The idea behind this fic comes from a movie, 50 First Dates<\/b>, to be precise – which does NOT belong to meeeee.<\/i><\/p>\n
part 4<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cI gave him one job,\u201d Cordelia ranted, slamming a couple of boxes down on the counter of the Hyperion with a \u2018bang\u2019, \u201cOne job and the guy flakes on me already. I might as well have just done it all myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was pissed off.<\/p>\n
In fact, Cordelia had reached her pissed off level about twenty minutes ago when a call to the caterers had proved both fruitless (and foodless) and much with the annoying.<\/p>\n
New guy, Bob (as if she really<\/i> wanted to know) had said that they didn’t have a delivery in that area that day. In fact Bob, still on the line after Cordelia\u2019s ranting, had told her unequivocally that they didn’t have a delivery in any area that day because they were not a caterers and they hadn\u2019t been a caterers yesterday when she’d called either.<\/p>\n
OR the day before.<\/p>\n
She’d checked the number twice.<\/p>\n
She’d read it aloud to Dennis who’d punched in the number himself.<\/p>\n
And on the fifteenth try when Bob had threatened to call the police on \u2018Crazy Stalker Lady\u2019, Cordelia had given up and headed into the office to get the\u00a0real<\/i> number of the caterers.<\/p>\n
Now, she was standing at the counter, ranting about the lack of help she’d had this week. \u201cI mean it\u2019s just so like him, y\u2019know?\u201d She continued, arching an eyebrow Wesley\u2019s way, \u201cGive the guy a hell beast to find and he\u2019s on it like me at a Barney sale but give him something normal?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia snorted, \u201cHe flakes quicker than a-a\u2014Flaky thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
All she’d asked him to do, the one job she\u2019d thought Groo could handle was keeping Fred busy. That was it. They could talk about their days in Pylea, catch up, talk about how Groo had saved her from the monsters or whatever.<\/p>\n
Honestly, Cordelia hadn’t thought about the details, she\u2019d been too busy organising things, getting everything together for Fred\u2019s big night.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t forgotten about the cake, right?\u201d She looked at Wesley, accusingly. Despite the fact that Wesley had been pulling the ostrich thing with his head stuck in a book for the past week and a half, Cordelia knew she could count on him. Wesley? Very NOT flaky. In any sense of the word.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not.\u201d He smiled, but it was just a little too tight. \u201cYou reminded me at least four times this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia glared at him, \u201cHey, if I\u2019m the only one who\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was joking, Cordelia.\u201d Wesley sighed. \u201cI haven\u2019t forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
She regarded him with a curious, open gaze. She knew he\u2019d been burning the midnight oil trying to figure out what the hell that prophecy about Groo meant but, seriously, the guy looked like he hadn\u2019t slept in months.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay, Wesley?\u201d She asked, for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning. \u201cIf it\u2019s possible your three o\u2019clock shadow seems to have skipped to nine o\u2019clock overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley looked at her as if she\u2019d just reminded him what a razor blade actually was. \u201cI\u2019ll shave tomorrow. There\u2019s some things I need to cross reference and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSay no more.\u201d She grinned, holding up a hand, \u201cYou say the words cross reference and you have me<\/b> running for the hills. You get so twitchy when you\u2019re translating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not get twitchy.\u201d Wesley huffed, running his fingers over the worn edges of the Prophecy he\u2019d been translating for the last\u2026 Well, ever. How he didn\u2019t get a permanent headache from it, Cordelia didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee? Twitchy.\u201d She grinned, taking the edge off her words a little. \u201cIf Groo ever gets back off his little mission, tell him I\u2019ve gone to finalise details with Lorne. And that I\u2019m pissed.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added almost as an afterthought, an innocent look passing across her face, \u201cWhat? It never hurts to have your best friend all grovelly and stuff, trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re something else, Cordelia,\u201d Wesley chuckled, \u201cYou really are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, duh!