…*…
...*Chapter III*...…*…
Darla stepped out of the bus and called back to the conductor, the only one left alive, "Thanks for the snack."
It was almost sunrise, and she wasn't even halfway to her destination.
Darla used her vampiric speed to reach a fancy hotel within a matter of seconds. She walked inside and straight to the elevators, not even earning herself a glance from the night watchman, who was engrossed in a comic book. She loved hotels, the whole 'can't enter without invitation' didn't apply.
She found herself waiting by the elevators with a very well dressed middle-aged couple. Darla smiled, "You wouldn't believe how early you have to get up to catch those pre-dawn photos!"
The woman politely, if not very warmly, inquired, "Are you a photographer?"
Darla nodded, the fake grin still plastered on her face, "Yeah, and my husband's going to be so worried if he wakes up and I'm not back. You know how they are."
She walked into the elevator with the couple, and asked cheerfully, "What floor?"
The woman nodded, her expression becoming colder as hawk eyes monitored the movements of her husband, "Yes, husbands do tend to worry sometimes. Floor six."
Darla smiled wider, fringing amazement as she punched the button, "Really? Same here!"
But the man was staring from her and to the wall in wide-eyed shock. "Wh-what?"
Darla turned and sighed, mirrored elevators, just great. Sometimes ritzy hotels were a bitch to deal with, mirrors being the general downside.
There was no camera, though. She reached out and snapped their necks; not very fulfilling, but effective. Doing a quick search of the bodies, Darla pulled out both their room keys and stepped out of the elevator into the empty hallway.
Yeah, she loved hotels.
…*…
Cordelia snuggled up against Angel and tried to still her breathing. "Mmm," she smiled, "this is why I like being up at night."
Angel chuckled and stroked one hand down her bare back, resting it at the curve of her spine. "Actually it's already day…" he watched her laugh at the time gone by. "Have I told you how lucky I am to have you recently?"
Cordelia laughed, running her hands along Angel's chest, "Well…" she pretended to consider the matter, "I think you've told me, and shown me, but what about trying the latter again?"
Angel moaned appreciatively, "You never tire, do you?"
Cordelia moved to straddle him, and grinned, "Nope, that's why you love me."
Angel just nodded as she bent to kiss him, her warm body lying on top of his.
She slipped her tongue inside his mouth, and began to explore, as though she didn't already know every inch of his body by heart. Her mouth was hot against his, almost scalding. Angelus had always loved how hot humans felt against him, surrounding him; especially the ones who fought him, screaming for him to stop, hot tears trickling down their cheeks, hearts beating faster and faster…
Suddenly Angel broke their passionate kiss and pushed Cordelia back, "No."
Cordelia frowned, but climbed off of him, knowing better then to take his words as a denial of their love; she knew he loved her. "Angel, what's wrong?"
Angel sat up and turned away from her, putting his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry!" Never sure whether he was talking to those people in his past, or to her, maybe to both.
Cordelia patted his back soothingly, trying to gain some understanding and give him comfort at the same time. "Hey, it's okay. Performance issues were bound to happen sooner or later - we'll just get some pils." When her joke fell flat, she tried again, "What's wrong?"
He gulped slightly, without need, and whispered quietly, "Angelus."
Cordelia paused, scared, her mind flashing back to the first times they had sex, how many precautions had to be in place in case Angel lost his soul. She gasped out; the words in her head choking her voice slightly, "What?"
Angel didn't notice her hand pause its soothing rhythm on his back, he was so lost in his memories. "I had a flashback, of Angelus."
Cordelia let out the breath she had been holding and scooted closer to her lover, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's all right. You're not him anymore, you're Angel, you'd never do the things he did."
Angel took comfort in her embrace, trying to will away the images that assaulted his eyes every second. "You don't know what he was like, Cordy." She was about to protest, but Angel continued, "Not when he was sane. Angelus was a cold, calculating monster. He wouldn't have ended the world, he lived to give out as much pain as he could, nothing that quick would have satisfied him."
Cordelia rested her chin on his shoulder and moved to run a hand through his tousled hair, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"You wouldn't…" Angel paused, "I wouldn't want to scare you."
Cordelia stroked his hair and sighed, "Angel, I know that's not you. You can tell me anything - it won't change how much I love you."
