Title: Testing the Waters
Author: Tonya
Disclaimer: My lawyers are advising me to stop referring to myself as the owner of Angel and Cordy’s souls…
Rating: PG
Feedback: “Hello, my name is Tonya, and I am a feedback-aholic.”
Summary: Cordy tests out a theory.
Author’s note: This is actually a sequel to a previous story of mine called “A Little Girl-Talk,” but you don’t have to have read that one to get this one. (Although, I would be highly grateful if you did!) In “Girl Talk”, Cordy tries to clue Fred in to Wes’s feelings for her, and Fred turns the tables on her—implying the same about Angel’s feelings towards Cordy. So, this story takes place the next day. Also, Cordy’s inner thoughts are in italics.
Cordelia walked into the Hyperion to see Angel sitting at the lobby counter, reading the morning’s paper. He looked up at her and smiled as she approached, removing her jacket.
“Morning,” he said.
Cordelia smiled back uneasily in response. “Morning.”
Cordelia made her way to her desk, quietly, as her mind began to replay the conversation she had had with Fred just the night before.
You said it yourself, Cordelia. It’s the way he looks at you…
How about how he will go to any length to save you? I know Angel’s a champion and hero, and that’s his job and all, but he went to a hell dimension and battled a fellow champion of good just to save you.
Fred had claimed that there were signals from Angel. Cordelia almost had to keep herself from laughing. Angel didn’t have any signals directed towards her. She was Angel’s business partner and best friend. Angel didn’t think about her that way. He didn’t think about anyone that way but Buffy, and she was no Buffy.
Cordelia scoffed to herself as she removed her jacket and laid it on her desk. She silently cursed Fred for making her actually think about anything remotely romantic happening between her and Angel. Leave it to Fred to take some innocent conversation about Wes’s feelings towards the girl and twist it into something about Angel. Is it always about Angel with her?
“What?” Angel asked, bringing Cordelia from her thoughts.
He turned on the stool to face her as Cordelia looked up at him, slightly shocked by his question. “What?” she simply repeated.
“You said something to me, didn’t you?” he replied, folding up the section of the paper he was holding.
Dear God, I was talking out loud. Smart, Cordy. Real smart.
“No, no,” Cordelia tried to cover, “I was just mumbling to myself about the traffic this morning on my way to work.”
Angel raised a curious eyebrow at her as he replied, “Cordy, you walk to work.”
It just keeps getting better.
“Yeah, I know that,” Cordelia replied with a slight laugh as she settled down into her chair. “But I was watching the traffic, and it looked bad, you know.”
Angel studied her for a moment as she turned on her laptop upon her desk. “Are you okay?” he finally asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” she replied, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.
Angel shrugged, a slight smile on his face. “I don’t know. You just seem… a little off today. I guess you and Fred had a pretty eventful night, huh?”
Cordelia’s eyes grew wide as she turned quickly in the chair to face him. “What was that?”
“Fred told me that you guys had a little girl’s night in, I suppose.”
Oh, she is SO dead. I am going to kill her! No, I’m going to kill her, reanimate her, and THEN kill her again! So dead.
Cordelia nonchalantly sat back in her chair, crossing her legs, as she asked, “She didn’t happen to mention anything else, did she?”
“Like what?”
“Like what we talked about?”
Angel shook his head slightly in response. “No, she said it was just girl talk, and I would be completely bored with it.”
Okay, I won’t kill her just yet.
“And you would have,” Cordelia replied with a sigh of relief. “Totally would have been bored out of your mind. Completely.”
Angel nodded in response, a slight smirk on his face as he grabbed another section of the paper. Cordelia returned her attention to the computer as she and Angel sat in silence.
I need to clam down. I’m freaking out here. I can’t believe I’ve let something that Fred said dig at me. What the hell is wrong with me? Angel probably thinks I’m on drugs right now.
Cordelia looked out the corner of her eye at Angel. Even though he appeared to be reading the paper, Cordelia could see his eyes slightly focused on her over the edge of the paper even as she focused on him. She turned her eyes back to the computer screen.