\u201d She shot over her shoulder, grabbing her purse and sauntering up the steps, out of the Hyperion. \u201cI\u2019ll check in later,Wes.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Later on, when Cordelia had finalised just about every detail there was to finalise, she sat in her apartment, unwinding.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d gone through the party with Lorne. He\u2019d wanted a \u2018green\u2019 theme \u2013 just to match his complexion \u2013 Cordelia had settled for aqua. A billion balloons (okay, maybe not a billion) lay in the back, as per her request, waiting to be blown up tomorrow. Streamers, banners \u2013 the works, all for Fred\u2019s birthday party.<\/p>\n
She realised she was being a little weird about the whole birthday thing. In fact, she was being more than a little weird, considering it wasn\u2019t even her\u00a0<\/i>birthday but\u2026 This was a big deal!<\/p>\n
This was Fred\u2019s first birthday back in her home dimension. Her 25th, no less. Fred was a whole quarter of a century old and Cordelia was determined (since the ex-Pylean hadn\u2019t been able to celebrate her 21st) that Fred was going to celebrate this one in style.<\/p>\n
She sat down on the big comfortable armchair in her sitting room, picking up the phone from its cradle and dialling a number she knew only too well since the preparations for the party had begun.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Burkle, hi!\u201d Said Cordelia, warmly, a genuine smile flooding her features.<\/p>\n
The Burkle\u2019s were the kind of people you couldn\u2019t help but smile around. They were the kind of parents that each member of Chase Investigations (even Groo, who wasn\u2019t even used to the whole concept of parents) had wished for themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey now, what have I told you?\u201d Came the voice, cheerfully, \u201cIt\u2019s Trish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia smiled again. \u201cI just called to go over stuff with you one last time. Is that okay?\u201d Fred\u2019s parents were probably sick of her calling to go over details \u2013 that was all she\u2019d done all week.<\/p>\n
Fred had said, quite simply, that she wanted \u2018no muss, no fuss\u2019 for this birthday. She didn\u2019t like being the center of attention; she wasn\u2019t as outgoing or as comfortable as Cordelia was around people.<\/p>\n
Cordelia, as usual, had ignored her. Besides, it was sort of like a \u2018Welcome Back to LA\u2019 party, especially since Fred had protested the idea of that<\/i> too. How could she not like parties?!<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, honey,\u201d Said Trish, \u201cWhat do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, nothing much\u2026\u201d And she guessed this was the part where she had to admit that she just liked talking to the older woman, \u201cI just thought I\u2019d check in was all. Y\u2019know, make sure you guys got on the right plane and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Trish laughed, \u201cSweetie, I know Roger\u2019s a little scatterbrained at times but I have my faculties in tact, at least!\u201d<\/p>\n
In the background Cordelia heard the deep voice, the Texas twang that meant Roger was probably standing behind her. \u201cI know, I know,\u201d She said with a smile, \u201cBut y\u2019know, he is a guy, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he heard that,\u201d Said Trish, swatting at her husband with a hand as he tried to take the phone from her, \u201cOh, go on now! Pack! Or else we\u2019re never gonna get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia\u2019s eyebrows shot up, \u201cYou\u2019re still not packed yet?\u201d She asked, twirling the phone-cord around her fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been working on that damned truck all day. Said it got a\u2014What was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia heard a muffled reply, waited patiently. Even if Trish told her what the hell was wrong with Roger\u2019s truck she\u2019d still never understand. That was Gunn\u2019s department. For all her friend had no qualifications or certificates half of LA would recognise, he still knew his stuff when it came to his \u2018girl\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney, if I knew what he\u2019d just said I\u2019d tell you,\u201d Said Trish after a moment and Cordelia could almost imagine her shaking her head, \u201cHe thinks \u2018cause he explains it I\u2019m gonna understand it right off bat \u2013 just like our Fred.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia giggled. Just last week? Fred had been trying to show her how to work her new contraption thingy. She hadn\u2019t known what the hell it was but then, you never actually did with Fred.<\/p>\n
