“Ugh…”  Buffy closed the book she was holding and dropped it on top of another discarded volume.

“What does it say?”  Giles asked, turning the page in the book in his hands.

“Same as all the others.  Slayer called…blah, blah…great protector…blah, blah…scary battles…blah, blah.  Oops!  She’s dead.”  She sighed heavily and shook her head.  “Where are the details?”

“Details?”  Giles asked, walking over towards her as he continued reading.  “Well, it says this Slayer forged her own weapons.”

He handed the book the Buffy and she glanced at it.  “Gotta love a girl with an anvil.”

Giles smiled softly, being extremely careful not to look at her.  As Buffy continued talking, he lifted his head, focusing on a few charms hanging above the counter.

“What made that fight special?  Why did she lose?”

“You didn’t lose last night, Buffy.”  Giles said softly, lifting his hand to one particular charm.  He held the sapphire blue heart between his thumb and index finger and sighed.  “You just – ”

“Got really close.”  She interrupted.

He lowered his hand and finally looked at her, slipping his hands in his pockets as she kept talking.

“I slipped up, Giles.”

He tried to focus on her words as she spoke, but his mind was racing…his heart was pounding in his chest.  He knew where this conversation was heading – and it wasn’t a conversation he was exactly thrilled to be part of. 

“If there were just a few good descriptions of what took out the other Slayers, maybe it would help me to understand my mistake.  You know, to keep it from happening again.”

Giles sighed heavily and shrugged his jacket off.

“Yes, well…the problem is…after a final battle, it’s difficult to get any…well, the Slayer’s not…she’s rather…”

Buffy tilted her head slightly as he sat down.  “It’s okay to use the ‘D’ word, Giles.”

“Dead.”  He said, swallowing and glancing into her eyes very briefly before looking at the floor.  “And hence, not very forthcoming.”

“Well, why didn’t the Watchers keep fuller accounts of it?”  She flipped open the cover of one of the journals and shook her head in frustration.  “The journals just…stop.”

Giles looked off to the side, purposely not looking at her.  “Well, I suppose if they’re anything like me, they just found the whole subject too, uh – ”

“Unseemly?”  She interrupted.

His gaze shifted to her, but he let her continue.  She lowered her eyes and her tone changed, sadness seeping into her voice.

“Damn.  Love you, but you Watchers are such prigs sometimes.”

“Painful…I was going to say.”  Giles said emotionally.

Buffy lifted her eyes back to his.  Their mutual gaze held for a long moment, longer than it probably should have.  Neither knew exactly what to say, nor what the other was actually seeing…feeling…in that gaze.  Buffy felt her heartrate pick up as she watched his eyes glisten.  He held his emotions in check more often than not – for him to show this…there was something more that he wasn’t saying.

Before she could ask, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“But, you’re right.  Accounts of the final battles would be very helpful.”  He shrugged a shoulder and sighed.  “But, there’s no one left to tell the tales.”

Buffy’s eyes widened and Giles furrowed his brow.

“What?”

She slid off of the stool she was sitting on and smoothed her palms over her thighs.  “I have an idea.  You’re not going to like it, but…there’s someone who can tell the tales of two Slayers.”

Understanding hit Giles and he shook his head.  “No.  No, Buffy…this isn’t a good idea.”

“It’s the only idea, Giles.”   She sighed heavily.  “I have to know.”

Knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to talk her out of it, he stood up and slipped his hands into his pockets.  “Please…be careful.”

“I’ll come by your place after, okay?  I’ll…”  She paused, tilting her head to the left as she looked at him.  Really looked at him. 

And then she quickly replayed the entire conversation in her head.  His tone, his countenance, his sadness.  She glanced at the charm he had touched earlier and then looked into his eyes – which he averted nearly instantaneously. 

“I think we need to talk.”  She whispered.  “And I think Spike can help us both out with this.  You know…prepare us for – ”

“I’m fairly certain nothing could prepare me for that.”  He blurted, closing his eyes as he silently cursed himself. 

“You don’t even like Cheetos.”  She said with a gentle smile.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, confusion showing clearly on his face.  “I’m sorry?”

She walked around the counter and placed her hand on his arm.  “We’ll talk later.  I’ll get some answers.”

And then she turned and walked towards the door before he could form any thoughts.  He stared at the door as it closed.

“Cheetos?”  He asked softly to no one.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Buffy opened the front door of Giles’ apartment and walked in…not as confidently as she normally did.  But, then…she normally hadn’t been thinking the type of thoughts that she’d been thinking for the past couple of hours.  She narrowed her eyes and closed the door behind her.

Giles was in the kitchen and turned to look at her though the pass-through.  When he saw the expression on her face, he became somewhat concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“Huh?”  She shook her head and smiled.  “Oh, yeah…sorry, I just confused myself with a thought.”

He stared at her for a moment and then chuckled.  “Well, that doesn’t bode well at all.”

She rolled her eyes and dropped her bag on one of the stools at the breakfast bar before pulling off her jacket.  “Funny.  So, I talked to Spike.”

His smile faded as he nodded.  “I assumed so.  Did you learn anything?”

