Title: Appearances (or Love at 1001st Sight) 2/3
Author: Cyberwulf
Rating: PG
Summary: Buffy's learned that things aren't always what they seem. What's she going to do now?
Spoilers: Set in season 5, but no specific ones. Oh, except Riley's out of the picture.
Disclaimer: It's all Joss's, except the plot.
Distribution: You want it, it's yours, just tell me where it's going.
Feedback: Feed the Wulf! cyberwulf_1andonly@yahoo.co.uk
Author's Note: For this chapter, could you all mentally snip out the part of season 5 where Joyce gets ill and dies, and the bit about Glory trying to kill the gang? Thanks. S5 would be so much easier to set fic in if all this sad stuff didn't happen. It's almost as if Joss made a mistake . . .
Buffy and Giles scanned the crowds of people inside the mall.
" Do you see Dawn anywhere?" Giles asked.
" Nuh-uh, but I have a pretty good idea where to look for her," Buffy answered. She turned and gazed up at Giles. " You go take care of . . . whatever you gotta take care of, and we'll meet up in the food court, say one o'clock?"
" Till one o'clock, then," Giles replied with a brief smile. He turned and headed off towards the dry-cleaner's. Buffy watched him go, her gaze lingering on a certain part of his anatomy that had caught her attention just minutes earlier. She shook herself when she realised what she was doing.
*My Watcher! I'm OGLING my WATCHER! What the hell is wrong with me? He's – he's Giles! I'm not supposed to do this! Oh God, what if he looks back and notices me looking at him?* Buffy turned her head away, a blush creeping over her face. *This is all his fault.* She felt like stamping her foot. *Why does he have a cute butt? He's not supposed to have a cute butt!*
" Who's not supposed to have a cute butt?"
Buffy almost jumped when she heard Willow's voice behind her. She turned around.
" Musta thought that last part out loud," she said sheepishly. " Hi Tara."
The blonde witch gave her a nervous smile.
" So?" Willow pressed, an impish grin on her face. " Who's not supposed to have a cute butt?"
Buffy felt her face get redder.
" Giles," she groaned, and proceeded to tell them what had happened in the parking lot.
" And now I just can't stop thinking about it," Buffy finished. " I'm totally confused."
" I'm surprised you never noticed before," Willow told her. She got a goofy look on her face. " I've known Giles has a cute butt since high school. I used to have such a crush on him back then." She lowered her voice. " Sometimes, I used to follow him around hoping he'd squat down to get a book off one of the lower shelves, because then I'd get a really good view . . ." She spotted the looks the other two were giving her. " Uh, but that was a long, looong time ago, and I'm completely over it now," she added hastily.
Buffy frowned. " Didn't he ever notice you were looking at him?"
" No," Willow replied, suddenly puzzled. " He never notices when women are checking him out."
" Women check him out?" Buffy asked in disbelief.
" All, all the time," Tara answered, nodding. " He passes them by and they, they straighten up and . . ."
" Leer," Buffy finished, unaware of the scowl that had settled on her face.
" Not – not leer," Willow said quickly. " Leer is such a . . . a strong word with all those, uh . . ." She looked to Tara for help. " All those –"
" Lecherous," Tara prompted.
" Lecherous – connotations," Willow agreed. " They don't 'leer', they just sort of, uh, appreciate . . ."
" Appreciate," Tara finished. They gazed fearfully at Buffy, hoping they had averted the storm. Buffy looked at them both, snapping out of her reverie.
" Huh?" she asked. Tara and Willow exchanged glances. Buffy suddenly spotted Dawn weaving through a bunch of other shoppers.
" Listen, guys, we're meeting in the food court at one o'clock for lunch," she said quickly. " Wanna join us?"
" Sure," Willow replied. Buffy darted away to catch up with Dawn. Willow looked at Tara and shrugged.
Dawn was a bit snarky at first, but gradually her mood improved after Buffy apologised for yelling. The two wandered around the mall, Dawn lingering at makeup counters and trying on clothes Joyce would never let her go out in, but Buffy's mind was somewhere else. Or perhaps on someone else.
They got to the food court a little after one. Giles was already waiting. Buffy felt her stomach tighten.
" Punctual as always," she quipped, but it came out a little strange. Giles didn't seem to notice.
" Shall we get lunch?"
" Uh, Willow and Tara are meeting us, too," Buffy told him, taking in his long, muscular frame as he leaned on the railing. Had he always looked so . . . well put together? " If, if that's okay . . ."
" I think you just want to stick me with the bill," Giles replied. Buffy noticed how he smiled with his eyes, rather than his mouth, and blushed at his good-natured teasing. He frowned, noticing her heightened colour. " Buffy? Is everything all right?"
" Sure! Sure, everything's fine!" Buffy replied, too loudly and perkily. "Absolutely Buffirific!"
Giles gave her a strange look.
" Hey Giles!"
His attention was drawn to the approaching Wiccas, and Buffy seized the opportunity to turn away and cringe. *Buffirific? What the hell was THAT?* She turned back around and saw Willow giving her a knowing look while Tara spoke to Giles. *Sure, Giles, everything's fine. Except I feel like I just made a total idiot of myself in front of a really hot guy. Who happens to be you. And you're not supposed to make me feel like that.* She trailed after the others into the food court.
