Title: Heliotrope
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRAO (light, but still FRAO to be safe)
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: S5’ish.
Riley’s gone, Joyce didn’t die, no Dawn, no Glory, no death of
Buffy. Definitely AU.
Synopsis: A simple gesture leads to much more.
Author’s
Note: Special thanks to wyvernwolf!
Giles smiled softly
as he walked down the sidewalk, Buffy at his side. She’d had a rough time over the past couple
of months. Joyce had been ill, but the
doctors at Sunnydale Memorial were very competent and had found and rectified
the problem fairly quickly. He had never
seen Buffy so worried before. It was
almost as though Buffy hadn’t realized before that her mother could, and
eventually would, die.
Buffy was the hero of
Sunnydale, but even heroes had heroes of their own. Joyce was Buffy’s and heroes are supposed to
be invincible…at least, that’s how heroes are perceived. And so, when Buffy’s hero became ill, Giles
dropped everything to be there for his Slayer…his hero. At the time, he
couldn’t understand why Riley hadn’t been around. He had only found out later that Riley had
been dealing with his own issues.
Riley.
Giles’ smile faded
somewhat at the thought of the young man.
Riley had left three weeks ago…only a couple of days before Joyce’s
surgery, as if Buffy hadn’t had enough to deal with at the time. Instead of talking to Buffy about his
problems, or anyone else for that matter, Riley had decided that the best course
of action would be to head over to the local Sunnydale suck house. And all hell had broken loose when Buffy
found out.
Giles had to admit to
himself that secretly he was relieved.
Riley wasn’t good for Buffy. He
had been too competitive, too controlling, just too…Riley. Even though Giles
didn’t really care for the young man, he understood the appeal of the suck
house. After all, in his Ripper days he
had visited more than one himself.
Though at that point
in his life, he had been young and stupid and somewhat suicidal. But, still…he
understood the appeal and had tried to explain that much to Buffy, but she
hadn’t wanted to hear anything about it.
The next thing Giles knew, Riley had rejoined the military and was on
his way to some jungle on a demon hunt.
And Giles couldn’t
remember ever feeling this…nervous. Or
scared.
Buffy looked up at
him in concern when he didn’t answer her question. She touched his forearm to
get his attention and stopped walking, causing him to stop as well and look down
at her in some confusion.
“Are you okay?”
He gave her a crooked
smile and nodded. “Yes, why?”
“You were a bit
frowny and…you looked a little lost in thought.
You’re not researching something in your head again, are you?”
He chuckled softly
and plucked a light purple flower from the hedge lining the sidewalk. Without thinking, he lifted his hand and
slipped the stem of the flower behind her right ear as he looked into her eyes.
“No research,
Buffy. Just…thoughts. I assure you, everything is fine.”
Buffy looked at him
curiously, even as the butterflies fluttered in her stomach. It wasn’t as if they’d been on a date. They’d merely gone for ice cream…and listened
to one another’s set of current woes.
She wanted to tell him that she remembered what happened that night a
year ago, but figured that if he knew that piece of information, he’d
panic.
They were in a good
place right now…and that was something she didn’t want to risk. So, instead,
she allowed her smile to return to her lips.
“As long as they’re
good thoughts…and not end of the world thoughts.”
Giles chuckled, his
eyes shining as he shook his head. “No
end of the world thoughts. Would you
like me to walk you home?”
She glanced down the
street and sighed. “Actually…I thought
maybe we could talk some more?”
He heard the slight
twinge of sadness in her voice and gave her a nod. “Of course, Buffy.”
And with that
settled, they crossed the street instead of turning right at the next
intersection. As they made their way to
his apartment in a comfortable silence, her memories of that night flooded her
mind.
What she didn’t know
was that the details of that night were running through Giles’ mind as well.
* * *
Giles’ hands moved
over her back, caressing her skin as he returned her heated kiss. Only when her tongue plunged into his mouth
and he tasted the beer that she had consumed earlier that night did he pull
away from the kiss.
His heart raced as he looked into her wild eyes. He wanted her, that much was certain. That much had been certain for months
now. But…there was Olivia. And there was the fact that Buffy wasn’t
exactly herself at the moment. Her moves,
her speech…it was more animalistic than it was Buffy.
He glanced at her red, swollen lips and ached to taste her
again.
He took a deep breath and then took a step back, shaking
his head as Buffy gave a light growl and stepped forward, reaching for his
shirt.
“No, Buffy. We…we
can’t…”
“Buffy want!”
