Title: Gossip (2/3)
Author: Liz

(notes and disclaimer in part one)

Giles radiated outer calm, but his insides were churning furiously. The very notion of Buffy giving herself to such a boorish lout was upsetting enough, but he berated himself for allowing the boy's words to so enrage him. All it had taken was a sideways comment about his Buffy, and he'd flown off the handle, yet again. Fortunately, the assembled students seemed more than pleased with the young man's comeuppance, or he could have very well caused both himself and Buffy a great deal of trouble with his outburst.

Still, he grinned, it had been awfully satisfying.

Any remaining anger evaporated when Buffy opened the door, greeting Giles with that special smile she reserved just for him. "Heya, Giles! Ready for our slaydate?"

"Practically," he answered, returning her smile just as warmly. "Just need to grab my sword." He crossed the threshold, knowing better than to ask permission to enter, and Buffy finished getting her weapons bag together while he slid the sword down his back, into the scabbard beneath his jacket.

"Need a stake?" she asked.

"Thanks," he patted his pocket, "already packing." He took the weapons bag from her and hefted it onto his shoulder. "Shall we go, then?"

Giles placed his hand on her lower back as they walked down the hallway. Buffy wasn't sure what the sudden chivalry was about, but she definitely liked it.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

True to expectations, Buffy was thoroughly enjoying their patrol. Still no joy on the commando front, but it was amazing how quickly time flew in the right company. Overall, the night was relatively quiet compared to the previous one, and they dusted a couple of vampires without breaking a sweat, chatting as they went. Giles still stammered a bit when she complimented his technique, and Buffy found herself grinning oddly at the way his ears turned red when he blushed.

There was one move in particular she hadn't remembered seeing before, a kind of hip-twisting shoulder thing he'd used to dislodge the vampire that tried to grab him from behind, and she asked him to show it to her. "The principles are fairly simple," he explained, moving into position behind her. "It's actually a variation on Aikido, so the motion begins in your hips before carrying through to the shoulders." He leaned his sword against a tree to free his hands, which he placed lightly on her hips.

"Now don't try to block me," he said. "Just direct my approach. Join it, instead of resisting, and bear in mind... Buffy, are you listening?"

"Hmm?" Buffy shook her head, trying to banish that weird tummy feeling that had suddenly returned. It seemed to be happening a lot lately, Buffy noticed. Not that it was particularly unpleasant - far from it, she mused - but she didn't understand why—

Any further deliberation was cut off when an overly sibilant voice behind Giles interrupted their exercise. "May I cut in, or is this a 'lovers only' dance?"

A soft nudge from Giles' right hand was Buffy's signal. He ducked, rolling to the side as she spun, and her boot connected with the vampire's jaw. He rocked back on his heels, dazed, but smiled as he hefted Giles' sword. "I suppose that explains why you brought this lovely trinket on your date. You must be the Slayer," he said, bowing too deeply. "I am Gorin. It will be an honour to drink of you."

Buffy raised her eyebrow, bemused, and easily identified Gorin as more bark than actual bite. She chanced a peek over at Giles, who furtively motioned for her to keep her flamboyant opponent occupied, but the vamp in question was having far too much fun playing Dracula to need much prompting.

Rather than charge, Buffy circled to the right, away from Giles. Sure enough, the vampire turned, ignoring the Watcher completely as he blathered about 'drink you down', 'final words', and the ever-popular 'eternal embrace'. Buffy tried not to laugh, but the only thing missing from Count Wanna-Be's act was the velvet cape. He finished his opening speech, raising the sword with a flourish, but before he could attack, Buffy's patience was rewarded by Gorin's look of impotent confusion at the stake that suddenly protruded from his chest.

She was about to fire off a quip to celebrate the vampire's dusty end, but Giles beat her to it, catching the sword as the vampire crumbled. "I believe that's mine," he deadpanned, pulling the blade across his thigh to remove the dust before returning it to its scabbard.

Buffy burst out laughing. For a moment Giles looked affronted, assuming the laughter must naturally be at his expense, but the warmth in Buffy's smile was infectious. "Now that was fun!" she giggled, stepping forward to brush the dust from his jeans. "I am so loving the tag-team slayage. Nice finishing move, by the way. Very badass."

