Chapter 5
A/N: Hey guys, I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have updated. Honestly, I have started other projects and this one just got shoved off to the far recesses of my mind. However, I never totally forgot about it! I know where this story is going, it's just trying to keep it up to par with my own expectations while writing my other stories. I get sidetracked easily when an idea forms in my head. I don't want to lose it so I feel as though I have to write it out as soon as it speaks to me. Please let me know how you guys are liking this fic. Am I capturing the essence of the characters well? I'm trying hard to keep them as close to their actual characters from the show as possible! Thanks for all the support and happy reading!
Darla hissed in pain as she pulled the last remaining splinters out of her chest wound. Angry tears spilled down her cheeks and she wiped at them roughly, not wanting to show any signs of weakness in front of her minions. They stared at her, none of them wanting to break the silence in fear that they may be the next victim of her rage.
Darla glanced up at the men standing at the ready and smirked, "Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned, I suppose," the smile on her face not reaching her eyes. She twirled the stake that had once been buried in her chest around in her fingers. She slowly rose from the chair and lazily walked across the room towards the timid vampires.
With two swift flashes of movement, she dusted the two vampires in front of her, glaring at the two remaining, daring them to make a move against her. When they did not, she lowered her stake and straightened her shoulders.
"Now that I have you attention," she began, "We have a lot of work to do, gentlemen. I suggest you get started by building up our ranks once more. We're going to need more men for what is to come." She held the stake up to her face and examined it thoughtfully, "I'm going to kill that wretched girl and take back what is mine."
The men nodded their heads and exited the room, leaving Darla alone the fire the only light source in the room. She looked around herself and saw the damage she and her childe had inflicted on the space. She chuckled, reminding herself that whatever mood they were in, it was filled with such passion.
Darla allowed her eyes to find the bed where she had found Angelus and his whore on earlier that night. She felt recoiled by the memory and strode towards the bed, a golden ring in her eyes. She thrashed at the bed, ripping the cloth into shreds with her talons, a maniacal laughter bubbling from her chest.
She twisted around and threw herself down onto the shredded bed, fanning her limbs across its wide girth. She could still smell them on the bed, their scents mingling with each other. She smiled, licking her lips in anticipation. She would have the seer in her grasp, cutting her open and drink from her heart while Angelus was helpless. She would keep the girl alive for as long as possible, drinking her to the brink of death and then allowing her to live. Then she would turn her sights on her disobedient childe. Oh how she had so many ways to punish him. It would take him decades to dig himself out of this hole he had dug himself. The first decade or so would be spent in chains, of course, his pain and pleasure coming only from her as she allowed it. He would be begging for her to take him to bed or to kill him, it would just depend on her mood at the time. The excitement she felt running through her spine made her both horny and hungry. It was time to find herself something to play with.
She lifted herself off of the bed and danced out of the room, eager to get her boy back. She already had a plan forming in her delicate, blonde head and it made her tingle from her head to her toes.
She turned her face to look at the bed once more, "I hope you're ready, my boy. You can run from Mommy, but you can't hide forever, Angelus." She silently closed the door behind her and disappeared into the night, in search of a young, brunette that would satisfy her vengeful whims for the night.
Cordelia didn't know how long they had traveled at vampire speed or how far. All she knew was that there seemed to be no end in sight and the adrenaline in her blood was wearing off, causing her to slip into exhaustion. She felt herself slowly starting to nod off, but was ripped from her drowsiness when she was unceremoniously dumped on a soft, albeit dusty, mattress. The dust billowing around her in a cloud making her cough and sputter as she inhaled the dust particles.
"Hey!" she yelled, balancing herself on her elbows, still her bouncing body upon the bed. She heard the answering snicker from the vampire, still in game face, eyes flickering with golden rims. She glared at the vampire seeing that the wild animal had been tamed, but that there was something still feral behind his eyes. She would have to tread carefully. She looked down at her naked, now covered in dust body, and groaned. She looked at the leering vampire in front of her, but he wasn't looking into her eyes, he was too busy mapping her nakedness with his eyes.
