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Tweak says, "I could kill you with a tray."

Cordelia Chase takes crap from no one. (thisismyofframp) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2011-10-08 23:35:00

Entry tags:

cordelia chase, dean winchester (end!verse)

WHO: Cordelia Chase and Endverse!Dean Winchester
WHAT: Meeting up over drinks.
WHEN: Saturday night.
WHERE: A random bar that isn't run by non-locals.
RATING: TBD
STATUS: In Progress

After a week of not knowing who she was and thinking she might somehow be involved in some sort of freaky three-way with two brothers, followed by a week of being dropped into the Old West without so much as a crash course on how to survive in such conditions, Cordelia was more than happy to have things back to normal in the city. Or, at least, as normal as things could be in a place like Colligo. The point was, she was able to once again tell people what her name was, wear pants that she could buy herself, go to the bathroom in the sanctity of her own home, and all of the other things that she had taken for granted as of late. And while she still wasn't entirely sure if the city was her cup of tea just yet, she had to admit it was still better than the alternative. Then again, most things were better than being dead, so that wasn't saying much.

What was saying a lot, however, was the state of the guys that she kept seeing around. Most of the locals were pretty commonplace, really, but the non-locals? Yeah. A good ninety percent of them, if not even more, were hot far beyond the telling of it. This went doubly so for any one of them who might be found in one of the bars run by a fellow non-local on any given night. Which is precisely why Cordelia had sought out a bar that was run by someone else. Because as much as she enjoyed ogling the eye candy, she had to admit that a large part of her really wanted to just show up, have a few drinks, and enjoy some much needed downtime before the next bout of crazy attacked the city.

And that's precisely what she was doing in some hole-in-the-wall type of establishment just as the clock struck eleven on a Saturday night. There was no dance floor here. There wasn't even a working jukebox. Just a bunch of people milling about, enjoying the alcohol and trying like whoa to remember the names of those they were meeting even though most of them would be nothing but a blur by the following morning. It wasn't overly rough nor was the clientele too soft. It was simply an average bar nestled away in one of the lesser known areas of Colligo. And that was exactly what Cordelia wanted.

Finishing up her fourth beer, with a touch of a buzz while still not quite drunk to go with it, she motioned for the bartender to bring her another before casting a gaze around the place. She had shared a bit of small talk with a few of the locals - everything from the most recent changes in the government to the latest movies to be released - and had recently taken to enjoying the general ambiance of the place when someone else came through the door. A quick glance over her shoulder made her pause and do a double-take, her mind instantly screaming two Very Important Facts at her.

The first was that there was no way this guy was a local. The second was that he was absolutely, completely, and beyond any shadow of any doubt anywhere far, far too attractive to be single and straight. Now, whether he was taken or gay was still up in the air, but Cordelia couldn't help but smile in his direction just in case he was unhappily involved with someone else, before she turned her attention back to her drink and tried to put the hottie as far from her mind as was possible. If he wanted to talk, that was all well and good. She welcomed it, in fact. But no way was she drunk enough to seek out his company like some sort of lounge lizard. That? Was not going to happen.

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butiwaswrong
2011-10-09 04:13 am UTC (link)

Dean had made a royal ass of himself, when Parker's friend from home showed up. Hardison was the spitting image of someone Dean knew. Jake Talley had killed Sam, Sam had lain dead for several days before Dean made a deal to bring him back. That deal sent him to hell, where he broke the first seal and started the proverbial ball rolling. It was unfortunate that Hardison had the same face, because Dean wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look at him without seeing Jake Talley, and the very thought of Jake Talley was enough to set Dean on edge and awaken his homicidal urges.

So, in light of his ass-hattery, Dean had done the only thing he could do. When things got tense, when he felt uncomfortable, any self respecting Winchester male cut and ran. He'd headed out, and he'd taken time to himself, mostly to beat himself up and berate himself, and then he'd tried to talk himself out of attacking Hardison just because he looked like that bastard jake Talley.

