Part 2, Friends Over Coffee<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cSpike!\u201d Angel growled as though the blonde vampire was to blame for everything, \u201cI knew I should’ve killed him the day he was turned\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia smiled grimly into her coffee, \u201cIt wasn’t entirely Spike’s fault, he didn’t hold a gun to Xander’s head and tell him to make-out with Willow. Well, not that I know of and I seriously doubt he would\u201d<\/p>\n
He’d never noticed anything about the red head or the boy either and he chastised himself for not seeing it. Angel was sure he would’ve said something to Buffy about it, well he may have said something to Buffy about it. That’s if she hadn’t already known about them that is. \u201cNo, it wasn’t\u201d he gave her that point with a sigh, \u201cJust like no-one held a gun to Buffy’s head about reading up on Acathla and how to stop it\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d she asked curiously as she looked at the vampire who was now replacing her as the trodden-on-by-love person in their little pity world.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuffy didn’t have to kill me, Cordelia\u201d Angel looked at her, his distress obvious as emotions swirled around his hypnotic gaze. \u201cAll she needed was my blood to close the portal\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you were sent to hell? But I thought you were soulless\u201d Cordelia tried to fathom it out in her head, the whole EvilAngel had thrown her for a loop. Finding out that someone who had saved her life more than once was suddenly evil and hell bent on sucking the world into hell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was\u2026 Until Willow’s spell worked and my soul got returned just before\u201d his grip on his coffee cup was making his knuckles stand out and look white than the rest of his skin. \u201cAnd Buffy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSent you there instead\u201d she whispered as it all came together now, putting her cup down, the brunette covered his hands with hers. \u201cI always pride myself on telling the truth Angel so I’m gonna play the devil’s advocate here for a\u2026 Was there a devil and did he have horns and a pointy tail?\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave her a hard stare, causing Cordelia to smile at him sheepishly and shrug innocently. \u201cWhat? I can’t help it if I’m curious. I mean it’s not everyday you meet someone who dies and comes back from hell. So was there a tall, red devil with horns?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes and its name was Cordelia!\u201d Angel shot back quickly, causing her to laugh soundly at his quick fire put down. At first, he wasn’t sure how’d she’d take someone else giving that to her but obviously she liked it if her musical laughter was anything to go by.<\/p>\n
Cordelia shook her head when her laughter subsided and gave him a sideways glance. \u201cThey lost out big time you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn’t pretend to not know who she was on about, \u201cWell Xander did, but Buffy’s better off without me. She can have a normal life, live in the sun and do stuff that she wouldn’t be able to do with me\u201d Angel told her with an accepting shrug of his broad shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s bullshit and you know it, Angel\u201d Cordelia stopped his train of thought before it picked up steam. Setting her mug firmly onto the table top with a little thud, she gripped his hand tighter. \u201cBuffy is a Slayer, where is the normality in that I ask? And another thing, what the hell is normal these days? If somebody walked up to me in the middle of the street and stuck a metal pole through me I’d go to hospital, and did actually, but there are people out there who pay people to stick metal through their eyebrows!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know how many people consider themselves different or abnormal Angel? You’re not different than they are. Sure, you may have a psychopathic demon in there but we all have something\u201d she stressed to him. \u201cI have a psychopathic shopping demon and bad taste in men it seems. So that’s two for me, you only got the one\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a vampire is a little different to compulsive shopping\u201d he told her seriously with another hard stare.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t suppose you have an inner voice that whispers carnal cravings to you in the middle of the night\u201d Cordelia agreed ruefully with a nod. \u201cIt’s like every time I go past Victoria’s Secret’s, I hear this ‘buy me buy me buy me’ nagging sound in my upper right hemisphere!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGet away from her, it may be contagious! Pick up your skirts and RUN!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHave you ever thought of seeing a head doctor?\u201d Angel queried as his brow scrunched up in the middle. \u201cOr maybe locking yourself up for the safety of the human race?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce or twice, but it doesn’t work anymore. I know how to work the house security codes!\u201d Cordelia deadpanned quickly, this time making Angel laugh. She looked at him, when he smiled his face lit up and his eyes burned with colors, bringing warmth to the cold, obsidian orbs he usually had. The apples of his cheeks puffed up and he tilted his head to one side, making him look a lot younger than his\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old are you?\u201d she asked suddenly.<\/p>\n
