Chapter Five

Giles watched Buffy through the window as she began her training session.  He had offered to train with her, but she had merely shaken her head and gave him a kiss.  He smiled, feeling the arousal wash over him in a wave as she performed her kata flawlessly.  He did love to watch her…always had.  His role was aptly named.

Just when he had decided to join her, despite her earlier gentle refusal, the doorbell sounded.  He grumbled in annoyance, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from her and adjusting himself before heading towards the front door.  The bell sounded a second time just as he placed his hand on the doorknob. 

“Alright…”  He mumbled, opening the door.  A look of surprise shone on his face when he saw the visitor.  “Ah…Mr Gerris, what can I do for you?”

“I’m not here to cause problems.”  Gerris replied nervously.

Giles arched an eyebrow.  “I certainly hope not.  I haven’t fed on human blood before – I’d hate for you to be the first.”

When Gerris’ eyes widened, Giles laughed.  “My apologies, my humour seems to be slightly…darker…these days.”

“Oh…”

Giles cleared his throat, gesturing behind him with a jerk of his thumb.  “I’d ask you in, but I highly doubt that Buffy would be very keen on a Council Board member in our home at the moment.”

“I completely understand, Mr Giles.  I just…”  He trailed off, staring at Giles in disbelief as Giles stepped outside – into direct sunlight.  “What?”

Giles smiled, lifting the pair of sunglasses that had been hanging on his shirt pocket.  He slipped them on and glanced at his hand, gently flexing his fingers.

“I’m not a typical vampire, Gerris.”  He stated matter-of-factly.

“I…yes, I…I can see, um…that.”  Gerris stammered, fumbling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.  “Um, do you, uh…mind if I…”

Giles shook his head.  “Your lungs, not mine.  Why are you here, Gerris?”

His fingers trembled as he lit a cigarette.  He shakily exhaled a puff of smoke and regarded Giles closely.  “Blaketon called an emergency meeting directly after our discussion yesterday.”

“I suspected he would have.”

Gerris swallowed and gave him a nod.  “The vote was 4-1 against immediate removal of you as Head of Council.  We feel that it should be further explored, researched…we have many questions.”

“I’m sure you do.”  Giles said softly.  “And I’m assuming that was unacceptable?”

Gerris snorted a nervous laugh.  “Entirely.  He wasn’t bluffing when he said that he’d take it to the organisation as a whole if the vote didn’t go his way.”

“I see…”  Giles said, suddenly wishing Buffy wasn’t training.

Gerris took another drag from his cigarette.  “He announced his intention to step down immediately and urged everyone who had the same concerns as he to follow him – to leave the Council.”

Gerris was quiet for a moment and then smiled as he shrugged a shoulder.  “No one is leaving with him.  We, the Council Board, would prefer that an interim Head is appointed during the investigative period.  But, we’re all keenly aware of how well the Council is performing under your supervision.”

Giles was quiet for a long moment and then sat down at the small table under the apple tree.  Gerris followed him, sitting down across from him. 

“What was the reasoning behind the result of the vote?”

“Why did we vote against Blaketon?”  Gerris dusted the ash from his cigarette.  “You could have killed him within seconds.  As soon as Miss Summers had knocked the cross from his hand, you could have killed him.  But, you didn’t.  You didn’t even make any sort of move towards him.”

“Ah, but I wanted to.”  Giles admitted quietly.

“Perhaps.  But, you didn’t.  In fact, the only evidence you exhibited of being a vampire were your eyes and…well…teeth.”

“Trust me, there are other…items of evidence.”  Giles said, crossing his legs and looking at Gerris.  “I’m very much…non-living.”

“But your soul wasn’t expelled?”

“No.  No it wasn’t.”  He rubbed his chest absently. “Something that surprised me greatly, considering the force at which my heart exploded.”

“I have no intentions of testing you, Mr Giles – not only am I positive that Miss Summers would not take kindly to that, but – anyone who would take the time to really talk to you…listen to and watch you…would know this is no act.  This is…obviously terrifying…but incredibly astounding, as well.  I think, once a final decision has been made and we work out the details of how this is actually going to work…we should explore any weaknesses you may have in a safe manner.  I think it’s important to know – in order to protect you.”

A slow smile appeared on Giles’ face, but before he could answer Buffy bounded out the front door. 

“There you are!”  She called out happily, then narrowed her eyes when she noticed who was sitting at the table with him.  “What the hell?”

Gerris stood up quickly, dropping the cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath the heel of his shoe.  “It’s not…I’m not…Miss Summers, I’m simply here to advise Mr Giles that we’re standing behind him.”

Buffy glanced at Giles, who gave her a nod of confirmation.  She walked over to them, standing behind Giles and placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Three things…”  She said, tapping Giles’ shoulder with each point she made.  “No fucking tests.  Stop calling me ‘Miss Summers’ – my name is Buffy. And, you take the cigarette butt with you when you leave.”

Gerris smiled and extended his hand towards her.  “Agreed…Buffy.”

She took his hand in a firm grip and looked into his eyes.  “And if Gerald Blaketon comes anywhere near Giles, he answers to me – human or not.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.”  Giles said, turning his head to look up at her.  “He’s leaving the Council, effective immediately.”

“Oh…”  Buffy said, then furrowed her brow.  “How many are leaving with him?”

“None.”  Gerris answered with a warm smile.  “We’re all standing behind Mr Giles.”

He bent down and retrieved his crushed cigarette butt and gestured towards the driveway.  “I’ll be on my way now.  Mr Giles can fill you in on where we stand at the moment, but I’m more than happy for either of you to contact me at any time if further information is needed.”

“Good day.”  Giles said, covering Buffy’s hand with his as he gave Gerris a nod. 

