Disclaimer- I own nothing, just kindly use. Joss Whedon is a genius.
Summary: Cordelia and Phantom Dennis move into the Hyperion, problems occur- and, oh, yeah, Cordy starts to find out just what it means to be part demon! C/A- sort of, and some non-sexual bondage.
This has taken me awhile to work on. I'm a little stuck on where I want it to go, exactly. I had hoped to get some ideas from Waiting in the Wings, but it only ticked me off. Please review!!!
Chapter Three
Cordelia hugged her arms around herself a little tighter as the chill in the air grew more pronounced. The sun was almost set, and the clouds looked like living fire. The roof of the Hyperion was actually pretty easy to get to, if you were determined. And she was. It was the one place that she wasn't constantly reminded of her new status by stares, questions about new talents, or sensing random thoughts around her.
She had been living at the hotel for almost a month, and was no closer to controlling her demon urges than Wesley was in identifying her demon species. She missed her apartment, and was uncomfortable around the human members of the Fang Gang. She never knew when she might go all demony and possibly hurt one of them; even Angel wouldn't be immune. She didn't even allow herself to hold Connor anymore unless she was forced to do so. Of all the things that had changed in her life, that was probably the thing that bothered her most. Who knew that such a sweet, wonderful child could have come from that evil mother
I guess, Cordelia mentally sighed, he takes after Angel.
As if the thought of him called him to her, just as the sun dipped under the horizon Angel loomed behind her. She heard him climbing the metal stairs to the roof long before he actually arrived. One nice plus to being a demon- no one would unpleasantly surprise her anytime soon.
Angel stood behind her for minute before making his presence known; he often forgot the demon traits she had acquired, and didn't realize she knew he was already there. He swallowed, hesitating before he began. He was nervous around her these days; her temper was always close to the surface, and there was never any telling what demon trait would pop out next. Although there had not yet been a repeat of the episode that brought her to the Hyperion, Angel feared it was always around the corner.
Angel had noticed Cordelia disappeared around sunset every day; he had looked all over the hotel, and was never able to find her. He had finally thought he knew where she went, and tonight he had checked it out as soon as he could. "Cordy?" he asked, moving towards her seat on the edge of the roof. "What are you doing up here?"
Cordy continued to stare at the sky, not bothering to turn and face him. "I wanted to be alone, and to watch the sunset."
Angel felt a little twinge. She hadn't used a tone that said `Leave, you are bugging me,' but it certainly wasn't an invitation to join her. "Should I go back inside?"
She thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "You can stay if you want. The stars will be out soon. It's amazing, but you can actually see some of them from here. Not all of LA is suffocating with smog."
Angel eased down beside her and leaned back on his palms. "I used to come up here at night all the time and watch the city. I used to wonder about all those people, and why they chose to stay in a city like this. I never looked up, though."
Cordy chuckled lowly. "I never used to, either."
Angel looked at her from the side of his eyes. She didn't look herself. Her hair was less than perfectly done, stringy almost, and she hadn't bothered with make-up. Even her clothes weren't up to her usual standards. The past few weeks had been really hard on Cordelia, and it was beginning to show. He cleared his throat. "Cordy, I know you aren't happy here-"
"It's not here that is the problem," she interrupted.
Angel bit his lip before continuing. "I know you aren't happy here, but I don't know how to help you." There, he had said it. The admission pained him, but so did the look in her eyes these days.
Cordy closed her eyes briefly before turning to look directly at Angel. "Really, being here isn't the problem. I thought that it would be. Yes, I miss Dennis. And I want to find a way to bring him here." Her shoulders slumped a little. "I've figured out that I can't really stay at my apartment anymore. But that's not as big a deal as I thought that it would be." She signed and faced the now-twinkling stars. "The problem is that, in the past three weeks, I have alternately had horns, a furry tail, glowing red eyes, and a forked, snake tongue. I have also developed odd and intermittent talents like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and mind-reading abilities. On top of that, I have experienced an amazing number of strange skin colors."
"And I'm scared of what might happen next."
Angel reached out and took her hand. "But we're here, and we want to help you through this."
