I took a sip of something poisoned, but I'll hold on tight

[goodlording]

Sleep has not been kind to Rupert Giles lately. He's been plagued with nightmares that shake him out of bed in the dark hours of the morning, skin prickled with cold sweat. The themes are ever recurring: Buffy, Sunnydale, Jenny, the Hellmouth, the friends he's made in this world-all collapsing, dying, ending in a violent rush. He dreams in blood

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[isaywe_party]

Buffy has not been avoiding Giles. She's just having a rather eventful life. She was asleep for a week, she's been busy with school -- yesterday she was an elephant -- the Rift doesn't see fit to let her sleep.

It should, but it doesn't.

This would be one of the instances where Buffy is not sleeping. It's one of those moments where she feels like she might still be on Scotland time, despite having been on the Rift for months, but she'll wake up from a dead sleep, and not manage to go back. Sometimes she'll just roll over and close her eyes, trying to will herself back to it. Sometimes, she goes for a walk.

She finds Giles in the lounge of the Kashtta, and she smiles a bit. It isn't what she was expecting, but she's not disappointed. She makes her way closer, unsure at first if she should try and wake him up, but when she sees the way he's twitching, she knows she has to.

"Giles," she says softly, reaching for him to shake him awake. "Giles!"

[goodlording]

Buffy's voice filters into his dream like fog. In the darkness, he whirls around, eyes wide as he searches for her but finds nothing. He tries to call out and finds that he can't, and panic wells in his chest, and-

The world around him starts to shake and his eyes snap open.

"Buffy," he breathes, a dazed look on his face. "I... was dreaming, wasn't I?"

[isaywe_party]

She nods as she settles back into the seat next to him, giving him a small smile. "Seemed like a pretty nasty one, too."

She worries about him. She worries that she doesn't get by to see him often enough, she worries that he's spending too much time alone, and she worries that the things she told him the last time they talked is part of what has scared him away. She knows that she's been through a lot since the last time he saw her, but she's still Buffy -- or, at least she thinks she is. Even if she wasn't, Chicago is bringing that part of her around again, and she hopes that he'll be able to see that as well.

[goodlording]

"Nasty," Giles repeats, sliding his glasses up his nose just enough to rub his eyes for a few seconds. "That's... as accurate a description as any."

When he pulls his fingers away, he sees stars.

And then he sees Buffy.

"What are you doing up at this hour?"

[isaywe_party]

"Hey. I slept for a week. I'm set on sleep for ... " She pauses in an attempt at doing math to figure out how many nights of sleep that was worth, until she remembers why she doesn't do math. " ... a good long while."

Actually, Buffy, that was about a month ago. And she knows that's not a viable excuse, and in the end she just shrugs, before leaning back next to him. "Just feeling restless, I guess. It's one of those nights."

[goodlording]

He blinks.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. The body cannot store sleep the way it stores fat, and what do you mean you slept for a week? Were you ill?"

Let the fussing commence!

[isaywe_party]

She laughs, and shakes her head. "No. No, I wasn't sick. You remember the fairy tale shenanigans the Rift decided to put us through a few weeks back?"

She pauses for emphasis, before turning her finger on herself. "Sleeping Beauty."

[goodlording]

Giles is not laughing.

He's not.

We don't know what that sound is. REALLY.

Okay, he is. He's trying his best to look apologetic, but... "I'm sorry, Buffy. I shouldn't laugh. That's-" snicker "-terrible. Who was your Prince Charming?"

[isaywe_party]

She laughs a bit herself because yeah, it's pretty ridiculous, no matter how you look at it. She isn't going to let him know that it wasn't the first time, however. Any more future knowledge and she might break him.

"It's okay. And it was Sam. You do remember me mentioning Sam, don't you?"

It was long ago and far away, but she had a feeling that Giles didn't let memories of boyfriends slip that easily.

[goodlording]

"I vaguely recall the name..."

He's teasing, and it shows in the way he smirks.

"Why I haven't yet met him is another question entirely," he adds, fixing Buffy with a Look from over his glasses. "And I'll give you this opportunity to explain."

[isaywe_party]

"Well, I haven't really seen that much of you. Not that that's entirely your fault -- I've been working and patrolling, and you've clearly been keeping busy. We just haven't had the chance yet."

And she wanted to have him meet Sam. Eventually. When the time was right.

[goodlording]

"Keeping busy," he repeats, nodding halfheartedly. "I suppose you could call it that."

Spending most of his time in the library is not exactly ideal, but.

He's really not quite sure what to do with himself, honestly. It's one thing to do research with the intent of changing something, but Giles doesn't think his work will yield any results.

Still. Optimism.

"If you like," he teases, "I could pencil you in somewhere."

[isaywe_party]

"I would like that," she says with a grin. She knows that he's teasing, but that doesn't make her response any less genuine. She misses him.

She misses him a lot.

She shifts so that she's resting against him a bit more. "We could do lunch. Or coffee. Or ... maybe even patrol?"

The last question comes out a bit more hesitant than she means to, but at the end of the day, Giles is still her Watcher. Even if they hadn't done an actual patrol together in the longest time -- it's something she's missed.

[goodlording]

"I like all three of those options," he says, wriggling just enough to the side so Buffy can get comfortable.

"I didn't know you were doing that here, too. Are there many vampires in this city, or is it mostly... other?"

[isaywe_party]

"Mostly other," she sighs. "Occasionally a vampire falls through, but they don't always dust like ours do. Different dimensions and all that." She pauses, before glancing up at him again. "You might find it pretty interesting, in a Watcher-y kind of way."

[goodlording]

Like she won't notice the twinkle in his eye.

She knows him so well.

"In a Watcher-y kind of way, yes, I'm sure. I'd be glad to join you."