Dinner, No Dancing
Max loaded her bike onto Cordelia’s rack and the two were off to change at their apartment. They chatted amiably and Cordy showed considerable restraint by not asking what she and Angel had discussed. But then, Cordy was keeping the big picture in mind. And she could console herself in her schemes that she was helping not only one, but two of her friends. That was what tonight was all about. She already had planned what outfit she would convince Max to borrow.
A half-hour later, a record for most women, both ladies were ready. Angel, Gunn, Wes and Fred were waiting in Angel’s convertible. They’d already discussed transportation. Fred wanted a chance to talk to Max and Angel’s car only seated five people. So she opted to join the ladies in Cordelia’s SUV. That suited the men just fine. That is, until the ladies emerged from the apartment complex.
Cordelia came first, wearing her customary red. Her accessories matched perfectly, from her red shoes right down to the red barrette she’d clipped into her hair to pull it back from her face. Her legs, indeed all her skin was pale from her lengthy stay in the hospital. But she was beginning to recover her California glow. Her paleness only enhanced her femininity. But if she was a vision of loveliness, Max was perfection.
Cordelia had lent Max one of her party dresses. It didn’t really suit her frame and she thought Max would be perfect in it. She was right. Max hadn’t had much chance to shop for some nicer clothes, yet she was comfortable in her work clothes right up to ball gowns. Most nights that they went out, Max would go so far as to wear tight jeans and a cute shirt or turtleneck. Cordy liked her enough to only criticize her wardrobe every other day. It wasn’t that Max didn’t look good, but Cordy was used to highlighting every curve she had. And she expected other women to feel the same way. Just as she had with every other roommate she’d had, Max humored her and continued to wear what she liked. But tonight, she was out to impress. And when she saw the gown Cordy had produced, she found that the color was too much to resist. So she’d allowed Cordy to fuss over her and do her make-up. The other woman had emphasized her exotic looks, centering on her eyes, making them appear even larger in her face. She’d also curled Max’s recently cut hair. It tended to curl on it’s own when it was shorter, but Cordy and her array of beauty tools had set it perfectly.
Angel had barely glanced at the familiar sight of Cordy in full party regalia. But when he caught a glimpse of the trim ankle walking behind his friend, he was suddenly glad that he didn’t need to breathe. His gaze slid up her impossibly long, lithe limbs until his eyes nearly crossed. He could have sworn that at first glance, her dress was blue, but the hue changed as she walked. It took him a moment to realize the optical illusion was just the fabric adhering to her body, flowing as she flowed. The fabric swept up her body, to gather at her neck, leaving her arms and shoulder bare. There was a bracelet adorning one arm and in that hand, she clutched a small purse, almost the same blue as the dress. Angel smiled at her, but she was saying something to Cordelia and they both laughed. Angel was captivated all over again. Until Gunn’s voice broke his concentration.
"…got to get me some of that," the darker man was chuckling. Fred thumped him in the shoulder.
"She’s a person, not a thing you know," she scolded.
"Uh huh, whatever," Gunn teased. Angel scowled at him in the rearview mirror, but it was useless. Sometimes having no reflection really sucked. Gunn was already climbing out of the car. "Come on Wes, let’s go see if we can catch a ride." Wes didn’t bother to respond, just trailed after the other man dumbly, to where the ladies were. Fred protested wordlessly but Angel forced himself to chuckle and grab up her hand.
"Hey, you still got me," he offered. Fred just pouted. He wondered when she had learned that.
"But I wanted to talk to Max," she whined. "Cordy really likes her. I thought I might too. You know I don’t have a lot of friends."
"So what are we?" he frowned mockingly. "Chop suey?"
"You know what I mean," Fred she sighed, rolling her eyes. They turned their attention back to the others in time to see Cordelia nudging Max towards Angel’s car, then herding the disappointed males into her vehicle. Max smiled brilliantly at them and Angel hurried to climb out of the car. He held the door open for Max while Fred pushed his seat forward. He was so captivated by her that he forgot to offer his hand as she stepped into the car. She settled back and Angel pushed his seat into place. He climbed in, but before he started the car, he turned around to face their guest.
"Did Cordy say where we were going?" he asked easily. Max smiled.
"She said she was craving Japanese and you’d know the place," Max instructed. Angel nodded and turned his attention to driving. Max and Fred introduced themselves properly and began to chat about how Cordy’s craving came about. She entertained them with tales about one of her former roommates, named Kendra, who taught conversational Japanese to kids at their apartment. After that, the topic turned to hobbies and Fred was trying to haltingly explain her obsession with mathematics. Surprisingly, Max understood better than others did the points that Fred touched on. She asked intelligent questions about different formulas and Angel’s head was nearly spinning as theories flew that he had no comprehension of. By the end of the drive, it seemed as if Max was well on her way to creating another dedicated friend. He could almost smell the hero worship coming from Fred.
