"Pebbles in My Shoes"
Title: Pebbles in My Shoes
Author: damnskippytoo
Rating: PG
Pairing: Cordelia/Angel
Prompts: Written for aaronlisa for hetfic_minis. Her prompts were moonlight, sword and Sunnydale.
Summary: AU moment set on the evening after the Mayor/big snake fight and the high school going kerplooey.
Word Count: 1,342
Note: Not beta'd as I completely forgot until this afternoon! I'm so sorry if this sucks. No excuse except RL and my naturally forgetful nature. Also, I don't remember if Cordy knew about Angel and Buffy's break up, so excuse the non-canon error if she did.
Pebbles in My Shoes
Cordelia kicked at the small stone that poked through her sole.
"Good one, Cor. Scratch up your last pair of decent shoes on a stupid rock." She sighed and slumped back into the hard oak bench and quickly sat back up straight praying that she hadn't snagged her silk blouse on a splinter.
The road leaving Sunnydale was straight and bathed in halogen light but the other end of it - the part just this side of the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign - curved like a slithering snake into the darkness. She peered down it again and then glanced at her watch - 12:07 a.m. The bus was late.
Her right leg began to shimmy unconsciously as she bit her bottom lip and rubbed the ticket between her palms. She glanced up at the night sky grateful that the moon wasn't yet blanketed by the clouds drifting closer and closer ready to turn her world ink black. One more peek at her watch and then down the empty road once again.
She pulled her Louis Vuitton makeup case onto her lap and hugged it. She had sold the rest of her luggage but she couldn't part with her makeup case. A girl had to have some standards. The rest of her clothes were rolled neatly and stuffed into the large duffel bag under the bench.
Forgetting one of the first rules of life on the hell mouth - when alone at night be very, very quiet - she began to hum softly, the silence more frightening to her at that moment than anything lurking in the dark.
"Cordelia?"
Clasping her heart, she jumped and screamed.
Angel stepped forward from the edge of the shadows.
"Angel? Oh, my, God, don't sneak up on a girl like that. Are you trying to kill me? Don't answer that. I don't want to know."
"Sorry...sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
As she tried to catch her breath she noticed his hand - pale and veined blue - gripping the hilt of his sword again and again like an addict trying to shake off a craving.
The blade glinted silver and red in the moonlight and her eyes followed the red trail down to the tip and watched drops of blood hit the pavement breaking the silence with soft plops.
"I guess I don't need to ask what you've been up to."
He saw her looking at the remains of his latest kill and reached into his coat pocket. Pulling out a rag, he began cleaning the sword. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm waiting for the Easter Parade. Thought I'd start early to get a good seat. What does it look like I'm doing?"
He took a step back wincing at her high pitched voice and put the cloth back in his pocket. "It looks like you're waiting to get killed."
"No, if I wanted to get killed I'd be staying instead of leaving. Hence, the whole me at a bus stop with a ticket out of here." She waved the winkled bit of paper in the air. It obviously had been in a lot better shape before Cordelia worried it from crisp to limp.
"Of course, wouldn't you know it, the one time Cordelia Chase stoops so low as to partake of California's fine public transportation, the darn bus is 20 minutes late. It's like I'm doomed to be stuck in this hellhole for the rest of my very short life."
She watched as Angel scanned the area, gazed up and down the road and then back at her. His forehead scrunched and eyes squinted like a man unable to make a decision. He kind of looked constipated.
"Please, don't strain yourself. Stay or go. I can take care of myself."
His mind apparently made up, he approached her. "I'm sure you can. I know you scare me most of the time."
She scooted over to make room for his bulk as he eased next to her on the bench. "And here I thought you were immune to my charms." She smiled until she felt the chill from his body and shivered. She couldn't remember ever being this close to him before and finally realized why all the long-sleeved clothes in Sunnydale ended up in Buffy's closet.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
"Only since you sat down. I guess there's no cure for that being dead thing, huh?"
Angel pulled his arms tighter into his body, trying to hide as best he could while being totally exposed. "Not really. Except being completely dead."
"Huh. Too bad. I don't mean too bad you're not completely dead because nobody wants that. At least not anymore," she said grinning quickly. "I mean if you weren't just dead, you'd be totally hot and that's in a not-coming-onto you way. Strictly an observation."
"Uh...thanks?"
"Sure, no problem."
Angel looked up and down the road - twice. When there was no bus in sight, he frowned and then began tapping the end of his sword on the sidewalk.
After a minute or so, the noise seemed to irritate him more than the awkward silence so he spoke.
"So, are you going on vacation?"
