Giles stood quietly in the shadows by the training room that he had designed for Buffy. He watched as his Slayer repeatedly bashed the heavy bag to the point where he heard the chain groaning from the repetitive abuse.
"Would you like to talk about it?" Giles asked, stepping away from the door to sit on a nearby couch. "Talk. About. What." She asked, each word punctuated by a heavy punch.
"Whatever's causing you to take out your frustration on that defenseless bag. You've been at it for hours."
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just preparing for whatever Klaus has planned so I can send him straight back to hell." She grunted, as she executed a perfect spinning kick that sent the bag flying off its chain to land with a heavy thud on the opposite end of the room.
Frowning she walked over and easily lifted the bag as if it weighed nothing more than a feather and put it back on the chain.
"Buffy, you need to take some time to rest. You have been so busy with taking care of Joyce, helping with Dawn, and here with your training sessions. I'm worried you're overloading yourself." Giles commented, receiving an amused look from his slayer.
"Giles if you heard what Klaus said to me about the Slayers he killed it would have knocked your tweed socks off. It was sick, I need to be ready."
"Yes, Xander mentioned that you and Klaus looked rather comfortable together. He preceded to tell me his displeasure about you growing attached to another vampire." Giles knew he was walking on thin ice, but he wanted to add his input on whatever infatuation that might be building between the two.
"The words "Klaus" and "together" are not even in the same sentence as far as I'm concerned. Xander is blowing things out of proportion. He always acts like this when I get a boyfriend or someone he considers a threat." Buffy declared, her punches becoming more aggressive.
"Willow may have mentioned something along the same lines as well. This may not be my right to say this but he is dangerous and I feel that I must express my displeasure. I would have thought you would have learned by now that a relationship between a human and vampire cannot work." Giles declared, grabbing a hold of the bag so he could look his slayer in the face.
"Giles my love life is a tragedy. Every guy I date runs for the hills because I can't seem to move on past my feelings for Angel. What they seen with Klaus was just recon, it was just my way to get him to tell me what I want. I was just playing a game, nothing more." She pleaded, ignoring the tightness in her throat as it constricted at her little white lie. "I plan on dating a regular, average, and warm bloodied man from here on out."
Giles sighed hoping that she was truly able to do what she claimed. "Is he infatuated with you?"
"What! No, he just likes to flirt and try to get a reaction out of me."
She smiled at him reassuringly and checked her watch looking surprised by the time. "Time flies when your having fun. I gotta run and get some slaying in before I go see Mom at the hospital."
He sat there silently as she grabbed her bag and bolted out of the room leaving him feeling uneasy about the whole conversation.
He wondered what he was still doing in this god forsaken town as he strolled through the town square watching as families walked hand and hand with their children, the teenagers stole kisses when no one was looking, and how everything that seemed innocent was tainted by the stain of the constant danger from the Hellmouth.
Sneering as he made his way through the crowds that were hurrying home to avoid the dangers of the setting sun he noticed a flash of gold and immediately stopped as he watched Buffy running out of a store front with her gym bag in hand.
He wondered where she was running off too and noticed that she must have been training with her friends as he became aware that he unconsciously walked to the Magic Shop knowing that was where the feisty slayer spent majority of her free time.
He barely waited a moment till he sped after her following her to a nearby graveyard. Stopping some distance away he watched as she spent a moment hiding several stakes in hidden pockets of her jacket.
"Tricky girl," He said sounding rather proud.
Finally, she finished gearing up and he started following after her till they got about halfway through the graveyard; and then she turned around with an annoyed look on her face. "I know your there."
Smiling he stepped out of the shadows and raised an eyebrow as her eyes narrowed. "Hello Sweetheart."
"What do you want?" She demanded.
"Don't be angry love. We had a spat, I'm over it already." He smirked admiring the way her green eyes flashed with anger.
"Well, I'm not. Go away." She commanded, storming away from him.
