Chapter Forty-One
Giles effortlessly lifted a
piece of sweet and sour pork with his chopsticks and fed it to Buffy as he
laughed. Anya stared at him in
frustration.
“I’m serious, Giles.”
He swallowed the bite of chicken
that Buffy had fed him and nodded. “I’m
rather sure you are serious.”
Anya huffed and stabbed a piece
of pork with one chopstick, muttering loudly.
“Less than three days…no boxes…nothing packed.” She looked back at Giles. “It’s driving me crazy, Giles.”
Oz smirked.
Giles smiled at her. “Anya, I assure you that it will all be
taken care of. This isn’t something to
get yourself worked up over. Trust me.”
Anya shook her head in annoyance
and stabbed another piece of pork.
“Well, don’t expect me to pack your things for you.”
He chuckled in amusement. His chuckle ceased when he looked over at
Peter and noticed him pushing his food around on his plate, deep in
thought. Giles watched him for a few seconds
and then looked down at Buffy.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She glanced over at Peter and
gave Giles a nod.
He stood and quietly made his
way to the younger man and placed his hand on his shoulder. Peter jumped slightly at the contact and
looked up to find Giles smiling softly at him.
“I was wondering if you might like
to go outside for a few minutes.”
Peter nodded slowly and stood,
following Giles out the back door.
Giles sat down on a chair, gesturing to another one as he pulled his
pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He
sighed softly as he lit one and turned his eyes to Peter.
“I’m rather sure I made a
mistake by lighting the first one…”
Peter gave him a
half-smile. “Escalating into a habit,
is it?”
“It could very easily.” He took a drag and regarded Peter
carefully. “Are you okay?”
“Me? Oh, yes. I’m…I’m fine.”
Giles leaned forward
slightly. “Would you care to try
again? Maybe with a little more
enthusiasm this time if you’re actually attempting to convince me?”
Peter’s shoulders sagged and he
took a deep breath. He gestured towards
the pack of cigarettes. “Would you mind
terribly if I had one?”
Giles pushed the pack and the
lighter across the table. “What’s going
on, Peter?”
He quickly lit a cigarette and
inhaled deeply, collecting his thoughts.
Taking another deep breath, he met Giles’ eyes. “Julian is a friend of mine. A…a good friend.”
“Ah.” Giles nodded and took a drag.
“And now you’re feeling a bit conflicted?”
“How can I be his friend
now? After what he’s done…”
Giles exhaled slowly and flicked
his ashes into the ashtray. “How much
were you told about my past?”
Peter shrugged his
shoulders. “Not many details, I
guess. Just that you left the Academy
when you were seventeen and disappeared for about five years. When you came back, you started your
training again and excelled in every course.”
“Mm-hm. And what were the rumours that you heard
about the missing five years?” He
smiled as Peter’s eyes darted to his.
“Chances are most of the rumours you’ve heard are true…or have a degree
of truth in them.”
Peter cleared his throat and
took a long puff from his cigarette. “I
heard that you went a little…off the rails.
Got into drugs, demons, and the black magicks.”
“Off the rails…” Giles chuckled softly. “That would be a fair assessment. I’ll tell you what happened. It’s relevant to the advice I’m going to
give you about your friend.”
After forty-five minutes of
talking, Giles had given Peter the abridged version of the events surrounding
the five years that he was away from the Academy. Peter sat in a stunned silence as Giles smiled warmly at him.
“When I found my way back to the
Academy, I was sure that everyone would steer clear of me. What I had been up to…and in to…wasn’t a
secret. When I first returned, I was
right…with one exception. Amelia found
it in her heart to stay by my side…mainly as a friend. Over the next few months, other friends
started returning to me. But, for
awhile…it was only Amelia.” He cleared
his throat. “I’m not sure how I
would’ve turned out if she had turned her back on me as well.”
He lit another cigarette,
smiling as Peter reached for one as well.
“Everyone knew what I did, but Amelia was the only one to ask why. And when I explained my reasoning to her,
she listened. She didn’t agree with
what I had been involved in, but she took the time to try to understand what
had led me there.” He leaned forward
slightly. “Sometimes people get
side-tracked. Sometimes they are led
astray without even knowing what’s happening.
Sometimes they make bad decisions because they think, for whatever
reason, it’s the right decision at the time.”
Peter’s hand trembled lightly as
he lifted the cigarette to his lips.
“What am I supposed to do, Rupert?”
“If you love him, then I suggest
you give him the chance to explain.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “I…no, it’s not like that…it’s…” He sighed as he registered the understanding
smile in Giles’ eyes. “How did you
know?”
“I’m a Watcher.” The smile made its way to his lips. “Don’t judge him. Find out why it happened.
I have no doubt that if there were ever a time he needed you, it’s now.”
Giles stood and placed a
comforting hand on the young man’s shoulder.
“You can use our phone to call him if you wish.”
Peter stared in disbelief as
Giles turned and made his way back inside.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Giles walked back into the
living room, stopping suddenly as he took in the scene before him. Five voices were bickering loudly and Amelia
was sitting on the couch grinning in amusement. He couldn’t make out anything any of them were saying as they
kept talking over one another.
He caught Amelia’s eye and
tilted his head in a silent question.
She gave him a wink as her grin broadened. He cleared his throat loudly, folding his arms over his chest and
leaning against the wall. The five
voices quietened down and they all looked towards him.
“What’s going on?”
Anya spoke first. “You two can’t sleep together the night
before your wedding.”
Giles raised an eyebrow as
Xander shook his head. “She means…”
“Oh, I know what she means. It’s just enjoyable to watch her dig a hole
for herself once in a while.” He
chuckled. “So, what do you propose,
Anya?”
“Well…Buffy, Willow, and I are
going to spend the night at Buffy’s Mom’s house. And you, Oz, and Xander will be staying at our apartment.”
Giles nodded and narrowed his
eyes slightly. “That sounds
reasonable. But, I’m still wondering
what the bickering was about.”
“Oh, well Xander was trying to
decide what to do at your bachelor party.”
He shook his head quickly. “I don’t want a bachelor party.”
Buffy grinned brightly at
Xander. “I told you!”
Xander stared at Giles. “But, it’s tradition. You like tradition.”
“Yes, well. The traditions I like do not include getting
drunk in a strip club and getting lap dances from barely dressed women on the night
before I’m married.”
Oz tilted his head
thoughtfully. “Paintball. That could be fun.”
“Yes, I’m sure it would be. Until the part where I trip over something
and knock myself out.” He laughed
gently. “I appreciate the thought, but
really…I would much prefer to…”
“Do nothing like a big, stuffy
Englishman.”
Giles stared at Anya. “I’m not stuffy.”
“Then you should enjoy having a
lap dance.”
Xander buried his face in his
hands. Willow’s mouth dropped open in
shock. Oz actually laughed. Giles merely smiled at her.
“And who says I don’t?” He glanced at Buffy and smiled. “Maybe I just enjoy having lap dances from
someone who isn’t a complete stranger.”
Xander groaned. “Again with the mental images…”
Amelia laughed until she was
having trouble catching her breath. She
looked up to find Giles grinning at her.
“What?”
He shrugged his shoulders and
sat down, pulling Buffy onto his lap.
“I was just wondering what your suggestion was for my party.” He glanced at Xander and Oz quickly. “Which is not going to happen.”
Xander nodded in defeat.
Amelia finally caught her breath
and shook her head. “Oh, I hadn’t given
a suggestion. And my suggestion would
have been a bit dated.”
Giles furrowed his brow. “How so?”
“Rupert, you have to remember
that the last time I spent any length of time with you was twenty years ago.”
“Yes…”
She gave him a wicked grin. “So, if you were twenty years younger and
getting married…I would have suggested a night of toking and a few bottles of
alcohol.”
Oz’s eyes widened and Xander’s
mouth dropped open. “Toking? Giles?”
Giles reddened deeply and shook
his head. “I can’t believe you said
that, Mealie. You do realize that I’ll
never hear the end of this?”
Buffy laughed and shifted
lightly on Giles’ lap. His hand quickly
steadied her, causing her to look down at him.
He smiled up at her and shook his head, his voice lowering to a whisper
only she could hear.
“Lap dances are for later,
darling.”
Buffy started to reply, but
stopped when Giles looked towards the back door. She followed his gaze to find Peter walking inside with the phone
in his hand. He offered Giles a smile
and a nod, placing the phone on the table.
Giles carefully lifted Buffy
from his lap, stood up and walked over to Peter. The younger man raised his slightly red eyes and took a deep
breath.
“He…uh…he said that Travers
bullied him into it.”
Giles nodded. “I would tend to believe that. Travers always liked to bully his way into
everything. Is he going to be alright?”
Peter shrugged his
shoulders. “He’s scared. They’ll be taking him to the Compound for a
while. I guess to make sure
he’s…rehabilitated.”
Giles placed his hand on Peter’s
arm. “I can talk to someone, if you’d
like.”
“What?”
“This is his first offence? Of any type?” He smiled as Peter nodded.
“I can talk to someone. Rehabilitation
is not something he wants to go through.”
“You did.”
“Yes, but…well, that was
different. I was gone for five
years…and I wasn’t exactly a model citizen for those five years. I needed rehabilitation. I don’t think Julian does.”
A tear wavered in Peter’s
eye. “He asked me to tell you that he’s
sorry.”
Giles turned towards
Amelia. “Who is in charge of the
Compound these days?”
Amelia smiled and pulled out her
cell phone. She hit a button and handed
the phone to Giles. As Giles spoke to
the man who had turned out to be an old friend from the Academy, Peter sat down
on the coffee table in front of Buffy and Amelia.
“Buffy, I just wanted you to
know that I’ll be handing in my report tomorrow morning.”
Buffy smiled at him. “Have you found us worthy?”
Peter returned her smile. “I have found you both to be amazing
individuals. And as a couple…there is
no other way to describe it than the fact that you are perfectly matched. You are both extremely lucky to have one
another.”
Buffy’s looked towards Giles and
sighed happily. “I’m not sure luck had
much to do with it. It’s pretty much a
destiny thing…” She smiled as she met
Giles’ eyes. “I was born to be a Slayer, he was destined to be a Watcher. My Watcher.”
Giles returned her smile before
walking outside to continue his phone conversation. Peter turned slightly and watched him walk out the door.
“He is definitely an amazing
man.”
“That he is.” Buffy agreed softly.
After everyone had left, Buffy
slumped onto the couch and smiled as Giles sat down next to her and handed her
a fresh cup of tea.
“Interesting day…”
He nodded in agreement and took
a sip of his tea. “Quite.” He turned to look at her, inhaling
slowly. “I, uh…did I frighten you? With Quentin, I mean.”
“You mean when Ripper came out
to play?” She smiled as he nodded
nervously. “No, why?”
“I frightened Anya. In fact, I think I frightened all of them.”
She placed her hand on his
thigh. “You have to remember that
they’ve only seen very short glimpses.
I’ve seen Ripper before, remember?”
“Yes, but…not quite like that.”
She shrugged her shoulders and
sipped her tea. “I know what Ripper is
capable of, Giles. I also know the man
you are now. That part of you has never
scared me. In fact…it’s kinda nice to
see that side of you. Once in a while…”
He smiled shyly, placing his mug
on the coffee table before turning to look at her. She saw the seriousness in his expression and set her mug next to
his.
“What’s on your mind, Giles?”
“We…we need to talk.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s a break-up thing to say. You’re not breaking up with me two and half
days before our wedding are you?”
His eyes widened. “What?
No! No, that’s not…” He relaxed when her smile told him that she
was merely teasing him. “Funny.”
“Sorry.” She leaned over and kissed his lips
lightly. “What do we need to talk
about?”
He cleared his throat and looked
into her eyes. “There is another
visitor coming from England. I,
uh…well, I guess I volunteered to pick him up from the airport.”
“Who’s coming?”
His fingers drummed nervously
against the arm of the couch. “Julian
Leicester.”
“What?” Her voice rose with fear, bewilderment, and
a little anger. “The same Julian
Leicester who helped Travers try to…”
He reached up quickly, placing
his hand on the side of her face.
“Please, let me explain.”
His thumb brushed a tear
away. “Please, don’t cry, Buffy.”
“Giles…this guy…he worked with
Travers to…”
“He’s Peter’s boyfriend.”
Buffy’s eyes softened
somewhat. “And that makes him a good
guy? Someone you feel comfortable
having sent to Sunnydale and picking up from the airport?”
He sighed softly. “I honestly believe that he was innocent in
this.”
“Innocent? Giles…”
“Travers threatened him, Buffy.”
“What?”
He took her hand in his, rubbing
his thumb soothingly across the back.
“He threatened to hurt Peter.
Julian did what he had to do to keep Peter safe.”
“Is that what the phone call to
the Compound was about?”
He nodded slowly and pulled her
into his arms. “He doesn’t need
rehabilitation. He needs Peter. When I was sent to rehabilitation when I
returned to the Council…” He shook his
head to rid himself of the memory.
“That isn’t something that he should have to go through. This was his first offence of any type…and
it was the result of a threat against someone he loves. I can’t, in good conscience, allow that to
happen.”
Buffy thought for a few moments
and then took a deep breath. “Are
there…precautions? You know, just in
case?”
He rubbed her arm and placed a
kiss on the top of her head. “Yes. They’ve blocked his magic for a while.”
“So, they grounded him?”
He smiled. “I suppose you could say that. We’ll be in no danger, Buffy. And…he’ll get the help he needs.”
“From Peter…”
“Yes. And…from me.” He offered
her a reassuring smile when she looked up at him. “I know what it’s like to have the one you love threatened. I think it’s important that he knows that I
hold no ill feelings towards him over this.”
She sighed and leaned up,
kissing him lovingly. “Peter was
right.”
“About?”
“You are an amazing man.” She offered him a smile that stated she
understood his reasoning. “Though, I
already knew that.”
He bent his head and captured
her lips in a searing kiss. When he
pulled back, he smiled in adoration.
“Thank you…for understanding.”
“I trust you. And, if your instincts are telling you that
it’s okay…then, I’m trusting that.”
“Buffy?”
Her fingers combed through his
hair above his ear before gently touching the earring he had refused to take
out since she had given it to him.
“Hm?”
“I…” Instead of finishing whatever thought was in his head, he leaned
into her and covered her mouth with his.
As she swept her tongue into his
mouth, he carefully pushed her down onto the cushions. He returned her kiss with equal passion, his
moan muffled as she shifted her body underneath him and cradled his hips between
her thighs.
Her hands slid down his sides,
gripping his shirt and pulling it up.
He broke the kiss with a passion-laden hiss as her nails lightly raked
across his ribs. He stared down into
her eyes, his hips moving of their own accord as her fingers continued to
explore his torso. Her hips moved up to
meet his gentle thrusts, causing him to groan at the contact.
She gasped as his lips found her
neck, gently nipping along the raised skin of the scar. His fingers edged under her shirt and quickly
glided upwards until his hand covered her breast. He gently massaged the flesh, a groan rumbling in his chest as he
felt her nipple harden. She matched his
groan with one of her own and lifted her legs around his hips, pulling him
tighter against her.