Cordelia felt a flash of anger rip through her sending her scrambling to her knees, her hands flying to her naked hips, a stern look on her beautiful face. It took all her will power not to cower on the bed, trying her best to cover her nakedness, but dammit, she was Queen C and she wouldn't take this kind of treatment from any man…pire.
"Okay, Mister Man-Handler of Women, lets get one thing straight. A sack of potatoes, I am not. I am fragile and delicate! I require a little gentleness when being tossed around, okay?" she said, raising a stern eyebrow, daring the vampire to argue with her, but all she got in return was a quick snort and a roll of his eyes.
Dropping her jaw in utter disbelief, her cheeks warmed as her anger built up. She placed a painfully, sharp, manicured nail straight against his chest and seethed, "You wanna play like that, big guy? Fine, but I don't have to take this sort of abuse from no one. I'm out of here; I hope mommy-dearest cuts your di-"
Suddenly the air was sucked out of her as strong arms pushed her back onto the bed, her arms roughly thrown above her head and her wrists locked into a tight grip with one of his strong hands.
"Mine," he growled, hoisting himself onto the bed, his legs on either side of her, his powerful thighs keeping her still as she struggled against him. He watched through amber eyes as the sexy woman underneath him screamed in frustration, increasing her efforts to get out from underneath him. He just chuckled as she squirmed underneath him. He enjoyed the wiggling of her body below his groin. He had to stifle a moan when she brushed up against his sensitive member.
"Get off me, you big fatty!" she yelled using her acid-like tongue seeing as that it was her only weapon left in her arsenal. She felt the vampire's laugh cease immediately. The iron grip on her hands softened before the left her wrists completely.
"You think I'm fat?" Angelus whimpered, her words striking like a whip across his chest. Whether he was human or demon, Angelus always took care of his body, treating it as a temple. To hear that her opinion of his physique was less than pleasing to her was like a sharp punch in the gut.
Cordelia rolled her eyes in exasperation. Some things never change. Life. Unlife. Soul. No soul. "Boy howdy! You're crushing me!" she groaned, wiggling again underneath him. Angelus eased a bit of his weight off of her middle, sitting more on his haunches and her legs.
She took in some deep breaths and looked at him sternly, "It's about time you put that grr face away; I was starting to wonder if I'd ever see the relatively sane you again. What the hell happened to you, Angelus?" Cordy asked, instantly relaxing now that he was somewhat back from his stint as a overgrown, vicious mosquito.
Angelus let his fingers trace light patterns into her exposed abdomen, watching as his fingers left goosebumps in their wake. He thought over the night's events, his eyes turning black, his anger swallowing the soft brown of his irises. "I saw that filthy vampire with his teeth around your neck. He was going to hurt you Cordelia, I saw it in the way he was touching you. He would have kept you alive for a long time, he was quite taken with you." He reached down and brushed her hair from her face, "And then all of a sudden I saw red. I would never let another soul, human or demon, harm you. You're mine." When he saw her eyes widen, he continued, "A demon's love is possessive Cordelia, we do not share with others. And at times, our love can cause utter destruction."
"Oh good," she muttered, still looking a little perturbed. She looked into his eyes and spoke her truth, "You really scared me tonight, Angelus. I saw the way you killed those other vampire." She continued before he could stop her, "I'm not complaining, they were going to hurt me and you saved me, but I wasn't ready to see that side of you."
She placed her hands on his chest, looking into his eyes, "I knew that side of you is always there, I just didn't have time to really process it. And then, when you looked at me, it was if you didn't recognize me."
Angelus closed his eyes and sighed, "I know." He took an unneeded breath, knowing that he had to be truthful with Cordelia about his demon nature. "When I looked at you, naked and scared, all I saw was my next victim- one that I was going to do depraved things to before I ended her life."
At her gasp, his cringed. "But you saved me, Cor," he said, looking into her tearful eyes, "When you whispered that you loved me, I held onto that with both hands and forced myself to come back to you."
