She filled her in on pretty much everything and at one point, Buffy felt her mind sliding into overload.
Angel working for an evil law firm was pretty much a head trip all on it’s own and that wasn’t factoring into the equation that this Cordelia was different to what she’d imagined.
Sure, she was still Queen of the Snippy.
They’d discussed ways of telling Angel she was back and when Cordelia had suggested she employ a little tact, Buffy had called time on their conversation-de-weird.
“Okay, okay, hold up… I can deal with talking to a girl who’s in a coma. I can deal with thinking that Angel might think I’m crazy but dealing with you telling me to employ a little tact? Now, that is crazy…” said Buffy, shaking her head.
Cordelia frowned, “Y’know, people change, Buffy. I figured you’d know that as much as anybody.”
She did know that! God, she knew that. She’d been the ditziest bitch at Hemery until Merrick had come along with her calling and now, not only was Cordelia asking her to see that she’d changed but she was providing living, actual proof.
Surreal wasn’t even close to covering it.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, surprised to find she meant it.
The last time she’d met up with Angel had been just after she’d been brought back from the dead. They’d kissed, sure. Buffy was fairly certain that at one point she’d have risked giving him a happy just to feel something other than death and despair and, well, death again.
But Angel had been different too. And when she’d begged him to come back with her, when she’d laid her heart on the line and pleaded with him just to help her make sense of her life, Angel had done the oh-so-noble thing of letting her down gently.
He had a mission, he’d told her, back in LA. He had a family. He had–Cordelia.
He’d told her she’d changed. Buffy hadn’t believed it and in doing so, she realised that maybe she’d done the brunette a great disservice all on her own.
“I hated you in high school,” she said after a beat.
Cordelia arched an eyebrow, “Trust me when I say the feeling was mutual.”
“You seemed to have everything.”
The brunette made a face at that. “I did. Money, cars, shoes, dresses… And then Daddy got all neglecty on the tax paying front and we ended up broke.”
“Riches to rags,” Buffy shook her head, “Pretty hefty comedown.”
Cordelia shrugged, “It wasn’t the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
“Well, I guess not… I mean, coma and all…”
“No, I mean… Well, I guess all that money really never did make me happy. The best time I had in high school was hanging round with you tweako’s pre-rebar incident – how sad is that?”
“Gee, thanks,” said Buffy, scowling a little.
“Okay, that came out wrong. All I meant was… I had everything your average girl ever dreams of and the best years of my life were spent playing bait, fighting alongside a vampire with a soul, getting debilitating visions and researching demons. Who knew?” She glanced up to find Buffy looking at her oddly. “What?”
“You. You’re so… Different,” Buffy settled on finally. “And I mean that as a compliment.”
Cordelia sighed, “Yeah, well… I’ve seen what’s out there. Kinda hard to stay the same when the majority of the world is beating down your brain with a vision to show you how awful it can be.”
“What made you keep them?” Buffy asked, after a moment.
“Kinda didn’t have a choice,” Cordelia shrugged. “Tried to kiss everyone and their empath-demon for a whole day before I realised I had the only thing that ever meant anything to Doyle and… The rest is history, I guess.”
Buffy thought about that for a long moment. “Does it hurt?”
“What, the visions?”
“The coma,” said Buffy, “I can’t imagine what it’s like being… Y’know, locked inside your head.”
Cordelia’s gaze seemed to darken. “It’s better than last year, trust me.”
“Last year?”
The plane bounced hard as a storm broke around them and Buffy winced. “God, I hate planes about as much as I hate driving.”
Cordelia said nothing.
***