taxonomites | 026: [ voice | location: caritas ] A bingin' we will go

Lorne notices Cordelia with her tequila bottle across the room. He'd noticed the very strange transmission from Angel earlier, which probably didn't bode well for her well-being. Maybe a song will cheer her up along with the tequila?

He waits for the Extra on stage to finish his song, then takes over the mic. "I'd like to dedicate this song to a girl who makes it through, no matter what." He smiles, then launches into a song.

"Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child, things'll be brighter

Some day, yeah
We'll put it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter

Right now
You just wait and see how things are gonna be
Right now..."

[ooc: That was "Ooh Child (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVF4r3fLBrU)" by The Five Stairsteps, a lovely 70s tune.]

Edited 2010-07-16 20:09 (UTC)

Cordelia almost tears up at the song. A girl who always makes it through? God, sometimes she thinks she can't, because the world found it funny and appropriate to dump everything on her shoulders until she buckles and breaks.

Like now.

She smiles at Lorne - her first real, genuine smile - and waves him to come closer.

Lorne takes a bow, then steps down from the stage. He makes his way to Cordy and gives her a hug, taking care not to knock over the tequila.

"Pour me a bit of that, will ya? I got a potion that lets me get drunk, and I have my fair share of Angel problems too, y'know. I'm ready to make fun of his big broody face for the rest of the night."

The hug is appreciated and reciprocated, muchly.

"Sure - although since you are the owner, can we order something a little bit more expensive? Also, some snacks won't hurt too, hint hint." Well, why not make the most out of this situation, anyway?

Cordelia laughs and pats the space beside her. "Oh, I've got enough ammunition on him to last me a lifetime. What do you want to make fun of, first?"

Lorne sits down next to her. "Oh, you bet. If we're getting drunk together, we're doing it in style, honey. Buffy! Margaritas for me and the lady?"

Then lower, conspiratorially: "How about those leather pants? Not that they're not working for him, but it's like he's trying too hard, y'know?"

She swats his arm. "Shut up. I happen to like him in leather pants. Although I won't mind him out of them, too." Nope, no, this route isn't helping her at all.

"What about those eyebrows? I'd have a field day trying to shave those fields into something resembling actual human-brows."

Lorne raises his eyebrows at the comment about Angel out of his pants - they both know that There Be Dragons - but he doesn't want to rub it in, as it were.

"You ought to try it sometime," Lorne suggests, basking a bit in the mental image.

"Probably when he's asleep," she says. "And hey, while I'm at, I should also dye his hair electric pink, or something. The lack-of-reflection will surely help me in that department, I bet."

"Can you imagine him going around all day with his hair pink, not knowing? The downsides of being reflectively challenged!" Lorne chuckles.

Cordelia laughs at that. "Oh, it'll serve him right," she says. "Guy's uncomfortable when all eyes are on him. With pink hair? It's like him shouting at the world, 'Hey! Look at me, I'm a moron!"

"It'd make him look punk. Definitely not him. More like..." He looks a bit pensive. "Spike, come to think of it."

"At least Spike carries the whole bleached-blonde look well," she counters, then moves a bit closer to Lorne so she can lay her head on his shoulder. "He's got that whole 'to hell with the world' attitude for him that Angel only wishes he has."

Cordelia sighs. "Probably not a good idea to mention Angel to Spike, though. William's really not happy with broody, too."

Lorne pours himself some of Cordy's tequila, pulls out a bottle from inside his jacket, and adds a drop. He puts the bottle away and takes a shot of the tequila. The feel of it steadies his nerves something wonderful.

He groans a little. "Oh, I didn't even think of that. They must have had Vamp Showdown 2.0 over Buffy. Except, hold on, you weren't there for Vamp Showdown 1.0." He pats her on the head. "You would have gone for broke with Angel then. He and Spike had this big manly smackdown over who had the real Champion's destiny. Spike won, and Angel was a wreck for weeks."

Over Buffy. Ugh. Angel pining over Buffy again is just.. it just hurts too much, so Cordelia settles on concentrating on the little odd fact Lorne revealed.

"Real Champion's destiny?" she asks. "Was this before or after I... permanently retired?"

"It wasn't exactly real," Lorne admits, taking another healthy dose of potion-enhanced tequila. "Turns out the Cup of Torment they were fighting over, the one the Champion Vampire of Soul was supposed to drink from, was full of Mountain Dew. Not that I'm 100% sure there's much difference between Mountain Dew and torment." He makes a face. "They still made a big deal out of it. Testosterone poisoning."

"Probably took any excuse for them to have a go at each other, the big dumb babies," she says, shrugging. "Poor Angel, though. Him losing to Spike is just... I don't know. I can't seriously believe it."

"Makes sense to me. Angel had nothing left in him. No Connor. No Darla. No you. Spike had a reason. Spike had a lot of reasons. He had the fire." Lorne frowns. "That's what worries me about Angel, you know? In my time, he's so far from the fire it's like he'll never get it back."

"You guys working for Wolfram & Hart instead of against it probably - hell, definitely - killed that fire." Cordelia pushes herself off of Lorne. "I've heard Angel's excuse, I've heard Fred's excuse. What's yours? Why did you do it?"

Lorne gives a long sigh. This calls for another serving of tequila. He drinks long and deep. "I won't deny the celebrity cred was a draw. Hobnobbing with the glamor set - definitely a lifelong dream. You know how that is. But more importantly, wherever Angel went, I couldn't help but follow. When Lilah made the offer, I somehow knew he would say yes. Angel's not one to say no to power, especially not after he's lost everything. I got pulled into his orbit, and I couldn't not go with him. Makes me wish I stood my ground, but even if I did, he wouldn't have listened. I know that now. He did it to save Connor, and nothing any of us said would've changed his mind."

Cordelia bites her lip and nods. "That's what he said. He did it to save Connor." She looks away, focusing her attention on the extra singing badly right now. "To be honest? If I'd been there, I'm not sure how long I would've stood my ground either. Despite how disgusted I am at the idea... I would've given in." Because it's Angel, and how could she not?

"Or I would've run off to Antartica, or something. Build myself a nice little igloo and rot. I don't know which option sounds worse, right now."

"I gotta say, most of the time at W&H? I would rather have been in Antarctica. No lawyers down there." He stares glumly into his empty glass.

"But they're really snappy dressers, aren't they?" she says. "All evil and soulless but donning designer suits. So unfair."

Edited 2010-07-17 02:33 (UTC)

"Oh yeah. You shoulda seen Gunn as a lawyer. He was wearing Armani a lesser man would cut off his arm for."

"Get out," Cordelia says, after a few seconds of silence. "Gunn's a lawyer?"

"Yeah. The Senior Partners gave his brain an infodump full of lawyer info." He pours more tequila and says, brokenly, "For a price."

[Location: Caritas]

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