Title: Chip Tooth Smile
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRAO Overall/FRAO This chapter
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: AU, one year post-series...no Dawn, Anya survived Sunnydale.
Synopsis: A year after Sunnydale, there are quite a few changes in the Scoobies' lives. There are more changes to come.
Author’s Note: Special thanks to A for taking the time to go through this project for me. This fic is inspired by the album Chip Tooth Smile by Rob Thomas. This is not a typical songfic. (Lyrics and .mp3s can be found on the CTS index page)


Chapter Eleven - Tomorrow


Giles closed his eyes as Buffy moaned his name, her hands gripping his back tightly as he slowly moved within her. He lowered his mouth to the side of her neck, gliding his lips over her skin…a low growl rumbled in his chest as her nails dug into his skin, pulling him closer, tighter against her. He could feel her hot breath on his neck as she panted in exertion, her knees resting against his ribs as she pushed her hips against his in perfect rhythm.

“I love you.” He whispered softly, groaning as her inner walls tightened around him. “Christ, I love you…”

And then he gasped sharply as she came hard around him, somewhat unexpectedly. He obviously had expected her to come…just not at that moment.

“Oh, fuck…” He muttered as she screamed his name, her nails breaking his skin. His teeth nipped at her collarbone, grazing their way to the soft flesh at the junction of her neck and shoulder. He growled again as she tilted her head, giving him better access.

“Fuck, Giles…” She moaned as his teeth bit…followed quickly by his tongue soothing the bite. “God, I love you…”

He fought to hold on as he quickened his thrusts, rapidly pushing her towards another orgasm. He lost his rhythm slightly as her mouth found his shoulder, her teeth biting down as she sucked hard against his flesh. He cried out her name and she came forcefully, this time taking him with her.

They brought each other down slowly, bites turning to kisses…kisses turning to nuzzles…nuzzles turning to softly whispered declarations of love that brought tears to Buffy’s eyes. She held onto him for as long as she could before his softened flesh slipped from within her.

Giles did his best to control his breathing as he rolled onto his back, pulling her into his arms. “Well, then…”

She chuckled breathlessly and placed a kiss on his sweat-dampened chest before resting her head on his shoulder. “Best makeup sex ever…”

“I’m inclined to agree.” He replied, gently stroking her back with a trembling hand.

“Words, words, words…I would’ve just gone with a mumbled ‘mm-hm’ and been done with it.”

He laughed and pressed a warm kiss in her hair.

They held each other in silence for quite a while…long enough that Giles had started to wonder if Buffy had drifted off to sleep. He focused on the sound of her breathing, the feel of her heartbeat against his hand…which was currently resting flat against her back.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly.

“I’m fighting the urge to find a spell that will basically wrap you in a bubble to keep you safe.” He answered, just as softly.

“Something bad isn’t going to happen because you told me that you love me. If anything bad happens, it’ll probably be because I’m a Slayer…and that’s the nature of this entire thing.”

“The Slayer.” He corrected automatically. “And I know…but the fear is there, palpable even.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, sliding her hand to rest over the circular scar on his abdomen.

“I do…eventually.” He replied with a heavy sigh. “But, not right now. We really are somewhat fucked up, aren’t we? Or at least, I am. Fighting over…things that really aren’t worth fighting over. Worrying about what tomorrow is going to bring…and what I’m going to do to break your heart then.”

“Break my…Giles, you haven’t broken my heart. Well, not in the last nine weeks anyway. You broke my heart nine weeks ago…but, we worked through that.” She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “We argue, not fight. And all couples argue…plus, it’s not even like we argue all that much. We’ve had like what…two? Maybe three. We don’t go to bed angry, we sort it out before we go to sleep. I think, maybe…you’re overthinking things a bit right now. You’re definitely not fucked up.”

He sighed heavily and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Maybe. Quite possibly, even.”

“So…sleep then?”

“Worried about that too…”

She shook her head and gently ran her fingers through his hair. “Giles…you’re so tired, I can see it in your eyes. You need sleep…nothing is going to happen tonight.”

