Double Take. 9

Part 9

Buffy trudged up the brick path to the front door of the mansion even though the sun had already made its appearance in the sky. No doubt Angel would be asleep, but this just couldn’t wait. Not one minute more.

Turning the doorknob, she marveled at the fact that the vampires still left their door unlocked. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have enemies in the demon underworld even if the human population of Sunnydale was too scared of the Crawford Street Mansion to bother.

Walking right in, Buffy shut the door behind her and headed directly for the stairs.

Angel’s room was on the second floor, a place she had been quite frequently over the past couple of months. After today—

“Open up already,” a muttered voice could be heard in the distance.

Buffy paused on the steps, hearing sounds coming from the kitchen. Thinking it a little strange that one of the vampires would be up at this hour of the morning, she decided that maybe the unlocked door had been too much of a temptation for some idiot burglar who thought to steal the family silver.

The closer she got, Buffy realized that she could smell the aroma of toasted bread accompanied by the sound of the coffee pot as it dripped into its glass container. The burglar was making himself right at home, apparently.

Sticking to that story, Buffy stopped in the doorway to spot Cordelia Chase, damp hair and shower fresh standing on the other side of the kitchen trying to open up a jar of strawberry jam.

“Is that Angel’s robe?” Buffy immediately noticed the oversized navy robe swallowing up Cordelia’s feminine curves. She should know, after all, having seen it before.

Letting out a screech of surprise, Cordelia nearly dropped the jam jar. “Buffy! Looks like you need a bell just as much as the vamps do.”

Stalking further into the kitchen, the blond slayer was not about to let Cordy ignore her question. “What are you doing in Angel’s robe? Why are you here? As if it’s not obvious that you’re sleeping with my boyfriend.”

“Am not,” Cordelia answered. “Are you blind? I left with Angelus last night, not your precious tried and true, halo-wearing Angel.”

Did that sound bitter? Cordelia asked herself. Pfft! Nah. It’s just the truth.

Actually, Buffy had been too distracted by Angel’s behavior to notice whether Cordy left the club with Angelus or the whole Sunnydale football team. While she experienced a moment of relief that Angel hadn’t slept with Cordelia last night, it altered nothing. The circumstances that brought her here hadn’t changed.

Then the slayer realized the fact that Cordelia’s presence meant something else. Her mouth fell open in shock as she realized, “You slept with Angelus? Cor, that’s really…insane.”

“Maybe,” admitted Cordelia holding out the stubborn jam jar to Buffy who popped the lid with one easy motion. “Gotta tell you, I don’t regret a second of it. Angelus is very…well, you know.”

Buffy scowled as she realized Cordelia might as well have slept with Angel because the two vampires were identical. Except for the missing soul and the bad manners. “I suppose that I do know. What is this, Cor? You couldn’t seduce Angel, so you move onto his evil brother?”

That was too close to the truth for Cordelia’s liking. Not that she was using Angelus as a substitute. That would be way wrong. She genuinely had feelings for the vampire, but she couldn’t deny that thoughts of Angel stirred something within her that no one else could provide.

Looking busy, Cordelia spread jam on her toast, pausing long enough to take a bite and gather her thoughts. “Angel is my friend.”

The hesitation wasn’t lost on Buffy. Her choice of words resonated with irony echoing Angel’s many excuses during their argument last night at the Bronze. They had gone out back to the alley behind the club in order to hash things out.

Frankly furious at all of the attention Angel had been paying Cordelia lately, even if it was under the guise of keeping his friend safe from his brother, Buffy had enough.

Ultimatums weren’t exactly pleasant things in hindsight. She’d issued Angel one only two months ago that got them into this mess with Angelus just because she wanted some ‘attention’ after patrols now and then. Well…mostly now and again.

Words turned ugly and even though the vampire lashed back verbally, it was Buffy who threw the first blow. Circling like hunter and prey, they walked a dangerous path around each other. Buffy wasn’t certain from one moment to the next which role she filled in their relationship, but it had become that.

Little more than the give and take between a slayer and a vampire instead of friends and lovers.

Have we ever been friends? It was his question, not hers, but the words might have been a physical slap across her face for all the impact it made. Buffy knew the answer and it wasn’t pretty.

Whatever they had, it was something, and that something was what she wanted. No matter Angel’s opinion on the subject. At that moment, even Buffy wasn’t aware of the aggressive fever running through her in reaction to the presence of what was basically her natural enemy facing her with minimal control.

Angel was in no mood to play games or soothe Buffy’s ruffled feathers.

No matter that Angelus had his own existence, Angel was still part demon. He was still a vampire and the instincts that guided him, though usually in check, were close to the surface as Buffy faced off with him in the alley. Though Angel hadn’t made a move toward her, the anger Buffy felt welled to the surface and even though she had been yelling, it wasn’t enough.

She curled her fist and set Angel back on his feet, his speed the only thing allowing him to avoid the worst of the blow. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he pushed her away demanding to know what the hell she was thinking. Belligerence guided her at that moment and Buffy said nothing. Her only response was to kick his legs out from under him and leap forward as he fell to the ground.

As usual when aggression and hyper-stimulation of her instinctual drive to fight came into play with Angel around, Buffy felt turned on by it. Straddling his hips, Buffy attempted to make up for her previous screaming accusations with an attempt at seduction, or in her case, simply reaching for his zipper.

Angel protested and when Buffy refused to stop, he tossed her off of him using a strength she didn’t know he possessed. “Grow up Buffy!” he’d growled, angrier than she’d ever seen him.

Then he’d walked away, leaving her on the cold asphalt of the alley as he vanished into the shadows. Seeing Cordelia here, she’d felt certain that Angel had sought her out after the fight. That the brunette had taken advantage of the situation and her friendship with Angel to wile her way into his bed. Only, it wasn’t true, so she said.