She laughed. "Uh, no. I take jets on vacation. This is a permanent departure. Me and Sunnyhell are parting company at last. How about you? Out for a refreshing evening of maiming and torture before meeting up with Buffy in some romantic corner of the cemetery?"
He kept his head down as he watched his hands twirling the sword.
"I thought everyone knew. Buffy and I broke up."
"No, I hadn't heard. I'm no longer part of the inner sanctum of the Slay Club. I'm only good enough to be bait and help save the world. Gossip isn't included in the benefits package."
She saw one side of his lips curl up and a glint of teeth in the moonlight.
"Hey! Does that mean you're the Lone Avenger? I can't imagine Xander going behind Buffy's back to patrol with you and Willow? Well, I think she's still scared of you since you..." She made the throat-cutting motion and associated noise, "...her fish."
He sat up and squirmed a bit. "I'm sorry about her fish."
"Oh, please," she nudged his shoulder. "Sure, at the time, there was drama. But now? C'mon! If you can't laugh about some massacred goldfish with everything else going on, you lead a sad, sad life."
"I can't laugh about that time." He said it so seriously that Cordelia almost felt bad about bringing it up.
She sighed. "Fine, feel all guilty about some fish if you want. But I'm looking at it from the flip side. Better a mackerel than me."
She jerked when she heard a snort come from Angel's direction.
"Did you just laugh?"
He tilted his down turned head toward her, a slight grin still in place. "I think I did."
"Well, don't break anything," she replied returning the grin.
They slid into a comfortable silence while their smiles faded. An owl sounded and the breeze picked up rustling the leaves in the copse behind them.
Suddenly, Angel stood scanning the empty streets one more time before turning around to her.
"I'm leaving town and I need to get going to beat the sunrise. It looks like your bus isn't coming soon so..."
"Are you offering me a ride?"
"I guess I am. Where are you heading?"
Cordelia glanced at her ticket to the only place she could afford with her meager savings - Bakersfield - and made her decision. Folding the ticket into her palm, she stood and stuffed it into her pants pocket.
"Los Angeles. How's that sound?" She flashed the smile she knew could convince a drowning man to give her his only flotation device.
Angel pulled his sword up and studied the light twinkling on the blade's edge. It didn't compare to the spark from her smile. He lowered the weapon, picked up her duffel bag and tucked it under his arm.
"Sounds like a plan."
- the end -
Author: damnskippytoo
Rating: PG
Pairing: Cordelia/Angel
Prompts: Written for aaronlisa for hetfic_minis. Her prompts were moonlight, sword and Sunnydale.
Summary: AU moment set on the evening after the Mayor/big snake fight and the high school going kerplooey.
Word Count: 1,342
Note: Not beta'd as I completely forgot until this afternoon! I'm so sorry if this sucks. No excuse except RL and my naturally forgetful nature. Also, I don't remember if Cordy knew about Angel and Buffy's break up, so excuse the non-canon error if she did.
Pebbles in My Shoes
Cordelia kicked at the small stone that poked through her sole.
"Good one, Cor. Scratch up your last pair of decent shoes on a stupid rock." She sighed and slumped back into the hard oak bench and quickly sat back up straight praying that she hadn't snagged her silk blouse on a splinter.
The road leaving Sunnydale was straight and bathed in halogen light but the other end of it - the part just this side of the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign - curved like a slithering snake into the darkness. She peered down it again and then glanced at her watch - 12:07 a.m. The bus was late.
Her right leg began to shimmy unconsciously as she bit her bottom lip and rubbed the ticket between her palms. She glanced up at the night sky grateful that the moon wasn't yet blanketed by the clouds drifting closer and closer ready to turn her world ink black. One more peek at her watch and then down the empty road once again.
She pulled her Louis Vuitton makeup case onto her lap and hugged it. She had sold the rest of her luggage but she couldn't part with her makeup case. A girl had to have some standards. The rest of her clothes were rolled neatly and stuffed into the large duffel bag under the bench.
Forgetting one of the first rules of life on the hell mouth - when alone at night be very, very quiet - she began to hum softly, the silence more frightening to her at that moment than anything lurking in the dark.
"Cordelia?"
Clasping her heart, she jumped and screamed.
Angel stepped forward from the edge of the shadows.
"Angel? Oh, my, God, don't sneak up on a girl like that. Are you trying to kill me? Don't answer that. I don't want to know."
"Sorry...sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
As she tried to catch her breath she noticed his hand - pale and veined blue - gripping the hilt of his sword again and again like an addict trying to shake off a craving.
The blade glinted silver and red in the moonlight and her eyes followed the red trail down to the tip and watched drops of blood hit the pavement breaking the silence with soft plops.
