A/N: Not going to disclaimer, of course I don't own Buffy. The only thing I own is the original stuff I've come up with for this fic.

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"I mean, maybe you shouldn't have said you were Buffy's old school Librarian, it does come across a bit weird." Maria said as she weaved through a group of students and diners.

"Maria! The tills stuck again!" Carlie, Maria's newly appointed assistant called from behind the counter.

"That tables free, I'm just going to wipe it down in a sec." Maria said as she passed a couple clearly after one of the sparse tables in Merryton. "I mean really you should have said you were an old friend of the family or an Uncle or something."

"Well I would have said Watcher but I can't very well reveal-" Giles followed her around the store as she seamlessly weaved between customers and took care of things going on. Bashing the till with her fist to make it work. "She's still dreadful, so full of herself and cocky and Buffy thinks she's the best-"

"Remember when we talked about jealousy?" Maria stopped him, with two cups of tea on saucers in her hand and he went to take one before she shooed him off and carried them to a table.

"I'm not jealous." He scoffed as she returned passed him again. Maria raised a brow and swept behind the counter to get a cloth and spray, wiping down the table that had just been vacated.

Giles stood back, suddenly feeling very out of place. Merryton had become more popular at lunch times recently and Giles had to admit he still wasn't used to seeing the place so busy. He was clearly in the way again, he seemed to be in the way everywhere at the moment. Could he really call the others his friends? He was more like an uncle figure to them and they were so young, but you don't have anyone else. A voice in Giles' head whispered.

Maria was lost to the bustle of the café then and Giles hadn't felt so alone for a long time. He scratched the back of his head and made his way for the door just as Maria turned, finally free for a moment to give him some sort of reassurance and ask for his help.

#?#

Hail, oh yeah
Get it from the main vine, all right
I said a find it, find it
Go on and love it if you like it, yeah

Maria sang loudly as she moved around the shelves taking stock of everything. Business had picked up, with people not only coming in to peruse the shelves but sit in rather than take tea out. There were quiet moments and she had to say she missed those most. She'd liked the shop a lot more when it was petering along and she'd been able to do most things herself. She'd liked the shop when it was quiet and she'd had a few regulars coming in for a space to relax at lunch, with a slight pick-up for takeaway teas and coffees at lunch.

She knew she should be grateful and that business could turn quickly, but part of her missed being able to read behind the counter and she hated all the extra boring admin that things going well created.

Come and get your love!

She danced around, enjoying the freedom of the space given it was early morning and it wasn't open get.

Come and get your-

"ARGH!" Maria screamed on her turn and stumbled backwards. Scrambling for something to use as a weapon and accidentally picking up a sunflower. "What do you want?" She asked the way over 6ft creature, with horns and muscles and tufty white hair behind its ears.

"Maria it's me. It's Giles something-"

"I said what do you want?" She asked again. "You can't want to eat me or you'd have done it whilst I was singing, so, so what-"

"Maria it's me! Can't you understand me?"

"Well there's certainly no need to make those sorts of noises." Maria said putting her hands on her hips. Her fear starting to abate a little, given the fact she hadn't been attacked by the monster before her yet. "Do you need help?"

And there it was, that feeling in his chest. Despite being a demon, he still felt it, warmth spreading up through him. This was why he was in love with her, because he was in love with her. Here she was enjoying her morning and where others might have hurt him, beaten him with a frying pan she'd come to the logical conclusion that because he hadn't tried to eat her when she was unaware he must want something else. Only Maria would ask a 7ft beastly looking demon if he needed help, even when he was stood making whatever noises Giles was making at her, as it clearly wasn't English.

"I can't understand you, maybe, if you can understand me you can nod for yes, shake your head for no." Maria suggested and Giles tried to stop his mouth picking up as he smiled. She moved closer to him then, very slowly, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes. "Rupert, is that you?"

Before he could nod though she turned away shaking her head.