\u201c240\u201d Angel mouthed to her, \u201c27\u201d he spoke aloud.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow, you’re years older than me\u201d she looked in awe at him, \u201cYou don’t look a day over 235!\u201d she whispered and took a sip of her coffee, gracing him with an innocent look that he didn’t believe. Yeah, it was definitely Buffy’s loss if she dumped this one; Cordelia didn’t doubt that Angel would ever cheat on anyone. Maybe just maybe, she’d got a friend out of all this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you thinking about?\u201d Angel asked, nudging her hand with his a little and vaguely noticing how neat her nails were. Not overly long but not short either, French manicured perfectly and the shape trim.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust how much of a loser freak Xander Harris is\u201d it wasn’t exactly what she thinking but it was on those lines. If Buffy was involved, so was Xander in her book; she was adding Willow to that book too. \u201cI was too blind to see what was going on right in front of me\u201d Cordelia shrugged, it didn’t seem as bad now that someone seemed to be listening to her side of the story instead of Willow’s woe-is-me side. \u201cBut you Angel, you let your every move get dogged by Buffy, I don’t get it. You’re old enough to live your life so why do you let her tell you what to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t let her tell me what to do\u201d the vampire responded, if she’d been easy going enough to tell him about Xander and Willow, then he could at least return the favor. Off her look, his mouth pursed out and looked deep in thought for a second. \u201cBuffy was the first person I came into contact with after decades of solitude, living off rats and she was the first person to show me any kindness at all\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean you just wandered aimlessly for years like totally alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel looked away from her, not wanting to see any pity in the girl’s face for him, he didn’t deserve or want that from his new friend and ally against Buffy’s little squadron. Cordelia scratched his hand, bringing his attention back to her \u201cI’m not pitying you Angel, pity does nothing but make people wallow in their black pit of despair for all eternity. I just wish you had someone to go too, that’s all. It’s not fun when you’re on your own is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAin’t that the truth. I’m stuck in here on my own and does anybody care about me?!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cNo it isn’t\u201d Angel agreed and sighed, \u201cThat’s one of the reasons why I let myself be used so I won’t be alone anymore. Plus, I did-do love Buffy but that’s over now so what can you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing short of crying your eyes out in a hospital bed\u201d Cordelia answered as she shrugged at him. \u201cHere’s to Alexander the Great Asswipe and Buffy, may you both suffer for your loss until the world gets the next ice age!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ll agree with you there, Xander is an ass Cordelia, you could do so much better than him and I could do better than a Slayer\u201d Angel didn’t even register he hadn’t called Buffy by her name. \u201cWe should teach them a lesson, show them what they’re missing\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd how do we do that O’ Brainy Vamp?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEver hear the old saying The Enemy of mine Enemy is my Friend?\u201d Angel asked as he started to get more and more into the idea that was now spreading wings and taking flight in his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, and that has to do with me how\u2026 Oh, I get it now\u201d Cordelia clicked on to his line of thinking. She tapped a fingernail on the table top thoughtfully, \u201cI know that would really get up Xander’s nose but I really don’t wanna be on the end of your ex-owner’s stake Angel. I’m not scared of her, if she pushes me then I’ll push back but she is stronger than me\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBuffy won’t hurt you, I won’t let her\u201d he told her honestly as he returned her light hand-holding softly. \u201cA vampire has to take care of his girl right?!\u201d without waiting for an answer from the pretty much stunned girl opposite him. His demon spoke, he listened and reported back to Cordelia! \u201cHere’s what we’re gonna do\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Part 3, Battle Tactics and Accessorizing<\/b><\/p>\n
Two days later saw Cordelia fidgeting nervously and pacing in the mansion while she waited for Angel to finish whatever he was doing in the kitchen. She looked around the mansion, taking everything or what there was of it, in. The walls were bare yet well kept and clean, the floor was simple cold, grey concrete and all except for an old couch, the furniture was sparse. The brunette figured most of it would be in his rooms where she suspected he spent most of his time.<\/p>\n