When she didn't respond to his last words, he slowly crawled off the top of her and stood on the dusty, wooden floor. He looked to the floor, unsure if he could bare to see anything but love and understanding from her hazel eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Cordelia," he whispered, barely audible to the human ear. He didn't make it his practice to openly apologize for anything he did, but the weight of what he could have done to her was too immense. He just stood there, staring at the ground, waiting for her response.
Cordelia raised herself again on her elbows, cautiously staring at the vampire just a couple of feet away from her. Angel was always apologizing for his awkwardness or general goofiness and she found it endearing. However, hearing his soulless counterpart apologizing to her for being, well, his natural self, was a little mind boggling for her. She felt the heaviness in her chest ease up and a smile crossed her face.
"I love you," she said, shaking her head in amusement, letting her smile reach her eyes. She watched as his head snapped up to meet her eyes, a look of confusion and then happiness reaching his normally brooding features. The smile painfully reminded her of Angel and she briefly allowed herself to believe that this was her Angel standing in front of her.
"You should do that more often," she said beaming up at him, crossing her feet at the ankles, mesmerized by his handsome features.
"Apologize?" he said, confusedly, a little mesmerized himself by her immense beauty and her quick change of tone.
"No, you dork. Smile. You have a beautiful smile," she said looking into his eyes, trying to invoke all the love she had for this hunk of tall, dark, and salty goodness. She thought about what he said and added with a sly small, "However, apologizing and groveling with kisses will never be the wrong answer in my book."
"Yes, ma'am," Angelus replied before he leapt across the bed, tackling her to the mattress, twisting in the air so that he took the brunt of the impact as she landed on top of her. She squealed in delight as he captured his lips with her's and tickled her sides. She squirmed on top of him, their naked bodies reacting to each other's twitching.
This sobered Cordelia quick and she drew back sharply from his mouth, eliciting a slight growl from his chest. She slapped him playfully.
"I think it's time you find us some clothes, Angelus. It's a little cold in here and you're not exactly a cozy fire to warm up to." She started to get off of him, but he pulled her back to him, smiling when her heard her grunt in annoyance.
"Tomorrow, Cordy," he whispered against her head, placing a kiss on her head as he nestled her next to him. "Tonight, I just want to hold you. Tomorrow we will need to come up with a plan to defeat Darla."
When Cordelia shivered nervously into his side, Angelus wrapped her tightly in his arms. "I went against my sire for you, Cordelia, a human. This is not only something that is unheard of, but will have grave consequences as it calls into question Darla's hold over me as her sire. If she simply lets me walk away, she will appear weak and will never again be held in high regards in our world."
"Soul or no soul, you were never one to runaway from your problems, Angelus," she said running her fingers in light patterns over his bare chest, "You're right, we have to stop her for good this time. No more get out of Hell free cards."
Angelus chuckled, "Don't worry, Cordelia. I don't plan on giving her any breaks this time. She's out for blood, especially your's. We just have to be smart about how we operate. Darla is very smart and has been a vampire a lot longer than I have."
A silence for moment descended upon them as each of them thought of the coming days ahead. As the silence grew, they allowed their bodies to sink into each other out of exhaustion.
Angelus turned to Cordelia, a last thought plaguing his mind before sleep could finally consume him, "You don't really think I'm fat, right?"
A small punch in the side was Cordelia's only response, silently telling him to shut up. "Just checking," he mumbled as he burrowed down next to her small frame.
Cordelia felt the sheets run over her skin as Angelus brought them up and over them smoothly. She let herself relax against his strong frame and when knew the instant he was asleep, his body as still as the dead.
For long stretched out minutes, she tried to force herself to sleep, but visions of Darla in the dark kept her mind racing with thoughts. Knowing that this would only cause her nightmares, she busied herself with taking in her surroundings for the first time that night.
She looked around the room, a feeling of familiarity passing through her. She concentrated on that feeling, trying to put it into perspective. This place looked old, the floor covered in dust, cobwebs hanging from cobwebs. And then it hit her. The irony slamming into her like a ton of bricks as she realized where they were. Whether Angelus had meant for them to come here or if he just relied on muscle memory she didn't know. Either way, things were not going to get better any time soon. The inhabits of Sunnydale, a particular group of Scoobies, were not going to be thrilled with the fact that the Scourge of Europe was once again at their doors.
