Buffy stayed in the shower until the water turned cold. Then she went to her room where she spent an inordinate amount of time moisturizing and painting her nails. She put her hair in curlers and changed into a comfy sweatsuit. She already knew what she was going to wear. She looked at the deep blue mini dress hanging on her closet door. She knew she looked good in it and that just about anyone would be hard pressed not to look at her in it. She had told Giles that you never know who you'll meet, but really she wanted to dress up for him. Call it an experiment she told herself.
At seven Giles called up the stairs. He had been aimlessly wandering around the house, wondering what could be keeping her locked in her room. "Buffy are you ready? We're going to have to leave soon."
"Almost I'll be down in a minute." She put her dress on and admired herself in the room. At least being the Slayer kept her from being fat. She put her shoes on and fluffed her hair. A dab of lipgloss and one last look in the mirror and she was ready. Slowly she descended the stairs.
Giles heard her on the stairs and turned to look at her, an admonishment on his lips that died as soon as he caught sight of her long, luscious legs. He stood starry eyed at the bottom of the stairs and waited for her. God he wanted hold her, run his hands over her body, up those legs. He could tell that she'd spent a long time on her hair but he longed to run his fingers through it and mess it up.
Buffy smiled at him pleased with the reaction she was able to illicit from the normally uber-buttoned up brit. She brushed past him, her hand on his shoulder, "If you take a picture it'll last longer. Now close your mouth before something crawls in it." She reached for her jacket. He took it from her, his mouth closed but still speechless, and held it out for her. She began to wonder if she'd made a mistake, surely he would've said something by now. "Is something wrong with my dress? Because I can change it."
"No, you're wonderful, simply amazing."
Her million watt smile stretched across her face. "Thank you. Are we ready?"
"Just one second." He ran up the stairs feeling horribly under-dressed. He rummaged through his clothes until he found his blue shirt. Pulling the sweater from his body he put his shirt on and hurriedly buttoned it. Grabbing his black leather jacket he rushed down the stairs. "Okay, now I'm ready."
"You look nice, but..."
"But what?" Oh no, had he gone too far? Did it look like he was trying to hard to look young?
She reached forward and began to unbutton his shirt. He thought he was having a heart attack as her fingers grazed his chest. "You missed a button. She rebuttoned them in the right order, leaving several of the top ones undone. He tried to regain control of his breathing. "First one to the car gets to drive!" She laughed and ran down the steps. Half of his blood might've been below his belt but he knew enough to race after her. Under no circumstances would he being a willing passenger in any car that Buffy was driving.
Luckily he made it to the car before her; she was having a hard time running in her heels. He watched her slide into the cark pulling her skirt down and crossing her legs. He rearranged himself before sitting down behind the steering wheel. He was glad he was driving, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop staring at her legs without the car to distract him. As it was he nearly drove it off the road several times.
At the restaurant he hurried around to open her door for her. He felt his heart skip a beat when she took his hand. They walked into the restaurant. He fiddled with his buttons, he wasn't used to having so many undone. He would've done them up, but Buffy like them that way so he was going to leave them.
The gang was all there Buffy noted as the waitress led them to the large table in the center of the room. Willow and Kennedy were mirror images of each other, Willow in a black dress with her flaming red hair and Kennedy dressed in red, her ebony locks contained in a clip. Xander was sitting on his own, he made apologies that his Kristin, his new girlfriend, couldn't be there, she didn't like to hear about his "extra-curricular activities". A few other Scoobies sat around and Faith was sitting, smug smile and all, next to Robin across from Buffy and Giles.
Despite the size of the table it was very cozy. Buffy and Giles were sitting so close that he could feel the warmth of her thigh as it pressed against him. The wine flowed freely and everyone seemed happy. He watched her eyes sparkle and her mouth as it stretched into endless smiles. He wished he could always see her like this, but sooner or later the Big Bad would return, it always did.
"Yo Giles? Can't a girl get a little love?" He looked up irritably, startled from his reverie. "Do you think you could toss me a breadstick?"
