Chapter Three

Buffy smiled, gliding her fingertips over his long fingers as she listened to his gentle snoring coming from behind her.  She’d woken up twenty minutes earlier, her back against his chest, his arms wrapped around her...her head tucked under his chin.  There’s no way she should have been comfortable – she was used to using a lover’s chest as a pillow, in the rare moments that she actually wanted to be held as she slept.  She normally didn’t – it made it easier to slip out of bed when her Slayer senses would wake her, calling her out.  Sleeping like this…allowing herself to be wrapped up in long arms, held protectively as she slept?  No…that was not something she had ever been comfortable with.

And yet, she was the most relaxed that she had been in months, possibly longer. 

Her smile faded as her fingers touched the bandage still secured around his wrist.  She was tired of him getting hurt – head injuries, broken bones, cuts and bruises, being shot with crossbow bolts and tranquilizer darts…and now tripping in a darkened cemetery.  She wasn’t completely convinced that his wrist wasn’t broken – but, he was adamant and she really didn’t feel like arguing with him about it.  Especially now…after…

She sighed contentedly, slipping her fingers between his and snuggling even closer to him.

And then she felt his breathing change, his soft snoring being exchanged for a gentle cough.

“Are you alright?”  He asked, his voice thick with sleep.

“Oh, yeah…”  She said, her smile returning instantly.  “You?”

“Mm.”  He shifted slightly, pressing a kiss into her hair.  “More than I could possibly hope to express.”

She snorted a laugh, shifting in his arms to give her enough room to roll over to face him.  “Words…words…words…”

He grinned, moving his hand to brush the hair back from her face.  “I’m fantastic, love.”

“Oh, yeah…you really are.”  She said, grinning back at him. 

“Why are you awake?”  He asked, sliding his hand down to her hip and gently squeezing. 

“Thinking about you.”

“Good things?  Questionable things?”  He asked, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Amazing things, actually.” She breathed.  “Wanting to say things that I’m not sure I should say…yet.”

“Such as?”  He gently prodded, having a very good idea of what she wanted to say – after all, he was fairly certain it was the same thing he wanted to say.

She hesitated for a moment and then cleared her throat.  “I’m going to master this lemon curd thing, you know.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.”  He replied with a warm smile, realising that she was deflecting and allowing her that moment to step back.  He followed her deflection easily as he played with a strand of her hair.  “Perhaps I’ll make my lemon cake soon – providing you don’t use all of my lemons in your attempts to make curd.”

She rolled her eyes at his gentle tease.  “Well, you can just pick some more up while you’re at the store in the morning.”  She grinned at his look of genuine confusion.  “Condoms, love.  Condoms.”

“Ah…yes, of course.”  He licked his lips before leaning into her, kissing her warmly as he carefully rolled her onto her back.

“Giles…”  She murmured in gentle protest against his lips.

He chuckled softly, pulling back to look into her eyes.  “I just want to kiss you for a while…maybe until we fall back asleep.”

She arched an eyebrow at him.  “Yeah, um…pretty sure I’m not going to be falling asleep while you’re kissing me.”

“Let’s see, yes?” 

He grinned brightly at her and she thought this was quite possibly the most adorable version of her Watcher that she had ever witnessed.  

--- --- ---

Buffy woke slowly, stretching languidly in the bed before exhaling a deep breath.  She smiled and then opened her eyes, sunlight bathing the corner of the room in warmth.  She stretched again and yawned before flipping the covers back and sitting up.  He wasn’t in bed with her, but she wasn’t expecting him to be.  She’d always assumed that he was a much earlier riser than she had ever been.  But, it wasn’t as if he had left -- she could hear him shuffling around downstairs.

She stood up and glanced at his robe, briefly considering slipping it on before realizing that it would be comically long on her and she’d probably trip and fall down the stairs -- and that wasn’t the morning appearance she wanted to make.  Instead, she decided to simply just go down wearing what she had woken up in  -- his dark blue t-shirt that came down to just above her knees.  Decent enough, she thought as she ran her fingers through her hair.  And then with a bright smile on her face, she started down the stairs.

Giles heard a stair creak and turned, uttering an audible gasp as she walked down to the landing.  He returned her smile, his eyes sparkling.  “Oh...oh, good morning, Buffy.  Did I wake you?”

“Hey…no...”  She replied, shaking her head before allowing her eyes to drift down his body and back up.  “Look at you, all dressed and everything.”

“I’ve been up for a while, I thought I’d let you sleep.”  He chuckled softly, his eyes mimicking hers.  “Look at you, absolutely beautiful...just as I imagined you would be in the morning, walking down my stairs, wearing my shirt…”

“You’ve imagined, huh?”

“Mm…”  He murmured, walking over to the bottom of the staircase.  She moved down the stairs until she was at eye level with him.  “Though my imagination was sorely lacking in some fairly amazing details.”

