Author's Note: Happy New Year! Inspired to write some Cangel for the first time ever after my recent Angel rewatch. I own nothing. Comments, likes, etc are always appreciated! A Cangel centric fic that starts a few months after the aired series finale. Angel & Cordelia forever.

Fic Anthem: "The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe

Chapter 1: Life as We Know It

November 2004

Angel winced and allowed himself to slide down the wall, dropping the sword full of the Brack demon's blood with a loud clang as he did so. His breathing labored, he glanced at the demon's body a few feet away. He cringed as he drew his fingers to the area of his body where the demon had cut him, his left side, just by his rib. The cut was deep. He noted the continuous blood flow, coughed, and sighed as trickles of blood protruded from his mouth. If he were a person (being?) that needed sleep, he would sleep for days. The exhaustion he felt was heavy. Surviving endless battles took a toll. He closed his eyes, a memory of Cordelia patching him up coming to his mind. He admitted, he found comfort in these moments; the times when he thought he was on the verge of certain death. It was often during these times that he would see her in his mind's eye, glowing and bright and beautiful as ever, urging him on. He distinctly remembered thinking once "Why can't I stay with you?"

He leaned his head to the right and furrowed his brows as he began to notice a bright light behind his closed lids. Slowly, he opened his eyes just as someone kneeled in front of him.

"Angel" she whispered worriedly. She. Cordelia. Angel blinked a few times and smiled slowly as she assessed his wound. "Cordelia." He weakly placed his hand on her hair, trailing it down to the side of her face. Her hair was dark, long, and wavy. "Am I dead?" he asked her, just before he coughed up more blood. He gripped her shoulder tightly.

"Not quite yet. Can you stand?" she asked as she brought her arms around him in an effort to support him. Angel took a deep breath and clung to her as she helped him stand. She steadied him against the wall, her hands moving to his forehead, then his jaw as she looked him over. He pulled her into him with as much strength as he could muster and enveloped her in an embrace, burying his face into her neck and hair.

"I'm here." she whispered softly, as she leaned her forehead against his shoulder and brought her arms around him. "I've missed you." he whispered in return. He didn't care what this meant for him, she was here.

Cordelia gently disentangled herself and looked at him. "I've missed you too." she said. "But I've always been here, protecting you from afar I guess you could say." Angel bent over as he coughed again. "Shit." he heard her whisper. "I had this whole speech planned but, judging by how terrible you look right now, no offense, I've gotta be quick here."

Confused as ever, Angel looked at her questioningly. He was fairly certain he was taking a turn for the worse. He took a moment to take her in. Her brown hair was just below her shoulders, wavy, layered. Gorgeous. She was wearing dark jeans, and a white silk top. If this was the last thing he would see, he would surely pass on happily.

Cordelia steadied him and drew a hand to his chest, where his beating heart would be. "Do you trust me?" she asked. A memory came to him just then. He had been teaching her how to defend herself. He had asked her the same question, then. He looked at her. "I do." he said. The brightest light enveloped them both.

January 2024

Angel chuckled and continued pouring two glasses of wine as he listened to Cordelia explain why they simply were not taking on the Owens case. Legs crossed on the couch, she reached for the glass Angel handed her. "He's slimy. I mean, he owns like seven strip clubs across L.A. and he thinks he can just waltz into our office and demand our services to follow his wife? With all the crap he's doing?" Cordelia huffed as Angel snuggled in next to her. When they started their own private investigation business, they agreed early on that they wanted to continue to help the people that deserved it. With every potential client, Angel does his own investigating into the client themselves.

When Patrick Owens came into their office a few days earlier requesting their services, Angel didn't have a good feeling about him, but decided to do his due diligence. Upon doing some research of his own, Angel tailed him and didn't like what he saw. Extramarital affairs, drugs, skimping on pay that was owed to his employees. The guy was a douchebag. Angel came home and told Cordy his findings. "Of course we're not taking him on." he said. He rubbed his hands over Cordelia's waist as she cuddled into him. He kissed the top of her head. "Case closed." He chuckled at his little joke as Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm married to someone who makes dad jokes." she mumbled playfully, smiling, as Angel started kissing her from her nose to her cheeks.