He passed the basket across the table. Someone grabbed his thigh, he jumped and looked down. He followed it up from the finely painted and manicured nails, past the delicate wrists, crossed by silver bracelets, and up to the shoulder. Why was Buffy holding his leg? She wasn't looking at him, but focusing on Willow and Xander as they relived some high school memory. He wondered if she knew what she was doing and as if she were reading his mind she squeezed it again. He wanted to take her hand, hold it in his, bring it to lips, gently kiss each delicate knuckle. Slowly he slid his hand down, but just as it reached hers she pulled it away.
Buffy felt him tense up under her hand when she had squeezed his leg. She had meant it as a form of reassurance, she knew that Faith wasn't the easiest person to deal with, but when he relaxed and she found that she rather liked being able to touch him like that, she had kept it there, even squeezing it again. She did her best to keep her attention on Willow and Xander, she didn't think anyone could see what she was doing, but when she felt him graze her hand with his own she quickly took her hand away.
"Now that dinner's done, what are a couple of crazy young hipsters, and one guy who has to worry about his hips," Xander winked in Giles' direction before getting slapped on the back of the head by Buffy, "going to do?"
The Scoobies who were all quite a bit younger than the rest of them began suggesting the latest and hippest club. Faith suggested a bar that everyone knew was disreputable and most likely infested with vampires. Giles half-heartedly suggest a movie and popcorn at the house, but Buffy said she wouldn't let him sit at home being all "British". Finally someone suggested going to the once again rebuilt Bronze. After plenty of poking and prodding Giles finally agreed to go and they all left the table.
Everyone split up into their separate cars and met half an hour later in front of the Bronze. Loud club music was thumping through the walls and Buffy could remember all the times they'd fought off evil there. This was where she first kissed Angel and where she had learned that fighting vampires with friends was a lot better than fighting them alone. For a moment she dropped back from the group, now that she was here she wasn't sure if she wanted to go in.
"Buffy, are you okay? We don't have to stay you know, we could just go home." He hoped that he didn't sound to excited by the idea of returning to the house for a cup of tea, a warm fire and a good book.
She shook her head, "No, we're here to have fun, and we're all going to. Even you Mr. Tweedypants."
"I'm not wearing tweed tonight," he wondered if she'd even bothered to really look at what he was wearing.
"Oh, I know. And I think I like this Giles a little bit more." She smiled wickedly at him before walking up to the bouncer. He lifted the velvet rope for her, but put it back down before Giles could cross. "Come on Giles."
"Well it seems to be full." He knew why the bouncer was keeping him out but he wasn't about to admit that he thought he was too old.
"Come on dude, he's with me!" Buffy fixed the bouncer with her sweetest smile.
"Sorry, it's policy." He shrugged his shoulders then lifted the rope so a couple who looked like they were in their teens could pass.
Buffy was getting angry, "look pal, all we want to do is go in, have a few drinks, do a little dancing, just let him in before I have to make you."
Giles watched her, enjoying how she looked when her temper was all flared up. "Buffy it's not that important, all see you back at the house." He turned to go, but she grabbed his wrist, holding him fast. Then she put her head very close to the bouncer's, he couldn't hear what she said to him, but she saw his eyebrows go up and his eyes widen. It took Giles a moment to realize that she had grabbed his crotch.
The bouncer lifted the rope and Buffy pulled Giles in, flashing the bouncer her sweetest smile, "Thank you." She turned to Giles once they were inside, "what a dick."
"Nice one Buff, I was worried you'd gone soft." Faith smiled. "Giles the rest of them are over there," she pointed in the general direction of their favorite corner. "Buffy and I need to go freshen up. And I imagine she wants to wash her hands." Before either of them could protest Faith dragged Buffy off to the bathroom. "So what was that about?"
"He wouldn't let Giles in, so I convinced him." Buffy checked her makeup in the mirror.
"And when you had your hand in his lap at dinner?" She watched Buffy blush. "So are you two, how should I put this, shagging?"
Buffy blushed even further and had the decency to look embarrassed by the suggestion. "No, Faith, how could you even think that?" Even as she said it she thought about it and the blush on her cheeks deepened.
"Oh come on Buff, I've been watching you all night. I see the way you look at each other. And haven't you noticed that you're way more dressed up than everyone else? You either did that for someone you know or someone you want to know."