Cordelia allowed Angel to hold her hand delicately in his larger one for a moment before she pulled away and stood up. "That's some of the problem, as well."
Angel, confused, followed her. "You want us to walk away and leave you to go through this by yourself?"
"No," she shook her head. "I am grateful that you are trying so hard to help me even when I seem less than grateful. But I am uncomfortable around you. I've felt it from all of you at one point or another. Angel, you used to be the strongest person I knew. You could take any demon we met up with. Now, I could snap you in two if I had to. That doesn't bother you?"
Angel considered her comment for a moment. She hadn't said it in a bragging way- more like she had regretted it. "Are you afraid that you'll hurt one of us?"
"Yes." Cordelia let the word sit on the air for a moment before continuing. She walked a few steps away from Angel, and sat down on a roof vent. "But-"
She wasn't sure how to say the next bit without sounding, well, like the old Cordy from Sunnydale. "But I'm also afraid of what you all must think of me now."
Angel was stunned. Fear of what she could do without realizing it was something he already knew was bothering her, even though she hadn't said anything about it. He had seen it in the way that she moved whenever someone came near her, and how she avoided baby Connor. But what others would think of her? "What do you mean?"
"I'm a freak." Cordelia rolled her eyes and continued before Angel could put his two cents worth into it. "Yes, I am, and I choose to be this freak. I- I didn't realize that it would change me this much, physically. You've seen what I can do- you have two burned-out rooms, as well as numerous physical injuries as proof. How can you ever be comfortable around me?"
Angel considered his answer. He didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want to hurt her feelings. "Well, I am a little nervous sometimes. But not that you'll hurt me- I'll heal just fine. I worry that you'll hurt yourself in the process." He moved closer to her again, and pulled her face up until she was looking him in the eyes. She seemed terrified of what he would say, more fragile than he could ever remember seeing her before. "You are more precious to me than my well being."
Cordelia teared up. She couldn't help herself. The random thoughts she had been picking up from the Fang Gang- slight fear and a great deal of pity- had been preying on her mind. She knew Angel was her best friend, but, well- her heart swelled up and she couldn't find her voice. She just opened her arms and hugged him hard. But not too hard. "Thank you. I just needed a little reassurance."
As Angel hugged her back, he explored just what the words he had uttered meant. Cordy meant a lot to him- but just how much? The past few weeks had found him thinking about it a lot. He had thought that he had lost her, and then she had come back so utterly changed that all he could think about was how different she was. But, yeah, she was still Cordy inside- different colored skin and various new (disappearing) appendages aside.
So just what did that mean?
Angel toyed with the box in his jacket pocket as he went up to the roof. It had become something of a ritual, Angel joining Cordy to look at the stars for a while each night. Tonight, he had a surprise for her. "Cordy?" he called as he pushed open the door.
Cordelia waved at him casually form her usual spot. "Hey, Angel. Right here under the bear thingee."
Angel laughed. He had begun teaching Cordelia some of the constellations and the stories behind them. She wasn't very interested, but it made for neutral conversation between them. Cordelia still wasn't herself, but at least she was slightly more comfortable around Angel these days. The others were another story.
"Ursa Minor." Angel sat down beside her.
Cordelia frowned her funny frown. It wasn't exactly a frown- more like the corners of her mouth curled down for minute before returning to their natural, sunny position. "Um, yeah. Whatever you just said."
"So I noticed that you let Fred put Connor down this afternoon again." Angel deliberately pushed her.
"Angel, you know that I-"
"Worry that you'll hurt him." Angel shrugged. "I just know that you won't. He gets grumpy if you don't spend enough time with him."
Cordelia stayed silent. She wasn't going to fight about this with him again. She knew that Angel truly didn't believe she could ever hurt the little boy- again, one of those momentary and uncontrollable mind-reading flashes- but she still wasn't entirely sure of herself. "So how did the new case sound?" she asked, trying to avoid a meaningful exchange.
Again, Angel shrugged. "Sounds like a simple demon removal. Wes, Gunn, and Fred said they could handle it by themselves. They left a half hour ago."
Half-panicked, Cordelia blurted out, "You didn't leave Connor downstairs all by himself, did you? We need to go get him!"
