Go TeamC/A
Title: Payback, Angel Style
Author: Cordelia's Destiny
Posted: /04
Rating: R
Category: Fluffy Angst? Angsty Fluff? I don't know how to categorize it.
Content: C/A, X/Anya
Summary: Cordelia makes a request of Angel, and he agrees with a condition of his own.
Spoilers: AtS, Season 3, BTVS Season 6
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: I don't care where, just let me know.
Notes: No Connor; Visions are painful but not deadly; "Epiphany" anchored his soul.
Before you read anything, know that this story's had a major overhaul. It started out as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" type of thing, but that fell by the wayside when I wasn't able to conjure up an ending. But my muse is back now (yea!!) and so here it is, new and improved.
Feedback: Yes, Please! It keeps me motivated even through the worst of times.
Prologue"Oh, c'mon, Angel, please? Please? Pretty please?"
Cordelia's beautiful hazel eyes threatened to mesmerize Angel as they shone with her excitement. Literally bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, she was so excited her energy couldn't be contained.
All Angel wanted to do was smile at her and agree to anything, but losing his tenuous control around Cordelia would be disastrous. She could practically push him over with a feather as it was. Angel didn't need any more excuses to give in to her.
Cordy was oblivious to his inner dilemma, still waiting with sparkling eyes and a cheeky grin that tugged at his un-beating heart.
Sighing long-sufferingly, Angel closed his eyes and shook his head. "Cordelia, I don't want to."
"Angel!" She looked shocked, hurt even, that he'd said that. "Please? When was the last time I asked you for something? Anything?"
Angel's raised eyebrows betrayed his disbelief.
She frowned when she realized what she'd just said. "Okay, so don't answer that. Silly question. But I really, really need you to do this. You're my only hope!"
"What about Wesley? Can't you get him to do it?" Angel asked hopefully.
"Wesley?" She looked at him askance like he'd lost his marbles. "Um, no. No way. Wesley wouldn't work for this at all. Nobody'd believe him." Waving a hand in his face preemptively, she added, "And before you say anything, Gunn's busy. I already tried him."
"You asked Gunn before you asked me?" The question came out before Angel could take it back. He didn't want to do this in the first place; why did he care if she asked Gunn first?
She looked at him strangely again. "Yeah. And Fred's a girl. Can't do it with another girl." Her looked turned thoughtful. "Well, I can, but I just . . . no." Her face scrunched up. "That wouldn't be in the neighborhood of normal for me. Eww."
A grunt escaped Angel as he shook his head and stared at her, his arms crossed.
Cordy tried to stare him down, but her impatience finally won out. In a gesture of exasperation, she threw up her hands. "Please, Angel! I promise, I'll never ask for anything again. Honest! Cross my heart and hope to die!"
He couldn't help but smile. "That serious, huh?"
"Angel! Pay attention!" Marching up to him, she crossed her arms over her chest and stood up to her full height, as if that would intimidate him. "Yes or no?" She stepped closer to him, nose to nose.
Not to be out done, Angel said nothing, his dark eyes boring into hers.
"Yes or no?" she hissed, eyes flashing.
He sighed again. Why fight the inevitable? "Fine. I'll do it. But on one condition."
"Thank you thank you thank you!!!!" she squealed, jumping and throwing her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek and squeezing him so hard it would've cracked the bones of a mortal.
Once he'd managed to disengage her from his neck, he held her shoulders and made meaningful eye contact.
"One condition, Cordelia," he said again.
"Okay, what?" she said, beaming, not really caring what he was going to say.
"You owe me, Cordy. I'm going to cash in this favor, and you're going to pay me back. In full. And I guarantee you, it will be something you don't want to do. Do you promise to pay me back?"
"Yeah, okay, whatever!!" she said, shrugging him off. Squealing again, she bounded away, throwing her last comment over her shoulder. "This is going to be the best cruise EVER!"
Her footsteps echoed around the corner before Angel picked his jaw up off the floor.
"Cruise?!?" He shouted after her. "Cordy, you just said a vacation! I can't go on a cruise!"
"Too late now, Angel! You're mine!" she called back, her disembodied voice echoing from her desk.
Angel sighed, shaking his head. Taking stock of the situation, he remembered the one bright spot in this craziness and a slow smile spread across his face. Cordelia owed him. Normally, he wouldn't go anywhere near what she was asking of him. At the thought of being locked away in a tiny, airless room below decks while she partied it up in the sunshine, Angel shuddered.
She was going to pay dearly for this.
Part 1"Okay, Angel, these are the rules."
They were standing in the lobby the day before they were to set sail. Cordelia had dragged Angel away from his weapon's practice, so he wasn't too happy already, and here she was, making demands of him right off the bat.
"Rules? Aren't I doing you a favor just by going with you, Cordelia?" Angel's face was a disbelieving contortion of arched eyebrows and a furrowed forehead. "I think you're pushing it a little."
