After their heart-to-heart, they'd made dinner together. Jenny was a fair cook, yet she doesn't usually bother when it's just her. When she pulled out the ingredients for carbonara, Rupert stepped up beside her to help. They'd moved around her kitchen and each other as though making dinner was something they did every night. The pasta was cooked while she whisked the eggs into the parmesan while he cooked the bacon in the pan. They ate it at her small table in the corner of her living room as he filled her in on Thanksgiving with Buffy, Dawn, Xander and Willow.
"So, you've been here since you left Sunnydale?" Comes his first question for her. Her eyes flick to his, unsure if she should answer. "I regret how I told you to leave and how distant we were before you left, but that doesn't mean I don't want to know about that part of your life. I'd like to understand it and why you kept it from me."
"From that summer, I, uh, kept traveling as I didn't want to leave a trail behind me and I couldn't go to my family," she admits. Rupert's curiosity was clear in his expression. She never got the chance to tell him about her past after the truth came out. "After Angel lost his soul, I went home for Enyos's funeral but I didn't stick around. They were pretty pissed at me."
"Why at you?"
"I'd lost sight of what they wanted me to do. Angel lost his soul," she explains. "I begged them to help me with the old texts, help me cast the curse again." Jenny scoffs at her memories of going to the elders and asking for help.
"They wouldn't."
"No, like I said they thought it was partly my fault," Jenny sighs. A tiny part of her, the quiet voice that's been in her head since she was a child striving for the Elders' approval, thought they were right. If she'd been focused on Angel and not let herself believe she could have something for herself at the same time, he might not have lost his soul.
"How?"
"I was distracted," she replies pointedly. "They said I was selfish."
She'd gotten drawn into Rupert's life, saw the good Buffy was doing, and saw Angel's contribution for what it was. She could comprehend the bigger picture. She'd spent many a night with Rupert and on her own reading over prophecies.
Angel was important to the fight. He was atoning, he was making amends.
"I asked them to help me find the curse," Jenny continues.
There was more at stake than the Elder's wishes. They were angry and disapproved of her relationship with Rupert but they listened to her arguments for returning his soul a second time. She needn't have bothered. They were steeped in tradition and loyal to their kin. They didn't think it was their place to save the world. If it was meant to happen, it would. They wouldn't intervene.
"How did you get the texts you translated?"
"They wouldn't help me but they said if I was fool enough to try, they wouldn't risk anyone else in Angelus's path. He'd already killed Enyos. If I returned to Sunnydale to make things right, I was going alone and I couldn't go back. They did let me take a sampling of the texts they had," Jenny shrugs. "I used that as a base for the program, I wrote to translate the original curse."
"You're remarkable, do you know that?" He says a little in awe. She blushes. "You said you'd been reading after Angelus returned. You found the spell to reverse his invitation."
Jenny nods. "I came across it when I was scouring all I could find on the curse, internet, and books. It took weeks to find the tiniest lead on the rituals of the undead."
If he'd been speaking to her, maybe it would have been quicker if they'd researched it together. Maybe she could have stayed.
"I haven't spoken with my people since I left Sunnydale, they weren't happy with what I planned to do. They assumed I was doing it for you," she sighs. "I mean I did, but me finding the curse didn't hinge on us getting back together; Angelus needed to be stopped. I hoped to make things right, I didn't expect you to forgive me for hurting you."
"Yes, you hurt me," Rupert informs her, not unkindly. "I felt betrayed. However, I understand that someone raised on stories of Angelus would be reluctant to divulge information to people you barely knew."
"I'm sorry I lied to you," Jenny admits. "I was naïve to think it wouldn't be an issue."
Rupert leans his elbows on the table. "I thought the same about my past, and then you got hurt."
"That wasn't something you could control." She scoots closer to the table, mirroring his posture. "If I'd been honest about who I was and why I was in Sunnydale, would it have changed how you felt about me?"
He mulls over her question for what seems like an age before his hand covers hers on the table between them. "No, I don't think it would."
He's so sincere when he says, so sure of his answer that she believes him. She feels warm under his gaze but doesn't pull away as he continues to speak.
"I still would have fallen in love with my chaotic colleague who decided it her responsibility to drag me out of my comfort zone." He pauses again. "Would it have changed things for you if I'd known?"