The others had beaten them to the restaurant and were waiting in the lounge, already requesting a table. It didn’t take long for the request to be granted. The restaurant was one of those that provided a cooking show as the chef cooked right at your table. Cordy confided to the others that it was ‘so 1990’s’ but according to her, the food was fabulous. Enough so to warrant being seen there occasionally. The hostess showed them to their table, and sure enough more tables were full than empty. The hostess introduced their waitress who greeted everyone pleasantly enough before taking their drink orders. She returned quickly with drinks and a list of the selections the chefs were prepared to make. She left them alone to deliberate and Cordy offered advice about the different dishes on the menu.
Soon, a young Japanese chef made his way to the table. Everyone decided what he or she wanted and while joking with the bemused group, the young man, Fukyo, began to prepare their food. He did little tricks with his knives while slicing and dicing that had them sighing in appreciation. But the next happened so quickly, that only Angel and Max saw it all clearly. Fukyo had dipped some meat into a little oil before dropping it to the heated surface. He’d wiped his hand on his apron towel, but hadn’t gotten it all off. When he grabbed his knife to add vegetables, he went to flip it in the time honored manner, but it slipped. And flew straight at Wesley. Angel was sitting too far, but Max, right beside the pale Brit, snatched the knife from mid-flight and making the move seem natural, flipped it into one of the plum tomatoes awaiting serving, slicing it cleanly in half. The group gasped and started to applaud. Fukyo gaped at Max, who just smiled and casually winked at the trembling man. He recovered quickly, wiped his hand again and continued his little show.
Dinner continued while the group peppered Max with questions. By Angel’s orders, they didn’t ask about her appearance in the chamber, or why she’d run away. Max gave them, with Cordy’s help, the same story that she’d originally concocted about her life back in Seattle. It was lucky for her that none of them had visited that city, as Max was sure that things had changed drastically over twenty years. Fred continued to ask about more mathematical theories, with Wes occasionally adding something. Cordelia told Gunn and Angel about funny things her ghost, Phantom Dennis did for Max while they were at home. She joked that he liked Max better than he did her, which was really something, as Dennis adored Cordy.
Finally sated, the group discussed where to go next. Fred naively suggested Caritas, the local demon kareoke bar that they frequented. But the others shot that down. Max was aware of vampires and ghosts, but they had no idea how she’d react to demons. They finally decided on a dance club not too far away. Angel protested, as he didn’t dance. Of course the music that the majority of clubs played was not much more than noise to him and the group teased him mercilessly.
"That’s okay," Max chuckled. "I’m not up for dancing either. Biking all day tends to take it out of me." So the group agreed that they’d dance and Angel and Max could watch their coats and drinks and various other things that were always left at the table. That suited Angel perfectly. So they climbed into their respective vehicles and made their way to the club.
The entrance was located down an alleyway, so they were forced to park on the street, about a block away. It was still early enough to beat some of the crowd. But the beat was loud, just like all the other clubs on the block, drawing people in. But before they ever reached their destination, large blue hands reached out and grabbed Fred. She screamed and caught the others attention. They reacted instinctively, racing into the alley, only to be confronted by four large, blue demons. They were misproportioned with large, flabby bodies, yet smaller heads. Wes recognized them instantly from his research.
"Nikoem demons," he shouted to the others. "Their necks are extremely weak, so target there." Angel hadn’t noticed until he felt Max’s presence beside them that she’d followed after them. One of the demons, holding Fred, looked startled at the abrupt interruption of their meal. Fred, having trained with Angel in tai chi, was trying to get the creature off her, but its bulk was making that difficult. She tried to keep her head and was relieved as the others came after her. She heard a shout and looked up to see Max racing towards her, heedless of the danger. She barely registered what Max yelled at her before the woman launched herself in the air, so she ducked as instructed.
Max had seen her new friend in danger and reacted. She knew that Angel had probably told the others about her skill, so she really had no reason to hide it. She jumped into the air, feet first as Fred finally ducked. Her legs caught the demons neck in their tight grip and she twisted herself in the air, launching the demon sideways and over in a flip. They all heard the satisfying crunch as the demon's neck snapped under her assault. She landed on her feet and one hand on the ground.
"Max!" Angel yelled. She looked back to see another demon lunging at her. She ran forward, straight to the wall and everyone was amazed to see her run three steps up the building and flip over the demon's head. As she landed, her hand caught the creature’s neck and she snapped it with a simple twist and flex. Angel had the presence of mind to catch the other two before they could react and sweep their heads together, stunning them. He snapped one and then the others neck with his strong arms, almost yanking their heads clean from the bodies.
Max looked thoughtfully at the demon at her feet. She’d been surprised when she had first seen them, but was used to rolling with the punches. In fact, she’d been almost reluctant to hurt them as they reminded her in some ways as some of the creatures Manticore had produced. But when Fred had screamed, she’d had to remind herself that these weren’t her siblings. She turned to survey the group. She’d heard Angel’s dangerous growl and knew that he’d dealt with the other two. She smiled when she saw him, full out vamped and chuckled. He looked worse for wear than any of the others, who were all gaping at her. Apparently, Angel’s descriptions hadn’t done her justice.
"Hey," she chuckled. "I thought you said you didn’t dance."
In Heat
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