TITLE: Take Me: Take Two 4/9

RATING: FRT

PAIRING: Giles/Anya

SUMMARY: Remember when I said this was self indulgent? I found a way to [maybe eat my cake and have it too Oz and Tara wise. Diabetics are warned. Starts during the episode Living conditions.

A/N: Thanks to janedavitt for the beta.

Anya and Buffy both watched Cathy leave the student lounge. Giles wasn't sure, if looks could kill, which of the women would've made the fatal shot. Anya said, "I agree with Buffy. Cathy should be slain."

"You do?" Buffy asked, looking at Anya like she was her new best friend even though she had greeted her with an insult earlier. For some reason Giles found Buffy's smile unnerving.

"So you think she's a demon? She isn't an old gal pal is she?" Xander asked.

Anya said, "She flirted with Giles, while I was sitting right there!"

"Clearly a sign of her evilness," Oz commented, "but is it really slay-worthy?"

Anya checked her watch. "Darn, I've got an interview," she said. "You be careful helping Buffy today, Giles, and don't forget you're in a committed relationship."

"Cathy was only being friendly," Giles protested weakly, stunned that Anya had said they had a committed relationship. True, they were living together and the thought of either of them being with someone else made him sick, but they'd never said anything about commitment or even love.

"I hate to change the topic from how whipped Giles is," Xander said, "but do any of you know that girl over by the phone?"

"What girl?" Willow asked.

Xander said, "Blondish pigtails, hiding her hands in the sleeves of a funky shirt? And also gone now."

"Sorry, dude. There's a plethora of girls that I don't notice at all because I clearly remember I'm in a committed relationship," Oz said.

Willow said, "She doesn't seem like your usual type, Xander."

"Do you remember my usual? It's sort of demonic, Wil."

"Which brings us back to the reason we're all here!" Buffy said.

"Higher education?" Willow asked.

"Three of us, maybe two." Oz said.

"Cathy!" Buffy shouted.

A few days later.

"It's too bad I can't use my old references when I go on that interview tomorrow. I was employee of the century twice, you know. I think it was the outbreak of dysentery during the American Civil War that cinched it for me in the 1800's," Anya said as she handed Giles the last of the clean dishes to put in the cabinet.

Giles shut the cupboard door more firmly than he might've needed to. "I doubt that causing dysentery would impress the owner of a gourmet grocery store." Anya had been talking about 'old-times' for the past hour and it was beginning to get on Giles' nerves- not to mention spoiling his appetite for the pasta he'd made.

"The point isn't what I did, it's how well I did it," Anya said, wiping down the counter with the diligent vengeance she was famous for.

The smugness in Anya's voice when she talked, once again, about her work ethic pushed his temper to the limit. "I think I've heard enough about how well you did your former job."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in lying to myself about who I was. Unlike you, who can lie about who you still are."

"What are you talking about?" Giles asked. He followed behind her as she headed for the living room and couldn't help noticing the extra sway she put into her walk when she was angry.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Mister, I'm not a sorcerer because I don't do magic anymore, and I'm not a Watcher because I stopped getting a paycheck!"

Giles took a deep breath and tried to rein in his temper with no success. "The definition of sorcerer is someone who uses magic and the Council did fire me. At least I have some regret for the pain I've caused in the past."

"I have regrets by the boatload," Anya said, with a very real quaver in her voice. "I really do, I'm just trying to live the rest of this life well. I'm nervous about this stupid interview and I was just trying to convince myself I could do it by thinking about past successes."

"Who told you about the magic?" Giles asked. He sat down next to her on the sofa embarrassed that he hadn't realized that all of that talk was nervous chatter. Especially since Anya seemed to know him so well.

"Nobody had to tell me. I may not have any power of my own but I can see it in others. Before I became a demon I dabbled in potions and spells but it was just hearthside stuff. The power came from outside myself. What you are, Mage and Watcher, is in your blood and your soul. Do you honestly not know that?"

"I understand the difference between innate and acquired power," Giles admitted, "I realize that I have the former, but I'm afraid you've built up a romantic image of me. I'm no hero."

"Giles, how many times have I let you know that you were doing something stupid?"

"Does this time count?" he asked.

"It counts more than once."

"Now, what's all this about my blood and soul?" Giles asked.

"Anything I know about Watchers could be demon hearsay so you'll have to break out the dusty books and call friends or relatives to find out exactly how and why you got the job. I can tell you about the magic part, though. I don't know the details of your misspent youth, but I can guess. You discovered magic when you were young, got too much power, and too little wisdom, too fast. People got hurt and probably dead."

"That sums it up rather well. It's best for everyone if I avoid using magic except when absolutely necessary."

"I'm not arguing with you about that. I'm just saying it's a part of you. You're past the age where you need to worry about burning out."

Giles pushed aside the memory of a witch he'd seen devoured by magic until there was nothing left of her. "Now that I'm old and decrepit what do I need to worry about? Outliving any grandchildren I may have like the legendary wizards of old?"

Anya knew he'd been joking but answered seriouly, "The odds are that you'll get killed one day trying to help Buffy long before then. I know who you are. Rupert Giles and sometimes I wonder what I've done to deserve you. Other times I think it's vengeance for all those years as a demon."

"Has it been that bad?"

"It's only bad when I think of losing you. Sometimes I'll dream that you've died and I want to wake you up just to hear your voice," Anya said. She inched closer to him until she was nearly on his lap.

"I do that, too," Giles said. He kissed Anya tenderly. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. It's difficult for me to say, but that doesn't make the feeling any less true."

"I know that you're sorry for making a fuss about my reminiscing? I'm sorry it upset you and I do understand why."

"That, and that I love you."

The tears Anya had held back were falling now. "What do I do now? Do I say I love you, too? I want you to really know, not just wonder if I'm being polite. I was thinking about saying it first but I was afraid…" Giles ended her babbling the only way he could under the circumstances, with kisses.