That had been days ago. Dean had been home, but he'd kept his distance. He'd spent a couple nights at the crisis center. He hated feeling the way he felt, awkward and disconnected, like he couldn't quite look Parker or Cas in the eye. Like he was a third wheel and they'd be better off without him.

It was self doubt like that that had him out and on his own, yet again. He needed breathing room, even though neither Cas nor Parker tried to smother him. They did nothing but give him the space he sometimes needed, and he thanked them by running off anyway. He ended up at a bar off the usual track, a small local-owned place that offered a quiet atmosphere, largely lacking non-locals, whih meant he could fade in to the background, and no one would really notice.

Except, you know, other non-locals. He spotted one right away. Eye contact was always a dead give away. That, and the fact she'd been married to her, briefly, compliments of Colligo. Dark, where Parker was pale, she kind of, vaguely, reminded him of Lisa. He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he moved in to the bar.

What the hell. He approached her table. "Hey, stranger."

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thisismyofframp
2011-10-09 04:24 am UTC (link)

The way the hunk of salty goodness greeted her told Cordelia that apparently he'd known her the last time she was in the city. Which was decidedly odd, the more she thought about it, since she had no memory of such an event and therefore had no idea how she'd known the guy before. However he looked like the sort that could use a friendly ear. One of those brooding types that she could recognize from a mile and a half away thanks to all the time she'd spent around Angel, she supposed. But the point was, he didn't seem bad and he certainly didn't seem evil, so Cordelia saw no reason not to strike up a conversation even if it might start out a little awkward at first.

"Hey yourself," she responded lightly, taking a swig of the new beer before flashing him a friendly smile. She studied him for half a second, torn between explaining the situation as she saw it or just going with it before realizing that trying to play as though she knew the guy would probably end a lot worse than if she just fessed up at the start. "Though, I should probably warn you that, as far as I'm concerned, you kinda are a stranger, what with me not remembering my last time through Crazytown, USA."

Her smile grew a bit at that as she set her beer down, fingers wrapping loosely around the bottle. "But Spike assures me it was definitely something, all right. So I guess I have that going for me." Cordelia's eyes sparkled with humor as she tacked on, "Well that, any my stunning good looks and charming personality."

Another swig of her beer and she finally added, "Though if you want to tell me how I know someone like you, I definitely don't mind..." The way she said 'you' made it quite clear that he wasn't someone she minded knowing in the least. Then again, Cordelia had never been the very subtle when it came to, well, much of anything.

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butiwaswrong
2011-10-09 11:10 pm UTC (link)

Dean flagged the barkeep, to bring him a beer. Then he sat across from Cordelia without waiting for an official invite. He held her gaze for a moment, and decided he had no reason to feel foolish. People came and went all the time, he'd come back for a second run himself, with only sketchy memories of his first time through.

"We were married," he replied, giving her a smirk. It wasn't exactly a lie, he was just leaving out the part about it being a game the city played with all its residents a few months back. He didn't see the harm in having a little fun, maybe it would make him feel less self conscious with someone who didn't remember him.

"It didn't work out," he added. "You were a bit mouthy for me." He followed the statement with a playful smirk. He thought it was odd how he felt self conscious and completely at ease with her, at the same time.

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thisismyofframp
2011-10-10 06:41 am UTC (link)

Having just taken a drink from her beer, Cordelia very nearly snorted it out her nose when he told her how they knew one another. Eyes watering, she half-coughed and half-choked for a second or two before finally managing to suck in some much needed air in order to wheeze, "Excuse me? We were what to the who and the when, now?"

Not that she was necessarily opposed to marriage. She wasn't. She just never saw herself as the marrying type. And she definitely didn't see herself as the type to go marrying some guy she didn't even really know on some planet that wasn't even Earth. Yes, sure, there was that whole thing with Groo back in Pylea but that was different. This was... she didn't even know what this was but it definitely wasn't adding up in her head. Not even a little.

