{"id":10400,"date":"2016-11-13T21:06:49","date_gmt":"2016-11-13T21:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/?p=10400"},"modified":"2018-07-23T22:19:44","modified_gmt":"2018-07-23T21:19:44","slug":"season-of-solace-110","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/2016\/11\/13\/season-of-solace-110\/","title":{"rendered":"Season of Solace. 110"},"content":{"rendered":"
110: \u00a0 \u00a0 The Kitchen, Crawford Street Mansion, Central Sunnydale<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Their\u00a0system was down pat: Buffy washed, Willow dried and Cordelia put the dishes away. She was the most familiar with where everything belonged. Only the fact that Willow\u2019s constant presence kept her from having a necessary talk with Buffy made it frustrating. They both needed to get this out of the way. The longer it was delayed, the more frustrating it got.<\/p>\n

Blurting out what she really wanted to say was on a five second countdown. Angel had asked her not to push it when she said that Buffy was going to hear about it. Being pissed off that her ex was dating someone else was understandable, but trying to injure him out of pure spite was another. Five seconds\u2014that was about as tactful as Cordelia could be.<\/p>\n

Buffy, decked out in rubber gloves, was scrubbing hard at the bottom of the frying pan where Xander\u2019s cooking efforts had created a dark crusty mantle. She tackled it like it was any other demon. It was the last thing left to clean. \u201cThere won\u2019t be any supposedly non-stick surface left after this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like Xander knows how to cook,\u201d Willow defended him by reminding that he had volunteered for the job. \u201cAnd we did say that we\u2019d help with clean up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Cordelia let out a little snort. \u201cHe ran out of here fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vigorous pan scrubbing stopped long enough for Buffy to glare in her direction. \u201cAnd why do you think that is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cXander has a severe allergy to cleaning up? One look at his bedroom will tell you that. Not that I blame him.\u201d Cordelia propped a hand on her hip and leaned against the counter. \u201cNext time, the guys take their turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow added, \u201cAnd Faith,\u201d not forgetting that the other Slayer had gotten out of this job because it was her turn to patrol the grounds.<\/p>\n

Angel had taken both Watchers to another part of the mansion to discuss a potential vulnerability in their overall defensive strategy. He had definite ideas and was not the least hesitant in conveying them. In fact, Cordelia thought his take-charge attitude was kind of a turn on. But then, lately, anything about Angel was sexy.<\/p>\n

Normally, he would have let the others take the lead in the decision-making and just go along with the plan. He would be there to help them, but not do anything that would steal Buffy\u2019s thunder, heaven forbid. That had all changed since they started teaming up as if Angel suddenly realized he was free of that leash that tied him down, held him back.<\/p>\n

She had always known Angel was hot. Pure aesthetic value alone was sky high. He was definitely more than just eye candy, though. Cordelia sensed she was just scratching that broody surface and wondered what it would be like to bring Angel out of that shell a little more. God, if today\u2019s totally hot quickie was any indication it was going to be hard\u2014really hard, she smirked inwardly\u2014to keep their hands off each other in public.<\/p>\n

But then, it was not so much their hands that Cordelia worried about. Even now, she felt excited, her body tingling and warm. Pushing aside any guilt that lingered over thinking about sex with Angel instead of mourning Bev, she told herself it was what her grandmother would want anyway. She would be the first to tell her to live her life, to take as much as she could from it, and be with the man she loved.<\/p>\n

It would have been interesting to see Bev\u2019s reaction if she had discovered that Angel was a vampire. Cordelia had been determined to protect her from the truth, but the truth just had a way of coming out here in Sunnydale. Knowing Bev, she would have treated Angel like anyone else she cared about. The thought of her grandmother\u2019s capacity for love\u2014not to mention taking in stray relatives\u2014still surprised her especially since Bev had pointed out that they had so much in common.<\/p>\n

Thinking about it distracted her from Angel\u2019s entry into the kitchen. Normally, Cordy would have noticed the moment he walked into the room. Buffy noticed first. Either her Slayer or ex-boyfriend senses alerted her to Angel\u2019s presence. She met his gaze, nudged Willow with an elbow, who got the hint by putting on a too-bright smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, Angel,\u201d she waved her damp dishrag by way of greeting. Cordelia noticed that he was looking past Willow to her. \u201cWe\u2019re almost done here. Everything\u2019s clean and shiny\u2014except for the frying pan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel might have heard Willow muttering about Xander\u2019s valiant efforts to cook for them, but Cordelia knew his thoughts were all on her. She could see it in the subtle tension in his shoulders and the stark look that spoke volumes. Keeping his distance, Angel still managed to renew that tingling desire she felt deep down. One sweep of his eyes across her mouth caused her lips to part. The intent stare left her trembling at the thought of bedtime and the fact that it was still hours away. She wondered what Buffy and Willow would do if she jumped him right here and now.<\/p>\n

Cordelia grinned at the thought and for a second, Angel was equally distracted by whatever signals her body was giving him. He shifted around nervously as he stood in the doorway, rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and looked like he found it hard to remember why he was there.<\/p>\n

