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Title: Castaways 13/16
In due time Tara arrived along with a bag of magical items she might need if threats weren't enough to make Ethan behave. The little band prepared to pile into Xander's car and head for the hotel their quarry was staying at. At the last moment, Tara turned to Dawn. "I'm not so sure you should come along, Dawnie. This could get dangerous." "No way. You can't leave me behind. Buffy's the only family I've got." "I know, sweetie," Tara soothed her, "but this is a job for grown ups. You know Buffy would say the same thing." "So you're just going to leave me alone here? What if Ethan knows you're coming and he comes here to get me, too?" "That sounds like someone who's been watching too many horror films," Tara returned with an indulgent glare at Xander. "What?" he shrugged, "she keeps wanting to rent them every time I take her to Blockbuster. But Tara's right, Dawn. You should stay here. You'll be fine." "Besides," Anya offered helpfully, "there isn't room for all of us in Xander's car." "So you're just going to leave me alone?" "We won't be long," Willow assured her. "Just long enough to do some serious threatening." "And possibly some pummeling," Xander added. "Which is another thing you probably shouldn't see," Tara said firmly. "I never get to see the fun stuff," Dawn muttered as she stomped into the house. The others got into Xander's car and headed off. ***** Giles wasn't quite sure what woke him again, but when he opened his eyes Buffy was already awake and looking at him intently. "Is everything alright," he asked her groggily. Buffy laughed softly. "Only you would ask that when we're stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way to get home and we've spent the night playing Top My Pain. But yeah, everything's fine." "So why are you still awake? What's that mind of yours up to?" "Thinking. And I know that's a new thing, actually using my brain." "Buffy," he chided her. "No, it really is. At least the way I'm using it now." "And how is that?" "Finding reasons." Giles propped himself on one elbow and raised an eyebrow. "Reasons? For what?" "Us. Reasons for us. You said if it was right, there would be better reasons than you being in a good mood from all the sex, which was a pretty big check in the plus column for me, anyway. So I've been thinking of reasons that are better." "Are you trying to talk yourself into this?" "Nope. In fact, I started out trying to talk myself out of it 'cause it kinda scares me, really. I even came up with a few reasons to just say no." "Such as?" Giles watched her with amusement as she checked off the problems on her fingers. "Such as, you're way, way older than me. And such as you're a sarcastic pain in the butt. And such as you're English and we all know English people eat really weird stuff. And such as I cannot possibly be seen with you in public in those sloppy sweaters of yours." "Is that a complete list of my failings?" "Well, since you don't snore and I don't know if you leave the toilet seat up, that's about it for now." "So what did you come up with on the pro side of the argument?" "Well, you look good and you're in nice shape for a guy as old as you. And everything seems to work okay, as far as I can tell. So that's to the good. You're smart and you know lots of useful stuff. You're on board with the whole Slaying gig, so I don't have to figure out how to break that to you. You've seen me covered in demon slime, so bedhair and morning breath aren't a big shock. You know how to cook. You know how to fix stuff. That's useful 'cause stuff breaks around me. You already like my friends and they like you. You won't burst into flames if we go to the beach or have a picnic. Oh, and you'd be a good influence on Dawn." "I had no idea I was such a paragon of manly virtue." "But that's just the surface stuff," Buffy told him. "There's more. Better reasons." "Such as?" She thought quietly for a moment, her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to find just the right words. "It's like...I know Angel and Riley loved me. Maybe even Spike does in his own really twisted way. But I don't think any of them really liked me. In the end, they all told me I was no good in some way. They all wanted to fix things about me. Change me. You're not like that. You don't want to make me different; you want to make me be the best person I can be with who I already am. I'm probably making no sense of any kind." Giles reached out to run his fingers down her cheek. He smiled at her. "I don't believe I've ever heard you make more sense. I don't know how much of it was them and how much of it was your expectations, but you've always had a disconcerting habit of trying to change to fit what a man wants. You submit yourself, but that can't last because it isn't your nature. And if you attempt to do that with me, I shall be on the next plane out of Sunnydale without so much as a by your leave." "Have I ever submitted to you?" "Not once that I can think of. Then again, I was never boyfriend material." He frowned. "Boyfriend. I think I'm too old to be a boyfriend. The term sounds rather ridiculous applied to me." "Are you kidding? You're one of the youngest boyfriends I've ever had. Anyway, you're more than that. You're like...the rest of me. I mean, we're the opposite, but we're the same, too." "It's late, Buffy. Do you think you could possibly explain that conundrum to me?" "You know how when you do a jigsaw puzzle and you get down to the last few pieces, there's always one or two that don't look like they fit anywhere but they really do? Well, that's us. We're the funky pieces in each others' puzzles. We don't look like we belong, but we do. You complete me and I think maybe I complete you. Anyway, it's a theory. And I thought it was a pretty good reason to be together. Things are just all wrong when we're apart." "I think that's an excellent reason, Buffy. When you're out of my life...frankly, I don't know what to do with myself. I don't want to be without you again." "Then don't be, Giles. Or do I have to call you Rupert now?" "Call me what you will, so long as you call me yours." "Poetic guy," she teased. "On very rare occasion," he agreed with a chuckle. "I warn you, I'm not terribly given to flowery compliments or flights of verbal fancy." "Just big, stuffy words that nobody's used since the Fourteenth Century, I know. It's okay. Hey, it's not like I expect you to change a whole lot after all these years. Except those sloppy sweaters. Those are so going to Salvation Army." "I demand the right to keep one for lazy weekend days when I spend my afternoon watching sports on the telly." "Fair enough," Buffy nodded. "Everybody deserves one serious slacker outfit. And these sports you watch...would there be ice skating involved? 'Cause I like that." "I don't much care for hockey," he grinned. "You are such a pain." "And you're not?" "Giles?" "Yes?" "Shut up and kiss me."
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