"Were we drunk?" she blurted out after a second. "Or really, really stoned?" Okay. That did not come out the way she'd meant. She tried again. "I mean, don't get me wrong. You're definitely hot, but you don't exactly strike me as the type to willingly walk down the aisle no matter how good I might look in heels and nothing else."

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butiwaswrong
2011-10-10 06:27 pm UTC (link)

"I think there was a lot of drinking after," Dean nodded. He kicked back, enjoying this. He felt good, for once. Calm, relaxed. He didn't feel any of his usual pressures, no burning need to live up to any preconceived ideas, stereotypes, or anything.

"And, you know. The sex was amazing." He winked. They hadn't made it to 'nothing but heels' part, but Dean could go with the assumption. He'd probably come clean to her sooner or later, anyway. Why not enjoy it for a few minutes? She seemed a little less...uptight, he supposed was the word, than the week they were forced to co-habitate. He kind of liked it.

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thisismyofframp
2011-10-11 01:22 am UTC (link)

Although most didn't know it, Cordelia was actually pretty good at reading people. She could typically tell things about a person based on nothing more than how they walked, talked, and what they were wearing. Granted, there was a bit more to it than that - body language was pretty important, too - but there weren't many who could easily fool her when it came to whether or not they were being sincere. Time was, it didn't used to be that way. Someone could pay her a compliment and she took it at face value, oblivious to the sarcasm that could be lying underneath their words. However she had grown, matured as a person, and now could usually pick out someone who was spewing nothing more than lies and half-truths.

So when Dean kept speaking, Cordelia waited a few seconds before responding. She studied him, really looked, to see if he was acting like what he was saying was true. And although she had no memory of ever being with the guy, she had to admit that he was definitely far more at ease with her than most guys tended to be. He seemed relaxed, even. As though this was something he was used to. Almost as if he really was telling the truth. But still. She was having a really hard time believing him, even with all signs pointing to his telling the truth. Mostly because she really could not imagine someone not having told her this before now, if she was being honest. That is, until she really thought about the only person who really seemed to remember the last time she was in the city.

Spike. Of course Spike wouldn't tell her about this. He was probably sitting at home right now, laughing at the fact that sooner or later she was going to run into some ex-husband she didn't even know about and how that would teach her for teasing him about his hair. Oh, but she was going to shave him bald when she saw him next. If she didn't just stake him outright.

As Dean's next comment finally registered, all homicidal urges toward the platinum blonde vampire evaporated. She snorted, an easy smile spreading across her face. "Of course the sex was amazing," she responded flippantly. "I'm me." And yes, she knew how vain that sounded but, well, it was true nonetheless. She wasn't some kind of tramp or anything trashy like that, but she definitely wasn't a slouch in the bedroom. Besides, she was hot and nimble and never had to be shown a move more than once. That wasn't only limited to fighting, thank you very much.

"So... plan on introducing yourself?" she asked after another brief second. "Because 'really hot ex-husband of mine' really isn't going to get easier to say with the more alcohol I drink."

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butiwaswrong
2011-10-16 04:57 pm UTC (link)

"Dean," Dean offered his name. He felt like he was under a microscope, but then that's just how he should feel, with Cordelia. While their marriage wasn't exactly what he was making it out to be, they had spent a lot of time together that week they were bound to one another. They'd started out on rough and rocky ground, but at the end of their time together, he'd walked away with a new respect for her.

She still talked too much, but he could deal with it now. The question now was if he'd tell her the truth of it, or let her continue to think they had actually been married. Chances were good she'd find out the situation sooner or later, and it would come back to bite him in the ass, where if he came clean now, they could potentially laugh about it.

"We weren't really married. I mean, we were, but." He shrugged and waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. "How long have you been ehre, this time? Long enough to know crazy shit happens just about every other week? Yeah. It was a forced marriage thing, Mor-" he cut himself off, refused to use Parker's name for the Collector, and regrouped, "the Collector paired us off, forced us to live together for a week or so. Fun times let me tell you."

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