"I love you," Wesley whispers. It's reflex, but no less true than it was that morning, when Giles had loved him back.
"I know," Giles says softly. "I wish... I wish I could remember why."

Right there, in those few words, it all gets laid out- the ties between them, and both men's insecurities. Lovely bit of writing, all told, and that as the nut of the matter.

Julia, blown away