Giles closed his eyes briefly. “God, how I wish that were true.” He opened his eyes to find her staring at him
in confusion. “But, it’s not. You don’t want me, Buffy. You’re hurting…you’re confused…and you’re not
yourself. I can’t allow this to go any
further. Hopefully, you’ll remember none
of this once the cursed beer is out of your system.”
“Beer good!”
Giles sighed heavily and shook his head sadly. “Perhaps it would be better if you stayed
with
* * *
Buffy’s thoughts
continued to race as she watched Giles’ hand as he unlocked the door to his
apartment.
She remembered
everything that had happened that night, though she pretended that she
didn’t. It was easier that way…and far
less embarrassing for her. For the past
year, nothing had been mentioned of that night.
Well, except for the occasional ‘beer good’ and ‘beer foamy’ comments
when
Giles had never
mentioned the kiss. In fact, he never
acted any differently than he had prior to the kiss. She wondered if he even thought about it…or
did he just chalk it up to the non-existent inhibitions of CaveBuffy?
For the past year,
the memories had eaten at her. The feel
of his hands on her skin, the taste of his mouth on hers. She couldn't forget…and
she had tried. She had even
gotten herself a boyfriend. And Giles
had had a girlfriend at the time.
She bit her lip as
her thoughts made a quick left turn…as they normally did when she was overly
nervous. She didn’t want to think about
Giles’ ex…was she a girlfriend or just someone Giles cared about? It didn’t matter now anyway.
Olivia had come and
gone…for good that last time. Giles had
been his usual stoic self when he told Buffy that his relationship with Olivia
was over, but she knew that he was hurt.
And it just made her
feel worse to know that she felt happy that Olivia was gone and Giles was
free…even if Buffy herself still had a boyfriend.
But, now…Riley was
gone as well.
And the memories of
what had happened between her and Giles a year ago were still eating at
her.
She lightly touched
the flower that he had put behind her ear and gave him a shy smile as he held
the door open for her.
“Thanks.” She whispered as she brushed past him to
enter the apartment.
* * *
He’d offered her tea
when they first entered the apartment.
She’d declined…and instead, asked for a glass of wine. He’d raised an eyebrow at her request, but
then decided that a glass of wine wouldn’t hurt either of them. So, he opened a bottle and retrieved two wine
glasses from the cabinet.
Before he realized
it, one glass of wine each had turned into two empty bottles…and less than a
quarter remaining in a third.
The result was a
giggly Slayer and a Watcher who, despite his best efforts, could not keep his
eyes from wandering over his Slayer’s body as she told him story after story
about whatever was in her head. To be
very honest, he wasn’t paying attention to her stories…
Not until he heard
her say three words.
“I remember, Giles.”
He looked into her
eyes and grinned drunkenly. “And what do
you remember, Buffy?”
“The taste of your
lips…the feel of your tongue against mine.”
She whispered hurriedly.
The disappearance of
his grin was nearly instantaneous. As
his eyes widened and panic began to fill them, Buffy quickly shook her head and
grabbed at his arm as he tried to stand.
She succeeded in spilling two glasses of wine on the rug, but also
succeeded in keeping him from leaving.
She had the brief
thought of being glad that the last bottle he’d opened had been white and not
red.
“Giles, don’t.”
Before he had a
chance to question her, she moved…cupping the left side of his face with her
hand and covering his mouth with hers.
He hesitated only a moment before giving in to what he’d wanted for so
very long.
She moaned into his
mouth as he began to return the kiss, sliding his arms around her and holding
her tightly as his tongue slipped between her lips. When he felt her fingers in his hair, he
deepened the kiss and allowed his right hand to edge under the hem of her shirt
to touch her skin.
* * *
He broke the kiss as
she laid back. He glanced around the
room and narrowed his eyes in confusion.
He had no idea how they’d gotten into his bedroom. He could only assume that he’d carried her up
the stairs. How he’d managed that,
considering his level of intoxication, he didn’t know. But, he was thankful that he’d been able to
do so without killing one or both of them.
“Giles?”
He snapped his eyes back
to hers and smiled as her fingers traced his lips. “Hm?”
“Please stop
thinking…and just kiss me again.”
Kicking off his
shoes, he moved onto the bed and lowered his body next to hers. “Are you sure about this, Buffy?”
“Never been more sure
about anything.” She whispered as she
moved her hand to the back of his neck and drew him back to her mouth.
He kissed her slowly,
relishing the sensation of the passion building between them. He shifted slightly when he felt her hands
move down his back, pulling his shirt out of its tucked position. When her hands slid under his shirt, touching
his bare skin, he groaned and moved his mouth to her neck as his left hand
slipped under the shirt she was wearing.
