They stood outside of Angel's apartment door; you could hear the soft strands of classical music playing through the door.
"Cordelia, are you sure he won't mind?" Xander asked her.
"Do you want to go back to the roaches or better yet your interesting friend?"
"No." Xander said softly.
"Then let me handle everything." Cordelia said as she knocked on the door.
The next morning Xander sat at the kitchen table brushing her long hair. Trying not to tangle it. She couldn't believe Deadboy let them stay. But the sight of a mostly naked, dripping wet from the shower, Deadboy was something she could have lived without seeing...maybe it was the girl hormones...but she had almost found him attractive that way. Xander shouldered at the thought. And admired Cordelia for not letting the sight distract her from talking him into letting them stay. Xander sighed as she laid down the brush, noticing the bruise on her hand. Cordelia came out of the bathroom wearing a white terrycloth robe, combing her hair with her fingers.
'I still don't understand how you got him to let us stay here." Xander said as Cordelia picked up a metal vase to look at her reflection.
"It was all about confusing him so he didn't know why we were here in the first place. Why doesn't he have any mirrors." Cordelia said in frustration. .
"Cause he's a vampire?"
"Like it would kill him to see himself." Cordelia muttered. Angel comes walking into the kitchen wearing a black silk open robe and boxers.
"Guess that answers that question." Said Xander. Angel looks confused.
"What question?"
"Boxers or briefs." Smirked Xander. Angel sighed then said.
"One of you got peanut butter on the bed."
"Really," said Cordelia, " I don't think so." Angel holds up a hand with pea butter on it.
"I'll go look." She said heading into the bedroom. Angel sighs again and uses a hand towel to get the pea butter off his hand then looks at Xander.
"Why are you two here again?"
"Mutant cockroaches."
"Ahhh!"
When Cordelia came back she was dressed.
"Angel, at some point in resent history you got pea butter on the bed, it's gross. I think you need to change the sheets." Angel makes a noise then stalks off towards the bedroom.
"That was cool." Said Xander.
"I do have a away with him don't I." Cordelia said with a grin then gives Xander a hard look.
"You know, you should tell him about your interesting friend."
"Drop it, Cor."
"But I really think..."
"Drop it!"
Angel came back into the kitchen because of the raised voices.
"Something wrong?" he asks.
"Nothing just..." Xander said with a wave of her right hand.
" You got a bruise on your hand." Angel stated. Xander looked down at it.
"Got it stuck in a drawer." She said truthfully. Xander saw Angel was about to ask questions that she didn't want answer right now. She distracted Angel by pointing out the wet towel on his leather chair.
"And the reason why is..." Angel said as Cordelia gives him a big fake smile. He sighs and leaves the room.
A few hours later Xander watched as Cordelia cut up Angel's vinyl floor with a knife.
"What are you doing"
Cordelia looks like a kid with there hand stuck in the cookie jar.
"I just wanted to see if there are hardwood floors under here you know I ...we may be here awhile"
Xander shook her head then looked at the trophies Cordelia had put on a shelf.
"Yep, there it is. My whole life pre-here five trophies with some of the shiny wore off." She told Xander, who had seen her win some of them.
"At least you got the trophies."
Angel came down the stairs.
"Xander...You down here? Oh! There you are. There's a big guy here to see you. I'll tell him you'll be right up."
"Yeah, you do that." Xander said weakly. Angel nods and goes back upstairs. Xander looks at Cordelia then bolts out the back door, she runs down a hall through another door and almost over Angel.
"You, sooo, need that bell we talked about." Angel gave her a hard look.
"Your going to tell me what's going on."
Xander and Angel sat in the office.
"You don't even know who this demon is collecting for! Xander how could you be so stupid to get involved with demons considering where you're from"
Xander sighed.
"Look, here's how it works: I owe some people, some people owe me. I do a favor for some guy and the debt goes away. It's a system of checks and balances."
"And some of you checks didn't balance"
Xander shook her head.
"Apparently not. Well it will work out. It just takes a bit of diplomacy, which I don't have, but hear you've gotten good at. And since Cordy is worried I 'm going to ask to you to take a crack at it." Said Xander.
"We all have problems." Angel said with a sigh, "It's a matter of priorities, and at the moment I've got one bigger than you."
"Bigger than a Kailiff demon?"
"Much! I'm thinking you help me with mine and maybe I can help you with yours." He told her.
"I don't know? What's your problem? Cause you know vampire stuff..." Xander trailed off when Cordelia came up to them and cleared her throat.
"Hi," she smiles and waves. "I was just wondering if you have any linoleum glue...for if it started curling up all over." Xander tried not to snicker, but not very hard.
"I'll be there in a minute." Angel tells her with a blank look.
"Ok." Cordelia said walking away to create more havoc.
"Find her and you an apartment...and I'll deal with your demon."