"He's old enough to be my father Faith." Giles couldn't possibly be attracted to her.
"Trust me he was not looking at you with fatherly admiration. Besides, except for that dumbass Parker, and GI Joe, he's the youngest guy you've dated. And let's face it, he's still pretty damn hot." Buffy couldn't deny those facts, so instead she remained silent. "Just say the word if you want me distract everyone so you can sneak away and jump his bones."
"Just drop it Faith!" All this talk was making Buffy think of things that she didn't want to and it frustrated her.
"Okay, okay, Buffy, just trying to help, you know be a part of the Slayer sisterhood. Just tell me one thing and I promise I won't bug you anymore."
"What?"
"You do like him though right? Just the tiniest bit?"
What was the point of denying it? Faith had already hit everything on the head. "Maybe, just a little."
"Excellent," she dried her hands, "let's get back, I promised Robin a down and dirty dance." They laughed as they exited the restroom and joined their friends.
Buffy sat on one of the sofas next to Giles. "Miss me oh Watcher of mine?"
"Terribly," once again he was struggling not to stare at her legs.
"Do you want a drink? My treat."
"No, I doubt they have anything palatable here anyway."
"Come on, live a little," she elbowed him in the side. "I'm gonna get a drink and it makes sense for me to get yours while I'm up there."
"If you insist, Scotch, neat."
"Great, back in a few." She stood up and made her way to the bar and suddenly he was happy that he had let her go for the drinks since he was able to watch her walk away. He would've been mortified if he could see Faith's expression as she watched him, but as it was he was able to enjoy the moment in blissful ignorance.
At the bar she ordered his scotch and a cosmo for her, knowing that she would be teased for her girly choice in drinks. She was waiting for them when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning her face fell when she realized that it was just some guy.
"Hey can I buy you a drink?"
She picked up the drink the bartender put in front of her, "already have one."
"Then how 'bout a dance?"
"No thanks, I'm here with some friends."
"Maybe I could join you. My name is Connor," he held out his hand but she just looked at it with contempt and a raised eyebrow. The bartender put down the glass of scotch and Buffy passed him the twenty. She tried to go back to the group but Connor was blocking her way. "I don't think they'd mind if you danced with me for a minute." He cast an appraising glance up and down her body, "besides, it looks like you came out for a little fun tonight."
Giles was wondering where Buffy had gone. Perhaps he could tell her the music was giving him a headache and then slip out. He stood and made his way to the bar. He could see her standing there a drink in each hand while some guy talked to her. Giles felt a tidal wave of jealousy well up in him as he watched the guy run a hand up and down Buffy's arm. Realizing when she flinched that she was not enjoying his attentions Giles pushed his way through the crowd. He shoved the guy.
"Hey what's your problem!?"
"You, you pillock! Do you always go around harassing girls?"
"Why don't you mind your own business?"
"She is my business," he knew he'd have to pay for that remark later.
"Fine, whatever." Buffy began to walk away, Giles following behind her, "she's obviously some sort of freak if she's into geezers anyway."
They both turned around, Giles thought he was going to explode, but Buffy solved the problem first. "Hold this," she passed the scotch to Giles and before anyone had a chance to react or stop her she landed a right cross to his jaw that brought him down. Instantly a crowd gathered around and the gang had stood up, ready for a fight. "Ass," she shouted at Connor's prone body. "Come on, let's get out of here." They had both finished their drinks by the time they had returned to the table. "I think I'm gonna head home before I cause anymore trouble. It was fun guys, maybe we can do something tomorrow."
"Hold on Buffy, we'll go with you." Willow stood up, dragging Kennedy with her.
"No it's okay Will, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight," she kissed Xander on the cheek before grabbing her purse and walking toward the exit. Giles followed after relieved to be in the cool night air. He followed her, hurrying to keep up with her large, angry strides. He wondered when she was going to yell at him for his possessive statement. She stopped walking and he knew it was coming; he braced himself for her fury. "She is my business?" She raised an eyebrow trying to look putout.