His erection strained against
his clothing as he continued to thrust against her denim-clad core. She moved her hands up his torso until her
nails scraped across his nipples. He
lifted his head, whispering huskily in her ear as his fingers gently pinched
her nipple.
“Don’t stop…”
He groaned again as she repeated
the action of running her nails over the hardened nubs. He released her breast and moved his hand
out from under her shirt, gripping her hip as he increased his thrust.
“Giles!”
“Oh, God…come for me, Buffy…”
Her hands moved back to his
sides, gripping him tightly as she arched her back. Her body trembled underneath him and she screamed his name as her
orgasm crashed over her. He slowed his
movement gradually until he had stilled.
He leaned down and kissed her lips, smiling at her as she opened her
eyes.
She returned his smile, her
hands lovingly caressing his sides.
“Well, that’s something I’ve never done before…”
He tilted his head and looked at
her through puzzled eyes. “Pardon?”
“I’ve never…um…” She blushed lightly. “I’ve never…had an orgasm through dry
humping…”
“Never?”
She shook her head slowly. “With Riley, it was always…grind until he
got hard and then…you know…”
“He was an idiot. Did he not appreciate
the beauty of a tantalizing woman writhing underneath him as she let go and
allowed the sensations take over?”
She chuckled softly. “To be honest…there wasn’t much
writhing.” She blushed heavily as she
met his eyes. “And when there was writhing,
I wasn’t thinking about him.”
“No?” He smiled as she shook her head.
“May I ask who you were thinking about?”
Her fingers traced his
lips. “It was you I was making love
to.”
He leaned down and kissed her
soundly before lifting his body from hers.
He grimaced as he pushed himself up.
She looked down at the bulge in his jeans and sighed softly.
“You didn’t…”
He offered her a smile as he sat
up, carefully adjusting himself.
“Because I didn’t want to.
However, I was very close…”
“You didn’t want to?”
He shook his head slowly and
pulled her up beside of him. “I want to
come, don’t misunderstand me. But…I
want to be inside of you when I come.”
“But you wanted me to?”
His eyes darkened again. “God, yes.”
“Giles?”
“Mm?”
She moved across him, brushing
her hand across his groin as she stood up.
She reached out to take his hand and smiled seductively at him.
“Let’s go to bed.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Their sweat-drenched bodies
glistened in the dim light. They were both
lying on their backs, her head resting on his outstretched arm. As their breathing began to calm, Buffy
grinned lazily.
“I win.”
Giles turned his head towards
her. “I’m sorry?”
She turned her head and lightly
kissed his lips. “I didn’t make you stop. I win.”
He chuckled heartily. “You had seven orgasms. I’m inclined to believe we both won.”
Her eyes widened. “You counted?”
“Mm-hm.” He slowly rolled onto his side, facing
her. “You didn’t?”
He wondered if she was blushing,
but he couldn’t tell as her skin was still flushed from her exertion.
“I kinda lost count…”
He lifted his hand and ran his
fingers through her soaked hair.
“That’s a good thing. A very
good thing.”
She shivered lightly and smiled
when he automatically reached down and pulled the sheet up over their cooling
bodies.
“How am I going to actually get
any rest without you lying beside of me?”
His puzzlement shone in his
eyes. “What?”
She shrugged her shoulders and
sighed. “We have tonight and tomorrow
night. And then you’ll be with Xander
and Oz…and I’ll be at Mom’s house.” She
looked into his eyes as she turned a wet curl of his hair around her
finger. “How am I supposed to sleep
without you?”
He pulled her into his arms and
pressed his lips to hers. He smiled
when he pulled back and gazed into her eyes.
“It’s only one night,
darling. And then we’ll have every
night for the rest of our lives.”
She returned his smile. “I like the sound of that. But…I still don’t like the thought of
spending one night away from you. Do
you think we could skip this tradition?”
He chuckled and kissed her
forehead. “Anya would never forgive
us.”
“But…it’s…”
He cut her off with a kiss and
rolled her onto her back. When he broke
the kiss she saw the desire clearly in his eyes.
“Again?”
He grinned at her as he moved
his body down the bed, taking the sheet with him. After he placed a soft kiss on her hip, he shrugged his
shoulders. “Well, we have to make up for
the one night we’re losing out on…don’t you think?”
Any reply she had was lost in
her gasp as his mouth closed over her still quivering clitoris. He smiled inwardly as she moaned his name.
Buffy smiled brightly as she
walked into the bedroom carrying a cup of tea in one hand and a plate with eggs
and toast in the other. He hadn’t moved
at all since she had untangled herself from his arms and legs almost forty-five
minutes earlier. She placed the cup and
plate on the bedside table and sat down on the edge of the bed. She leaned down and kissed his back between
his shoulder blades.
“Giles?”
“Mm?”
“Are you hungry?”
“Dunno.”
She laughed softly. “Are you awake?”
“Dunno.”
She rubbed his back gently and
kissed him again.
“Giles?”
He sighed softly and shifted
under her touch. “Mm?”
She smiled as he began to slowly
awaken. He rolled onto his back with
much effort and groaned as his back cracked loudly, causing Buffy to wince.
“You okay?”
He opened his eyes sleepily and
nodded. “Mm-hm. Good morning.”
“It is.” She leaned down and gave him a light
kiss. “I brought you something to
eat. Figured you’d be hungry. Wasn’t expecting you to still be asleep.”
He chuckled and pushed himself
up. He ran his hand through his
sleep-tousled hair and yawned. “What
time is it?”
“A little after nine…”
He nodded absently, picking up
the cup and taking a sip of the tea. He
met her eyes and moved over slightly to give her enough room to sit comfortably
beside of him.
“How long have you been up?”
“About an hour.” She took his cue and moved into the spot he
had just vacated.
He lowered the cup from his lips
and tilted his head. “Are you alright?”
“Mm-hm.” She nodded, her smile shining in her
eyes. “Last night…was amazing.”
He blushed lightly and grinned
at her. “I rather thought so as well.”
“Um…is there anything you
haven’t done?”
He hid his smile as he answered
her. “I’ve never gotten married.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean, Giles.”
His eyes twinkled as he took
another sip of his tea before reaching over and placing the cup on the bedside
table. “You mean…sexually?”
She nodded wordlessly, suddenly
very nervous.
“I, uh…I’ve never allowed a
woman to tie me up.”
She sighed softly, trying to
hide her frustration. “I mean, is there
anything you haven’t done…that you would want to do with me…”
He stared into her eyes as his
fingers played across the back of her hand.
“I’ve never let a woman tie me
up before.”
She inhaled sharply as she
understood his meaning. “You…you’d let
me?”
He licked his lips and nodded
slowly. “It…it takes a tremendous
amount of trust to allow yourself to be bound.
I’ve never experienced that type of trust…until you. I want to give myself to you in that way,
Buffy.”
She took a deep breath, not taking
her eyes from his. “I…don’t know what
to say.”
“Tell me that you will…at some
point. It doesn’t have to be now, it
doesn’t have to be next week, just…sometime.
Tell me that you’ll allow me to open myself to you completely.”
“Are you sure?”
He leaned into her, capturing
her lips in a sweet kiss. “Believe me
when I say that I want this.”
“I do believe you.” She smiled adoringly at him as she reached
over and grabbed the plate. She gave
him a sweet kiss of her own as she handed him his breakfast. “And I will…at some point.”
He grinned at her and bit off a
piece of toast.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She shifted nervously beside of
him. He moved behind her and wrapped
his arms around her to stop her impending pacing. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head before moving his lips
closer to her ear.
“It’s going to be alright,
darling.”
She looked up at him and
sighed. “Aren’t you at least a little
nervous?”
“Of course I am. But, I find…” He looked up as people started filing down the ramp.
He took a deep breath when he
recognized the young man. He released
Buffy and moved back to her side, taking her hand in his. She looked up at him and sighed.
“Promise me it’ll be okay?”
He gently squeezed her
hand. “I promise.”
She gave him a slight nod and
looked back towards the young man who had stopped a few feet away from
them. She felt her anger begin to
dissipate when she saw the fear and pain in the man’s dark eyes. Giles gave her hand another brief squeeze
before he released it and took a step forward.
“Julian Leicester?”
The man swallowed nervously and
merely nodded.
Giles took another step forward
and extended his hand. “I’m Rupert
Giles.”
Julian’s hand trembled violently
as he grasped the proffered hand.
“I…”
As Giles’ warm hand closed
around Julian’s, tears began to fall down the young man’s face.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry Mr.
Giles. I never…I didn’t want…”
To Julian’s surprise, and
Buffy’s as well, Giles pulled him into a brief, but comforting hug. “I know, Julian. All will be fine.”
Julian’s eyes darted towards
Buffy and he inhaled sharply. “Miss
Summers…”
Buffy took a step forward and
offered him a genuinely warm smile.
“Buffy…my name is Buffy.”
He glanced back at Giles and
swallowed the lump in his throat. “I
apologize…I didn’t intend to…fall apart such as I did…”
Buffy chuckled softly. “Do all British men feel the need to be all
stoic?”
Giles smiled at her and took her
hand. “No. But, stoicism is taught at the Academy.”
Buffy rolled her eyes and picked
up the bag that Julian had allowed to drop to the ground. Her eyes met his and he smiled sadly at
her.
“My fiancé has quite the sense
of humour, huh?” When Julian only
nodded, Buffy cast a look at Giles. At
his nod, she looked back at Julian. “I think the three of us should sit down
and have a talk. What do you think?”
Julian took a shaky breath. “Okay.”
He followed them to a small café
and took the seat that Giles had gestured towards. Giles took the chair next to Buffy and folded his hands on the
table.
“I’ll start, if that’s alright
with you.” He smiled when the young man
nodded. “I can only speak for myself,
not Buffy nor Amelia. But, I’m going to
start with saying I forgive you.”
Julian gasped softly and turned
his eyes down towards the table.
“Julian, I know what it’s like
to have to make a difficult decision in order to protect the person you
love. I don’t hold you responsible for
the casting of the Primordium against Mrs. Clayton. You need to know that I checked into your history.” He waited until Julian met his eyes before
continuing. “As a result, I’ve
requested that you be cleared of any wrongdoing.”
“Mr. Giles, you can’t do
that. I…I should be punished for what
I’ve done. I almost killed Mrs. Clayton
and almost destroyed the relationship you have with your Slayer. I…”
Giles held up a hand in a
request for him to silence himself.
Julian complied immediately.
“You participated in a spell
that was intended to take Buffy away from me.
You participated under duress.
Peter Watts’ safety had been threatened. What were you to do? Let
Peter be hurt…possibly killed?” He
placed his hand over Buffy’s and sighed.
“Quite recently, I nearly gave my own life to save Buffy’s. I did that because I love her. You did what you had to do to keep Peter
safe. I understand that gesture.”
He tilted his head and regarded
the man carefully. “It wasn’t a
pleasant time for us, I trust you understand that. But, Amelia survived and, as you can see, the love that I share
with Buffy is very much intact.
Personally, I think you’re punishing yourself more than the Council ever
could. I also think that you need to
forgive yourself…sooner rather than later.
This wasn’t your doing, Julian.
And Travers will not give you any more trouble. I’ll see to that.”
“Mr. Giles…”
“And that’s another thing. I don’t like being called ‘Mr. Giles’. My name is Rupert.” He smiled softly. “Okay?”
“I need you to know something,
sir…uh, Rupert.”
“Yes?”
“Um, Mr. Travers…he…he was
rather determined to come between you and…um, Buffy.”
Buffy narrowed her eyes. “Has he done something else?”
“He…he tried. But, I was able to block the spell.”
“What did he try?” Rage flashed in her hazel eyes.
Julian cleared his throat. “It was a type of brainwashing spell. He wanted Rupert to believe that you could
never have loved him.”
“What?”
“I blocked it. It…it never happened.” Julian spoke quickly. “Mr. Travers simply thought that the spell
was faulty. That’s why he decided on
the Primordium. He knew that it was
protocol for a member of the Council to attend your wedding. He knew about Rupert’s past with Mrs.
Clayton. He thought that he could
manipulate that to his advantage, but he couldn’t do it on his own.” He took a quick breath. “He discovered that I have…had…fairly potent
magical abilities. He knew about my
relationship with Peter and…he told me that if I helped him…” He closed his eyes against the pain. “That’s why he agreed to send Peter here
when Rupert requested it. He said that
it was karma…”
He was quiet for a few moments,
calming himself before he spoke again.
“I never wanted to hurt
anyone. I’m deeply sorry for the pain I
helped cause.”
Buffy sighed softly and looked
into Julian’s eyes. “I was determined
to be angry with you. To be very honest,
I was not happy that you were coming here…and I was even less happy that it was
Giles’ idea.” She glanced at her fiancé
and smiled before turning back to Julian.
“But, one of the many things that Giles has taught me is that not
everything is as it appears.”
She reached over the table and
lightly covered his hand with her own.
“I forgive you, Julian.”
A tear formed in his eye and his
voice was a whisper when he spoke.
“Thank you. Both of you.”
Giles smiled at the man and
leaned forward slightly. “Your magical
abilities? They’re still there. They’re just blocked for a while. Consider it probationary. Now, would you like us to take you to
Peter?”
Julian returned the smile and
nodded quickly. “Very much so.”
The three of them stood and as
Buffy slipped her hand into Giles’, she looked up at him. Giles tilted his head in a silent
question. She shrugged her shoulders as
she laced her fingers with his.
“I’m beginning to think that I
shouldn’t have stopped you from killing him.”
For the first time, they heard a
small chuckle from Julian.
After witnessing the passionate
reunion between Peter and Julian, thoughts began churning in Buffy’s mind. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it
was only three in the afternoon. They
had been home for nearly an hour and Giles had been researching for almost the
entire time. She took a deep breath,
knowing that her questions would only be answered if she asked them.
“Giles?”
“Mm?” He answered without looking up as he turned the page.
“The way Peter and Julian
reacted when they saw each other…was that what it was like with you and Ethan?”
Giles barked out a laugh and
lifted his head from the book. When he
saw the expression on her face, his laughter abruptly died.
“We’ve, uh…we’ve never fully
discussed this, have we?”
She shook her head slowly. “Only because I didn’t want the details.”
“And now you do?” He asked softly. When she nodded, he closed the book. “What do you want to know, Buffy?”
“Maybe start with my first
question?” She replied nervously.
He gave her a nod and ran his
hand through his hair. “No, that isn’t
what it was like. Peter and Julian love
one another. There was no love between
Ethan and I…at least, not on my part.”
“But…did you kiss him like
that?”
“I don’t recall ever kissing him
at all.”
She narrowed her eyes
slightly. “Not even in the heat of
passion?”
He stood up and made his way to
her. He shook his head as he sat down
beside of her, holding her gaze with his.
“There was no passion,
darling. No love…not even lust.”
“I don’t understand.”
He inhaled slowly, collecting
his thoughts before he spoke.
“The times that I was with
Ethan, I was stoned…either on magic or drugs…or both. It was merely a need to get off.
He was willing, so I’d fuck him if no one else was available. It wasn’t about desire, it was about me
needing to come.” He sighed. “I’m not sure that I’m explaining this
well.”
“You’re doing okay…I’m
following.” She offered him a small
smile. “So…you didn’t make love to
him?”
