Old Enemies... (S/X)

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Part 36

While the others looked on in thorough confusion, Giles’s brow furrowed. The dangerous gleam in his eyes faded and he whispered softly, his voice joined by Trevor’s.

“The Seer still seeing and bound to Death
Shall hold the line ‘gainst all the rest
Death denied may turn the tide
Lest Seer and Death be let abide…

Separate and yearning they shan’t last long
Only together may they be strong
To interfere is madness, to separate insane
For only when joined may the light remain.”

Giles blinked, gripping the other man’s shoulder a little less tightly. “And you think this… verse… refers to Xander… and Spike? I had thought… perhaps Cordelia, because she WAS a Seer… and she died… I thought it was perhaps an admonishment not to try bringing her back…”

Trevor frowned. “That… never even occurred to me. Mostly because Cordelia was already gone by the time I…” he stopped, suddenly remembering that there were people in the room who didn’t know who and what he was— or had been.

“But I think you’re wrong about that,” he went on. “The… thing in LA. That was after Cordy died. I didn’t really know her, of course, but… she was A Seer, Giles. Not THE Seer.” He frowned more deeply. “Besides, I think we mistranslated that part. I’ve been studying it, trying to remember. I don’t think it was ‘Seer’ at all. It was more like… ‘Seeing One’ or ‘the One Who Sees’.” Trevor shrugged. “Not sure of how that applies to Harris, but… it probably does somehow.”

“Oh! OH!” Buffy jumped up, thrilled to finally have something to contribute. “I know this one! That guy… evil priest guy… Caleb! He called Xander that right before he… gouged his eye out! And can I just say eww? SO not something I ever wanted to witness! But he did. He was all ‘you’re the one who sees’ and then he even got all ‘let’s see how much you see now’… or something like that… right before he… did it.” She nodded sharply, her mouth still twisted into a moue of distaste.

“Fine,” Robert broke in. “So Harris is this Seer… sorry, Seeing One. Got that. One question, though.” He leaned back against a bookcase, finally able to pull his eyes away from Elliot’s form. “How does this help us break the crystal?”

Willow sighed softly. “It doesn’t. I just… I don’t see any way around it. We can’t find the crystal without a part of it and we just don’t HAVE one.”

Andrew frowned too, trying to force himself to relax in the wingback chair. “Well, we’ll figure something out, Willow. We don’t have a whole lot of choice, right? Especially considering this new info.”

And that was when the idea Elliot had felt forming clicked into place. “Wait!” he cried out, blushing a bit at his own volume. “Wait,” he said a bit more softly. “Willow… you said you could find the crystal if you had a part of it. Is that true or could it be something that was ONCE a part of it? Maybe not an actual part, but… associated with it?”

The witch looked confused. “What…? I… isn’t that the same thing?”

“Not necessarily,” Elliot replied quickly, his eyes starting to sparkle just a bit with hope. “Just… answer the question. Please,” he begged as her face shut down slightly, “It’s important. I promise.”

Willow shrugged. “I guess if something was a part of it at one time it would work for the locating spell…”

“So… if the crystal is in a box… what about the box? Can you do the locator thing on IT? Because I’m thinking… it was a gift, right? And usually when someone gives a gift, there’s a card… and the card is a PART of the gift, right?” He could feel himself starting to grin as he shifted his gaze to the Slayer. “Trevor told me… Buffy, didn’t Harris send you the box for your birthday? Did you keep the card or anything? Even the wrapping paper or the ribbon… or the box the box was in? Would that work, Willow?” he demanded, still hopeful. “Because I’m thinking… if we find the box, then we find the crystal inside it.”

The redhead blinked once, then once more. “Shit. Trevor, your boyfriend’s a genius! Buffy, you ALWAYS keep cards and stuff! This could actually WORK!” She grinned, almost breaking into her own personal snoopy dance.

And all Trevor could see in that moment was Elliot. He shook off Giles’s hand on his shoulder and crossed the room, completely forgetting that there was anyone else there.

“Elliot,” he said softly, one hand rising to cup the back of the blond’s neck while the other found his hip, “You may have just saved the future…”

Elliot blushed slightly at the look is his lover’s eyes. “Always glad to help,” he said just as softly, the words barely making it past his lips before those same lips were fully occupied with a slow, deep kiss.

Robert sighed softly but smiled, too. They looked good together. “I think we’ve lost them for now, everyone.” He moved closer to the large table at one end of the library and took his usual seat.

The others joined him, leaving Elliot and Trevor in their clench on the other side of the library. And if Robert looked that way more often than not, nobody chose to comment on it.

“So…” Giles said carefully, “The card?”

Buffy nodded quickly. “I kept it, of course. It’s in my special Scooby Scrap Book. Unfortunately, that’s at my place in Rome.”

Giles frowned for a moment before smiling. “Well, we’ll have to hope that a few more hours won’t skew things too much.” He stood and moved to his desk, dialing a number he’d used only once before.

“Yes, Rupert here. I need an item retrieved immediately.” He paused for a moment. “Rome. The Slayer’s apartment.”

He looked over at the table. “Where is the book exactly, Buffy?”

The blond blushed slightly. “Uh, it’s in the big pink box with Barney and Friends on it… under the Rainbow Brite blanket. Uh, the Scrap Book has the original Scooby gang on the cover. From the cartoons.”

Giles passed on the information, trying not to chuckle.

“No… I’m afraid twenty-four hours is unacceptable. This is a very urgent matter. If it weren’t, I would have called someone else.”

“Yes,” he said quietly, agreeing to the terms, “That isn’t unreasonable. I’ll see to it. Yes, the funds will be transferred upon receipt of the item.”

He sighed. “Fine. Half now. It will be in your account within the hour. Thank you, Nina.”

“It’s taken care of,” he announced after hanging up the phone. “We should have the book within twelve hours.” He looked at the clock. “And seeing as it’s quite late, children, I recommend that you all seek your beds. We shall convene back here once the item has arrived.”

“Oh, and Buffy,” he said as the girl stood and started for the door, “Perhaps you might advise the girls that the bathtub is not an appropriate place to test the scuba diving equipment. Collins is becoming quite distressed by the amount of water on the stairs due to their… efforts.”

Buffy groaned. “Oh… shit. I guess I’m waxing the floors tomorrow, huh?”

“Only if you’re lucky, child. Collins is becoming QUITE distressed.”

Giles smiled as the young woman left, an entirely unhappy look on her face.

He briefly considered leaving Trevor and Elliot where they were, but finally decided that he’d rather not have to imagine what they might have gotten up to on his furniture for the rest of his life. “You two,” he said, hands touching their shoulders as he passed them, “I know you have a room. Use it. The library is closed for the night.”

He chuckled softly as the two wandered out, still entirely in their own world. Then he followed, closing the door firmly behind him. “Ah, young love,” he murmured, remembering days long past when the soft sigh of a lover would have had him trembling, as well.

Fortunately, he was past all that for the most part, but he still remembered it fondly.