Title: "Risk Takers"
Author: Ignited
E-Mail: ignitedangel@aol.com (feedback is appreciated)
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: Set between "Guise Will Be Guise" and "Darla"
Distribution: Just Ask
Summary: Cordy POV. Cordy realizes that there may be more to the simple vampire/secretary friendship after all.
As usual, we were involved in a case. Nothing high profile, just some demons who didn't know the meaning of well... not eating people. The usual baddies, icky monsters in need of some serious plastic surgery. At least, that's I thought. I was a little busy at the time, while Gunn and Wesley went in search of possible contacts who could shed some light on a resolution. My boss? He was standing in front of me, fists clenched, looking as if he was about to attack me.
Wait. Something wrong with this picture?
"See! I told you I can fight!" I shouted, giving a left jab to Angel's shoulder. Angel immediately blocked my blow, gripping my wrist gently. "Hey!"
"You're making a fist the wrong way, Cordelia," Angel scolded me, as he let my wrist go, then folded his arms.
"Well, you didn't even lay a finger on me!" I huffed as I raised eyebrow raised in his direction.
"The point of this training is for me to teach you some... defense moves. Not to smack you around."
There he goes again. Ever Mr. Chivalry. "Some guys like to do that. Y'know, but in a bad way."
Shaking his head, Angel leaned against his desk, lost in his own little world again. I guess over the years he's learned to not drool when he does that. But I'm used to it. We've been friends for... well, ever. I kind of knew him back in Sunnydale, but we got to know each other way more when he hired me, here in L.A. I don't mind hanging out with Angel, 'cause he actually pays attention to me, and he's cool for an old guy. Vampire, anyway.
I went to my desk and brought up the case file on the iMac we keep in the office. Some general info, and a profile of the demon we were up against, with a name I couldn't even pronounce. Something Latin-y, anyway. I started typing up some more info, trying to look oblivious while Angel stared at me.
When I didn't speak right away, Angel gave me a mock glare. "Out with it, Cordelia. I could tell the minute we started practicing that you had something on your mind."
"You know my friend Aura's party is on Friday, the one that I'm helping to run," I began, wondering why I had this momentary panic at the thought of what I was about to ask Angel.
"How could I forget? Ever since you met... Nick Smith, at Aura's last party, you haven't talked about anything else." Angel's dark eyes always narrowed when he said Nick's name.
From the moment Nick picked me up at the Hotel for our date last week, Angel didn't like him. I'm not sure why. Well dresses and cute, he seemed way sophisticated. Plus, he's like....rich. As in owning a whole clothing line rich. Think of the possibilities.
"Well, I..."
"Out with it." Angel canted his head as he gave me that little crooked smile of his.
"Go to the party with me, okay?" I blurted, hoping Angel wouldn't say what I expected him to.
"Go to..." He looked confused. "I thought you were going with Nick?"
"Yeah, well...It was a misunderstanding or whatever," I muttered, trying hard not to go on about how stuck up and needy Nick was. "He's going to bring someone else, I think. Unless I come up with someone in a hurry, I'll be dancing with myself."
"Thanks a lot." Angel gave me a look I couldn't understand. He wasn't offended was he? It's always hard to tell with this guy.
"Come on, Angel! Please? Who else would I ask? Wesley? No, thank you. Anyway, you're like my best friend!"
"I am?"
"Well, duh. Yeah, you are, Broody Boy." I looked up at him, Angel's dark gaze met mine. Dark, intense, roman--
Sighing, Angel nodded. "Okay. But you're going to ow me for this one. You know how I hate parties."
* * * * *
Friday night came very fast. Angel agreed on Tuesday, and we managed to clean up the demon case on Thursday. The usual fight, Angel, Gunn and Wes barge in, kick some scaly ass, the good guys win. And what else?
No paycheck.
Sometimes it sucks to be a superhero.
Aura rented the nearby dance club on Figeroa for the night. The whole place looked like something magical. With the skirt of my new red dress flitting around my legs, I felt as if anything could happen. Besides, I actually had money to buy the dress. I glanced up at Angel, incredibly stylish in a dark suit and tie, to see if he had the same feeling.
He ran his fingers along his collar, as if it were choking him. "You owe me, Cordelia."
Aura came by, holding a wine glass. "Cordy! I didn't know you were coming with Angel." She shot him an appreciative glance as he went to get me a drink. "What a hunk that man is."
A hunk? Angel? Before I could think about that, he was back, slipping an arm around my waist possessively as he handed me a can of soda. I must have looked surprised, because he leaned over so close I could smell the scent of his aftershave. "We wouldn't want anyone to think I'm just your good friend, would we?" Angel asked.