“No. It was always sex in the rawest form. A quick, hard fuck to release my frustrations.”
She looked away for a second,
clearly trying to gather her words before meeting his eyes again.
“Did he ever…um…well…”
He smiled in understanding as
she stumbled over the words. “I have
never been penetrated. Is that what you
were trying to ask?”
She nodded silently, tears
suddenly welling in her eyes. Giles
took her hand quickly.
“Buffy, what is it?” He asked in alarm.
“It’s stupid…” She answered quietly.
“No, darling. Please talk to me.”
She took a deep breath and
exhaled slowly. “Do you ever think
about it?”
“Being with Ethan? No, I don’t.”
She shook her head as she wiped
her eyes. “No…do you ever think about having
sex with…”
He pulled her into an embrace
before she could finish the question.
“Never. There was only Ethan
and…no, I have no urges to repeat those encounters. Not with Ethan…not with any other man.”
“Are you sure? Because…”
“I’m positive.” He raised his hand and cradled her
face. “I know this is a very disturbing
subject…”
“Yeah, it kinda is…”
He lowered his hand and dropped
his eyes from her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes widened, instantly
knowing that he had mistaken her.
“Giles, no. That’s not what I
meant.” She sighed softly when he
didn’t look back up. “It’s disturbing
to think about you with Ethan. I
mean…there had to be someone else you could’ve been with. Any guy would’ve been better than Ethan.”
He raised his eyes to meet her
smiling face. “What?”
“You could have had anyone you
wanted. And you chose Ethan?”
“I highly doubt that
statement. But, like I said…it wasn’t a
relationship.”
“I understand that. Really, I do.” She laid her hand on his thigh.
“Will you promise me that if those urges come back that you won’t go to
Ethan?”
He blushed lightly. “Buffy, I
can say with most certainty that those urges will not resurface. The reasons for those urges are no longer an
issue with me.”
“But, if they do?”
He shook his head slowly. “I promise I wouldn’t go to Ethan.”
She squeezed his thigh
lightly. “Good, ‘cause we would have
absolutely no problem finding you a decent guy to fuck.”
His eyes widened in shock. “Buffy!”
“What? We could.” She smiled as
she leaned up and kissed him. “You
really don’t notice how many people check you out, do you? Men and women…undressing you with their eyes
as you walk by…”
His blush deepened. “Uh…I think you…you may be imagining things
there…”
She shook her head and allowed
her hand to move slowly up his thigh.
“No, I’m definitely not imagining it.
Is your self-esteem that low where other people are concerned that you
think no one notices you?”
He shrugged his shoulders and
stared into her eyes. “Maybe it’s just
that you’re the only person that I want undressing me in any way. I have no interest in anyone else, so why
would I notice them?”
He placed his hand over hers and
stilled her movement. “I need to ask
you something.” He paused briefly. “What were the tears about? Because, I get the distinct impression that
it had nothing to do with whether or not I wanted to have sex with another man
again.”
“No, it didn’t.” She chuckled softly. “And, the thought of you with another man is
anything but revolting to me.”
He opened his mouth, but could
form no words as he stared at her in shock.
Her chuckle turned to a gentle laugh as the tips of his ears reddened.
“I’d never ask you to,
Giles. But…I wouldn’t be opposed to
it. Just so you know. In case that urge ever hits again…for any
reason.”
He nodded slowly and swallowed
hard. “Uh…oh…the, uh…why were you
crying?”
She sighed softly and moved
closer to him. “I was thinking about
how alone you must have felt…during that time.”
“What do you mean?”
“To hide behind magic and
demons…delving into drugs to numb the pain.”
She smiled as he tilted his head, his eyes telling her that she was
right. “You must’ve been so scared.”
He nodded slowly, his voice a
whisper. “Yes.”
She leaned into him, kissing his
lips with sweet adoration. “You know
that you’re not alone now, right?”
“Yes.” He whispered against her lips.
She kissed him again in the same
manner. “And you’re not scared
anymore?”
“I…” He returned her kiss with a light one of his own. “I’m always scared, Buffy.”
She pulled back and rested her
hand against the side of his neck.
“What scares you?”
His hand slid up her leg to her
hip. “All of my fears involve you in
some way. With the exception of blue
ketchup.”
She laughed loudly. “Blue ketchup?”
He shuddered. “It’s wrong.”
“There’s green as well.” She laughed again as he repeated his
shudder. Her fingers traced around his
scar without touching it. “What are
your fears about me?”
“Losing you.” He replied simply.
“You’re not going to lose me,
Giles.”
He sighed heavily. “I’m not talking about you ending our
relationship. I’m talking about losing
you. Physically losing you.”
She almost cracked a joke about
misplacing people, but thought better of it before she spoke. “You mean…me dying.”
He closed his eyes briefly, his
fingers tightened against her hip. “I’m
not sure I could survive that.”
“Giles…”
He opened his eyes and held back
the tears that threatened to fall. “I
couldn’t handle the thought of you dying when I was merely your Watcher. Now…you’re so much more to me than my
Slayer. So, yes…every night when you go
on patrol, I fear for your safety…for your life. And I can’t rest until I know that you’re safe. And that’s why
I’m always scared.”
“I always come home, Giles.”
He almost told her that one day
she wouldn’t. Instead, he kissed
her. He poured his passion for her into
the kiss, shifting his body so that he could pull her onto his lap. She straddled his thighs and caressed his
tongue with her own.
He had just moved his hands
underneath her shirt, his fingers reaching the clasp on her bra, when a knock
sounded on the front door. She pulled
from the kiss and gave him an apologetic smile. He groaned in frustration as he tried to control his breathing. She rubbed his chest in a soothing manner as
she slid from his lap and stood up.
He leaned his head against the
back of the couch and closed his eyes.
He sighed in slight annoyance when she opened the front door and he
heard a familiar voice.
“You’re all pink. Were you having sex?”
“Not yet.” She took a step back, biting her tongue as
Anya walked into the apartment. “What’s
up, Anya?”
Anya looked around and shook her
head in disbelief. “Still no
boxes. I said I wasn’t going to help
you guys pack, but that’s why I’m here.
To help you pack. I brought
boxes.”
Giles took a deep breath,
reigning in his frustration with having been interrupted once again. When he felt he had enough control to speak,
he stood up.
“Anya, it’s being taken care
of.”
“But, you haven’t
packed…anything!”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“And tonight is the last night
you’ll be here. Because you’ll be with
Xander and Oz tomorrow night. And the
night after, you’ll be in your house.”
“Another fact that I’m well aware
of, Anya.”
“Giles…”
He took another deep breath and
exhaled slowly. “Because it’s obviously
driving you crazier than you already are, I’ll let you in on something.”
Buffy snickered lightly and sat
down on the arm of the couch. Anya
tapped her foot impatiently.
“Tomorrow afternoon, the
removalists will be here. They will
pack everything up, move everything to the house, and unpack everything for
us.”
“You hired movers? That makes sense, except for the fact that
you won’t even let Xander touch some of your things. You’re going to trust movers to take care of your dusty old books
and breakable…stuff?”
“They work for the Council. They’re quite professional and are very
familiar with dusty old books and breakable stuff.”
Anya narrowed her eyes. “What if they steal something?”
He stared at her
incredulously. “They won’t steal
anything.”
Buffy chuckled. “Besides, Giles has everything
inventoried. If they steal anything,
he’ll know it.”
Giles sent her an unconvincing
glare. Anya thought about it for a
moment and then nodded.
“Okay. But, you could’ve just told me and saved me from going crazy.”
“I’m rather sure that wouldn’t
have helped you very much.” Giles
muttered dryly.
Anya gestured at nothing in particular
and walked back to the door. “Well,
since you don’t need help, I’m going home to wait for Xander so we can have
sex.”
Giles shook his head as the door
closed and walked over to stand in front of Buffy. “Where were we?”
She placed her hands on his hips
and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss against the denim-covered bulge in
front of her. “Not quite here…but, well
on our way.”
He inhaled sharply and reached
down to tilt her head up. As their eyes
met, he gave her a smile.
“Come to bed with me.”
She returned his smile and stood
up, purposely pressing her body against his growing erection. “You’re not wanting to take a nap, are you?”
His eyes darkened as his hands
flew to her hips, holding her body tightly against him. “I think not.” His breath caught briefly as she gyrated slowly against him. “And…if you keep that up, we won’t be making
it to the bed.”
She raised an eyebrow. “No?”
She smiled as he shook his head.
“What would happen?”
“I’m liable to take you right
here.” He answered huskily.
“Giles?”
“What?”
She licked her lips as she
unfastened her jeans. “Would you take
me right here?”
He gently rubbed the bulge in
his jeans as she slid hers down her legs.
“Is that what you want?”
She kicked her jeans to the side
and pulled her shirt over her head. As
she dropped the garment to the floor, she grinned at him. “What I want is for you to make me scream.”
His fingers unfastened his
jeans. “Buffy…”
She removed her bra and dropped
it on top of her shirt. “We can make love
tonight. All night, if you want.” Her hand moved down her body and she trailed
her middle finger through her wet folds.
“Right now…I want you to fuck me.”
She lifted her moist finger to his lips, moaning as he licked her fluid
from the digit. “I want it hard…and I
want you to make me come as fast as you can.”
He grasped her hips and kissed
her deeply before turning her and bending her over the arm of the couch. She spread her legs and tilted her hips
towards him. He pushed his jeans over
his hips and positioned himself behind her.
He gripped his erection and rubbed the head through her folds, taking
extra time to press against her clitoris.
She groaned loudly and pushed
back against him. “Please…”
He smiled, allowing his hand to
roam over her back. “I love the feel of
your skin, so smooth and soft.”
He leaned over her back and
moved his lips to her ear. His tongue
flicked against the lobe as he pushed his erection into her depths. “I also love the sensation of being inside
of you. So wet and hot. The way your muscles grip me when you
come…” He pushed his hips forward
quickly, embedding himself in her.
“Fucking you is so...do you know what really turns me on?”
“What?” She asked breathlessly as he pulled out and
slammed back into her.
“When I pull completely out of
you…and your juices drip from my cock.
Just knowing that I can do that to you…” He pounded into her, easily finding a hard and fast rhythm that
he knew she liked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The door suddenly opened, but
neither of them heard it. Anya opened
her mouth, but the words were lost as she took in the sight before her. Hearing the words he was uttering to Buffy,
she grinned brightly. Realizing that
they hadn’t even noticed that the door had opened, she stepped back outside and
quietly closed the door behind her. As
she made her way back to the car, she made a mental note to remind them to lock
their door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Giles…”
He kept his rapid pace, his
breath hot on her skin as he continued to speak softly in her ear. “I’m going to fuck you until you come. And as soon as you do, I’m going to turn you
around so you can see your come dripping from my cock. Is that okay with you?”
“Oh, yes…”
“And then you have a
choice.” His fingers tightened on her
hips. “Do you want to know your
choices?”
“Uh-huh…Giles…oh, God…”
“Don’t come yet. Hold on.”
He flicked his tongue against her lobe again. “You have three choices.
One…” He slammed against her and
she moaned. “I can fuck you again. Two…”
Another hard thrust and she groaned. “You can suck my cock until I come
in your mouth. Three…” A third long,
hard plunge and she shuddered underneath him. “I can come all over your breasts
and then use my tongue to clean your skin.”
She groaned loudly as she tried
to hold off her orgasm.
“Tell me…what do you want?”
Her fingers gripped the couch as
she used her strength to push her hips back against him. “Three…”
“Three it is.” He smiled lustfully and gently squeezed her
hips as he plunged into her. “Come,
Buffy. Let me feel you come…”
After two more hard thrusts, she
screamed his name loudly and flooded him with her juices. He kept thrusting into her until the
convulsions relaxed and then he pulled out and quickly turned her around.
She groaned at the sight of her
fluids dripping off the tip of his cock.
He licked his lips as his hand began stroking the hardened flesh. He knew it wasn’t going to take long, so he
increased the pace. He let out a loud
moan as his cock expanded in his hand.
She gasped in pleasure as his semen splattered across her chest.
He took a second to gaze at her
chest covered with his seed before sliding his tongue across her skin. Her body trembled as another orgasm washed
over her. As she came down he lifted
his head and plunged his tongue into her mouth. She sucked the lithe muscle greedily, her chest rumbling with a
growl as she tasted him on his tongue.
They gradually calmed the
ferocity of the kiss until it became a loving union. She sighed as he eventually broke the kiss and looked into her
eyes.
“All good?”
She smiled at his breathless
tone and nodded. “Very all good. So good that I need a shower before dinner
and patrol.”
He chuckled and stood up
straight, pulling her into his arms. He
glanced towards the door and narrowed his eyes. She looked up at him and smiled.
“What is it?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I forgot to lock the door…”
“Yeah…we got lucky this
time.” She leaned up and kissed him
softly. “Patrol with me tonight?”
He returned her kiss and
smiled. “I think I’d like that.”
She was perched on the table,
twirling a stake in her hand. She
offered him a smile as he came down the stairs, shrugging his jacket on.
“You ready?”
“Almost.” He returned her smile and made his way to
her. He moved between her legs and bent
his head, capturing her lips quickly.
He grinned when he broke the kiss and stepped back. “Now, I’m ready.”
She grinned back at him, hopping
off the table as a knock sounded on the door.
She glanced over her shoulder at him as she walked to the door. “Expecting someone?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
She shrugged her shoulders and
swung the door open, smiling when she saw the Scoobies. “Hey, what are you guys doing here?”
Willow grinned at her as they
filed into the apartment. “We talked it
over and...if it’s okay with the two of you...we’d like to patrol with you
tonight. You know...the last group patrol
while we’re all still of the unmarried variety...”
Giles chuckled and gave them a
nod. It was then that he noticed that
Xander’s face was slightly red and he wouldn’t meet Giles’ eyes...or even
Buffy’s, for that matter.
“Xander?”
“Huh? Yeah, patrol...with all of us...”
Giles took a step towards the
boy and narrowed his eyes. “Are you
feeling alright?”
“Me?” Xander winced as his voice cracked slightly. “Yeah, I’m of the good. Feeling good, I am.”
Buffy stared at Xander. “You’re being rambly Xand...what’s up?”
“Nothing...nothing at all. Nope, nothing’s up.”
Anya rolled her eyes as the
other four exchanged questioning glances with one another. “I’ll tell you what his problem is.”
Xander glared at his
girlfriend. “Anya!”
She rolled her eyes again and
then looked at Giles. “You really need
to remember to lock your door.”
Giles looked puzzled. Buffy felt a pang of dread.
“Excuse me?”
Anya huffed lightly. “Lock your door. Because, sometimes I forget to knock. And if the door is locked, then it occurs to me to knock before I
open the door.”
Buffy dropped her head, blushing
deeply. Willow and Oz darted their eyes
between Giles and Buffy. Xander
nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to look anywhere else. Giles still looked perplexed.
“I’m sorry, Anya. I’m not sure that I’m following you on
this.”
“This afternoon, when I came by
the second time. The door wasn’t...”
Giles paled and then immediately
began to redden. “The, uh...the second
time?”
“Yes. I was going to tell you something else, but you were fairly
preoccupied with...”
