Title: Tomorrow 2/?
Author: Madsdog
Disclaimer: If I just owned Willow's body, Dawn's hair and Giles' voice to sing me to sleep... okay... none of it's mine- those bits belong to the actors and the rest is Joss' and Marti's (Tara-killers) and Love Letter #1 belongs to Red
SPOILERS: UP UNTIL THE END OF 'TWO TO GO'
***
SEASON 6
***
Okay, now this one she hadn't seen coming
"Pregnant? How?"
"For someone who's approaching her 1125th birthday, that isn't a very intelligent question." Ah well, Anya thought, it might have made her angry, but at least the question had gotten her to speak in coherent sentences
"I didn't mean how, I meant... what? Who? When? Where?"
"Pregnant, me, now, here."
"Haha. You know what I meant. Now tell me the rest."
"Giles." Anya felt her jaw drop, and for the first time in her rather long life, she had absolutely no idea what to say, had no comeback, she just sat, staring and feeling rather like a fish as she tried to shut her mouth unsuccessfully
"This is a fine start- if I can't get you to believe me, then I don't know who will."
"No, it's just- how long?"
***
SUMMER JUST BEFORE SEASON 3
***
"I'm sorry Will, really I am."
"No Xander, it's fine. It's not your fault you're sick. Besides, you hate patrol."
"Well yes, but I still feel bad about leaving it all to you and G-man."
"Don't call him that, he doesn't like it."
"But I do, have you not noticed how fun it is to get him mad?"
"Honestly, one day you're going to grow up and cringe at everything you used to do."
"Never gonna happen Will."
"What, you're not going to grow up, get married, get a proper job?"
"Geez Will, that's just scary." She giggled and carried the phone over to the closet to pick out her shoes. She heard a knock at the patio door and signalled through the glass that she'd be out in a minute.
"I've got to go, Xand, I'll see you tomorrow, and if you're not well enough, then school the day after."
"Oh joy. Back to math." She laughed again
"See you."
"Bye." Quickly tying her laces, she grabbed her 'slay-bag,' and opened the patio door
"Hi Giles"
"Willow."
"Xander's ill. Looks like it's just us two tonight."
"Ill?" He raised an eyebrow at her
"Well, he claims to be. Knowing Xander he'll be right as rain tomorrow."
"Probably." They walked companionably in silence to the cemetery. The night was clear and warm, and the pair both revelled in the peaceful naturalness of it all
"Sometimes you get a night that just seems so perfect you don't want to do anything to break the magic of it." Giles smiled at her poetry filled description. Sometimes she would just come out with things that were so innocent and fantasy filled he really had to wonder whether she'd really seen the things she'd seen, because she'd remained so beauty filled, determined to see the good in everything: even the evil filled hours when the sun was far from view
"And it's only ever nights. You notice that? There never seems to be a day where you just want it to last forever. It's always nights." He smiled at her childishness again, but at the same time;
"I know exactly what you mean." She glanced up at him, surprised, before backing up to sit on a headstone
"Really?" She smiled shyly at his slight nod "Usually I just get ignored when I say something like that, or it's 'Yes, uh-huh, what do you think of my new shoes, me too.' People don't usually even listen, let alone respond." He let the fondness he felt for her in that moment enter his eyes and voice
"Then they're idiots." He stepped closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Casual touching had become the norm for the two over the summer months, but sometimes, something more was there that they could both feel
"That's your slayer you're talking about." Her voice was quieter than usual, and had a slightly nervous edge
"Still true." and his had taken on a slightly detached tone, as if he were thinking of something other than his words. His hand moved towards her neck, and she watched him watch it. She didn't' want him to stop, but...
"Demon!"
"What?" His words were slightly dazed and he shook his head as if to clear it
"Demon, green, slimy, yuk. And behind you. With an axe!" Realising his imminent danger, Giles took a short dagger from his waistband and turned, moving to one side. The demon was still a few metres away but did indeed have an axe, and, seeing as he'd just moved, was headed straight for Willow.
He reached out an arm, aiming to pull the girl from danger, but she was already a step ahead of him, and on the other side of the demon's path.
The rather large demon was travelling at quite a speed and found himself unable to stop before he charged through Willow's favourite headstone and lodged his axe into the tree behind. Moving up behind the fiend, Giles pushed the blade into the side of its neck and twisted, then backed away, taking the blade with him. Willow stood waiting for any signs of movement with a carefully trained crossbow, but after several minutes of stillness, the pair relaxed, assuming the demon to be dead
"That was easier than expected."
"What was it?"
"I don't know." Giles knelt down beside the body and turned it over to reveal the previously unnoticed marking on its forehead; a flower formed from equilateral triangles
"Yes I do. It's a Siegel Demon. They're fascinating creatures really, almost genetically identical to humans, but basically mindless killers. Their thought processes run along the lines of 'see, charge, kill.'"
"I don't have a problem with that; I do have a problem when they destroy Miss Lostrin's headstone." She looked down at the remains of her graveyard seat.
The pair wandered around the town's numerous graveyards for the next couple of hours, impressed by their total of four and a half stakings (The half was an experience Willow hoped never to repeat, and not just because of the attractive purpley-brown stain on her new top and skirt), conversing easily, and generally enjoying themselves. As they left the last cemetery and headed back to the slightly better end of town the conversation from earlier was revived
"You're worth more than they give you credit for." Willow looked up at Giles, puzzled
"Huh?"