“God…Giles…”
There was something
about the way she spoke his name. He
heard the passion and desire in her tone…but there was also the slight slur
that caused him to lift his head and look into her eyes.
He cleared his throat
and removed his hand from underneath her shirt.
“Buffy…”
Her eyes began to glisten
as he pulled her shirt back down to cover her abdomen. “No, don’t stop, Giles.”
He moved to her side
and tenderly combed his fingers through her hair. “It shouldn’t be like this, Buffy. We’ve both had…a fair amount of alcohol…and…”
“I want you.” She whispered urgently. “I have for so long.”
His thumb brushed
over her cheek as he offered her a gentle smile. “And I want you. But, not like this. Not a drunken night of passion only for there
to be regrets in the morning.
Please…let’s talk about this when we’re sober. I…I don’t want to damage what we…what we do
have.”
She thought about his
words, started to argue her point, but a moment of clarity enabled her to see
his point. He didn’t want there to be
any question. He wanted her…as much as
she wanted him. But, he was right…as
much as she hated to admit it, he was right.
Giving him a nod and
a whispered ‘see you tomorrow’, she started to move off of the bed. She stopped when his hand wrapped around her wrist,
causing her to turn her head to look at him.
“Giles?”
“Please don’t
go.” He whispered, green eyes pleading
with her. “Stay with me.”
“But…you said…”
He sighed as she
trailed off and then gave her a gentle nod.
“I…I think it would be a mistake…if we should let this continue right
now.”
His thumb rubbed the
back of her wrist as he continued. “I
want this, Buffy. I want our
relationship to grow…together.”
“You’re confusing me
a little here, Giles.”
“We should talk. There are things I need…want…to say to
you. We’re…well, we’re drunk to put it
bluntly. And…I need to make sure of what
you’re feeling. I’d…I’d never forgive
myself if I make love to you and then find out in the morning that…that it
wasn’t what you really wanted.”
He swallowed and laid
back on the pillows, pulling her with him until she was resting against him,
his arm curled around her.
“Just…stay
tonight. Please.” He mumbled softly as he closed his eyes,
quickly falling into an alcohol-induced slumber.
Knowing she was too
drunk to leave, she closed her eyes. She
wouldn’t be much of a match for anything tonight if she were attacked as she
stumbled home. Plus, she had to
admit…lying in Giles’ bed with his arm around her…there were worse things she
could be doing.
* * *
Buffy opened her
eyes, and then closed them against the bright morning light almost
immediately. Her head ached and she felt
slightly nauseous. She also felt a warm
body next to her…a warm body that had its warm arm wrapped around her. She opened her eyes again, this time more
slowly, and inhaled sharply as her vision focused on the owner of the arm.
Giles.
She was in Giles’
bed…with Giles…snuggled against him, his arm around her. And then the memories of the night’s events
rushed through her head.
“Oh, God.” She mumbled softly.
His arm fell from
around her to rest on the mattress as he exhaled slowly and opened his
eyes. “Yes, well…I suppose I was right
in stopping myself last night.”
Pushing herself up,
she narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re awake.”
“Mm. Have been for a while.”
“But…you stayed?”
He coughed lightly,
not meeting her eyes as he sat up and ran his hand through his hair. “I, uh…yes.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have.”
“Giles…”
“I…”
She licked her dry
lips. “I kissed you.”
He glanced at her and
then quickly lowered his eyes. “Yes.”
“And…you kissed me
back.”
He nodded slowly, but
said nothing.
“And then you brought
me to your bed.” She whispered.
He cleared his throat
and rubbed the side of his neck.
“Apparently, yes. I, uh…I don’t
actually remember that part.”
“Oh.” She lowered her eyes to her folded hands and
bit her lip. “So…you don’t remember what
you said…”
He took a deep breath
and shook his head. “I remember
everything that happened before…downstairs.
I remember everything that happened after I placed you on my bed. I…I just don’t remember bringing you up
here.”
She raised her eyes
quickly to find him looking at her.
“Giles?”
“Please tell me what
you’re thinking at this very moment.” He
whispered, his eyes glistening.
She opened her mouth,
fully intending to apologize for making a fool of herself. However, the words that spilled from her lips
betrayed that intention.
“I love you.”
His eyes widened,
obviously not expecting those words to be uttered. “I…I’m sorry?”
She closed her eyes,
silently cursing herself. “That wasn’t
what I meant to say.”
“Oh.”
Her eyes opened when
she felt the bed shift as he got up. She
cursed herself again as he walked over to the window and stared outside.
“Giles…”
“It’s alright,
Buffy.”