He nodded slowly, half agreeing with her…half hoping to convince himself. “So, we sleep?”

She snuggled against him, smiling as she closed her eyes. “We sleep. I love you.”

Even though his fear was there, he smiled as well…closing his eyes and wrapping his arm around her protectively. “I love you, too.”

In a matter of minutes, they were both sleeping soundly.

* * *

Buffy woke suddenly and quickly turned her eyes to Giles. His entire body was trembling, skin glistening from the light sheen of sweat covering it. She sat up and ran her fingers over his brow, wondering briefly if he was ill.

And then she heard it…the mumble of her name as the rate of his breathing increased. She whispered his name, not sure if she should wake him or not. His left hand clenched into a fist and his brow furrowed. Before she could say or do anything, he sat up suddenly and screamed her name.

“Whoa…shh…I’m here.” She said quickly, placing her hand on his cheek and forcing him to look at her. “I’m right here, everything is fine. You’re fine, I’m fine…we’re all good, Giles.”

He panted heavily, panic in his eyes.

Eyes that weren’t focusing on her, she realised. He wasn’t awake. His eyes darted around the room, not focusing on anything.

She whispered his name, her thumb stroking his cheek. She’d read that you shouldn’t wake a sleepwalker – while he wasn’t up and walking around, she figured this was pretty much the same thing. He was panicked and scared…and still very much asleep.

She spoke softly, hoping that he could hear her and take comfort from her words as she carefully manuevered him back down onto the mattress. When his head hit the pillow, his eyes closed…but his body was still tense and trembling. So, she kept talking…gently stroking his hair, his brow, his chest…areas of his body that she knew helped relax him.

It took some time, but he eventually took a deep shuddering breath and then his breathing returned to normal.

He relaxed and settled back into sleep. She didn’t. She watched him sleep, curling his damp hair around her finger as she watched him silently. It didn’t take much use of imagination to figure out what he had been dreaming. She couldn’t even be surprised herself…but, she promised herself that she’d try to get him to talk about it in the morning.

For now, she’d keep watch and help him if he needed it again.

* * *

“Hey, Reg…”

Giles turned towards the soft voice, knowing without a doubt who it would be. Only one person had ever called him ‘Reg’ in his entire life. A small smile played at his lips.

“Hello, Soph…” He looked around and sighed heavily. “Obviously…a dream.”

“Well, yeah…obviously.” Sophie laughed, sitting down on a park bench next to a pond. “Sit with me.”

Giles sat down, holding her gaze. “What’s this about, then?”

“That young lady in your bed…who’s keeping an ever watchful eye over you as you sleep.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “As I sleep? She should be asleep too.”

“She was…until you screamed and woke her up. Now she’s concerned…so, she watches…” She sighed softly as she regarded him closely. “You look good, Reg. Older.”

“You look…exactly the same.” He whispered sadly. “I’m scared. Of losing her like I lost you.”

She nodded in understanding and then exhaled a breath. “You know that you didn’t lose me because you said ‘I love you’. You lost me because – ”

“I know how I lost you.” He interrupted swiftly. “Please, can we not talk about that?”

“You need to forgive yourself for what happened. Basically, because there’s nothing to forgive yourself for. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I wasn’t paying attention.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Obviously, I wasn’t either. I was a Watcher too, you know. We were just a little preoccupied…wrong place, wrong time.”

“I still miss you.” He said quietly.

“Never visit though.” She offered him a gentle smile when he looked at her. “However, I understand. I’m not sure I’d be up to visiting you all that often if it had been the other way around. But, I wouldn’t have blamed myself – I would have blamed the demon that took you from me. Which is what you should do. Don’t carry guilt over something that was never your fault, Reg. You’ve missed out on a lot by doing that…not so much with Linda, but definitely with Jenny.”

“Linda? Oh, I’d forgotten about her. She definitely wanted much more than I could’ve ever given her.” Giles chuckled softly, but sadly. “But, you know as well as I do, it never would’ve worked out with Jenny.”

