Wolfram & Hart was averagely busy for a rather unremarkable morning. No huge crisis had descended upon Los Angeles in the middle of the night. No important clients were caugt accidentally in some scrupulous act that found the authorities dogging them. In fact, it had certainly been at least twenty-four hours since any unwanted demons had appeared in the city. Humans, demons, and undead alike bustled up and down the stairs, through doors, and in and out of offices. Most of the people in the intimidating building wore suits, but a few of them wore the traditional clothes of their dimension.
Traditional clothes of the dimension were something Cordelia would always be about, regardless of the years she'd spent in L.A. cultivating a very intense and meaningful existence. That day she wore a very chic pinstripe skirt suit with black heels that clicked on the smooth marble floors in some of the halls and lobby areas.
Usually she was rarely down to the fist level, but today had her craving a really good bagel with creamcheese and she really didn't want to rely on someone she didn't know to fetch her food. Cordelia stuck by her friends and their decision and stayed with the law firm, despite how uneasy it made. So sometimes, like now, she ended up having to do extra work to ensure peace of mind. She'd tried to find Fred in the lame to drag her outside away from work for a few hours, but to no avail. A little note was left on the clipboard with:
"I'll grab you something too, since I couldn't find you :) - Cordy"
A ping sounded lowly and the elevator doors opened to the impressive first floor lobby of the city's incredibly powerful firm. A few people exited with her, a few got on, and a few more simply remained on. L was not the lowest that the elevator went by far. Dark eyes glanced over those coming in and out and then Cordelia frowned.
No, surely her mind was playing tricks on her. Since the coma, Cordelia found herself with frustrating lapses in memory. But there was no possible way that she'd mistake Buffy Summers for any other blonde on the planet. "Buffy?" she called over the din, a hesitant smile on her face. If she had just yelled the name of the world's most infamous slayer at some other being in this place...
Buffy heard an oddly familiar voice. One she had not heard in who knew how long. She turned toward the direction the voice came from to see Cordelia, dressed very fashionably and professionally. She glanced down at her own pathetic attire, feeling almost ashamed of her skinny jeans and lacy white button-up shirt. She bit her lip nervously as she glanced around the place. A few demons seemed to be taking more notice of her since Cordelia had called out her name. S
She felt so out of sorts in a place like this and strangely enough, Cordelia looked as though she actually belonged amongst the lawyerey people. Maybe not the demons, but the humans definitely.
"Cordelia?" she asked astonishedly as she fully took in the sight and actually comprehended it. After everything that had happened she still had a 'Fire bad, tree pretty' mindset. "You look...." her mind searched for the right words, "Very professional." And she failed miserably.
"Wow," she corrected herself, "I mean, you, everything is just very wow." She attempted a smile as she looked around hesitantly.
Cordelia was incredibly relieved to find she wasn't just confusing memories or a vision with reality and showed on her face. Her lips spread into a broad smile and she confidentally pushed through the crowd of people so they didn't have to yell too much. All Buffy's stammering was actually eerily familiar, since she certainly felt the same way when she awoke and found everyone she knew employed by Wolfram & Hart.
"Haha, don't worry. I hate it too," she said lowly, gesturing around. At heart Cordelia was certain that they were working ultimately for good, but the law firm just made her feel incredibly uncomfortable a lot.
"So ah... what are you doing here? Last anyone had heard, you were in Italy? I think." The woman frowned as she seemed to mull over what she had said a moment. "Well anyway, long time no see and all that! You probably don't want to hash out life and business after just getting here."
"Hate it? Well, what is here?" Buffy asked generally curious as she surveyed the crowded room once more. She assumed it was probably a lawfirm considering the conversations she was overhearing, but at the same time, why the hell were there demons and vampires everywhere?
She nodded to Cordelia's statement, "Oh, Italy, right. Well, I got Dawn all settled in there and some of the other newbie slayers, but I..." she trailed off. She didn't really have a good excuse for leaving Italy. "It was a little boring. I guess Colesseums aren't really my thing," she shrugged her shoulders slightly.
She glanced around slightly, searching for the one non-human face she wanted to see. Not that seeing Cordelia wasn't a relief in all of this insanity, but she had a purpose for coming here. "And actually, I came to talk to Angel about some cookie-related things," she knew her statement made no sense to anyone but herself or Angel, but that was the only way she knew how to put it.
Angel left his office after his meeting, he put on a fake smile with the demon he just made a deal with and said "we'll keep in touch." The shook hands, luckily this demon did have hands and he ushered him out. As soon as the demon was out of sight Angel placed his fingers to his temple and took an unnecessary breath.