“Anya!” Xander interrupted her quickly.
Giles cleared his throat and
looked towards Willow and Oz. His blush
deepened when he saw the smiles gracing their faces. He took a deep breath and nodded quickly.
“I, uh...we won’t make the same
mistake again.”
Buffy chuckled softly as she
shook her head. Giles glared down at
her. She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess we didn’t get lucky that time,
huh?”
“No, I suppose not.” He looked back at Xander, who had finally
met his eyes. “Xander...it should come
to no surprise that Buffy and I are...intimate with one another.”
“Oh, no...it’s no surprise. And I’ve heard it…you know, when we were
researching the whole Slayer/Watcher mixing of blood thing…” His skin flushed lightly. “It’s just one thing to know and hear it and
another to have it described to you in graphic detail by someone who has
actually seen it.”
Oz grinned. Willow gasped as she tried to hold her
laughter in. Xander smirked
nervously. Anya beamed. Buffy and Giles looked at each other and smiled
in light embarrassment.
Giles finally gave a small nod
and cleared his throat again. “Yes,
well. Uh, we should...we should
go. Patrol, that is...the six of us.”
He followed the others out of
the apartment, stopping to pick up his keys from his desk. Anya’s voice could be clearly heard.
“You know, I never would’ve
picked you as a talker.”
“Oh dear Lord...”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Buffy and Giles were crouched
down beside one another and peered through the low hanging branches of a tree,
the other four surrounding them in silence.
“What the hell is that?”
He studied the demon carefully
and sighed. “That would be a Menstos
demon.”
“Like the candy?”
He turned his head slowly and
stared at her. “Menstos. Not Mentos.”
“Oh.” She turned and smiled at Willow when she heard her friend’s soft
giggle. “So what does the candy man
do?”
“I have a feeling that he’s not
full of sweet minty goodness.”
Giles turned his stare to
Xander. “No, he’s not. And could we please stop with the
chattering?”
Buffy glanced at him and
smiled. “Okay, so what’s the what,
Watcher Giles?”
“How many Giles’ are
there?” Anya asked quietly.
“Well, there’s ‘Watcher Giles’
obviously. And then there’s ‘Playful
Giles’, ‘Research Giles’, ‘Ripper Giles’, ‘Kiss...”
Giles interrupted her
quickly. “This is not the time to
discuss the abundance of Giles. Would
you like to know about this demon, or not?”
Hearing the annoyance in his
tone, she nodded. “I’m sorry.”
He gave her a curt nod and
turned back towards the demon. “Damn!”
“What’s wrong?” Buffy looked through the branches as Giles
stood up quickly. “He’s gone.”
“Yes, that would be the reason I
said ‘damn’.”
“I thought sex was supposed to
make you less cranky.”
Giles spun around and glared at
Anya. As he opened his mouth to speak,
Buffy laid her hand on his arm.
“Giles? Let’s go find the demon, okay?”
He picked up his crossbow and
turned away from Anya, following Buffy along the path as the other four
followed closely behind.
“Okay, so tell me about this
Menstos demon. Is this an apocalyptic
thing? Because...I have a wedding to be
at in less than forty-eight hours. And
if this thing screws that up, I’m going to really be pissed off.”
He chuckled softly, his earlier
frustrations almost instantly forgotten.
“It isn’t apocalyptic, but it is rather nasty. It shouldn’t interfere with your plans.”
She looked up at him and
smiled. “I’m sorry about earlier.”
He reached out and brushed his
fingers along her arm. “All is
well. But, we really should concentrate
on finding and...well...killing this demon.”
“Any special method I should
use?”
He shook his head and closed his
fingers around her arm, pulling her to a stop.
He gestured towards the clearing with his head and whispered softly.
“Your standard slice and dice
should be quite effective.”
He extended his arm behind him,
smiling when Xander handed him the sword he was carrying. He placed the sword in Buffy’s hand and
leaned forward, brushing his lips across hers.
“I’ll distract him.”
She nodded. “And I’ll dice him.” She turned and met the expectant gazes of
their friends. “Can you guys back us
up? If anything goes wrong?”
When they all gave her a nod,
she smiled and turned back to Giles.
“Any special powers or anything that I should know about?”
He shook his head. “No powers.
Sharp talons though. No
toxins. Just brute strength. And...watch out for his teeth.”
“Ready?”
He double-checked his crossbow
before giving her another quick kiss.
“Be careful.”
“You too.”
He took a deep breath and
stepped off of the path and into the clearing.
He was able to get halfway across before the demon turned and spotted
him. The demon snarled and rushed
him. Giles was able to take aim and
release the bolt before the beast reached him.
A howl of pain echoed as the
bolt penetrated the demon’s chest. It
swung out with its arm and connected with Giles’ shoulder, throwing him into
the air. He landed with a heavy thud,
Buffy’s scream sounding in his ears. He
lifted his head in time to see Buffy’s sword neatly separate the demon’s head
from its body. As the corpse fell to
the ground, he lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Buffy dropped the sword and ran
over to him as the other four bounded across the clearing.
“Giles!” She knelt beside of him, immediately
checking his head for injuries. Finding
none, she checked his pulse and sighed when she found that though it was
slightly elevated, it was steady.
“Giles?”
“Is he okay?” Xander crouched down on the other side of
him, concern showing clearly in his dark eyes.
His eyes fluttered open. “Ow.”
Buffy smiled in relief. “Nice job distracting him. You okay?”
He sat up slowly and rubbed his
shoulder. “I think so.”
He allowed Buffy and Xander help
him stand and he rotated his shoulder carefully. “Ow.”
“Again with the ‘ow’...should we
take you to the hospital?” Willow asked
as she checked him over.
He shook his head and laughed
softly. “No. The ‘ow’ comes from being thrown by a demon. I’m okay, just a few bruises I’m sure.”
“Pretty impressive landing,
though.”
Giles chuckled as he looked at
Oz. “Yes, well. I have had a fair bit of experience with
landings.”
“Can we go home now?” Anya asked quickly. She sighed when everyone looked at her. “I’m sorry, it’s not that I find this
boring. I do, but I don’t like seeing
Giles get thrown around. I want to go
home where Xander will be safe and not get thrown around.”
Buffy shook her head in
amusement. Giles lifted his wrist and
checked the time. “We could always come
back out for another sweep later.”
“That won’t be necessary
tonight.”
Six pairs of eyes turned towards
the voice. Buffy smiled softly.
“Hi Angel.”
“Hi. I…thought I’d come a day early to help out with anything. Cordelia and Wesley will be here tomorrow
afternoon. Gunn sends his well wishes
and his regrets at not being able to make it.
Pretty bad flu going around in L.A.”
He turned his eyes to the demon’s corpse. “Menstos, huh? Everyone
okay?”
“Yeah, we’re all good. Because…we were hiding in the bushes. It threw Giles a few feet though and then
Buffy chopped its head off.” Willow
grinned. “It’s good that you’re here,
Angel.”
Angel smiled at her before
looking at Giles. “And you’re okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Shoulder’s a bit sore, but other than
that…” He took a step forward and
winced in pain. “And possibly my hip…”
Buffy grabbed his arm to steady
him. “Should I take you to the
hospital?”
He smiled down at her and shook
his head. “No, I’m rather sure I’m
alright.”
Angel stepped closer and glanced
at Buffy. “Maybe you should take him
home. I’ll finish the patrol for you
and head out later for another sweep.”
“Are you sure? You just got here…”
“I’m sure, Buffy. I’ll be here for a while, we’ll have plenty of
time to catch up.”
“A while?” Anya’s eyes widened. “Buffy, are you…”
Buffy spun and glared at
Anya. “No, I’m not…for like the
millionth time, I’m not pregnant.”
“Then why is he going to be here
for a while?”
Buffy turned back to Angel, her
eyes asking the same question. Angel
cleared his throat and shifted his weight.
“I thought I might take care of
things for a week or so after the wedding.
You know, as like a wedding gift.
It’s not like you can go away for a honeymoon or anything. But, at least this way you’d be able to
spend the time together without having to worry about what’s going on with the
Hellmouth.”
Giles eyes lit up. “That is very generous of you, Angel. Thank you.”
Angel smiled at the
Watcher. “Well, every happy couple
should have a honeymoon of some sort.”
Buffy slipped her hand from
Giles’ and walked over to Angel, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “Thank you.”
He returned her hug and kissed
the top of her head. “You’re
welcome. Now…take your fiancé home and
fix him up.”
She let him go and returned to
Giles’ side. “Call if you need any
help?”
He gave her a quick nod. “I will.”
After everyone had said their
goodbyes, he watched them leave. He
smiled, almost sadly, as he watched Giles accept Buffy’s assistance as he
limped back towards the path.
Climbing the stairs to the
bedroom had been quite painful for Giles.
Painful enough that Buffy was seriously considering taking him to the
hospital, despite his insistence that he was fine. He gently laid himself down on the bed and rolled onto his
stomach. He sighed in relief when the
pressure was taken off of his hip.
“Giles?”
“I’m not going to the hospital,
Buffy.”
“Will you at least let me look
at it?”
He nodded into the pillows and shifted
slightly. She reached down and pulled
his shoes off, letting them drop unceremoniously to the floor. Then she stood there, pondering on how to
get his jeans off of him. She climbed
onto the bed and leaned over him.
“Okay, I need to get your jeans
off. It might hurt a little, but I’ll
try to be as gentle and quick as I can.”
“Okay.”
She took a deep breath and
slipped her hands around and underneath him to reach the buttons. Surprisingly, she was able to accomplish
that part fairly easily. He hissed
softly as her hand moved across his groin.
She chuckled and moved her hands
out from under him. “Even when you’re
in pain?”
He snorted lightly. “You’re here aren’t you? It’s a normal reaction when you’re here.”
Her fingers gripped the waistband
of his jeans. “Can you lift your hips a
little? If you can, it’ll make it a bit
easier to get these off.”
He groaned softly as he did what
she requested. He jerked as a sharp
sensation of pain hit when she slid the jeans over his hips.
“You okay?”
“Mm. It just…hurt. But, I’m
alright.”
She nodded, even though he
couldn’t see her, and quickly tugged the jeans down his legs and dropped them
to the floor. She carefully ran her
hands over his hips and narrowed her eyes.
“Giles, this doesn’t feel right. I’m gonna have to get rid of the boxers.”
“Are you just trying to get me
naked?” He smiled when he heard her
chuckle. “Because…you don’t have to use
this as an excuse.”
Her chuckle ended when she
removed his boxers and was able to get a good look at the injury. Through the stabbing pain, his mind
registered her silence.
“Is it that bad, Nurse Summers?”
“We can play doctor and nurse
later, Giles.” She placed her palms
against his hips and gently pressed.
When he sucked in a sharp breath, she sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. What’s the diagnosis?”
“Your hip is dislocated.”
“Bloody hell.” He shifted again, lifting his arms above his
head and gripping the headboard. “Go
ahead then.”
He shivered lightly when she
gripped his leg with one hand and placed the other on his hip. She looked up to find his eyes were closed.
“You okay?”
“I’m in a strange place at the
moment. Somewhere between pain and
intense arousal. It’s rather bizarre.”
She laughed softly. “On the count of three?”
“Okay…go.”
“One…” She pressed hard on his hip and tilted his leg slightly. When she heard the loud pop, she released
the pressure.
“Fuck me!” He growled as the pain shot through him.
“Is that an offer?”
He chuckled as she rubbed her hand
along his hip soothingly. “Well, it
wasn’t intended as one at the time.” He
shifted again, testing his hip. “Good
job.”
“And the pain?”
“Almost instantly
relieved.” He rolled onto his back
slowly and smiled at her. “Thank you.”
She glanced down at his
semi-hard flesh. “Are you well enough
that you could handle me being on top?”
He smiled as he began to
unbutton his shirt. “One way to find
out.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She called out his name as she
came. He pulled her onto his chest and
kissed her deeply as he rolled their bodies until he was lying on top of
her. He slowly broke the kiss and eased
out of her quivering core.
“Move onto your stomach.”
She rolled carefully, sighing in
bliss as his hands caressed her back.
“I think your hip is okay.”
“Mm-hm.” He leaned down and placed warm kisses down
her spine, causing her to shudder.
She moaned when she felt his hot
erection nudge against her. She
whimpered when he repositioned himself and moved further down the bed. She whispered his name when she felt his
tongue glide along the smooth flesh of her ass.
His teeth lightly nipped at her
sensitive skin as he slowly pushed two fingers inside of her wet core. He stroked her gently, curling his fingers
to brush across the rough patch of skin that caused her to moan pleasurably
with each stroke.
He lifted his head and looked
towards her face, which was partially obscured by the pillows. “Buffy?”
“Mm…”
“I’m going to do something
and…if you don’t like it and want me to stop…just say so, okay?”
She turned her head towards his
voice. “What are you going to do?”
He rubbed tight circles against
that special spot of skin inside of her, smiling when she groaned loudly. “Do you trust me?”
“Uh-huh…”
“I promise this won’t hurt.”
“Giles…what…”
Her question ended when she felt
his tongue trace the crevice between her cheeks. He used his free hand to spread them as much as he could and
dragged his tongue down the centre. She
gasped when his tongue flicked across the puckered opening.
“Giles!”
He smiled inwardly and nudged
the tip of his tongue inside. Her hips
jerked in response as his fingers increased their pace. He flexed his tongue inside of her, pressing
against the sensitive nerve endings. He
felt her inner muscles begin to clench around his fingers.
She let out a frustrated groan
as he removed his fingers and lifted his head.
He chuckled softly and gently rolled her onto her back. Her eyes were glazed with passion when he
met them.
“Giles…”
“Shh. I promise I won’t hurt you, darling.”
“You stopped…”
He shook his head and slid his
fingers back inside of her, coating them with her fluid. “No, I paused.”
He stroked her slowly and smiled
lovingly at her. “I need you to do
something for me.”
She looked down at him lying between
her legs and questioned him silently.
“I need you to put your legs
over my shoulders. I’ll be using both
hands and I can use my shoulders to change the angle.”
“Giles…”
“If you want me to stop at any
time…”
She lifted her legs over his
shoulders and gave him a nod. He gave
her another smile and lowered his head between her thighs. She moaned loudly as his tongue flicked
against her clitoris. He slowly removed
his fingers from her and replaced them with two fingers from his right
hand.
He looked up at her, watching
her face carefully as he slid his left hand underneath her and nudged his
come-slicked middle finger against her anus.
She lifted her hips automatically to give him more room. With all the gentleness he could muster, he
pushed his finger into her…slowly easing past the sphincter.
He groaned against her clit and
her hands clenched the sheets. He began
a gentle rhythm with his finger as his right hand began to thrust against
her. He sucked the quivering nub
greedily and her head flew back against the pillows as she screamed his name.
Feeling her body writhe under
his ministrations, he increased his thrusts with both hands until he knew she
was on the edge of her orgasm. As her
muscles began to convulse, he stopped his thrusts and licks and quickly moved
up her body. Just as she was getting
ready to voice her protests, he sank his throbbing erection into her and
plunged his tongue into her mouth.
