Hi again...
Okay, in this fic Cordelia may seem a lot more forgiving than she really is, but that's only for this story's purpose, ok? I'm not TOTALLY oblivious to the character's emotions on the show...
Chapter 2
Cordelia skipped through the door of Angel - wait, no, Anglmnop Investigations - with the biggest honking check she has ever graced her fingers upon since they closed David Nabbit's case. She could just sing and dance right here in the office, maybe even sing and dance with Wesley and Gunn. But Cordelia Chase keeps her cool. Always.
"Oh my God! You cannot just believe what I just got!" she screamed to Gunn.
"A new pair of shoes?" Gunn asked, flipping through the paper work on the small desk.
"Something even - well, no, actually a pair of Armani's would've been better - but something close to that!" Cordelia waved the rectangular check in the air. "Money! That wrench actually paid us!"
Gunn snatched the piece of paper from her delicately manicured nails. He held the check to his nose and inhaled. Money was a big need in their lives right now. "Mm, mm, mm! Haven't smelt some of this in a long time!" he stuck his hand out and she slapped it. "Damn, we need to call English!"
Cordelia's happy-go-lucky smile faded and she shifted her eyes at the mention of her friend. "Well, Wesley kind of has the day off today..." Gunn looked a little confused so she pressed on. "And we kind of had a visit from a not-so-special someone, lets just call him Anglmnop; he came in here and took one of our books."
"Wait, hold up," Gunn said, surprised that he missed all of this. "Angel came in here?"
The mention of Angel was always at a minimum these days. Usually not at all. Angel was a thing of the past and they needed to keep their new business on a positive note. Although things weren't going as positive as he would've liked them to go. They were actually going in the opposite direction. The bad office, Wesley getting shot, now this. The odds were really piling up against them.
Cordelia nodded. "Yeah, and me being Stubborn Girl, didn't want to give him the book. So Wesley stood up and yelled at me to give him the book and I guess he popped a few stitches. He's fine now..."
"Damn," Gunn said shaking his head. "Angel's really gone off into the deep end with those two vamp girls?"
Truth is, Gunn hadn't been ready for the emotions he had felt after Angel fired them. He wasn't ready for it period. The true bitterness that spiraled through his veins when the word's left the vampire's mouth, the betrayal. He was supposed to be nonchalant about what happened, Angel was just a vampire. It was supposed to just a second gig for Gunn, not like Wesley and Cordelia who practically lived at Angel's hotel. Yet he wondered why he too felt like Angel had stabbed him in the back and twisted the knife in a clockwise motion.
Yeah, yeah, he always thought he thought of Angel as just another vampire. But Gunn kind of liked the guy. The guy who stood with the white hats even when he wore the black hat symbol. The guy who could stake any vampire in ten seconds flat, the guy who took him under his wing even after they had ran him through a series of traps and mistrusting games.
((It doesn't have to be that way. Why can't we do this together?))
Cordelia swallowed back painful memories, playing back the events of the past night. "Oh yeah, he's gone deep sea fishing with Darla and her whacko playmate," she brushed a hand through her hair. "I mean, he was dark. Really dark; and I'm kind of scared, you know?"
((Don't make me move you.))
"You think something's up between the three of them?" Gunn asked.
"Oh, heaven's no," Cordelia said, scrunching her features up. "It's just that he was mean, not Angel-I'm-in-a-bad-mood-get-away-from-me mean, but that really... scary mean. He was so cold, everything about him was just cold."
Gunn shrugged. "Maybe he was just grouchy."
Cordelia gave Gunn a disgusted sigh. "Seeing as how Angel's usually grouchy like 24/7... it'd just be kinda normal for him?" Gunn nodded slowly, but she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "No, something's wrong, Gunn."
"So you're saying we should go check on him?" he set the check on the desk.
"Yes - or, no - I don't know! What would Wesley do?" Cordelia asked. Wesley was head boss now, he would know. Wesley always knew. "Besides wheel around like a baby," okay, maybe not always.
"BABY?"