Cordelia stretched her arms and legs as the smell of eggs and bacon filled her nose, dragging her back to the land of the living. She reached out for the body she thought was beside her, but only felt emptiness. She peaked through one eye and moaned when he wasn't there. She lifted her head to survey the room.
"Angelus?" she asked, her voice groggy still from sleep. She twisted around in the bed so she was sitting up, wiping the sleepiness from her eyes. She peered around the room, but there was no sign of the vampire in question. The aroma of sizzling bacon and farm fresh eggs wafted under her nose again and she heard her stomach growl in anticipation. She lazily rolled off the bed and sauntered to the door. Momentarily forgetting her nakedness, she was quickly reminded when the cold, wooden flow sent shivers straight up her spine.
"Yowza!" she squealed, throwing her hands hand her chest in an effort to conserve her body heat. She looked around the room, tempted just to throw the dusty blanket around her. Hell, she had already slept under it all night. The damage was already done. However, she was saved that humiliating feat when she spied a gown draped across the chair next to the desk pushed along the wall. Careful examination of the gown saw that it was a white, lacey gown from days past and it made Cordelia's skin crawl. Drusilla. The gown must have belonged to her for she was the only one crazy enough to try and bring lace back into style.
Corelia shivered, but not because of the cold draft, but in knowing that she would have to wear it and in front of him no doubt. Rolling her eyes, she slipped the garment over her head, instantly loving the warm feeling of the cotton against her skin. She threw on the white slippers placed neatly on the floor next to the chair and headed out the door.
Cordelia sauntered into the kitchen watching as Angelus placed the last of the eggs onto a single plate. He had dawned his infamous leather pants and wore a white, muscle shirt that showcased his strong shoulder and back muscles. Cordelia could have sworn she felt her ovaries contract at the site of Mr. Salty Goodness.
Angelus turned to face her just as she came up behind him to place a peck along his cheek. He turned his head at the last minute and their lips collided in a soft kiss. She moaned against his mouth and he smiled. Satisfied with her reaction to him, he pulled back from her.
Angelus took a long look at the young girl before him and didn't know whether to throw her down on the ground right now and take her hard against the tiled floor or to falter at her feet, worshipping her for days. He decided to not be so dramatic and finally address her.
"Good morning, Cordelia," he said setting the plate atop the small island in the middle of the industrial kitchen. He motioned for her to sit down as he went to the fridge to pour her a glass of orange juice.
Cordelia gladly took a seat and didn't waste time shoveling the food into her mouth. She moaned when the eggs grazed her palate, she couldn't remember the last time she had ate anything this good. While she had been staying at Darla's, she was offered scraps their minions would bring her- barely enough to keep her alive.
"Are you going to eat anything?" she asked, the habit to make sure her best friend didn't feel ashamed to eat in front of her ingrained into her mannerisms.
Angelus shook his head, "No, I ate before you came down." At her eyes, he rolled his eyes, "I grabbed some blood bags from the hospital while I was out getting food for you in the predawn hours. I didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention right now."
Cordelia knew who's attention he meant and agreed. They needed time and space to figure things out and Little Miss Likes To Fight may not be the best hostess at the moment considering the last time she came against Angelus.
Cordelia let out a huge breath and slumped in her chair, relieved that her vampire hadn't taken any lives since they got here in Sunnyhell. She picked up her fork, not letting another minute pass by before she started shoveling the food down. She had loved it when Angel would make her eggs after a long night of demon killing or just when they had stayed up all night talking like best friends do. He always took care of her and it wasn't until now that she realized how much of that she had missed.
"Slow down, Cor, you're stomach isn't use to food like this yet. Its best that you take it slow," he said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Cordelia had the grace to look embarrassed as she made the conscious decision to slow down her chewing. She looked up at the man beside her and smiled a silly grin, shrugging her soldiers.