He flashed in front of her causing her to jump and raise the fist that was clenched tightly around the wooden stake.
"Don't' do that!" She hissed, causing him to laugh.
"Ugh you're obnoxious!" She growled trying to move past him.
"And you're stunning." He casually remarked causing her to stop mere inches away from his body.
"Stop this. I told you that I won't fall for your games. This I'm so smitten with you act that you're trying to pull." She said.
"Stop what? Telling you that I enjoy you," He asked raising a hand to touch one of the long strands of her silky hair.
"Yes! I'm the Slayer and you're a vampire. Get it? We don't mix and all that adds up to is pain." She pleaded, knocking his hand away from her hair.
"Coming from a girl who was in a long relationship with Angelus the Scourge of Europe. That bit of advice never stopped you." He whispered moving his face closer ignoring the way her eyes narrowed.
"Angel was different. He had a soul and he was good. You are a monster and I would never be able to be with someone like you!" She spat at him causing him to start feeling the sharp bite of anger.
"You don't know what I'm capable of. All you know is what you heard and the assumptions that your friends have made about me." He snapped.
"I don't want to know anything about you." She whispered as he moved closer to her looking down into her enchanting eyes.
"Liar. You felt the sparks between us. I listened to your heartbeat speed up every time I've touched you."
"Revulsion. That's all I feel for you." Her voice quivered as her eyes dropped down to his lips that were so close to her face. The earthy smell of him consumed her causing her heart to nearly beat out of her chest at the nearness of him.
He grabbed her tightly pressing her to his body as his lips sought to claim hers. He pressed his lips down causing her to make a surprised sound and he used it to his advantage as he slipped his tongue in her mouth tasting the mint mouthwash she used.
He pulled away to gauge her reaction as she went from surprised, confused, and finally too desire. She pulled him back down to her by the collar of his coat claiming his mouth as her own and he lifted her up to wrap her legs around his hips.
The kiss was broken by a disgusted sound causing them to pull away from each other. A pack of vampires and a few demons stood before them grinning at the flustered couple.
"Look what we have here. The vampire whore and her new toy." Snickered the broad shouldered vampire that stood at the front of the pack.
Klaus growled at the pathetic creature that stood before them. "You watch your tongue mate before I tear it from your head."
"Oh I don't know Klaus, I think we should let him throw a few more insults, the more he pisses me off the better I will feel putting this stake through his heart." Buffy sneered lifting the forgotten stake for emphasis.
A few of the younger vampires shifted uneasily as they glanced from Buffy back to Klaus.
"I got myself a pack of vamps and chaos demons that are dying to tear you limb from limb Slayer. Oh the things we are going to do to you." He smiled nastily at her.
"Oh please, that's laughable," She said with a chuckle. Suddenly her voice became cold surprising Klaus with the venom in her voice, "Do try. I'm dying for a good slay."
"Violence is unavoidable then. Well, we tried." Klaus said, flashing in front of the vampire that proclaimed leadership of the pack, Klaus swiped his hand neatly through the vampire's neck causing him to burst into dust.
Beside him Buffy jumped into action, limbs flying as she made quick work of the remaining pack. Klaus used his teeth to tear the neck from the demon that tried to attack him from behind.
Before the last vampire could flee Klaus quickly snatched her and tore into her throat sucking her life force away. When she was nearly drained he pushed a hand through her chest grabbing a hold of her dead heart and ripped it from her chest.
Buffy and Klaus stood in front of each other as dust rained down between them.
"That was gross…" Buffy exclaimed, her face contorting in disgust.
Klaus grinned as he wiped the traces of blood off his mouth with his sleeve. "I'm a vampire love, that's what we do."
"Thanks for the update. Without your superior knowledge I would've never known vampires feed off of blood."
"I'm always ready and willing to serve the greater good." Klaus teased her enjoying the annoyed look that graced her features.
Buffy continued glaring at him before she whipped around to walk deeper into the cemetery.