She placed her hands on his shoulders, leaning forward to kiss him.  He returned her kiss softly, not trusting himself to maintain restraint this time.  Understanding his predicament, Buffy slowly ended the kiss and offered him a loving smile.

After a moment she glanced down at his loose fist and wondered, “Are you carrying your keys around for any reason in particular?” 

He looked down at his hand as if he’d forgotten he was holding anything.  “Oh...I believe I need to make a trip to the shop…”

“Oh, right…”  She agreed, running her finger along the collar of his henley.  “But, should you be driving?”

“It’s an automatic, I’ll be fine.”  He said, taking a step back.  “However, I’m more than happy to wait if you’d like to get dressed and come with me.”

She thought for a moment and then shook her head.  “You’re an adult, you know your limits.”

He arched an eyebrow at her.  “Who are you and what have you done with my Buffy?”

Her heart fluttered at his words.  Not Slayer, but Buffy...his Buffy…

“I just think that I need to respect you and your decisions more.  Especially when they’re about your own injuries and recoveries -- which, you need to stop having so many!  And if you think you’re able to drive…”  She shrugged a shoulder and shot him a smirk.  “...But, saying that...if you wreck the car, I will say I told you so.”

“Thank you.  Truly.”  He tilted his head thoughtfully and spun his keys on his index finger.  “I won’t be long, is there anything you need?”  When her smirk morphed into a cheeky grin, he rolled his eyes.  “...from the shop?”

She shook her head, then immediately nodded.  “Lemons...and butter.  Because I’m going to get this curd down if it’s the death of me.”

“Death by lemon curd…”  Giles mused playfully.  “I can definitely think of worse ways to go.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes and she gestured towards the door.  “Go…”

He laughed, giving her a wink as he walked to the door.  “If you’re still wearing that when I get back...I won’t complain.”

She blew out a soft breath as the door closed behind him.  Then she glanced at the kitchen pass-through and narrowed her eyes, seeing a few more remaining lemons.  She was fairly certain there was just enough butter left to give one more batch a go.

With a resolute nod, she padded into the kitchen and set to work.  She picked up a lemon and glared at it.

“I will conquer you…”  She said, more menacingly than probably necessary, before dropping the lemon onto the counter.”

-- -- -- --

Giles had been gone longer than he had intended, but only because the first shop seemed to be of the belief that condoms were only available in ribbed or studded.  He had scoffed in annoyance -- not that he had anything against them, it just wasn’t what he wanted to use for their first encounter. Thankfully, the second shop proved fruitful and he was on his way back to her...with lemons, butter, and condoms.  He chuckled to himself -- a very odd shop, indeed.

He let himself into his home and immediately sniffed.  The scent of lemons, sweet and tart, warm and inviting was heavy in the air.

“Buffy?” He called out, gently kicking his door closed.

She appeared instantly from the kitchen side of the pass-through, a huge grin on her face.  “I did it!  I freaking did it, Giles!”

He furrowed his brow, placing the bag of shopping on the counter.  “And, what exactly did you do?”

Her grin grew even larger as she waved for him to join her.  “Why don’t you come see for yourself?”

He laughed, his amusement showing in his eyes as he walked into the kitchen.  His eyes immediately went to the stove, finding a saucepan containing a beautifully colored substance.  He smiled proudly, quickly dipping a spoon into the pan and lifting it to his lips for a taste.

She watched him anxiously.  She liked the taste and consistency, but this was his recipe…

He hummed appreciatively, nodding as he licked his lips.  “Bloody hell, you did do it!”

“Yeah, well...I thought I’d give it another go -- you know, since you weren’t here to distract me.”

He licked the spoon clean and met her eyes.  “Distract you?  Me?”

“Oh, you knew exactly what you were doing yesterday! Mr ‘oh, let me help you with your hair’ and ‘cook it long and slow on a low heat’...”  She jabbed her finger into his chest.  “Seducing me with a lemon curd cooking lesson.”

“Seducing you with..”  He started to protest, then broke into laughter as he took a step closer to her, placing the spoon in the sink.  “It worked, though.”

“I knew it!  You did know what you were doing!”  She exclaimed, her own laughter rising as he dipped his finger into the saucepan -- then smudged a bit of the curd onto the tip of her nose.  “Giles!”

“What?”  He grinned broadly.  “It’s the best way to check the consistency.  If it dollops on your nose, then it’s perfect.”

She snorted a laugh, feeling the happiest she had felt in longer than she cared to admit.  “God, I love you…”  She blurted, her laughter still ringing in the small kitchen.

His laughter, however, stopped nearly immediately...and hers softened before trailing off completely, panic flickering in her eyes in the understanding of what she’d just said.

She hadn’t even been able to tell Riley that - hadn’t been able to think it about him without shuddering a teeny bit inside - but here with Giles, she’d just blurted it out like it was nothing.

Well, not nothing - she had meant it. She meant it more than she ever had with anyone. But she hadn’t intended to say it just then… or so soon… or so casually.