Swallowing her food she turned a little towards him. "I guess I just forgot how great of a cook you were," she beamed. Curious, she asked, "You were already a great cook when I met you and I don't see Liam being the type to take up cooking classes, so spill Scourgy," she teased, poking him in the chest with her delicate feminine finger, "How did you find time to master the culinary arts?"
Angelus smiled a knowing smile and looked down into her eyes, a mischievousness glint about him, "Picture it, Sicily, 1812," he described dramatically, "A plump, Italian maestro decided that this was the night he would invite a devishly handsome, travelling merchant into his home for a authentic Italian dinner."
"I'm not going to like this story am I?" Cordelia muttered into her fork as she shoveled another bite of eggs into her mouth. However, Angelus continued on as if he hadn't heard her. He was too busy staring off into the distance, never missing a chance to throw himself into the flare of the dramatics, especially when the story involved himself.
"I fed on him for days, keeping him alive long enough to teach me all he knew about cooking. After all, what better way into the hearts of my victims than to prepare a meal in their honor?" he chanced a look at her face and saw her eyes as big as saucers. He grabbed his heart at the fond memory, his story not yet finished, "He helped me prepare my first Italian cuisine." He grinned at Cordelia's slack jaw as he leaned in closer to her, an evil glint in his eye. "Too bad he and his family were my first authentic, Italian dinner that night!" He howled with laughter as Cordelia gasped in horror and flung a handful of eggs in his direction.
"Hey!" he said, between laughs as the fiery brunette launched another load in his direction.
"You sick, sadistic-" she yelled between her teeth as she went to grab another handful of eggs. Jesus, how many eggs did I cook this woman, Angelus laughed internally, ducking the flying nuggets of egg sailing past his head.
With his vampiric speed, he grabbed her hands in his, twisting them around behind her back and smiled down at her fuming face, her nose scrunching up at him in the cutest possible way. He placed a quick peck on that cute, little button nose and felt her immediately deflate in his grasp.
"Not fair!" she scowled, "I should have known you wouldn't fight fair." She picked up the last piece of bacon on her plate and gnawed on hit, watching him with an adorable pout on her face.
"Evil vampire for two hundred, Alex!" he cried, having way too much fun at his Cordy's expense. He looked over at her and raised a challenging eyebrow as he watched her fight with all she had not to crack the smile that was threatening her very last thread of resolve.
She broke. The thousand-watt smile crossing her face, blinding him with her beauty. He placed both hands over his heart and sang in his best Shakespearian voice, "My heart, it pines, as my trousers tent!" Angelus quickly ducked the flying fork as it nearly passed his head, the sharp points burying themselves in the wall directly behind him. He peaked over the table top to make sure the coast was clear trying to remember if he'd given Xena Warror Princess any other weapons, but all he saw, across the way was the giggling girl before him; her laugh playing music to his ears.
Angelus watched as Cordelia paced the living room floor in front of him, her fragile human nerves standing on end at the thought of what they had to do; the worry of the danger lying ahead of them like a thundering cloud hovering above their heads. He didn't like feeling this powerless against his Sire, but he knew that he was not strong enough to take her on with all of her minions a solid army behind her. No, he needed his own army and perhaps that is why he had brought them here in the first place. It was not his first intention to come running back to the Hellmouth, but somewhere in his psyche, buries under the chaos of that night, he knew what he needed.
Cordelia was wringing her hands together nervously, trying to think of a way to not get Angelus killed. She stole a glance at him and met his eyes with a saddened smile. She walked over to him where he sat on the sofa, his arm outstretched over the back of the couch, deep in thought. She gently sat down next to him and his arm, as if mechanically programmed, pulled her close to him, not saying a word or breaking his intense thinking face. Or brooding face, she chuckled to herself and let him pull her into him, feeling his strong shoulder under her head like a security blanket underneath her.
"You know what we have to do, Angelus," she mumbled against his chest drawing circles with her fingers along his chest, soothing him as he contemplated what he said. He let our a soft purr against her soft ministrations and caught her hand into his, raising it to his mouth where he placed a soft kiss against her hand.
