taxonomites | 023: [ visual ] / [ location: Hyperion Hotel ] Before I come undone

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023: [ visual ] / [ location: Hyperion Hotel ] Before I come undone

No, no, no -

"No!"

Cordelia wakes up with a start, sitting upright on her bed with her hands clutching her blanket like a lifeline. For several moments she looks around her in alarm, wondering where the hell she is and where the others are, wondering if this is another one of those times she unfortunately opened her eyes only to be sliced and diced again and--

Then she rests her head on her hands, and breathes. It's over now. It's over and done with and they're all safe but the images are still burned in her brain, like a vision that's been put on eternal loop.

Slowly - mindful of the pains that plague her - Cordelia gets out of bed. She looks down at herself, sees the numerous bandages that are wrapped around her body, and sighs.

And here she thought she'd be safe in Taxon. Pfft.

She gets up, and walks over to the mirror. Cordelia looks at her reflection, and bites her lip.

God.

"Mummy girl much?" she whispers.

[ ooc: backdated to a day after the horrors. ]

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Lorne. Angel isn't sure what to think about the Pylean being here, either. He hadn't even been aware of his presence until the news of the kidnappings came out and he'd been too focused on getting Cordelia back to question it. To be honest, Angel wasn't even sure if he wanted to question it. Varying opinions, varying views, different spectrums of understanding and a friendship that hadn't been one, from his point of view, for almost a year. But, right now, that was neither here nor there.

Angel relaxes into her touch and gladly kisses her back. "We," and it's important that he indicates it wasn't just him (he wanted to, boy had he wanted to just run off and burst in, but he'd been sensible not to, as his brashness could've compromised the situation). "We saved you. But, the important thing is that we did. You're back and you're safe and I promise you, I'll never let anything like this happen to you ever again."

Lorne is a complicated issue. While Cordelia wanted nothing more than to question Angel's directive to the Pylean - you asked Lorne to kill Lindsey? How could you? - she's holding back. Not because it's not her business, since it so is, but because she doesn't want to complicate it any more than she should.

But it'll be a topic to talk about, in the future.

Cordelia smiles at him, then. This is one of those rare times that she'll allow herself to feel happy because of his protectiveness - right now, she feels safe. Very safe. All because of him.

"How? By watching me 24/7?" she teases. "And is that why you were all Joe Stoic earlier? Because you were terrified to lose me? Oh, Angel."

Angel hates what he asked of Lorne, but he wouldn't go back and change what he'd asked him to do. It was a necessary means to an end and Angel didn't have the luxury of putting one above the many. Maybe that made him a little bit heartless, but that's why it was him who asked and not someone else on his behalf. He knew there would be consequences and he accepted them, which was a large part of why he was mostly against seeking Lorne out. Distance was a consequence, distrust was a consequence... All of this was accepted as an outcome when he'd made his decision to ask Lorne to kill Lindsey. Lorne could be angry with him, Cordelia could and countless others, but Angel would endure it. He couldn't change the past and he most certainly wouldn't change the future.

"I'm...protective. We covered this like...a couple years back, Cor. And that whole...quiet thing..." He sighs and avoids looking directly at her. "Yeah. That was about me being terrified and not wanting to talk or move until I was sure I wasn't just going to start freaking out on you, because you didn't need me doing that."

"Right, because you being all quiet until I chucked that book at you didn't freak me out at all. Oh, no sirree it didn't." Cordelia shakes her head. "You do realize that you're allowed to freak out sometimes, don't you? I mean... you don't have to bottle everything up, Angel. Not when you're with me."

They really are opposites in every way. She usually becomes more talkative when she's scared, while he clams up. Weird.

"I didn't open up at first, because I was afraid that if I did I'd go all..." It's only for a lack of a better way of saying this does he use Faith's phrasing. "Rock star on the place." Which he means what he did to his room after Angelus in his self-destructive way of mocking his own desire for order and cleanliness by making a mess of things out of some subconscious desire to make himself feel worse, because he feels he deserves it.

There's something weird about hearing Angel say those words. "...rock star on the place." Then she snorts, because... really, Angel. What. "Please. Like you could."

Angel sighs. "Note to self: Stop trying to use Faith's words." He takes her hand. "You know what I mean, though. You didn't me getting too intense."

"Yeah. You can't make them as cool as she can." Did she just say that Faith is cool? ...huh.

Cordelia squeezes his hand. "Okay, so maybe I don't need you to be intense, even though it's, like, your middle name," she says. "Right now? I need you to be all soft and cuddly. Can you do that?"

Edited 2010-05-30 09:13 (UTC)

...did she just say that Faith was cool? It was pleasing to hear something positive from the seer in regards to the Slayer, even if Angel was still a bit cross with her over the whole Eric and Godric incident that was more about the biting than it was about the publicized post-sex. Again, neither here nor there.

"I can definitely do that," he assures her and scoots back onto the bed. Angel rests his back against the headboard and holds an arm open in welcome.

Edited 2010-05-30 09:33 (UTC)

What? She can say nice things about Faith. Granted, the two of them haven't spoken in forever, but Cordelia certainly can't - and won't - forget about the things the Slayer did for them, during Angelus's reign in LA.

She grins and follows him onto the bed, using his chest as a pillow and placing her arm over his waist, effectively hugging him to her.

"Hmm," Cordelia says, sighing contentedly. "This is nice." And for once, her wounds aren't throbbing in retaliation, and she can focus on something else other than the ugly, ugly pictures in her head.

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023: [ visual ] / [ location: Hyperion Hotel ] Before I come undone

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]

[ location: cordelia's room ]