"You're not running away this time." He whispered. He jogged to where she was and casually walked beside her ignoring the glare she shot him.
"What put you in this pleasant mood dare I ask?" Klaus inquired.
"You being anywhere in the vicinity of me puts me in a bad mood. Second, it's really none of your business." She snapped at him.
"I assume that your animosity towards me has nothing to do with the incredible kiss we shared before we were rudely interrupted."
She shook her head in disgust and started to walk faster. "That was a fluke or, or, a-mental breakdown! But-I'm back to the land of Buffy and there will be no more steamy looks or tonsil action with you or anyone in the near future!" She vowed to herself leaving Klaus to look rather unimpressed with the enthusiasm of her response.
"I believe you're the one that pulled me in for that second kiss love. You can spin it whatever way you like but it was no accident." He insisted as he gently grabbed her arm turning her to face him. "Why don't we discuss what else is bothering you since you prefer to remain oblivious on your feelings about our current discussion."
"Klaus, I have no feelings towards you!" She pleaded with him ignoring the hurt that briefly flashed in his eyes.
She tried to ignore the guilt that started to eat away at her conscious because a small hidden away part of her knew he was right and she did feel something for him.
"I see. Please continue on and forget that I was here trying to help you forget your troubles. It won't happen again." He spoke his voice losing all the warmth it had mere moments ago.
He stared at her a moment longer before he spun on his heel and walked away from her.
He felt a hand grasp his bicep causing him to stop abruptly. "Klaus-wait! Please."
"It's my mom. She's sick and we have no idea what the deal is." She quickly explained sounding pained by each word.
He turned towards her running his eyes over her face taking in the worn look that suddenly took hold of her. His eyes dropped down to her luscious lips as her teeth nibbled on her bottom lip nearly drawing blood.
He put his hand to her chin raising her head to look deeply into her green eyes. "Do you know what's causing her illness?"
"Cancer. The doctors tell me that I should expect drastic personality changes because the cancer is eating away at her brain." She said sadly, "Several nights ago I found her trying to suffocate my sister with a pillow. She was going on about how she wasn't real and she needed to die. My mom adores Dawn and to see her like this is absolute hell." She moved away from him and sat by a nearby tree.
Her eyes once again met his and he felt the sparks go through his entire body making his nerves tingle with the intensity of it. Slowly he moved to sit next to her his shoulders brushing against her.
"My mom is the real hero, you know. I don't know what I would do without her." She whispered as a tear slowly trekked its way down her cheek.
"You will feel sadness that you've never felt before and then you will go on living. You will persevere despite pain because you are full of light, courage, and strength that this world would suffer without." He spoke softly raising a hand to wipe away her tears.
"How can you be so sure?" She questioned.
"When you've lived as long as I have you see the good and the bad in this world. As dark and crazy as this world can be, despite the pain that living in it can cause, it's still a better place with you in it." He said giving her his dimpled grin.
She returned his smile with one of her own causing his chest to tighten. Slowly she reached for one of his hands and entwined her fingers with his as she leaned her body into his chest.
He slowly wrapped his free arm around her and buried his face into her hair. For the first time he wished for time to stand still and let this moment last forever.
"I'm going to have to leave soon. I need to check on Mom and take care of Dawn." She mumbled tiredly.
"Our time together ended all too soon. The least I can do is walk you home." He replied as he traced circles on her back.
She looked up at him with an amused expression. "The big bad vampire has a chivalrous side," She teased.
He gave her a devilish grin and raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Indeed. You can allow me to accompany you to your bedroom and I can show you some of my finer attributes."
She turned a pretty shade of pink before she adverted her eyes and gave a nervous chuckle, "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm not that easy to get into bed."
"I know. Well, let's get you home to your sister." He said softly as he raised himself smoothly from the ground and turned to hold a hand out for her to grab a hold of.
Buffy took a hold of his hand and together they walked hand and hand back to her house.