Willow, Tara and Dawn were sitting at a table intended for four. Giles pulled out the remaining chair and invited Buffy to sit down.
" Who says chivalry is dead?" Buffy said with a nervous laugh. Giles turned away to get a chair from a nearby table, and Buffy noticed Tara and Willow nudging each other. Willow gave her a wink. Buffy glared at her. Dawn, oblivious to all this, was studying the menu. Giles squeezed in next to Buffy, accidentally brushing his leg against hers. Buffy felt a tingle zip through her at his touch and flinched away.
" Sorry," Giles remarked.
" Uh – that's all right," Buffy replied, stumbling over the words. She grabbed the menu, ignoring Dawn's indignant " Hey!", and began reading it furiously. Giles stared at her, then looked across the table. Willow was struggling to keep a straight face, while Tara was half-turned away and gazing at a point on the floor. Giles frowned. There was definitely something peculiar going on.
Over lunch, while Dawn, Willow and Tara talked, Buffy concentrated on eating, eyes fixed on her plate. Giles tuned out the chatter about the girls' purchases and college, more interested in Buffy's silence. It wasn't like her not to take part in a conversation. He wondered if she was still bothered by what had happened in the car park. At first, he'd thought that she was making fun of him, but her explanation had mollified him a little. To tell the truth, he'd actually been quite flattered that she'd been admiring his body. Such a pity she'd taken him for a stranger at the time. He often wished Buffy would look at him the way he looked at her. The pretty, outspoken, stubborn girl who had walked into his library over four years ago had grown into a beautiful, strong, courageous, determined young woman, and during that time his love for her had grown, too – exceeding duty, fondness, friendship and fatherly love. He wanted so much to take her in his arms and confess his feelings. But that could never be. He knew where he stood with her – firmly in the category of old and past it. At least she wasn't ashamed to be seen in his company.
Buffy looked up from her food and caught him staring at her. She gave a tiny, nervous laugh.
" Are you sure everything's all right?" Giles asked gently.
" Yeah!" Buffy answered. " Sure! Everything's great!"
" Buffy," Giles replied. Buffy recognised his 'you can't fool me, young lady' voice. She took a deep breath.
" Well . . . actually . . ." She trailed off and stared at the tabletop.
" Are you worried about your mum's car?"
" Yeah," Buffy said quickly. " Yeah, that's it. I'm worried she's really gonna freak." She noticed that they'd all finished their meals. " Well, uh, if we're all done, Dawn and I should really get going."
" Tara and I have to go too," Willow added. The five stood up and began to gather their things. They headed out of the food court, towards the parking lot. Willow and Tara walked together, while Giles walked with the Summers girls. Well, to be precise, he walked with Buffy. Dawn hung back a bit, a little grin on her face.
" Do you still want me to help you explain the accident to your mother?" Giles asked. Buffy looked up at him, noticing the crinkles that formed at the corners of his eyes when he was happy or amused, and felt herself turning pink. She looked away and fiddled with a stray strand of hair that had found its way out of her ponytail.
" No, that's okay," she replied awkwardly. " I'm a big girl, I can manage."
Giles gave her shoulder a squeeze, and Buffy felt a warm glow spread through her body. " I'm sure you'll be fine."
They had reached the parking lot, and Joyce's SUV. Buffy watched as Giles headed over to his convertible. She couldn't believe how much that touch on the shoulder had affected her. But then Giles had always been able to comfort her with the slightest of gestures, sometimes even more than Xander could with one of his bear hugs. She wished suddenly that she and Giles hugged more often.
Dawn sidled up to Buffy, smirking. She'd probably learned it from Spike, Buffy thought.
" You sure you'll be okay to drive, Buffy?" Dawn asked innocently. " Or will you be too busy mooning over your new boyfriend?"
Buffy shot her a glare, and unlocked the car. Dawn climbed into the passenger seat. Buffy got in on the other side and started the engine. The first half of the journey passed in silence, broken only by the tinny sound of the stereo.
" So," Dawn said suddenly, " when're you gonna bring him home to Mom?"
Buffy nearly swerved into a parked car.
" Dawn!"
" Or will it be a secret relationship," Dawn continued, " all romantic trysts at the old folks' home –"
" Dawn, shut up," Buffy growled.
" Oh, I struck a nerve!"
" Shut . . . up!"
" Buffy lo-oves Gi-iles," Dawn sang quietly.
" Do you wanna get out and walk?" Buffy asked.
" I didn't say anything," Dawn replied innocently. " Must be your imagination."
Buffy turned the jeep into their driveway. She parked the car and glared over at her sister.
" Dawn, I swear, if you go around saying Giles is my boyfriend –"
Dawn was already scrambling out of the car towards Joyce, who was watering the front lawn.
" Hey Mom!" she yelled. " Guess what happened to us today!"