It could look like a toaster \u2013 you could even put bread in just to test it out! Then three seconds later you could be headless. Or armless. Or even something else-less and be none the wiser.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, shoot!\u201d A glance at the clock on her wall confirmed that Cordelia was, indeed, late. Now? She\u2019d be late meeting her pigeon stool and\u2014Ugh, this was just great. \u201cListen, Trish, I gotta head out but\u2026 If you need anything tomorrow, my cell phone\u2019ll be switched on, okay? I gotta run! Bye!\u201d<\/p>\n
When Cordelia hung up, she didn\u2019t hear the deep sigh from the other end.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t see Roger cross the room to run his hands up and down his wife\u2019s arms or him place a soft kiss on her forehead. \u201cYou okay, baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
Trish sighed. \u201cI just\u2026 Every time she calls I just get so darned sad is all.\u201d She looked at her husband, knew that he was thinking the exact same thing she was.<\/p>\n
That could easily be their daughter, considering what she did for a living. And Cordelia had become somewhat of a surrogate child to the pair, especially after what had happened.<\/p>\n
She just couldn\u2019t understand why Cordelia\u2019s parents would be so reluctant to talk to the poor girl, never mind visit. If that had<\/i> been Fred\u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cAin\u2019t no use thinking like that, Momma,\u201d Roger chastised gently, wrapping an arm around his wife, \u201cC\u2019mon, let\u2019s get you somethin\u2019 to drink.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Tapping his fingers nervously on the steering wheel of his car, Angel sat in silence, watching Cordelia\u2019s door.<\/p>\n
She was running late.<\/p>\n
Scratch that.<\/p>\n
Cordelia was running very<\/b> late.<\/p>\n
After putting a rather discreet call in to Fred, Angel had managed to get Cordelia\u2019s address, had shown up as soon as the sun had gone down to wait for her before she left to go to Caritas.<\/p>\n
The only problem with that little train of thought was that Angel didn\u2019t have a plan. No startlingly wonderful way to re-introduce himself into Cordelia\u2019s life again.<\/p>\n
His social skills, still somewhat lacking as earlier meetings with Cordelia had shown, were almost non-existent tonight.<\/p>\n
At least in a bar (even one that made him uncomfortable, like Caritas) you at least had an opening.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome here often?\u201d You could say, hoping all the while your object of desire wouldn\u2019t run away screaming. Or the equally pathetic, \u201cExcuse me, do I know you?\u201d<\/p>\n
“What\u201ds your sign, baby?”<\/p>\n
“Exit, try using it.”<\/p>\n
What people didn\u2019t seem to get was that dating had been different back in his day. Pick a wench, hope she liked you and you were home free. None of these chat up lines and cheesy grins \u2013 show a bit of darkness and the girl was yours.<\/p>\n
Angel scowled. These thoughts, especially ones about serving wenches, were only making him more uncomfortable as the minutes went by.<\/p>\n
Buffy aside? The last person\u2014The last woman<\/i> he\u2019d tried to talk to had run away screaming, though he had to admit that the vamp-face probably hadn\u2019t made him look welcoming.<\/p>\n
I could say I was \u2018in the area\u2019\u2026<\/i> Angel pondered, his eyes never leaving Cordelia\u2019s apartment. \u2018Just passing\u2019? She might buy that.<\/i><\/p>\n
Then again? This was Cordelia Chase. You only had to look at her to know that her days of wheedling the Dating Don\u2019ts from the Do\u2019s were far from over, despite what had happened in her past. She could spot an idiot like that a mile off and\u2014And why, exactly, was he thinking like that?<\/p>\n
Perturbed, Angel reached over and flicked on the radio, a thumping bass from some station settling in his car. Normally, he didn\u2019t listen to stations like this. Normally, Angel didn\u2019t even bother with the radio, but tonight he found it calming. He didn\u2019t have to think when his fingers were in time with the beat and his feet were drumming lightly against the floor of his car.<\/p>\n
