FIC: The Four Loves (2/4)

[ripper-repoman.livejournal.com]

Title: The Four Loves (2/4)
Contact Information: skydragon@att.net
Characters: Rupert Giles, Faith Lehane, Jenny Calendar, Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Buffy Summers, Spike
Rating: PG-13
Setting: Various – including S8 Comics
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its concepts, and its characters © Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy Productions
Warnings: Mild swearing, a little violence, discussion of a (canon) character death
Notes: I was skipping about on TVTropes the other day when I stumbled across this page, and it gave me this fic idea. It is a four-parter, though the four parts are more like vignettes than actual ficlets. Enjoy! This part takes place during the ending of "Ted."

Eros – Romance

“Rupert?”

“J-Jenny! I, I didn’t see you come in.”

“Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Sorry? No, no there was no, um, scaring going on. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Just wanted to see how you were holding up. I see you’re...doing okay after last night.”

“What?”

“Last night. I, uh...shot you with your own crossbow, remember?”

“Oh, yes, quite. Um...yes, I’m doing fine. Healing quite quickly.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Silence. Neither librarian nor teacher seemed willing to meet each other’s eyes, deliberately gazing in every other direction. Suddenly, the books in Giles’ hands, the sunlight filtering through the dusty library windows, and the ancient computer on the checkout desk seemed much more interesting, and deserved immediate close inspection.

Giles moved down the rest of the steps to the checkout desk, favoring his injured side. Jenny simply stood there, unwilling to leave but completely at a loss as to what she could say next.

“So...” she drew out the word as she scoured her mind for a topic of interest to bring up. “How are things?”

Okay, Jenny thought to herself, irritated. That is probably the most boring, generic, lame conversation starter ever. Couldn’t think of anything better?

“All, all right, I suppose.”

“That’s good.”

Oh, for God’s sake, can’t you just spit it out?

“Ms...um, Jenny, listen.” Giles stood at a respectful distance, but faced her all the same. “I’m really quite busy, so if there’s something you want to say...”

“I miss you.”

You couldn’t have phrased it any better than that? Jenny berated herself furiously.

Giles paused, wrong-footed.

“And I know I’ve been avoiding you,” Jenny pressed on, determined. “And I know we haven’t spoken in...well, weeks.”

“Two weeks, two days,” Giles added without hesitation.

“Yes, exactly. And I wanna say that I really want this...thing, whatever it is that’s keeping us from being friends again, I want it gone. I want us to...well, I actually just want us.”

“You want, um...us?”

“Okay, terrible wording aside? Yes. I miss you, Rupert. And I’m sorry I left you hanging. And I’m also sorry for shooting you with your own crossbow the other night. That last one was really an accident.”

Jenny held her breath. Giles seemed sufficiently taken aback, but the look on his face was still contemplative. She dearly hoped that was a good sign.

“Jenny, you must understand that I’ve...missed you as well.” He chose his words carefully. “And I’ve been thinking about – ”

And his train of thought crashed itself quite abruptly, because suddenly Jenny’s mouth was covering his, and the volumes in his hands went toppling to the floor, and he was kissing her right back, and he forgot all about apologies and Eyghon and crossbows and missing people, because elation, pure, undiluted elation, was shooting through him at that moment, and he found that none of his apologies and words really mattered.

Jenny drew back, looking somewhat embarrassed (which was interesting to see, since Giles didn’t think that Jenny had ever looked embarrassed before).

“Sorry. What were you saying?” she asked breathlessly.

“You honestly expect me to remember what I was saying after that?” Giles replied, just as out of breath.

“God, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you – every day since you stopped talking to me.”

“What say we fix that?”

The second kiss was even better than the first, if not just because it lasted so much longer. Giles didn’t break it for anything, even when he heard his Slayer’s frustrated, raised voice and the closing of the library door.

He wasn’t sure he’d loved anything in his life more than her at that moment.