"Tough luck," she said, grinning up at him. "You agreed, fair and square, even demanded your little payback, and you're going to do this my way. That, or I'll leave you in the cabin all by your lonesome while I lay out by the pool in my itty bitty bikini and flirt with the lifeguards."
Angel gulped at the image that flashed before his eyes. Cordy. Itty Bitty Bikini. Since when had the idea of viewing so much of Cordelia's skin become so enticing?
He cleared his throat and pushed the frown firmly back on his face. "Okay, fine. What rules are we talking about here?"
She was all business. "You'd better sit down."
"I'm fine, Cor." He was leaned up against the counter in the lobby, black button-up shirt and black chinos. Shiny shoes gleamed in the low lights, his hair spiky and tousled.
She was momentarily distracted by the rugged picture he made. Salty Goodness, most definitely. Too bad he was hands-off to her.
"Well, I'm sitting," she said, feeling somewhat dizzy. Why did he have to be so good-looking? It interfered with her workplace efficiency. Damn him!
Snuggling back into the couch, she crossed her legs and opened her Cruise Notebook. No harm in being organized for something as important as this. Quickly, she flipped to the "Game Plan" tab and began to review her notes.
"Okay. Here's the deal." Her eyes raised to his face. A frown replaced her smile when she saw that his eyes were slightly glazed, fixed on her golden calf, bobbing as she kept a rhythm that calmed her excited jitters.
She snapped her fingers loudly and his eyes whipped up to hers. "Pay attention, Angel! This is important!"
"Yeah, okay," he said, clearing his throat and trying to concentrate. Maybe he should outlaw miniskirts in the workplace.
"Now, it wouldn't be my first choice, since I prefer tropical destinations, but our cruise is actually going to Alaska. It's the last cruise of the season, and it will get dark early most of the time when we get there," she added for his benefit.
He nodded approvingly. The last thing he wanted was to be cooped up in a stateroom while Cordelia meandered sunny beaches without him.
"This is a couples-only cruise, one that caters to newlyweds and in-love couples who want to spice up their love lives a little bit."
He frowned at that and shifted uncomfortably against the counter.
"But we don't' have to do any of the really coupley stuff," she reassured him with a sweet smile. It turned to a disgusted grimace as she reviewed the ship's brochure. "They have some really kinky workshops, like 'The Delights of Kama Sutra' and 'Tantric Sex for Beginners' and 'Amateur Home Video 101', but I think we should steer clear of that."
He gulped again, images of naked, sweaty sauna sessions and partnered massages popping into his brain. "Uh, yeah. That would be a good idea, I think."
"Yeah, I think so, too." She pulled her collar away from her neck, suddenly aware of the thick tension in the room. Was it hot in here?
"Since we're just pretending."
God, was her heart racing?
"Ahem, well . . ." Cordelia said with a shaky laugh. "There's lots of other things to do. Dance classes, massage therapy, spas, parties, and of course, all-you-can-eat buffets."
"Speaking of eating. . ." Angel said, realizing he'd have to figure out how to smuggle his liquid diet on board.
"Oh, that's no problem." Cordelia waved him away with an airy hand. "I already called ahead and said we had to have a fridge and microwave in our room because you're on a special protein-shake diet. They're totally into that stuff anyway. No problem."
"Good." Angel sounded relieved.
"So, anyway, back to the rules." She perused her notes again. "It sounds like everyone will be out really late and getting up late, so nobody will blink an eye if we don't leave the stateroom until late afternoon."
"So, what, they'll think we've been making hot monkey love all day?" He asked, his face pure innocence.
Hot monkey love? Her Angel just didn't say things like that. Her face was a shocked blankness, she blinked owlishly at him before continuing.
"So we have to be a couple. Like kiss and stuff, just so we can convince them. They were really insistent about this when I was setting it up. They said that we had to be a couple, had to be together, and sleeping together, or they wouldn't let us on board. Said it would mess up the atmosphere or whatever."
Angel just raised his eyebrows at this.
"Basically, I just want you to act like you can't take your eyes off me, act like you love me. You know, that kind of thing, okay?"
She smiled brightly at him again and he couldn't help but grin back. The only problem was that his grin was accompanied by a mischievous twinkle in the depths of his brown eyes, and it made Cordelia's own eyes widen, then dart away nervously.
Oh, crap. It was so unnerving when he got like that. Like a hint of Angelus popping out, all wriggly eyebrows, tight leather pants and half-unbuttoned shirt to say, "Hey, baby, what're YOU doin'?"
"So that's it? All I have to do is touch you and kiss you, fawn all over you like you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen?" Angel summed up.
"Yeah, exactly," she nodded, pleased that he got the picture.
He sighed resignedly, tucking his humor away so that she saw no hint of it behind his eyes.
