A Little Dream
author: Lucinda
lucindasiverling@hotmail.com
rating: pg13
main characters: Cordelia/Wesley
disclaimer; I hold no legal rights to any character, events, or situations from the television shows Buffyt eh Vampire Slayer or Angel: the Series. No profit is being made.
distribution: Wic, NHA, Jinni, Bite Me, anyone else please ask first.
note: responding to a question/discussion at the NHA forums and using Jinni's Week 2 Poetry Quote. Set in season 3 BtVS.
A Little Dream
by Lucinda
"T'was so; But this, all pleasures fancies bee.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desire'd, and got, t'was but a dreame of thee"
-The Good Morrow, John Donne
Looking at him as he bent his head over one of the horrible leather bound books in the library, Cordelia held back a sigh. He was just so... He was attractive, well educated, came from a good family, and looking at him gave her this little flutter inside, right under her ribs. Wesley Wyndham-Price.
Cordelia was convinced that he was something wonderful. The sad fact was, she had a crush. She was Cordelia Chase, the Queen of Sunnydale High, she wasn't supposed to get crushes, she was supposed to be the one that people had crushes on.
But as much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, she had a crush. Which left her with a question - what was she going to do about it? Would she just try to hide it? Would she make a move to see what he would do? Should she flirt with him? How should she plan her actions or non-actions?
Contrary to the insults from a few people, Cordelia wasn't quite as experienced at dating as her reputation hinted. And most of the time, the guys had been chasing her, leaving her nothing more challenging that deciding to give them a chance or not, and what to wear for the date. This entire situation was different. Part of it was the age factor - Wesley was definitely not a high school boy, or even someone in college, but a Watcher. Much younger and cuter than Giles, but still a Watcher. She didn't know for certain if he was interested or only thought that she looked good. He wasn't even from the same country, and oh my God, did that mean he needed one of those green card things to stay in America?
Letting her head rest on her hand, Cordelia sighed. This was getting complicated, and that was just one more thing that she didn't need. Not on top of vampires and demons being real, not on top of her daddy's not-so-little tax problem, on top of loosing their house, on top of her 'college fund' evaporating, on top of her still tender stomach. She didn't need this sort of complication, really she didn't.
It would be so much simpler to just sit here and daydream about life. Last year, she would have been in cheering practice, preparing for the next football game. But after she'd fallen, after that metal bar had punctured her body, her doctor had insisted that's he avoid any serious exertion. All of which translated to 'no cheerleading this year', 'no slaying', and try to avoid situations where you'd need to run for your life.
A soft 'Guess who?" as she covered his eyes would be enough that he'd turn around, smiling at her as he leaned forward, his lips meeting hers.
"Cordelia? Are you quite all right?" Wesley's voice cut into her fantasy.
Blinking, Cordelia looked up. She was still in the school library, still surrounded by books of demons. Still over here while he was over there. "I'm okay. I was just. just a bit distracted."
"Nothing dreadful, I hope? I know some of the material in the books can be a bit unsettling, yes, unsettling is a good word for it." His voice was low, still crisp as a result of his English accent.
"No, nothing dreadful. I was just pondering the future, thinking about how I'd like things to be, instead of how they are now." She smiled a little, feeling warmed as he blushed.
"er, yes, that makes perfect sense. Especially considering your injury." He closed the book that he'd been looking in, and placed it on a pile to the side. "What would you do, if you could just pick anything?"
"Anything?" She raised one eyebrow, curious about why he'd asked.
"Yes, absolutely anything." He smiled back, hesitantly.
"I've got a few ideas, nothing quite firm yet." Cordelia smiled, the way Wesley was watching her and blushing giving her hope. Slowly, she rose from her chair and moved towards him. "Do you think I should try to make them happen?"
Wesley swallowed, his eyes lingering on her. His voice sounded a bit tight as he rasped 'Yes, by all means, you should try to make things happen. How else can you know if a dream is attainable?"
"Good." She moved closer, her toes just inside of his, her hand sliding up his arm to his shoulder. Leaning closer, she brushed her lips over his.
One of his hands slid along her arm, much like what she'd just done, and the other came to rest at the small of her back. "Cordelia."
"Is this attainable?" Cordelia breathed the words out, leaning forward to kiss him again, hoping that he was just surprised, that it was only shock and not disinterest that had kept him from kissing back.
Slowly, hesitantly, Wesley began to kiss her back. It wasn't the sort of kiss that would make it's way to the steamy pages of a romance novel, but it was sweet and interested and tasted faintly of lemon.
Maybe her dreams had a chance after all.
End A Little Dream.