Title: X & Y
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRM
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: Post series,
AU.
Synopsis: Buffy and
Giles come to a realization, but what do they do about it?
Author’s Note: Album
fic. Song and lyrics can be found here.
“We could make this work.” Giles whispered softly, placing a trembling
hand on her knee.
“Could we?” Buffy asked, just as softly. “It took us so long to get where we are now,
Giles.”
“Buffy…”
“You’re my best friend. My very best friend.” She sighed sadly and placed her hand over
his. “How do we go from being best
friends to being lovers?”
“How did we go from you hating
me to us becoming best friends?” Giles
countered.
“I never hated you.”
“And I’ve always loved you in
some form or another.”
She looked down at their hands
when she felt his thumb idly rub against the inside of her knee. “I love you too.”
“I’m not asking you to go to bed
with me, Buffy.” He smiled shyly as she
lifted her eyes to his. “Unless, of
course…you want to…”
Buffy rolled her eyes playfully
and then sobered again. “This isn’t
about what I want, Giles. This is about
us…being a couple instead of friends or instead of being the Slayer and the
Watcher…”
“As well as.” Giles corrected gently. “We’d still be friends, you’d still be the
Slayer, and I’d still be your Watcher.
We would just be adding a new dimension to our relationship.”
“How?” She asked tentatively, her thumb unconsciously stroking his inner
wrist.
“Slowly.” He licked his dry lips and lifted his free
hand to the side of her face. “The last
thing I want is to ruin what we have, Buffy.
But…denying our feelings, our desires…that will be more detrimental to
us in the long run.”
“I’m scared.” She admitted, dropping her gaze from his.
“As am I.” He whispered, ducking his head to catch her
eye again. “But, I love you.”
“Giles…”
He took a deep breath and then
spoke, his voice wavering only slightly.
“I’m going to kiss you, Buffy. I
won’t attempt to push it any further, but…I think I should kiss you.”
Without giving her a chance to
respond, he leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. Her hand tightened on his wrist as she
gasped. He swallowed and then lovingly
stroked her cheek with his thumb as he repeated the motion, this time lingering
for just a few seconds.
“Love you.” She whispered as her lips sought out
his.
This time, their mouths opened
to one another. Buffy’s right hand moved
to the back of his neck, her left resting on his chest…directly over his
heart. As her fingers slid up into his
hair, she felt the pace of his heart quicken.
His increased heartrate was
followed by a brush of his tongue against hers. He smiled inwardly as she groaned into his mouth. He reigned in his passion, not wanting to
push for too much too soon. He pulled
away from the kiss slowly, inhaling deeply as he looked into her eyes.
“Tell me we can at least
try.” He whispered emotionally.
She swallowed and gently rubbed
his chest, relishing the sensation of his heart pounding under her touch. “I’m not sure I would even know how to say
‘no’ after that…”
His smile formed slowly, his
left hand cupping her cheek as his right covered hers on his chest. “Would you like to have dinner with me
tomorrow night?”
Her brow furrowed even as she
nodded. “Yeah, but…what’s wrong with
tonight?”
He gestured towards the
grandfather clock with a tilt of his head.
“It’s nearly midnight, love.”
“Oh.” She murmured and then smiled.
“Say that again?”
“Say what again?” He questioned softly, pulling her hand from
his chest and lifting it to his lips.
“You called me ‘love’.”
“Mm-hm.” He murmured, placing a lingering kiss on her
palm. “I’m liable to call you many
things…darling, sweetheart…but, I prefer ‘love’. Is that alright with you?”
“Yeah…” She shivered as his lips glided over the
inside of her wrist. “Giles?”
“Hm?” He lifted his eyes to hers as the tip of his tongue touched her
skin.
She shivered again, delighting
him.
“If…you don’t stop…there’s not
going to be any ‘taking it slow’ going on…”
He chuckled softly, but nodded
in agreement. “As much as I want you…I
think it would be a mistake if we…”
“You want me?” She interrupted, a surprised tone to her
voice.
“God, yes.” Her replied in a bewildered whisper. “How could you think otherwise?”
“I, uh…I don’t know.” She darted her eyes to his groin and then
back to his darkened green eyes. “Are
you, um…”
His eyes darkened another shade
as her hand slid down his torso. He
caught it just as it passed over his abdomen.
“Yes. But, there’s no need for…well,
I’m not asking you to…um…”
“You don’t want me to touch
you?”
He barked out a laugh and pulled
her towards him, turning his body quickly and shifting her so that she was
straddling his thighs.
“Oh, I want you to touch
me. And…I want to touch you. But, that can wait.”
She bit her bottom lip
thoughtfully and draped her arms over his shoulders. “But…I don’t want to leave you – ”
He cut her off with a gentle
kiss, smiling brightly as he pulled back.
“This is not a new sensation for me, love. More often than not, I’m in this very same predicament when you
leave to go home.”
“What do you do?” She asked without thinking.
He grinned and slid his hands to
her hips. “Have you ever been aroused
when you leave my home to go to yours?”
“Uh-huh…like, every night…”
His eyes sparkled as he glanced
at her lips. “And…what do you do about
it?”
His grin grew as her skin turned
a bright shade of red. And then her
eyes widened in realization.
“You…um…” She paused for just a second. “You know…um…thinking about me?”
“Nearly every night.” He admitted, squeezing her hips gently. “And you?”
She nodded in response, her
blush fading. “Do we really have to
take this slow?”
“You…drive me to distraction,
Buffy.” He licked his lips and gently
moved her off of him. “But, I’ll not
allow my distraction to jeopardize our relationship. Come to dinner with me tomorrow…”
She smiled lovingly and leaned
over to give him a soft kiss before she stood up. “Dinner…tomorrow. You
picking me up?”
“Of course.” He whispered, watching her as she picked up
her purse. “You’re going home?”
“Yeah…” She ran her fingers through her hair and
then stared into his eyes. “There’s
something I need to do…”
“Me too.” He replied with a smile. “Think about me?”
She grinned and gave him a
wink. “Always.”
He stood up and pulled her into
his arms as he lowered his mouth to hers.
He didn’t bother trying to shield her from his erection. She grumbled softly as he gently ended the
kiss and walked her to the door.
“That was just…mean.”
He laughed and opened the door
for her. “I’ll make it up to you, I
promise.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“Perhaps.” He sighed and trailed his fingers down the
side of her face. “I, uh…I’m not really
sure how slow I can actually take this…”
“Good.” She smiled and leaned up, giving him another
loving kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Buffy.”
“Good night, Rupert.” She chuckled as he raised an eyebrow at
her. “Just trying it out.”
“I love you.”
She stepped onto the porch,
knowing that if she stood inside much longer that she wouldn’t be able to
leave.
“I love you too.”
And with that, she turned and
ran towards her car. He smiled and
leaned against the doorframe, giving her a small wave as she pulled out of his
driveway.
~ End