Part 2<\/b><\/p>\n
Wesley Windham Price and Charles Gunn walked quietly behind the bickering couple in front of them, shooting each other quick glances every few seconds. Angel and Cordelia had been fighting with each other since they had left the Hyperion.<\/p>\n
It was beginning to give Wesley a headache. He rubbed his sore temples and adjusted the bag of weapons on his shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Wes?\u201d Gunn started. Wesley glanced up at him. \u201cYou remember when Cordy used to say that you and me act like an old married couple?\u201d Wesley grinned faintly and nodded. Gunn smiled. \u201cWell, how bout\u2019 that? Pot calling the kettle a little black huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley shook his head. \u201cI think she has a suitable reason Gunn.\u201d Gunn raised an eyebrow. \u201cCordelia\u2019s always had a slight temper but in all honesty, she usually has a reason for snapping. Angel\u2019s actions\u2026\u201d Wesley stopped to consider that for a second. \u201cOr lack there of\u2026must have really upset her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he only fell asleep. It ain\u2019t that big a deal. That Kryvoski was a bitch to fight. All of us were exhausted.\u201d Gunn rubbed a hand over his shiny, bald, head. Wesley sighed resignedly. \u201cI know. But Cordy\u2026she\u2019s always been\u2026insecure about love and the way people treat her. And while this probably isn\u2019t such a big deal in her book, she has every reason to be angry with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn\u2019s blew out a frustrated breath and Wesley hurriedly continued, trying to reassure his friend. \u201cIt\u2019ll blow over. She\u2019s just angry and a little hurt. She\u2019ll let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Xander dude messed her up pretty bad, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley nodded sadly. \u201cWell it\u2019s unfair to only<\/i> blame him of course. There are several people who she loves, or has loved, who have hurt her. Although what he did was particularly\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDastardly, deceitful, dishonest, bitch slap worthy?\u201d Gunn supplied helpfully.<\/p>\n
Wesley grinned at his friend affectionately. \u201cI was actually going for hurtful<\/i> but as usual you\u2019ve outdone me.\u201d Gunn smirked and winked good-naturedly before replying, \u201cAll I know is, she better not stay pissed off at him for too long. Cos we all know that when Cordelia Chase isn\u2019t happy? No one\u2019s happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley pondered the truth in that statement. He prayed that Cordy wouldn\u2019t stay livid with the vampire for an extensive amount of time. That would be fairly easy if Angel stayed as patient and as calm as he was at the hotel. Problem was, Angel wasn\u2019t behaving rationally at all.<\/p>\n
He was infuriated. It was evident in his daunting form, the way he stalked angrily beside Cordelia, the way his eyes had flecks of gold in them. Despite the fact that Gunn and Wes trailed several feet behind the arguing couple, they could hear every word, simply because of the escalating volume of their voices. What would it be like back at the hotel when they were all in the same room?<\/p>\n
The two figures in question disappeared from sight, around a curve in the sewer wall. They were no longer shouting but the eerie silence made Wesley wish the commotion would return. He gulped. He really wanted a cup of tea.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Angel glared over at Cordelia. She had stopped screaming at him, and strangely enough, the silence was driving him crazy. Her eyes had contracted into deadly slits and she refused to look at him. Angel cleared his throat loudly. Cordelia continued to walk forward, without blinking an eye. The vampire felt his self-control slipping slowly out of his fingers. Every confident stride she took, unconcerned with the fierce emotions that were swimming around inside of him, pissed him off increasingly. It also turned him on.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d probably slap him if she knew that though, so he just kept his mouth shut and smirked knowingly to himself. Cordelia glanced over and caught his sneer. \u201cAss.\u201d She muttered, under her breath. Angel watched his last thread of restraint snap. His demon cried out excitedly as an immense sense of wrath bubbled up inside of him and he closely pursued his prey, like the dangerous predator he was.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell are you so angry about Cordelia?\u201d He asked her furiously. She ignored him and walked faster. He kept up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked you a question Cordy.\u201d He towered over her now, a figure in black, tall and intimidating and very much in her face. Standing directly in front of her, blocking any escape route, the vampire with a soul demanded answers.<\/p>\n