He swallowed her scream as she
came suddenly, her juices flooding his quickly expanding cock. He was able to thrust into her six times
before he released her mouth and growled her name as he emptied himself within
her.
He fell to her side and pulled
her tightly against his chest. “Buffy…”
“Oh, God…Giles…” She shuddered in his arms as an aftershock
coursed through her body.
He fought to catch his breath
and used a trembling hand to tilt her head up so that he could look into her
eyes. “Was that okay?”
“Amazing…” She licked her dry lips. “I…that was a surprise…”
He smiled at her and kissed her
lightly. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
She shook her head quickly. “No, and…it makes me want you to do more
than use a finger…”
He chuckled softly. “All in time, darling. You’re nowhere near ready for that. But, if you want…we can start working
towards it…”
“Mm…I think I want.”
He grinned at her and captured
her lips in a loving kiss. As he rolled
onto his back with her in his arms, he broke the kiss and grimaced in
pain. She pushed herself up and looked
down at him worriedly.
“Are you okay?”
“I, uh…I think I may have become
a little too ambitious.”
She smiled sympathetically and
moved herself to his side. “Well, your
hip was dislocated. To be honest, I was
surprised that you were able to do half of the things you did.”
He chuckled as he stretched his
leg out. “Endorphins mask pain.”
She curled up beside of him,
resting her head on his shoulder and draping her arm over his chest. “Do you need me to get you anything?”
He shook his head and used his
free arm to reach over to the bedside table and open the top drawer. “No, I have everything I need right here.”
She looked up at him as he
pulled a medicine bottle out of the drawer and shook a couple of pills
out. “What’s that?”
He popped the pills into his
mouth and swallowed them quickly before dropping the bottle back into the
drawer. “Anti-inflammatories.”
She grinned. “You keep anti-inflammatory meds in your
bedside table?”
He met her eyes and smiled. “And where would you keep them?”
“Uh…the medicine cabinet in the
bathroom?”
He laughed gently. “And that is where I keep all other
medications. However, I learned very
early on after moving to Sunnydale that if I was in need of
anti-inflammatories, this was the best place to keep them.”
At her questioning look, he
continued. “If the pain and swelling of
an injury is enough to make me take these, I’m not going to feel like climbing
out of bed and walking to the bathroom for them.”
She nodded in understanding and
settled her head back on his shoulder, sighing softly as he wrapped his arm
around her.
“Should I have insisted you go
to the hospital?”
“They would have put my hip back
into place and given me anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling and
pain. You took care of the dislocation…and
I already had the medication. No need
to go to the hospital, darling.”
She nodded and tightened her arm
over him. “So we sleep now?”
“Mm. Sleep would’ve been another prescription the doctor would’ve
given.”
Buffy giggled as he stifled a
yawn. “Sounds and looks like you need
to sleep.”
“Perhaps. Though, this isn’t exactly how I envisioned
tonight.”
“No?”
He shook his head and yawned
again. “No. As I recall, this afternoon you said that we could make love all
night.”
She yawned herself and
smiled. “I did, but that was before a
Menstos demon threw you across the clearing.”
He placed a kiss on chest and met his eyes. “But…if you wake up at some point and feel okay…you can always
wake me up.”
He grinned sleepily and closed
his eyes. “I’ll remember that.”
She snuggled closer to him and
closed her eyes as well.
Willow knocked on the door and
waited. When no one answered, she
turned the knob. Finding it unlocked, she
tentatively opened the door and called out Giles’ name. When he didn’t answer, she stepped inside
and tilted her head. Hearing the soft
sound of music coming from the back patio, she smiled and closed the door
behind her.
He looked up when she stepped
outside and spoke his name, a pencil held lightly between his teeth and his
guitar resting on his thigh.
“Willow.” He said around the pencil in his mouth.
She smiled and sat down in the
chair opposite him. “Hi. I knocked, but I guess you didn’t hear
me. The door was unlocked and I
figured, since Buffy’s having lunch with her mom, it’d be safe enough to come
on in.”
He chuckled, removing the pencil
from his mouth and placing it on a few sheets of paper that were lying on the
table. “I was actually going to call
you in a few minutes to see if you could come over.”
“Really? What for?”
He smiled shyly and glanced at
the guitar on his lap. “I, uh…need your
opinion on something.”
“My opinion?”
He met her eyes. “I assumed that Oz runs his songs by you
before he takes them any further.”
Her eyes widened. “He does.
Did you write a song for Buffy?”
He nodded silently.
“And you want my opinion on
whether it’s good or not?”
He nodded again.
She giggled happily. “Well, play on, mister and let’s see what
you’ve got!”
He smiled and took a deep
breath. “Please remember that this is a
surprise?”
She nodded frantically. “Lips will be sealed. Play!”
He chuckled and positioned his
fingers over the frets. He inhaled
deeply and began to play, quickly losing himself within the song.
Willow sat back and smiled when
he began to sing. He looked up briefly
when he heard her soft sigh. He smiled,
coaxing the tune effortlessly from the guitar as he continued. He closed his eyes and let his emotions pour
out into his words.
As his fingers finished playing
the last remaining bars, he opened his eyes and licked his lips nervously. His eyes focused on the paper and pencil
resting on the table.
“I, uh…I’m not sure if it’s…right.”
When she didn’t say anything, he
inhaled slowly and lifted his eyes to hers.
She lifted her hand and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Giles, it’s beautiful. She’s going to love it.”
“You think so?”
She laughed softly at the
hopeful tone in his voice. “I know
so. When are you going to play it for
her?”
He tilted his head and ran his
hand through his hair. “I, uh…well, I
was thinking…maybe, uh…at the reception?”
Willow beamed at him. “Perfect song, perfect time, perfect place.”
He placed the guitar in the
chair beside of him and sighed. “So
many things have been less than perfect with us. I just want this to be…”
“Perfect?”
He smiled as he nodded. “Yes.”
“Trust me on this, I have
experience in telling people whether or not their songs suck. Your’s doesn’t suck…not by a long shot.”
He blushed lightly and reached
for the pencil. “Thank you, Willow.”
“There won’t be a dry eye in the
place after you sing this.”
He absently twirled the pencil
in his hand and exhaled deeply. “Would
you like to go to lunch with me today?”
She grinned and stood up. “I think I’d enjoy that immensely.”
He chuckled and pushed himself
up from the chair and dropped the pencil back onto the table.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Giles opened the front door and
followed Willow inside. He smiled as
Buffy met his eyes.
“Hello.”
She grinned and handed her
mother the notebook that she was holding.
“Hey there. Where’ve you been?”
“Oh, Willow and I went to
lunch.”
Buffy narrowed her eyes
playfully at her best friend. “You
trying to steal my man?”
Willow snorted. “As if that could ever happen.” She gestured towards Giles as she plopped
down on the couch. “That guy’s so hung
up on you, I wouldn’t have a chance.”
She glanced at Giles and seeing the
expression of near shock on his face, quickly began talking again. “Not that I would even try, because…hey,
dating a guitarist.”
She stopped her rambling
abruptly when she heard Giles laugh. He
leaned down and kissed Buffy’s lips lightly.
“She’s right, you know.”
“Hm?” She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against
his chest.
“About me being hung up on you.”
She grinned and placed a kiss on
his shirt-covered chest before stepping out of the embrace. “Well, it goes both ways. Have a nice lunch?”
“We did.” He cleared his throat softly, his face
reddening a bit, as she sat down on the arm of the couch. “And…you?
Did you two have a nice lunch?”
She chuckled at his reaction and
slid from the arm to the cushion. “We
had a great lunch. A lot of girl talk,
including what to expect on my wedding night and everything.”
She smiled, watching his eyes
widen. “But, if what she told me is
true…we should’ve been married months and months ago.”
His face reddened deeply and he
opened his mouth as he sank onto a chair, but no words came out. Buffy laughed loudly and shook her head.
“I’m joking, Giles. Not about having a great lunch, because we
did.”
“Oh.” He cleared his throat again and licked his dry lips. “Um, have you heard from your father?”
“Nope.” She shrugged her shoulders in
indifference. “Wasn’t really expecting
to. He’s probably in Spain or Madrid…”
“Madrid is in Spain.” He said softly.
She rolled her eyes. “I know that. I meant, Madrid or somewhere else in Spain. But, it’s no big…really. I have Mom, my bestest friends, Angel and
the guys…and you. What more do I need?”
He offered her a gentle smile as
she continued.
“Mom had a great idea earlier.”
“Oh?” He glanced towards Joyce and smiled at her.
“Yep. You know how I’m staying at Mom’s and you’re with Xander and Oz
tonight?”
“Yes.” He said almost sadly.
“Well, our wedding isn’t until
eight tomorrow night. So, there’s no
need for us to have an early night tonight.”
She smiled as he tilted his head in a silent request for her to go
on. “We could all go to dinner tonight
around six…and then, you and I can have our last date as a non-married
couple. As long as I’m home and out of
your sight by 11:59 tonight, we’ll fulfill Anya’s wishes.”
An understanding smile slowly
spread across Giles’ features. “We
could, uh…go to a movie, if you’d like.”
Her eyes sparkled. “I’d like.”
Joyce smiled brightly. “I kind of thought you’d be agreeable to
that plan, Rupert. So, I took the
liberty of making reservations at Clandestine for twelve.”
Giles mentally counted people
before shaking his head. “Thirteen.”
Joyce thought about it and then
began counting again. “Buffy, you,
Xander, Anya, Willow, Oz, me…that’s seven.
Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia…that’s three. So, we’re at ten. And
then, Peter and Amelia. That’s twelve.”
Giles glanced at Buffy. “You didn’t tell her?”
“Well...”
Joyce watched them
carefully. “Tell me what?”
“Well, it is a rather long
story…” Giles began.
“Giles’ ex-girlfriend is
Amelia. Someone cast a spell on her
that would only be broken if her first love had sex with her. Giles was her first love. So, he had sex with her to save her life.” Joyce’s eyes widened as Buffy took a
breath. “Travers was behind it, but had
to have a couple of people help. One of
those helpers was Julian…who is Peter’s boyfriend, who arrived in Sunnydale
yesterday. He’s the missing thirteenth
person.”
“Unless you’re Buffy. In that case, a rather long story can be
easily whittled down to less than a minute.”
Giles sighed.
Joyce shook her head in
disbelief. “When was this?”
Buffy echoed Giles’ sigh. “Four days ago.”
She stared at Giles. “You had sex with your ex-girlfriend four
days ago?”
Giles dropped his gaze. “It…it was the only way to…to save her
life.”
She turned her stare to her
daughter. “And you knew about this?”
Buffy nodded slowly. “I was here when the spell was cast. There was nothing anyone else could do…and
nothing else Giles could do. I’m okay
with this, Mom. Don’t think about it
too much, you’ll drive yourself crazy.”
She smiled and moved over to sit on Giles’ lap. “Just know that we’re okay. He didn’t cheat on me, he did what he had to
do to save someone’s life.”
Joyce took a deep breath as she
calmed herself. “Remember what I said
when I first gave you my blessing, Rupert?”
Giles gave her a
half-smile. “How could I forget,
Joyce? That’s not something you have to
worry about.”
Joyce nodded and then furrowed
her brow. “So…why is this Julian guy
invited to dinner if he helped with this spell thing?”
Buffy grinned and climbed off of
Giles’ lap. “Well, that is a long
story…so, I’ll let Giles fill you in on that one.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Joyce was at a loss for words as
Giles finished relating the entire story to her. He cleared his throat and dropped his gaze.
“I, uh...I couldn’t allow him to
be sent to rehabilitation. Not for
something that he wasn’t in control of.”
“He could have refused.”
“I wouldn’t have.” He lifted his head and met Joyce’s
eyes. “In fact, I didn’t.”
Buffy moved to his side and ran
her fingers through his hair. Joyce
looked at him quizzically.
“What do you mean?”
He sighed softly. “When the one person you love more
than...well, anything...is threatened, you’d be surprised as to what you would
agree to do.”
Buffy sat down on the arm of the
chair and took his hand in hers. He
squeezed her hand lightly before continuing.
“I knowingly stepped outside
that front door and gave myself to a vampire...to save Buffy’s life. Julian feared for Peter’s safety and Travers
told him that nothing would happen to Peter if he helped out on one little
spell.” His eyes never wavered from
Joyce’s. “What would you do?”
Joyce gave him a nod. “Do you trust him?”
“I do.” He released Buffy’s hand and slid his arm
around her. “He’s a good young
man. A first offence that he was
bullied into making should not require rehabilitation. His magic has been blocked for a set period
of time and he’s receiving counselling. He didn’t want this to happen, Joyce.”
Joyce turned her eyes to her
daughter. “And you trust him?”
Buffy nodded. “I didn’t want to. I wanted to be angry with him.
But, when I met him...Mom, he’s really a nice guy who was put in a bad
position with no other way to go.”
Joyce gave a deep sigh and
nodded. “I’ll change the reservation to
thirteen.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There were ten people sitting
around the table sharing stories and laughing when Amelia, Peter, and Julian
arrived. Giles looked up and smiled as
they approached the table. He quickly
stood and, after placing a kiss on Amelia’s cheek, introduced them to his
friends.
Joyce’s eyes darted between
Giles and Buffy as he kissed her, but relaxed when she saw that Buffy was not
at all distressed. She was even more
surprised when Buffy rose and gave the woman a brief hug.
Anya regarded Julian
carefully. Giles had instructed her to
treat him respectfully and asked her not to bombard him with questions
concerning the Primordium. When Julian
met her eyes, she offered him a smile.
“So, you’re Julian Leicester?”
Giles sent her a warning glance
to which she merely rolled her eyes.
Julian sat down beside of Peter and gave her a nod.
“Yes. And, you’re Anya.” He
smiled softly.
Anya smiled happily. “And you’re Peter’s boyfriend?”
“I am.” He placed his hand on Peter’s thigh
underneath the table, relaxing somewhat when Peter gave him a reassuring smile.
Anya gestured towards the young
man sitting beside of her. “This is
Xander. He’s my boyfriend. You can’t have him.”
To everyone’s surprise, Julian
gave a hearty laugh. “I’ll keep that in
mind, Anya. Though, I must say...Xander
is quite attractive. It’s a good thing
that I have Peter here to keep me in line.”
Xander’s mouth fell open,
causing Anya to laugh. She nudged him
in the ribs, laughing harder when he turned to look at her.
“He was joking, Xander. He doesn’t want you.”
Xander blushed lightly. “Yeah, kinda got that, An...thanks.”
Giles cleared his throat softly
and smiled. “Before this turns into a
list of people that Julian can’t have, how about we order a couple of bottles
of wine?”
“Uh, Giles?”
He turned to look at Buffy and
smiled. “Yes, I do remember that the
legal drinking age in America is twenty-one.
You’re not far off and you’re in the company of quite a few adults. One being your mother, another being the man
you’re marrying tomorrow. I think
you’ll be alright.” He leaned over and
kissed her lightly. “Besides, this is a
special occasion and a couple of glasses aren’t going to hurt.”
She grinned at him. “I like the sound of that.”
“Which part?”
“The part where you said ‘the
man you’re marrying tomorrow’.”
He returned her grin as he
motioned for the waiter.