He could almost\u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cDamnit!\u201d Yanking the keys from the ignition, Angel got out of his car, crossing the street in three short strides. Cordelia was already in her car, starting the engine and looking to back out of her driveway.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia!\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t hear him. From outside the car Angel could hear the same radio station that had been playing in his. It gave him enough of a pause to realise that they\u2019d been listening to the same thing and before he knew what was happening, Cordelia\u201ds car was crunching into his knees and there, right in her driveway, Angel was hitting the floor, body scraping against the gravel.<\/p>\n
He heard<\/i> the \u2018oh my God!\u2019, could even imagine her hands flying up to her face. He grunted and watched as a pair of denim-encased legs got out of the car, arms gesturing wildly as she spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God! Oh my God, are you okay? I looked! I looked in my mirror and I was backing out and you just came from nowhere and I\u2014Angel?\u201d<\/p>\n
He groaned. So much for all his two-minute planning. What was he supposed to say? \u2018Hey, Cordelia, I was in the neighbourhood and I thought standing behind your car while you reversed was a good way to reintroduce myself for the third time this week.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n
Sure. That\u2019d go down a treat.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo wonder I didn\u2019t see you! Jeez, hello, vampire<\/i>! No reflection! And what the hell were you doing behind my car?!\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked up at her as she ranted, all the while sliding her hands under his arms to help him up. This really wasn\u2019t the way he\u2019d seen this going. He hadn\u2019t seen her hitting him with her car. He hadn\u2019t seen himself raising a hand to his head and watching it come away bloody.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d She seemed to remember she\u2019d actually hit him, visibly flushing under his gaze. \u201cI-I really did look.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel looked at her. She looked embarrassed now, faintly worried, and he was starting to like that look on her. He\u2019d never had anyone be worried about him, not in a long time. Not since Buffy. He could still feel her hands on him, gentle, patching him up after his run-in with–<\/p>\n
\u201cHello! Are you brain-dead?” Angel looked up at her, startled, “I mean, seriously,” She continued, rolling her eyes skyward, “Suffer a head injury and go into major brood mode, that\u2019ll<\/b> make me feel better!\u201d<\/p>\n
This time it was Angel\u2019s turn to look embarrassed. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not, right? Brain damaged I mean?\u201d She stood up on her tip-toes to look at his head, the heel of one sandal scraping against the gravel in her driveway. Angel looked down. \u201cYou don\u2019t look brain damaged,\u201d She continued, completely unaware that Angel was developing quite a little foot fetish, \u201cBut then that\u2019s not saying much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 Hey.\u201d He needed to stop doing this. He was here for a reason, not to grow some obsession with her right foot and that toe ring that glinted in the streetlight. Angel forced his gaze upwards only to find that Cordelia, along with her feet, were walking towards the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you coming?\u201d She looked back over her shoulder, dangling her house keys on one finger, \u201cI can\u2019t exactly patch you up in my driveway, can I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine, Cordelia, I just\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPfft.\u201d Cordelia turned back to him, one eyebrow arched. \u201cWhat is it with you Champion guys? You bleed just like everyone else \u2013 get over it! And c\u2019mon, you\u2019re getting blood all over my driveway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting that he was, in fact, bleeding on her driveway (though not \u2018all over\u2019 like she\u2019d suggested) Angel followed, shoes hitting silently on the stone steps. When he reached her door, he looked in to where she was placing her keys on the table, noting just how far out of his reach she was.<\/p>\n
