Ficlet: Best Birthday Ever [Btvs: Buffy/Giles] Title: Best Birthday Ever Rating: FRT Summary: Buffy invites Giles over for dinner on his birthday. Spoilers: none Warnings: none Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun. Note: Written from the prompt "potholder" at fiberfic.
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Giles cleaned his glasses as he stood on the porch. He really didn't know why he was so nervous. He'd been to Buffy's house before. This day shouldn't feel any different. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. After several moments with no answer, he raised his hand to knock again. Before his hand touched the door, he heard what sounded like a struggle coming from inside the house.
"Buffy!" He tried the door, but it was locked. "Buffy!" he yelled again as he stepped back and kicked the door in.
He followed the sounds to the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. Pots and pans were scattered everywhere, and Buffy was leaning over the sink. He thought he heard her crying.
"Buffy?"
She turned her head to look at him. "Hi, Giles."
As he walked over to her, carefully avoiding the clutter on the floor, he saw that she had her hands under the faucet. "What happened?"
"I burned my hands." She looked down at the mess on the floor. "I knocked those down when I tried to get to the cold water."
Giles looked around. There was a pan sitting on the rack in the open oven. "Where are your potholders?"
"Potholders?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, potholders," he said as he found a couple in one of the drawers. "You may be the Slayer, but you should still take precautions." He took the pan from the oven and set it on the counter.
"It wasn't in the recipe," Buffy mumbled.
Giles shut the oven door and turned back to Buffy. "Hmm?"
"I followed the recipe exactly, and it didn't say anything about potholders." She burst into tears. "Now I've ruined everything. I just wanted to make a nice dinner for your birthday. I thought it would be easy."
He hugged her from behind. "It's not ruined," he whispered. He reached down an took one of her hands in his, lifting it so he could see. "It looks like you're almost healed." He kissed her fingertips. "Does it still hurt?"
Buffy turned in his arms. "Not that hand, but the other might need some TLC to make it better."
With a smile, he lifted her other hand to his lips and kissed it. "Better?"
Buffy nodded.
"Were you burned anywhere else?" he asked with a smile.
Buffy smiled. "Yes, but I think it'll take more than one kiss to make it all better."
"Best not waste time then."
Buffy's smile grew wider, and Giles knew it would be the best birthday ever.