"Uh, no." Why was I stammering? And why on earth was my heart beating so fast? We were just friends, after all.
Angel and I walked by the different tables and private booths. Surprisingly, Nick did show up with a girl I met at an audition, Leia. Typical long legged, brainless blonde, the kind you see in those like.. porn magazines or something. She pasted on a smile as she saw us.
"Cordelia and... oh yeah, Angel. I didn't know you two were together." Leia kept looking at Angel, and I noticed I started glaring at her? For what? He isn't my boyfriend, or anything. But...
Nick glanced at us as she spoke. Angel's arm was still around my waist, and I wanted to lean into it... I tried to concentrate on the trippy techno music that was playing. What was wrong with me?
Minutes later, the dancing started. The band was good, dressed all weird though, but they could play well. Sort of a Dingoes Ate My Baby knock off.
The Bronze. Wow. What a lot of old memories.
Anyway, we were sitting down. My fingers drummed on the table to the music, and I looked at Angel expectantly.
"Dance, Cor?" Nick leaned over my chair, holding his hand out. Smiling brightly, that same old smile he would give me...when we were...
I glanced at Angel and he shrugged. "Sure. Go ahead."
Nick led me onto the dance floor. He danced as expertly as I expected, but I still felt uneasy.
Across the room, I could see Angel leaned against the table, arms crossed. He looked from me to Nick, and he frowned, dark eyes almost angry. Something seemed to tighten inside me at the sight.
Then I noticed Aura hurrying toward us. "Nick, I'm sorry, but there's been an emergency. My sister just got checked into the hospital 'cause of a car crash. You said you could fill in for me at the ticket stand if something went wrong."
Nick stopped so suddenly that I almost broke a heel. "I can't. Do you *have* to visit your sister *now*?"
I dropped his hand quickly as if it were burning me. Jerk, I thought. "I'll do it, Aura," I said, nodding. "Go see your sis."
* * * * *
Sitting alone at the ticket stand wasn't exactly how I thought the evening was going to turn out. But I wasn't alone for more than a minute or two. The door swung open, letting a flow of music into the hallway, and Angel came in. One hand was in his suit jacket pocket as he ran his other hand through his hair. I saw that his usual spiked hair was slicked back, something he rarely does.
"I heard about Aura." He frowned down at me. "Wasn't Nick supposed to substitute if something went wrong?"
I shrugged. "I don't mind. I guess Nick's too busy."
Angel leaned against the table. "Don't you mean Nick thinks he's too important for this."
"Whatever." I straightened the cash box, then took a glance at my nails. "You don't have to stay out here with me. I don't want you to... miss all the fun. Go back in, and dance with someone. Y'know, have fun? Something that you never do?"
"Oh no you don't." Angel held his hand out to me. "You're the one who talked me into coming to this thing, remember? If I'm going to dance with anyone, it's you."
"I thought you didn't like to dance. Or, knew how to," I murmured as I went into his arms.
Angel smiled. A miracle.
"Depends on who I'm dancing with." He twirled me to the music that floated into the hallway through the closed doors. "Hey, not bad."
"Not bad at all." My steps fit perfectly with Angel's, every movement easy and intuitive. I only saw him dance once or twice before, and that was with Buffy. Always slow dancing, so not much moves there. But this... this was different. It was so weird in a way, step for step, twirl for twirl. If Angel could breath, I bet our breathing would've matched, too.
Angel drew me a little closer. "I don't know why you liked that guy," he mumbled, referring to Nick. "Very... rude."
"Ever notice how you always hate the guys I like? Xander... That guy who impregnated me... Nick," I trailed off, offering him a little smile.
"Yeah. But they were all evil," Angel pointed out.
"And Xander was, too?"
"Xander's just... Xander." Angel raised an eyebrow, giving a shrug. I knew that he never really liked Xander, and Xander hated him. Mostly for that whole Angelus thing that no one likes to talk about. But if one was in trouble, the other would save him. Well, Xander would save Angel, but reluctantly. Xander did have that annoying habit of calling Angel 'Dead Boy'. A nickname Angel hated.
"Riiight." We kept on dancing for a few moments, and I tried not to stare up at Angel's face.
He just smiled back, turning me slowly to the music. "This is nice," Angel murmured, as if he'd read my thoughts. "Why didn't we ever do this before?"
"I guess...." I felt suddenly tongue-tied. A feeling that I basically never have. "I guess because one: I didn't think you can dance, and two: I guess we were too busy being friends to risk being anything else."
There was nothing but the music and the swaying of our bodies. Then Angel's dark eyes grew very serious. "Maybe it's time we take that risk," he said slowly.
"Maybe it is," I said, feeling as if I was jumped off a cliff or something. "Maybe it is."