\u201cUhm, Cordelia? I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned to look at him, eyebrows raised, hands on hips. He almost smiled at her then, the look on her face one of puzzlement. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2026 You have to uh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInvite you in?\u201d Cordelia nodded, knowing full well what he wanted, \u201cSure. If you promise you\u2019re not going to go evil and, like, kill me in my sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel frowned. \u201cWhy would I kill you in your\u2014 Right.\u201d He stopped, the look on her face one that he was sure halted many an argument at Chase Investigations. \u201cI promise. No going evil.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd no trying to suck my face off through my neck?\u201d Her eyebrows arched again, injecting as much warning into that one look as she possibly could.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia\u2026\u201d Angel growled, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cKidding, kidding! I invite you in.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that, the barrier was gone. Angel stepped into her apartment almost uneasily, like he was invading her space by just being here. If she noticed his pause, she didn\u2019t mention it \u2013 she\u2019d already turned, heading into her bathroom to get her first aid kit.<\/p>\n
He ambled around the room for a while, his wounds already healing despite her insistence that he still bled like everyone else. He shifted, the material of his duster itching against the scrape on his shoulder, reaching out to pick up a small photo-frame.<\/p>\n
It was small, pretty, decorated with seashells and tiny beads of glitter. Inside it was a photo \u2013 Cordelia, Wesley and a man Angel didn\u2019t recognise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Groo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia\u2019s voice startled him so much that he almost dropped the photo-frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it, wreck my drive-way and<\/b> trash my apartment.\u201d She said, rolling her eyes.<\/p>\n
Angel turned, but from the look on her face he could tell she was teasing. \u201cSorry, I was just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSnooping?\u201d She grinned, crossing the room and taking him gently by the elbow, leading him towards her couch. She sat, motioning for him to do the same and helped him push his duster off his shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re kinda like him.\u201d She said after a moment as he watched her, lifting various items out of her first aid kit, \u201cY\u2019know, chasing after beasties \u2013 ala you and Buffy \u2013 being all Joe Stoic when you get hurt, saying, \u2018Oh, I am the mighty Groosalugg, I don\u2019t bleed.\u2019<\/i> Much\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMighty Groosalugg?\u201d Angel looked at her, puzzled. All his years of fighting demons, vampires and hell beasts that crawled from the bottom of the earth and he\u2019d never heard of a Groosalugg.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u201ds from Pylea, another dimension,\u201d Cordelia explained, wiping away some of the dirt from the scrape on his chest, \u201cI got sucked into this portal back when I first moved here and\u2026 Well, it\u2019s a long story. But he\u2019s kinda part-demon sorta more than human-ish. Like you! Only, y\u2019know, he doesn\u2019t fit into an ashtray when you put him in sunlight.\u201d She said, smiling again.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this Groo guy\u2019s a demon?\u201d He asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot really. Well\u2026 Yes. But\u2026 It\u2019s complicated.\u201d Cordelia screwed up her nose in consternation, stretching the bandage over his chest a few ways, trying to see how it would fit best. \u201cSo, did you come up with some decent explanation yet?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel looked at her. \u201cExplanation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor stalking my car.\u201d Cordelia\u2019s smiled, \u201cOr y\u2019know, trying for the lamest suicide attempt ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was\u2026 Uh\u2026 Just passing?\u201d There was no way in hell he\u2019d buy that, never mind Cordelia. She had more chance of believing the truth and there was no way he was offering up that information just yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust passing.\u201d Cordelia repeated, dryly, \u201cWhen you\u2019re, like, five hours away from home? Sunnydale is still home, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel paused. \u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean \u2018not exactly\u2019? Either you live there or you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Okay, so she had a point. And he wasn\u2019t living there, hadn\u2019t been for a long time, so\u2026 \u201cOkay, I don\u2019t.\u201d He told her, unequivocally. \u201cNext question?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia looked at him and laughed, trying to pin one awkward side of the bandage that kept curling down with sticky tape. \u201cSorry, I didn\u2019t mean to get with the inquisition, it\u2019s just\u2026 It\u2019s you<\/i>, y\u2019know? And where I see you I keep expecting a certain Slayer to pop up and\u2026 Is she? Popping up, I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia looked towards the door as if she almost expected his ex to appear.<\/p>\n