"Yes, well, he did seem to call for a more theatrical exit than most." Giles felt himself blush - which he seemed to be doing with alarming frequency in Buffy's presence these days - but Buffy's flattery was only partly to blame. The greater culprit was the rush of awareness that Buffy was doing an extremely thorough job of un-dusting his jeans.

Still giggling, Buffy continued to paw at the offending particles. "Geez, Giles, you've got powdered vamp all over you." She circled behind him, brushing her hands over the taut denim, trying to remove the last of it. If she lingered a little too long on his backside it was only because she wanted to make sure she got all the dust. Certainly not because she had been pleasantly surprised by the firm, round muscle tone that tapered so alluringly into his long, lean legs. And definitely not because she couldn't resist the urge to run her hand across those curves once more to confirm her assessment.

A cough from Giles interrupted her silent appraisal. "Do I pass inspection, then?"

She pulled her hand away and flushed crimson. "Um, inspecting, I wasn't—"

"The dust, Buffy. Is it gone?"

"Dust. Right. All gone." She recovered quickly, if not smoothly, and suggested they call it a night. "Good thing it's Friday," she added. "We definitely deserve to sleep in tomorrow after a week like this."

Giles momentarily lost himself in the image of spending a lazy Saturday morning in bed with Buffy, but he abruptly shook it off. No sense daydreaming about things that would never be. At least he and Buffy had managed to prevent the rift that could have formed after Olivia's visit. Olivia was a good friend and an engaging companion - and there was no denying her beauty - but she simply wasn't Buffy. Still, the experience had been yet another forceful reminder that while Buffy and he had grown closer since, she would never see him as anything but Watcher and friend.

"I daresay you're right," he managed. "Hell of a week. But the company's been most enjoyable."

Buffy beamed and linked her arm through his. "That it has, Watcher mine." She leaned her head against his shoulder, and they walked back to Stevenson Hall.

Watcher and friend would have to be enough.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"Well, this is my stop," she told him when they arrived at the front steps of her dorm. "Patrol was really fun tonight. Thanks." Then she screwed her face up in mock confusion. "Huh. 'Patrol' and 'fun' in the same sentence. I'm pretty sure that's one of the signs of the apocalypse."

"Don't even joke," he admonished playfully. "But I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Then he offhandedly added, "Care to get a bite to eat before patrol tomorrow?" A strange look crossed Buffy's face, and he hurried to amend the offer. "U-unless, of course, you have other plans..." Then the Abrams boy's taunts came back to him, and Giles forced himself to add, "a date, perhaps..."

"God, no," she spat. "I am so through with dating. Boys suck. Stupid users with their come-on lines and their four inches and their crappy gossip." Giles knew exactly to whom Buffy referred, but he opted not to comment, still embarrassed by his outburst. Then Buffy's features softened again. "No, I was just a little surprised," she said. "I don't think we've ever done that before. Unless you count pizza and all-night research, which I so don't." The more she thought about it, the more it started to bother her. "We should definitely do something about that. Dinner it is."

With a smile and a promise to call the next afternoon, they parted company, and Buffy made her way up the stairs, grinning at the prospect of more Watcher/Slayer quality time. Pondering what outfit would best suit a dinner/slayage outing, she didn't notice a very tipsy Laney Douglas weaving down the hallway until the two nearly collided.

"Buffy!" greeted Laney, a little too enthusiastically. "Hey, where's your super-suave boyfriend? I thought you guys had a date tonight."

'Um, hi," Buffy offered, confused. "I think you're thinking of somebody else. I don't have a—"

"Aw, come on," Laney drawled, slurring her speech. "What, is it a secret? Is he a professor? Omigod, is he married?!"

"Laney, what the hell are you talking about? I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh, right. Well if he's not your boyfriend, then why did he break Parker Abrams' nose?" Laney leaned against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest as if daring Buffy to find the flaw in her drunken logic.

Buffy took a moment to appreciate the merits of a facially broken Parker and wished she'd been there to see it, but she didn't see where Laney was going with this. "So how does that make the guy my boyfriend? I'm sure there's tons of people who'd be more than happy to flatten that creep's face."

