she admitted. “Sorry. Believe me, I’m not proud of it. You usually grow out of the whole hickey business around the time you get your braces off. I guess I— Wait, why do you look so absurdly happy about this?” Halfway through her hurried apology Angel had started in with the great big dorky smile.
Immediately he tried (unsuccessfully) to hide his grin. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I like it. I think the demon in me is really getting off on you marking me. Sort of claiming me as your own.” Angel rushed on, ignoring her quiet giggles. “And the man in me, well, it just seems very boyfriend-girlfriendy.” There he thought. Cordy’s gonna love the way I’m opening up. Really sharing stuff with her. Private stuff.
“Boyfriend-girlfriendy?” she exclaimed. “Yeah, maybe if we were in eighth grade and you acquired that during an intense game of Seven Minutes in Heaven.” And then she started laughing.
Angel waited a minute for the giggles to stop. Then he had to ask. “Seven minutes in heaven?” Up her eyebrows shot, like she was amazed he didn’t know. Sometimes Cordelia seemed to forget that he had been around for 250 years. That was a hell of a lot of trends to keep up with.
“Yeah, you know,” Cordy said, trying to swallow the last of her laughter. “Two people locked in a closet for seven minutes. You figure it out.”
Angel looked at her appraisingly. “Oh. So is that what you were doing in the closet all the time with Xander?” he teased.
Cordy made the “Ughhh” noise and swatted playfully at his chest.
“Wow, testy,” Angel said, smirking. “Just what did you two do when you were alone together in the closet?”
“I am so not telling you that.”
“Why not,” Angel whined. “Cordy, it’s important for people in love to open up and share things.” She looked at him oddly. “What, I heard it last week on ‘Oprah.’ Dr. Phil is surprisingly insightful.”
“Fine,” Cordy huffed, deciding she wasn’t even going to discuss why Angel had been watching “Oprah.” “If you feel like sharing is so important, how about you tell me what you did to pay the Furies for their services?”
Angel gulped. “Ah, you know what, couples really shouldn’t share that much.” He reached for the door, prepared to rush inside if Cordy kept asking. He looked at her and noticed that her whole face had lit up. “What?” he asked.
“Is that what we are?” she asked, haltingly, as if she were unsure. “I mean, are we a couple?”
Angel took his arm off the door and brought it back around her. He leaned down and looked directly into her eyes. “We are whatever you want us to be.” And then he kissed her, because they were so close, and when your faces are that close and you love each other, it’s pretty much unwritten law that you should kiss.
“This feels very coupley,” Cordy murmured into Angel’s mouth.
“Mmmm, I haven’t felt this coupley in a long time,” Angel replied, before diving back into her mouth.
All of the sudden, the front door was flung open.
“Hey guys,” Xander called behind him, before he actually saw who was standing there, “Chinese is here—Holy world’s colliding Batman!” He seemed to freeze in shock. Angel and Cordelia disengaged from each other’s arms and waited for Xander to say more. But it seemed, for once, as if he had been rendered speechless. It was indeed a day for miracles.
Finally Cordelia just strolled into the hotel past Xander, not feeling the need to say anything to her ex. Angel, on the other hand, was surprisingly cheerful.
“Hey Xan,” he boomed, walking in and slapping Xander on the back (and almost knocking the guy down in the process). Angel kept walking and headed for the stairs, anxious to check on his son.
Xander still stood at the open door. “Xan?” he said quietly to himself. Angel, no, Deadboy, Deadboy hadn’t just called him Xander, had he? “Xan?” he repeated.
“No, I’m Ping.” Xander blinked and noticed the Chinese food delivery guy was now standing right in front of him. “That will be $49. 23.”
While Xander handled the food, Cordelia was being fawned over in the lobby by Fred and Gunn. They smothered her in hugs and insisted on seeing her stitches. Gunn actually offered to make her tea, while Fred gave her a sticker, because “that’s what my momma always did when I was brave.” They generally avoided the fact that the last time they had seen her she was sprinting out to the cab with tears streaming down her face. And she loved them for it.
“So,” Cordelia asked, leaning on the counter, “why, exactly, is Willow standing there staring at the door to the basement?”
Xander, walking up and placing a mountain of Chinese food on the counter, answered her question. “It’s not so much a long story as it is a story I’d rather not talk about.” He shuddered. “Or think about.”
Eager to find out what was going on, Cordelia walked over to where Willow stood. For a moment, she just stared at the door, but not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she finally tapped the girl on the shoulder. “Hey. What exactly are we looking at?” Cordy asked.
“Oh I’m not looking at anything,” Willow said matter-of-factly. “I’m listening.”
“Well, then what are we listening to?” Cordy asked. Suddenly, from the basement, came a series of banging noises. Then one loud crash. And something that sounded an awful lot like glass breaking. “What the hell was that?” Willow didn’t answer. Then from the bowels of the basement came a moan. “It sounds like someone’s in pain.”
“Actually, that one sounded like someone in fun,” Fred corrected from the lobby, through a mouthful of Hunan Shrimp. She considered herself something of an expert.
