"No Cordy."
"But Angel ..."
"It's gross. And disgusting. And not to mention unhygienic. I mean ... you just can't."
Cordelia's eyes glittered dangerously in the dimly lit room. "I can't?"
Angel involuntarily retreated a few steps. "Ah ... I meant ... you shouldn't Cordy, it's ... it's not right."
Cordelia stomped her foot on the carpeted floor of her bedroom and pouted. "But I want to."
Angel took one look at his seer across the bed who was now decked out in her sleepwear and sighed. He knew that she won a lot of fights using that luscious pout of hers, but he had to absolutely put his foot down on this one. He'd kill demons for her, sacrifice his own life to save hers, but ... he couldn't allow her to do this.
"It's wrong." He said helplessly.
"I don't care." She retorted. "This is my bed and I'll eat ice cream and potato chips on it if I want to."
"But ... what if it drips onto the bed? And you know, there'll be crumbs. You'd have to clean it ... and I mean, why change the sheets when you don't have to?" He cajoled nervously.
"I don't care Angel." She looked at him, a steely gaze creeping over her face as she climbed into the bed. "Do what you want. You can sleep on the couch outside. Or on the floor. Or whatever."
Angel looked at her haplessly, taking another look at the rather lonely looking couch in Cordelia's living room and sighed. What was a vampire to do?
She looked at him expectantly, depositing a generous spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. She licked the spoon sensually, batting her eye lashes at him. She knew that eventually he would capitulate, and he knew that she knew it. He sighed again. It was interesting to know that no matter how in love you were with a person, there were still certain little annoying details about them that you just had to accept.
"Fine." Angel grumbled as he capitulated. "You know Cordy, I'm making an awful lot of sacrifices here for you. I mean," He looked down at his toned, athletic body, encased in a pair of silk boxers and white tank top. "I'm wearing clothes to bed. Which is ..." He gulped as unwanted images assaulted him, "... necessary for our current situation and all, but do you have any idea how constricting it gets for me? I mean ... it's claustrophobic." He pointed at a newly dropped chip on her bed. "There. That's going to attract roaches and stuff. I've spent too much time living with rats and vermin in sewers to do that again." He took in a slightly agitated breath. "So I'm thinking that the least you could do is make a few sacrifices of your own, you know?" He looked at her expectantly, eyeing the potato chips in her hand.
She gave him a dazzling Queen C smile as she allowed her eyes to roam over the impressive expanse of his body. "Believe me Angel, having you not naked is sacrifice enough for me."
His annoyance gradually dissolved into a smile. Damn Cordelia. She always made him smile, even when he really didn't want to.
Angel sighed. "Fine. Whatever." He plopped himself somewhat ungracefully onto the other side of the bed while Cordelia's curious eyes followed his every movement.
"What?"
"Nothing." She eyed him seductively. She couldn't believe that they were doing this. Angel and her, sharing a bed ... intentionally. Like a normal couple. Wow. Talking about her wildest fantasies coming true. Well, that wasn't exactly true ... her wildest fantasies featured Angel doing all sorts of NC-17 stuff. Which obviously wouldn't be happening here, courtesy of the whole curse deal.
Cordelia suddenly sighed, making Angel frown with insecurity just as he gingerly placed his head on the pillow next to hers.
"What?" He asked again, this time with more urgency. He felt decidedly strange at the moment, in Cordelia's room, in Cordelia's bed, acting for all the world like the normal couple they in fact, weren't. And it wasn't like they were pretending to be anything they weren't. It was just that Angel, after nearly a century of maniacal, pretty much consistent brooding had yet to learn to feel completely at ease in another person's company - even if that company was his beautiful seer.
Angel felt as stiff as a board, unable to relax into easy domesticity. He shifted even more uncomfortably as he caught Cordelia curiously eyeing him in all his discomfort.
"What?" He asked for the third time, defensive irritation colouring his voice. It was bad enough learning to live without brooding as his favourite past time for the last few months, he now also had to learn to relax in close company.
"You okay?" She asked him quietly, surprising him with her gentle inquiry.
"About what?" Now it was his turn to feel puzzled.
She clarified, her intense gaze sinking right to the depths of his soul. "I meant, are you okay about this?" She gestured between the two of them.
"Course I am." Angel said immediately.
"Really." Cordelia's glorious eye brows raised in protest. "Mr. broody boy who hasn't lived with another human being in oh, never feels 'okay' with all this? Really?"
Angel's eyes cast downward. "Okay ... it's a little awkward for me. You know, this is ... I mean, I'm just not used to feeling this ..." he grappled for the right word.
" ... Normal? Homey? Weird?" She finished off for him.
