Title: Yule Traditions, Past and Future (3/11)
Author: Gileswench

(notes and disclaimer with part one)

May 20, 2003, outskirts of what used to be Sunnydale, California.

They stood at the edge of the crater for a long time. Nobody was quite sure exactly what to do next. Everything that had defined their lives had either changed drastically - and forever - or been completely destroyed that day.

"So...not to play the golden oldies, here," Xander said, "but where the hell do we go from here?"

"I don't know." Buffy shook her head. "All I know is, I'm through making decisions. Someone else please just tell me what comes next when you guys decide."

She walked slowly away. After a moment, Giles ambled after her, hands in his pockets. When he reached her, he simply stood there for a moment. Then one hand moved to her shoulder, almost of its own accord. She was shaking. Another long moment passed before she reached for him blindly and sobbed as he held her close.

When she'd cried herself out, he continued to hold her.

"Come with me."

She looked up, startled. He smiled and repeated himself.

"Come with me, Buffy."

"Where?"

"Bath. Bring Dawn and stay with me a while. At least until you figure out what you'd like to do next."

"Why?"

"You need somewhere to go. Dawn needs somewhere to go. So unless you've had a better offer, I think 'why not' is a better question."

To his combined surprise and relief, she began to giggle.

"How could a girl turn down an offer like that?" she snickered. "Besides, it's the best one I've gotten since the Hellmouth imploded. Guess I'll take it. For now."

"For now," he agreed.

They walked back to the others, arms slung companionably around one another.

*****

Once Buffy moved in, she never moved out again. She thought about it a few times, but it always seemed better for one reason or another to stay. When Giles started teaching her to ride on his horses, there was a reason to stay. When Dawn got accepted to Oxford, that was another. When they found a powerful vampire syndicate that needed wiping out, that was yet another. Eventually, she stopped talking about moving on. The day Giles came home and found her repainting her bedroom, they both knew it had become a permanent arrangement.

Over time, there were other changes, both subtle and obvious, in their relationship. They grew more tactile with one another, laughed more often, and bickered in the old way, knowing neither meant anything by it. Buffy relaxed and Giles stood up to her openly more often.

As they found their balance as individuals, Buffy found herself a bit surprised at how she was beginning to look at Giles.

Eventually, a few days before she and Giles were about to spend their second Christmas together, Buffy placed a slightly frantic overseas call.

"Hello?"

"Will?"

"Buffy! How are you? How's England? And Dawnie and Giles?"

"Fine, fine, fine, and fine in that order. You?"

"I'm okay. Oh, Xander says 'hi'."

"Is he there?"

"We were IMing when you called. Y'know, you'd have a lot smaller phone bill if you did your communicating that way."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But you forget who I'm living with. Not that we're living together *that* way...just...sharing a house. We're not sharing a room or anything."

"Buffy? It's been over a year. If you guys were going to live together that way, don't you think it would have happened by now?"

"So...you wouldn't freak if we did?"

"If...hang on a sex - I - I mean sec. I gotta say bye to Xand." A moment later, she returned. "Okay, Buff. Spill. What happened?"

"Nothing. I just...I was looking at him the other night when we were making dinner, and suddenly...BAM!"

"Bam?"

"Not Bam. BAM! I saw."

"Saw what?"

"What I've been doing my damndest not to see since I was sixteen. I saw that he's a man. And a pretty edible one, at that."

"Oh. BAM! I get you, now. Wow. So what are you gonna do about it?"

"At first, I was seriously considering moving back to LA. But that would mean dealing with Angel and I don't think I want to do that right now. Not that a little piece of me doesn't want to just run straight to him and play house."

"But you're not going to listen to that little piece of you, are you?"

"No. Now that my whole world doesn't revolve around death and darkness, I can see that's not a healthy place for me to go. I mean, what future is there in that? A dead boyfriend I can't even give a happy to? It looked really romantic in a Heathcliffe and Kathy kind of way when I was a kid. And it looked safe and familiar when the world was about to end. Now...it just looks like running away from life."

"Well, Giles is alive. You gotta say that for him."

"Definitely alive. And uncursed, which is of the good."

"And you already live there."

"Great house, too."

"I know. I remember." Willow hesitated before going on. "Buffy...this isn't about...settling, is it? Have you even dated anybody since you've been in England? More than once?"

