Necessary but pointless Disclaimer time gather round – I own none of the characters of the Buffy verse, trust me if I did own them things would have gone a little differently. I do this for fun without monetary gain, so enjoy.
Angelus had given his curse a lot of thought over the past one hundred years that the soul had been burning through him. At first he hadn’t thought anything at all. The casting of the curse had been disorienting and the fire that came with the soul had pushed him so far down that he hadn’t even been aware of anything other than darkness and pain for several years. When he had finally started to regain some sense of himself he had been shocked to find himself alone in the gutter, feeding off of rats and covered in enough filth to move humans to pity.
Over the years he and the soul had been in a game of tug-a-war with one another each trying to stay in control of the body they both inhabited. He would whisper and push while the soul would white knuckle his way through the sea of humanity trying to ignore him with varying levels of success. Sometimes he would be able to shout out loud enough and long enough for the taste of human blood to wash away the clinging blood of rats but that would always be a temporary release from this hell.
His main thought as the years dragged on was that the punishment did not in any way fit the crime. Sure he had tortured and killed people for a hundred and forty five years, but he was a vampire he was simply following his nature. If those gypsies had possessed any kind of balls back then they would have simply killed him like Holtz had tried to do. Hell, they could have cast the curse and while he was kneeling in front of that pompous old man reeling and crying they could have shoved a stake through his heart. Then he would have “suffered” but then it would have all been over with. Instead they had wanted to draw it out, but something told him none of them had thought the game would ever go on so long as it had, now they were all stuck in their parts with no end to save any of them.
How boring.
Angelus and the soul had never been on the same page about anything, but this was a new low, a humiliation he never thought he would ever have to endure. He hated this more than anything else the soul had ever done. All the rescuing of poor innocent humans and puppies or whatever else crossed his path. The taste of rats blood coating his throat. Even the unending power ballads that assaulted his ears for decades without end was better than this.
He had been relegated to the back of his own mind and was forced to watch while the soul in the driver seat used his body to fuck the slayer. Make no mistake it was his body and it was currently being violated. They weren’t even fucking they were making love somebody just drive a stake through his heart now.
Somewhere in the distance he could hear this howling, almost like a strong wind. Daddy’s coming home. Drusilla’s voice was drifting all around him, her sing-song lilt filled with joy. Was that what was happening? He could feel this burning sensation starting to build all around him, Angel had drifted off to sleep, his soul all but glowing in ecstasy from his love of the Slayer, but Angelus knew better. That glow was growing brighter and pulsating in time with a heartbeat they no longer had, it was just the beginning of something, the first embers of a blazing inferno, could it be his release from this hellscape?
Finally the burn grew deep enough that the soul could feel it too, and just like before the urge to run filled them both sending them out into the rain crashing into walls and stumbling. Falling to their knees he pushed and pushed at the walls of his cage, until finally it all gave way and he felt the soul rush out of his body and back to wherever the hell the Kalderash had summoned it from.
The click clack of heels coming closer to him from behind was the first real sound he had heard in over a century. Spinning around he grabbed hold of the shivering body and sank his fangs deep, and there was no whimpering soul to try and stop him, dropping the body he took one last look towards the apartment that housed the sleeping slayer before turning his back and walking away.
He was free.
As he turned the corner near the entrance of the Bronze, headed towards the warehouse district and where he was sure to find Spike and his darling girl, he found another girl entirely.
Cordelia Chase.
While the soul had been simpering and drooling after the Slayer he’d been trapped inside just aching to get his hands on this beautiful brunette. He could still remember when she’d approached them at the Bronze and that fool had just walked away. Leaving behind a woman who had been just begging for it. Ever since that day whenever they were forced to be around the “scoobies” the soul would watch Buffy and he would watch her. He would just fantasize about her and all the things he wanted to do to that delectable body while the watcher droned on and on about the latest not so big bad to roll into town. Sometimes he would even manage to turn his fantasies into the souls dreams, and boy did that idiot feel guilty about that. His nights spent at the Slayers side whispering sweet promises of forever in her ear between chaste kisses, while his days consisted of drilling the cheerleader in his dreams and soaking up her moans of pure ecstasy.
“Angel?” She sounded so confused to see him there, and rightly so of course, as far as the white hats were concerned he was supposed to be off with the Slayer all night long taking care of the latest threat to the Sunnydale populace.