* * * *
The dinner had gone remarkably
well and, true to his word, Giles had kept the three who were under twenty-one
at two glasses of wine. Julian had
eventually overcome his nerves and had actively participated in the
conversations taking place. Joyce had
found the young man quite charming and could see why Giles had made the
decision he had concerning his rehabilitation.
After dinner had been paid for,
they filed out to the parking lot.
Peter graciously declined the offer for him and Julian to continue the
evening with the others, citing the excuse of needing to finish off the last of
his paperwork concerning Giles and Buffy’s wedding. Giles had been able to successfully hide his grin, knowing that
wasn’t the only reason he and Julian were returning to their hotel room.
He leaned against the front
fender of the Explorer, wrapping his arms around Buffy as she leaned her back
against his chest. He dropped a kiss on
the top of her head, laughing as Anya went through her spiel of getting Buffy
home in time.
“Seriously, Giles. No later than 11:59.”
“I know, Anya. I promise, I’ll have her home by then.”
“And then you can pick up
Xander, Oz, Angel, and Wesley and take them with you. You can have a guys’ night and we’ll have our girls’ night at
Buffy’s mom’s house.”
He glanced at Angel and Wesley,
smiling softly. “There’s nothing
planned. I, uh...well, there’s not
going to be a party or anything of that sort.”
Angel visibly relaxed and Wesley
chuckled. “I rather think that I would
have been quite surprised if there had been a party.”
Giles stared at him. “What?
You think I don’t know how to have fun?”
Wesley back-pedalled quickly,
stammering as he did so. “No, no,
that’s not...I didn’t mean that...”
Buffy and Giles laughed,
everyone else joining in quickly.
“Relax, Wesley. I was just having some fun.”
Wesley glared unconvincingly at
Giles. “Yes, well. Very funny.”
“I thought so.” Giles grinned at the younger ex-Watcher.
Buffy grabbed Giles’ wrist and
turned it so she could read the time.
“Oh, we’ve gotta book if we’re going to make it to the movie.”
Anya crossed her arms. “Okay, we’re all going to the Summers
house. Giles...”
“I know, Anya. 11:59 at the latest.”
“No excuses. Unless you’re attacked by demons and get
knocked out or...”
Xander grabbed Anya and pulled
her towards the car. “I think he’s got
it, An.” He smiled at Giles and
Buffy. “Have fun at the movie. See you in a few hours.”
After everyone had piled into
various cars and pulled out of the parking lot, Buffy stepped forward out of
Giles’ arms. Hearing him sigh, she
turned to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He smiled as she gave him the look that said
she didn’t entirely believe him. “I was
just...quite comfortable where we were.”
“You were comfortable leaning
against a car?”
“I was comfortable with your
body leaning against me.”
She moved back to him, sliding
her arms around his neck and gently pulling him down. His arms wrapped around her waist as she captured his lips and
quickly deepened the kiss with passion.
She gasped in surprise when he effortlessly turned their bodies so that
her back was pressed against the Explorer and began to push the kiss into
slightly dangerous territory.
When she felt him begin to
harden against her, she pulled from the kiss and smiled. “If we don’t stop now, we might have the
cops called on us for indecent exposure.”
His breathing was heavy and he
stared into her eyes. “Do you want to
stop?”
“We’ll miss the movie.”
He chuckled softly. “We’d miss the movie anyway, darling. You and I...movie theatre. We haven’t seen an entire film as of
yet.” He leaned down and kissed her
again. “Do you want to stop?”
She shook her head slowly. “I really, really don’t.”
He licked his lips, his mind
going through options. He smiled,
pulling away from her and opening the car door. “Get in.”
She grinned at him as she
climbed into the passenger seat and he closed the door.
She giggled as he closed the
door and pushed her back against it.
“Something funny?”
She smiled as she reached out
and started undoing the buttons on his shirt.
“Kinda. We’ve been living
together, alone, for months in your apartment.”
“Mm...” His hand slid between her back and the door
and slowly pulled the zipper of her dress down.
“We own a house...” She quickly unbuckled his belt and started
working on his slacks.
“Mm-hm.” He allowed the dress to slide down her body
and pool at her feet.
“And...we go to a hotel to have
sex the night before we get married.”
He met her eyes and smiled as
she pushed his shirt from his shoulders.
“The removalists are at the
apartment.” He kicked off his shoes and
began manuevering her towards the bed.
“Uh-huh...” She sat down on the edge of the bed and
looked up at him.
“Our house isn’t set up
yet...” He quickly removed her bra and
dropped it to the floor.
“Yeah...” She reached out and tugged his slacks and
boxers down.
“Your mother’s house is
definitely out of the question.” He sat
down beside of her and removed his slacks, boxers, and socks.
She licked her lips as her hand
curled around his erection.
“Definitely.”
He hissed in pleasure and gently
pushed her back onto the mattress. He
leaned over her, pressing a soft kiss to her stomach as he worked her underwear
down her legs.
“And I couldn’t make love to you
in the car.”
Her fingers combed through his
hair as he dropped the silk to the floor and moved his mouth up her torso. “Why not?”
He lifted his head and looked
into her eyes as he carefully pushed her to the centre of the bed. “Not enough room.”
She smiled lovingly at him as he
stretched out beside of her. “And
so...a hotel room for a few hours.”
He rolled onto his back and
pulled her on top of him. “Mm-hm. There’s a bed...a door with a lock...and
you. That’s all I need right now.”
She leaned down and kissed him
before whispering softly. “I’m going to
marry you.”
“I love you.” He smiled and pulled her back down to his
lips. “Make love to me, Buffy.”
In response, she slid down and
flicked her tongue against his nipple.
He groaned softly, cupping his hand behind her head and holding her to
him as her mouth latched onto the sensitive flesh.
“Oh, God...Buffy...”
“Mm?” Her tongue bathed his skin.
“Feels so good...”
He gasped when she moved her
mouth to his other nipple and ground her hips against him. She lifted her head and smiled.
“Still feel good?”
He nodded and slid his hands
down to her hips, holding her tightly against his erection as he thrust gently
against her. She closed her eyes at the
contact and pushed herself up until she was sitting astride him. She slowly began to move with him, moaning
as his hard flesh moved through her wet folds.
“Giles...”
His hands tightened on her hips,
dragging her across his erection. “You
could make me come like this. Just
feeling how wet and hot you are...”
She leaned forward slightly,
resting the palms of her hands on his chest.
She moved with his hands, whimpering his name as his shaft pressed along
her clitoris. Her eyes snapped open
when he shifted her until she was straddling his abdomen.
He smiled up at her, his hands
still manipulating her hips. “Rub
against me, Buffy. Let me feel your
juices on my skin.”
She gyrated her hips against his
stomach, moaning as the soft hair tickled her aching clit. He could feel her wetness coat his flesh as
she moved on top of him. His hands
found their way to her breasts, her nipples already hard and sensitive. He rolled the nubs between his fingers,
whispering her name as she moved harder against him.
“Come on me, Buffy. Let me feel it...”
She opened her eyes with effort
and gazed down at him. “Make me come,
Giles...”
He held her gaze and
concentrated on holding his hips still.
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Pinch my nipples...”
She groaned loudly as he
complied, increasing the pressure until she was writhing on top of him. The head of his erection pressed against her
lower back, spreading his pre-cum across her skin.
“Giles...”
“Oh dear Lord...Buffy...come for
me...please...”
He pinched a little harder,
groaning with her as she came and saturated his stomach with her fluids. Her body trembled as she fell onto his chest
and allowed him to roll them over until he was lying on top of her.
Her inner muscles were still
quivering when he pushed his erection into her depths. His stomach rubbed against hers, spreading
her juices onto her skin as well. His
strokes were long and deep, slowly building her to another orgasm. He bent his head and placed hot open-mouthed
kisses along her collarbone. When he
reached her shoulder, he nipped lightly with his teeth.
She bucked her hips against him,
her hands struggling to hold onto his sweat-covered back. “Giles!”
He pushed himself up slightly
with his hands on the mattress on either side of her head. He looked down at her and smiled
softly. “I know you’re close...”
“Mm...”
“Let go for me.” He leaned down and traced his tongue along
her lips. “I can feel your heat
building. Go with it, darling. Come for me...”
He felt her tremble at his words
and increased his pace. Her moans
became louder and he lowered his mouth to her ear.
“Can you feel how hard and hot
my cock is?”
“Uh...”
“Can you feel it pulse within
you?” He flicked his tongue against her
earlobe. “You do this to me,
Buffy. You make me so hard.”
He smiled as she bit back a
scream and tightened her fingers in his hair.
“Oh, you can scream, love.” He pushed harder into her.
“People...will...hear...”
“Mm...probably.” His teeth nipped lightly at her neck. “I don’t care...I want to hear you scream.”
“Giles...”
“I’m close, Buffy. Do you want me to come with you?”
“After...”
His tongue slid across the scar
on her neck. He shifted his weight and
slid one hand down to her hip, grasping it tightly and changing the angle of his
penetration. Her body began to shudder
immediately.
“That’s it.” He whispered in her ear. “When you come, you’re going to milk my cock
dry, do you know that?”
Her nails raked across his
shoulders. “Giles!”
“Buffy...” He closed his mouth over her scar and sucked
the tender flesh as he quickened his strokes.
“Oh...God...”
He nibbled on the raised tissue
and slammed his hips against her. His
name left her lips on a loud scream as her orgasm hit. He lifted his upper body from her, arching his
back as her inner muscles convulsed violently around him. He rode it out as long as he could before
calling her name and flooding her walls with his semen.
He moved to her side, rolling
her onto her side so that she was facing him.
Before she had a chance to speak, he covered her mouth with his. His tongue caressed hers, his hand rubbing
soothingly across her skin. He pulled
from the kiss, smiling as she whimpered, and laid his head on the pillow.
She ran her hand down to his
stomach and smiled. “You’re sticky.”
“Mm-hm.” He chuckled softly. “I’m rather sure you are as well.”
She lifted her head and looked
over his shoulder to the alarm clock resting on the bedside table. “It’s 9:30...”
His thumb brushed across the
side of her breast. “That gives us a
little over an hour or so.”
She met his eyes and licked her
lips. “Any ideas about what we could do
for that time?”
“I’m sure I could come up with
something.” He grinned at her, his eyes
sparkling. “Do you have any ideas?”
“Mm-hm.” She leaned into him and licked his chin
sensually. “Would you like to hear my
idea?”
“I would.” He whispered huskily.
She looked into his eyes. “It starts with me getting you hard again
with my mouth.”
His eyes darkened as he lifted
his hand, his thumb tracing her lips.
“And how does it end?”
Her tongue darted out and licked
his thumb. “I haven’t thought that far
ahead.”
He took a deep breath as her
teeth nibbled along his thumb. “Give me
a few minutes to recover?”
She smiled and pushed him onto his
back before snuggling against him and resting her head on his chest. “Okay.
We can talk for a few minutes, if you want.”
He laughed gently. “What’s on your mind, Buffy?”
She lifted her head and gazed at
him. “What makes you think anything’s
on my mind?”
He tucked a strand of hair
behind her ear. “You agreed too
quickly. Talk to me.”
She placed a kiss on his chest
and then pushed herself up to a half-sitting position beside of him. “Have you ever done this before?”
He moved up and rested his back
against the headboard. “What ‘this’ are
you speaking of, exactly?”
“Gone to a hotel to have sex.”
He rubbed his neck lightly. “I’ve had sex in a hotel before.”
“That’s not really what I
meant. I meant...have you taken a woman
to a hotel purely for sexual reasons?”
“Ah.” He smiled lovingly at her.
“No. No, I haven’t.”
“Not even in your Ripper days?”
He snorted in amusement. “Especially not in my Ripper days. In those times, it didn’t matter where I
was. And...I wasn’t particularly fond
of spending money on my sexual conquests.”
“Oh.”
He offered her a smile. “And, this wasn’t a trip to a hotel for sex,
Buffy.”
“No?” She laughed gently. “We
didn’t come here for the atmosphere.”
His smile softened. “Well, true. But, I brought you here to make love with you because we had
nowhere else to go.”
“That’s kinda the same thing,
isn’t it? I mean, the purpose of
getting a hotel room was...”
“You should know by now,
Buffy. There is a huge difference
between having sex and making love in my eyes.”
“I do know that.” She whispered. “I don’t think we’ve ever had sex by that definition.”
Her smile returned as he raised
an eyebrow in a silent question.
“Even when you fuck me, you’re
making love to me.” She lowered her
eyes briefly. “I’ve been fucked before
and it’s nothing like it is when it’s with you.”
“Look at me.”
She raised her eyes and
sighed. He took a deep breath when he
saw the sadness in her eyes.
“I’m not going to ask you who
treated you in that way. Mainly because
if I did, I’d want to cause him bodily harm.”
He caressed her cheek. “But, I
can tell you why it feels differently with me than...whoever it was.”
“Because you love me.”
He gave her a smile. “Because I’m in love with you.” He cleared his throat softly. “And that love will always come through in
my physical actions...no matter what we’re actually doing at the time.”
“I know. I feel it...in your touches, in your
kisses. I see it in your eyes. I hear it in your voice.”
“There’s really no proper way to
say this, so I’m just going to say it.”
He paused until she gave him a nod.
“I will fuck you whenever you want, however you want, and wherever you
want. But, you will never be fucked by
me.” He shook his head slightly. “I confused myself in that, but do you
understand what I’m trying to say?”
“I do.” She sighed deeply. “I’m sorry.”
“For what, darling?”
“Well, this got a little
serious, didn’t it?”
“A little.” He agreed quietly. “But, I think it was something that needed to be said. And...we can always lighten things up...”
Her smile touched her eyes as
she leaned forward and kissed him soundly.
“Is your recovery time over?”
“Only if you’re comfortable
continuing this.”
She grinned as her hand slid
down his body. “I am so ready to
continue this...”
“Buffy?”
Her hand stopped on his lower
abdomen. “Yeah?”
“Do you realize how magnificent
you truly are?”
“I know how you make me
feel.” Her eyes shone brightly with her
love for him. “And I hope that you know
how amazing you are.”
He smiled brightly at her and
ran his hand through her hair. “I know
how you make me feel.”
“Giles?”
“Yes?”
“Just for that...” She shifted her body until she was kneeling
next to his hip. “I’m going to suck you
until you come in my mouth.” Hearing
his groan, she grinned. “If that’s
alright with you.”
She watched his eyes darken with
lust and then lowered her head. He
growled her name as she ran her tongue along his hardening length. She met his eyes as she closed her mouth
around the glans. He groaned loudly as
she laved it with her tongue.
“Come here.”
“Mm?”
“Everything we’ve done...there’s
something we haven’t. Let me taste
you...”
Her eyes flickered with desire
and she slowly lifted her mouth from his erection. “How do you want me?”
He tilted his head and smiled at
her. “You’ve never had mutual oral
intercourse?”
She chuckled softly. “Very clinical, Giles. And, no...I’ve never, um...participated in a
sixty-nine.”
He smiled adoringly at her. “Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I
do. Um...climb on top of me and rest
your knees just below my shoulders.”
She followed his instructions
and looked over her shoulder at him.
“Like that?”