"Iguess I can do that," he said dejectedly, shaking his head and looking down at the floor. "If I have to."
"Well, I wouldn't want you to strain yourself or anything," Cordelia said scathingly. Geez, like it would be such a freakin' burden to pretend he thought she was breathtaking.
"What?" he asked, the picture of innocence. "I can pretend I think you're beautiful. No problem!"
"I am beautiful!" she huffed, her nose scrunched up in irritation.
He shook his head at her again, giving her a pitying look. "Really, Cor, you should watch that vanity thing. It isn't good to think so highly of yourself. Makes you sound like a snob."
"Shut up, Angel!"
"Geez, what did I do?" he put on his best hurt look.
"You're yanking my chain, that's what you're doing! Knock it off!" she glowered at him, crossing her arms.
He just smirked at her. "Anything else I should know, honey?"
"No," she said, still frowning. "I think that's it. We fly out of LAX tomorrow night at 8 p.m., land in Seattle and take the ship from there. We can board anywhere from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. day after tomorrow, and its supposed to rain so we shouldn't have any trouble with sun or anything."
"Sounds good," he said. "I'll be ready."
"You'd better be," she said under her breath, then turned to walk back to her desk.
"Oh, Cordy?" Angel said lightly, causing her to turn back to him before she disappeared.
"I'll be collecting that payback sometime on this cruise, just so you know," he said, a cheeky grin on his face, the twinkle back, sparkling like a diamond in his eye.
She cleared her throat, suddenly nervous. "Sure, whatever, Angel," she said, then scurried out of the room.
He smiled evilly after her, unable to tamp down the joy his demon was feeling at this very moment. The idea of having Cordelia completely under his control was a heady feeling. Oh, he had so many great options as to how he would make her pay for the hell this cruise was sure to be.
This was going to be so much damn fun!Seattle, Washington
Docking Pier of the ship Paradise
Eros Cruise Lines
2 p.m.
The ship loomed in front of them, a gleaming pearl in spite of the dreary, overcast weather. Looking up at the sky, Angel noted the tightly packed blanket of clouds and was thankful for the ability to be outside during the day, for once. It didn't happen very often.
"C'mon, Angel! We're going to miss it if you don't hurry!"
"Cordy, we have like 7 hours left before they leave us behind. I don't think we'll miss it," he said dryly.
She rolled her eyes and blew her hair out of her face in exasperation. "Well, you're like super vamp and all, so what's the big deal with the luggage? Can't you carry my bags, too?"
Angel looked down at himself. He dragged two large suitcases on wheels behind him, a backpack was slung on his back, two duffle bags hung from his shoulders, and another carry-on dangled from around his neck.
Only one of the bags was his.
"If you didn't pack your whole damn apartment into this stuff I wouldn't be so slow, Cordy," he grumbled.
"Well, duh," she said, glaring at him scathingly. "You have to bring lots of clothes for a cruise. You have to dress up for dinner, then you have to have work-out and lounging clothes, and casual clothes, and bathing suits. And we're going to Alaska, so that meant I needed sweaters, and thermal underwear, jeans, pants and scarves, and hats, and gloves, and snow boots. That's all, Angel."
"Oh. Sure you didn't forget anything?" he said sarcastically.
"Well just because you have no body temperature and can't feel the frigid cold of the Klondike doesn't mean you have to be prejudiced against my inferior human body."
He didn't think he'd go so far as to call her body inferior. Eyeing her curves appreciatively, he couldn't help but notice her backside swaying enticingly, the muscles in her ass squeezing and releasing as she walked.
Before he knew it, he'd drooled a little on his chin. Feeling like a doofus, he looked around Looking around quickly to see if anyone noticed. These heated thoughts had to be shoved away now.
At his side, Cordy whispered under her breath as they approached the gangplank. "Showtime!" she said, grinning cheekily at him.
Walking up to the fresh-faced young attendant, she handed him their tickets.
"Cordelia and Angel Chase checking in, please," she said, smiling coyly at the young man. They'd decided last minute that it would be easier to pretend they were married instead of just boyfriend/girlfriend. What with Angel having no last name and all. Gunn had known some guy from his old life who could get Angel the right kind of documentation.
A red flush crept up from the attendant's neck, spreading over his pale face as the pretty young woman flirted with him. Angel growled low at the insolent young man. Kids these days had no sense of how to treat a lady.
"Here you go, Mrs. Chase," the young man said, handing two stamped tickets back to her, along with a pamphlet with the ship's logo in gold foil on the front cover. "Your itinerary for the cruise is in this folder, so please don't lose it. You've been scheduled for several activities while you're on board with us. Thank you for sailing with Eros Cruise Lines. Bon Voyage!"
The last greeting was said with a flourish of his gloved hand to the gangplank, and Cordelia smiled at him reassuringly. She turned to Angel and winked.
"Ready, loverboy?"
