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'm- I'm sorry I don't-" Maria was very aware of the fact that Giles still had hold of her hand. Very aware of how close he was to her but still her mind couldn't untangle what he was saying. Couldn't seem to fathom what it was he'd been on his way to tell her. She'd rambled a lot in that little monologue, more than she'd meant too. What if he wasn't on his way to tell her he was in love with her but to tell her he was in love with Olivia. Could she really face that? Here, like this. Her mind raced and the seconds stretched between her question and his answer.

"Well, it would seem." Giles started, lifting her chin with a crooked finger so she couldn't look away from him, couldn't focus on whatever was running through her head. "that I have fallen a little, well quite a lot actually, in love with you too."

"Oh." Maria felt her heart rate pick up exponentially in her chest, could Giles hear the thrumming in her ears the way she could? Could he feel the way her pulse had jumped, the butterflies that seemed to have exploded in her chest, the liquid happiness her blood seemed to have turned too.

"Oh indeed." Giles replied leaning in to kiss her. Time seemed to slow to a haze that she'd only read about in books. He was going to kiss her. She was going to kiss Rupert and once she did she wasn't going to want to stop. She knew that. His lips were a mere millimetre from hers, she wanted them to touch so badly but a thought struck her and she stopped him, pressing gently against his chest, pulling back slightly, though their faces were will close.

"Rupert we can't-" Maria said quietly. "what about Olivia? She's your girlfriend."

"No, she's not." Giles replied, still only inches from being able to kiss her. He could smell her hair, that beautiful robust smell it always had of her shampoo, coffee, tea and books. There was no other smell like it in the world. "She left, said she wasn't coming back again to me, like that, because she saw how much I was in love with you." He went to kiss her again and she spoke quietly, reaffirming every single reason he loved this woman before him. She was about to be able to kiss the man she had just confessed she loved, about to kiss him for the first time and she was worrying about his feelings.

"Oh, Rupert I'm so sorry."

"I don't think I'm sorry at all." Giles replied.

The minute his lips touched hers, Maria felt the pull all the way down to her core. Fire beneath her skin seemed to follow his fingers up into her hair. His lips were softer than she'd expected, and they tasted like the Chamomile, Manuka Honey and Vanilla tea she'd given him for moments of calm. Did that mean he'd been nervous to tell her, nervous to kiss her? The thought brought her some comfort as she wound her hands around to the nape of his neck.

Giles hand slid to her waist and around her back, pulling her closer. He'd waited so long to do this, so long to have her in his arms and now it felt like it still wasn't close enough. There was still too much in the way, his jacket, her coat, her jumper. God those infernal jumpers. She smelt like cocoa butter and the powder make-up she used. The lingering smell of books and tea was always all around her. Heat wound its way up his spine, flooding his chest.

When he pulled back they were both breathing heavy, Maria pulled a kiss plumped bottom lip between her teeth, mirroring his smile as he pressed his forehead against hers. His nose brushing hers. Why had he waited so long to do this? Why hadn't he kissed her at prom? Why hadn't he kissed her any of the times he could have?

"I didn't think you could get anymore breath taking but being kissed suits you quite well." Rupert said brushing hair back from her face. Maria smiled at the compliment.

"Getting shagged by a handsome librarian might suit me better." Maria replied and the moment it was out of her mouth she grimaced and stepped away from him. Curling inwardly and feeling her whole body trying to retract inwards from her naval. She had just ruined what was perhaps one of the most romantic moments in her entire life. Giles was being all smooth and suave and then she- where had that even come from.

"I can't believe I just said that, oh my god." Maria put her hands to her forehead, resisting the urge to bang her head into the wall for good measure. "Where did that even come from?" She paced back and forth mortified as Giles watched on with a grin, chuckling and repeating the line to himself.

"Miss Bingley." Giles said moving over and taking her hands to still her again, before cupping her face. "You seem very stressed for someone who's just been kissed, especially when it was, by all accounts, a good kiss."

"I can't believe I said that- I jus-" Giles cut her off, kissing her before she could go on and feeling the tension leave her jaw. He pulled her close again, feeling her breath hitch when he pressed their bodies back together.

"I thought you had rules." Giles said gently.

Maria slipped away from him, and a flash of panic shot through him that he'd upset her. Maria slipped off her coat and shoes by the door. She stepped onto the first stair and he wondered if she was going to take anything else off. A thrill of lust went through him. Images of making her make that same noise she did when she ate good cake rolled through his mind. Only they'd be louder and more guttural, and he'd pull them from her for as long as she'd let him.

"Oh, that's just for men who haven't taken me to prom." Maria smiled at him. "If you'd rather wait?" She offered with a coyness he'd never seen before, but that caused his insides to twist in a delicious greedy way.

"No, I would bloody not." Giles replied.

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