"I went out a whole three times with Colin, remember? And twice with Andy, and a whole bunch of one-offs. Oh, and remember Jeremy? I went out with him for four weeks. I've been dating. Just...nobody special. I made a promise to myself after Spike that I wouldn't get too involved with anyone until I was sure I wanted to be with them. And the opportunities are everywhere. I get guys hitting on me, and sometimes I go out, but last night I finally understood why I haven't found anyone. I've already got Giles. At least, I want to get Giles. I - Will, I think I love him."

"So...not settling. No curse. Living guy, which is a big check in the plus column. You already share a kitchen and a bathroom and a washer and a dryer. I gotta say, it's convenient on a whole lot of levels. But Buffy...how does he feel about you?"

"I guess I won't know that until I ask, will I?"

"When are you gonna ask?"

"Soon. Just as soon as I can make myself say the words."

*****

December, 2004, two days before Christmas, Bath, England.

Giles pulled another batch of cookies out of the oven. When Buffy reached over to take one, he fended her off with the spatula.

"You'll just have to wait for them to cool, like everyone else."

"You mean I have to wait until you've already scarfed half of them down," she pouted.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'll get three-quarters of them while you're distracted with something else entirely."

He grinned slyly at her. She stuck out her tongue at him. He just smiled again and slid the cookies off the sheet onto the cooling rack. Buffy opened a bottle of wine and poured a glass for each.

"What's this for?" he asked in surprise.

"Celebration," she said. "In case you haven't noticed, it's almost Christmas Eve and we need to do something festive about it."

"I've been baking all day, the tree is trimmed, and my Aunt Min will be at the station in the morning. If you need something festive to do, you can help me put the guest room to rights."

"Aunt Min's room has been ready for hours. I already did everything but hold a dirt exorcism in there. I needed something to do while you were out in the stables for three hours. There wasn't anything wrong with the horses, was there?"

"No, no," he said taking the glass from her. "Actually, the barn cat had her litter. I was watching to make sure there were no complications."

"She had her kittens? How many?"

"Five. We'll have to ask around the next few weeks, and see if we can find homes for them."

"Couldn't we keep one?" Buffy asked. "Just one, cute, fluffy, indoor kittycat? I always wanted a pet cat, but Mom would never let me."

"We'll see," he grinned. "I must admit, it's been a very long time since I had a pet. Simon and I kept hedgehogs and rabbits when we were boys, but they were never allowed in the house."

"Hedgehogs? Pet hedgehogs? Okay, you were strange even then, weren't you?"

"They're really quite good pets. Still, I can see how it would seem odd to you. Hedgehogs aren't common in America." They headed for the living room and sat on the sofa. "I never knew you wanted an animal."

"I bet there's a lot of stuff you still don't know about me," she challenged him.

"There are still a few things you don't know about me," he countered.

"Like what?"

He stopped in midsip, frowned, and put down his glass.

"This isn't going to turn into one of those embarrassing teenage games like Truth or Dare, is it?"

"Nope. I haven't played that since I was about seventeen. You may not have noticed, Giles, but I'm all grown up now. I'm not a teenager anymore."

"I know that."

"And that means I'm a woman."

"Yes, that would logically follow."

"So?"

"So...what? What is it you want me to say, Buffy? That I know you're grown? I do know it." A shadow flitted across his face, following a thought he truly hated. "You're not...you don't plan to leave me, do you? I thought you were happy here."

"I am. Happy. And there's no plan to move out anytime soon. Remember? I'm the one who wants to keep the kitten. Why would I want to move out?"

"I'm not sure, really," he said with a relieved sigh. "You just sounded...as if you were trying to say something important. For a moment, I couldn't think of anything else to justify your tone." Another dreadful thought crossed his mind. "You're not...oh dear lord, Buffy, tell me one of those young twits you've been dating hasn't put you in the club."

"Club? What...oh, that club! No way. I haven't even...look, there's no way any of them could have, and let's just leave it at that, okay? No babies for Buffy at the present time. Maybe someday, now that I actually have a someday, but not right now."

"Well, that's a relief," Giles breathed as he reached for his wine. "You bloody well scared me for a moment."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"So what did you mean?"

Buffy looked at him. His forehead was creased with worry, his eyes stormy green. He looked delicious. She swallowed hard, but couldn't find the words.

"Nothing," she lied quickly. "You know me. Always saying something strange for no apparent reason. Want some more wine? I'll get the bottle."

Giles watched her go with a sinking feeling that he ought to have heard something he hadn't in her words.