“Mm, perfect.” He lifted his hands and pulled her hips
closer to him. His breath was warm
against her moist flesh when he spoke again.
“I’ll let you start first this time.
And...don’t worry if you lose your rhythm at some point, okay?”
She nodded slowly and lowered
her head. His hands massaged the backs
of her thighs as she took him back into her mouth. He waited until she had established her rhythm and then gently
pulled her hips down. He felt her moan
against his hardened flesh as his tongue dragged slowly through her folds. He was mildly surprised that she kept her
rhythm.
She skipped a beat, however,
when he suddenly dipped his tongue inside of her. He smiled to himself as he began to slowly caress her inner walls
with his tongue. She responded by
pulling back and sucking hard on the head of his erection. His fingers tightened on her hips and he
groaned against her.
She placed her hands on his hips
to keep him from thrusting into her.
Her warm mouth slid down his length and as she worked her way back to
the head, he moved his mouth until it captured her clitoris. She released him, a loud moan escaping her
lips as he sucked hungrily on the hardened nub.
She ground her pelvis against
his mouth as her warm hand encircled his hard shaft. She felt the pulse in the large vein on the underside quicken as
she began to stroke him. He groaned in
ecstasy as she took him back into her mouth.
Her tongue bathed the flesh as her hand quickened its pace.
His tongue found its way back through
her folds and thrust quickly into her wet depths. He matched her rhythm, a moan rumbling in his chest when he felt
her begin to tremble above him. She
increased her suction and moved her hand, enabling him to slide into her
throat. His hips thrust upwards
instinctively.
He moved his left hand
underneath her, quickly finding her throbbing clit. She rotated her hips against him as his fingers quickly circled
the sensitive flesh. He increased the
pressure when he felt her muscles begin to clench around his tongue.
She lifted her head slightly
until only the glans was held in her mouth again. She sucked him hard, her hand rapidly stroking his thickening
shaft. His right hand gripped her hip
tightly. She felt the vibrations of his
groan two seconds before she felt his come hit the roof of her mouth. She swallowed greedily, her nails lightly
scratching his flesh as she flooded his mouth with her own fluids.
She collapsed on top of him,
completely spent. He placed a soft kiss
on her inner thigh, his body quivering as she released his softening
member. She gingerly moved until she
was lying beside of him. She looked
into his eyes as he pulled her into his arms.
“Dear Lord...”
He smiled, a sated expression on
his face. “Mm-hm...”
“Intense much?”
He chuckled and licked his
lips. “Too intense?”
“Never.” She grinned at him and glanced at the
clock. “Damn...”
“Hm?”
“It’s almost 10:30.”
He sighed sadly and kissed her
lips. “We should take a shower before
we leave...”
“Yeah, it probably would be a
good idea.”
“But...”
She looked into his eyes when he
paused. “But?”
“Will you just hold me for a few
minutes first?”
She smiled and snuggled against
him, draping her arm over his chest.
“You don’t even have to ask, honey.”
He smiled happily and wrapped
his arms around her, careful not to let his eyes close.
He pulled into the driveway and
killed the engine. He glanced at the
clock and smiled.
“Twenty-seven minutes to spare.”
Buffy grinned at him. “Anya will be so pleased.”
When she let out a deep sigh, he
turned to look at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to go in yet.”
His hand suddenly reached out,
wrapping around the back of her neck.
He pulled her towards him as he leaned over the console towards her.
“Giles!”
“We still have twenty-six
minutes.” He whispered quickly just
before his mouth covered hers.
Her fingers threaded through his
hair as she returned his passion-filled kiss.
He sucked her tongue hungrily before breaking the kiss and leaving her
panting. His hand moved to the side of
her face, his thumb brushing along her cheekbone. His lips were nearly touching hers when he spoke.
“You taste like me.”
“And you taste like me.” She slowly ran her tongue across his bottom lip
before pulling back slightly. “We,
uh…should probably stop.”
He shook his head and allowed
his lips to lightly touch hers. “I’m
just kissing you.”
She grinned and let her fingers
caress his ear. “There’s no such
thing.”
His eyes closed as she lightly
fingered his earring. “Buffy…kiss me.”
Hearing the almost desperate
tone in his voice, she found herself unable to resist and captured his lips
again. He groaned into her mouth and
quickly deepened the kiss. When he
heard her muffled whimper, he moved his mouth to her ear.
She gasped as he nibbled the
lobe in the way he knew drove her crazy.
“Giles…”
“I love you.” He whispered softly as he wrapped his arms
around her and nuzzled her neck.
“I love you too.” She melted into his embrace. “This is such a stupid tradition…”
He chuckled and pulled his head
back to look into her eyes. His chuckle
ended when a tear threatened to tumble over her eyelid.
“I want nothing more than to
hold you all night.”
She sighed and rested her hand
on his shoulder. “Then let’s just say
to hell with this tradition and go home.”
His thumb caressed her cheek as
he gave her a gentle smile. “We’ve
already agreed to abide by Anya’s wishes.
We can’t go against that now.”
He leaned forward and kissed her as she nodded in resignation. “Besides…we can’t go home.”
“Yeah, kinda forgot about
that.” She gave him a half-smile. “I want to kiss you again.”
Puzzlement shone in his eyes
when she made no move to kiss him.
“But, you’re not going to?”
“If I do, I’m not going to be
able to stop. I’m not that strong right
now.”
He thought for a brief second
and then smiled as he moved towards her lips again. “Then let me be the strong one.”
If she were going to protest,
she didn’t have time before his tongue gently slipped between her lips. His kiss was slow and loving, full of
passion and desire but not aggressive.
Her hand moved from his shoulder to his chest. He moaned softly as she rubbed her palm soothingly over his
heart.
He slowly broke the kiss and she
dropped her hand from his chest. She
smiled when her hand fell to his lap.
“You’re hard…”
His hand covered hers,
preventing her from moving away as well as keeping her from caressing him. “Mm.
Have been for a while now.” He smiled
at her in adoration. “It seems to be a
common side effect of kissing you.”
She raised an eyebrow at him as
his grip tightened on her hand when she tried to move it. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“I…like the feeling of your hand
on me. Just…resting there.”
“Do you want me to…”
He shook his head, quickly
cutting her off. “No. Well…yes.
But, we can’t. There’s not
enough time.”
“I can’t leave you like this,
Giles.”
He chuckled softly. “It’s fine, Buffy. It’s not as if I wasn’t in this state rather often before.”
“Before?”
He raised his free hand and
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Before we were together. Before
you moved in with me. Before you come
home from patrol.” He loosened his hold
on her hand and glanced at the clock. “I, uh…I should get you inside.”
“We just got here.” She darted her eyes to the clock and sighed
heavily. “Well, it feels like we just
got here.”
He inhaled deeply when she
lifted her hand from his lap. He closed
his eyes briefly and then opened the car door.
* * * *
Anya opened the door just as
they stepped onto the porch. “You have
five minutes.”
“Feels more like an execution
than the night before my wedding.”
Buffy muttered.
Giles chuckled and ushered her inside. As Anya closed the door behind them, Giles
glanced around the living room to find everyone staring at them. His hand lightly squeezed Buffy’s. She smiled up at him, realizing his dilemma.
She reached up and pulled his
head down towards her. “Just tell me
goodbye here. If they don’t want to see
us kissing, they’ll look away.”
“Four minutes.” Anya piped up brightly.
“I should make these four
minutes count.” He smiled and closed
the gap between their lips.
She opened to him immediately,
coaxing his tongue into her mouth.
Truth be told, she didn’t have to coax much. She stumbled backwards, the passion he was emoting intense enough
that she lost her balance. He moved
with her, unwilling to break the kiss.
He grunted softly when her back hit the wall, causing his body to press
firmly against hers.
Xander averted his eyes
quickly. “Holy bejesus!”
Anya rolled her eyes at her
boyfriend. “It’s a good thing you
weren’t with me the other day.”
Neither Giles nor Buffy heard
the banter. Or if they had, they were
too involved to react. Her arms held
him tightly as she pulled back slightly and nipped his bottom lip with her
teeth.
Anya glanced at her watch. “Three minutes, guys.”
Giles gazed into Buffy’s eyes,
lifting his hand to touch her face as he whispered. “You’re really going to marry me?”
She smiled as she nodded. “I really am. Kiss me again, Giles.”
As he complied with her request,
Cordelia’s eyes widened.
“My God. Are they always like that these days?”
Willow shook her head, smiling
brightly. “Not normally, no. At least…not in public.”
Oz grinned. “Special occasion though.”
Xander cradled his head in his
hands. “I’m never going to get this
image out of my head.”
Giles swallowed Buffy’s moan and
moved his hand to her hip, stopping her movement before she could grind against
him.
“Two minutes.”
Joyce and Amelia walked out of
the kitchen, coming to a dead stop when they took in the scene in front of
them. Wesley followed them out, his
face immediately reddening.
“Oh.”
Xander looked up at the
ex-Watcher and shook his head. “Right
there with ya, Wes.”
Buffy whimpered as Giles slowly
ended the kiss and pulled her tightly against his chest. “Christ, I love you, Buffy.”
“One minute. Finish it up.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“I don’t want to go.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I, uh…I should say goodnight. Anya’s going to tear you from my arms soon.”
“Why does twenty hours seem like
more than a year?”
He smiled and loosened his hold on
her. “We’ll be fine, darling. You could…you could call me, if you want.”
“I will.” She glanced over as Anya took a step towards
them. “I have a feeling it’s time.”
He nodded slowly. “Goodnight, my love.”
He gave her another soft kiss
and took a step back. She sighed as he
stepped out of her embrace, grateful that the wall was supporting her.
“Goodnight, Giles. I love you.”
He grinned and gave her a
wink. “I love you too.”
Anya grabbed his arm and pulled
him towards the door. “Sorry, but you
have to go now.”
Xander, Oz, and Wesley made
their way to the door as Giles gazed at Buffy.
They shared another smile and an unspoken vow of love before Anya pushed
him out of Buffy’s sight. Anya grabbed
Buffy’s arm and pulled her up the stairs with less than thirty seconds to go
until midnight. The sound of Buffy’s
bedroom door closing sounded just before the clock began to chime.
He cleared his throat when he
turned his head and met the eyes of Amelia and Joyce. “Oh, hello.”
Joyce smiled as Amelia laughed
gently at the embarrassed tone in Giles’ voice. He ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture and glanced
towards the stairs.
“I, uh…we, uh…we were saying
goodnight.”
“Forgot we were here, huh?” Cordelia grinned at him.
His face flushed lightly. “Something like that.”
Xander chuckled. “Come on, G-Man…let’s head out.”
Giles turned and glared at
him. Xander waggled a finger at him
before Giles could admonish him.
“If I have to see you and Buffy
doing…” He gestured blindly towards the
space that had been recently vacated by the Watcher and the Slayer. “That…then,
you can’t say anything about me calling you ‘G-Man’ one time.”
Giles grinned shyly. “Fair enough.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There was an uncomfortable silence
hanging in the Explorer as Giles pulled out of the driveway and headed towards
Xander’s apartment. He glanced in the
rearview mirror and caught Oz’s eyes.
Oz gave him a soft smile and a nod.
Giles returned the gesture and, surprisingly, began to relax.
“Did Angel go on patrol?”
Xander nodded. “Yep.
He said he’d stop by after. You
sure you don’t wanna go to a club or something?”
Giles chuckled. “I’m rather sure, thank you. However, I could stop on the way and pick up
something to drink, if you’d like.”
Wesley raised an eyebrow. “Is that wise?”
Giles rolled his eyes. “Oz is twenty-one, Xander will be next
month. A few beers aren’t going to hurt
anyone. In fact, it could help lift the
tension that’s hanging around.”
Oz smirked. “I’m not tense, but I wouldn’t say no to a
few beers.”
Wesley sighed dramatically. “Very well then.”
Giles gave him a sideways
glance. “Thank you for giving me your
permission, Wesley.”
Xander snorted in amusement.
Wesley cleared his throat. “Buffy doesn’t call you ‘Rupert’?”
“Hm?” He pulled into the parking lot of a store that was still
open. “Oh, she does. Occasionally, not very often.”
Xander closed his eyes. “I so don’t want to hear this.”
Oz tilted his head. “I’ve heard her call him ‘Rupert’.”
Xander stared at Oz. “When?”
“During patrol one night. Buffy was a little…moody…and she got a
little upset with him.”
“That would be an
understatement.” Giles laughed and
pulled the car to a stop. He looked
over at Wesley and smiled. “She only
calls me ‘Rupert’ when she’s mad at me.”
Xander relaxed. “Oh…”
Wesley looked intrigued. “Doesn’t that bother you? I mean, that she
doesn’t use your name?”
He pulled the keys out of the
ignition and rested his hand on the door handle. “She does use my name.
Giles…it’s one of three names given to me when I was born.”
“But…it’s your surname…”
“What do you call me, Wesley?”
“But, I’m not your lover.”
Giles stared at him, amusement
showing clearly in his eyes. “No, you
definitely aren’t.”
Xander laughed when Wesley was
rendered speechless. Giles grinned and
opened the door.
“Who’s coming with me?”
The two back doors opened
immediately. Wesley sighed and opened
his door as well. As they walked into
the store, Xander looked at Giles and smiled.
“So, Giles…what is your
middle name?”
Giles chuckled and made his way
to the walk-in beer cooler.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cordelia sipped her coffee and
smiled at her old schoolmate. “So,
Buffy…you and Giles. How did that
happen?”
“Huh?”
“Not that it surprised me,
because… ‘hey, I’ll just spend all of my time in the library in high school
because that’s such a normal thing to do’.”
Buffy narrowed her eyes. “There was nothing going on then, Cordelia.”
Willow nodded in agreement. “That’s true. I was the one with a crush on him back then.”
Cordelia stared at Willow. Willow blushed lightly.
“But, I’m over that now. Because…I have Oz and Buffy has Giles.”
Buffy grinned at the red head
before turning back to Cordelia. “He
let me hear him sing.”
“What?”
Buffy smiled and picked up her
mug. “Oh, I loved him way before
then. But, when he sang for me, I knew
I had to tell him.”
Cordelia shook her head. “So, he’s sitting there singing and you just
blurt out ‘I love you’?”
Buffy smiled at the memory of
that night. “Oh, no. He sang the song, we had a discussion about
what music means to him, and after a fairly tense moment…he kissed me.”
Anya snickered. “Well, that’s romantic.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow. “And how did you and Xander get together?”
Anya straightened in her
seat. “Well, that was different. And, we love each other now. That’s what matters.”
Cordelia laughed and curled her
legs up under her. “Your mother seems
to be okay with everything.”
Buffy grinned. “Well, that took a little while. And a lot of convincing on Giles’ part. But, yeah…she’s happy for us.”
Cordelia reached over and
grabbed a handful of chips. “So, when
did you know that you wanted to marry him?”
Buffy sighed happily. “That night. Well, a few hours after he kissed me.”
Willow raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“You remember when you called
Giles after your double date movie night?” When Willow nodded, she
continued. “And then Giles and I met
you guys there? Well, when I went over
to check on him after that one vamp threw him into the mausoleum wall and he
smiled at me…that’s when I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with
him.”