"Don't be stupid of course it's not Rupert!" She chastised herself until he put a hand on her shoulder, almost causing her to drop to the floor. She turned back to face him, and her mouth dropped open slightly.

"Oh my god. I have so many questions about what happened even though I know you can't communicate with me." Forgetting herself Maria reached out to touch the bare skin of his new torso. "I much prefer the old one." She said before catching herself and trying not to let her cheeks flush vermillion.

Good Lord why did he have to be shirtless in front of her in the guise of a demon. Because none of your shirts would fit. He corrected himself internally. Why did perfect moments to kiss her keep presenting themselves at inopportune times? For gods sake. As soon as he was back to normal he was storming back here and sweeping her into his arms and kissing her whether she liked it or not.

Sounding a bit sexually assaulty there buddy. Giles heard Xander's voice in his head.

Not what I meant. Giles replied, arguing with himself internally. He hated so much that part of his innerself had taken on Xander's voice.

"Okay, we have to get you back to, you and uhm I'm not sure- we need Willow and Buffy and Xander and ooh maybe Anya knows what this is. She's good with the whole, demon thing." Maria said but Giles was suddenly bolting for the door, as soldiers from the initiative went past the coffee shop. "I can hi-de you." Maria started and the stopped because it was useless and he was already out the door.

Instead she moved to the phone and started to try and call Buffy and the others.

#?#

Giles knew exactly what he had to do now Buffy had gone, now he'd finished warning her to keep her eyes open. He needed to get his coat on, go to Merryton and tell Maria exactly how he felt about her. Even if he did feel a little like hell. Apparently even turning back into a human couldn't stop the ache from fighting Ethan, Buffy and Riley the previous evening.

He pulled open the door to find Maria there with her fist raised ready to knock.

"Hi." She said softly. She seemed nervous.

"I was just coming to er- to see you- come in." He said pulling the door further open for her.

"Rupert I need to tell you something." She said taking a breath.

"Maria, I-" Giles started.

"No, please, please let me get this out. I need to say it or I won't, I'll chicken out." Maria said. Gesticulating a little wildly. Giles leant back against the side table watching her with a half-smile on his face. There were currently two parts of him battling it out in his chest, one a ray of hope that she was about to confess her feelings, the other a bitter patch of dust that she was going to tell him she'd noticed how he felt and she didn't feel the same.

"The thing is-" Maria started. "The thing is-" She said again trying to gather her confidence. "The thing is I think I seem to have, actually I know I have fallen a little bit, well actually not just a little bit, I'm almost certain I'm in love with you and I needed to tell you because after yesterday I jus- and I know you and Olivia have this thing and you're probably in love with her and god why wouldn't you be, she's amazing and I'm not trying to come between you two I jus-"

Giles felt elation spread through his chest and he couldn't have stopped the smile spreading across his face even if he'd wanted too. This was, well this was more than he'd hoped for. Like, fancy, there's tension between us, in all the versions of this moment in his head he hadn't imagined she'd say she loved him, or that she even thought she loved him.

"God I'm so selfish, I knew I was being selfish. I'm such an idiot." Maria rambled to herself pacing backwards and forwards.

"Please say something." Maria said quietly, looking down at her hands and playing with her fingers like she did every time she was nervous.

Maria was trying not to run, though it felt like there were ants crawling under her skin and she might vomit all over the floor. She couldn't run, she opened shrodinger's box and now they'd find out what was really in it. Then she could move on and maybe, maybe even look at moving back to New York if it came to that. If it was too awkward. She could feel the heat flushes her cheeks. The hot lump bopping in her throat that she was trying to swallow so she wouldn't cry. She was worrying her thumb into her palm that it was starting to hurt.

"It's funny." Giles said.

And then there he was.

Giles took her hands gently to stop her, it should have eased the panic in her chest but given he still hadn't said anything it didn't.

"I was just on my way to tell you something rather similar."

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