Cordelia turned around sheepishly to see Wesley... sitting in the door way. She laughed to herself. "I wasn't talking about you, Wesley," her mind turned for another excuse. "I was just talking about Gunn here."
"Hey - what? She was all dissing you, man!" Gunn said, holding up his hands.
"I'm glad you two think so highly of me," Wesley chuckled, smiling. He was used to it and usually took no offense to their constant bickering. They were a family, they knew what was a joke and what wasn't. Or at least some of them.
The family used to consist of him, Cordelia, and Angel; they soon recruited Gunn and Wesley thought it was picture perfect from there on. That they created the best fighting machine Los Angeles had ever seen, but he was wrong. Angel fell apart and he drifted away, swaying only to the wind that Wolfram & Hart created. Following their every move and not paying attention to who got hurt in the process. Wesley sighed to himself. Angel finally didn't even recognize the people who cared about him, his family.
((Right now, the three of us are all that's standing between you and real darkness.))
And the sight in Angel's eyes that night made Wesley's spine crawl. They were dark, he couldn't see the same gaze that his friend held just a couple month ago. It was all too frightening; yet he still cursed himself for everything that didn't happen that night. They were supposed to help Angel get back on track, hold him stable; they were his family and they failed him. He was starting to fall off the deep end and they didn't stop him until it was too late. They were too late.
((You're all fired.))
"I thought you had the day off," Cordelia mused, snapping Wesley back into reality.
"Yes," he answered. "But it got... boring, really."
"Gee, and you came here?" Cordelia asked in mock amusement.
"Well, I'm sure things will pick up from now on," he reassured.
"Oh God, Wesley. Save us the false newsflash," she huffed, slipping herself onto the small chair. She let her head hang back before looking back at Wes. "Why did he screw us over like this?"
"Angel is in a very dark place, Cordelia," he tried to sooth her problems. "It might be a long while before he comes to terms again."
She groaned. "Can't we give him a little push in the right direction already? It's been like three months! People, vampire or otherwise, shouldn't be wallowing in their own depression like that!" Cordelia turned to Gunn. "Don't you think so?"
Gunn shrugged. "I say that a man's problems are only his own."
"Ugh! You guys! Don't you see? Angel and heavy emotional stress equal bad things. Sometimes even evil, bad ass twins..."
"Cordelia," Wesley sighed. "Angel isn't going to revert into Angelus. The curse's trigger is perfect happiness, not perfect... despair," the thought was quite eerie. The Romani curse wasn't too specific on what triggered Angel's transformation back into Angelus. There could be a yin-yang type of context in the incantation... but the Gypsies wanted Angelus to suffer for eternity; why would there be a "perfect despair," per se, trigger in bringing the soulless vampire back out?
"Well, you know, those Gypsies people were a little creatively psychotic," Cordelia suggested.
"Angel isn't in need of our services anymore," Wesley breathed out, trying to get grip on what the vampire had put them through. "He fired us, Cordelia."
"Boo hoo, Wesley!" Cordelia said, putting a hand on her hips. "I mean, yeah, I'm hurt tons also. But whenever Angel decides to go catatonic, he does it when everyone that cares about him is pushed way far from him! And guess where we are? Far away!"
"Cordelia - " Wesley tried. He always thought Cordelia would be the last person to say something like this.
"Don't Cordelia me," she pointed to the door. "Go!"
"Me?! Wh- What about Gunn?" Wesley asked, gesturing to the man who was acting more quiet than usual.
Gunn raised an eyebrow. "Hey, English, you're my friend and all, but you dug yourself into this one, you gonna have to get yourself out."
Cordelia gave Gunn a look who just tried to avoid her gaze. "He does need some help..."
"Why do I always gotta be pulled into you and Wes' stupid little cat fights?" Gunn wondered aloud. "It's like 24/7 Jerry Springer in here with you two."
"Haha - Go!" Cordelia ordered.
"Fine!" the two men slowly lug themselves out of the office, grumbling barely audible resentments. Cordelia smiled triumphantly before sitting herself onto a chair.
