“Angel!” Buffy yelled as she burst into the lobby. Her fingers tightened on the stake when no one answered. The son-of-a-bitch was probably hiding upstairs. It wasn’t going to help him. She was going to kill him. Slowly. How dare he break up with her! She charged up the stairs, too furious to wait for the elevator. It had taken her half an hour to break the handcuffs and then she’d had to steal a car.

At the top of the stairs she nearly collided with Gunn. She grabbed him. “Where’s Angel?”

He looked at her blankly then shook himself free. She could have stopped him, but she didn’t bother. She’d find him herself.

Gunn ran across the lobby and threw himself through the big double doors at the empty night---

And bounced.

His ass connected with the polished floor painfully. He stared in disbelief at the nothing that had just knocked him halfway across the lobby. What the fuck?

He stood up and tried again, slower. There was a barrier, invisible and unrelenting, like the one that kept him out of homes until he was invited. Shit, he hated magic.

No way was he going back upstairs.

She tried his room first but no Angel. Then she saw light spilling from a doorway at the end of the hall.

She scanned the room as she stepped inside. There’d been trouble here, furniture knocked over and curtains flapping over the broken window. But no Angel. Dammit. She turned to go and saw him, standing head down and back pressed into the wall like he was hoping to merge with the ugly wallpaper.

"Spike?” He twitched at her voice. She took a step forward, stopped herself. “What are you doing here? Where the hell did you go! I thought… I mean, Dawn was worried!"

His head came up at that, startling blue eyes just the same but she’s never seen that expression on his face before. He looked – lost. And what was up with his hair? He took a deep breath – and his face hardened.

"Bloody hell, you and Peaches! Should've known. Well, how is it? Has he noticed you’ve picked up a few tricks?" He’d always known his chances were slim to none, but there’d been a tiny thread of hope that the scent of Angel all over her had finally succeeded in snuffing out.

He caught Buffy’s hand before it could make contact with his face. “None of that now, save your love taps for your true love.” God, even like this she was beautiful. He’d let her beat him up – but what was the point?

“You pig!” Buffy tried for him again but Spike dodged. She lunged and he neatly sidestepped her and put out his leg. Buffy crashed to the floor and he ran. He broke off the doorknob before slamming the door shut behind him. Wouldn’t slow her down for long but hopefully long enough for him to get out of there and far, far, away

~*~

She ran to the room she thinks of as hers, where she sleeps when she’s too tired to go home, she keeps a change of clothes there, a few toiletries and she hoped as she slammed the door behind her that’ll be enough to make it count as a home. A moment later Angel kicked it open and marched in like he had every right. Asshole.

When she turned to face him Angel stopped dead, realizing he hasn’t seen her this angry in – ever. He hoped she didn’t have a crossbow handy.

“Cordy…”

“Get out!”

“No.”

“Goddamnit! Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“I tried that,” he said calmly. “I can’t do it anymore.” He smiled and took a step towards her. “I don’t want to do that anymore.”

She growled. Angel took a step back. “You…Angel! Dammit, I swear you’re the most selfish, self-absorbed, blind, asshole I’ve ever met! It’s always about you, you, you! You can’t do that anymore? Well whoopee! What about me? Huh? You snuggle up with Buffy, barely talk to me for months and I’m supposed to know that means you love me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need sorry, I need therapy! When the hell did I become your bitch? Before you I had a life! I was human! I was going to be a star or at least marry some money! Then I meet you in LA and it all goes to hell! I get stuck with excruciating visions and everything was still all-about-Angel. You dumped us to go chasing after your original blonde bitch -- you tried to lose your soul Angel! — but I forgave you! I could have had my own series but that would have meant you crazy and one-armed Wes and Gunn not doing well… I fucking gave up my humanity for the mission!”

Angel kept quiet.

“And then Groo came, and I thought maybe that was my chance, to have something. Because you were never going to get over Buffy, were you? But I couldn’t get away from you, even in frigging Mexico! I drove that poor sweet guy crazy, because he knew I was thinking about you.

“You love me!” Angel sounded like a five-year old on Christmas morning.

Cordelia shook with sheer frustration. Go on. Act surprised that that’s the only part he heard. She really wanted to slap that grin off his face. Stupid vampire. “Did you hear anything else I said to you Angel?”

“Yeah. You love me.”

Idiot! Dork! Jerk!

“Can I kiss you?”

No, no, no, no. She should be running away not stepping closer. Because everything she said to him was true. She can see the cliff but she can’t stop herself, the tires are bald, the brake pads are gone and sex had its big old lead foot on the gas. Too late to jump out, too late to do anything but enjoy the speed and the long drop. She nodded.

Angel was done being slow, his mouth claimed hers in a flash.

This wasn’t really their first kiss – she remembered their first kiss born out of despair, the way they’d almost lost each other in pain and obsession. She remembered Angelus savaging her with these same lips, tormenting her with these same pale hands that barely dare to touch her now.
But none of it mattered. This was different. This was them, Cordelia and Angel kissing for the first time as themselves, in love. It’s all new. And it’s perfect.

His lips are eager but gentle. Heat trickles from their mouths together, burning like whiskey straight down her throat and starting a sweet ache between her legs. She moved closer to him and felt the cool mound of his growing erection pressing into her stomach, every brush of his hardened desire sending little shocks of want to her sluttish cunt.

Oh God, she loved him.

Bloody bitch won’t leave him alone, no matter how far he goes, nothing’s ever good enough for her. Came her looking for help from Angelus, how the hell he thought that would ever happen without him being kicked in the teeth, must have been out of his bloody mind…

He was surprised to see the black vampire – Gunn, yeah that was it-- still hanging around the lobby. Expected him to be long gone. Poor bastard. Knows what that’s like: having the girl and not having her at all. Not in the mood for a chat though.

“Hey man don’t…,” he shouted as he ran past. Spike ignored him and yanked open the lobby doors and….

Next thing he knew he was flat on his arse on the lobby floor. “What the bloody hell!”

Gunn reached down a hand to help him out. “Sorry man, tried to tell you.”

“So what bastard’s been playing silly buggers with magic then?” Spike snarled once he was on his feet.

“Spike! Don’t you dare run away from me!”

Bugger. They both turned to stare at the furious Slayer standing at the top of the stairs. Buffy – God, she looked good. Gorgeous, even in rumpled sweat clothes with her hair going in several different directions and so pissed off her eyes were nearly spinning in their sockets.

Gunn looked at him, looked back at Buffy as she started to descend the stairs and shook his head. “You’re on your own man,” he said and fled. Spike hardly noticed.

Oh hell.

“Didn’t bloody come here looking for you. I had business with the poof.”

“Angel? Why would you come to see Angel?”

“That’s between me and him.”

“Pardon me.” Buffy and Spike turned to glare furiously at the interloper. “I don’t mean to interfere, but I think we have more urgent business.” Wesley pointed up.

The lobby’s high, domed ceiling had disappeared behind a boiling mass of purple and green clouds. Lightning crawled along the surface of the clouds and struck randomly at the walls. It was getting bigger.

“Bugger.”

“Oh.”

“Angel!”

Cordelia lifted her head. “Did you hear something?” .

“No.” Angel ran his fingers through her hair and gently claimed her mouth again.

TBC

END ACT 2 - BRAND NEW WAY

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