TITLE: Lovers Nots 2?

AUTHOR: Appomattoxco

FEEDBACK/EMAIL: The PAL site and wherever else just let me know.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not making any money off this or anything else actually so don't sue. Also any resemblance to wholesale reps, relic hunters or other demons living or undead is purely coincidental.

TIMELINE/SPOILERS: Season six canon up to "Life Serial" Xander and Anya haven't told anyone they are engaged yet.

PAIRING/CHARACTERS: Anya/Giles possibly only UST

RATING: PG-13 or FRT

SUMMARY: Anya and Giles attend Nexus Occult Trade Show: an inter-dimensional occult supply trade show. Hopefully wackiness will ensue.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This takes place a few days after part 1 Giles and Anya are leaving for the trade show the evening before it starts.

Anya got into the passenger side of the minivan Giles had rented, and took out her day planner. She had explained earlier that the nexus could interfere with electronics so they would need to rely on pen and paper, as if that were a hardship for her partner. "I've got a list of things we need to restock and things we've been looking for. I've also made a note of what we pay our current vendors for our more popular items. That way we won't need to rely on memory to get a better price."

"I really hate the thought of driving this for two hours."

"Stop grumbling. You drove a wreck for years. This is the first time I've been away from Sunnydale since graduation. I plan to enjoy it."

"You seem to be in a much better mood. You and Xander have settled your differences?"

"Yes, we did. We broke up," Anya said. Her voice was more subdued but not upset. "I went out last night to pick up a few things for the trip and when I got back he was on the sofa with Tito, a guy from work, playing Ratchett and Clank."

"What!" Giles stamped on the brakes at the corner and turned in shock to face Anya.

"It's a video game, Giles. I never realized you had such a good imagination."

Giles considered lying but there was no use in pretending he had known what she had been talking about. "I don't understand- You broke up because he had a friend over to play video games."

"I looked at him sitting there and I knew that he wasn't ready to get married and that marrying him would be a pretty rotten thing to do to the best friend I've ever had. I asked them if they wanted a fruit rollup or something to drink and Xander looked up and he knew too." What Anya didn't share was that Xander had answered, "Sure, mom." There were some things even she wouldn't share. "He told me he'd move out while I was gone."

"A lot of grown men find it relaxing to play video games. It's not really an indicator of maturity." Giles couldn't believe that he was defending Xander to Anya but he told himself he wouldn't take advantage of the situation.

"Don't mock my moment of clarity. My first thought when I saw him was, 'What a sweet boy.' I should have been imagining him playing with our children."

They rode quietly for a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Giles was tempted to ask Anya what she thought when she looked at him. The answer would probably be along the lines of, 'What a nice old man,' anyway. To avoid the potential humiliation he decided to bring up his worry over Buffy. "Yes, well, maybe the time away will be good for all of us. Buffy has gone back to slaying but she can't seem to settle in and take on her duties to Dawn or decide how to go on with her life. Maybe, if I'm not there to rely on, she'll stand on her own two feet."

"Now it's my turn to look ridiculously shocked. Too bad I can't slam on the brakes."

"What on earth did I say that was so shocking?"

"Give me a minute to get it all organized and to marvel at the fact that I'm the one defending Buffy's actions."

"Very funny, Anya. I thought I could have an adult conversation with you about my concerns. Maybe it would be best if we just listened to the radio for the rest of the drive."

"I'm sorry. I like that you want to talk about what you has worried. Don't turn on the radio unless you don't really want to hear my honest opinion."

"If I ask you anything, you can be sure I'm only looking for the unvarnished truth."

"Ok, then. She's a girl who's barely out of her teens and barely out of her grave. Unless hell dimensions are nicer than they used to be, she hasn't finished going through the seven stages of grief for her mother. I don't even think Dawn has yet. Do you honestly think she should be over it already? At Buffy's age, you might have been ready to take care of a baby with the mother's help but would you have been a good single parent to a sibling only five years younger than you? Slayers are supposed to save the world Giles. You're expecting Buffy to carry it around."

Giles didn't respond to any of this until he pulled into a gas station some time later. Then, he switched off the engine. He turned in his seat to face her and said, "I would've made a horrible parent to anyone at Buffy's age. I was a selfish idiot and apparently I haven't changed as much as I thought."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're chromosome-ally challenged. Men, even ones as smart as you, often behave like idiots without meaning to. I'm just grateful you aren't angry with me. Maybe it was all those years as demon but I can't seem to resist taking that last step into the land of too far."

"There are times when it's very necessary for someone to go there. Today was one of them. And today is my day to overcome the handicaps of my gender. Somewhere along way I made a wrong turn and I need to go in and ask for directions."

Anya laughed and said "Admitting the need is a huge victory in itself. I need to use the restroom anyway. I'll go in and ask. Would you like me pick up a drink or a snack while I'm at it?"

"We shouldn't be that far from the hotel, dear. I'll wait until we can have dinner there." Giles had a moment of mild panic over the endearment and tried to think. He'd called Anya dear before, hadn't he? In a purely casual way. Anya made no comment on it and he convinced himself that the extra bounce in her step as she walked away was all in his head.

Once they sorted out the directions, Anya slipped a CD into the stereo. The familiar sound of an old standard, not something Giles had ever heard Anya listen to, filled the dark vehicle. She would occasionally play new age crap very low in the shop for 'atmosphere' but for the most part she listened to bouncy pop. "What's this Anya? That's not Sinatra."

"I had this picked out when I thought Xander was coming."

"Surely, this isn't his sort of music."

"Aren't you a little old to still look at your parents' music with disdain?" Anya teased with a smile in her voice. "This was picked out because it goes with the space station TV show metaphor. The singer is James Darren. He was on Deep Space 5. I have some Klingon opera, too, but I like this better. Besides, you would probably complain about the faulty pronunciation."

"Klingon? No, on second thoughts, I don't want to know. We'll listen to this." A while later he was occasionally humming along with Anya. When they pulled into the hotel lot All the Way began to play. The song brought back happy memories of his parents dancing together and fitted his own feelings so well that he couldn't bring himself to turn the key and end it.

"Xander loves me – but not enough, not all the way," Anya confessed when the song ended, then sniffled a little and asked, "Are we there yet?"