Angel palmed the back of his head, nervously, wondering why it didn\u2019t get any easier to say this when he\u2019d already told her twice. \u201cNo. She\u2026 We, uh, we broke up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Her shock was palpable, radiated from her in waves. \u201cYou broke up?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel nodded. He\u2019d been surprised too. He\u2019d had the thoughts for months, watched Buffy move on without him, watched her grow into her new college life. He\u2019d been holding her back, he\u2019d decided, and as their relationship slipped further and further into a place he\u2019d never wanted to see it go, he\u2019d made a decision.<\/p>\n
He was leaving her.<\/p>\n
That was his decision. He was doing it for her own good, he was doing it so that she could have a normal life, so that she didn\u2019t have to live her life in darkness.<\/p>\n
He was doing it because he felt guilty.<\/p>\n
Guilt. An emotion he was used to by now. Used to seeing, feeling, causing. Buffy had felt guilty because she wasn\u2019t spending enough time with him. Angel had felt guilty because he couldn\u2019t reassure her more that he wasn\u2019t starting to resent it.<\/p>\n
Buffy had deserved a normal life. She\u2019d deserved to have the fresh start and the new friends and the rest of it that came with going to college. By the time Angel had realised he was keeping her from this normal life there wasn\u2019t much of the relationship left to salvage.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d left Sunnydale without any idea where he was headed and he\u2019d ended up here, in LA, sitting in front of a now very pissed off Cordelia.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou done?\u201d She asked, archly, stretching the bandage on his chest just a little<\/i> tighter than necessary.<\/p>\n
He would have reminded her that he was a vampire and that most of his wounds healed pretty quickly without the aid of bandages but\u2026 Cordelia looked annoyed. Hell, he could smell frustration rolling off every pore \u2013 he didn\u2019t need looks to go off.<\/p>\n
\u201cDone? Done what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBrooding.\u201d She frowned, \u201cY\u2019know, the classic Angel perma-brow, \u2018my life sucks more than yours\u2019<\/i> brood thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gingerly, he reached up with two fingers, pressing them against his brow. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with my brow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing, usually,\u201d She shook her head, \u201cUntil you start to brood and then it\u2019s whoo, brow city. You\u2019d actually be quite hot if it weren\u2019t for the brow thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel looked at her. Cordelia thinks I\u2019m hot? Cordelia thinks I\u2019m\u2014<\/i> \u201cHey!\u201d And there went his ego, deflating like a balloon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d He could almost see the smile tugging at the corner of her lips, the fierce spark of life that danced in her eyes, \u201cLook, Little Ms. Likes to Fight might have gone for brooders but, me? I like my guys less broody and more spendy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t know how to respond to that. True, money was tight these days but\u2026 He didn\u2019t brood that much, did he? And his brow\u2026 What was wrong with his brow?<\/p>\n
He looked at Cordelia wounded, surprised when she started to laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d She said between giggles, \u201cYou\u2019re just too easy to wind up, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel mock-glared at her, glancing down at hands that looked too used to patching people up. How many times had she done this, he wondered, sat here and tended wounds after a fight? How many, more importantly, had been her own?<\/p>\n
“So what about you?”<\/p>\n
“\u201cWhat about me\u201d what?” Cordelia asked, puzzled, pulling his shirt closed over his chest and shifting slightly on her sofa to look at his head.<\/p>\n
The blood had already started to dry in – how he’d even cut it, he wasn’t sure. “What about you here? In LA?”<\/p>\n
“Oh.” And that same smile crossed her face like it had done last night, the night before. “I… I have my own investigations company.” She said, almost tentatively, “You remember Wesley, right?”<\/p>\n