"You're a brilliant young woman. The people around you sometimes take that for granted." She smiled shyly at the compliment
"Not all of them," he looked at her questioningly, "not you." He reached out a hand and stroked her cheek. Willow was surprised; not by the gesture so much as the fact that at some point they'd stopped walking and she hadn't noticed. Suddenly something entered Giles' eyes and his arm tensed, preparing to pull away. Not wanting to lose the contact again, the redhead raised her own arm and placed her hand over his. Holding it still she turned her head and placed a light kiss on the palm
"Thank you." Giles felt himself pulled even further under the girl's spell by the lower, more personal tone of her voice
"For what?"
"Not taking me for granted, being here this summer, looking out for me. Being you." He had no reply and after a moment more he felt their hands drop, still clasped together, and they continued their walk in silence. Eventually they reached her bungalow
"This is where I get off." They stood, neither one wanting to let go, until she spoke again
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow." She took a step towards the house and their fingers separated, before she turned back towards him and moved in close.
Giles thought he'd never felt anything better than the light kiss she placed in the corner of his mouth and half a moment later he realised he was responding. It was over far too quickly and left both of them feeling a little phased.
Giles opened his eyes to be met by the purest look of happiness on Willow's face. Her eyes were closed, her head tilted slightly, and a wisp of a smile pulled at her lips, making him want to kiss her again. He wanted to kiss her again so badly; but if he did he wouldn't be able to stop, he knew, so he just stood there, watching as she opened her eyes and smiled again: this time at him
"I've been wanting to do that all summer." He didn't say 'me too,' although he thought it,
"You should go inside. It's getting cold." She felt her heart drop to her stomach and begin to get dissolved by the hydrochloric acid there. After their talks tonight she'd been so sure he wanted this as badly as her. Now though...
"I'll see you tomorrow."
***
EARLY SEASON 6
***
"Just a minute, you're telling me you and Giles have been an item for over three years and now he's gone off to England?"
"It's a long story."
"Good thing I've got time."
"I came here for your help."
"Which I'll give you once you've told me the whole story."
***
"Dawn Summers!"
"I am NOT having this conversation with you." The younger girl ran up the stairs of 1630 Revello Drive with her sister hot on her heels
"Who is it? Do I know him?"
"Buffy, I'm not-"
"So you're carrying contraceptive pills and condoms around for no reason?"
"I'm on the pill for my period. You know that."
"I know what you told me."
"You-"
"And the condoms?"
"Willow gave them to me."
"Willow- why?"
"She said she thought that I should have them, in case the right guy showed up at the wrong time."
"Don't lie to me Dawn."
"I'm not."
"She'd buy you a whole packet, not three loose ones. It's not like she keeps her own around."
"She does."
"Where?"
"Right side of the desk, third drawer down."
"Dawn, when you and I are finished with this talk we have to have one about lying to people. Especially me." She stormed through to her friend's room, and went over to the desk. "It's not even believable. Willow hasn't been involved with anyone for two years, why would she-" Her erratic mood caused her to pull at the desk drawer harder than usual, and its contents fell to the floor, scattering over the pristine carpet
"See. Condoms." But Buffy was too distracted by something else to be paying attention to her sister. Kneeling down, she picked up the small box that had come unclasped in the fall. Dawn peered over The Slayer's shoulder to see what she'd found.
"It's beautiful." And indeed it was. The eternity ring sat on a bed of dark red satin, the tiny diamonds shattering the light that hit them to make rainbows over the Summers girls' faces. Buffy wondered, then searched. Stamped on the hidden inside of the lid was a gold seal
"It's an engagement ring."
"Maybe it's her mother's."
"Only if she's got remarried recently."
"Huh?" Dawn frowned at her sister
"It's a new firm: established 1999." The two were silent for a moment
"Look Buffy, this is real exciting and all- but if Willow gets back she's going to be majorly pissed we went through her drawer and made her room a mess." Buffy wasn't listening though; she'd spotted something else
'I love you. I'm in love with you. I want to make love to you and with you. I need to have you inside of me, taking me and making me yours. I need you to tie me down and devour me. To free the passion that's begging for release. And I want to do the same to you.
I need you, Giles. I am in love with you, Giles.'
"Shit." Buffy tried to absorb what she was reading. Willow was in love with Giles? When had this happened? Hesitantly she picked up another piece of paper, decorated with her best friend's rounded scrawl
'I tried to phone you yesterday; I got her, and then the answer machine. You said we were soul mates Giles. If that were true, then why are we here? You return my mail unopened, you refuse to answer the phone. Shouldn't you be able to tell Rupert, to know something's wrong? Come home to me darling, I need you. I need for you to be at my side as I go through this.'
Dawn looked up at the strange whimpering noise her sister made. She was trying to reach what looked to be a pair of earrings from under the bed, but at the look on Buffy's face she sat up
"Buffy?"
"Giles."
"No, Dawn." She looked like she was in shock
"Giles. Willow. Sex."
"What?" Dawn looked down to the paper in The Slayer's hand and read. "Oh. Giles, Willow, sex. I mean- OH!"
"I- it- she- they- he..."
"Nice pronouns Buff. Only now we know Will's gonna be Doublemeat Palace-y mad. If Giles and her are having some sort of torrid love affair behind our backs, there's a good reason she doesn't want us to know. Heck, I can think of several." Buffy looked up at her sister in horror
"Torrid..." she made another whimpering noise while looking between the letters and the jewellery box in her hands
"Buffy. COME ON! We have to clear this lot up." On auto-pilot, the blonde did as her sister ordered, all the time thinking of how to find a way to read the rest of the papers she was now clearing up, and search her best friend's room for more.