strangetrip | [For Carlos] Happy Anniversary

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[For Carlos] Happy Anniversary

Time always seemed to get away from Buffy, especially when days flowed into months and months flowed into a year. It didn’t seem possible that she had been in the Inn for a little over a year. A year without her friends. A year without her mom. A year without Giles. She wondered what they were all doing. She still missed them, a lot, but it was also a year of new friends. A year of Carlos.

The year had been eventful to put it mildly, but she wanted to do something special with Carlos. Buffy hadn’t wanted to do it Valentine’s Day, there was too much complex feels about that and the Cupid magical whammy of last year. The day after was perfect. It was like an anniversary of actual feels rather than of manufactured ones.

Because she liked Carlos, Buffy didn’t offer to cook and because he cooked, she didn’t want to go to the restaurant. It would be too much like a busman’s holiday for him. Instead, they’d agreed on a picnic under the stars. Nice, romantic and neither one had to cook. When she’d gone to get a bottle of wine for them, she’d heard the news that Wyatt had left, which only confirmed that life was short. Something Buffy and Carlos were well aware of in their lives back home. Carpe diem.

She shifted the basket to her other hand as she knocked on Carlos’ door. Buffy planned to seize the day or at least as many opportunities as possible before Fate stepped in and kicked her in the teeth like with Kitty and Wyatt.

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He couldn't imagine what that would be like, but he could see the pain that it caused Buffy, and he leaned over, brushing a lock of hair away from the side of her face and kissing her forehead to try and reassure you. "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories," he said quietly.

Buffy closed her eyes for an instant, savoring his kiss and tender touch. It was really nice and something she hadn't really experience in over a year. "You didn't. I mean yeah they are bad memories. I have dad issues." That was an understatement. "But I also have a really great guy that took dad's place. Giles, my Watcher. He's my male role model."

Forgetting the uber ooky Ripper making out with young her mom, Giles was really the male father figure for her. They might not be related by blood but she would do anything for him. Almost anything. Angel/Angelus was another issue. She still felt guilty that she couldn't kill Angelus for him for Jenny.

"Uh, that sounded better in my head, but you know what I mean. He's my second dad." More of a father than her father.

"Watcher? Is that a Slayer thing?" he asked, latching onto a subject she seemed happier with. "I'm glad you managed to find someone who was able to help. That's not always easy to find."

"It is. The one thing the Watcher Council did right was pair Giles and me up." Though she suspected that had more to do with Giles than with the council.

"He's the best, but I'm biased."

He smiled in return. He got it, in many ways. "When you find the right mentor, it's the best thing that could happen to you." He wasn't as close to his wizard mentor as Buffy was with Giles, but he still felt affection for the now elderly wizard.

"Yeah it is." Buffy agreed. "Tell me about your mentor. What were they like? Are you still close even though you might not need him as much as in the beginning?" She smiled slightly, "sorry, that's a lot of questions."

And she might have been asking the last one out of personal fear.

Carlos leaned back slightly on his elbows, relaxing as they talked. "When I was twelve, he was the oldest person ever," he replied, laughing slightly. "But he was kind, and made sure that I wasn't scared by what I was capable of. He means a lot to me. I see him less now, but mostly because I'm normally so busy, and all over the world. But when I was injured, I was able to go and see him, catch up with him, ground myself all over again."

He'd needed it.

Something in Buffy relaxed that she hadn't known was bothering her as she listened to Carlos. She would have Giles in her life no matter what. She smiled, watching him talk about his mentor.

"He sounds great and I totally get needing to recharge with someone that really gets you."

Even if you only saw your mentor once in every 10 years, it was easy to fall back into the old relationship, he found, and it was something he treasured. "Yeah, he was just what I needed at the time. Being hurt so badly kind of knocked me back a bit."

Buffy lay down next to Carlos on the blanket, her head cradled in the palm of her hand as she rested on her elbow.

"What happened to you? If you want to talk about it, I mean."

"I got into a fight with some Fomor - kind of weird, frog-like men, supernatural creatures that are vicious. I came off second best in the fight." Not something that happened often, but he was just out-manoeuvred. "I'd been recovering for a year before arriving here."

“Ugh I’m gonna guess there was frog slime to go with that fight.” Which while vampire poofing wasn’t so bad, the demon/big bad goop was yucky. And really hard to get out of clothes and hair.

“I’m sorry that you got hurt, but now you’ll be better prepared when you fight them again.” Buffy made a face, “that’s kind of sad that I totally understand that philosophy.”

"Slime, definitely. Didn't ask what kind it was."

He grinned at her. "I don't think anyone is ever fully prepared to fight the Fomor, apart from maybe a friend of mine now." Bill Meyers was doing his best to single handedly wipe them out, something Carlos had encouraged.

"What's his secret? Your friend fighting the frog demons?" Buffy grinned at him, "besides stubborn determination." Which is always a good quality to have when you fight demons, at least in her opinion.

"Practise by now," he said with a laugh. "I think Bill has taken the latest attacks personally, and he is determined to make sure that the Fomor pay. Stubborn determination kind of sums him up in a couple of words."

Buffy laughed, "stubborn determination kind of sums me up in two words, too."

Well that and The Slayer.

"Just as well I happen to like stubborn determination," he pointed out with a grin. "I can appreciate what goes into being like that."

"Funny, that's one of the things I like about other people, too." Buffy returned his grin. "Except when they're stubbornly determined at me."

"Dios, I know some people you should probably never meet then," he joked with her. "Starting with some of my family. They are the definitely of stubborn and determined."

But they would love her, he was sure.

He looked up as he noticed that the sky was beginning to darken. "Shall we head back?" he asked her. Not that he really wanted to, but the evening didn't have to end at least.

"So you're saying you come by it naturally?" Buffy teased as she sat up, "and yeah it's probably a good idea to head back. Not that I haven't been out here when the sun went down, but I'd rather not fight off predators."

Mostly because they'd probably smell the food that they'd eaten.

"I'm saying nothing," he said as he stood up, offering a hand to Buffy to help her back up. "Yeah, I've been out after sundown, but I'm not going to spoil tonight if I don't have to." It wasn't that kind of date.

"I'm all for not spoiling tonight." Buffy smiled and slipped her hand in his to stand, even though she didn't need to. She didn't release it when she'd stood either. "Feel like finishing this back in my room?" Buffy realized how that sounded and blushed. "I mean the conversation and company."

"I'd like that," Carlos said, interrupting her. "Conversation, company... whatever." He liked spending time with her, in whatever form.

Buffy relaxed a lot more after that. Not that she was nervous, but that he'd understood what she'd meant.

"Great." She grinned at him as she picked up the last of picnic and headed toward the lobby. Buffy might have meandered a bit on the way back, enjoying just being able to walk hand in hand with someone and not be on the lookout for dangers.

Once they reached the lobby, she hit the elevator button to take them to her floor.

He couldn't help himself, and while they were waiting for the lift, he leaned in and kissed her.

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