Their wedding bands gleamed as the lighting in the living room dimmed.

Angel watched his wife sleep soundly beside him (once you got past the snoring) as he did most nights, before sleep came to him. Admittedly, he was afraid to fall asleep sometimes. The possibility of waking up and having all of this be a dream was something he feared. Thankfully, it had not happened yet. Most nights, he would think back to the moment that started what came to be his life. The night Cordelia returned to him, almost 20 years ago, as he bled. After the blinding light of that night came his beating heart and Cordelia's explanation.

Long story short, after her own personal sacrifices for the Powers, they gifted her an out. They allowed her to return to Angel's side with the ultimate gift; his humanity along with hers. She lost her powers and her status as half demon. They both became human that night, assuming the ages of a man and woman in their early 20s. They remembered everything that had happened up until that point, no memories of their lives lost, and some extra strength kept.

Angel wasted no time. As soon as he realized what happened, he took her face in his hands and said, "I love you, Cordelia Chase." She smiled that smile he loved so much and said, "I love you too, Angel." They talked for hours that night, releasing words long stuck inside, emotionally, and physically. Angel reached out to Connor first thing the next morning. Six months into their relationship, Angel proposed to Cordelia. They got married during a small ceremony in September of 2005. Cordelia gave birth to their son, Caleb, in 2006.

Time passed. The battle between good and evil continued to be fought, just not by them; at least not in the supernatural sense. With Slayers continuing to rise and be trained at the Slayer Institute, help was more readily available than the days of Angel Investigations. It was time to move on. He and Cordelia started their own (human and completely normal) private investigation service. They remained in Connor's life as "family friends" to the outside world. Gunn opened a youth community center and operated it with Anne. Illyria and Spike got recruited to work at the Slayer Institute. Lorne started his own club in Las Vegas. Wesley, in corporeal form, would pop in from time to time. Cellphones became smartphones and social media took hold of the world.

Brought back to the moment, Angel glanced at the pictures on the wall of their master bedroom. One was Caleb's high school senior photo. His brown hair and big smile so reminiscent of Cordelia. Another was of two small children being held by Connor. He smiled at the memory of being told he was going to be a grandfather. Now, in his early 40's, he was grateful to say that his body was slowly on its way to feeling like one; the daily aches and pains that came with age were fascinating to him. Cordelia stirred next to him, slowly opening her eyes after a few seconds. "Everything okay?" she whispered. Angel looked at her and smiled. "Yeah." He took her in his arms as sleep came.

The Denbora demon chanted as he sliced his skin open. Blood protruded from his hand into the middle of the circle he stood in; a symbol. As his chants grew louder, the symbol glowed, revealing itself to be a clock. Its hand spun as the Denbora demon continued to cast a spell in its native tongue. Wisps of magic began to circle themselves around him. He yelled a final chant. The clock hand stopped just as the door flew open, revealing two Slayers. The Denbora demon cackled. "You're too late." he said. "For time waits for no one." He opened his arms. The magic released.

Angel sluggishly opened his eyes. His brows furrowed as his brain caught on to his surroundings. Stone and high ceiling. He jolted upright. His eyes widened as he took in where he was; his old Sunnydale mansion. "Cordy?" he yelled as he took in the empty space next to him. Silence. He slapped himself. "Wake up." he whispered, pinching himself. When nothing happened, he took a breath, closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. The environment did not change. He leaped out of bed, noticing the clothes he had on. His long red robe, his boxers, his abs. He poked them. These were not the abs of a 40 something. Not to say he didn't maintain a figure but this? He placed his hands on his face and felt around, up to his hair. He stupidly looked around for a mirror, cursing inwardly as he realized he wouldn't find one. There was no phone on his nightstand. He placed a hand on his chest. He heard nothing.

"Oh, fuck."