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by Chris Kenworthy (scoobyhq@fcmail.com)
Disclaimer: Okay, let's see. I didn't make up the characters of Buffy, Xander, Willow, Faith, etcetera and cannot call them my own. (I can't love them and hug them and call them George, either. :-D )
"Rupert!" Celia almost collided with Giles three paces outside of the library doors. "Just who I was wanting to see - where are you going?"
"Uh," Giles stammered, feeling a foolish smile settle onto his face. "I, uh, was on my way to the teacher's lounge." He tapped his tea kettle. "In search of tea water. The taps in my office are discharging a fluid with a particularly vile aftertaste this morning."
Celia laughed. "Care for some company as you scavenge?"
"I'd be delighted," Giles told her with a smile, extending his arm, but Celia laughed, shaking her head, tapped him playfully, and started walking.
"So," Celia said once they were half the way to the lounge, "Now that the Brotherhood threat is over, and I feel that I've wetted my feet in the activities of your little team, I was thinking it was high time I take a more active role in the Watching."
Giles covered his surprise well. "Um, what, eh, exactly were you thinking of?"
"Oh, nothing particularly special just yet. I don't have any grand plan, at all, but I was thinking it was time I spent some time with the girls. Buffy, Faith, probably Willow too. Maybe a girl's night in, something like that. Once I get to know them better, I can figure out what I want to be doing."
Giles sighed loudly. "You still don't trust me?" Celia asked, somewhat hurt. "You know what I came here for. The Watcher's council wants me to be intoducing my own policy decisions into your operation here, not just working as your assistant. Especially when it comes to Faith."
Giles smiled at her with some embarassment. "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't completely trust you. Not when it comes to Buffy and Faith. As far as my own life, yes, I'd believe in anything you told me, but not when it comes down to them."
"They mean too much to you, don't they?" Celia asked with sudden feeling. Giles nodded. "That means more to me than you could know." Just as the passed into the teacher's lounge now empty, Celia pulled Giles to her and kissed him firmly on the mouth. After a dozen seconds, he pulled back from her, pleased surprise in his eyes.
"Well, looky here," Celia told him, reaching out onto the counter and picking up a four-liter bottle. "Pure spring water."
(In the hallway on the other side of the library.)
"Hey," Oz began, and Willow cut him off with a stifled cry.
"I can't take it!" she exploded. "Everyone's beating up on me today, I know that, but I just can't take it from you today, Oz. Could you just save whatever bitter comments you have for me, and tell me tomorrow?"
"Huh?" Oz breathed. "Oh, hey, you really are upset, aren't you?" He looked around. "Come here." Quickly he led her over to the library. "Relax, Will, I'm not gonna yell at you," he assured her soothingly.
"You're not?" she asked him somewhat dubiously. "Why not??"
"Uh, well," Oz took a few seconds on that one. "Um, well, because I'm doing my best to deal with the whole you/Xander thing, and I'd much rather have you as a friend than be mad at you?"
"You would??" Suddenly Willow flung herself into Oz's arms in an enthusiastic hug. "Oh, thank you. You - you don't know how much your friendship means to me."
"I think I do," Oz said, chuckling. "It means just as much to me."
"Hey, what's going on here?" Xander's voice rang out. Willow jumped away from Oz, embarassed.
"Uh, hey, well..." she muttered embarassed.
"I, uh, we were just..." Oz said, similarly at a loss.
Xander walked over and looked each of them in the faces. "Friendship hug?"
"More or less." "Something like that."
"All I needed to hear," Xander told them, and turned to focus on Willow. "So, Good morning my Billow Willow. It's so nice to see you, you look great, how's your day been so far?"
Willow laughed out loud. "Billow Willow??"
"It's a possible nickname," Xander told her. "Just trying it out, you don't have to keep it if you don't like it. I thought I'd start with the rhyming thing. You know, there aren't many other things that rhyme with 'Willow' except for 'pillow,' and that would very much send the wrong impression." He took a deep breath. "I think 'billow' is a nice rhyme, though. Your hair tends to billow sometimes."
"Uh, well I'll think about it," Willow told him, blushing slightly. "I've been doing, well, I was pretty shaky after a run-in with the Harmanettes, but I'm feeling much better now. How about you, Pander Xander??"
Now it was Xander's turn to laugh. "Not wild about the 'pander,' but I'm doing great." He stepped closer to Willow, put his arms around her, and gave her a warm and tender kiss on the lips.
"Hey, hey, break it up," another voice called out from the doors. "Some of us are upset by blatant displays of romance, don't you know?" Willow and Xander broke, and the three of them turned to look at Buffy.
She hadn't come in alone. Leslie Decowski was standing beside her. "Guess who followed me into the library," Buffy said with a wry smile.
"Hey, so I want into the club," Leslie said with an unapologetic smile. "You could do a lot worse. Hi Oz." She blew a teasing kiss over to the guitarist.
"Say, you know," Xander began in a mischeivous tone. "Oz may have told you a lot about the creepy stuff that goes on around here, but did he spill his own embarassing and spooky secret, Leslie??"
Willow poked Xander in the ribs with an elbow, furious. 'Don't,' Oz mouthed. "Hmm," Leslie made a show of considering and reviewing her memories. "No, I don't think he's told me anything at all like that. But don't tell me - I wanna figure it out myself!" She smiled slyly over at Oz.
"What on earth is going on in here?" Celia called from the door.
"It's a party!" Willow joked.
"Well, I believe the party is over," Giles announced solemnly, taking his tea kettle into the office. "Buffy, you have training here, and as for the rest of you, I imagine you have classes."
"It's the last day of term," Xander told Giles severely. "Chill out."
"Second last day," Willow corrected him.
"Last full day," Xander maintained.
"Now! Leave!!" Giles said firmly, and the four of them scattered quickly out of the library doors.
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