“Willow, what is going on down there,” Cordy asked, starting to get frustrated.
“Buffy and Spike,” Willow told her, still not looking away from the door. “It was yelling for the first hour or so. Now, it’s just—” BANG.
“Banging?” Cordy said, eyes going wide with shock.
“Part of me is all, I hope it means what I think it means,” Willow admitted. “But the other part of me—”
“Doesn’t want to think about what it means,” Cordy filled in.
“Exactly. I think I might do the denial thing for a while,” Willow said sheepishly.
“Hey,” said Cordy, encouraging. “A little healthy denial never hurt anyone.”
“Sweetie, the last thing this little group needs is more denial,” came a voice from above. Walking downstairs with Dawn, Lorne continued. “You’re looking better Miss Chase. Why you’re positively *glowing*. Please tell me I didn’t just leave the baby upstairs with an evil vampire.”
“Please,” Cordelia snorted. “Did you see what he was wearing? He definitely still has a soul.”
“Hey Cordelia,” Dawn said, beckoning Cordy over. “Guess what. Lorne read my aura. He says I’m the only one here with an ounce of sense. And he’s going to help me pick a song to do for the talent show.”
“Oh sweetie, that’s great. You know, I sang in the talent show when I was your age,” Cordy bragged.
“Yeah, um,” Dawn lowered her voice and leaned toward Cordelia. “Listen, you might want to tell Angel that showing off a nasty suck mark on your neck like it’s a prize, well, it’s not really hickey etiquette.”
Cordelia giggled. “I tried. God, he’s such a dork.”
“You’ve always had a soft spot for the dorks.” Cordy and Dawn turned to see who had added the commentary. There, in the doorway to the basement, stood a very rumpled looking slayer.
“Buffy,” Cordelia drawled evenly. It’s okay. She’s not going to kill me. She can’t kill humans. OH shit. Only half human. Does that mean she’s allowed to beat me up a whole lot, but not kill me? Or what, can she only kill me a little? I really need to get a look at the Slayer Rule Book one of these days.
Buffy strolled over to where her sister and Cordelia stood. It took every ounce of willpower Cordy had not to take any steps backward. She did make sure to pinpoint the nearest emergency exit. Just as a precaution.
“Cordelia, I was wondering if I could talk to you. Outside?” Buffy asked. Dawn tactfully went over to get some food, leaving the two women to talk.
“Outside,” Cordy stammered. “Alone outside? Where one can cause all sorts of pain under the cloak of darkness?” Damn. I sound all stammery and afraid. Like Fred. No, not like Fred. Oh Christ. I sound like Xander.
“Yeah, outside,” Buffy said. Unlike Cordelia, she seemed calmer than ever.
“Um, okay. Great. Let’s go.” Both women started heading over to the doors to the courtyard. All of the sudden, Cordy got an idea. “Hey, you go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
***
When Cordy came outside a couple of minutes later, Buffy was sitting on a bench directly across from the door. When the Slayer got a good look at Cordelia, who had come outside, crossbow in hand, she gave a sharp, dry chuckle.
“You’re going to shoot me?” Buffy asked.
“Oh. No. I mean, only if I have to,” Cordy said. “This is for when you attack me. You are the Chosen One Buffy. I think I deserve something to even the odds.”
“Cordelia,” Buffy said with a sigh, “I didn’t bring you out here to beat you up.”
“No?” Cordy said, cautiously sitting down next to the slayer—but making sure the crossbow was still in reach.
“No. I came to do something much less fun. I, well I owe you explanations and apologies. I came way too close to hitting you and I said things about you that were untrue and out of line.”
Trying to be generous, Cordy told Buffy, “What you said wasn’t that bad.”
“It got worse after you left.”
“Oh. Well in that case…”
Buffy cleared her throat. “I also need to thank you,” she ground out. “For taking a hit that was meant to for me. And more importantly, for saying things that needed to be said.”
“Being a tactless bitch, you mean?”
“Hey, it’s not the first time that your patented Queen C charm has been able to give me a reality check when no one else could,” Buffy told her.
Cordelia didn’t know what to make of that. “I do what I can,” she replied.
“You do. You do so much. You’ve done so much.” For a moment, Buffy stopped. She didn’t enjoy saying this, but it had to be said. Even though it was seriously making her stomach hurt. One of these days being so honorable is going to give me an ulcer.
“You’ve accepted all this pain. You’ve got the mothering thing down pat. And you seem to work the demon thing pretty well too.” Buffy forged on. “And you’ve made Angel so very very happy.”
Cordelia flashed that brilliant smile and wonder of wonders, Buffy smiled back. Then all of the sudden Buffy frowned. “You haven’t made him TOO happy, right?”
“Oh no,” Cordy assured her quickly. “No, no happy-happyness.”
“Kay. Just checking.”
Feeling better about where this little chat was going, Cordy relaxed her grip on the crossbow and laid it on the ground at her feet.