Patience wearing as thin as her top, Cordelia hobbled lightly into the kitchen where she found Angel drinking a mug of blood in long, thirsty gulps which he choked on when he saw her watching him. Swallowing as quickly as he could, he turned away from not wanting to see disgust on her face at the sight of him drinking blood\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWow, you were thirsty or do you call it hungry?\u201d Cordelia pointed out, \u201cDo vampires get thirsty too? Or does O pos cure that too?\u201d she asked curiously. \u201cWhat does it taste like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh?\u201d Angel glanced round at her when she started playing a game of twenty questions with him. \u201cUm, I’ve never really thought about thirst before actually. I normally just drink blood whenever I’m um\u2026 Hungry\u201d he finished quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo blood cures the starvation but don’t you ever feel the need to have a nice, ice cold glass of water now and then? Or do you ice up your blood? Hey! You could make blood slushies!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlood slushies?\u201d now she really had gone mad! \u201cWhat’s slushies?\u201d Angel asked, not really sure if he wanted to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re yummy drinks made up of crushed ice, I’ll make you a blood slushie one day if you’re a good little vampire!\u201d Cordelia teased with a shy smile towards him. \u201cAfter all, a woman has to make sure her vampire has plenty of iron cus we can’t have you turn into a pile of skin and bones now can we?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, we wouldn’t\u201d he agreed, to what he wasn’t entirely sure yet but he’d figure it out eventually of that he was sure. Looking the brunette over with his melted chocolate gaze, Angel took in her outfit for tonight; the night that they would fight back!<\/p>\n
She wore a deep, rich ruby red blouse made of satin with sleeves that reached her elbows and a scoop neckline. The hemline just barely covered her midriff, showing off some of the pale but still bronzed skin on her stomach but also covering the bandages that hid her fresh injury. Her skirt was black leather, also as requested, with a silver studded belt that reached just above her knees.<\/p>\n
Black, strap-tie sandals decorated her small feet and criss-crossed halfway up her calves to fasten just below the curve, enhancing the feminine slender legs. Her hair was held back by some loose grips, keeping stray wispy tendrils from fluttering around her heart-shaped face and her make-up was kept to a minimum.<\/p>\n
Angel smiled slowly and appreciatively of the way she looked, definitely dressed to kill he decided. \u201cNice\u201d he commented, his usually warm voice was a little heated with the accompaniment of the husky, purred lilt that sent shivers up and down her spine. He suddenly felt under-dressed; if they were going to be believable as Sunnydale’s newest power couple then he figured they should match. \u201cI’ll be right back, just gimme a minute\u201d he told her before scooting up the stairs quickly, leaving Cordelia to contemplate her sanity for going along with this hair-brained idea of his.<\/p>\n
She had to admit though, having the opportunity to get back at Xander was something she couldn’t possibly pass up at all. And since it was Angel she was doing it with, all the better because if there was one sure fire to piss of your ex and that was to date the person he couldn’t stand. In this case, it was to date the vampire he couldn’t stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAhem!\u201d a deep, throaty cough from behind her snapped Cordelia from her thoughts and she spun to face the vampire. Angel straightened the cuffs on his deep, berry red velvet shirt, the top two buttons were left unfastened exposing some of his obviously impressive chest and leather pants skimmed his muscular legs perfectly. Her hazel scanned his form, an eyebrow raised as she analyzed him from top to toe.<\/p>\n
His dark hair freshly gelled and spiked up, a natural musky scent radiated from him and he wore the perfect boots to go with his outfit. But there was still something missing, just that one little thing but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething’s missing\u201d Cordelia stated as she looked at him with pursed lips, \u201cDo you accessorize?\u201d she asked. \u201cLike a thumb ring or a chain or something. I remember that chain I saw when you, he, you-he tried to kill me in the graveyard. It was this silver chain with a locket or something on the end. Where’d that go?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel shrugged, \u201cThat’s a sign of me soulless, Cordy, I don’t wanna go there anymore than I have to. It makes me uncomfortable\u201d he confided.<\/p>\n
\u201cMakes you uncomfortable? Makes YOU uncomfortable does it? It makes me uncomfortable when you prance around posing as me. I demand you stop it right now and go put your poncey trousers back on!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cSays the vamp who looks like he’s ready to eat me whole\u201d she pointed out with a shake of her head. \u201cLook, you have just as much right to wear the chain as evil you does. You may as well take advantage of his stuff, I would if I had half of his clothes and I were a man\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon’t you dare touch my stuff! Next time I get out, I’m hiding all my stuff so you can’t ruin it with your souliness! But I’ll let you borrow my pants if you give her a game of pool in that skirt!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, I’ll just be a minute\u201d the vampire told her before scurrying back upstairs, realizing this was a bit of roles reversal between a man and woman. Normally, it was the woman doing all the last minute fixing and the adding of jewelry and not the man. It was quite disturbing when he thought about it.<\/p>\n
Angel rummaged around inside a drawer, looking for the chain he wore during his rampage last year. \u201cWhere is it?\u201d he growled in annoyance, \u201cCordy’s waiting downstairs and I don’t to keep her waiting for much longer\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOoh! It’s ‘Cordeee’ now is it? That’s fast Hans, even where you’re concerned!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Ignoring that squeaky inner voice, Angel finally got his hands on the chain he was looking for and quickly slipped it over his neck, positioning it right so the symbolic pendant dropped down from his Adam’s apple.<\/p>\n