"No, no, I don't." She keeps her eyes locked on his as she shakes her head slowly. "I wish I'd told you who I was the night you told me you were a Watcher and Buffy was the Slayer. By then we'd started getting to know each other, so I don't think anything between us would have been different."
Jenny takes a sip of her wine as he stares at her, his face softening. She swallows and lowers the glass to the table. Her hand covers his on top of her other hand, their fingers intertwining. "Besides, I'm a sucker for someone stubborn enough to take me on before my morning coffee. I like a challenge."
Rupert sputters out a laugh. "I was the challenge?"
"Oh, yeah," she agrees, fondly rolling her eyes.
"Jenny, I tripped over my own tongue speaking to you," he smiles at her adoringly. "I've missed this," he admits.
"So have I," Jenny concurs. "I'm not taking you out of your comfort zone tomorrow though, you're going to be my personal tour guide around the Natural History Museum and then we can head over to Rockefeller Centre to see the tree."
"Sounds like a plan," Rupert concurs. "I'm not ice skating though."
"We'll see," she murmurs, catching his eyes. They're both taken back to the night of the Spring Fling when she pulled him up to dance with her. It's his turn to roll his eyes. "We can either take the subway from the museum or it's like a thirty-minute walk through Central Park."
"I'd like to see the park while I'm here," he decides to her unanswered question. "Weather dependent, of course."
"Of course," Jenny mimics.
Fortunately, the following morning is sunny with a chill in the air. They're wrapped up warm in scarves and gloves and she's got a woolly hat on for good measure. They sip at the tea and coffee they bought from the vendor outside of the museum as they head along the path toward the west side. Shoulders brush as they walk side by side and Jenny covers her smirk as she feels him clumsily reaching for her hand, faltering once before successfully lacing his fingers with hers.
They enter the park through the entrance opposite the Natural History Museum. Rupert had been in his element as her personal tour guide, imparting more facts about the exhibits than the museum could fit onto the tiny plaques beside each one. Jenny realises how much she's missed listening to him.
"Is there anything you want to do tomorrow?"
"Um, I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Jenny replies, she's still focusing on today. "You said you wanted to check around for Buffy, in case she missed something when she was here."
"I was thinking of doing that while you were at work so I wouldn't be distracted when spending time with you," he explains.
She glances up at him and she finds him gazing at her like he used to when he walked her to class. She licks her lips as she turns her attention back to the path in front of them.
"So, we covered me in New York last night," she starts. "What about you? You said why you left the States, but you're researching for the Council in England?"
"Mostly."
Jenny glances up at him when he hesitates. "How does Buffy feel about you being so far away?"
"She's asked me to move back to Sunnydale."
He sounds so troubled at the prospect of returning to the small Californian town. "Is that what you want?"
"Nothing is keeping me in England," Rupert tells her. "I miss the children terribly when I'm gone, however, I don't think I can return to Sunnydale permanently." He pauses.
"Sounds like it's been a rough few years."
As much as she wants him Stateside, she won't push him into something he isn't ready for. Sunnydale holds conflicting memories for both of them. They're so lonely, living solitary lives yearning for a connection to share their thoughts and experiences with someone who understands, someone they don't need to hide from.
"They have," Rupert agrees. "The time and space has given me time to put things in perspective."
"How's that?"
"I know what I want," he tells her pointedly.
"That's something, I suppose." Jenny looks up at him. They stop walking and turn to each other. "Allow me to take on the voice of reason here," she pauses for his nod. "We could have the perfect five days together, but how does it work when you head back to Sunnydale for the holidays and return to England in the new year?"
She wants him, he wants her. They're on the same page. But they need to be realistic, logistics aren't their friend.
"Well," he sighs. "It was recently pointed out to me that I can do research anywhere if I have the right resources."
She considers his point. "There's that, but I don't expect you to uproot yourself."
"I'm not going to rush into anything, Jenny," he promises. "Or rush you into anything."
"I think we've lost too much time to pretend we don't want to make it work."
Rupert's eyes drop to her lips before he leans towards her. Jenny's eyes flutter as she tilts her head to meet him halfway. Their lips meet gently in a soft gasp of a promise. His nose grazes hers when he pulls back slightly.
"I doubt passersby would appreciate the display if I don't stop now," he informs her. "We can figure out logistics when we're ready. Or when we're icing matching bruises on our behinds after falling around on the skating rink."