“That sometimes the vampire just has a good fucking day.”  She muttered and walked into the kitchen. 

She opened the fridge door and pulled out a bottle of water.  She looked at him as she unscrewed the cap. 

“He really wasn’t all that much help, in the end.”  She lifted the bottle to her lips.

He regarded her carefully, furrowing his brow.  “What happened?”

She lowered the bottle and swallowed the mouthful of water.  Her eyes widened slightly – slight enough that most people wouldn’t even notice. 

“What happened?”  He repeated, wiping his hands on a tea towel before dropping it onto the counter.

Giles wasn’t most people.

“Nothing.”  She said, placing the bottle on the countertop.

He continued staring at her, but said nothing.  She sighed heavily and shrugged a shoulder. 

“He tried to kiss me.”

Giles arched an eyebrow and leaned against the counter, silently requesting her to continue. She jumped up to sit on the counter opposite to where he was standing.  She rubbed her hands nervously against her thighs. 

“It was a heat of the moment thing.  He obviously misread the situation and…”  She smiled at him.  “…I set him straight.  Without staking him.  But, he knows that that is never going to happen.”

Giles exhaled a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.  “I’m sure Riley would be relieved.”

Buffy’s smile faded as she stared at him.  “You think it would’ve been different if I wasn’t dating Riley?”

Giles froze momentarily and then shook his head.  “No.  No, that’s not what I was insinuating at all.  I just…well, I mean – ”

“I didn’t even think about Riley.”  She interrupted quietly.  “And I’m not quite sure what that means.”

“I’m sorry?”

Buffy leaned back slightly and pushed her hand into her pocket.  He watched her and then lowered his eyes when she pulled an item out between her fingers.

“I stopped by the shop on the way here.”  She held up the charm and ducked her head to try to catch his eye.  “What’s the significance of this?”

His eyes darted from hers, to the sapphire blue heart, then back to hers. 

“It’s for focus.  Peace, soul contentment.”  He said softly.

“That’s interesting.”  She lowered her hand, cradling the charm in her palm.  “Because I read that it’s a crystal of love, fidelity, and commitment.  That it’ll strengthen ties and deepen love…and help a person let go of their inhibitions and insecurities.”

“Buffy…”

“I saw something earlier in your eyes.  Heard something in your voice.”  She ran her fingertip over the heart and bit her bottom lip.  “It would be more than…painful…for you, wouldn’t it?”

He lowered his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. 

“You were super focused on this while we were talking.”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say here.”  He admitted, slowly meeting her eyes. 

“Did you see something in my eyes earlier?”  She asked, curling her fingers around the charm.  “Anything at all?”

He nodded slowly.  “I’m not sure you were aware of what you were showing.”

“Maybe not.”  She agreed, sliding off of the counter.  “Were you?  Aware of what you were showing?”

“I was caught off-guard.”  He said, swallowing nervously.  “I…am well aware of what I feel.  It was not my intention to show you.”

“Why not?”

If an expression could scream ‘are you fucking serious?’ aloud, his would have.  She could almost hear the words in his expression.  She chuckled despite the situation and moved to stand next to him.  She slipped her arm through his and leaned her head against his upper arm. 

“I need to have a conversation with Riley.  And then I think you and I need to have a conversation with each other.”

“Should we do that in reverse order?”  He asked gently. 

“You worried that our conversation would end badly and then I wouldn’t need to have the one with Riley?”  She gently rubbed her cheek against his arm and then sighed.  “No matter how our conversation ends, I need to have the one with Riley.  Because…I’m obviously in a different place than he is.”

“Hm?”

“If we were on the same page, I wouldn’t have been having the thoughts about you that I’ve been having.  So…no matter what conclusion you and I come to – I can’t be with Riley.”

“Ah…”

She smirked in amusement.  “The man of many words seems to have…none.  Only syllables.  What’s the deal with that?”

He looked down at her and exhaled a slow breath.  “I’m…rather not sure.”

She glanced at the clock and nodded.  “Okay, so I’m going to go…have that chat.  And then…I’m going to come back here.”

She looked up at him, almost pleadingly.  “You good with that?”

“I, uh…can have dinner ready for you.  If you’re hungry?”

“Is that a yes?”

He nodded, offering her a smile of near-resignation.  “Yes.  Yes, I’m…‘good with that’.”

She smiled and gently squeezed his arm before taking a step away from him.  She held the charm up again and her smile grew. 

“I’m keeping this, okay?”

He gave her a half-smile, his eyes warm and soft.  “It’s always been yours.”

“So…maybe our conversation isn’t going to end as badly as either of us were concerned about, huh?”

She gave him a wink and slipped the charm back into her pocket.  She noticed a flash of something in his eyes…possibly apprehension…that caused her to hesitate.

“What is it?”

His eyes cleared and he offered her a gentle smile.  “Nothing.  Nothing, really.”

“You realise that you’re not the best liar in the world, right?”

“This Spike thing…”

“It’s not a ‘thing’.”  She interjected quickly.  “There is no Spike thing.”

“You know he has a one-track mind, Buffy.  If he’s latched on to some fantasy of you and him, he’s not going to just drop it.”