She shook her head
quickly, not caring about her headache.
The sadness in his voice was more important than any hangover pain she
had.
“No, no…that’s not
how I meant it. I do love you, Giles. I just…I
didn’t mean to tell you like that.”
He turned slowly,
tilting his head slightly as he looked at her.
“It might be best if I make some coffee…and then we sit down and talk?”
She nodded slowly as
he made his way to the stairs. As he reached
for the banister, her soft voice stopped him.
He looked at her, silently questioning her.
“I…well…” She swallowed nervously. “You see, there was this thing…you know,
where I said something…and then – ”
He offered her a
small smile as she trailed off, turning towards her and making his way back to
the bed. His fingers trembled lightly as
they gently touched her cheek.
“I love you too,
Buffy.”
A single tear rolled
down her cheek. “Then…do you think,
maybe…you could kiss me?”
His smile grew as his
hand moved to cradle the side of her face.
“I’m fairly certain that can be arranged.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Giles groaned as he
opened his eyes. “Jesus…”
Buffy chuckled as she
ran her hand over his slightly sticky chest.
“You okay?”
He slowly turned his
head towards her and furrowed his brow.
“Never better. Nothing like
waking up on the living room floor, naked and sticky…with possibly one of the
worst headaches I’ve ever had.”
She gave him a
sympathetic smile and propped herself up on her elbow as she looked at him,
lightly running her fingertip over the lump on his head. “Any nausea?”
“Thankfully, no. Just a few dozen jackhammers in my
head.” He stated as he closed his eyes
again.
“So…what demon do we
blame this one on? Just a normal vampire
throwing you against a crypt or something more exotic?”
He snorted a
laugh. “Yes, let’s tell everyone that
the Buffy demon attacked me last night and in the throes of passion I hit my
head. That wouldn’t be at all
embarrassing, would it?”
“Depends on what we
tell them you hit your head on…” She
replied playfully.
“Mm-hm.” He mumbled as his hand moved to her hip and
gently squeezed.
She smiled, lowering
her mouth to his chest as her hand moved down over his abdomen. She licked the sticky residue of the glass of
wine she had poured over his chest last night as her fingers found his
semi-erect cock. Hearing him groan
softly, she lifted her head to find his dark eyes staring at her.
“I…might be able to
help you with your headache…if you want.”
He licked his lips as
he pulled her on top of him, positioning her already wet core over his
hardening cock. “God, I love you,
Buffy.”
She rocked her hips
against him, loving the sensation of the shaft of his erection against her
clitoris. “I love you too.”
He was sure that his
headache was still there, but as he rolled her onto her back and gently sank
his cock into her, he realized that he couldn’t feel it. All he felt was her warmth surrounding him.
When he saw her
glance at the fireplace, he smiled and uttered a soft word as he lowered his
mouth to the side of her neck.
“Incendere.”
Buffy gasped, the
fire lighting as his teeth scraped along the tender flesh of her neck. Her nails scratched over his back as he
continued to push her towards her orgasm.
He smiled inwardly when he felt her inner muscles quiver around him,
heard her moan his name. He felt her
hands stop their restless movement over his back, her nails digging into his
shoulder blades as her moan became a scream of ecstasy.
* * *
“Just a decaf
mocha-mint, please.”
“No. He’s…resting.” Buffy replied softly.
Anya snorted a laugh,
earning her a glare from Buffy. “Sorry,
it’s just…well, I was over there a little while ago to tell him about an
invoice that had come in for an order of books that he wanted. And he looked like hell. Like, the kind of hell that Xander looked
like when we had too many lemon drops at that frat party a few years ago.”
Buffy blushed
lightly. “Yeah, well…Watchers don’t have
rapid healing powers.”
Anya took a sip of
her water through a straw, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Guess he’ll be needing to wear a shirt with
a collar for a while too then.” She
looked up to find
“You two have been
married for over a year now. You’d think
you’d be over the whole devouring each other stage by now.”
“I’m not sure I’ll
ever be out of that stage.” A soft, deep
voice responded as the chair next to Buffy’s was pulled away from the
table. “But, I’ll take your advice on
the collared shirt.”
Buffy smiled widely
as she rested her head against Giles’ shoulder.
“I thought you were resting.”
“Well…” He began as he motioned for the waitress,
lowering his arm to the back of her chair as the waitress made her way to the
table. “I remembered something that
Ethan used to use…and funnily enough, it worked like a charm.”
“So, you not only had
sex…you had drunken sex?” Anya asked just as the waitress appeared,
order pad in hand.
Giles cleared his
throat and placed his coffee order quickly.