"Of course, muffin," he said back, then grinned wider when her frown was forced back into prominence by his cheesy nickname.
"Eww, Angel, come up with a pet name sexier than that," she whispered heatedly.
"Like what?" he asked innocently. "Honey bunch? Sugar Pie? Sweetiekins? Hot Lips?" He whispered them, too, but wasn't able to keep the laughter out of his hushed tones.
With each name, her eyes flashed brighter. "No! Ew! Those are crusty old married couple pet names, not 'oh-god-I-want-to-see-you-naked' newlywed nicknames!" she hissed.
"You want to see me naked?" he asked.
"Angel!" she hissed. "Shut. Up!"
"Okay! Geez! You brought it up, Cor."
"Just forget it!"
"Fine," he said, grinning again. "Whatever you want, baby doll."
The steward took their bags to their stateroom and unlocked it for them, handing them the key card and accepting the tip without a word. Cordelia gasped as she entered the bedroom, stopping just inside the door and staring in disbelief.
Angel came in behind her, then came to an abrupt halt himself.
They were looking at a room that resembled a set used for a porn magazine photo shoot. Absent were the run-of-the-mill floral bedspreads, Formica counter tops, and wood-laminate dressers. In their place was an amazing variety of silk, leather, satin, and fur. Vibrant tones of scarlet, fuschia, royal purple, and burgundy swathed every surface. A huge bed took up the majority of the small stateroom, set on a dais in the middle of lush, thick-pile carpet. It seemed like thousands of pillows covered the bed, luxuriously overstuffed, begging to be snuggled into.
"Oh, god," Cordelia whispered. "This is straight off the Playboy channel," she moaned.
"And you know that how?" Angel asked.
"Shut up, dumb ass," she shot back, casting him a withering glance.
"It looks comfortable," he said, trying to make it sound better.
"It looks like Aladdin's boudoir, only he went for the 'pimp chic' decor," she said, not varnishing the truth at all. She eyed the bed again with a practiced eye. "But you're right, it does look kind of comfy. Kinky, though."
"Where's the bathroom?" Angel asked, looking for a door. It was hard to find one, being that nearly every surface, save the floor, was mirrored.
"Over there, I think," Cordelia said, crossing the room to a small doorway, no door covering it. She entered it cautiously.
Again, she came to an abrupt stop just over the threshold. "There's a Jacuzzi tub in here big enough for three people," she whispered, awed. "And a two-person shower." The toilet was ensconced behind a mirrored door, a tiny closet that she almost missed.
"I thought they tried to save space on a ship like this," Angel commented.
"They do, usually," Cordelia said, finally looking back at him. "But the brochure says that since this is an exclusive line; they expanded the space and have fewer staterooms. That leaves them more room for 'amenities' like this."
He walked in behind her and took a look at the bathroom. "The tub's wall is glass."
"So?" she said, gesturing her hands for him to get to the point.
"So, you can't hide under bubbles," he said, a dark glint in his eye. "You take a bath by yourself, I walk in and . . ." he let the sentence trail off.
"Oh, god," she said quietly, her eyes wide.
"Yeah," he agreed, not able to keep his body from reacting to that fantasy.
They backed out of the bathroom and warily perused the rest of the room, opening closets and dresser drawers.
Not three minutes later Cordelia shrieked as she opened the drawer of one of the bedside tables, then slammed it shut and jumped back. "EWWWW!!!" she shrieked, her face contorted in a grimace of pure disgust.
"What?" Angel asked, trying hard not to laugh at her.
"There are. . . there are. . ." she seemed like she couldn't bring herself to say it. She shuddered. "There are toys in there!" she finally whispered disgustedly.
"Oh, really?" Angel said, purposefully putting on a hopeful, eager look. "What kind? Let me see!"
"Oh, god, Angel. You're such a perv!" she said in disgust.
He just laughed at her, going over and sitting on the bed, propping back up on the pillows and crossing his arms. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and nodded over at the closet he'd checked. "There are some costumes in that one if you're interested."
She gulped. "Costumes?"
"Yeah, you know, for role playing. There was a cheerleader outfit, a fireman's uniform, a nurse's uniform, cop's blues, a catholic school girl get-up—,"
She rushed over and clamped her hand over his mouth, bringing his running inventory to a grinding halt. "Just—Just stop, Angel! I can't take it." She shuddered again.
"What, does this den of iniquity offend your delicate sensibilities?" he asked, laughing at her again.
Her standard withering glare was back in place, turned up full volume. "Shut up, Angel. It just makes me uncomfortable, okay? I mean, it's not like we're going to use any of this."
"We aren't?" He managed to sound disappointed and pouted just a fraction.
"Angel!" She hit him. Hard.
"Ow, Cordy!" He frowned at her.
"Oh, shut up, you big baby," she admonished. "Scoot over." She shoved at his shoulder, forcing him to move to the center of the bed.
