Fic 195: Stay Frosty
Title: Stay Frosty
Author: Rebcake
Rating: PG
Word Count: 920
Prompt: 195 - Dessert
Characters: Cordelia, Angel, Wesley, and Jhiera (from She)
Summary: Cordelia has a solution for the newest heat wave.
Cordelia had noticed that Angel very obviously did not look at people’s necks. He kept his attention firmly above the chin, which tended to give the impression that he was a very good listener.
He was slipping with the ringleader of the asylum seekers from Oden Tal, however. In fact, his eyes had traveled entirely below Jhiera’s neck a few times in the last couple of minutes. It was hardly surprising, given that she’d taken “keyhole neckline” to a whole new extreme, but Cordelia knew there was more to it than that, and knew the reason it was getting hot in here. She was tempted to tell them to get a room, except that she still remembered the crispy condition of the last guy that got too close to one of the Sweethearts of Oden Tal.
“So, Harriet Tubman: how long are you planning to keep these girls on ice?”
Jhiera tore her eyes from Angel - and Cordelia noted they hadn’t been on his face. “I will do whatever is necessary, for as long as necessary.”
“Uh huh. Well, I thought maybe we could have a brainstorming session; try to think outside the refrigerated box for a minute. Maybe there’s a way to get these girls integrated into society before the polar ice caps melt.”
“I don’t know, Cordelia. It’s pretty dangerous for them to be out there too soon. Until they learn to control their powers…” Angel trailed off, shrugging.
“Well, duh. I’m just saying there might be some way to move things along. Jhiera’s been making it up as she goes, right?”
Jhiera bristled, but didn’t argue.
“Four heads are better than one.” She grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil from the desk and - after fanning herself a few times - hitched a hip on one corner. Wesley was still inert and slack-jawed on the small couch, a drop of sweat meandering down his temple. “Okay, three heads. Let’s start with the things that help us to chill. I’ll go first: shoe shopping, the 6 o’clock spinning class with Rafael, and a nice loofah scrub.” She turned to Angel with the pencil poised over the legal pad.
“Blood and good drawing paper,” said Angel without hesitation. Cordelia wrote it down and looked expectantly at Jhiera.
“Ice and performing the kata.”
“Okay, good! Anything else?”
“Punting downriver on a midsummer’s day,” added Wesley in a faraway voice.
Cordelia shook her head but added it to the list. She looked it over, but nothing useful popped out. Maybe the loofah. She glanced over at Jhiera through the heat haze, and tried to figure out what she was missing. There was some connection nagging at the back of her mind. The platform boots were heinous, but there was something about the way she carried herself…
“Buffy!”
Angel’s head snapped around. “What?”
“We should totally call Buffy on this one.” She made a sweeping gesture that encompassed Jhiera. “She’s got the whole action hero/girly girl perspective. She’d probably-“
“Ice cream,” Angel broke in. “Ice cream, chocolate, mint mochachinos. She’d say yogurt if you called, but it's ice cream.” He lapsed into silence, his eyes no longer on Jhiera.
“Now that’s what I call detecting,” said Cordelia with a wide smile.
“What is ‘ice cream’?” demanded Jhiera.
“Only the greatest culinary invention of all time. You’ve never tried the creamy, frosty, sweet, and melty?”
Jhiera tried not to look intrigued.
Angel sighed. “I’ve got some in my freezer.” He plodded toward the stairs, and was back inside of a minute with the ice cream, a stack of bowls, and some spoons. Cordelia brushed him aside and dug out a scoop for Jhiera to try.
It was already slightly melted from the atmosphere in the office, but Cordelia figured that anything labeled “Triple Chocolate Climax” would be able to make it’s point.
They all watched as Jhiera took the bowl. Cordelia raised her eyebrows and mimed eating and making a "yum" face. Jhiera frowned and touched the spoon to her tongue. She paused to evaluate, and then took a larger mouthful. She stood stock still - aside from licking her lips.
“Well?”
“It is…good.” She took another spoonful, and then another. The temperature in the room inched downward. Cordelia refilled the bowl. “I feel…calm. Relaxed. That is unusual.”
“I noticed.”
“This substance, is it easy to obtain?”
“Yep. Every corner store has it and in a wide variety of flavors.”
“I must test it for my girls, to make sure there is no ill effect.”
As the temperature continued to drop, Wesley sat upright. “I could accompany you to acquire more. Is time of the essence, Your Highness?”
“Yes, we must hurry. I do not wish them to suffer if a simple solution can be found.”
The door snapped shut behind them. Angel looked glumly at the carton beginning to leak onto the desk. Cordelia rubbed her hands together.
“You know, I can see a brilliant business opportunity for your new friends. They can set up a gelateria or a smoothie shop with a refrigerated dorm right out back. Maybe in Sunnydale.”
Angel looked up from wiping the spill. “Why Sunnydale?”
“Well, it’s more off the beaten path than LA, so it might make it easier for them to keep away from those guys that were after them. Plus, Buffy’s all into the girl power thing. I’ll bet she’d love to do a good turn for some hot chicks with super powers.”
“Um...”
“It’s perfect. What could go wrong?”
