nocticola:

Angel’s not going to tell Cordelia he loves her that way, not yet anyway. They’re not there yet, not anymore. They were so, so, so close all those months ago, when they were going to meet up at the bluffs but so much has happened to both of them since then. (She might even hate me now, and I wouldn’t blame her.) They need to work on getting back to that level. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love her, on the contrary her absence has made him love her even more. But now is not the time, but that doesn’t matter. Cordelia is back and they have time. He’s sure of that.

Cordelia’s not going to tell Angel that she loves him. Since her time is limited, it would be too cruel to pretend that they had time for love, for all those things they lost when she got fooled and they both lost almost everything that mattered. She still loves him, despite his mistakes and fuck ups. She can forgive those (but maybe not forget). But her path is different, for real this time, and once again it’s bigger than their love. She’s going to let him know of her love some other way. They just don’t have time. She knows that.