“I- I… I mean,” Her panic began to increase, worried that it was way too much, that this would scare him off, but Giles’ expression of shock slowly turned into one of amazement. She hesitantly stuttered to a halt, not sure what to say now.

“You love me?” He murmured in wonder, and she eyed him carefully before hesitantly nodding. His expression immediately broadened into a grin, and Buffy blinked, more than a little bewildered by where the conversation had gone. “Oh, Buffy,” He reached for her, drawing her in and kissing her slowly, and sensuously.

She kissed him back automatically, because he was a hell of a kisser and it was still so new that she wanted every second of it that she could get - but then she leaned her head back slightly, confusion still apparent on her face. “Giles-”

“I love you too,” He breathed, licking his lips - and then startled. He licked his lips again, and then straightened to wipe his hand across his face - he’d gotten the lemon curd that he’d swiped on her nose on his own face - and Buffy snorted out a giggle when she realized it as well.

Soon enough they were both in a full fit of giggles again, and Giles growled playfully and nuzzled her, darting his tongue out against the tip of her nose to clean whatever lemon curd remained on her skin. “I love you,” He hummed again, peppering slow kisses all over her face. “Oh, how I love you.”

“You just love that I taste all lemony,” She protested, flushed and overwhelmed - though not necessarily in a bad way.

“Not true,” He protested, but then paused, and pulled his head away from hers again. “Though perhaps I should test this.”

“Excuse me?” Now she was bewildered, and could only watch as he dipped his finger back into the pot of lemon curd.

Then he smeared a bit of it across her right cheek, but licked his tongue against her left, and she gaped at him. “Giles!”

“Hmm,” He mused thoughtfully, resting his hand gently against the side of her neck as he then licked the lemony cream from her right cheek. “Mmm,” He smiled indulgently as he straightened, “It does rather… accentuate your taste.”

“Giles!” She complained, no idea what to say otherwise, though there was amusement in her eyes. She looked at him as if she thought he was being ridiculous, but then something coy glinted behind her amusement and she dove around him, reaching into the pot herself and smearing some lemon curd on his own face when he twisted around to likely warn her against doing exactly that. “Let’s see if it’s mutual,” She challenged, and as extra retaliation, made sure to flatten her tongue against his jaw and give the whole side of his face a good, long lick.

He didn’t even let her pull away, after - his hands went to her waist as she was pressed up against him for balance, and he turned and lifted her up onto the counter, pushing back the abandoned measuring cups and mixing bowl. He stepped between her knees and wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her ravenously… kissed her in a way that made her lightheaded, and tremble, and glad for her seat on the kitchen counter.

His lips stroked over hers over and over again, his tongue darting into her mouth occasionally, not in any sort of pattern that she could get comfortable in. It was very quickly driving her crazy, and she squeezed her knees around his waist until he gasped, his own mouth parting… and she took the opportunity to suck his tongue into her mouth, holding it between her lips and against her own tongue like she’d held his cock not twenty-four hours ago.

He moaned deeply, the sound reverberating down her own throat, and his fingers pressed bruise-tight around her hips. She reached out for the pot on the stove again as they continued kissing, his focus entirely on the connection of their mouths. She drew the pot over to the burner closer to her, and dipped two fingers into the mixture.

When she had a bit of an opening to, she tucked her fingers between them, pressing into his mouth. He hesitated for the briefest of moments when his tongue first touched the lemon-covered digits, but then he immediately sucked her fingers further into his mouth.

“Ung, Giles,” She groaned, unprepared for how that made her feel, and she locked her ankles together behind his back, holding him in close so she could rock her hips against the bulge in his jeans. He squinted his eyes at her in a cheeky smile, but didn’t let up on her fingers until they were thoroughly clean… and then pulled his head back to let them go with a soft ‘pop’.

She stared at him, breathing heavily as their hips continued to slowly move against each other, seemingly in no rush although the kissing had said otherwise. Her panties were damp and the buttons of his jeans were pressing far too nicely against her - she was one hundred percent sure she could come if they kept at this. She didn’t want to, however - not like this, not this time anyhow. She wanted him inside of her.

“Giles. Bed. Now.” Her tone wasn’t as insistent as she’d intended it to be; she was too out of breath. But Giles’ face was flushed and his eyes were glazed over and his hands were roaming all over her as if he couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch her the most.

“Mm,” He agreed, his voice deepened with arousal and his gaze dark and intent once he met her eyes again. He gave her a nod, squeezed her legs one last time, and then stepped back to give her the freedom to slide her feet to the floor. “I’ll get the condoms,” He announced as he turned to rifle through the forgotten shopping bag. When he glanced back over his shoulder at her, she hesitated at the quirk of his eyebrow. “You bring the lemon curd.”

A deep shiver of arousal coursed through her entire body as she acknowledged his words. Then she lunged for the pot on the stove, grabbing it and giving his ass a big swat before she darted toward the stairs, laughing.