Continued in part 2, Packed With Fiber
Author: Rebcake
Rating: PG
Word Count: 920
Prompt: 195 - Dessert
Characters: Cordelia, Angel, Wesley, and Jhiera (from She)
Summary: Cordelia has a solution for the newest heat wave.
Cordelia had noticed that Angel very obviously did not look at people’s necks. He kept his attention firmly above the chin, which tended to give the impression that he was a very good listener.
He was slipping with the ringleader of the asylum seekers from Oden Tal, however. In fact, his eyes had traveled entirely below Jhiera’s neck a few times in the last couple of minutes. It was hardly surprising, given that she’d taken “keyhole neckline” to a whole new extreme, but Cordelia knew there was more to it than that, and knew the reason it was getting hot in here. She was tempted to tell them to get a room, except that she still remembered the crispy condition of the last guy that got too close to one of the Sweethearts of Oden Tal.
“So, Harriet Tubman: how long are you planning to keep these girls on ice?”
Jhiera tore her eyes from Angel - and Cordelia noted they hadn’t been on his face. “I will do whatever is necessary, for as long as necessary.”
“Uh huh. Well, I thought maybe we could have a brainstorming session; try to think outside the refrigerated box for a minute. Maybe there’s a way to get these girls integrated into society before the polar ice caps melt.”
“I don’t know, Cordelia. It’s pretty dangerous for them to be out there too soon. Until they learn to control their powers…” Angel trailed off, shrugging.
“Well, duh. I’m just saying there might be some way to move things along. Jhiera’s been making it up as she goes, right?”
Jhiera bristled, but didn’t argue.
“Four heads are better than one.” She grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil from the desk and - after fanning herself a few times - hitched a hip on one corner. Wesley was still inert and slack-jawed on the small couch, a drop of sweat meandering down his temple. “Okay, three heads. Let’s start with the things that help us to chill. I’ll go first: shoe shopping, the 6 o’clock spinning class with Rafael, and a nice loofah scrub.” She turned to Angel with the pencil poised over the legal pad.
“Blood and good drawing paper,” said Angel without hesitation. Cordelia wrote it down and looked expectantly at Jhiera.
“Ice and performing the kata.”
“Okay, good! Anything else?”
“Punting downriver on a midsummer’s day,” added Wesley in a faraway voice.
Cordelia shook her head but added it to the list. She looked it over, but nothing useful popped out. Maybe the loofah. She glanced over at Jhiera through the heat haze, and tried to figure out what she was missing. There was some connection nagging at the back of her mind. The platform boots were heinous, but there was something about the way she carried herself…
“Buffy!”
Angel’s head snapped around. “What?”
“We should totally call Buffy on this one.” She made a sweeping gesture that encompassed Jhiera. “She’s got the whole action hero/girly girl perspective. She’d probably-“
“Ice cream,” Angel broke in. “Ice cream, chocolate, mint mochachinos. She’d say yogurt if you called, but it's ice cream.” He lapsed into silence, his eyes no longer on Jhiera.
“Now that’s what I call detecting,” said Cordelia with a wide smile.
“What is ‘ice cream’?” demanded Jhiera.
“Only the greatest culinary invention of all time. You’ve never tried the creamy, frosty, sweet, and melty?”
Jhiera tried not to look intrigued.
Angel sighed. “I’ve got some in my freezer.” He plodded toward the stairs, and was back inside of a minute with the ice cream, a stack of bowls, and some spoons. Cordelia brushed him aside and dug out a scoop for Jhiera to try.
It was already slightly melted from the atmosphere in the office, but Cordelia figured that anything labeled “Triple Chocolate Climax” would be able to make it’s point.
They all watched as Jhiera took the bowl. Cordelia raised her eyebrows and mimed eating and making a "yum" face. Jhiera frowned and touched the spoon to her tongue. She paused to evaluate, and then took a larger mouthful. She stood stock still - aside from licking her lips.
“Well?”
“It is…good.” She took another spoonful, and then another. The temperature in the room inched downward. Cordelia refilled the bowl. “I feel…calm. Relaxed. That is unusual.”
“I noticed.”
“This substance, is it easy to obtain?”
“Yep. Every corner store has it and in a wide variety of flavors.”
“I must test it for my girls, to make sure there is no ill effect.”
As the temperature continued to drop, Wesley sat upright. “I could accompany you to acquire more. Is time of the essence, Your Highness?”
“Yes, we must hurry. I do not wish them to suffer if a simple solution can be found.”
The door snapped shut behind them. Angel looked glumly at the carton beginning to leak onto the desk. Cordelia rubbed her hands together.
“You know, I can see a brilliant business opportunity for your new friends. They can set up a gelateria or a smoothie shop with a refrigerated dorm right out back. Maybe in Sunnydale.”
Angel looked up from wiping the spill. “Why Sunnydale?”
“Well, it’s more off the beaten path than LA, so it might make it easier for them to keep away from those guys that were after them. Plus, Buffy’s all into the girl power thing. I’ll bet she’d love to do a good turn for some hot chicks with super powers.”
“Um...”
“It’s perfect. What could go wrong?”
Continued in part 2, Packed With Fiber