Laney nodded sagely. "True, but this was the same guy."

"What guy?"

"Your boyfriend, duh!"

"God!" Buffy willed herself not to slay the ill-informed drunk and tried again. "Laney, you're going to have to be a little more specific because I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Laney sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look, it's not just me, okay? Heather said she sees you guys together all the time. And Leslie told Anna that Michael said he's seen you hanging out with him too, and he didn't think you guys were an item, even though the guy obviously digs you, but I told her what you said about how amazing he was and stuff and how you guys were at it all night, and that's probably why you looked so thrashed in the cafeteria today, so..."

Buffy stared in amazement as Laney droned on, ticking off a roll call of complete strangers who were avidly discussing her sex life with a boyfriend she didn't even have. At least this morning's scene in the cafeteria wasn't Parker-related - small mercy, that - but something Laney just said... She cut the other girl off and posed the question as directly as she could.

"This mystery boyfriend of mine. What does he look like?"

"Tall, long legs, broad shoulders. Ooh, and the sexiest British accent."

"Oh my God, you mean Giles?" Buffy's insides flip-flopped at Laney's intimation. "So that's why you were all 'thumbs-up' this morning." Laney bobbed her head fiercely in agreement, thrilled that Buffy had finally caught on.

"Yeah, that's his name! Remember, you were like 'Next time I want donuts' and stuff about him keeping you up all night?"

Buffy sighed heavily, wishing she had a better explanation for that than 'Well, see, we were out fighting vampires...'

"Look, Giles and I are just friends. Yeah, we hang out a lot, but... I mean, he just doesn't think of me like that."

"Whatever, Buffy," Laney retorted, unconvinced. "I know what I saw." Then her stomach lurched violently. She turned green as the night's drinking finally caught up with her, and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "I gotta go," she mumbled, turning and sprinting for the bathroom and leaving an oddly disconcerted Buffy in her wake.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Twenty minutes later found Buffy knocking on Oz's door. He opened it, yawning, and gave Buffy a sleepy nod hello. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she told him. "Sorry to wake you up. I just... I kind of need to do the roomie girl-talk thing."

"Well, I'll give it a shot," he offered. "But Willow's probably better at it." He gestured to his girlfriend, who was still sleeping soundly and muttering something about beef jell-o. "Go ahead and wake her up. She's pretty cute when she's disoriented." Then he grabbed a t-shirt and headed for the door. "I'm gonna go be elsewhere for a few. You guys talk."

Buffy turned on the bedside lamp and shook Willow gently. The redhead woke with a start, worried to see Buffy standing over her. "What is it? Is it Xander? Is Giles okay?"

"Giles broke Parker's nose."

Willow sat up, instantly alert. "Omigod, is he in jail?"

"No, no, he's not in trouble or anything. But Laney saw the whole thing, and she thought he was my boyfriend."

"Who, Parker?" Willow wrinkled her nose distastefully.

"No, not Parker. Giles."

"Oh. And...?"

Buffy regarded Willow with dumb astonishment. "Giles isn't my boyfriend!"

Willow winced at her friend's vehement statement of the obvious. "Allow me to restate my previous 'And...?'" True, Giles breaking Parker's face was pretty big news, but if nobody was in jail over it, then the news would have been just as big in the morning.

Buffy blinked furiously as she tried to put it into words. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but the explanation didn't want to come. Seeing her obvious distress, Willow patted the bed next to her, and Buffy sat down, wringing her hands while she tried to sort it out.

"Okay," she finally began. "Laney heard Giles and me this morning talking about how we'd been 'busy' last night, and she drew all these crazy conclusions. Like, she thinks we're totally dating. But, I mean, misleading comments aside, how could she even think that?"

"Gee, I don't know," Willow smiled. "A pretty gal, a good-looking guy, cryptic conversation about last night? The conclusion kind of draws itself."

Buffy frowned, but she had to concede the point. "All right, I'll give you that. But even if I thought about him that way, it's not like we'd be going out. I mean, he's totally older than me."

Willow nodded thoughtfully. "Good point. Angel was a lot closer to your age."