“That’s not jealousy.”  She mused aloud.  “You don’t do jealous.  You’re worried.”

“Of course I’m worried.  It’s Spike.”  He looked at her closely and then let out a small sigh.  “And I do get jealous from time to time.  Not regarding Spike, but…jealousy is not a foreign concept to me.”

The corner of her mouth lifted in a brief smile.  “Can we talk about that one day?”

“Put it on your list of things you obviously want to talk about.”  He retorted with a chuckle.

Her eyes darted to his lips and then she took another step back.  “I, uh…I need to start with this first talk, okay?  And then…you and I?  We can talk about all sorts of things.”

He looked at her curiously. And then he saw it, the slight dilation of her pupils…the way she was breathing just the tiniest bit harder.  Something he’d said or done had…

“Buffy?”

“I, uh…I should go.  Like…now.  But, I’ll be back later…for, um…for our talk.  And…well…”  She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head, backing the rest of the way out of the small kitchen.  “Dinner – you’re doing dinner, right?”

He nodded slowly, his eyes following her as she grabbed her discarded jacket from where had draped it over her bag.  “Anything in particular you’d like?”

“You.”  She blurted and then winced.  “Um…what I mean is…whatever you want is fine.  I like your…you’re a good cook, Giles.”

“Hey…”  He said softly, quickly making his way out of the kitchen.  He stopped directly in front of her and took a steadying breath.  “What just happened?”

She focused on a stray thread on his shirt.  “I think you know what just happened.”

He lifted his hand to her chin and carefully tilted her face upwards so he could look into her eyes.  “But, I’m not sure…why…it happened.”

“Because you’re you.”  She replied, gently plucking that thread from his shirt before resting her fingers on his chest.  “And I’m allowing myself to see what’s in front of me…what’s been in front of me for years.  And…I kinda don’t want to go right now.  But, I need to…because…you know, Riley.”

His thumb lightly stroked her chin, just below her bottom lip.  “Then you should probably go soon.  If you’re wanting to talk to him first.  Because I’m very close to kissing you.”

“Wasn’t expecting you to say that…”  She whispered.

He smiled softly, his thumb ghosting over her bottom lip before he lowered his hand.  “Wasn’t expecting you to research what blue sapphire is used for.”

She instantly missed his touch and she was suddenly finding it very difficult to breathe…and she was sure that the heat had just kicked on in the apartment because…she was hot.  She paused for only a second before flattening her palm against his chest.

“Oh, fuck it…”  She murmured, lifting up on her toes and pressing her lips against his.

He responded immediately, cupping her face between his hands as he deepened the kiss.  She moaned softly when his tongue touched hers, her hand curling into a fist on his chest.  He ended the kiss slowly, smiling as she sighed deeply.

“Jesus, Giles…are you trying to kill me?”

He rubbed his right thumb over her cheekbone, his eyes sparkling as he chuckled.  “You kissed me, love.”

“You kissed me back.”  She grinned at him.  “Love…”

“Mm.  But, then…you would have known I would.  I’d already confirmed my interest…”

She nodded slowly, uncurling her fist and absently stroking the soft material of his shirt.  “What happens next?”

He gestured towards the door with a nod of his head.  “You go have your chat with Riley.  I make dinner.  You come back, we eat, we talk, we…”

“Kiss some more?”  She asked hopefully.

“Fairly certain that could be arranged.”  He replied, glancing at her lips. 

“Maybe now?”  She licked her lips, smiling as his eyes darkened.

He shook his head and smiled.  “If we fall down that rabbit hole, the other things that need to be taken care of will…be forgotten.”

“I like rabbit holes.”  She pouted, sliding her hand up his chest to rest over his collarbone. 

“Buffy…”  He said, a playful warning tone in his voice.

She blew out a breath and took a step back.  “Fine.  Rabbit holes later.”

“Be careful.”  He said, picking up her jacket and handing it to her. 

She slipped it on and raised an eyebrow at him.  “You too.”

He tilted his head questioningly.  She pulled out her favourite stake and handed it to him. 

“As if you’re not going to go after Spike?”  When he merely stared at her, she shrugged a shoulder.  “When I really start looking, you’re not so good at hiding things.  And…I’m really looking now.”

“I’ll be fine.” 

“I know.  But, like he said…it’s all down to having one good day.”

A slow smile appeared on his face as he walked her to the door.  “Then everything will be just fine, Buffy.  Because I’m having one hell of a good day.”

She returned his smile and they gazed at one another for a long moment.  And then with a gentle nod, she turned and walked out the door.  He stood in the doorway and watched her run up the stairs that led to the road and then he reached for his jacket. 

After slipping the stake into the inner pocket, he grabbed his keys and left as well. 

“One good day, indeed.”  He mused to himself as he bounded up the stairs to where his car was parked. 

He had a pretty good idea of where to find Spike.  And this wasn’t as good of a day for the vampire.

And then maybe he’d pick up something for dinner on the way home instead of cooking. 

Because his mind was definitely not on food preparation.

He smiled and slid into the driver’s seat of the car. 

“Yes…one hell of a good day.”