{"id":2202,"date":"2015-06-26T21:51:43","date_gmt":"2015-06-26T20:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/?p=2202"},"modified":"2015-06-26T21:52:26","modified_gmt":"2015-06-26T20:52:26","slug":"dark-corners-3-secrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/26\/dark-corners-3-secrets\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Corners 3: Secrets."},"content":{"rendered":"

Title: <\/b>Dark Corners 3: Secrets
\nAuthor: <\/b>Dannyblue
\nPosted: <\/b>12-31-2002
\nRating: <\/b>PG
\nEmail: <\/b>dannyblue2@yahoo.com<\/a>
\nContent: <\/b>Angel\/Cordelia.
\nSummary: <\/b>Third in the “Dark Corners<\/strong> Series\u201d. There are dark corners in every relationship.
\nSpoilers: <\/b>General series stuff up to “Rain of Fire<\/em>“. Probably nothing specific. This story takes place in some nebulous future. I have no idea where Connor is, so don’t ask.
\nDisclaimer: <\/b>The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
\nDistribution: <\/b>Ask and you shall receive.
\nNotes: <\/b>
\nFeedback: <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDon\u2019t ever do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia, who\u2019d just eased her aching body onto the bed, looked up. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard me.\u201d Angel folded his arms. His broad shoulders filled the open doorway behind him. \u201cNever again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eyebrows arched in disbelief, Cordelia stared at him. She tried to read his expression, maybe get a sense of what he feeling. She\u2019d gotten good at it over the years. She could read him by the set of his mouth. The narrowing of his eyes.<\/p>\n

Usually. At the moment, his face was impassive. Unreadable. It kind of reminded her of how he was back in the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, Angel,\u201d Cordelia began, \u201ceither this is your idea of a joke or you\u2019re overreacting. Either way, pfft.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okay, there was an expression. He glowered at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d He took a step towards the bed. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to listen to what I have to say and then do what you damn well please. Not this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He never actually raised his voice. Yet the power of it seemed to fill the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel, I couldn\u2019t just\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should never have tried to handle that vision on your own. If you\u2019d called me, I could\u2019ve been there in fifteen minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you would\u2019ve been too late. Don\u2019t tell<\/i> me you don\u2019t know that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe,\u201d he said with a small nod. \u201cAnd I can\u2019t say I care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia sighed. That was exactly why she didn\u2019t call.<\/p>\n

She was on her way home from interviewing a new client when the vision struck. From what she\u2019d picked up, the badness would happen in a nearby alley in about five minutes. And she could be there in less than three.<\/p>\n

She thought about calling the office. But there was no way anyone at the Hyperion would make it in time. And Angel would tell her to wait until he got there\u2026which they both would\u2019ve known she couldn\u2019t do. So, he would\u2019ve worried. And she would\u2019ve felt guilty about making him worry. Emotional baggage she didn\u2019t need to take into a fight.<\/p>\n

So, she decided not to call. Instead, she\u2019d wait to tell him after the fact.<\/p>\n

If she\u2019d managed to kill the demon without getting hurt herself, things would\u2019ve gone a lot smoother. Oh, Angel still would\u2019ve been upset. But there wouldn\u2019t have been an injury to add feul to that particular fire.<\/p>\n

Wincing, Cordelia place one hand over her shoulder blade. She could feel the bandage through her t-shirt. As it turned out, the son-of-a-whatever had a knife. And she let her guard down just enough\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cPromise me,\u201d Angel said, breaking into her reverie. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her right hand in both of his. \u201cPromise me you won\u2019t put yourself in that kind of danger again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staring down at there joined hands, Cordy remembered the look in his eyes when she walked in the door. A look she\u2019d seen in the mirror not so long ago. When another vamp plunged a stake into Angel\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n

The thought of what could<\/i> have happened haunted her for weeks. It had been so damned close. What if that vamp had better aim? What if Angel had moved just a few inches to the right? What if\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel, what if I had a vision?\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned at the apparent change of subject. \u201cCordy, what does\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if I told you I had a vision,\u201d she interrupted, \u201cAnd, in the vision, there was this demon so big and fierce, I thought you might not be able to beat it. In fact, it looked like it could do you some real damage. So, because I was afraid you\u2019d get hurt, I just up and decided not to tell you when or where it was going to happen, no matter how many times you asked.\u201d She gave him a searching look, one that demanded honesty. \u201cHow would you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t answer. Just clenched his jaw and looked away. But from his grim, resigned expression, he understood what she was getting at.<\/p>\n