A familiar voice came from down the hall. The slayer. She had to be here...now. Just his luck she was talking to Cordy about how much this firm isn't their cup of tea....wait a minute cookies... Angel looked up and walked over to the girls.
"Buffy" His voice sounded slightly up lifted as he saw the blonde haired girl "you're here..." He paused a while as he looked at her. His thoughts snapped when he saw the other girl "Hey Cordy...you mind if I steal Buffy from you..." He gave a weak smile. The two girls, past lover relations, this was going to be difficult.
Cordelia had yet to approach Angel about their meeting that was never had long ago. Part of her was unsure if she remembered that night correctly, and another part still felt uneasy with all the changes she awoke to. So, she didn't have it in the cards to try and make Angel's life more complicated than it needed to be. When he approached and seemed to be amazed that Buffy was there, Cordelia grinned. "She's been here looking shocked for fifteen minutes. I think your radar is broken Angel."
And to the request, she was willing to comply without a question. "Not a problem. You kids go talk about cookies or whatever. I'm definitely hoping for a bagel anyways," she said breezily.
A smile was offered to the pair. There would be more time to talk, provided another apolocalypse didn't descend upon them, when she got back.
Buffy's mouth parted at the sound of Angel's voice and she looked over to take in the full sight of him. "Angel," she said simply.
She smiled nervously to Cordelia. She had no idea what was going on, but could tell something was up between them. Or had been up. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind before completely focusing on Angel.
She watched Cordelia leave before looking at Angel again. "Wow, um, nice place you got here. It's very--corporatey." She glanced around curiously, mostly to give herself time to search for the right words.
"So, uh, how've you been? You've got a nice gig here it seems."
"Yeah its a law firm" He closed the file he held in his hand and then mentally hit himself for being so blunt. "I've been alright...survivng...hey you want to talk in my office?" He pointed over to his door and led her over there.Once inside he moved to take a seat at his chair.
He felt very nervous suddenly and didn't know exactly what he wanted to say. "So uh, How was Rome? Did your flight just get in or been here a few days?"
'Law firm?' Buffy thought to herself with a slightly raised eyebrow. 'Since when has he ever been interested in anything lawyer-related.'
"Sure," she replied before she was quickly ushered out of the bustling crowd of demons and lawyers and into Angel's office. Her mouth dropped open slightly at the size. "Holy crap, this is, like, the size of my house."
She shook her head, looking back to Angel as he addressed her. "Oh, Rome! Right. Rome was all right. I got Dawn settled in to school there. But, Europe isn't really my style. The only European thing I ever really liked was Giles. B-but, not in a creepy way, you know what I mean. Anyway, I put Andrew in charge of the Slayers, alongside Giles. He's this nerd we fought a year ago, who was kind of evil, but he sorta became a scoobie this past year--" She stopped herself, realizing she was rambling and had said everything in one long, nervous breath.
She cleared her throat before smiling politely, "Yeah, it got in today and I took the bus here. And well, here I am."
"Oh you know...head of the company they really give me to much stuff..." He bruhsed the back of his hair with his hand as he began to blush a little.
"Yeah Europe really is for the...erh...snobish..." He cleared his throat "but its good you got Dawn going to school there...they have very fine educational facilities."
He walked over to pour some coffee "you want some coffee, tea, water?" He nervously poured himself a drink and took a long sip. "Good that you are here...here is a nice place...well not right here but you know this continent..."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Buffy replied quickly. "Dawn wasn't too happy with me going back here, but she'll live. And it's not like Rome is on a Hellmouth or something, so she should be safer than she was in Sunnydale." She looked slightly sad for a moment as she remembered Sunnydale. Sure, it was demon infested and one of the most dangerous places for anyone to live, but seven years worth of her memories--good and bad--were in Sunnydale. And now that it was a giant crater, she couldn't help but miss it and feel a teeny bit nostalgic.
Angel moving over to the coffee brought her back to reality, "You drink coffee now?" She looked as though she was biting back a giggle. Why did vampires even bother to drink anything else or eat anything else? She shrugged her shoulders idly, then answered his question, "Oh, no, I'm fine. Nothing for me. Never really been a coffee gal."
"I try not to drink a lot but sometimes its just gives me enough energy to finish out the day" He set it down on his desk and leaned back in his chair. He just stared at Buffy and looked at how much she changed since the last time he really looked at her. She had really grown up, even though she was forced into adult hood she finally adjusted.
"So...did you come down here to see the old town or..." He knew she came to see him but didn't want to say it.