Okay, in this fic Cordelia may seem a lot more forgiving than she really is, but that's only for this story's purpose, ok? I'm not TOTALLY oblivious to the character's emotions on the show...
Chapter 2
Cordelia skipped through the door of Angel - wait, no, Anglmnop Investigations - with the biggest honking check she has ever graced her fingers upon since they closed David Nabbit's case. She could just sing and dance right here in the office, maybe even sing and dance with Wesley and Gunn. But Cordelia Chase keeps her cool. Always.
"Oh my God! You cannot just believe what I just got!" she screamed to Gunn.
"A new pair of shoes?" Gunn asked, flipping through the paper work on the small desk.
"Something even - well, no, actually a pair of Armani's would've been better - but something close to that!" Cordelia waved the rectangular check in the air. "Money! That wrench actually paid us!"
Gunn snatched the piece of paper from her delicately manicured nails. He held the check to his nose and inhaled. Money was a big need in their lives right now. "Mm, mm, mm! Haven't smelt some of this in a long time!" he stuck his hand out and she slapped it. "Damn, we need to call English!"
Cordelia's happy-go-lucky smile faded and she shifted her eyes at the mention of her friend. "Well, Wesley kind of has the day off today..." Gunn looked a little confused so she pressed on. "And we kind of had a visit from a not-so-special someone, lets just call him Anglmnop; he came in here and took one of our books."
"Wait, hold up," Gunn said, surprised that he missed all of this. "Angel came in here?"
The mention of Angel was always at a minimum these days. Usually not at all. Angel was a thing of the past and they needed to keep their new business on a positive note. Although things weren't going as positive as he would've liked them to go. They were actually going in the opposite direction. The bad office, Wesley getting shot, now this. The odds were really piling up against them.
Cordelia nodded. "Yeah, and me being Stubborn Girl, didn't want to give him the book. So Wesley stood up and yelled at me to give him the book and I guess he popped a few stitches. He's fine now..."
"Damn," Gunn said shaking his head. "Angel's really gone off into the deep end with those two vamp girls?"
Truth is, Gunn hadn't been ready for the emotions he had felt after Angel fired them. He wasn't ready for it period. The true bitterness that spiraled through his veins when the word's left the vampire's mouth, the betrayal. He was supposed to be nonchalant about what happened, Angel was just a vampire. It was supposed to just a second gig for Gunn, not like Wesley and Cordelia who practically lived at Angel's hotel. Yet he wondered why he too felt like Angel had stabbed him in the back and twisted the knife in a clockwise motion.
Yeah, yeah, he always thought he thought of Angel as just another vampire. But Gunn kind of liked the guy. The guy who stood with the white hats even when he wore the black hat symbol. The guy who could stake any vampire in ten seconds flat, the guy who took him under his wing even after they had ran him through a series of traps and mistrusting games.
((It doesn't have to be that way. Why can't we do this together?))
Cordelia swallowed back painful memories, playing back the events of the past night. "Oh yeah, he's gone deep sea fishing with Darla and her whacko playmate," she brushed a hand through her hair. "I mean, he was dark. Really dark; and I'm kind of scared, you know?"
((Don't make me move you.))
"You think something's up between the three of them?" Gunn asked.
"Oh, heaven's no," Cordelia said, scrunching her features up. "It's just that he was mean, not Angel-I'm-in-a-bad-mood-get-away-from-me mean, but that really... scary mean. He was so cold, everything about him was just cold."
Gunn shrugged. "Maybe he was just grouchy."
Cordelia gave Gunn a disgusted sigh. "Seeing as how Angel's usually grouchy like 24/7... it'd just be kinda normal for him?" Gunn nodded slowly, but she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "No, something's wrong, Gunn."
"So you're saying we should go check on him?" he set the check on the desk.
"Yes - or, no - I don't know! What would Wesley do?" Cordelia asked. Wesley was head boss now, he would know. Wesley always knew. "Besides wheel around like a baby," okay, maybe not always.
"BABY?"