"I guess I don't need to ask what you've been up to."
He saw her looking at the remains of his latest kill and reached into his coat pocket. Pulling out a rag, he began cleaning the sword. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm waiting for the Easter Parade. Thought I'd start early to get a good seat. What does it look like I'm doing?"
He took a step back wincing at her high pitched voice and put the cloth back in his pocket. "It looks like you're waiting to get killed."
"No, if I wanted to get killed I'd be staying instead of leaving. Hence, the whole me at a bus stop with a ticket out of here." She waved the winkled bit of paper in the air. It obviously had been in a lot better shape before Cordelia worried it from crisp to limp.
"Of course, wouldn't you know it, the one time Cordelia Chase stoops so low as to partake of California's fine public transportation, the darn bus is 20 minutes late. It's like I'm doomed to be stuck in this hellhole for the rest of my very short life."
She watched as Angel scanned the area, gazed up and down the road and then back at her. His forehead scrunched and eyes squinted like a man unable to make a decision. He kind of looked constipated.
"Please, don't strain yourself. Stay or go. I can take care of myself."
His mind apparently made up, he approached her. "I'm sure you can. I know you scare me most of the time."
She scooted over to make room for his bulk as he eased next to her on the bench. "And here I thought you were immune to my charms." She smiled until she felt the chill from his body and shivered. She couldn't remember ever being this close to him before and finally realized why all the long-sleeved clothes in Sunnydale ended up in Buffy's closet.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
"Only since you sat down. I guess there's no cure for that being dead thing, huh?"
Angel pulled his arms tighter into his body, trying to hide as best he could while being totally exposed. "Not really. Except being completely dead."
"Huh. Too bad. I don't mean too bad you're not completely dead because nobody wants that. At least not anymore," she said grinning quickly. "I mean if you weren't just dead, you'd be totally hot and that's in a not-coming-onto you way. Strictly an observation."
"Uh...thanks?"
"Sure, no problem."
Angel looked up and down the road - twice. When there was no bus in sight, he frowned and then began tapping the end of his sword on the sidewalk.
After a minute or so, the noise seemed to irritate him more than the awkward silence so he spoke.
"So, are you going on vacation?"
She laughed. "Uh, no. I take jets on vacation. This is a permanent departure. Me and Sunnyhell are parting company at last. How about you? Out for a refreshing evening of maiming and torture before meeting up with Buffy in some romantic corner of the cemetery?"
He kept his head down as he watched his hands twirling the sword.
"I thought everyone knew. Buffy and I broke up."
"No, I hadn't heard. I'm no longer part of the inner sanctum of the Slay Club. I'm only good enough to be bait and help save the world. Gossip isn't included in the benefits package."
She saw one side of his lips curl up and a glint of teeth in the moonlight.
"Hey! Does that mean you're the Lone Avenger? I can't imagine Xander going behind Buffy's back to patrol with you and Willow? Well, I think she's still scared of you since you..." She made the throat-cutting motion and associated noise, "...her fish."
He sat up and squirmed a bit. "I'm sorry about her fish."
"Oh, please," she nudged his shoulder. "Sure, at the time, there was drama. But now? C'mon! If you can't laugh about some massacred goldfish with everything else going on, you lead a sad, sad life."
"I can't laugh about that time." He said it so seriously that Cordelia almost felt bad about bringing it up.
She sighed. "Fine, feel all guilty about some fish if you want. But I'm looking at it from the flip side. Better a mackerel than me."
She jerked when she heard a snort come from Angel's direction.
"Did you just laugh?"
He tilted his down turned head toward her, a slight grin still in place. "I think I did."
"Well, don't break anything," she replied returning the grin.
They slid into a comfortable silence while their smiles faded. An owl sounded and the breeze picked up rustling the leaves in the copse behind them.
Suddenly, Angel stood scanning the empty streets one more time before turning around to her.
"I'm leaving town and I need to get going to beat the sunrise. It looks like your bus isn't coming soon so..."
"Are you offering me a ride?"
"I guess I am. Where are you heading?"
Cordelia glanced at her ticket to the only place she could afford with her meager savings - Bakersfield - and made her decision. Folding the ticket into her palm, she stood and stuffed it into her pants pocket.
"Los Angeles. How's that sound?" She flashed the smile she knew could convince a drowning man to give her his only flotation device.
Angel pulled his sword up and studied the light twinkling on the blade's edge. It didn't compare to the spark from her smile. He lowered the weapon, picked up her duffel bag and tucked it under his arm.
"Sounds like a plan."
- the end -