“Cordelia? What are you doing out so late all on your own?” He tried to keep his tone light, no reason to give away the game just yet, after all the games were the best parts.
“I was here with some friends but you know how it is. What are you doing here all by yourself? I thought you and Buffy would be off celebrating her B-day after the whole Judge thing. The two of you did take care of that right? Nothing extra going bump in the night tonight?” He watched her look around the parking lot as she spoke, like her words might summon something from the shadows. He barely contained his laughter at the irony of it all.
“No, everything’s just as it should be. Buffy and I already celebrated her big day, but I couldn’t sleep, had all this pent-up energy so I went for a walk.” He could tell by the way her eyes both narrowed and sparkled in amusement that she understood his subtext. That the slayer just hadn’t been enough to satisfy his hunger, in any sense.
“Well, I had better get going. Don’t want anyone seeing us together and gossiping about it. The last thing I need is a pissed off slayer in my face first thing in the morning, that is a sure-fire way to ruin an otherwise good day. Goodnight Angel.”
“Goodnight Cordelia.” See you soon my vixen. He was back and better than ever and it was time he finally got the girl of his dreams.
He found Spike and Dru in a warehouse like he’d thought he would, not that they’d be staying there long, he had a certain way he liked to live and this just wasn’t it. When Spike had asked about his plans his first instinct was to go after the slayer and make the bitch hurt like she never had before. It was just the principle of the thing; she had to pay for everything she’d done while the soul had been in charge. Then just as he was planning his first move against her, a beautiful brunette kept popping into his head. He just couldn’t seem to get Cordelia out of his mind and that’s when he figured it out. His first move wouldn’t be against Buffy, she could wait, no his first move would be to get his vixen.
First things first though, he had to get his darling family back up to fighting weight. He couldn’t do anything until he got Spike back on his feet, and Dru off his back. Using his teeth to tear into his wrist and offering his healing blood to his grand-childe, he sighed in frustration. Oh, the monotony of being in charge, it was a killer.
Buffy stood outside of Angel’s apartment and wiped the tears from her face once more. It seemed like she hadn’t stopped crying since last night when she’d woken up alone. She just didn’t understand what had happened. They had been happy and then Angel had just up and left. He was acting just like all those stereotypical frat boys, get what you want and move on. Well she wouldn’t let him, not without a fight, they were in love and love was worth fighting for.
She thought about knocking but that would only give him the chance to ignore her so she just opened the door and walked right in. He was there of course, it was the middle of the day after all, he was changing his shirt getting ready for when the sun would finally set and he would be free to move about without having to use the sewers and go about his business, looking for another girl to seduce most likely, she knew it was a bit unfair to think that when they hadn’t even talked yet but she was hurt, and he’d abandoned her after taking her virginity. Not to mention her love, but maybe he had a good reason for leaving, maybe something had happened, with new hope in her heart for her love she called out to him.
“Angel.”
He looked over at the sound of his name, though she knew he’d known she was there even before she’d come in. Vampire senses were good at that.
“Oh, you’re here, again. What now?”
How could he be so cold to her? He loved her more than anything, didn’t he? He’d said he did. Or maybe that had just been a lie.
“Why are you being like this?”
“Like what?”
“So … mean. Was it something I did? Was I not good?”
He had walked right past her to cross the room and get a necklace that she’d never seen him wear before. Come to think of it, she’d never seen him dress like this before at all, he looked better than usual really, but he looked so different.
“No, you were good really I thought you were a pro. I just need space, that’s all.”
“Why are you saying this to me?” How could he be so hurtful, after everything they had shared. Not just last night, but all of it, their entire relationship that they’d fought so hard for and now he was just tossing her aside.
“Look, don’t be like that.” He walked towards her hand outstretched to touch her face, but she turned away, she didn’t want him to touch her, she wanted her Angel back, the one who loved her more than anything else in the world. “I should have known you couldn’t handle anything real. It’s not you, it’s me.”
He was smirking as he said the last like he was making fun of her or something. Her heart was breaking and it was like he didn’t even care.
“Angel, I love you.”
“Yeah, love you too, see ya later.”