Cordelia turned around sheepishly to see Wesley... sitting in the door way. She laughed to herself. "I wasn't talking about you, Wesley," her mind turned for another excuse. "I was just talking about Gunn here."
"Hey - what? She was all dissing you, man!" Gunn said, holding up his hands.
"I'm glad you two think so highly of me," Wesley chuckled, smiling. He was used to it and usually took no offense to their constant bickering. They were a family, they knew what was a joke and what wasn't. Or at least some of them.
The family used to consist of him, Cordelia, and Angel; they soon recruited Gunn and Wesley thought it was picture perfect from there on. That they created the best fighting machine Los Angeles had ever seen, but he was wrong. Angel fell apart and he drifted away, swaying only to the wind that Wolfram & Hart created. Following their every move and not paying attention to who got hurt in the process. Wesley sighed to himself. Angel finally didn't even recognize the people who cared about him, his family.
((Right now, the three of us are all that's standing between you and real darkness.))
And the sight in Angel's eyes that night made Wesley's spine crawl. They were dark, he couldn't see the same gaze that his friend held just a couple month ago. It was all too frightening; yet he still cursed himself for everything that didn't happen that night. They were supposed to help Angel get back on track, hold him stable; they were his family and they failed him. He was starting to fall off the deep end and they didn't stop him until it was too late. They were too late.
((You're all fired.))
"I thought you had the day off," Cordelia mused, snapping Wesley back into reality.
"Yes," he answered. "But it got... boring, really."
"Gee, and you came here?" Cordelia asked in mock amusement.
"Well, I'm sure things will pick up from now on," he reassured.
"Oh God, Wesley. Save us the false newsflash," she huffed, slipping herself onto the small chair. She let her head hang back before looking back at Wes. "Why did he screw us over like this?"
"Angel is in a very dark place, Cordelia," he tried to sooth her problems. "It might be a long while before he comes to terms again."
She groaned. "Can't we give him a little push in the right direction already? It's been like three months! People, vampire or otherwise, shouldn't be wallowing in their own depression like that!" Cordelia turned to Gunn. "Don't you think so?"
Gunn shrugged. "I say that a man's problems are only his own."
"Ugh! You guys! Don't you see? Angel and heavy emotional stress equal bad things. Sometimes even evil, bad ass twins..."
"Cordelia," Wesley sighed. "Angel isn't going to revert into Angelus. The curse's trigger is perfect happiness, not perfect... despair," the thought was quite eerie. The Romani curse wasn't too specific on what triggered Angel's transformation back into Angelus. There could be a yin-yang type of context in the incantation... but the Gypsies wanted Angelus to suffer for eternity; why would there be a "perfect despair," per se, trigger in bringing the soulless vampire back out?
"Well, you know, those Gypsies people were a little creatively psychotic," Cordelia suggested.
"Angel isn't in need of our services anymore," Wesley breathed out, trying to get grip on what the vampire had put them through. "He fired us, Cordelia."
"Boo hoo, Wesley!" Cordelia said, putting a hand on her hips. "I mean, yeah, I'm hurt tons also. But whenever Angel decides to go catatonic, he does it when everyone that cares about him is pushed way far from him! And guess where we are? Far away!"
"Cordelia - " Wesley tried. He always thought Cordelia would be the last person to say something like this.
"Don't Cordelia me," she pointed to the door. "Go!"
"Me?! Wh- What about Gunn?" Wesley asked, gesturing to the man who was acting more quiet than usual.
Gunn raised an eyebrow. "Hey, English, you're my friend and all, but you dug yourself into this one, you gonna have to get yourself out."
Cordelia gave Gunn a look who just tried to avoid her gaze. "He does need some help..."
"Why do I always gotta be pulled into you and Wes' stupid little cat fights?" Gunn wondered aloud. "It's like 24/7 Jerry Springer in here with you two."
"Haha - Go!" Cordelia ordered.
"Fine!" the two men slowly lug themselves out of the office, grumbling barely audible resentments. Cordelia smiled triumphantly before sitting herself onto a chair.