Mr. Pointy
Cordelia trudged into the library after the school day had ended, where Willow, Xander, Oz, and Giles were at the table, researching some new minor demon that was spotted on a recent patrol. "Where's Buffy," she sighed, realising that the blonde wasn't there.
The past summer was rough for everyone without Buffy being there and Cordelia and Xander had broken up after Buffy's Welcome Back party due to their disagreements and their increasingly frequent arguments. Although, they were still quite friendly with each other. They had just agreed that their relationship wasn't right for either of them. Since then, Cordelia hadn't wanted to lose sight of Buffy out of a deeply rooted apprehensiveness at the thought of Buffy leaving again. She honestly couldn't explain why those thoughts made her feel that way though. Xander seemed to have an idea about it though.
"Holy crap," he had said, enunciating the end of the first word. "You like her!"
Cordelia's jaw dropped and she gaped at the almost giddy look on Xander's face. "What the hell, Xander! I don't like girls!"
Xander smirked and raised his eyebrows suggestively.
"Shut up!" Cordelia yelled, smacking his arm
"She's looking in one of the other sections," Oz said, pointing at the book shelves behind him.
Cordelia nodded, heading over to the stacks to find Buffy. She went through the room, navigating the shelves, until she found Buffy hiding in the back of the library, sitting against a wall and holding a pointy stake. "Hey Buff, you alright?"
Buffy's head snapped up as if she had been broken out of a trance and she immediately started rubbing at her eyes, which Cordelia noticed were red and puffy. "Yeah, I'm fine, Cordy."
Cordelia sat down next to her on the ground, rubbing her shoulder. "I don't believe you," Cordelia stated bluntly, causing Buffy to scoff. "What's wrong?"
Buffy sniffed and held out the pointy stake to show Cordelia. "I was unpacking the stuff I brought to L.A. but I forgot to take Mr. Pointy out" she sniffed. "And when I went through my bag to get something a few minutes ago, I saw it and thought of Kendra."
Cordelia thought for a moment. "Mr. Pointy...is that Kendra's stake?"
Buffy nodded with another sniff. "She gave it to me before she died..."
"Aw, Buff," Cordelia wrapped her arms around Buffy and rubbed her back. Buffy didn't cry too much, although she let a few tears slip out, which Cordelia felt against the fabric of her sweater. If it was anyone else, she would be quietly upset about her outfit getting slightly wet (although she wouldn't say it because she had SOME semblance of boundaries), although with Buffy, she was just relieved that she was letting her emotions out, even if it was just a little bit.
"Girls! We found something that might be of interest to our current predicament!" Giles shouted from across the library around 10 minutes later.
The girls in question, who had been quietly leaning against each other in that hidden corner of the library, both snorted at Giles' wording, as usual, while Cordelia helped to pack her bag. She took off her sweater and wrapped it around Mr. Pointy, gently placing the wrapped bundle into Buffy's bag, and then handing it to her as they both stood up.
When they got to the table, Buffy immediately got into the flow of the conversation with Giles about the new information the other Scoobies found for the demon. Cordelia sank into a chair and zoned out as the chatter continued around her, although as she looked around the room, she made eye contact with Xander, who motioned toward Buffy with his eyes.
Cordelia raised her eyebrows, ready to have a silent teasing round with him, only to let her guard down when Xander gave her a gentle and knowing smile, along with an approving nod. "Take care of her," he silently mouthed.
Cordelia nodded with a growing smile and a warm feeling spreading throughout her body.