Finally, it came to him. \u201cDone? Willow, yes, good, we need your help with a spell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA spell?\u201d Willow tossed the dishrag aside practically bouncing her way toward the door. \u201cWhat kind of spell? I have ideas. Lots of ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before turning to leave, Angel looked back at Cordelia one more time the barest hint of a smile on his face. Willow\u2019s incessant questions about what they had planned could be heard all the way down the hall. Cordelia had to laugh at her enthusiasm. \u201cEager much?\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffy let the frying pan sink back into the now-grey depths of the dishwater. \u201cWillow just wants to help. We\u2019re all here to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tone made it clear Buffy would not be here if she felt she had a choice. Propping her gloved hands on the edge of the metal sink, she stared down into the cloudy water as if looking for something else to say. Cordelia snagged the opportunity to get back on track. She was five seconds away from letting Buffy have it before getting distracted.<\/p>\n

Without Willow or Angel around, it did not even take that long. \u201cMaybe if you\u2019d just do your job and track down the demon that killed Bev you wouldn\u2019t have to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t go there,\u201d Buffy\u2019s jaw clenched. She turned to face her, one hand still on the sink, the other now dripping water on the floor, unnoticed by either of them. \u201cI\u2019ll do what it takes. I\u2019m sorry about your grandmother, but you know this is the last place I want to be right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t give you the excuse to take it out on Angel,\u201d she snapped back coolly. \u201cThat stunt you pulled earlier nearly left him a crispy critter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffy looked guilty about it for a fraction of a second. \u201cI warned him to get out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was clear that Buffy thought Cordelia had stolen Angel away from her despite the fact that the Slayer had been the one to call it off between them. Not to mention that she was also the one to throw them together on patrol night after night. Now Buffy had the gall to be snippy about it.<\/p>\n

So maybe she would mention it. \u201cWe\u2019re together because of you. It was your idea to have us do the Team Chase thing. Two hotties stuck together on patrol\u2014you get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the pinched, red look on her face she certainly did. \u201cAngel thought you were just a spoiled bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was supposed to make you see sense and make you quit,\u201d Buffy admitted the fact as she pointed a drippy gloved finger toward her. \u201cBut you\u2019re too stubborn for that. Or you just decided it was a good time to get your hooks into Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia knew it was dangerous to rile up someone who could break her in half if she put her strength into it, but at this point she didn\u2019t care. Ignoring the rudeness of the pointy finger, she stepped forward, using her height to give her the tiniest advantage over Buffy\u2019s natural intimidation factor. Well she could be damn intimidating, too, when necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would I want to spend time with a Slayer-whipped vampire? Angel wasn\u2019t even on my radar back then. It just took a while to see that he wasn\u2019t quite the lapdog I thought he\u2019d become.\u201d Cordelia watched Buffy go a shade paler.<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I supposed to like the fact that you\u2019re with Angel now,\u201d Buffy\u2019s hazel eyes were pinpoints of anger glaring through narrowed lids. Sarcasm dripped thickly, \u201cFine. I really love it that you can be with him when I can\u2019t. You\u2019ve got what you always wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, guess I do.\u201d Cordelia quickly agreed. It might not have been intentional to fall in love with Angel, but it felt good to say it. \u201cAngel finally took the blinders off, Buffy. He loves me now, so I suggest that you just back off. Now that we\u2019ve discovered the truth about the curse there\u2019s nothing to hold us back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffy squirmed visibly, her grip on the sink making squeaky rubber noises as it tightened. Any final doubts she had about Angel and Cordelia having had sex were about to be cleared up. It hurt like hell to ask, but Buffy needed to know. \u201cAre you really sure about the curse thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

With her usual no-holds-barred policy, Cordelia gave her a smug smile. \u201cWe\u2019ve field tested the permanent soul a few times if that\u2019s what you\u2019re getting at. Total bliss was had, so don\u2019t even try to suggest otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pain on Buffy\u2019s face was obvious making Cordy the tiniest bit aware that it might not have been necessary to wipe her nose in it quite so hard. There was no response so she reminded her, \u201cEven you should be happy that Angelus is no longer an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not that it really made up for Cordelia getting Angel, but it was better than nothing. Buffy did concede that point. \u201cIt\u2019s a relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was something, she supposed, but this little chat was not exactly going to make the hurt feelings go away. Cordelia figured she could deal with it, but wanted Buffy to be clear that she was not going to put up with her getting nostalgic about the Buffy and Angel Show. \u201cThat\u2019s over now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffy snapped, \u201cYou can\u2019t control what Angel feels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello! My point exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll deal,\u201d Buffy let out a grunt of discontent, \u201cbut I\u2019ve been served enough helpings of bitch today. I\u2019ve heard enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia raised a brow. Was that actually a white flag of truce or just a brief pause to gather up steam for another confrontation? \u201cFine with me. Topic closed. Now are you ever going to finish with that frying pan? There are so many other things I\u2019d rather be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sudden sound of Xander\u2019s voice echoed back to the kitchen, \u201cYo! Dead Boy. Get out here. Drusilla wants to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dru was here? Cordelia watched wide-eyed as Buffy instantly went into Slayer mode. She whipped out Mr. Pointy from its belted spot behind her back and darted out the door.<\/p>\n

Arm outstretched, Cordelia called out to warn her. \u201cBuffy, wait!\u201d Too late. There was no stopping her now.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Scene 111<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

110: \u00a0 \u00a0 The Kitchen, Crawford Street Mansion, Central Sunnydale Their\u00a0system was down pat: Buffy washed, Willow dried and Cordelia put the dishes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-to-be-continued-fic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10400\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}