Angelus! Buffy was still reeling at the thought. Major wiggins.

The slayer had spent the rest of the night working off her aggression and frustration with the demon population of Sunnydale. She’d had a lot of time to think in between the fisticuffs, stakings and roundhouse kicks. Her conclusion wasn’t pleasant. Some part of her had known it for months; long before Angelus returned.

There was something different between herself and Angel. She’d first noticed it when he came back from Acathla’s hell dimension, but had quickly blown it off as adjusting to Sunnydale again. Really, it was Angel having to adjust to her again. It showed in their every interaction and his growing friendship with Cordelia was just one more sign.

The way Angelus seemed obsessed with Cordy should have bought her a clue long ago. One vamp didn’t just develop those kind of thoughts overnight without the other having similar feelings. Maybe it wasn’t love on Angelus’ part, but Buffy knew that Angel’s behavior and by his dauntless defense of their friendship that what he felt for Cordelia had become more precious to him than anything they’d experienced.

Precious enough to give it up, Buffy knew now, realizing that Angel had to suspect what was going on between Cordelia and his double. So it wasn’t just friendship, she figured. All that energy, jealousy and fury he showed last night meant one thing; so simple, really, and even obvious with hindsight.

Angel was in love with Cordelia Chase.

As Buffy seemed lost in thought, Cordelia tightened the belt of the robe. It was too loose and being completely naked underneath left her at a little bit of a disadvantage when it came to facing her rival. Determined not to sound as awkward as she felt, Cordelia put on a perky smile and offered Buffy breakfast.

“Toast?” She held up her spare slice; the one she hadn’t yet smothered in strawberry jam. “There’s orange juice in the fridge if you want some. The coffee is nearly done.”

Blinking as she came out of her daze, Buffy refused with a shake of her blonde head. “No thanks.”

Then realizing that it was strange to find coffee, orange juice and fresh bread at the home of two pig’s blood-drinking vampires, Buffy had to comment, “Angelus must’ve been planning for you to have a sleepover if he stocked the kitchen.”

Cordelia decided not to tell her that it was Angel who bought the food. Ever since she started spending more time with both vampires as part of her Angelus Project, Cordy had often come over before patrols and during dinnertime. She liked breakfast foods at any time of the day and Angel cooked a mean omelet. Not that he’d cared much for her attempt to reciprocate by enhancing his blood with cinnamon and Tabasco.

When Cordelia took another bite of her toast, Buffy took it correctly as a sign that the conversation was wearing thin. “I’m going to see Angel now.”

Cordelia continued to munch on her toast, waggling her fingers at Buffy in the form of goodbye. As soon as the blonde left the kitchen, she dropped the remaining crust of bread onto the plate, her appetite vanishing as she realize that Buffy had to be here for an early morning boinkfest with Angel. Even after spending an exhausting night of passion with Angelus, she felt a twinge of jealousy and that bothered her immensely.

Setting the dishes into the sink, Cordelia made her way toward the stairs. It was Saturday, so who said she had to be up at this time of morning anyway? Angelus was asleep, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t crawl into bed again. “Wonder if he’ll wake up,” she mused as she padded barefoot up the stairs.

By the time she got to the top, Buffy had already emerged from Angel’s room and was descending to the main floor. Cordelia looked at her, completely puzzled by her sudden appearance. “That was certainly a quickie,” she drolled.

Buffy glared in response, commenting, “Angel’s not there. His bed hasn’t been slept in.”

The worry in her voice was automatic despite what had happened last night. Buffy expected to hear equal concern from Cordelia. If he hadn’t come back after the scene at the Bronze, maybe something had happened.

“Well, he’s here somewhere,” Cordelia shrugged. “His jacket was in the kitchen and we both know he doesn’t set foot outside without it.”

Having not noticed, Buffy remembered, “He had it on last night.”

“Like I said,” Cordelia took another two steps up to put her at the landing, “doesn’t leave home without it.”

Wondering where the vampire could be and considering that had he been on the ground floor Angel would have heard her entry and made his presence known, or at least come to see what Cordelia was up to in the kitchen, Buffy had no clue where to begin looking for him. The only room she was really familiar with was his bedroom.

A pensive look appeared on Buffy’s face as she saw Cordelia’s anxious expression. It seemed clear that she wanted to escape upstairs. Back to Angelus. Then glancing in the direction of Angel’s empty bedroom and then toward the steps to the third floor, her eyes opened wide.

“Cordelia,” she set her hands on her hips and demanded an answer, “exactly where is Angel?”

Rolling her eyes, Cordelia huffed, “Sheesh, Buffy! Can’t you keep track of your own vampire? Try the training room in the basement.”

Angel had a training room in the basement? The fact that she didn’t know that fact irked Buffy and she added it to the lengthening list of items that were wrong about their relationship. “He’s n—,” she faltered and tried again. “I thought that you and he and… never mind.”

Watching the bright flash of color flooding Buffy’s cheeks, Cordelia snapped, “Spit it out.”

Psyching herself up, Buffy asked, “Is Angel upstairs?”

“Hello! That’s Angelus’ room. I told y—,” now Cordelia’s jaw dropped as she realized just what the blonde was suggesting. Sputtering, “Wh-what? That’s…you can’t…Angel isn’t…I would—”

“You would what?” Buffy thought the answer to her question was a negative, but the confused jumble of words coming from Cordelia’s usually sharp and agile tongue left her to wonder.

Cordelia stomped up three stairs on the way up the next flight before barking, “NO!”

“Guess I’ll try the basement,” Buffy shrugged.

Stupid thought, anyway. Cordy and Angel and Angelus in some kind of threesome? Nah. Not even in somebody’s smutty imagination. Oops! Except mine, apparently.

Part 10

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