Of course he’s staring at me. Why wouldn’t he be? I’d be staring at me too if I came into work acting like a complete mental case. He’s not looking at me because he’s in love with me. Fred is completely wrong. Angel isn’t in love with me. He can’t be in love with me. I mean, the whole curse thing and the homicidal tendencies that follow. I’ve said it myself—Angel is a no-bone... But maybe the curse doesn’t always apply. Maybe it was just Buffy that set the trigger. In that case… No! No, I am not thinking about this. I am not trying to find some loophole with the whole sex with Angel thing. No. God, I hate you, Fred.
“So, do you want to train today?” Angel asked, closing up his new section of the paper.
Cordelia looked from her computer and at him, raising an eyebrow in response. “Do you want to train today?”
“I kinda asked you first.”
“Yes, but…” Cordelia fell silent as her mind went blank on excuses. “But do you want to train today?” she repeated, leaning forward in her chair.
Angel stared at her for a moment, not sure what was going on. “Well, I was thinking about showing you some new hand-to-hand combat maneuvers. That is if you’re up to it.”
“Hand to hand, huh?” Cordelia asked with a slight nod. “Kind of physical, don’t you think? Lot of body contact?”
“Yeah,” Angel replied slowly. “That would kind of be the point of hand-to-hand combat, Cordelia.”
Cordelia threw her hands up defensively as she replied, “I was just making an observation. That’s all.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Angel asked, studying her a little longer.
“I’m great!” Cordelia said with a perky smile.
“So, are you up for it?”
“Actually,” Cordelia replied, standing. “I was thinking I would do some more research on that one case that Wesley gave us that one time. I’ll just go get that demonology book.”
“Okay,” Angel mumbled as he watched his seer make a beeline for the bookcase.
Cordelia frowned at the bookcase as she realized the book she had made reference to was on the top shelf. Of course, there was no case, but she needed that book in order to keep the lie going. She looked around quickly for the footstool, and her frown only deepened as she realized it was missing. She sighed to herself as she stood on her tiptoes to reach the large book.
She had just put a finger underneath the bottom edge of the book’s backbone when a familiar hand brushed hers. She instantly knew it was Angel. From the cool, soft touch of his hand to the sweet smell of his hair gel. It was definitely Angel.
He pulled the book down for her, and Cordelia turned to face him. Even though he was completely invading her personal bubble, Cordelia didn’t even care anymore. She was too busy feeling her pulse begin to race as he stood before her. He handed her the book with a smile.
God, I hate you, Fred.
Cordelia smiled back as she took the book, holding it tightly to her chest.
“Thanks,” she replied after a moment of them staring at each other.
“You’re welcome,” he replied softly.
Oh, God, I think I’m blushing. This is SO not the time to blush. I really REALLY hate you, Fred.
Cordelia smiled daintily and eased her way out from between Angel and the bookcase. She took a deep breath as she sat back down at her desk.
Angel leaned against the bookcase, watching Cordelia as she intently focused on her book. Something was up, but he didn’t know what. He knew for a fact that there wasn’t some case that Wes had assigned that one time. Cordelia was covering up something, but what? She had been acting even shiftier ever since he mentioned her conversation with Fred the night before. What had they talked about?
He had never seen Cordelia act so weird. She had even blushed. The Cordelia Chase he knew did not blush. He hadn’t seen any woman act so fidgety around him since his first meetings with Buffy, but that was only because she had had a crush on him…
“No way,” Angel mumbled aloud as he came to a realization.
Cordelia looked over her shoulder at him as she asked, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Angel replied quickly, standing up straight. “I was just… nothing.”
Cordelia nodded slightly and turned back to her book. Angel looked around the lobby anxiously for a moment.
All he could hear in the back of his head was an earlier conversation he had had with Fred about him and Cordelia, her kyerumption theory: There’s nothing going on but Moira—the gut physical attraction between two larger than life souls.
Leave it to Fred to make things complicated between him and Cordelia. I hate you, Fred, Angel thought to himself as a smile formed at the corners of his mouth as he watched his beautiful seer.