"I think he'll be fine." Angel continued to sit where he was. Cordelia gave him a horrified look, and rose to get the baby. Angel briefly considered letting her go get him, but stopped her instead. "He's with Lorne, don't worry."
Cordy lightly smacked the back of his head as she lowered herself back down. "Don't scare me like that."
"I just wanted to snap you out of that `let's talk but not really say anything mood' I heard in your voice." Angel reached into his pocket and pulled out the box. It was wrapped in pretty gold foil, and had a curly bow stuck on it lopsided. He sat it next to her. "This is for you."
Cordelia considered the box. "What's that for?"
"I found something I thought that you might like, and I wanted you to have it." Angel turned toward her like a little kid, and pushed it further in her direction. "Open it."
Cordelia took the box and turned it around while inspecting it. "You already gave me my birthday present."
"This is a `because I felt like it' present." He grinned. "C'mon, open it already."
She shook the box. It sounded like something small but solid. Slowly tearing the wrap, she fumbled as she opened the box itself. It was a key, on a simple key chain with her name on it. "What's this?" she asked as she held it up.
Angel grinned even wider. "It's the key to your new room. Which you are free to decorate anyway that you would like, the cost of which is all on me."
Cordelia actually smiled. "Really? Anyway I want to? With whatever I want?"
Angel's smile barely faltered, even as he thought about just how much damage Cordelia Chase could do with his credit card. "Any way you want. I want you to feel more at home here, since you are staying for a while."
Cordelia leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Angel."
Angel rose and headed back for the door. "Oh, and there's a box downstairs that goes with it." He held the door for her as she got up to follow him. "It's got a spell and the supplies we need to move Dennis into the Hyperion, too."
Cordelia lit up like a hundred-watt bulb. She had resigned herself to life at the Hyperion, but couldn't be completely happy until the Dennis dilemma was settled. She was the one with mind-reading ability (sometimes); how did Angel know? It was the one thing that could make her forget, at least for an evening, some of the things that had been bothering her and driving her up to the roof each night.
"When can we move him?" she called over her shoulder on her way downstairs.
Summary: Cordelia and Phantom Dennis move into the Hyperion, problems occur- and, oh, yeah, Cordy starts to find out just what it means to be part demon! C/A- sort of, and some non-sexual bondage.
This has taken me awhile to work on. I'm a little stuck on where I want it to go, exactly. I had hoped to get some ideas from Waiting in the Wings, but it only ticked me off. Please review!!!
Chapter Three
Cordelia hugged her arms around herself a little tighter as the chill in the air grew more pronounced. The sun was almost set, and the clouds looked like living fire. The roof of the Hyperion was actually pretty easy to get to, if you were determined. And she was. It was the one place that she wasn't constantly reminded of her new status by stares, questions about new talents, or sensing random thoughts around her.
She had been living at the hotel for almost a month, and was no closer to controlling her demon urges than Wesley was in identifying her demon species. She missed her apartment, and was uncomfortable around the human members of the Fang Gang. She never knew when she might go all demony and possibly hurt one of them; even Angel wouldn't be immune. She didn't even allow herself to hold Connor anymore unless she was forced to do so. Of all the things that had changed in her life, that was probably the thing that bothered her most. Who knew that such a sweet, wonderful child could have come from that evil mother
I guess, Cordelia mentally sighed, he takes after Angel.
As if the thought of him called him to her, just as the sun dipped under the horizon Angel loomed behind her. She heard him climbing the metal stairs to the roof long before he actually arrived. One nice plus to being a demon- no one would unpleasantly surprise her anytime soon.
Angel stood behind her for minute before making his presence known; he often forgot the demon traits she had acquired, and didn't realize she knew he was already there. He swallowed, hesitating before he began. He was nervous around her these days; her temper was always close to the surface, and there was never any telling what demon trait would pop out next. Although there had not yet been a repeat of the episode that brought her to the Hyperion, Angel feared it was always around the corner.
Angel had noticed Cordelia disappeared around sunset every day; he had looked all over the hotel, and was never able to find her. He had finally thought he knew where she went, and tonight he had checked it out as soon as he could. "Cordy?" he asked, moving towards her seat on the edge of the roof. "What are you doing up here?"
