I love you.
Those words replayed again and again in his mind. She'd finally admitted it. FINALLY. After years of wanting her to admit, she finally did. The only thing was.
He was about to die when she did.
Whether she meant those words of not, they meant so much to him.
If he had said it back though… It would've been too late.
So he denied it.
And thanked her for making him feel the way he did that night in the hell mouth.
Did he want to deny it? Of course not. He wanted to kiss her and make sure she knew how much he really loved her.
But he couldn't tell her.
Why?
Because she would've stayed.