Angel nodded, wondering what it took out of her friends each time, hearing her say the same things over and over. “Last time I saw him he was–“<\/p>\n
“Being carried out on a stretcher, shrieking like a baby man?” Cordelia grinned, dabbing at his forehead with a tissue, “Yup, that was Wesley all right. Though I\u201dm pretty certain he got at least 35% more manlier after being fired from the Watcher’s Council.”<\/p>\n
Angel chuckled at that, before the second part of her sentence registered, “He was fired?”<\/p>\n
“Uh-huh, right after the thing with the Mayor-Snake and the Council rebellion and everything. Couldn’t even afford the plane-fare home. When he turned up at my office? He was Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, Rogue Demon Hunter,” Cordelia smiled, fondly, “He rescued me from Barney when he wanted to harvest my eyes and thus our little investigations team continued.”<\/p>\n
Blinking, Angel looked at her. “Wait a minute… The big purple dinosaur wanted to harvest your eyes?”<\/p>\n
A burst of laughter filled the room, Cordelia pulling back from Angel almost completely to look at him, “You know who Barney is?”<\/p>\n
He had the grace to look embarrassed; would have flushed under her gaze if his bodily functions hadn’t been dead for over 200 years. “I… Daytime TV.” He admitted, “It was either that or Jerry Springer.”<\/p>\n
Cordelia laughed again, a fierce spark of life dancing in her eyes, “Yeah, Dennis is a fan of Mr. Springer. Though, personally? I wouldn’t go for Barney as a substitute. That\u201ds even worse.”<\/p>\n
“Dennis?” He tried his damndest to deny that the sharp feeling digging beneath his rib cage was jealousy. He couldn\u201dt be jealous, he was here to help not to hit on Cordelia or force his way into her life.<\/p>\n
“Nice attempt at smooth, Angel,” she grinned, “Dennis is my roommate.” She paused then, looking round the room as if she expected him to jump out from behind some corner. “I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up, he\u201ds not normally this calm when I invite strange dead guys into my apartment.”<\/p>\n
Angel didn\u201dt know what to focus on first – the dead guy comment or the \u201cstrange\u201d one. “I- You usually invite strange dead guys into your apartment?”<\/p>\n
“What?” Cordelia turned her gaze back on Angel, puzzled, “Do I have a deathwish? Uhm, no…”<\/p>\n
“But you just said–“<\/p>\n
“I was speaking metaphorically. Dennis doesn\u201dt like it when any guy comes in here, vampires don’t hold the monopoly, y’know.” Said Cordelia and Angel could read that look in her eye as clearly as if she’d told him herself – no guy, at least not one Dennis was worried about, had walked through her door in a long time…<\/p>\n
“So when can I meet this Dennis guy?” He asked, trying to disguise the note of curiosity in his voice and failing miserably.<\/p>\n
“Let\u201ds see, today’s Thursday,” Cordelia mused, “So how about… Never?”<\/p>\n
“Never?”<\/p>\n
“Well it’s not that I don’t want you to meet him,” she explained, “It’s just… He\u201ds kinda dead.”<\/p>\n
This time, it was Angel\u201ds turn to look puzzled. Dennis, her roommate, didn’t like any guys coming into her apartment. Dennis, her roommate, was also – apparently – dead. “Huh?”<\/p>\n
“He\u201ds a ghost.” Cordelia smiled, “Sorta came with the apartment… Best damn roommate I ever had, I can tell you.”<\/p>\n
As if on cue, a tray floated from the kitchen, holding two coffee cups, a glass of water and – there in the corner – two tiny white pills. Angel raised his eyebrows but didn’t speak, looking at Cordelia as her cheeks flushed a little. She took the pills from the tray, the glass of water and gestured Angel to do the same with a coffee cup, “If I\u201dd known you were coming I’d have stocked up with blood.” She said, graciously, popping one of the pills into her mouth.<\/p>\n
Angel smiled, tightly, “That’s fine, I… Well, I drink coffee. Doesn’t keep me alive but I drink it.”<\/p>\n
He fell silent again. She was obviously embarrassed by the fact that Dennis had brought the pills out now, so Angel looked away, around her apartment.<\/p>\n
She’d thrown as much of her personality into this room as she could get and rather than looking bright or garish like he suspected it would somewhere else, Angel found that it made the place look peaceful, somewhat – as if the room itself had been painted with Cordelia\u201ds warmth.<\/p>\n
When he turned back to her, she had an odd look on her face, the pills having disappeared and the glass of water being replaced by the coffee cup. “Not that I mind, really,” she started cautiously, “But… Why are you here? You\u201dre not evil– At least, I don\u201dt think you are, judging by the fact that I still have my throat in tact, it\u201ds just… Well we’re not exactly friends, are we?”<\/p>\n