Buffy stared back at Angel, almost blankly. Their last conversation had been pretty good, minus Angel and his jealousness, but that wasn't really an issue anymore.
"Oh, no, I'm not really a fan of L.A., no offense," she said with a slight shrug. "Actually, I came here to...see you," she said, knowing he already knew the answer. "I felt like, after everything that happened in Sunnydale, I should come here and....see how you're doing, I guess." She knew it was a lame excuse, but she didn't really know how to explain everything she was feeling. She honestly hadn't truly faced her feelings since she left crater that was Sunnydale.
"Well looks like the second front wasn't needed after all" he said remembering their previous conversation. "But I'm doing well..." He leaned back in his chair and set down his drink.
"So lets talk about cookies...I mean erh us" He sat up and looked her in the eyes
"Cookies and us, right," Buffy took in a deep breath. Her fingers were nervously playing with the hem of her shirt. "Angel, I...I don't know about the cookie thing. I think my oven is still on high," she arched an eyebrow. She really needed to stop with the cookie metaphor, but it seemed to work pretty well.
She let out a sigh, "This whole apocalypse thing was...a lot rougher than the others. We, just, we lost so many people...and I'm still dealing with it, you know." She looked downward so she couldn't see his expression before she spoke, "I-I lost someone very important to me...and as much as I'm trying not to think about it, I can't get this person out of my mind." She knew Angel knew who she was talking about without saying his name, but everything she said was true. She still hadn't dealt with Spike's death, or rather, his dustyness. She had nightmares about it every night, not that she would tell him, of course. But, he had to have known something was going on between her and Spike since he could smell Spike on her the last time they spoke back in Sunnydale.
He was concerned he knew that she had been through a lot, but the thought to bring up Spike...he wasn't sure how to do it. Should he tell her? Should he let their relationship continue because he's her new Champion. He wanted to be jealous and keep her but not in her current state. She was hurting and he couldn't let that continue.
"I hate to see you when you're like this...but as much as it pains me to say it...Spike isn't dead" Angel sighed and walked over to her and touched her chin to look into his eyes "that pain in the ass works for me..." a weak smile came across his face as he went to the door. "You want to go and find him?"
Traditional clothes of the dimension were something Cordelia would always be about, regardless of the years she'd spent in L.A. cultivating a very intense and meaningful existence. That day she wore a very chic pinstripe skirt suit with black heels that clicked on the smooth marble floors in some of the halls and lobby areas.
Usually she was rarely down to the fist level, but today had her craving a really good bagel with creamcheese and she really didn't want to rely on someone she didn't know to fetch her food. Cordelia stuck by her friends and their decision and stayed with the law firm, despite how uneasy it made. So sometimes, like now, she ended up having to do extra work to ensure peace of mind. She'd tried to find Fred in the lame to drag her outside away from work for a few hours, but to no avail. A little note was left on the clipboard with:
"I'll grab you something too, since I couldn't find you :)
- Cordy"
A ping sounded lowly and the elevator doors opened to the impressive first floor lobby of the city's incredibly powerful firm. A few people exited with her, a few got on, and a few more simply remained on. L was not the lowest that the elevator went by far. Dark eyes glanced over those coming in and out and then Cordelia frowned.
No, surely her mind was playing tricks on her. Since the coma, Cordelia found herself with frustrating lapses in memory. But there was no possible way that she'd mistake Buffy Summers for any other blonde on the planet. "Buffy?" she called over the din, a hesitant smile on her face. If she had just yelled the name of the world's most infamous slayer at some other being in this place...
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She felt so out of sorts in a place like this and strangely enough, Cordelia looked as though she actually belonged amongst the lawyerey people. Maybe not the demons, but the humans definitely.
"Cordelia?" she asked astonishedly as she fully took in the sight and actually comprehended it. After everything that had happened she still had a 'Fire bad, tree pretty' mindset. "You look...." her mind searched for the right words, "Very professional." And she failed miserably.
"Wow," she corrected herself, "I mean, you, everything is just very wow." She attempted a smile as she looked around hesitantly.
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"Haha, don't worry. I hate it too," she said lowly, gesturing around. At heart Cordelia was certain that they were working ultimately for good, but the law firm just made her feel incredibly uncomfortable a lot.
"So ah... what are you doing here? Last anyone had heard, you were in Italy? I think." The woman frowned as she seemed to mull over what she had said a moment. "Well anyway, long time no see and all that! You probably don't want to hash out life and business after just getting here."
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She nodded to Cordelia's statement, "Oh, Italy, right. Well, I got Dawn all settled in there and some of the other newbie slayers, but I..." she trailed off. She didn't really have a good excuse for leaving Italy. "It was a little boring. I guess Colesseums aren't really my thing," she shrugged her shoulders slightly.