He patted the opened space next to him. "Bed's comfy," he commented. "It's got a lot of bounce." He bounced once as if to underscore the point.
She looked at him warily. There had to be a sexual innuendo in there somewhere, but she wasn't going to encourage him any more. God, what had she gotten herself into this time?
He finally took pity on her and smiled genuinely. "Let's go explore the rest of the ship, okay? We're bound to find some normal things around here, things that are less 'pimp chic' as you put it."
Her eyes lit up at the prospect of finding something that didn't resemble a brothel. "Okay! Maybe we should check out the indoor swimming pool!"
"You got it," he agreed, and they both sprang off the bed and bounced out of the room.
Angel gave one glance back at the room before he shut and locked the door, smiling inwardly. Good thing he'd kept the pay slot for bed vibration to himself.***
Two hours later found the 'newlyweds' having a strawberry daiquiri in one of the cafés lining the promenade. The ship had an amazing array of shops, both clothing and otherwise, but it wasn't without its more risqué elements. Cordy had shuffled hurriedly past two sex shops, a plethora of lingerie boutiques, and one novelty store that advertised "Body Frosting—Buy One, get One Free." But they'd perused book stores, gift shops, and two pricey jewelry stores, one that even had a great selection of antique rings, pendants, and brooches. Cordelia had looked longingly at that display for nearly twenty minutes before Angel dragged her on to the next store.
They'd been wandering for nearly four hours, and they hadn't covered more than two decks. There were seven that were devoted to entertainment in one form or another. Good thing this cruise lasted for a week.
Sitting in companionable silence, each of them was left to his or her own thoughts. Cordelia was quietly sipping her drink when she suddenly began coughing and sputtering, pointing shakily behind Angel. Her eyes were wide, and from across the table, Angel could sense her quickening heartbeat. A frown crossed his face that there might be danger nearby, but when he turned around, his own mouth dropped open in shock.
Anya and Xander were ordering drinks at the bar.
"Oh, god!" Cordelia whispered. "Of all the places, we see somebody we know. Here! What the hell are we going to do, Angel? We can't hide, it's too late! They'll see us!"
"Calm down, Cordelia!" Angel whispered back. "Just act natural, okay? Pretend we're together like we've been planning, and we'll deal with the aftermath after the cruise is over."
"But if they know that we're together, that means—" she shuddered at the ramifications, her eyes closed in mortification.
"I know," he agreed, his eyes serious. "But we don't want to miss this, right? I mean, it's a cruise. How often do we get a vacation like this?"
"You're right," she agreed. "We'll have to fool them, too. But why did it have to be them, Angel? Of all the people, it would just have to be these Xander and Anya! The two people on earth least likely to keep a secret!" Her statement was a moan, eyes sliding shut in horror.
Angel's frown matched hers. This cruise had suddenly turned into hell.
Part 2"Shh, hurry, Angel, don't look like you noticed them! Maybe they'll just go away!" Cordelia hissed, yanking on the sleeve of his black sweater, pulling his attention back to her and away from Xander and Anya, who were busy ordering drinks from the bartender.
He frowned at his diminished view, then realized he could see them in the reflection of the window behind Cordelia. He smirked a little, letting the chauvinistic satisfaction bloom in his chest when he realized that the whelp was being ordered around by his girlfriend. Anya was gesturing wildly at something behind the bar, and Xander threw his hands up in exasperation as he acquiesced, bowled over by her. Some things never changed.
Cordelia was oblivious to Angel's thoughts, holding her breath as she gripped the edge of the table with whitened knuckles, darting her eyes nervously over to the bar. She was prepared to turn away at a moment's notice if they recognized her.
She gasped when Xander turned around, both drinks in hand, and squinted at her. Even though she knew the movement was futile, she shrugged down into the seat and put her hand over her eyes like she was shielding herself from the glare of the sun.
Peeking once, she moaned. "Oh, god, Angel, they're coming over here! Do something!" she kicked him under the table for good measure.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" he hissed back, wanting nothing more than to plant a solid kick to her shin in retaliation, but he had to settle for glaring at her before he plastered a smile on his face as Xander and Anya approached their table.
Xander's mouth was open so wide a hive of wasps could've set up shop. He and Anya stopped right in front of them, the condensation from the drinks in his shaky hands dripping on the linen napkins at the edge of the table.
Anya didn't wait for him to get it together. She spoke up right away, knowing that if it was up to Xander, they'd stand here gawking for hours.
"Well, if it isn't Xander's ex-girlfriend," she said, frowning, then glaring at Cordelia. "Why are you ruining our vacation by being here?"
Geez, and they think I'm the tactless one, Cordelia thought to herself.
"Anya, right?" she said, smiling up at the other woman.
Anya nodded vigorously, her curly hair bouncing. "Yes. I'm Anya. And Xander is mine now!"