She had a point. Angel lifted the cup to his mouth, took a drink, and in the moment it took him to form a response, he decided on something. Honesty. “It was just nice to see a familiar face, was all.”<\/p>\n
“So you were<\/i> just in the neighbourhood?” Cordelia pressed, looking strangely touched by his statement.<\/p>\n
Angel nodded. “I was uh… Meeting someone.”<\/p>\n
“A date someone?”<\/p>\n
“Me? Date?” The corners of Angel\u201ds mouth quirked up in a bemused smile, “I don’t date.”<\/p>\n
“You dated Buffy,” Cordelia pointed out with a grin, “And excuse me but if I’m not mistaken? Only, like, every girl who saw you had a serious Jones for your manpire self. You could date.”<\/p>\n
“Sure,” Angel nodded again, “If the whole not going out in daylight thing wasn’t a problem. And the–“<\/p>\n
“Going evil when getting some?”<\/p>\n
Angel laughed, “Yeah, that too.”<\/p>\n
Cordelia smiled before glancing up, not too discreetly, at the clock on her wall. She was already running late – Angel knew that – her meeting with the stool pigeon that had probably long since left LA in the eight months since Cordelia\u201ds accident had well run its course.<\/p>\n
Angel drained the last of his coffee cup and smiled, “I think that\u201ds a cue for me to leave.”<\/p>\n
“What?” She turned back to him, flushing a little, apologized accordingly, “Sorry. I just… I kinda have an elsewhere to be tonight.”<\/p>\n
“And I ruined your plans by placing myself under your car?”<\/p>\n
Cordelia laughed, “No! I mean, well, it wasn’t planned or anything but… I think I’m kinda glad I ran you over.”<\/p>\n
“Thanks.” Angel joked, nodding, “Next time I\u201dll remember to wear a crash helmet when I want to grab your attention.”<\/p>\n
She laughed again, punching him in the arm. “You know what I meant.”<\/p>\n
“I did,” Angel said and smiled, not able to remember when he\u201dd smiled this much in the space of one night, “And I think I’m kinda glad too.”<\/p>\n
She looked away from him then, trying to hide the smile on her face, the flush in her cheeks. “Okay, look,” When she’d composed herself enough to actually string a sentence together, Cordelia turned back to him, “I know you said you don’t date and, really, that\u201ds not what this is but… I\u201dm kind of in charge of organising a birthday party for a friend of mine, tomorrow night and… And maybe you could come?”<\/p>\n
Angel looked at her and Cordelia, mistaking his hesitancy for something else, shook her head, “It’s okay. Forget I asked, you probably have things to do and–“<\/p>\n
“Cordelia?”<\/p>\n
She looked at him, “What?”<\/p>\n
“I’d… I’d like that.” He smiled.<\/p>\n
Cordelia grinned, “Great! You can be my \u201cThis is a friend from Sunnydale, please\u00a0don’t\u00a0mistake him as a\u00a0date\u201d<\/i> guy. Plus, you’ll stop all the leeches from hitting on me. One wrinkle of that brow and–“<\/p>\n
“Cordelia…” Angel growled, playfully.<\/p>\n
“Kidding, kidding.” She laughed, picking up the first aid kit and dumping it on the tray along with their cups, “You know where Caritas is?”<\/p>\n
“I\u201dve… Been there once or twice.” He lied, remembering the steely gaze of Lorne, the grim set of his mouth as he’d spoken to the vampire. At least now Angel understood it a little more, understood why the Anagogic demon was so intent on protecting her.<\/p>\n
“Okay, meet me inside at say, 7.30,” Cordelia nodded, “Gives me time to pick up Fred and, y’know, make myself beautiful.”<\/p>\n
Angel just stopped himself from saying that the latter part shouldn’t take long. Instead, he smiled, nodded and stood up, gathering his duster from the back of her sofa. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”<\/p>\n
Cordelia smiled and walked with him to her door, giving a little wave as he went down her driveway and over to the GTX convertible across the street.<\/p>\n
When he got into his car, Angel couldn\u201dt resist a look back, watched as she closed her door behind her and went back into her apartment. This time, he didn’t stick around. He knew that they wouldn’t actually get to the non-date tomorrow night, knew that Cordelia wouldn\u201dt even remember what had happened, wouldn’t remember running him over with her car, or the conversation they\u201dd just had.<\/p>\n
She wouldn’t remember any of it – and while that filled Angel with a measure of sadness, he also knew that he’d be back tomorrow night. And the next night, if that was what it took.<\/p>\n
One thing was certain, however, Angel thought, lifting his hand to touch his head, if their encounters went much the same as this one had? He was really going to have to start looking into buying that crash helmet…<\/p>\n