Cordy continued to stare at the sky, not bothering to turn and face him. "I wanted to be alone, and to watch the sunset."
Angel felt a little twinge. She hadn't used a tone that said `Leave, you are bugging me,' but it certainly wasn't an invitation to join her. "Should I go back inside?"
She thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "You can stay if you want. The stars will be out soon. It's amazing, but you can actually see some of them from here. Not all of LA is suffocating with smog."
Angel eased down beside her and leaned back on his palms. "I used to come up here at night all the time and watch the city. I used to wonder about all those people, and why they chose to stay in a city like this. I never looked up, though."
Cordy chuckled lowly. "I never used to, either."
Angel looked at her from the side of his eyes. She didn't look herself. Her hair was less than perfectly done, stringy almost, and she hadn't bothered with make-up. Even her clothes weren't up to her usual standards. The past few weeks had been really hard on Cordelia, and it was beginning to show. He cleared his throat. "Cordy, I know you aren't happy here-"
"It's not here that is the problem," she interrupted.
Angel bit his lip before continuing. "I know you aren't happy here, but I don't know how to help you." There, he had said it. The admission pained him, but so did the look in her eyes these days.
Cordy closed her eyes briefly before turning to look directly at Angel. "Really, being here isn't the problem. I thought that it would be. Yes, I miss Dennis. And I want to find a way to bring him here." Her shoulders slumped a little. "I've figured out that I can't really stay at my apartment anymore. But that's not as big a deal as I thought that it would be." She signed and faced the now-twinkling stars. "The problem is that, in the past three weeks, I have alternately had horns, a furry tail, glowing red eyes, and a forked, snake tongue. I have also developed odd and intermittent talents like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and mind-reading abilities. On top of that, I have experienced an amazing number of strange skin colors."
"And I'm scared of what might happen next."
Angel reached out and took her hand. "But we're here, and we want to help you through this."
Cordelia allowed Angel to hold her hand delicately in his larger one for a moment before she pulled away and stood up. "That's some of the problem, as well."
Angel, confused, followed her. "You want us to walk away and leave you to go through this by yourself?"
"No," she shook her head. "I am grateful that you are trying so hard to help me even when I seem less than grateful. But I am uncomfortable around you. I've felt it from all of you at one point or another. Angel, you used to be the strongest person I knew. You could take any demon we met up with. Now, I could snap you in two if I had to. That doesn't bother you?"
Angel considered her comment for a moment. She hadn't said it in a bragging way- more like she had regretted it. "Are you afraid that you'll hurt one of us?"
"Yes." Cordelia let the word sit on the air for a moment before continuing. She walked a few steps away from Angel, and sat down on a roof vent. "But-"
She wasn't sure how to say the next bit without sounding, well, like the old Cordy from Sunnydale. "But I'm also afraid of what you all must think of me now."
Angel was stunned. Fear of what she could do without realizing it was something he already knew was bothering her, even though she hadn't said anything about it. He had seen it in the way that she moved whenever someone came near her, and how she avoided baby Connor. But what others would think of her? "What do you mean?"
"I'm a freak." Cordelia rolled her eyes and continued before Angel could put his two cents worth into it. "Yes, I am, and I choose to be this freak. I- I didn't realize that it would change me this much, physically. You've seen what I can do- you have two burned-out rooms, as well as numerous physical injuries as proof. How can you ever be comfortable around me?"
Angel considered his answer. He didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want to hurt her feelings. "Well, I am a little nervous sometimes. But not that you'll hurt me- I'll heal just fine. I worry that you'll hurt yourself in the process." He moved closer to her again, and pulled her face up until she was looking him in the eyes. She seemed terrified of what he would say, more fragile than he could ever remember seeing her before. "You are more precious to me than my well being."
Cordelia teared up. She couldn't help herself. The random thoughts she had been picking up from the Fang Gang- slight fear and a great deal of pity- had been preying on her mind. She knew Angel was her best friend, but, well- her heart swelled up and she couldn't find her voice. She just opened her arms and hugged him hard. But not too hard. "Thank you. I just needed a little reassurance."
