Title: Glass of
Water
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRM
Pairing:
Buffy/Giles
Timeline: S6’ish, AU.
Buffy didn’t die, Dawn doesn’t exist.
Synopsis: Half
glasses of water confuse Buffy.
Author’s Note:
Album fic. Song and lyrics can be
found here.
“Half full, half
empty…does it really matter if there’s only half a glass of water there
anyway?”
Giles looked at her
over the rim of his glasses. “I’m
sorry?”
Buffy sighed heavily,
waving her hand in the air. “Nothing,
don’t mind me. Just the nonsensical
mutterings of a madwoman.”
Closing the book and
removing his glasses, he sat back and regarded her carefully. “I highly doubt that. I think something is obviously bothering
you.”
“It’s this whole
thing about how you see things in life…whether you see your glass as half full
or half empty.”
“Ah.” He replied cryptically, chewing lightly on
the end of his glasses.
“What’s that mean?”
“How do you see your
glass, Buffy?”
Buffy groaned and
threw her hands up in the air as she slumped onto the couch next to him. “That’s the thing…I don’t see it at all. I see it as a half a glass of water!”
Giles smiled and
turned towards her. “I had a friend
once…”
“Really?”
He rolled his eyes
and continued. “This friend told me that
you could read your future in a glass of water.”
Buffy stared at him
incredulously. “And you believed him, of
course.”
Giles stood up and
walked into the kitchen, continuing the conversation as he pulled a glass down
from the cabinet. “The future was read
differently depending on whether you saw the glass as half full or half empty.”
“Confusing
much?” Buffy grumbled.
He chuckled and
filled the glass with water before making his way back into the living
room. She arched an eyebrow at him as he
handed her the glass and reclaimed his seat next to her.
“What am I supposed
to do with this?”
“Drink.” He answered softly. “Not all of it…just…”
“Half of it?” She guessed, amusement showing in her eyes as
he nodded.
She did as he
requested and then looked at him expectantly.
He took the glass, allowing his fingers to linger over hers for a
moment. He smiled inwardly when he felt
her light shudder.
“It’s said that if
you look at the ripples in the water after drinking from the glass, you can see
certain aspects in them.”
“Yeah, okay…like
what?”
He shrugged a
shoulder, smiling enigmatically at her.
“I never saw anything in mine.”
Buffy laughed and shook
her head. Her attention on the glass
wavered…just long enough for him to drop something into the water.
“What did you want to
see in it?”
“Heaven.” He answered, handing the glass back to
her. “Not literal heaven, of course…but,
figuratively. Love, happiness…I wanted
to see that my life was not destined to be consumed by books and evil.”
Buffy’s laughter
waned. “Giles…”
He waved off her
concern and gestured to the glass. “Tell
me what you see in yours…”
She started to
protest, but then decided to play along.
She looked into the glass and narrowed her eyes.
“What the…”
Giles smiled as she
fished the key out of the water. “Move
in with me, Buffy.”
Her eyes widened as
she looked at him. “What?”
“I want to fall
asleep with you every night…wake up with you every morning. I want to grumble about your toothpaste in
the sink, your mass amounts of bottles littering the bathroom. I want to cook for you, run your bath after a
hard patrol. I want…I want to live with
you.” He swallowed as he lifted his hand
and tenderly stroked her cheek. “Please,
Buffy…move in with me.”
She curled her
fingers around the key, tears springing to her eyes as she nodded
emphatically. “Okay.”
“Don’t worry about
whether the glass is half full or half empty.
You can’t live in the past…that’ll get you nowhere.” He lightly tapped her hand with his index
finger and smiled. “This is the
future…our future, together. Or the
beginning of it, at any rate.”
Buffy considered his
words and then smiled lovingly at him. “Heaven.”
He tilted his head
slightly, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “I’m sorry?”
“You asked me to tell
you what I saw in my glass of water.”
She licked her lips, her smile growing as his eyes took in the
action. “I saw heaven in mine.”
“Oh…” He whispered, leaning towards her. “Heaven?”
“Yeah…” She glanced at his lips and then caught his
gaze again. “God, you so need to kiss
me.”
He nodded in
agreement, moistening his lips with the tip of his tongue. “I…need to do more than kiss you, Buffy.”
“Here? Now?”
She asked, shivering as he deftly unbuttoned her blouse.
“Here, there…” He gestured towards the loft with a jerk of
his thumb. “Wherever you want. But, most definitely now.”
He parted her blouse,
lowering his mouth to the soft swell of her breast. “Are you okay with that?”
“Uh-huh…” Buffy murmured, sliding her fingers into his
hair as he flicked the clasp of her bra open.
“Who was the friend?”
“Hm?” He glanced at her face as he gently rolled a
hardened nipple between his fingers.
“The…oh, God…” Her fingers tightened in his hair. “Giles…”
“I love you,
Buffy.” Giles whispered against her
skin, moving his fingers to the button of her jeans. “I love you so much.”
“I love you
too.” She replied, curling her fingers
in back of his sweater and tugging it up.
He paused his touches
and kisses long enough for her to pull the sweater up and over his head,
smiling as she threw it to the floor. He
hooked his fingers in her belt loops as she pulled his belt free.
“Randall.”
She furrowed her
brow, meeting his eyes as her hands stilled.
“What?”
“Randall was the
friend. He…it was a stupid thing,
really. Ethan and I had had an argument
over his girlfriend…”
“Whose girlfriend?”
“Ethan’s.” Giles smiled shyly. “At least she was until he walked into my
bedroom one morning.”
“Giles!” Buffy grinned, sliding the zipper of his
jeans down.
“Anyway…” He cleared his throat before he
continued. “Randall tried to take my
mind off of things…and came up with the idea of reading my future in a glass of
water.”
“And how did it
work?” She asked, lifting her hips as he
pulled her jeans down.
“Well enough that I
remembered it tonight.” He answered with
a warm smile.
“You really want me
to live with you?”
He nodded, gently
pushing her back until she was lying on the couch. Leaning over her, he kissed her again.
“I really want you
here with me…”
She glanced at the
half glass of water resting on the coffee table and then smiled adoringly at
him. “You’ll help me move my stuff,
right?”
He answered her with
a bright smile.
~ End