Smiling a little, Cordelia rested her free hand against his cheek. \u201cI can\u2019t \u2018see\u2019 someone in trouble and not do anything about it. You get that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

After a moment of stubborn silence, he took a deep breath. \u201cYeah. I get it.\u201d Hands tightening around the one he still held, he turned to her with pleading eyes. \u201cJust\u2026don\u2019t try to handle a vision alone unless you don\u2019t have any other choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordy nodded. \u201cThat I can do.\u201d Smile turning into a grin, Cordy leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. Careful not to give away the fact that the movement hurt her injured shoulder.<\/p>\n

As Angel embraced her, she could hear him sniffing at her hair. Her skin. Which, once upon a time, would have freaked her out a little. But, now, it was comforting and familiar.<\/p>\n

It was Angel.<\/p>\n

One of his hands slipped under her shirt, caressing the length of her spine. \u201cI love you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cordelia shivered, both from the coolness of his touch, and the weight of his words. It wasn\u2019t something he said often. But, when he did, it was with so much meaning. So much feeling.<\/p>\n

Content, Cordy closed her eyes. \u201cI love you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Lying on his side, one hand placed on the other side of her body, Angel studied her face. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. So serene and still.<\/p>\n

And with one flick of a demon\u2019s knife, she could have been gone.<\/p>\n

For the hundredth time that night, his dead heart lurched in his chest. He\u2019d been like this for the past hour. Eyes going over every inch of her face, lingering over every feature. Hovering over her protectively as he told himself, again and again, that she was alright. She was here, safe in his arms.<\/p>\n

Watching her sleep helped. As each moment passed, the panic that held him in its grip let go a little more.<\/p>\n

His eyes fell on the bandage that adorned her shoulder. The pristine, white cotton was stained red by the warm crimson that had soaked through.<\/p>\n

Angel breathed deep, the scent of her blood filling his senses. It always did, whenever she was near him. With others, he could ignore. Push his awareness of it down so deep, his hunger barely stirred.<\/p>\n

But not with her. The scent of her blood consumed all of him. It was the haze that made everything in the room, everyone but her, fade. The sound of it humming through her veins drowned out every other sound.<\/p>\n

The hunger was constant. He\u2019d tried to fight against it. To beat it away. And, when he realized he couldn\u2019t, he accepted it. Because the alternative was staying away from her.<\/p>\n

And that was something he couldn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

With her blood so close to the surface, the hunger was stronger tonight.<\/p>\n

Slowly, Angel peeled back the adhesive tape holding the bandage down. Leaning forward, he ran his tongue across the wound. Savoring the taste of her essence as it exploded into his mouth.<\/p>\n

His body ached to drink her. Lured by the traces of blood that seeped from the healing cut, his demon emerged. He growled softly as his fangs scraped against her skin. As they throbbed to sink into her flesh and pull her inside him. Dissatisfied with the occasional taste.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, she stirred.<\/p>\n

Unhurriedly, he replaced the bandage, pressing the tape back down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel,\u201d Cordelia mumbled, voice thick with sleep.<\/p>\n

Angel pressed his demonic face against her throat. \u201cShhh,\u201d he soothed. \u201cGo back to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she settled back into her slumber, Angel shifted back to his side of the bed. Laying his head on her uninjured shoulder, he rested his hand against her stomach, his fingertips sliding under the edge of her panties.<\/p>\n

A taste,<\/i> he thought as he drifted off to sleep. All I need is a taste.<\/i><\/p>\n

End.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Title: Dark Corners 3: Secrets Author: Dannyblue Posted: 12-31-2002 Rating: PG Email: dannyblue2@yahoo.com Content: Angel\/Cordelia. Summary: Third in the “Dark Corners Series\u201d. There…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-completed-fics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202","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=2202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}