Cordelia looked him square in the eye and her mouth slowly curled into a snarl. \u201cBite me, dead boy.\u201d She pushed against his chest, sending him stumbling backwards slightly, not far enough to embarrass him, but hard enough to make his already evident rage escalate. Angrily, he grabbed her wrists and hauled her against his hard form, placing one arm securely around her waist so that she couldn\u2019t get away.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel\u2026what are you\u2026let go of me!\u201d Cordelia struggled against his chest but to no avail. Angel was aware of her quickening heartbeat, but despite that giveaway, he couldn\u2019t smell even a single drop of fear. All he could sense was the anger coming off her in waves, as well as the arousal. He smirked. She glared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are such a dick.\u201d Cordelia whispered harshly. Angel\u2019s smile widened as the sweet smell of arousal hit him full force. Cordelia relaxed slightly against him. Regardless of the awkward position he had put her in, Angel\u2019s grip was gentle. Firm as ever, but he wasn\u2019t hurting her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know about that Cordy.\u201d He whispered seductively, trailing his tongue over her upper lip. She shivered deliciously against him, despite her attempts to hold it in. \u201cWasn\u2019t it just a few weeks ago that you were labelling me a eunuch?\u201d He winked at her, his brown eyes darkening with want.<\/p>\n
Cordelia glowered at him fiercely, before leaning forward and whispering callously against his chin, \u201cAfter last night, I might just start using that nickname again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quick as a flash, Angel slammed her against the wall of the sewer, eliciting a squeak from the girl pinned underneath him. He cushioned her from banging her head against the stone by the protective arm circling her waist, which prevented her from physically hitting the wall. She hovered about four inches away from it, her body pressed tightly against Angel\u2019s, her chest rising and falling rapidly, adjacent to his non-breathing one.<\/p>\n
Their hips were encased snugly together, and Angel, feeling the compulsion to test her lenience, ground his hardness against her heat. He revelled in the hungry gasp she emitted and then in the fuming stare she sent his way. They both glared at each other, the anger and desire floating palpably in between them.<\/p>\n
Angel broke the stare first, his mouth going to her throat, suckling softly just underneath her jaw. When she moaned grudgingly, he whispered, \u201cI wouldlove<\/i> to bite you Cordy. Ask me again.\u201d He nipped the slim column of her neck gently before raising his eyes to hers once again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are so full of it.\u201d She spat out, venom tainting her words, providing blatant proof that she was disgusted by the effect he had on her when she was trying to be angry at him. Angel felt the rage course through him for the millionth time that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t mean to fall asleep Cordelia. God, why can\u2019t you ever just let it go? Does it always<\/i> have to be about what I<\/i> do wrong? I\u2019m never gonna be this perfect guy who does everything just right for you. I would love to, God, what I would give to be able to be this flawless boyfriend\u2026\u201d He trailed off and then added bitterly, \u201cBut I\u2019m not. And I can\u2019t be. I\u2019m a vampire. I\u2019m imperfect. Deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia\u2019s eyes, which had softened at his initial confession, hardened again when he condescendingly reminded her of what he was. Something she already knew and accepted so wholly. \u201cDon\u2019t you dare throw that in my face Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes watered slightly and she blinked back tears, refusing to let them fall, reluctant to let him see her cry, although he had a thousand times before, and his had always been the shoulder to lean on. Somehow, at this precise moment, she felt vulnerable.<\/p>\n
Angel felt his chest tighten and a cold shame filled his dead veins. God, he really was an ass.<\/i> It was times like this he realised how Cordelia felt. When that razor-sharp tongue of hers beat her brain to the surface and she blurted out something that she didn\u2019t mean to; harsh and cruel and more importantly, unfair and unnecessary.<\/p>\n
He could see it in the slight widening of her eyes and the apologetic look that passed quickly over her features, evidence that she didn\u2019t mean it, or that she didn\u2019t intend for it to come out that way. That was exactly what he was experiencing right now. He didn\u2019t mean for it to come out that way. In fact, he didn\u2019t know what he was thinking when he said it.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take a genius to realise that, out of all the people he had met in his very long life, Cordelia Chase was the one person who totally and entirely acknowledged who and what he was, the horrors that he was capable of, and not only loved him despite that, but because of it.<\/p>\n
He raised his hand to Cordelia\u2019s face, a gentle gesture to erase the pain he enforced there, but she jerked away, refusing to look at him. Angel opened his mouth but a throat being cleared stopped him from speaking. The vampire swivelled around to see Wesley eyeing him cautiously and Gunn looking\u2026well, pissed off.<\/p>\n
Angel carefully released Cordy from his arms and took a step away from her. He could smell her tears, even though not a single one stained her cheek. A frosty dread filled his stomach right down to his toes and made his heart lurch painfully. She glanced at him through a short curtain of dark, brown hair and then quickly looked away.<\/p>\n
Smiling a little too brightly at Gunn, she asked, \u201cSo, we gonna go kick some big, blue, demon booty or what?\u201d<\/p>\n