Cordy couldn't help but smile. "I know he is; Willow's kept me updated. I'm actually here with Angel," she said calmly gesturing to her companion.
"Hey," Angel said, smiling tightly.
"Hello again," Anya said, smiling congenially back at him. She gave him a clinical once over. Still dark and brooding, but very handsome in his own way. Nothing like her Xander, of course, but she had an inkling that he could give bone tingling pleasure to some very lucky woman.
Angel just sat still under her scrutiny, knowing that the ex-demon had to size him up, just as he was doing the same to her. After their perusal was finished, all three turned to stare at the silent Xander, who stood with his mouth still open, his fingers affixed on the entwined hands of Angel and Cordelia.
Anya frowned and poked him in the ribs. "Xander, honey, you're drooling. Close your mouth."
He shut it abruptly. Shakily, he said, "Hey, Cordy, how'z it going?"
She smiled at him, actually meant it, even to her own surprise. "Fine, Xander. How are you?"
"Umm, okay, I guess." He barely made eye contact, then looked away, trying to strike a nonchalant pose by resting all of his weight on one sneaker-clad foot.
The awkward silence resumed after that exchange, and Xander shifted his weight to his other foot, still holding both drinks and dripping on the table.
Finally, Angel took pity on them. "Would you like to join us?" he asked, his smile obviously forced, although his tone was genuine.
Anya smiled brightly. "We would!" she said, nodding vigorously, then backed up so Angel could slide out of his side of the booth they were occupying. He slid in next to Cordelia on the other side, and Xander and Anya took up the bench he'd just vacated. Cordelia tried to glare at Angel for not getting rid of them, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. He just sat down next to her and threw his arm over her shoulder, putting her neck in the crook of his elbow and dangling his hand precariously close to her breast.
Xander finally seemed to get a grip on himself when they were settled, and slid Anya's drink over to her. She took a big drink, downing half of her Bahama Mama in a few swallows. Xander didn't seem to notice.
"So, you two are like, together now?" Xander asked in disbelief.
Angel smirked at him and tightened his grip on Cordelia, his fingers brushing her breast just faintly, yet Cordelia felt the touch zing all the way to her toes. She bit back a gasp and pinched his thigh under the table as a silent admonishment to behave himself.
"Yep. Cor and I have been together for six months now. Hot, steamy months, right baby doll?" He smiled heatedly at Cordelia, and she nearly forgot to breathe as she saw the hooded passion in his eyes. Then she frowned inside as she saw that it was mixed with laughter.
After a charged moment of staring at each other, Cordelia remembered to answer. "Right, Angel. Six blissful months together." She turned to Anya. "He's so . . . demanding," she sighed happily, rolling her eyes and leaning into him playfully. "I just can't keep up sometimes. You know that vampire stamina."
Anya sighed herself. "Sadly, no. I've never had a vampire lover. But Xander does quite well, for a human," she finished, beaming at her boyfriend.
He smiled tightly at her, feeling like he'd just been insulted, but couldn't quite figure out how.
"So how did you two get here?" he asked, desperately wanting to keep the conversation moving.
Angel smirked at him. "Cordy won this little trip on a radio station contest, and we just couldn't resist the opportunity to spice up our lives together. There are a lot of things we haven't taken the time to try yet." he said. Then he dropped his voice to a whisper, turning to Xander conspiratorially. "She's a hellcat in bed, this one," he said with a wink.
Cordelia pinched him hard under the table, then dredged up the Oscar winning actress within, Cordelia turned a thousand-watt smile on him, her eyes seemingly melting into pools of liquid heat as they looked at him.
"Thanks, baby," she crooned softly, letting herself get lost in the beauty of his eyes. Problem was, once she got lost, she had trouble finding her way back out again.
Xander looked across the table suspiciously. What had happened to Angel's curse? He was about to ask, but Cordy interrupted him.
"And you? What are you two doing here?"
Anya answered for him. "Xander and I have been together for awhile now, but he's kind of a prude when it comes to some things. He gives great orgasms, I'll give him that, but he doesn't have very much imagination, and I need more." She paused to take a dainty sip of her drink.
Xander squirmed nervously, and Angel and Cordelia gaped at Anya's frankness. She continued, oblivious to their disbelief. "I saw the brochure for this cruise and I knew we had to take it. There are so many great seminars. Have you seen the list?" She asked Cordelia.
Cordy nodded mutely.
Anya smiled at her. "We're signed up for some great ones, like 'The Delights of Kama Sutra' and 'Home Video 101.' I can't wait to try that one!" she giggled and smiled at Xander.
Xander's face had become the color of the ketchup on the table in front of him. "Ahn, honey, we've talked about this before. Our sex life shouldn't be discussed in public, remember?"
"Oh, public schmublic. These are our friends, right? I mean, she even slept with you, so she knows what I'm talking about."