Buffy snorted. "Yeah, right." Then she scowled at Willow. "Okay, you know I hate it when you do that, right?"

But Willow played innocent, "Gosh, I guess you're right. Then the age argument doesn't really make much sense, does it?" She gathered her legs underneath her and faced her friend. "All right, then. What else have you got?"

Buffy rested against the headboard and sighed. Her first defense had been breached, but she had a sure-fire one to follow with. "Even if I thought he was charming and really sexy... and funny and smart and fun to be with... Giles doesn't feel that way about me, so there wouldn't be any point. Apparently he's got this whole fatherly love thing going."

Willow thought that one over. At first glance someone might see them like that, but... "Who told you that?"

"Quentin Travers. Giles' boss. Or his old boss, anyway. Before he fired Giles for interfering with their stupid test when I turned eighteen." Willow shuddered, remembering. "He said that Giles had a father's love for me, and then he fired him."

"For interfering or for loving you?"

"Either? Both? Take your pick. But he distinctly said 'a father's love'."

"Who did? Giles?"

"No, Travers."

Willow frowned. "What did Giles say?"

"Nothing. He just stood there looking wrecked and furious."

Willow sniffed disdainfully. "Well far be it from me to speak ill of a thundering moron, but it's obvious that Travers guy has no idea what he's talking about. If anything, caring about each other is what makes you guys such a great team. Besides, he saw you together for, what, all of six minutes? How would he know how Giles feels about you?"

"Well, duh, because Giles came to save me!"

"Xander and Angel went to save you when you went to face The Master. Were they your dads too?"

Buffy quieted, thinking about the two men who had come after her the night she died, how each of them had felt about her, and her carefully constructed denial started to crumble. "No. They weren't." Ever since her birthday she'd been more than willing to assume that Travers was right. That he must obviously know Giles well enough to see how her Watcher felt about her. But if he'd thought Giles would leave her just because the Council wasn't paying him to be there, then whatever he knew clearly wasn't worth a damn.

Then she remembered something and smiled. "You know, I actually thought Giles was going to ask me to dance at the prom. But then I got swept up in the whole 'last, perfect moment' with Angel and kind of forgot about it." She looked at Willow, who had a knowing smile of her own. "I guess... maybe it's possible... that he might like me?"

"Like you? Like you? Buffy, you should have seen him at the prom. Everybody was dancing and having this great time, and he just stood there watching the door. Like everybody's date was there but his, and he couldn't wait to see Cinderella make her big entrance."

"No way. Cinderella?"

"Oh, yeah, major Prince Charming vibe going on."

"Well, he did look pretty good in that tux."

Willow eagerly nodded in agreement, and they sat quietly, each remembering that night Buffy had fought so hard to give them all until Willow put it all together. Buffy's distress, her confusion, and the fact that she'd 'just happened' to have all these arguments ready to go before the subject even came up...

"You like him, don't you?"

Buffy opened her mouth to deny it, but the fluttering in her stomach returned full-force, demanding to be noticed. The excuses and justifications she'd spent the past few months relying on deserted her, and she gasped as the realization struck. She'd fought so hard not to face her feelings, but here they were, looking her straight in the eye and demanding to know what she was going to do about them. And oddly enough, they seemed to be wearing Willow's 'resolve face'.

Willow broke into a huge grin. "You do! You like him!"

"Willow!" Buffy tried to protest, but they both knew it was useless. She broke into a grin that matched Willow's own, and they both started to giggle.

"Buffy and Gi-les, sittin' in a tree."

"Shut up."

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g..."

"Shut up!" Buffy grabbed a pillow, whapped Willow with it, and the fight was on.

Hearing raucous laughter when he returned, Oz figured it was safe to enter. He opened the door to see the two girls engaged in a full-blown pillow fight. They were both flushed and giggling, trading playful blows as Willow teased her friend, and Oz couldn't suppress his smile. "You do know you guys could sell tickets, right?"

Buffy turned to look at him, and Willow got in a lucky blow to the back of her head. "Hey!" she objected, but Willow just stuck out her tongue. Buffy gave her a look that promised retribution and tossed her pillow to Oz. "You're in," she told him, jumping off the bed. "I gotta go see a man."