Giles winced, "well, I am your Watcher." He was so certain that she was going to yell at him that when she started laughing he was completely taken aback. "I don't see what's so funny, he had his hands all over you. He was being a total cad."
"Oh come on. 'She is my business.' Look at you all manly Giles. So big and strong, defending the beautiful Buffy. You gotta see how that's funny." She laughed again.
"I couldn't help myself, I didn't like him touching you, even the idea of it..." he let his voice die as he realized how perilously close to telling her the awful truth he was.
They walked in silence back to the car. Their drive was also silent and he watched Buffy through the corner of his eyes as she seemed to struggle with some internal problem. At the house she wearily climbed the stairs and went into her room, shutting the door behind her. Giles went to the kitchen and made some tea. It was only ten o'clock and he knew he needed to talk to her about the previous nights.
Carefully he climbed the stairs with a mug in each hand. He knocked on the door, "Buffy? Buffy can I come in?"
"Door's open."
He pushed it open and gasped. The room was in shambles, clothes everywhere, curlers on the floor; he'd finally seen the disaster caused by a woman's quest to make herself beautiful and it frightened him. "I thought you might like some tea."
"Thank you." She took the mug from him and sipped carefully at it. She had changed into a pair of baggy sweatpants and Sunnydale University shirt and put her hair back in a ponytail. "Sorry, it's a bit of a mess."
"Yes, well, I suppose beauty does take a lot of hard work."
She brightened, "you thought I looked pretty?"
She sounded so much like the lost teenager he used to know, he thought her even more beautiful now, if not a bit too sad. "You were stunning." He watched her smile at his words then frown as she was caught up once again whatever she was thinking about when he came in. "Look Buffy, I think we need..."
"To talk, I know." She knew he had been working toward this conversation ever since the day before.
"You've been worrying me ever since I got back. What happened after the wedding?" He saw her face darken.
"I can't talk about it Giles."
"But Buffy," he didn't understand. He wanted to help her so much but he couldn't if she wouldn't open up to him.
"No, Giles." She couldn't tell him, anyone but him. He couldn't know how weak she'd been, how ready to give it all up. The idea that Giles might think less of her wounded her to her core.
"Buffy let me help you." He reached out to brush a piece of hair back from her face. He was startled when he looked into her eyes and saw such sadness, such exhaustion.
"Please just go away!" His kindness was too much for her to bear and the tears she had kept dammed spilled from her eyes.
He reached out for her again, "Buffy..."
"No, Giles," she brushed her tears away angrily. "You're just going to leave again. If I lean on you now I'll fall when you go."
"I don't have to go, not yet." He was surprised to see such a glimpse into her manner of thinking.
"But you will leave," it was more of an accusation than a statement. "Why don't you just go? You can't fool me into thinking that you've been enjoying your time here." He tried to stutter out a reply but Buffy kept on. "I don't need a babysitter if you think that's what you're doing you can just go home tomorrow."
"You think that's what I've been doing?" Giles could feel himself growing angry, not because of what she was saying but because it was now clear to him that she had no feelings for him and any growing attachment he might have felt was completely one-sided. Oh what a fool I've been! "Well if that's how you feel Buffy perhaps I should go."
She knew she had just told him to go but she was still hurt by his decision. "Fine, go!"
Giles stood, and worked at trying to form some words. Failing miserably he turned to go. He paused at the door and sighed. "Buffy I'm sorry if you felt I've been more patronizing than feeling and caring. I had no intention of hurting you in anyway. I'll pack my bags and leave tomorrow if you so desire." He shut the door and stood outside it for a moment, his heart breaking a little.
Buffy was so upset and confused. She had not meant to send him away, but in the same respect she almost felt as if she could not stand to keep him near knowing that he thought of her only as friend, or worse, someone who needs looking after. In her anger she threw her tea cup at the door where it shattered, spraying the nearby dresser with hot tea. Unable to help herself she threw herself back on her bed and sobbed.
Giles had heard the cup smash, followed by her cries. He longed to go to her. To comfort her as he had the past two nights but she had made it clear that was unacceptable. Instead he changed into his nightclothes and climbed into bed. He would try and sleep and in the morning he would go to the air port and try and catch the next flight home.