Cordelia gasped audibly. "I did not sleep with Xander!" Her eyes narrowed and she shot a dirty look at her ex. "What have you been saying about me?" she asked him accusingly.
Xander's hands went up, palms facing out to ward off her anger. "Nothing, Cordy! I swear. I haven't said anything to anybody. Anya just assumed!" He turned to his misinformed girlfriend. "Anya, Cordy and I were together in high school. We just made out in the janitor's closet a lot, but we never slept together."
She frowned at him. "So that skanky slayer Faith was your first?" she asked, her nose scrunched in distaste.
"You SLEPT with FAITH?" Cordelia asked, shocked.
Xander looked sheepish. "Yeah. It was a moment of weakness, and she was, um. . .persuasive."
Angel snorted, then took a sip of his drink. "I'll bet she was," he commented, and it sounded like he was sympathizing.
Cordelia turned to look at him. "What was that supposed to mean?" she asked suspiciously.
Angel looked puzzled, his handsome face the epitome of confused innocence. "What?"
Cordy wasn't about to let him get away with a loaded, cryptic comment like that. She decided that she might as well lay it all on the table. "Did YOU sleep with Faith?" she asked, eye brows raised.
Angel laughed nervously. "Me and Faith? Ha! Funny, Cor," he said, not meeting her eyes. This was not good. Talking about fooling around with other women meant talking about Darla, eventually. He had to avoid that at all costs. Cordelia just wouldn't understand.
"You did! You slept with Faith!" Her mouth was open in shock, her eyes filled with something that looked suspiciously like hurt and betrayal. "Geez, what the hell is it with you and Slayers? When did this happen?"
"I didn't sleep with her, okay? We just kinda fooled around. It was when we were trying to defeat the Mayor and Buffy wanted me to pretend like I'd lost my soul and was with Faith instead of her." He wrapped his arm more tightly around her, rubbing the tips of his fingers against her collar bone to soothe her.
He placed a kiss on her temple, then said low into her ear, "Besides, baby doll, you know there's no one I'm more hot for than you."
Xander gaped at them, hanging on every word, like he had front row seats at the latest blockbuster movie.
His sexy voice made her body thrum, and she nearly forgot what they were talking about. She felt obligated to maintain the pretense, so she flashed him a coy, secret smile, reaching a hand up to rub his chest lightly.
"I guess I can forgive that, Angel, since we weren't together then," she conceded.
Angel breathed a sigh of relief. He already had one big secret from her, his little indiscretion with Darla, and the last thing he needed was for her to find out about it. He knew she would totally freak out, feel like he'd betrayed her by chancing his soul like that. To have her censure him for something he already regretted fiercely, especially now that he was in love with her, well, it would hurt like a bitch.
Wait a second, did he just say that he was in love with her? In love with Cordelia?
He turned to stare at her as the big secret, veiled in the corner of his heart, was suddenly bathed in sunlight and he realized what a fool he'd been.
Anya didn't give him time to absorb his reflective discovery.
"Well, anyway," she said, obviously bored by a conversation that didn't concern her, "Xander needed some pointers so I thought this cruise would give us some help. What are you two signed up for?"
"Signed up for?" Cordy asked, her mind still foggy from Angel's light and distracting touches. She was stunned that he would affect her like this. Angel was her friend, not her boyfriend. Friends weren't supposed to make you want to drag them back to your stateroom and kiss them senseless.
"Yes. What classes are you going to?" Anya asked again.
"I don't think we've signed up for any yet," Cordelia asked, finding the thread of the conversation once again. "At least, I haven't seen anything."
Her attention was diverted almost immediately when Angel reached his free hand under the table and began to rub her thigh, lightly squeezing and caressing her. She squirmed as Anya gasped with shock, the ex-demon setting her drink down on the table and putting one palm over her heart.
"You have to know! When you boarded the ship, they gave you a folder with the ship's logo on it. You haven't looked at your itinerary yet?" Anya asked, incredulous. "That's so important! You could have already missed your first class!"
The vampire and his seer just stared at her across the table, still both hazy, caught up in their almost non-existent flirting and not quite into the conversation. What folder?
"Go!" Anya motioned with her hands. "Quickly! Check your itinerary! You could be having orgasms at this very moment instead of talking to us!"
At the mention of sex, both Cordelia and Angel squirmed, their minds flooded with the idea of making love to each other.
God, this is getting out of hand, Cordelia thought, then forced a bright smile and turned to Angel.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Anya's right. We need to find out what's on our itinerary. Let's go!" she said, shoving him towards the opening at his end of the booth. He scooted out, then held his hand out to help her up. She steadfastly ignored it, wanting to put a lid on her quavering insides.
"I'm sure we'll see you around later," Cordelia said with an impressive level of false cheerfulness as she got to her feet. "What's your first class?" she asked Anya.