Turning his back with an extra pep in his step he left without even looking at her. Looking at his bed the last place she’d been truly happy she curled up on it and cried.
Buffy was miserable and she didn’t care who knew it. In fact, she seemed to want everyone to know it and that was just too much for Cordelia. My god she was the defender of the human race and yet here she sat in the high school library crying her already puffy eyes out over her boyfriend. What the hell was wrong with this picture?
She couldn’t help but think about her run in with Angel the night before. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been wrong with Angel, the entire walk back to her car she tried to put her finger on it and failed. The entire time they had talked it had almost seemed like they were having two different conversations at the same time and he looked far more amused than she’d ever seen him before. Broody boy just hadn’t been brooding like normal, though that could have been because of Buffy’s little birthday present to him. Then she came to the library this afternoon as was becoming her habit, against her will and better judgment, and found this pity party going on.
So, it would seem Angel hadn’t been very subtle about how little his birthday night with poor pitiful cry Buffy had meant to him. Harsh yes, epically earth shattering enough to ruin HER Friday night, not even remotely. Yet somehow here she was playing support system to someone who really needed to just get over it. Like she was the only one who’d ever been treated like crap by her man after he finally got what he’d been after all along.
“You should just get over it already.”
Everyone turned to look at her in shock. What like she wasn’t just saying what they were all thinking?
“What? Like you weren’t all thinking the same thing.”
“Cordelia, while your help has been unique to say the least, maybe it’s time you went home.” Giles always had a way of making things sound so logical, it was probably the accent, so she found herself nodding her agreement without really thinking about it. Halfway to her car she thought maybe he’d just been trying to get rid of her. Oh well, either way she was beyond glad not to have to deal with Buffy’s little drama any more.
She had just put her hand on her car door when she heard something behind her, turning around she was prepared to scream as loud as she could, maybe Buffy would be able to rouse herself from her self-pity enough to fight something. The scream died in her throat when she saw it was Angel behind her, not some monster. Thinking about how her night had gone so far and whose fault that was, she got really angry at him and just wanted to slap his smug face, but it was such a good-looking face she settled for just slapping his chest instead.
“God, you scared me half to death. Not to mention you completely ruined my Friday night! What couldn’t you let slayer girl down gently? I have spent the last two hours sitting in the freaking library listening to her moan and cry about you! Do I look like I care? No? That’s because I don’t!” Was that a look of satisfaction? Why would he be happy that Buffy was miserable weren’t they supposed to be like a forever love or something?
“I would apologize but I find I don’t really care either.”
There was something different, she noticed it a little last night but tonight it seemed more in your face. Not only in the clothes he was wearing, which were way better than the ones he usually wore, but there was something about his expression too. It was almost like he knew something the rest of them didn’t and he found it amusing that they hadn’t figured it out yet. Her math teacher had that look a lot.
“There’s something different about you. What’s changed? I mean other than your relationship status.”
“Don’t worry you’ll figure it out eventually. Telling would just spoil the surprise. Have a nice night Cordelia.”
Normally she’d respond in kind but there was something about his tone that just gave her the creeps. Instead she just turned and quickly got in her car driving off towards the safety of her home where no vampire could enter at top speed.
When she finally made it inside she felt the knot that had been building in her stomach loosen and finally all the tension in her shoulders went away. She didn’t know why she’d reacted so badly to Angel, it was Angel for god’s sake, but for some reason just being around him made her afraid for her life.
Shrugging it off as an overreaction from living in Sunnydale for so long with the things that go bump in the dark she made her way up to her room. Seeing her door open she tried to remember if she’d closed it that morning or maybe Rosa had put her laundry away and had forgotten to close it behind her when she’d left for the night.
Walking right in she froze in her tracks a scream lodged in her throat. There on her bed was Rosa, her housekeeper, her throat ripped out and blood everywhere. Surrounding the body all over the room were roses that at first glance looked red but she could see specks of white on a few where the blood had dripped away to reveal their original color. On the wall above her bed where the body lay was a message written in blood.
Just my way of thanking her for the invitation
See you soon my vixen
Finally, she couldn’t hold back the scream any longer.
Angelus stood outside of Cordelia’s home and waited. When her scream finally filled the air, he smirked. Step one was complete now on to step two and he was sure that Angel’s help would be required to help with this newest crisis.
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