Stating The Obvious, Part 3

Stating The Obvious

Part Three

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Time to explain the timeline, I think. It's the summer after season four, but Riley's already left. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure why he left, but let's say it was for a reason similar to what happened on the show. All I know is I didn't want to set this story in the middle of the fifth season, for various reasons, and I couldn't work an explanation of why Riley left earlier into the story without it seeming forced. I usually don't like stories that throw in an alternate universe element without explaining it, but here I am writing one.

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Much, much later, Buffy laid her head on Giles' chest and sighed.

Giles smiled tiredly. "That was..."

"Good?" Buffy provided, when it was obvious he wasn't going to complete the sentence.

"Amazing," Giles corrected. "Stupendous. Magnificent. Outstanding."

"Well, thank you," Buffy beamed. "I'm glad Nigel was satisfied with my performance."

"Satisfied doesn't begin to cover it," Giles said. "I'm not sure if there are any words to truly convey how I feel right now."

"Wow," Buffy said. "I've stumped Captain Vocabulary. Go, Buffy."

"Stumped is about how I feel," Giles agreed. "As in 'worn to a.'"

"Giles!" Buffy scolded, slapping at his stomach. Then she laughed and hugged him. "I like being us."

Giles moved to kiss her head, then said, "I like it, too."

They lay there for awhile, silent and happy.

Eventually, Buffy said, "Should we tell everyone, do you think?"

Giles sighed. "We should, yes, though I've no idea how to go about it."

"Do you think they'll be mad?"

"Your mother certainly will be," Giles said. "I shudder to think how she'll react. As for the others, I have no idea. I imagine we won't have an easy time of it, though."

"I'm worried about Mom, too," Buffy said. "But I think I'm even more worried about Willow and Xander. I don't know why," she went on, forestalling Giles' question. "It's just a feeling I have. The three of us have been getting along so well since we beat Adam. We drifted apart so badly last year, but we've got it all back now, and it feels great. I've been so happy lately, and I never would have expected that, after Riley and I broke up."

Giles smiled into her hair and pulled her tighter against him. "I'm happy, as well. I still can't believe I'm here with you, or how right it feels."

"It does, doesn't it? It feels right. So shouldn't it be easy to explain to everyone?"

"I don't think it works that way," Giles said, "though I wish it did. Still, we could keep it simple when we tell them."

"Yeah?" Buffy asked. "How would you tell them?"

"Well," Giles said, "I might begin by telling them that what we had to say might come as a shock, but that I hoped they'd stay calm long enough to hear us out. And that I hoped that they would trust and support us, as we have tried to trust and support them in the past. That I wanted them to listen to what we said before they reacted, and not just jump up and start yelling."

"Not bad," Buffy said. "That's the best bit of stalling I've heard in quite a while. Now, what would you say when you stopped beating around the bush and actually told them what's going on between us?"

"That would be more difficult," Giles conceded. "I'm not sure, really. I'd have to think about it." He trailed off, absently running his hand up and down Buffy's back.

"Mmmm," Buffy purred, snuggling closer to him. "Well, what would you say?"

"I suppose I'd just tell them the truth," Giles said, still lost in thought. "That we're together, and while I can understand how that might shock them, I for one don't really care what they think. I'm in love with you, after all, and..."

He broke off as he felt Buffy go rigid in his arms. "What?" he asked. "Did I say something wrong?" Frantically, he tried to remember what he'd been saying.

Buffy turned her head to look into his eyes. "You're in love with me?" she asked in disbelief.

Giles' breath caught in his throat. Had he said that out loud? Cursing himself for a fool, he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"Giles?" Buffy asked in a small voice.

He couldn't look at her. "Yes," he said. "I love you. I'm in love with you. I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I don't... I'm not good at saying this sort of thing. I haven't had much practice. I know that this wasn't supposed to be about love, and I know that you don't - can't - feel the same way. I know I'm not the kind of man you could fall in love with. I know that we're only together like this," he waved his hand vaguely, "because of your break-up with Riley. I know you just wanted to lose yourself and not think about relationships, and I'm sorry I've ruined that for you. I didn't set out to fall in love with you, Buffy, but I've found that I have no choice. You're beautiful, and you're wonderful, and you make me happier than I've ever been in my entire life. When I'm with you, I feel complete. I feel like I'm home, and that's something I haven't truly felt in a great many years."

He opened his eyes and looked down at Buffy's shocked face. "I love you," he told her. "I realize how uncomfortable this must make you, and I'm sorry, but..."

"Don't you dare be sorry," Buffy said, tears in her eyes. "Don't you dare. That's the most amazing thing anyone's ever said to me, so don't you dare apologize."

She reached up and cupped Giles' face. "I love you, too," she said, and laughed in delight at the look on his face. She stretched up to kiss him.

"You can't mean that," Giles said, pulling away from her.

"I most certainly can," Buffy told him, looking him straight in the eye. "You're right about how I felt when we started this. I was getting over Riley, and I guess I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean to kiss you that first time, after we fought those demons. It just happened. When you hit that wall, I thought I'd lost you. And then when you woke up, I was so relieved. I kissed you before I even knew what I was doing. And then we came back here and had sex..."

"Made love," Giles corrected softly.

"Made love," Buffy agreed happily. "But I thought it was just sex, then. And so did you. I thought that's what we needed, sex with no complications. With someone we knew we could trust. And that's what I thought it was, at first."

"I thought so, as well," Giles said.

"I know. I'm not sure when I realized I was in love with you. I think it was the first night we slept together. Slept the whole night together, I mean. I woke up next to you and I just knew. But I couldn't tell you, because I knew you didn't feel the same way. Couldn't feel the same way. I knew I wasn't the kind of woman you could fall in love with."

"You were wrong," Giles said.

"And so were you," Buffy said. "You are exactly the kind of man I can fall in love with. And I have. I love you, Giles."

"And I love you, Buffy."

"Say it again."

"I love you."

"I love you. It's a good feeling, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes," Giles said. "Better than I ever imagined."

"Same here," Buffy said, then yawned.

"Tired?" Giles asked, a bit smugly.

"Exhausted," Buffy answered him. "And it's all your fault."

"Not all, surely. You did more than your fair share."

"So did you. But now I'm all tired."