"We're signed up for a sensual massage class at 9 p.m. tonight," she said excitedly. "It'll be great foreplay, right, honey?" she smiled at her beleaguered boyfriend again.
He just nodded mutely and sipped his drink.
"Well, then, bye," Cordy said lamely, and she walked away, Angel hurrying to catch up, leaving Xander and Anya staring at them as they left.
Anya shook her head sadly. "They're so confused," she sighed. "Obviously some unresolved sexual tension there. You would think, with two centuries of experience at pleasing women, he'd have her so relaxed all the time, but she's so tense. They need to work through those issues."
Xander tried to ignore her but look interested at the same time.
Her look turned thoughtful. "Maybe we should sign them up for the Kama Sutra class with us, Xan," she mused.
Xander spewed a colorful spray of his Sex on the Beach across the table as the images flooded his brain. It was an overload to imagine practicing sexual positions with Anya right next to Cordelia and Angel doing the same exact thing.
He gulped. "I think maybe we'd better let them work this out on their own, Ahn," he said, trying not to retch.
"Maybe you're right," she sighed, and went back to her drink.***
The trip back to the stateroom was a silent one. Cordelia was still trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Angel hadn't done much, only kissed her on the forehead and touched her thigh, arm, and shoulder lightly. But damn, what sensations those few brushes caused. She already knew that she had a weakness where he was concerned lately. Ever since he'd come back to work with them, he'd been different. She'd seen flashes of insecurity in him that hadn't been there before, and all she'd wanted to do, despite the pain and hurt she felt at his abandonment, was to grab him and cradle his head against her chest. She wanted to soothe him, reassure him, let him know that she cared about him and would always be his friend. The problem was, she now thought she might want to be more than his friend. And that was scarier than everything else put together.
And what about the payback he'd wrangled out of this? What would he demand she do in repayment for dragging him on this cruise? She shuddered, then pushed it from her mind. She couldn't think about it now, or she'd work herself into a nervous frenzy. Better to deal with one problem at a time.
Beside her, Angel was still trying to sort through the flood of feelings he'd experienced when he realized he was falling in love with his seer. Before now, he had acknowledged an attraction to her and a deep friendship, but love had not been on his mind at all. Lately, nearly all of his dreams had been featuring her, usually in some skimpy outfit (or none at all), and he'd know that he was in for some trouble where she was concerned. But until today, until their carefully orchestrated plan had been derailed by Xander and Anya, he hadn't realized the true depth of his feelings for her. Now that he recognized them within himself, it was difficult to keep from grabbing her and kissing her senseless.
A mortifying thought struck him in the middle of his musings.
What would she do when she found out about Darla?
A few minutes later found them back in the lush gaudiness of their stateroom. Angel went over to the bed and burrowed down into the cushions, crossing his feet at the ankles and linking his arms over his chest. He watched quietly as Cordelia went looking for the folder she'd stowed away as they boarded the ship. She came over to him and stood next to the bed, just holding the folder and staring at him. Finally, he reached out and took her hand, pulling her up next to him. She gave him a small smile, tucked her hair behind her ear, and wiggled in next to him.
"Okay, so I guess this is what we need, right?" she asked.
He nodded. "Looks like what Anya was talking about. And the kid who checked us in at the pier said it was a list of our activities on the ship for this week."
"Well, here goes nothing," Cordelia said, her pulse racing with apprehension. She opened the folder carefully and began to rifle through the contents. She found a map of the ship, a room service menu, and a list of the shows that were going on at the theaters here on board. There was also a list of all the restaurants and stores, as well as the ships vast array of amenities, including a casino, five pools, a sauna, a spa, a gym, and an internet café. Buried under all of that, she found their itinerary.
"Here it is," she said, pulling it out from the back of the folder. It was on bright fuchsia paper, just so they wouldn't miss it. "Okay, it says check in on Saturday from 9 am. to 9 p.m.."
"Done that already," he commented.
"Nuh-uh, really?" She shot back sarcastically. "Then, it says we have our first class tonight, 9 p.m." And then she was silent.
"Well, what's the class?"
She gasped, and he poked her with his elbow. "What?"
"They're all bad, Angel!" she said, looking up at him with incredulity. "Every class is . . . really personal! And the other stuff they've signed us up for!"
"Cordy," he said sternly when she pulled the itinerary out of his grasp as he reached for it. "What class do we have tonight?"
"It's not that bad, I guess," she stalled. "Hey!" she brightened. "Maybe we won't have to go! I can pretend I'm sick or something."
"This is the last time I'm going to ask before I take that itinerary from you by force," he threatened emptily. Both of them knew he'd never do anything of the sort. "What's our class tonight?"
She just looked up at him, then laughed nervously before answering. "Yoga for lovers."
Angel's eyes widened at the possibilities for this evening. Anything that got him closer to Cordelia was fine by him.