Authors Note: Ok, so this is set at the end of 'Living Conditions' and very rapidly descends into my own AU, I've got quite a lot of the story planned out and should probably give a heads up that it'll be a long one! This is my first Buffy fic so any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I'm not totally comfortable with their characterisation yet. It is a B/G fic but starts out with friendship...

Endings and Beginnings.

Chapter 1.

"How's that?" Giles asked with a slight grunt as he stretched his arms out and held the poster flat to the wall.

"Uh-uh, a little to the left," Buffy advised and kept a watchful eye as he slowly inched the Dingoes poster to the left, "there. Perfect. I'm so glad Will's moving in, I can already feel all that bad Kathy-karma just draining away."

A small half smile graced Giles mouth as he watched her turn and start rummaging through some of the half empty boxes still littering the room, so very grateful that she appeared to be herself again. His thoughts turned towards the last few days and a scowl replaced the earlier smile chasing his previous good mood away as he realised how close they came to losing her completely. "I'm sorry I doubted you," he said, quietly, hands balling in to fists as he waited for her to chastise him.

Instead she surprised him with a dazzling smile as she turned back to face him. "You're completely forgiven." Giles opened his mouth to protest but was quickly stunned into silence when she crossed over to where he stood and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "You had reason to doubt, Giles, don't sweat it."

"Yes well," he murmured, as he whipped his glasses off and started polishing them with his shirt, flustered from the unexpected contact and the generosity of the young woman in front of him. "It won't happen again."

She favoured him with another smile. "Good," she tilted her head slightly and looked up at him from underneath her lashes as she added, "Want to take me for mocha's in Will's absence?"

"I am unemployed, you know," he teased, enjoying the way her smile instantly turned into a pout. When she added puppy dog eyes into the mix he rolled his eyes at her good naturedly and nodded in defeat.

"Yay me!" she said, excitedly, as she grabbed his arm and headed for the door.

"What, no tea?" she asked, incredulously, when he ordered a cappuccino for himself.

He had the good grace to wait until the waitress was out of sight before allowing a grimace to appear on his face. "No, I dread to think what it would taste like from here."

"Snob."

"And proud of it," he assured her with a playful grin which made her laugh. "When I find an American that can brew a cup of tea properly, and stock decent tea, I'll be the first to sing their praises. Until then, I'll make my own and stick to coffee in public, thank you very much."

"Could you be more English?" she asked through her giggles.

"Oh yes, I'm sure I could be a lot worse. In fact, I think you've led me astray somewhat." He winked at her and she snorted and then flushed with embarrassment as the waitress chose that precise moment to reappear with their drinks.

"How's the job hunting going?" she asked, seemingly out of nowhere, as she spooned an alarming amount of sugar into her mocha.

Giles blinked once in surprise at the sudden shift in topic and then thought about her question. "It's...going."

She frowned at him, confusion plainly written on her face. "Meaning?"

He sighed and then shrugged. "I'm taking it slowly. I, well, um, you see, the thing is..."

"Less stutter, more answers," she demanded, smiling at him to soften her words.

"I, uh, I don't know what I want to do," he said, embarrassed, "It's the first time I've really had a choice and I find that I'm uncertain of which direction to go in."

Buffy swallowed, thickly, as she thought about how adrift he must have felt since losing both of his occupations. She was ashamed to admit that she hadn't thought about his feelings at all during the last few months and wondered why he put up with her at all. "I'm sorry," she said, sincerely, as she met his soft gaze.

"What on earth for?" She would have found his bewildered expression comical, had their conversation been any less serious.

"For not thinking about you, Giles! For focusing on my needs instead of yours, we're a team, or we were until college, and I should have been there for you."

"Buffy, that's very sweet but I do understand what it's like to be young. You're allowed to be a little self-centred now and again; it's all part of growing up."

"I'm not sure I like this growing up thing," she grumbled.

He gave a small laugh and smiled at her kindly. "No, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Do you want to leave?" she asked, timidly, as she looked away from him and stared at the table.

Giles heard the uncertainty in her voice and reached his hand across the table and rested it lightly on top of hers and waited until her gaze met his before he spoke softly. "No," she read the sincerity in his eyes and breathed a small sigh of relief, "I'll never leave you Buffy. I'm sorry if I made you think that. When you started college I know said I couldn't always be there for you and that you no longer needed a watcher and, in some respects, I was right. It wouldn't be fair to you for me to stand in the way of your independence. I may not be your watcher any longer," he squeezed her fingers as her mouth opened to automatically protest and she shut it again, silently agreeing to let him finish. "but I do hope I can be your friend."

"I'd like that," Buffy smiled at him gently, "I'd like that a lot."

"That's settled then," he said, gruffly, eyes shining brightly.

"You desperately want to polish your glasses now, don't you?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood and restore some of their earlier banter.

He barked out a laugh and she felt a warmth spread through her at the sight of his smile. "That predictable, am I?"

"Sometimes," she answered with a grin as he removed his hand from hers and whipped his glasses off his face. "And sometimes you just confuse the hell out of me."

"The feeling is entirely mutual, I assure you."

"See, we have something else in common," she said, grinning happily, "which, apart from being a little weird..."

"Is kind of okay," he finished, gazing warmly at her. He asked about her classes and leant back in his seat, content to watch her as she babbled excitedly about her courses and her college life so far. He felt better than he had in months and knew from the relaxed smile on her face that their impromptu talk had gone some way to restoring their previous closeness. He wondered, idly, what might have happened had they not had this talk but then pushed the thought aside, preferring to focus on the here and now and the lively young woman in front of him.

TBC