Chapter Text
Giles sat reading on the couch, one foot up on the coffee table, when his phone dinged with a text message.
Buffy: Hey watcher mine
Giles: Hello, luv
B: That’s new
G: Typed it without thinking. Does it bother you?
B: Not at all
G: Then how are you this evening, luv?
The phone rang, and he picked it up immediately.
“Hullo, Buffy!”
“Good to hear your voice.”
“You too, I can’t believe you’re so close! How’s Ireland?”
“Love it. I really love it.”
“I’ve wondered how you’d take to it. It’s quite different from Rome, or even Sunnydale for that matter.”
“Hey, it’s easier than the clear cuts of Papua New Guinea, as far as assignments go. It’s nice to have a break from hunting to research the Slayer lines. Talk about some old families out here.”
“And with deeply held beliefs, yes. Do you miss California?”
“I do miss the sun, sometimes, but I’ve figured out how to cope.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
“Long baths and a hot cuppa!”
Giles chuckled. “Finally, you understand our great tea obsession. Well, you’ll get a chance to practice all of that as fall arrives and winter comes on.”
“I’m sure. And how are you, Giles? I can hear you rubbing your face, you know, like you do when you’re tired.”
“I confess, I really am quite tired. You know how it is with the Council, it just seems like there’s always more to do. And London can be a slog, especially in the heat. I’m glad the season is turning.”
“Me too. What you’ve accomplished is beyond impressive; I appreciate all you’re doing for us.”
“Thank you, Buffy,” he said, touched. “So, tell me what you love about Ireland.”
“You know, it’s been surprisingly easy to make friends. Even though it’s only been a few months, I feel like I have a real community for the first time in…well, since the Scoobies, maybe. There’s a pub, a-and this lady who makes her own yarn from big piles of wool, and the school always has bake sales and talent shows and stuff.”
An easy quiet settled between them, and Giles ran his finger repeatedly down the spine of his book.
Then he said in a much softer voice, “How are you really?”
Her response was equally soft. “I - Giles, I’m good. Really good. I’m more ME here than anywhere I’ve ever been before. Maybe because I finally have time to be outside more? During daylight, even! It’s a special place. I mean, it’s so special that I feel special just being in it.”
“Well, you are special, so that’s easy to believe.”
“But I had A Moment, Giles.
“I was just taking a walk - I’ve been doing a lot of that - but it was the most perfect early fall evening EVER. The clouds were all lit up in pastel colors, like I was surrounded by a Maxfield Parrish painting. The sun was low and the light was thick and golden, you know when it’s almost like you can feel it on your skin? Warm, like honey?”
Giles hummed in appreciation.
“There was this cold breeze, and my nose was running and my hair was flying everywhere - I’m sure I looked a mess - but I didn’t even care because the birds were flying in the treetops, singing and getting ready for twilight. As I walked, the barley was just the right height that I could run my fingers through it, and it made this lovely whispering whooshing sound.
“I felt so beautifully alone. Alone but in a good way, alone like free, not alone like lonely. Except I wasn’t alone, was I? So much nature going on. That’s more like it - I was just a part of nature. It was the most wonderful thing.”
There was a long silence.
“Giles, did I lose you over there?”
“Sorry, I was just picturing you, there in the evening light.”
“I like to be pictured. I also like to be visited!”
“Are you asking me to visit you?”
“I am, actually. In all these years, you’ve never come to visit me. It’s always me meeting you somewhere.”
“Well, you’ve been hard to track down!” After a pause, he continued more seriously, “I didn’t want to…to interfere. O-or burden you. You’ve got your own life now.”
“Hmmm. That makes me sad. Please visit; please come see what I see.”
“I’m sure I can find time after exams in a few months, when other Council business quiets down.”
But it was almost like Buffy hadn’t heard him, and she continued in a dreamy voice. “...Listen, that moment, the one I’m talking about, a song came on my playlist I’d never heard before. It was just this lilting voice and the birds in the trees and the honey sun on my skin. And it made me think of you so intensely it’s like you were standing in front of me, just smiling.”
She heard him swallow over the line.
“I wanted you there, Giles, so hard that for a moment I couldn’t move. I can’t explain it. I just feel like you’re supposed to be here with me right now.”
“I’m…I’m profoundly moved, Buffy. You know it’s difficult for me to get away. But let me work on it; I promise to take a look at the Council schedule over the coming months and see what I can do.”
“That's all I can ask!”
“I’ll let you go, but thank you for calling. It’s always a pleasure to hear your voice.”
“Let me guess. Research?”
“Research.”
“I miss you, Giles. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, luv.”
5 minutes later, her phone dinged.
G: Out of curiosity, what was the name of that song you were listening to? The one in your Moment?
B: Oops! Forgot to tell you. “Lemeney” by Sam Lee.
5 minutes after that, it dinged again.
G: I’ll be there on Tuesday.