Chapter 14: Chocolate Nights Are Fun

"How's the niblett?"

"She's fine."

"Is she awake yet?" Buffy shook her head, looking from Spike to the other side of the room. Giles and Hank were talking again. "I know a few mercenaries might like a fresh supply of kittens if you wa-"

"No." Against her better interest she cracked a smile. "Though the offer is appreciated." Spike smirked down at her.

Across the room, Hank was talking in circles, trying to figure out how he could make up his complete disregard for his family to Buffy and Dawn. Only occasionally letting out a whimper as he touched his cheek. Giles noticed Buffy and Spike talking out of the corner of his eye and stopped listening. She smiled up at him. Nothing dazzling, just a small grin. When Spike grinned back and took a step closer, Giles stopped pretending entirely.

"Buffy," he called. She turned to him immediately, her brow starting to crease. "I... I wanted to go check on Dawn, but... " he floundered, unsure of how to continue without sounding a complete idiot. Buffy just smiled and nodded, heading towards the stairs.

"I'll go."

Giles ignored the glare Spike sent his way and returned his attention to Hank.

Two days later Buffy entered through the back door after patrol, a bottle of soda and some movies tucked in her arm. She heard Dawn's giggle and slowed to a stop, listening.

"And then she said that she didn't like high school boys anyway and walked out of there all insulted."

There was a clink and some raking sounds and then Giles chuckled. "What did he have to say for himself?"

"Mostly that he was sorry and asked me if I wanted to hang out at the bronze some time."

Buffy put the items down and crept towards the dining room, peeking around the corner. Giles and Dawn were sitting at the table with a veritable smorgasbord of confection delights. Ice cream, brownies, chocolate cake, sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate syrup, all lined up buffet-style. Each had a good-sized bowl, stacked up with personalized mixes of the items lined before them.

"You do realize that won't happen without some kind of talk and brushing-up on your, uh, defensive skills, yes?"

Dawn rolled her eyes and scooped a bit of the sugary mess onto her spoon. "Yeah, yeah, pointy-side forward, no voodoo and no necking. Got it."

Giles chuckled and took a bite of his desert as well. "Yes, I suppose that will be the brunt of it, but you know your sister."

"She used to be a girl, she should know what it's like, right?"

"Oh I'm sure she does. I remember a time when she demanded I simply, er, beep her, if the apocalypse should arrive."

"I was seventeen. My rules of life hadn't really been prioritized beyond boys and survival, you know."

Both parties jumped, almost upending the table and all the chocolate-y goodness with it. Giles sent her a nervous grin and nodded at the table. "Buffy, w-welcome home. Would you like to, uh, join us?"

She snorted and crossed her arms, leaning on the wall. "And interrupt this one-way train to Diabetes-ville? No thanks."

"More for us," said Dawn, grinning and taking another bite. Giles blinked down at his bowl a moment and then back to Dawn's.

"I suppose we did go a little... over the top?"

Dawn made a disparaging sound around her mouthful. "Don't let her make you paranoid. She's turning into one of those calorie counting freaks, all obsessed with intake and stuff."

"I am not obsessed!" Buffy said, glaring.

"What's the recommended serving of cornflakes?"

"Three-quarter's cup with half a cup... of... ok you know what? Just because I care about my health doesn't mean I'm obsessed."

Giles studied the girls as they went back and forth, though his primary fixation was on Buffy. She did seem thinner than he'd remembered.

"What, now you're on her side?" Buffy asked, widening her stance.

"What?" said Giles.

"You just said I'm thinner than you remembered. Isn't thin a good thing?"

Blast. He'd said that last bit out loud. "Buffy, it's very important to keep a balanced diet for the amount of activity you encounter. If you lose too much weight, you're bound to start eating into muscle mass."

She frowned, but her body seemed less tense almost immediately. She was staring at the floor, biting at her lip.

"I'm not saying what we're doing is healthy. I'll be regretting it in the morning, just like every other time I indulge like this. But you shouldn't be limiting your intake to the point of unnecessary weight loss. You have to keep your strength up as a part of your daily regimen."

She nodded, still deep in thought. "Ok. I'm going to go upstairs. I have to pack."

Giles balked. "But we're not leaving for another four days!"

Buffy didn't respond as she climbed the stairs. Dawn just grinned and turned back to her bowl.

"She's a professional packer. You can't tell by looking at her, but she always has way too much packed for a trip."

"Define... way too much."

"We're going to be gone for a week right?" Giles nodded. "Well, at least two suit cases, a duffle, and her bathroom stuff. Oh and her make-up bag."

"Dear lord."

"That was a conservative guess."

Giles sighed and pushed his bowl away, his appetite for the desert gone.