Angel took a shaky and unneeded breath, "The women, and girls... I couldn't just kill them and get it over with. Hours we'd spend torturing them; I… Angelus… liked to rape them, again and again, feeding off of their screams. And Darla would emasculate then kill the husband and sons after they'd watched. We'd destroy entire families for nothing more then the joy we got out of their pain and suffering."
Cordelia took a deep breath, steeling herself against the onslaught of images this brought to mind, victims they hadn't been able to save and the one time she had looked at one of Giles' watcher books by accident, detailing what Angelus and Darla used to do together. At the time, she had thought it was gross and irrelevant, now it both sickened and pained her, for his sake.
She slid around and settled herself in Angel's lap, tilting his head to look up at her, "Oh, Angel," it was so gentle, her voice, so knowing of everything about him and how to make it all better. "That's not you, understand? You're trying to make up for things like that."
Angel looked deep into his girlfriend's eyes, so willing to accept him, forgive him, no matter what. "Don't you see? How can I ever make up for that?" His voice was softer now, almost a whisper, "Entire families…"
Cordelia kissed Angel softly on the lips, willing him to be still, her arms holding him close. "Shh… just hold me."
Angel dutifully wrapped his arms around her fragile body, feeling even worse for having burdened her with this knowledge. "My beautiful Cordy…"
…*…
Darla slammed her bag down on the floor and slid into her seat with disgust. It was much too early in the night to be so inactive. There was something she utterly despised about busses. All right, she despised everything about them. The odor alone, thanks to her vampiric nose, was revolting.
Darla was just getting comfortable when a middle-aged man sat in the seat next to her. He was ugly enough to give The Master a run for his money.
And the mental image of my sire was not what I needed right now. The stench of burning rubber as the bus started off was making her nauseous enough as it was. Of course, Darla thought absently, my sire would be proud of me for this.
The man smiled at her and looked her up and down. "Hello there, Miss."
Darla shrugged. She was not hungry, so there was no reason to be civil; she enjoyed playing with her prey, not idiots. "Hello."
The man seemed unfazed by her unenthusiastic response, or by the fact that he could easily have been twice her age. If Darla were alive, that was. "I'm John," no response was forthcoming so he continued, "Are you just coming back from a trip?" he took her silence as a yes, "How lovely. How was your vacation?"
John's hand was resting very near Darla's exposed leg. She leaned forward to show some cleavage and, predictably, John's hand moved to her thigh. The male species will always be victims, but her quarry wasn't satisfying enough; Darla had bigger plans. "I had a miscarriage."
John's eyes widened almost comically, and he withdrew his hand as quickly and inconspicuously as possible. It took him a moment to digest this news, as though he were trying to decide if he'd heard her right, "Pardon?"
Darla rolled her eyes, enunciating carefully, as though he were an even bigger idiot, "I had a miscarriage."
He had such a look of terror on his face that Darla may as well have bitten him. "Oh," he fidgeted with his tie, "I'm so sorry."
Darla smiled patronizingly, "No, you misunderstand," John looked expectant, so typical of the male species, "it was on purpose."
John sputtered out, "Oh," and looked as though his tie were now choking him, he was so red in the face.
She nodded, traces of bitter amusement in her eyes, "Right."
John fidgeted under her gaze, trying to think of an appropriate comment to leave the conversation with. "Well, I mean, it was your decision, of course."
Darla laughed discretely, not wanting the entire bus to stare at her. She might have to become violent if that happened, and the last bus trip had been so dull. "I'm sorry, John, you seem like a wonderful man. But you really should think before trying to pick up a girl taking the midnight bus - I could have actually done that!" She pulled out a bit of a southern twang for effect.
John couldn't have looked more immensely relieved if he'd just gotten away with an affair, which was probably his plan. "A bad joke then?"
Darla smiled beguilingly, hooking him back in, "Of course," she fringed innocence, "who would actually do such a thing?"
John nodded and patted his pocket awkwardly, as though it wasn't already perfectly obvious that his wedding ring was in there. "Shall we perhaps start this conversation again, and I'll do my utmost to get to know you?"
Darla smiled, Why not? "Sure," she spoke more to herself, although John didn't notice, "it's going to be a long bus ride."