"Yes, I do," he replied, leaning his head against her's as he watched his fingers slide into her's effortlessly. Her hands looked so small in his and as if her humanity wasn't already at the forefront of her mind, this only showed him just how truly fragile she was. He couldn't lose her, not ever. This strengthened his resolve to do whatever was necessary to protect her from Darla's wrath. If there was anything he learned from Darla in the two hundred plus years he had been with her, it was that you did not want to become the object in which wanted to pin down for revenge. She'd make tearing off butterflies' wings look like a tame sport. He felt a growl escape rise in his throat as he thought about the horrors he would put Cordelia through if she got her claws hooked into her, but he stifled it, not wanting to scare Cordy more than she already was. She was already right in the middle of a war she had no business being in and he knew it was all his fault. He had to make it right.
It was true, asking the Slayer for any kind of help went beyond any sort of demonic instinct he felt, but he was willing to do anything to keep Cordelia safe and he was banking on the do-gooder Scooby gang to do the same. After all, wasn't it their mission to protect the innocents from the demonic fiends of the night? Cordelia had once been in their group, maybe as an outsider, but a member none-the-less and that had to earn her some sort of browny points. If not, he'd just kill them all and he'd take Cordy and run. He briefly wondered what Sicily looked like this time of year. He chuckled making his just shake under Cordelia's head.
Looking up in confusion, asking herself how he could be laughing at a time like this, Cordelia asked the obvious question, "What so funny?"
Angelus didn't dare indulge her in last thoughts of Sicily, he wouldn't have to worry about Darla if he had Cordelia's throwing arm to contend with. He just shook his head and said it was nothing. When he saw the skepticism in his eyes he decided to change the subject.
"It has to happen tonight," he said, turning so their bodies were facing one another. Cordelia slowly sat up, mauling over the idea and then nodding her head in agreement.
"Ya, I suppose it does," she said, looking down at her hands now closed in her lap. Her head snapped up, her eyes wide and fearful, "I'm going to need new clothes!" She launched off the couch, pulling him along, finally feeling good about putting her energy towards something she could control, something she was good at- shopping.
Angelus let her pull him off the couch and followed her up the stairs as she muttered to herself all the places they needed to go before she saw the Scoobies. He just listened to her babble, grateful for this opportunity for her to be in her element before all chaos broke loose. While she was shopping, it would give him the opportunity to form a battle strategy.
If there was anything he had learned while being trapped with a soul, it was that when you're shopping with Cordelia Chase, you keep your mouth shut unless spoken to, carry any and all bags purchased and never ever complain about the price of a Jimmy Choo original. His internal penny-saver cringed at the numbers and the commas he would be spending today, but he just shoved all that worry down, he'd do anything for Cordelia, soul or no soul. And she knew it, the little minx. He just couldn't help but grin as he once again focused on her voice, still running a hundred words per second. Upon that thought, he had to put on his emergency breaks as to no stumble into the back of her when he noticed she had stopped moving.
She had stopped, dead in her tracks, "Oh my god! What am I going to where out! I can't go out there in this?!" She shook the gown in her hand and Angelus had to suppress a laugh.
"It's okay, I think Buffy left some work out clothes around here somewhere," he said nonchalantly, not missing the jaw drop from the woman walking next to him. "I'll look for them," he added, quickly bounding up the stairs, taking them two to three steps at a time, not wanting to be in chocking distance when what he said finally dawned on her.
And he heard it. The scream. The scream that every girl dirtily tricked lets out to let the trickster know that she finally caught on to him.
"You mean you made me where this treacherous thing on purpose?!" he could hear her yell from down the steps and he shivered against the pitch in her tone. "Angelus, I'm going to kick your well-toned ass when I get up there, you sick, sick pervert!"
Angelus chuckled as he waited with unneeded, baited breath for his fiery brunette to fulfill that crotch tightening, fantasy-fulfilling image. "Bring it on, baby," he whispered, a grin forming on his angelic features.