" DAWN!" Buffy tried to follow her, and was unceremoniously snapped back in her seat by the seatbelt. She disentangled herself and got out of the driver's door. " Dawn, don't you dare –"
The Slayer halted as Joyce approached the vehicle, staring at it in disbelief.
" Young lady, what exactly have you done to my car?"
---
Buffy lay in bed, staring discontentedly at the ceiling. Her Mom had spent most of the evening teasing her, and when Buffy'd asked her to stop, Joyce changed tack, going on about how she understood how Buffy could get distracted, after all Giles *was* a very attractive, very sexy man, at which point Buffy had begged her not to say any more, swearing she'd get a job so she could pay off the damage to the car as fast as possible. Buffy frowned and glared at the ceiling. They all thought it was a big joke. None of them seemed to realise that her world order had just been profoundly disturbed. A mere twelve hours ago – that very morning at training, in fact – Giles had been, well, just that: Giles – her Watcher, her mentor, her friend. Her much older, stuffy, British friend.
Who, it turned out, had quite a nice ass.
Buffy rolled onto her side and groaned quietly. She'd always been vaguely aware that Giles was a man, in that he definitely wasn't a woman, but she'd never thought of him as a . . . guy. Not even as the kind of guy who, though not her type, other women might find attractive. She thought back to the first time she saw him. Swathed in tweed, horrible brown waistcoat, and glasses with huge round frames, which were hardly flattering. And she remembered what she'd thought, too: great, a librarian. Total book nerd. Suddenly Buffy realised that first impression had coloured her perception of Giles for the past four and a half years. Even though he'd gradually been changing all that time. What had he worn today? Buffy closed her eyes and tried to picture him. There he was . . . soft black shirt, opened a little at the neck to reveal a white T-shirt underneath, blue jeans (she'd never forget THEM), and black shoes. Not a tie or scrap of tweed in sight. Giles in civvies. Civvies that made him look *good*. And buying guitar strings and having a leather jacket dry-cleaned. Giles had a leather jacket? When did that happen? And what else had he been hiding under all those layers of tweed? Buffy groaned and stuck her head under a pillow. She was never going to get to sleep tonight.
---
Sunday was Buffy's "day off" from training, something she and Giles had agreed on when she'd asked him to be her Watcher again. And Buffy firmly intended to stay at home and avoid seeing him. Maybe these freaky new feelings about Giles were just flukes. Maybe, if she wasn't around him for a while, they'd vanish and he'd just be Giles again.
Buffy rolled over and gazed at her alarm clock. Eleven thirty. She should really get up and go to church, but her bed was way too comfortable. Besides, Giles always went to church. Not the same one as she went to, but all the same . . . couldn't take any chances. She'd been surprised that Giles was into religion. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she'd expected him to be either an agnostic or a pagan. The reason they'd chosen Sunday as No Training Day was that Buffy couldn't decide between Saturday and Sunday, so Giles had picked Sunday. " 'Honour and keep holy the Sabbath Day'," he'd said solemnly. At the time, Buffy'd teased him about not wanting to miss out on his Sunday after-dinner nap. She'd only ever seen Giles asleep a few times, usually after pulling an all-nighter in the library. He looked so cute and peaceful when he slept. All the lines and creases in his face smoothed out. Buffy wondered if Giles sometimes skipped church to sleep in. She wondered if he was having a lie-in this morning. She wondered what he wore in bed . . .
*Aaagh! Aaagh, no!* Buffy sat up and brought her hands up to her temples. *No! Stop it! Get out of my head!*
" No, stop, get out of my head?"
Buffy looked up and saw Dawn, in her pyjamas, staring at her through the doorway. Her sister shook her head despairingly.
" Man, and I thought I had problems," she drawled, before padding off down the landing.
Buffy buried her head in her hands.
" What is it with me and saying my thoughts this weekend?" she moaned. She sighed and kicked off the covers. Her lie-in was ruined. She pushed her bedroom door shut and got dressed, then headed down to the kitchen and got herself a bowl of cereal.
*Okay, Buff. No more thinking about your Watcher. Your Watcher with the really, really tight bu- no, no. Bad Slayer. Just put Giles out of your head. Think of Wesley.* She shuddered. Better than a cold shower. *Wesley. Wesley. Wesley.* Buffy took a deep breath and let it out. *Calm. See? Wasn't so hard . . .*
" Hey Buffy," Dawn smirked, coming into the kitchen. " There's a BBC costume drama on tonight. With all those polished British accents you like . . ."
" Dawn," Buffy warned.
" Gee, someone's in a bad mood today," Dawn remarked innocently. " Bet you wish it was Monday, don't you?" Buffy gave her a puzzled look. " You know," Dawn clarified. " So you could go to the Magic Box and see Giles and go in the back room with him . . ."
" Training, Dawn!" Buffy growled. " We train. That's ALL."
" Oh, I get it," Dawn replied, grinning. She did an atrocious imitation of Giles' accent. " I say, Buffy, let's do some training . . ." She made kiss noises.
" That's it!" Buffy snarled, throwing down her spoon. She jumped up and charged at her sister. Dawn squealed and raced into the lounge, Buffy hard on her heels.
" OW! I'm telling Mom!"