“That’s kind of romantic.” Cordelia popped a chip in her mouth and
chewed. “And, slightly grotesque.”
Buffy shrugged her shoulders and
laughed. “I’m the Slayer, he’s my
Watcher. Would you expect anything
less?”
Willow beamed. Anya rolled her eyes and chuckled. Cordelia thought about it for a second and
then gave her a nod.
“Weird, but…it fits.”
When Wesley popped the top off
his fifth bottle of beer, Oz raised an eyebrow. Giles sat back and grinned as he nursed his third bottle.
“Y’know, Giles…I find it a
little hum’rus…”
Xander stared at him. “You find it what?”
“Hum’rus.”
Xander took a swallow of his
beer and looked over at Giles. Giles
smiled and pointed towards Wesley with the neck of his bottle.
“I think he’s attempting to say
‘humourous’. It’s drunken Wesley
English.”
“Oh, okay. So, what do you find hum’rus, Wes?”
“Mm?” Wesley stared at Xander for a second before he remembered what he
was going to say. “Oh, yes. Giles said I was a bluebry scone at the
prom.”
Giles shook his head. “I said you had the emotional maturity of a
blueberry scone. And…you did.”
Oz chuckled. “What was that about?”
Wesley sighed. “Cordy.
That’s what’s hum’rus. He said
that, and now he’s marryin’ Fubby.”
Giles bit back his
laughter. Xander was unable to.
“Fubby?”
Wesley giggled. “No, not Fubby. Buffy. So now is Giles the
bluebry scone?”
“No. I’m quite capable of being in the same room with Buffy without
salivating.”
Oz laughed and took another
drink.
Wesley stared drunkenly at
Giles. “Din’t look that way t’night.”
Xander grinned. “Ah, but there was no salivating. Tongue action, yes. But, no saliva.”
Giles blushed quickly. “Um, yes. I do apologize for that.”
“Coulda been worse.” Xander snorted.
Oz took a deep breath and leaned
forward. “You know, Xander…all of us
have seen worse when you and Anya are in the same room together.”
Giles smiled appreciatively at
the young man. Xander had the good
grace to blush.
“Howja pr’pose to ‘er?”
Giles stared at his bottle and
cleared his throat. “Not the way I
wanted to.”
When he looked up, he found
three pairs of eyes staring expectantly at him. Xander smiled and tipped his bottle back, easily draining it and
setting it aside.
“I’m imagining a candlelight
dinner, down on one knee…the whole shebang.”
A smile tugged at the corner of
Giles’ mouth. “That’s rather how I
wanted it to be.”
“Well, I’m intrigued.” Oz stated quietly.
“I, uh…I accidentally asked
her. It all went a bit pear-shaped
after that.”
Wesley giggled. Xander’s eyes widened.
“You didn’t mean to ask her?”
Giles smiled at Xander. “I meant to ask her. Just not the way I did. I had planned to ask her a couple of weeks
later. With the candlelight dinner, a
walk on the beach, down on one knee.”
He took a long swallow of his beer.
“But, it came out while we…uh…we were, uh…”
Oz smiled in understanding. “You were making love with her when you
asked her.”
Giles coughed lightly and
finished off his beer, placing the empty bottle on the table. “I didn’t even realize I had asked. And, then she thought I hadn’t meant to ask
her at all. Understandably, she was
rather upset with me for a few minutes there.”
He looked up and smiled.
“Luckily, I had picked up the ring the day before.”
“I’m s’prised she din’t hit
ya.” Wesley giggled again.
Giles sat back and
chuckled. “No. She only hits me when she thinks I’m putting
my life in danger.”
“Were ya really gonna let
yourself be turned?”
His smile faltered and he stood,
walking over to the refrigerator for another beer. He pulled three bottles out and walked back into the living room,
handing a bottle each to Oz and Xander.
Wesley looked at him
apologetically. “Sorry. Bad form of me to ask.”
Giles tilted his head slightly
and sat back down as he opened his beer.
“I was.”
“But…why?” Wesley asked in bewilderment.
Oz and Xander shared a quick
glance.
“They…they were going to hurt
her. Kill her…and other things.”
“But, they’d’ve done that
anyway, yes?”
Giles shook his head
slowly. “No. They were going to let her go and turn me so that I would kill
her.” He met Wesley’s eyes. “And a plan had already been put in place to
take care of me if I had been turned. I
did what I did to spare her life.” He
took a long drink. “And I’d do it again
in a heartbeat.”
Xander clapped his hands to
break the tension. “Well, aren’t we
just a bunch of cheery guys tonight?”
Giles sent him a half-grin.
Xander turned to Wesley. “If you’re gonna get all maudlin, then I’m
cutting you off.”
“Cuttin’ me off?”
Xander rolled his eyes at the
ex-Watcher’s frightened tone. “No more
alcohol, Wes. I’m not gonna physically
cut anything off.”
“Oh.”
Giles, Oz, and Xander shared a
laugh as Wesley breathed a sigh of relief.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
An hour later, it was just Giles
and Oz sitting in the living room.
Wesley had passed out in superb drunken fashion and, after they had
moved him to the air mattress on the floor in Xander and Anya’s room, Xander
had decided that three a.m. was quite late enough for him.
Giles had assured Oz that he was
perfectly okay if the young man wanted to go to bed as well. Oz had grinned at him and replied that he
was a known night owl and wasn’t tired in the least. And so they talked for a while, until Oz tilted his head and
asked if Giles had brought his guitar.
“I did actually. Mainly because I’ll need it for the
reception.”
“Mine’s down in the van. Care for a jam session?”
Giles grinned. “I’d rather enjoy that.” He glanced towards the closed bedroom
door. “I doubt we’d wake them.”
Oz chuckled. “I’m not sure an earthquake would wake Wes
right now.” He stood up and walked to
the door. “Be right back.”
Giles went into the room that he
was sharing with Oz and pulled his acoustic guitar out of its case. He smiled as his fingers glided over the
smooth body of the instrument. He took
it back into the living room and sat down on the couch.
Oz walked back into the
apartment to find Giles staring at his cell phone that was resting on the
coffee table. He smiled and sat down on
the chair, placing his guitar case on the floor beside of him.
“Missing her?”
He nodded slowly. “Quite a lot, actually.” He looked up and met Oz’s understanding
eyes. “We, uh...this is the first night
we’ve spent apart in a long time.”
“Why don’t you give her a call?”
“Oh, it’s rather late...”
Oz laughed softly. “And I’m pretty sure she’s still wide
awake. I don’t think either of you will
be getting much sleep tonight.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Buffy cradled the cell phone in
her hand, looking up as Willow walked back into the living room with two mugs of
coffee.
“Looks like it’s just me and you
now.”
Buffy smiled and nodded. “I think that’s the way I’d like it. I like Anya, and I’ve missed
Cordy...and...did I really say that?”
Willow laughed. “Yeah, but I know what you mean.”
“You’re my best friend,
Will. I like it that you’re still up
with me.” She took the mug that Willow
offered her. “But, if you’re tired...”
Willow shook her head
vigorously. “Nope, I’m staying up with
you. Resolve face, here.”
Buffy chuckled and looked back
down at the phone. Willow smiled in
understanding.
“Call him, Buffy.”
“It’s pretty late.”
Willow snickered. “And, do you think he’s getting any sleep
tonight?” When Buffy looked up, Willow
gestured to the phone. “Call him. I’ll go fix us something to eat...you know,
give you a little privacy.”
Before Buffy could say anything,
Willow stood and left the room. She
sighed heavily and punched a button on the phone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Giles was reaching for his phone
when it suddenly began to ring. Oz
chuckled when he recognized the ringtone as ‘London Calling’. Giles grinned at him.
“Buffy’s choice.”
“Figured as much.”
Giles hit a button and lifted
the phone to his ear.
“Hello, there.”
“Did I wake you?”
Giles laughed softly. “You’re joking, right?”
“I miss you, Giles.”
“You too, darling. How’s your evening going?”
“Just me and Will now. Everyone else is asleep. We had a good time though...catching up and
stuff. How about you?”
“Wesley passed out...after six
and a half beers.” He grinned when he
heard Buffy laugh. “American beer at
that. I can’t imagine he’d fare very
well in an English pub.”
She curled into the corner on
the couch. “And everyone else?”
“Angel’s still on patrol. Xander went to bed. Oz and I were getting ready to have a jam
session.”
She chuckled. “Did I interrupt you?”
“Hm? Oh, no...not at all. In
fact, Oz had just persuaded me to call you.
I was reaching for the phone when it rang.”
“I could sneak out of
here...meet you somewhere.”
“Don’t tempt me, Buffy.”
“I hope you don’t have any plans
for Saturday.”
He raised an eyebrow and sat
back, relaxing into the cushions.
“Why’s that?”
She lowered her voice. “I’m not planning on letting you out of the
bed, much less out of the house.”
His face reddened, causing Oz to
grin before he stood. He mouthed the
words ‘be back in a few’ to Giles and then headed down the hall. Giles cleared his throat.
“Are you...are you alone?”
“Mm-hm. Well, Will’s in the kitchen...giving me some
privacy. Are you?”
“I am...now. Oz just went to the bedroom. I’m assuming to give me some privacy as
well.”
“Would you like me to tell you
more about my plans for Saturday?”
He licked his lips and grinned,
shifting his body to make himself more comfortable. “Talk to me, Buffy.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hearing the front door close, Oz
raised an eyebrow and walked into the living room. When he realized that Giles had left, he walked onto the balcony
and looked over the railing. He smiled
as the Watcher climbed into the passenger’s seat of the Explorer. He chuckled to himself and walked back
inside, lifting his guitar case and sitting down on the couch.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“What are you doing?”
“Um, I’m going to the car.”
She grinned and shifted
slightly. “You coming over here?”
“No. I don’t feel like listening to Anya scream at me.”
“Then...why are you going to the
car?”
He chuckled softly and climbed
into the Explorer and shut the door.
“You have me so hard right now, and...I can’t take care of it in the
apartment.”
“So, you’re going to the car to
jack off?” She didn’t bother trying to
hide her amusement.
“Uh, well, I...” He sighed heavily and moved the seat
back. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
“You know, you could’ve just
taken a shower and taken care of it in there.”
He rubbed his erection through
his jeans and closed his eyes. “I can’t
take the phone into the shower.”
“And...why would you need
to?” She asked teasingly.
“I want to hear your voice as I
come.” He stated matter-of-factly.
Buffy licked her lips and quickly
scribbled a note for Willow. “Are you
touching yourself right now?”
“Not in the way you’re referring
to.”
She opened the door to the
basement and walked down the stairs.
“Take it out. Wrap your hand
around it, but don’t start stroking yet.”
She sat down on the old beanbag
chair that had been stored downstairs and smiled when she heard his soft
groan. “I asked you not to start...”
“I haven’t.” He choked out.
“Are you sure?”
If he had been in front of her,
he would’ve scowled at her. “I’m bloody
well sure. I’m sitting here with my
hard cock in my hand waiting for you to tell me it’s okay to make myself come.”
She grinned as she unbuttoned
her jeans. “No need for the
snippiness. I wanted you to wait so I
can come with you.”
“Oh.” His erection twitched in his hand. “Sorry.”
She reclined on the chair and
slid her hand against her wetness.
“Giles...”
“Yes?” He asked breathlessly.
“I’m so wet...”
He groaned and his hand
tightened on himself. “I wish I could
feel how wet you are.”
She moaned softly. “My fingers are sliding in so easily.”
“Lick them...”
“My fingers?”
“God, yes. Let me hear you suck them clean.”
“How hard are you?”
“Painfully.”
She licked her fingers clean,
consciously making enough noise so that he could hear her. “Is it hot?
It normally gets really hot when you’re that hard. It feels so good when you’re hot and I’m
wet.”
“Buffy...”
“Slowly, Giles...don’t make
yourself come too fast.”
He gave a soft grunt as his hand
began to slowly move up and down the length of his shaft. “Mm.
Good...”
“If we were together right now,
I’d suck you while my fingers were inside of me...”
“Oh, God...”
“What are you thinking right
now, Giles?”
“I want my tongue inside of
you.”
“Mm...” She moved her fingers to her clit.
“I want to drink you.” His thumb spread his pre-cum over the
glans. “I want to fuck you, Buffy.”
“Giles...”
He licked his dry lips. “I...want to fuck you...so hard...until you
come all over me...”
“What about you?” She whispered in a gravelled voice.
“Oh, I’d come. But...after.”
“After?”
“After my mouth makes you come
again.”
“Giles...”
“Are you as close as I am?”
“Uh-huh...”
“Put your fingers back
inside. Imagine it’s my cock filling you...stroking
you...making love to you.”
He smiled as she gasped and
slowed his hand to a leisurely pace.
“Imagine my mouth sucking your
nipple, my hand caressing your body.
It’s me there now, Buffy. I’m
making love to you...”
“Oh, God...Giles...”
“I can feel you...you’re so
tight around my cock...so hot and wet.
I want to come inside of you. I
want you to feel me...”
“I can...oh, God, I can...”
“Buffy...”
“Come with me, Giles...” Her body began to shudder when she heard his
telltale moan. “That’s it...come with
me...”
They moaned each other’s names
as their orgasms hit simultaneously.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Angel tilted his head and then
turned towards the blue Explorer. He
jerked slightly, obviously startled, when he saw something hit the windshield. His ears picked up the moan and his eyes
widened when he realized what the projectile was. He quickly turned towards the apartment building and pushed
through the doors, grateful that vampires didn’t have the ability to blush.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Bloody hell...”
She giggled as she tried to
catch her breath. “Make a mess?”
“You could say that.” He shook his head as his eyes surveyed the
damage.
Buffy grinned as he muttered
something softly. “What was that?”
He sighed heavily. “I said ‘there’s come everywhere’.”
“Oh, really?”
He smiled at the curiously
amused tone. “Yes. Even on the windshield.”
“Giles!” She laughed softly.
He opened the centre console and
pulled out the travel box of Kleenex that Buffy had insisted on storing
there. They chatted quietly with one
another as he cleaned himself and the car up.
After going through half a dozen tissues, he held the phone to his ear
with his shoulder and tucked himself back into his jeans.
“I should probably let you
go. Oz will be wondering where you
are.”
“As will Willow.”
She chuckled softly. “Nah, left her a note before I came
downstairs.”
“I’d love to read that
one...” He smirked.
“Oh, yeah...basically it said
that I was downstairs having phone sex with my soon-to-be-husband and not to
bother me.”
They laughed together for a few
seconds before he asked quietly.
“You are joking, right?”
She laughed harder and shook her
head as she began climbing the stairs. He
grinned and opened the car door, stretching his back as he stepped onto the
pavement.
“I love you, Buffy. Try to get some sleep?”
She snorted as she walked into
the living room. “Not bloody likely.”
He laughed gently and made his
way back into the apartment building.
Buffy stopped suddenly when Willow grinned knowingly at her. She blushed heavily and sat down on the
couch.
“I love you too, Giles. Get some sleep after your jam session.” She paused for a second before
continuing. “Call me later?”
“Of course, darling.” He opened the door to the apartment and
blushed lightly as Oz and Angel grinned at him. “Goodnight, my love.”
“Goodnight, honey.”