“No, it probably wouldn’t have. But, you did love her. She could’ve made you happy for a while.” Sophie tilted her head and smiled. “And you’ve loved Buffy for much longer than you care to admit to yourself.”

“I’m not sure what that has to do – ”

“Everything, Reg. It has everything to do with everything.”

Giles stared at her. “You’re more confusing than I am. I don’t remember you ever being this confusing.”

She shrugged a shoulder and grinned. “I’m a dream, love.”

She reached over and placed her hand on his knee. “You need to let go of me, Reg. You’re holding too tightly to the past…and that will eventually break her heart, if you’re not careful. I want you to be happy, to be in love…have children. I’ve always thought you would be such a wonderful father.”

“I’m not sure if Buffy even wants children…” He replied, suddenly wondering if Buffy would want children. “We haven’t discussed it. We’ve only been in a relationship for nine weeks.”

Sophie laughed brightly. “Six, love. You can’t count the first three…even you know that. No one said that children had to happen now…you have plenty of time, trust me.”

“What if we don’t? Have plenty of time, I mean.”

“Trust me.” Sophie repeated. “You have plenty of time.”

“I should tell her about you…about us.”

“Yes, you should. But, in your own time…and it shouldn’t be spoken about with apocalyptic views – we were happy, Reg. For seven years, we were very happy and I loved you more than I ever thought imaginable. So, when you tell her about us…you need to be able to remember the happy moments. It shouldn’t be about that final night. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I do.” He whispered. “I think you would have liked her. She reminds me so much of you in so many ways.”

“I like her very much…because she loves you.” Sophie looked around as the light around them began to lighten. “I should probably go now.”

Giles stood up when she stood, reaching out to take her hand. “Thank you, Soph. I promise, I’ll come visit soon.”

“You better. Because if you don’t, the next time we speak, I might not be as nice.” She grinned widely and gave him a wink. “Oh, and Reg?”

“Yes?”

“Your Slayer? Seriously?” She laughed gently. “Even Travers could see this coming. That’s why he fired you.”

“Well, I…”

“Be happy, love. Be in love, live in love, breathe in love.”

Giles smiled warmly and gave her a nod. “I will.”

“Goodbye, Reg.”

“Goodbye, Sophie.” He whispered, sighing as she simply disappeared.

* * *

Giles opened his eyes and sighed heavily. He felt Buffy’s fingers lightly stroking through his hair and he reached out, sliding his hand to her thigh under the sheet covering them.

“What time is it?” He asked quietly.

“A little after four.” She replied before continuing with a tone of uncertainty in her voice. “Was her name Sophie? Sophia?”

He turned to her quickly, surprise in his eyes. “Sophie.”

“You were talking in your sleep.” She offered with a nervous smile. “Soph is what you said. I figured it was short for one of those.”

“It wasn’t a…long lost lover type of dream. It was…she had a message for me.” He attempted to explain.

“Do I want to know?”

Giles smiled and rolled onto his side facing her. “Be happy, be in love…and stop blaming myself for things that weren’t my fault.”

“Sounds like a smart lady to me.”

He nodded slowly and allowed her to watch the tears form in his eyes. “Reminds me of someone else I know.”

She leaned into him and gently brushed her lips across his. “We’ll fall down at times…and we’ll stand right back up and keep fighting. Because that’s who we are, Giles. I honestly can’t see a future without you in it…and I plan for that future to be a long one. But, I’m going to need you to help me…”

“I’ll give it all when I can…if I’m able.” He whispered, returning her kiss. “I want to tell you about her…about us.”

She smiled and snuggled against him, slipping her arm over him as she nuzzled his chest. “You will when you’re ready. And when you’re ready, I’ll listen. For now…let’s just sleep, just for a while longer.”

“I love you, Buffy.” He said softly, holding her securely against him.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.” She murmured and then yawned. “I love you, Giles.”

He closed his eyes and listened to her breathing even out as she fell asleep. It wasn’t long before he followed her, snoring softly in a relaxed sleep.


Chapter Twelve - Breathe Out

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