He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it's not like we're actually living together or anything ... but it's ... close, you know?"
She agreed. "Yeah, I'm getting that. I mean we're friends, then we're not, then we're more than friends, and now ... it's like, we're suddenly being all Mad About You, you know?"
Angel looked at her blankly. "Ah ... no."
Cordelia sighed as she tried elaborating. "Like we're suddenly being Mr. and Mrs. Joe Normal. Which we're not, what if the whole vampire and visions and fighting evil in L.A thing." She added as an afterthought. "And also with the 'Mr. and Mrs.' thing."
"Do you think ... it's wrong?" He asked her quietly.
Cordelia leaned against the head board and sighed. "I don't think it's wrong ... I mean, it's not like it's such a big deal. We're still fighting evil. I'm still the proud owner of these insane visions and you're still vampire guy. It's not like we're ever likely to forget that." She frowned before looking back at him hopefully. "It's not wrong to want a little happiness, is it Angel?"
Angel looked back at her earnestly before saying emphatically, "No, it's not wrong Cordy." And it wasn't ... it really wasn't.
Angel was so intent on covertly surveying Cordelia's shiningly radiant face and listening to the increasing crescendo of happiness in his heart that he was caught unprepared when she suddenly flung her tub of ice cream to the side and started earnestly tickling him.
She tickled him, hands flying and flaying all over his muscularly smooth body as she explored it for hidden weaknesses. Angel stared at her incredulously.
"Cordelia ... Cordelia I'm not ticklish."
She ignored him and valiantly explored on, holding him prone in place by sitting on top of him.
Much as Angel appreciated the rather pleasant sensation of Cordelia sitting on top of him, she had to stop. She was actually starting to dig her nails into his flesh now and the sensation was ... well, not that good.
"Cordelia ... stop." She pouted as she let up. "I'm not ticklish."
Cordelia whacked him on the chest as she grumbled. "You vamps are no fun."
He shifted easily as he sat up despite having the weight of Cordelia on his hip. "Cordy it's not a vamp thing, it's a me thing. I've never been ticklish, even when ... even when I was human."
The smile slipped from her face as she observed Angel's likewise disappear. "Bad memories?"
He smiled sadly up at her. "No ... I guess, good ones." She sat back and observed him silently, giving him the space to continue. "Kathy. My sister ... She was always ticklish but I wasn't, so she could never get back at me for it..." Angel pursed his lips and sighed. "Is it okay if we don't ... go into this now?" He looked up at her with a deep, expressive sparkle in his chocolate brown eyes. "I'm still ... there's a lot of things you still don't know about me and ... I'll tell you eventually, it's just that ..."
Cordelia bent down and placed a sweet, gentle kiss on the tip of his nose. "That's okay. You've got a whole lifetime to tell me."
Angel smiled gratefully as he encircled his arms around her frame, feeling her sink into him as he gave her a long, lingering kiss. A whole life time? Did she really mean it?
But all doubt was swept away by her fervent return of his kiss; it deepened and began to smoulder with the intensity and passion she could no longer contain. As she felt him returning that same passion she felt the force of their combined fire breach all restraints and just for an instant - all hell broke loose.
She heard him faintly growl within the deep recesses of their kiss as he clamped her closer to him, his hands running under her loose fitting shirt to her back and hips where they slowly explored every dip and curve of her toned, lithe frame. Cordelia ran her hands almost frantically through his hair before letting them slide possessively over the length of his broad, muscular frame. She broke their kiss only to trail light, sensuous nips along his marble-smooth neck. Cordelia felt lost in a burgeoning sea of emotion as Angel bucked her slightly off him, gaining more leverage for himself as he straightened and dived into the crook of her neck, leaving a tingling trail of hungry kisses. She felt his hands travelling up and up, until ...
He stopped ... and laughed. What the hell?
"Why're you laughing?" Her voice was muffled by his neck. She unwrapped her hands around him and pouted semi-seriously. "What's so funny broody boy?"
"Nothing." Cordelia felt his hands retreat from under her shirt. "Ah ... we should probably stop now." He smiled regretfully as Cordelia continued to stare at him, her expression demanding further explanation.
"It tickled." His angelic face broke into a mischievous grin, something Cordelia had not seen before.
"What?"
"That little nibbling thing you did ... here." His hand pointed to his neck as he continued to grin at her sheepishly.
Cordelia was fascinated. "Really? It tickled?" Her expression changed to one of impish concentration. "What, like this ...?" as she nibbled delicately on the crook of his neck, bringing forth a short burst of giggling from him.
Cordelia couldn't help but laugh at him. Who knew that two hundred and forty-eight year old vampires with souls giggled so outrageously when tickled by their seer?
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