The vampire almost tripped over his own feet in the rush to get back downstairs so he wouldn’t have to keep her waiting any longer than necessary. \u201cI’m back\u201d he gasped for air he didn’t need, grinning at Cordelia like a mad man.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I see\u201d she replied, not really wanting to know why he was grinning and panting to be honest, she could imagine well enough on her own thank you very much. \u201cShall we go then? Cus as much as I love watching you run around like a cat on a hot tin roof, I wanna get this over with as quickly as possible\u201d she admitted her nervousness to him.<\/p>\n
Angel frowned at her and guided her to sit on the couch, \u201cYou don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Cordy, really. If you’ll find it too hard then we won’t do it and we’ll find another way to show them what they lost. But if it’s Buffy your worried about, then don’t be. She may not have been girlfriend of the year but she wouldn’t hurt humans\u201d of that he was sure of.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but most humans aren’t dating their ex-vampboys, Angel, even though we’re not dating she’s gonna think we are and that could cause a whole lot of trouble for me at school\u201d Cordelia told him honestly as she met his unwavering but understanding one with her own willful gaze. \u201cI’d have Xander yakking in my ear at all hours, I’d have Willow chiming in at every given opportunity and I’d have Giles going on and on about how I would have to keep away from you for Buffy’s sake so she could concentrate\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf any of those things happened, I hope you’d tell me about it\u201d Angel told firmly as he tucked a stray tendril behind her ear. \u201cIt’s nobody’s business but ours if we’re dating or not right? Buffy dumped me, Xander lost you because he thinks with the wrong head and Willow, she’s still traumatized I killed her fish!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember that, they accused me of being selfish cus I wanted my car protecting\u2026 Sorry!\u201d Cordelia apologized sheepishly. \u201cBut you were really scary soulless Angel, I mean big with the scary stuff you know. But you still knew how to dress, that I’ll give you\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me once I think\u201d Angel vaguely recalled something about Angelus, Cordelia, his butt and leather. \u201cSo, are you going to let them dictate who you date, Cordelia Chase? Or are you gonna be my girl?\u201d he asked straight out as he held her gaze easily, trapping her within the heated depths of the rich chocolate ocean.<\/p>\n
She couldn’t look away, the longer she looked and the deeper she dug; his hypnotizing gaze almost sending her into an enthralled trance. There wasn’t just black in his stare, there was flecks of molten gold and oceans of deep, dark chocolate.<\/p>\n
Angel watched as black orbs of her pupils dilated, almost swallowing her irises altogether. Big, black eyes now captured his gaze as he focused in on the gold-hued hazel rims; long thick eyelashes enhancing her almond shaped eyes, making them appear twice as large. \u201cAre you gonna date me?\u201d he forced his voice box to work somewhat.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeh, someone with better thrall eyes than me, go figure\u2026 As in her figure! Satan I kill me sometimes!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Cordelia blinked once or twice, she wasn’t sure but nodded enthusiastically in answer to his question. \u201cSo we’re dating then?\u201d she asked for confirmation from the vampire just to make sure he was sure he wanted to go through with this.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess we are\u201d Angel replied then it all went silent between them as they wondered what to say to each other next. They’d never really gotten to know each other at all before the other night when they had coffee; if they were going to be dating then it seemed like the right thing to do. Get to know each other, that’s what they had to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that a tumbleweed?!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cSo what do you\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you do\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
They smiled shyly a little before Cordelia gave him a silent invitation to speak up first before she ploughed into something that would embarrass the living hell out of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just gonna say that um, if we’re gonna be dating I should know a little bit about you and vice versa\u201d Angel took the lead with a nervous but gracious smile as he left it open for her to disagree or agree. Not that she could disagree with that of course, it made sense to know something about the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I had an idea about that see\u201d Cordelia began and got his full attention, \u201cWe could use these ‘dates’ of ours to talk openly in front of them, and let them see who we really are. Sure, they’ll probably laugh at me but what the hell. The whole school is laughing at me, I’m sure two nerds and crazy freak won’t matter\u201d he nodded for her to continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we’re learning all about each other, we can use what we learn against them by ‘finding’ stuff in common. And when I say find, I mean fix\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood plan\u201d Angel thought it over, \u201cIt would also be a good idea if we danced once at the Bronze too, I never danced with Buffy and it would be petty and pretty childish if I was to dance with you. But what the hell, if we’re gonna do this then we’re gonna do this right\u201d<\/p>\n