Chase Mansion, Kitchen

"It is a bit late for steaks isn't it?" Maria looked a bit perplexed from Buffy to Cordelia. "It would not sit well if you ate something like this at such an hour." She protested.

"It's not even 8pm and besides our little Buffy here has the belly of a beast." She said with a grin and hoped the slayer would not take it the wrong way.

"Gee Cordy, thanks for the compliment."

"Well.. alright, I will get right on it, but don't say I did not warn you!" She held up a spatula as to emphasize her seriousness.

"Thanks a lot Maria, I really appreciate it. We did not keep you from anything did we?" Buffy asked, feeling guilty for disturbing the woman in her off hours.

The maid waved it off. "Nothing my DVD recorder can not show me later."

"We will take the meal in the TV-room." Cordelia said and pulled Buffy along to a nearby room that was pretty much what she would have expected. A rather large TV, a sturdy low table and the most comfortable couch one could imagine. "Umm.. you sure this is such a good idea? I don't think you're supposed to eat in a TV-room."

"Pff.. if you got the money to have an extra TV-room you do not really have to worry about messing it up do you? Com on try out the couch, you will never want to get back up once you're snuggled in there."

"That's what I'm worried about, I left your room expecting to eat something and that does not really seem to be an option in that thing."

"Sure it is, but its gonna take a while for Maria to finish so let's get comfy." Cordelia flopped down and wiggled backwards a bit. "Now you." She said with a smile patting the space before her and Buffy gingerly sat down in front of Cordelia between her legs. Buffy was about to say something when Cordelia's arms snaked up under Buffy's arms and embraced her from behind to make the slayer lean back against her. "Hmmm." Cordelia smiled. "That's better isn't it?"

She eased into the embrace, thoroughly lost in the sensation of letting go. Of what happened today, of her guilt, shame, anger .. everything. Cordelia placed her chin on Buffy's right shoulder. "Now I got you again, don't I?" The blond nodded slowly. "Good, then I won't ever let you go again." She said with a seriousness that startled the slayer, raising questions she wanted to ask Cordelia. Big questions that could ruin this moment, even ruin what they just got back after such a long time, so she kept them inside with all the others.

There was a knock and the door opened only a split second later. Slayer reflexes spurred Buffy into motion propelling her from a half slumber on top of Cordelia into a position that resembled something akin to the way people normally sat when they wanted to eat something. Cordelia blinked up into the glaring light that Maria had switched from dim mode to something akin to blazing sun of hell.

After she put the plates down Maria positioned herself right in front of the two girls. "I'm not stupid you know." She said as a statement and pointed her finger at them. "The TV is off, and the light might have been as well. I'm not old enough not to notice something like that."

Buffy turned white as a sheet and was about to protest vehemently what she thought Maria would say next. The woman started to wag her finger. "I thought I told you to stay away from drugs Cordelia!" And that's when Buffy lost it and started to laugh, wholeheartedly.

"Oh dear.. Cordelia?! What did you give this poor girl? Dios Mio!" Cordelia started laughing as well and Maria was about to call an ambulance when Buffy grabbed her by the arm and tried to convince her that everything is fine.

"Sure sure, everything is just peachy isn't it?" She stopped and looked at Cordelia "And here I was wondering why she wanted to eat so much this late in the day. ... Where is it? Hand it over right now and I will let this drop."

"Maria." Cordelia said in between bursts of giggles. "Maria seriously, there are no drugs. We were just.." At this point a wide-eyed Buffy popped up in between them. "Gossiping! A-and it was pretty .. uh .. private.. so we were just surprised when you came in."

Cordelia sighed and rolled her eyes before adding more to the story. "Yep that's it, we lost it because you were so wide off track."

"Hrmpf." Was her reply and she sniffed the air. "Hrm..." Taking one last look around the room she shrugged. "Well if you say so.. I'll keep an eye out during my cleaning shift." She squinted her eyes as she said that. "Turning in for the night now.. again. See you girls tomorrow.. and don't gossip too much, god sees everything." She held up a warning finger before leaving the room.

The girls burst into laughter once the door closed. "That was great." "Yep it was." Some more giggling followed before a certain blond was drawn towards the food.