They both watched as Gerris made his way to his car, then backed out of the driveway.  Then Giles pulled Buffy’s hand from his shoulder and tugged her around to his side.  He looked up at her with a smile, to which she raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Before she could question him, he tugged her onto his lap and quickly wrapped his arms around her to keep her still. 

“Giles!”   She giggled, half-heartedly squirming around in a quasi-attempt to get free.

“Mm…that’s nice…”  He whispered, shifting underneath her as he let his lips nip at her shoulder. 

Feeling him harden beneath her, she stopped moving and shook her head.  “Oh no…no, you don’t, Mr Giles.”

His eyes darted to her lips and he grinned.  “Ah, but…Miss Summers…”

“Oh, shut up…”  She laughed, quickly dipping her head to give him a kiss.  She ran her finger along the nape of his neck and then pulled from the kiss with a worried expression on her face.  “Hey, your skin is warm…like…really warm.”

“Well, you’re…arousing…me.”  He offered, gliding his hand along her thigh.

“No, you big idiot.  Warm like my skin gets when I get a sunburn.”  She slipped her fingers underneath his collar and sighed when she encountered cool skin.  “How long have you been sitting out here?”

“Longer than I probably should have been – considering how quickly I’d burn before I became a vampire.”  He replied, gently nudging her off of his lap.  “It was worth it to see his reaction when I stepped into the sun though, I must say.”

“Come on, there’s some aloe in the fridge.”  She said, taking his hand and leading him back to the house.

“I have super healing properties now, love…can’t we just go to bed instead?”  He complained, allowing her to pull him up the steps to the door.

She turned and stared at him.  “What the fuck, Giles…”

“Exactly!”  He grinned as she rolled her eyes, then followed her inside.  Then he quickly pulled her, pinning her against the nearest wall.  “We don’t have to go to bed…”

“You are a big bloody conundrum, you know that?”  She said, even as her fingers glided over his fly. 

“Hm?”  He asked, watching her press her palm against his quickly hardening flesh. 

“Worried that I’m going to think that you’re using sex as a crutch…”  She said, fingers outlining his cock through his jeans.  “But, then…this…”

“Ah…”  He murmured, shaking his head as his fingers brushed through her hair.  “No, see…this has nothing to do with me wanting to feel alive right now.”

“No?”  She replied, increasing the pressure of her hand on him. 

“Mm-mm…no.  Nothing at all with that…”  He licked his lips, lowering his eyes to watch her hand.  “And everything with just wanting to be inside of you.  It’s not as if we didn’t often have sex at random times of the day before…”

“True…”  She grinned, leaning up on her toes to brush her lips over his.  “But, I should take a shower.  I’m all hot and sweaty…I was training, remember?”

He nodded slowly, fingers gliding along the strap of her tank top.  “Oh, I’m well aware that you were training.  I asked if I could join you, remember?”

She laughed then, rubbing her palm over the outline of his cock.  “Mm-hm…and I would’ve gotten absolutely no training in.”

“But, you did…and now, we can…relax.”  He licked his lips, his finger sliding along the neckline of her tank. 

“I need a shower…”

“You smell amazing.”  He murmured.

“No, no I don’t.”  She shook her head, sighing as he effortlessly tore the strap.  “Oh, is this your new thing now?  Ruining my clothes?”

“I use my vampire strength for good.”  He teased.

“Yeah…not so impressed by that.”  She teased back, grinning as she pulled her hand from his erection.  “I mean…”

He stared into her eyes for the briefest of moments before his hands gripped her hips.  She gave a startled gasp as he easily lifted her, pressing her against the wall as he leaned into her. 

“More impressive?”  He asked, his tone lowered – he didn’t even attempt to hide his desire for her. 

She placed her hand on his cheek, gently stroking her thumb along the skin underneath his eye.  “Your eyes are…so, so different now when you’re like this.”

“Like this?”  He asked, leaning into her touch.

“All hot and bothered.”  She clarified, inhaling sharply as he casually rocked his hips against her.  “They used to go a dark, mossy green…which sounds not as beautiful as they actually were.”

He chuckled, curling his fingertips into the waistband of the sweatpants she was wearing.  

“And now, they’re…”  She trailed off, biting her bottom lip as his left hand squeezed the cheek of her ass.

“Scary?”  He supplied softly.  “I know they’ve changed – I can nearly taste the color of your lips.  Do they…scare you?  Do I scare you?”

“No.”  She whispered, her eyes suddenly glistening.  “They’re beautiful…warm and intriguing.  I just…kinda…miss the green, you know?”

He gave her a nod and then took a step back, carefully easing her back to her feet.  He glanced at the strap of her tank top and cleared his throat. 

“I’m sorry…about that.”

“Um…what’s happening here?”  She asked, grabbing his wrist as he took another step back from her. 

He paused his movement, but he shook his head.  “Buffy…I’m having a hard time here…”

“Yeah, I know.”  She said, taking a step closer to him.

“I’m not talking about my dick.”  He said, probably more sharply than he had intended.

She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t remove her hand from his wrist.  “…neither was I.”

He closed his eyes briefly and lowered his head.  “I’m sorry.”

“I think we should talk this out.”

He nodded slowly, lifting his green eyes back to hers.  “I agree.”

She offered him a gentle smile, her thumb tenderly stroking the inside of his wrist.  “Tea?”

He returned her smile with a crooked one of his own.  “Scotch, maybe?”

“I’ll go grab a quick shower and change…and you get the drinks, yeah?”

“Of course.”  He stared into her eyes with an intensity that made her shiver.  A shiver that he obviously noticed.  “You should probably go before I change my mind.”

She laughed softly, letting her hand drop from his wrist.