“Buffy,” Cordy said, “are you okay with this? I mean, I could tell, when you came here—”
“That I wanted Angel and I to refresh our memories?”
“So to speak.”
Buffy gave an almost embarrassed laugh. “Yeah. I thought I did want the two of us to, I don’t know, be what we were. I think I was just looking for someone to cling to.” She sighed. “Someone that wasn’t Spike.”
“Oh, yeah, how, um, how’s that going by the way,” Cordy asked, trying not to laugh at the memory of the noises coming from the basement.
Buffy mock-glared at her, but for once it seemed like there was no real venom behind her eyes. “Cordelia, Spike heard you and Willow. I know you two were hanging out by the door to the basement.”
“Okay, yes, we’re eavesdroppers. Big shock there. And yes, we heard the noises and assumed that you two were—”
“Oh we were,” Buffy announced with a broad smile. “Twice.”
“Stop,” Cordy said, holding her hand up as if that would prevent Buffy from sharing anymore.
“There are times when being with a vampire comes in very handy,” Buffy added, once she saw how much Cordelia DIDN’T want to hear.
“Okay, so don’t want to go there.”
Buffy continued. “Obviously there’s the 100 plus years of experience.”
“Please. I beg you. Stop talking.”
She went on, seemingly oblivious to Cordy’s pleas. “The super strength is fun too.”
“Nooooo,” Cordy cried out, putting her hands over her ears like a five year old. “This is gross.”
Buffy smiled wickedly. And now for the grand finale. “And you know Cordelia, vampires don’t need to breath.” She threw in an eyebrow wiggle, for effect.
Cordy shot up out of her seat like a rocket and started pacing. “Thank you. Thank you very much. I will never be able to train down there again. The mental pictures will haunt me for eternity.” All of the sudden she stopped walking and looked over at Buffy. They both burst out laughing.
As soon as they realized that they were laughing, that they were both laughing, that they were LAUGHING TOGETHER, they stopped. And frowned. Cordy started in with the pacing again and Buffy put her head between her legs, like she was dizzy.
“Oh God,” Cordy said, clearly distressed. “We’re going to end up being friends, aren’t we?”
“I’m not any happier about it than you are,” Buffy said between deep even breaths. The idea of being buddies with this woman was more terrifying than those swim team monsters. She sat up. “Maybe, maybe it won’t be so bad. I live two hours away. I—”
“No,” Cordy cut her off. “That won’t help. I can see me calling you. Late night three hour conversation calls.”
Buffy groaned. Because she could picture it too. Curled up on the couch, eating everything in sight, and laughing hysterically while talking on the phone with the devil himself—err, herself.
Cordelia wasn’t finished. “Plus I’ve gotten way more into email. I need to get your address. We’ve started taking all these digital pics of Connor—you’re gonna love them.”
That was it then. They would be friends. Probably never best friends. In some ways, they were too similar to be that close. But they would be friends. It was inevitable. Both women looked somewhat pale and more than a little nauseous at that conclusion.
Buffy still needed to make sure that her earlier point had been made.
“Cordelia. I am sorry. I’m sorry you heard me say all those things, I’m sorry for the meaner things you didn’t hear me say, and I’m even sorrier because none of them were true. I know that, and so do Willow and Xander.”
“Buffy, I know I’m not everyone’s favorite person, it’s not big de—”
“No. It is a big deal Cordelia. You’ve been there from the beginning. Do you realize that? I don’t think I did until I sat down and thought about it. And however much fun you and I had pretending to hate each other, was there ever a time when one of us needed something and the other said no?” It was nice, super mature compliment. Buffy had never been prouder of herself. And Cordelia, well, she was staring at her like she had two heads.
Finally Cordy smirked. “Wow. Buffy. All that basement-Spike-lovin certainly has made you…well, nice.”
“Hey, I’m not the only one who’s considerably mellower. Could the new improved Cordy have anything to do with the hickey I heard Dawn talking about?”
“I’m taking the fifth on that one,” Cordy pronounced as solemnly as she could while trying to control her beaming smile.
“Well, since clearly there was neck suckage, I hope I can assume that Angel’s talk with you went well.” With Buffy’s veiled question, Cordy lost control of the smile and out it came. Cordelia’s cheeks took on a rosy blush and it was beautiful. Buffy had never seen Cordelia in love before. It was better than she had ever looked with expensive cosmetics and high-fashion outfits.
“I never saw you smile like that in Sunnydale,” Buffy said without thinking. “I barely saw Angel smile at all—I’m starting to wonder what the hell we did besides talk about the world ending and make out angstily. You’re good for each other.”
Cordy shot a questioning glance at the slayer. “Was that you giving me your blessing or something?”
“Yeah. I kinda think it was,” Buffy told her. Both girls stared at each other uncomfortably.
Cordelia cleared her throat. “Okay, so clearly, the warm fuzzies don’t really work on us.”
“Oh no they don’t,’ Buffy said, vigorously nodding her head.
Having reached that agreement, both girls stood and headed back inside.