"You didn't have to stop me by the way." Cordelia pointed out as she positioned herself behind Buffy again. "For one thing I'm pretty sure Maria would be cool with us being all touchy feely, she may be very religious but she is a good person and that trumps everything."

"What's the second thing?" Buffy asked in between tearing flesh and gnawing bone.

"Now she will triple check the whole mansion in search of little bags filled with green stuff." Cordelia replied with a grin.

Cordy lightly patted Buffy's stomach. "There is not going to be a slayerish burp is there?" She asked with a somewhat serious voice as the slayer finished the last bit of crumbs from both plates. "What? No! Don't worry." She replied. "I'm really not grossing you out or anything?"

"Nope, I enjoy watching you eat, you look so blissfully lost when you do." Cordelia smiled and made Buffy lean back on her again. "Want to turn on the TV to keep up the cover?"

"Nah I think we are safe for tonight and I'd rather just be here with you, maybe talk about something that's not so .. umm .. heavy?" Cordelia laughed as she heard that. "Uh huh .. like what?"

"Um.. good point." Buffy smirked at that. "How about .. Giles?"

"What about him?" Cordelia asked with a grumble.

"Did he really throw you out of his house because of what you wore?"

"Well it's not really about what I'm wearing but more about what it could imply isn't it? And in his defense it was a bit .. much that day but i had a d-date with Daria afterwards a-...and did not want to change." Cordelia's voice went from casual through timid towards apolitical.

"And already at the first heavy stuff .. yay.." Buffy muttered.

"I'm sorry.. i think? You .. want me to be sorry right?" Cordelia muttered.

"Ugh.. nevermind, no talking about Giles then.. or Daria for that matter. How about Willow, no. Xander... no."

"W-we could still talk about Daria, it's not that heavy.. I mean all things considering."

"It isn't?" Buffy tone was pure sarcasm as the scooted forward and turned around so she was facing Cordelia. "Alright then. Are you two dating? What do you feel about her? What does she feel about you? Is it the same as with me? What exactly do you feel for me? Where is this thing going? What sort of thing is it even? You said you didn't love me remember?"

"Alright alright! Heavy topic, heavy topic, I get it." Cordelia held up her hands.

"See?" Buffy grinned at her for a second before going on. "I will need all those questions answered by the way... I-i mean.. ugh I don't know. I love being here with you and I like the hugging and being so close b-but every time this happens all these questions pop up in my head and it freaks me out ok? I need some sort of clarity, something I can put my hand on and say 'that's the way it is and that won't change' you know?"

Cordelia nodded and before she could say something Buffy went on. "L-like before when you told me that you would never let go again? What do you mean with that? T-that could mean you won't ever risk our friendship again o-or that we will be together, as in together together. That's like the worst case of mixed signals I'm getting here." At this she looked helplessly at the brunette.

"A-and then you say that you don't love me, so i think 'alright friendship it is' but in the next second you hold me so close and whisper in my ear and I'm melting away. Oh! Let's not forget the 'I did this all for you!' w-what the fuck Cordy? That's like the most romantic and noble thing anyone had ever done for me, a-and i betrayed you and you are still here... a-and I broke you, I broke you Cordy!" Panic started to rise in Buffy as she kept pouring her heart out, she kept staring at Cordelia who tried her best to keep up.

Buffy was about to keep going as Cordelia closed what little space was in between them and leaned in, her lips only a whisper away from Buffy's. "Do you want to kiss me?" An innocent-sounding question from Cordelia and an almost inaudible yes came back. Buffy's head move forwards and all thought ceased to exist.

The kiss had intensified quickly, hands moved as the need to get closer to the other became increasingly more urgent. They moved back on the couch, the slayer on top of the brunette for second before being flipped over. Cordelia's head dipped down towards Buffy's neck, marking her, enticing a series of moans from the blond. They had not said a word for quite a while, solely focus on enjoying the moment, so when Cordelia said something it shook Buffy out of her trance like state. "Mine." Was all she said as her head came back up from her priced possession.

Buffy's whole body shivered at the intensity of this single word and with a shaky voice she replied. "Y-yours." Which must have been exactly what Cordelia wanted to hear as she broke out into a wide smirk and resumed the kiss.