She glanced around slightly, searching for the one non-human face she wanted to see. Not that seeing Cordelia wasn't a relief in all of this insanity, but she had a purpose for coming here. "And actually, I came to talk to Angel about some cookie-related things," she knew her statement made no sense to anyone but herself or Angel, but that was the only way she knew how to put it.
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A familiar voice came from down the hall. The slayer. She had to be here...now. Just his luck she was talking to Cordy about how much this firm isn't their cup of tea....wait a minute cookies... Angel looked up and walked over to the girls.
"Buffy" His voice sounded slightly up lifted as he saw the blonde haired girl "you're here..." He paused a while as he looked at her. His thoughts snapped when he saw the other girl "Hey Cordy...you mind if I steal Buffy from you..." He gave a weak smile. The two girls, past lover relations, this was going to be difficult.
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And to the request, she was willing to comply without a question. "Not a problem. You kids go talk about cookies or whatever. I'm definitely hoping for a bagel anyways," she said breezily.
A smile was offered to the pair. There would be more time to talk, provided another apolocalypse didn't descend upon them, when she got back.
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She smiled nervously to Cordelia. She had no idea what was going on, but could tell something was up between them. Or had been up. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind before completely focusing on Angel.
She watched Cordelia leave before looking at Angel again. "Wow, um, nice place you got here. It's very--corporatey." She glanced around curiously, mostly to give herself time to search for the right words.
"So, uh, how've you been? You've got a nice gig here it seems."
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He felt very nervous suddenly and didn't know exactly what he wanted to say. "So uh, How was Rome? Did your flight just get in or been here a few days?"
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"Sure," she replied before she was quickly ushered out of the bustling crowd of demons and lawyers and into Angel's office. Her mouth dropped open slightly at the size. "Holy crap, this is, like, the size of my house."
She shook her head, looking back to Angel as he addressed her. "Oh, Rome! Right. Rome was all right. I got Dawn settled in to school there. But, Europe isn't really my style. The only European thing I ever really liked was Giles. B-but, not in a creepy way, you know what I mean. Anyway, I put Andrew in charge of the Slayers, alongside Giles. He's this nerd we fought a year ago, who was kind of evil, but he sorta became a scoobie this past year--" She stopped herself, realizing she was rambling and had said everything in one long, nervous breath.
She cleared her throat before smiling politely, "Yeah, it got in today and I took the bus here. And well, here I am."
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"Yeah Europe really is for the...erh...snobish..." He cleared his throat "but its good you got Dawn going to school there...they have very fine educational facilities."
He walked over to pour some coffee "you want some coffee, tea, water?" He nervously poured himself a drink and took a long sip. "Good that you are here...here is a nice place...well not right here but you know this continent..."
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Angel moving over to the coffee brought her back to reality, "You drink coffee now?" She looked as though she was biting back a giggle. Why did vampires even bother to drink anything else or eat anything else? She shrugged her shoulders idly, then answered his question, "Oh, no, I'm fine. Nothing for me. Never really been a coffee gal."
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"So...did you come down here to see the old town or..." He knew she came to see him but didn't want to say it.
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"Oh, no, I'm not really a fan of L.A., no offense," she said with a slight shrug. "Actually, I came here to...see you," she said, knowing he already knew the answer. "I felt like, after everything that happened in Sunnydale, I should come here and....see how you're doing, I guess." She knew it was a lame excuse, but she didn't really know how to explain everything she was feeling. She honestly hadn't truly faced her feelings since she left crater that was Sunnydale.
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"So lets talk about cookies...I mean erh us" He sat up and looked her in the eyes
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She let out a sigh, "This whole apocalypse thing was...a lot rougher than the others. We, just, we lost so many people...and I'm still dealing with it, you know." She looked downward so she couldn't see his expression before she spoke, "I-I lost someone very important to me...and as much as I'm trying not to think about it, I can't get this person out of my mind." She knew Angel knew who she was talking about without saying his name, but everything she said was true. She still hadn't dealt with Spike's death, or rather, his dustyness. She had nightmares about it every night, not that she would tell him, of course. But, he had to have known something was going on between her and Spike since he could smell Spike on her the last time they spoke back in Sunnydale.
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"I hate to see you when you're like this...but as much as it pains me to say it...Spike isn't dead" Angel sighed and walked over to her and touched her chin to look into his eyes "that pain in the ass works for me..." a weak smile came across his face as he went to the door. "You want to go and find him?"
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