The waitress gave him a warm smile, chuckling as she walked off.
“And…how are you,
“Good.”
Giles rolled his eyes
and gestured towards the counter. “I
think I’ll just go over there and wait for our coffees. Extra sprinkles on yours, yes?”
Buffy smiled and gave
him a soft kiss. “Yeah.”
As Buffy watched
Giles walk across the coffee shop, Anya leaned forward as much as her swollen
abdomen would allow.
“Okay, spill.”
It was Buffy’s turn
to roll her eyes. “Oh, come on…”
Anya sighed
dramatically. “Come on, Buffy. My sex life is pretty much non-existent at
the moment and
“No details.” Buffy replied, and then smiled. “Except to say…wine, fire in the fireplace,
nice billowy cushions on the floor…”
“Did you do the
pouring of wine on each other and licking it off?”
Buffy merely returned
Anya’s grin.
“Okay, enough with
the sex talk. You know how queasy Xander
gets…”
Buffy met Giles’ eyes
across the room and offered him a smile.
He returned the smile and then glanced at the barista as she placed
three cups of coffee on a small tray.
“Thank you.”
The young lady smiled
and looked over at the table to see two new arrivals sitting down at the
table. As she automatically started
making the coffee, Giles chuckled.
She laughed and
shrugged a shoulder. “After four years
of working here, seeing the same people day in, day out…you learn. But, you’re not as predictable as the rest of
them.”
Giles grinned and
gestured towards the table with a tilt of his head. “I’d better get this to Buffy before she goes
into mocha-mint withdrawals. I’ll send
Xander over for his and Tara’s.”
“No problem. I’ll bring it over.”
“Thank you, Lea.”
Lea shook her head in
amusement as Giles made his way back to the table. There was something different about this
group of people, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. One of these days, she would. But, until then…she was quite happy to make
their coffee for them.
Giles handed out the
coffee as he bid hello to Xander and Tara.
As he sat back down next to Buffy, Anya raised an eyebrow. Giles sighed in exasperation.
“Yes, Anya?”
“So…what was the
celebration for?”
“Celebration?” Xander asked as he looked around the
table. “There was a party and we weren’t
invited? What gives?”
Anya smiled patiently
and patted Xander’s thigh. “Not the kind
of celebration you would want to be invited to, honey.”
“Huh? Oh…uh…”
He looked up as Lea placed a cup of coffee in front of him. “Thank you.”
Giles took a sip of
his coffee and looked at Buffy. “Might
as well tell them.”
Buffy smiled
brightly. “Three years ago yesterday,
Giles gave me a flower.”
Everyone stared at
Buffy. Even Xander was surprised when
she didn’t continue.
“A flower? That’s it?
He gives you a flower and you commemorate that with drunken sex every
year?”
Xander shook his
head. “So didn’t need the drunken sex
image, but…kinda understand where Anya’s coming from here.”
“I think it’s
sweet.” Tara stated with a soft smile as
she glanced at
“So do we…” Anya declared, gesturing to Xander.
Xander chuckled and
lifted his cup of coffee. “Yeah, I know
that I’ve never been able to look at a juice box the same since our first…um…”
Anya smacked his
shoulder, causing him to wince and the others to laugh. Tara placed her hand over
“I really do think
it’s sweet. It may sound like just a
flower to us…but, it signifies something in your relationship.”
“Like drunken
sex.” Anya offered with a broad smile.
Giles shrugged a
shoulder, hiding his grin behind the cup of coffee as he felt Buffy’s hand on
his thigh. It didn’t matter what else
had happened on that night three years ago…or what had happened the following
morning.
It all started with
the light purple flower that he plucked from the hedge lining the sidewalk as
they walked down the street after going out for ice cream and a talk. The moment he slid the flower behind her ear
was the moment he silently gave her his heart.
It was also the moment that she knew that he was the one she wanted to
spend the rest of her life with.
She had kept the
flower…a Wild Heliotrope, Giles had called it. She didn’t care what it was called…she
thought it was beautiful, more for the memories than the flower itself. And so she had kept it and pressed it into
the first page of the first photo album that was theirs.
Buffy had led the
others to believe that they’d been drunk the night before. But, that wasn’t the case. Yes, there had been wine…but, Giles had only
had a few glasses…and all she had was the small amount that she had licked from
his skin after pouring a glass onto his chest.
The story of the
flower was true. It had been three years
ago yesterday. That was also the reason
she chose that date to tell her husband something. That was the real reason for the celebration
they had last night.
And in five weeks or
so, they’d let the others know that their family was growing.
~ End