__Acknowledgement__
By Gibberish
Life and unlife, settled into a routine.
Buffy was more or less trapped at Giles' during the day, but at
night, she patrolled. She visited with her friends, although,
there were some places that she found she had to avoid, like the
Bronze. She was too recognizable there. The big question was
whether or not to mention this turn of events to Joyce.
Buffy was torn, she wanted to see her Mom badly, but she
didn't want her Mom to see her like that. Would her Mom be afraid
of her?
Buffy wandered the park. It was getting late, she
knew, but she was restless. She dropped into the swing and gave
herself a small push. She closed her eyes as the swing swayed her
lightly.
Buffy felt him, long before he spoke. His heartbeat, his
breathing, his scent, she recognized them as if she'd always
known them. Maybe she had. "Hi, Giles." She said
calmly, without opening her eyes.
Giles leaned against the swings and watched her. "It
will be sunrise soon. I was beginning to worry."
Buffy smiled, just a little. "You always worry."
She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I have time."
She reached out a hand and pulled him to the swing next to hers.
"Enjoy the quiet with me for a minute." She closed her
eyes again, but didn't release his hand.
Giles had noticed that since Buffy's 'return', that she
seemed to need the reassurance of touch more. *His* touch.
"You still feel isolated." It wasn't a question.
"I'll always feel isolated." Buffy responded.
"I always did. Am I driving you crazy?" She asked, even
though she was afraid of the answer.
"No more than you always have." Giles told her
with a small smile.
"Have I worn out my welcome?" Buffy asked
quietly.
"Never." Giles said emphatically.
"I feel different, Giles." Buffy told him.
"Not just in the I don't have a pulse way. I feel darker.
Angrier. Violent."
"I know." Giles said quietly. "I can see it
the way you move, the way you fight. The way you've pulled away
from everyone."
"Not everyone." Buffy said.
Giles squeezed her hand. He smiled ruefully. "I'm
fighting the urge to say that it's natural."
"Cause that would go over so well." Buffy
commented.
"I'm just grateful that you haven't pulled away from
me as well." Giles told her. He stood, pulling her with him.
"It's time for you to be inside."
Buffy let him lead her along. She didn't tell him
everything. She didn't tell him the reason that she hadn't pulled
away from him.
Giles had been asked to the Museum to determine
whether an artifact was genuine. When he returned home, his place
was oddly quiet. With Buffy staying there, there was almost
always some kind of noise. Unless she was in the tub, which she
was, quite often.
As Giles made himself comfortable and fixed tea, he heard
the water run several times. He lounged on the couch with a
newspaper, while he waited for Buffy to join him. "Should I
be expecting an announcement from you and my bath any time
soon?" He asked when she finally emerged in her bathrobe.
Buffy saw the teasing humor in his eyes, but couldn't quite
match it. "It's warm." She said softly.
Giles' eyes gentled as she joined him on the couch.
"That really bothers you doesn't it? Not being warm?"
He clarified unnecessarily.
Buffy nodded as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I've always been hot. I hardly ever got cold."
<Well, that explains some of her skimpier outfits.>
Giles thought. "Is that why you've always dressed ...?"
"In as little as possible?" Buffy finished for
him with a grin. "Yep."
Giles smiled in return, glad to see her mood dispelled.
"And the hot chocolate?"
"Is always nice." Buffy answered.
"But not as nice as the bath." Giles concluded.
"Would you like an electric blanket?" He asked.
Buffy shook her head. "It's not as if I'm actually
cold, I'm just not warm." She explained. What she didn't
tell him was what she'd really like would be to snuggle under the
blankets with him. She never realized just how warm he was before
all this. "Are you always so warm?"
Giles looked at her startled. "What? W-well, ... I
suppose."
"It's nice." Buffy told him as she relaxed more
against him. "You must have fried in all that tweed."
"Well, it was rather ... Um ..." Giles was at a
loss, when Buffy moved so that she was practically in his lap.
"Buffy?"
Buffy sat and then stood up carefully, flashing quite a bit
of leg, but that was all. "I guess I should get dressed and
patrol." She didn't let herself react to his rather stunned
expression. She enjoyed the sound of his heart beating a bit
frantically. Only when she was once again in the bathroom, did
she allow herself a grin.
Buffy knew that, contrary to what she'd wanted to believe
in the beginning, Giles was a very sexual man. He just didn't
feel as if he needed to prove it. But she wanted him to prove it,
to her. She didn't know when it had happened, or how, but she
wanted him. She had just learned that he wanted her too. She
wouldn't rush him. He would be shocked and confused, probably
even embarrassed by his need, just as she had been at first. She
would go slow, let him see that she wanted him, too. And then,
... Her grin widened.
Giles shook himself from the feelings that seemed
about to overwhelm him. <What was that all about?> He asked
himself, but he didn't have an answer. He was still sitting there
when Buffy went through on her way out to patrol.
It was unusually quiet on Buffy's patrol. She
couldn't prevent a smile, most people probably didn't have so
many good memories of a cemetery, she thought as she realized
that she was near the spot that Giles had helped her study for
her SATs. Not that he hadn't worked with her in the library as
well, but it was gone.
Buffy tensed, she could hear the heartbeat. Why did the
people of Sunnydale never learn? She turned, "Look,
..." And found herself tackled by a dark haired
projectile. Buffy threw her off and jumped to her feet.
"What the hell is your problem?"
"I don't like vampires." The other girl said.
Buffy looked at her carefully. She was tall, nearly as tall
as Xander, dark hair and extremely tense. She couldn't be more
than fifteen. Buffy felt like she'd been kicked in the gut.
"Not another one."
* * *