As Angel hugged her back, he explored just what the words he had uttered meant. Cordy meant a lot to him- but just how much? The past few weeks had found him thinking about it a lot. He had thought that he had lost her, and then she had come back so utterly changed that all he could think about was how different she was. But, yeah, she was still Cordy inside- different colored skin and various new (disappearing) appendages aside.
So just what did that mean?
Angel toyed with the box in his jacket pocket as he went up to the roof. It had become something of a ritual, Angel joining Cordy to look at the stars for a while each night. Tonight, he had a surprise for her. "Cordy?" he called as he pushed open the door.
Cordelia waved at him casually form her usual spot. "Hey, Angel. Right here under the bear thingee."
Angel laughed. He had begun teaching Cordelia some of the constellations and the stories behind them. She wasn't very interested, but it made for neutral conversation between them. Cordelia still wasn't herself, but at least she was slightly more comfortable around Angel these days. The others were another story.
"Ursa Minor." Angel sat down beside her.
Cordelia frowned her funny frown. It wasn't exactly a frown- more like the corners of her mouth curled down for minute before returning to their natural, sunny position. "Um, yeah. Whatever you just said."
"So I noticed that you let Fred put Connor down this afternoon again." Angel deliberately pushed her.
"Angel, you know that I-"
"Worry that you'll hurt him." Angel shrugged. "I just know that you won't. He gets grumpy if you don't spend enough time with him."
Cordelia stayed silent. She wasn't going to fight about this with him again. She knew that Angel truly didn't believe she could ever hurt the little boy- again, one of those momentary and uncontrollable mind-reading flashes- but she still wasn't entirely sure of herself. "So how did the new case sound?" she asked, trying to avoid a meaningful exchange.
Again, Angel shrugged. "Sounds like a simple demon removal. Wes, Gunn, and Fred said they could handle it by themselves. They left a half hour ago."
Half-panicked, Cordelia blurted out, "You didn't leave Connor downstairs all by himself, did you? We need to go get him!"
"I think he'll be fine." Angel continued to sit where he was. Cordelia gave him a horrified look, and rose to get the baby. Angel briefly considered letting her go get him, but stopped her instead. "He's with Lorne, don't worry."
Cordy lightly smacked the back of his head as she lowered herself back down. "Don't scare me like that."
"I just wanted to snap you out of that `let's talk but not really say anything mood' I heard in your voice." Angel reached into his pocket and pulled out the box. It was wrapped in pretty gold foil, and had a curly bow stuck on it lopsided. He sat it next to her. "This is for you."
Cordelia considered the box. "What's that for?"
"I found something I thought that you might like, and I wanted you to have it." Angel turned toward her like a little kid, and pushed it further in her direction. "Open it."
Cordelia took the box and turned it around while inspecting it. "You already gave me my birthday present."
"This is a `because I felt like it' present." He grinned. "C'mon, open it already."
She shook the box. It sounded like something small but solid. Slowly tearing the wrap, she fumbled as she opened the box itself. It was a key, on a simple key chain with her name on it. "What's this?" she asked as she held it up.
Angel grinned even wider. "It's the key to your new room. Which you are free to decorate anyway that you would like, the cost of which is all on me."
Cordelia actually smiled. "Really? Anyway I want to? With whatever I want?"
Angel's smile barely faltered, even as he thought about just how much damage Cordelia Chase could do with his credit card. "Any way you want. I want you to feel more at home here, since you are staying for a while."
Cordelia leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Angel."
Angel rose and headed back for the door. "Oh, and there's a box downstairs that goes with it." He held the door for her as she got up to follow him. "It's got a spell and the supplies we need to move Dennis into the Hyperion, too."
Cordelia lit up like a hundred-watt bulb. She had resigned herself to life at the Hyperion, but couldn't be completely happy until the Dennis dilemma was settled. She was the one with mind-reading ability (sometimes); how did Angel know? It was the one thing that could make her forget, at least for an evening, some of the things that had been bothering her and driving her up to the roof each night.
"When can we move him?" she called over her shoulder on her way downstairs.