Title: Music
Appreciation
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRT
Pairing:
Buffy/Giles
Timeline:
Sometime before S6, AU.
Synopsis: Giles
is having issues with the ‘research music’.
Buffy gives him a different perspective.
Author’s Note:
Thanks to wyvernwolf for
the beta.
Giles looked up from his book as his front door opened. He smiled brightly, his eyes sparkling as
Buffy walked into the room. His smile
faded somewhat and he forced the sparkle back into hiding as
“Hey Giles.”
“Hello, Buffy.” He offered with a
smile, tamping down the urge to cast his gaze over her body. Clearing his throat, he gave
“It’s Wednesday.” Xander grinned,
causing
“Actually, we thought we’d help you guys research that Martian.”
“Morditian.” Giles corrected,
chuckling softly.
“And it’s Wednesday...” Xander repeated, knowing that Giles went to a
specific shop each Tuesday afternoon.
Giles rolled his eyes in amusement and gestured towards the
kitchen. “I picked up an extra box this
week. Please do try to make them last this time.”
Xander took off quickly, running into the kitchen and pulling down the
box of cookies, or biscuits – according to Giles, from the cabinet above the
refrigerator. Buffy laughed as she sat down
next to Giles, her hand lightly brushing his arm as she leaned forward to see
what he was reading.
A small smile played on
Xander plopped down on the couch next to
“How’s the show going?”
“Same as always.” She smiled,
lowering her voice as she opened the book.
“Whispers, looks, brief touches...”
Xander rolled his eyes, obviously frustrated with the keeping of things
quiet. “Hey, Guys? When are you – ow!”
Buffy and Giles turned to look at him, Giles arching an eyebrow as
Xander rubbed his ribs and glared at
“Um...going to be ready for the research music?”
“Go Giles?” Giles questioned,
furrowing his brow.
“Yeah...you know...for, uh, getting a new stereo...”
All joy left Giles’ face, only to be replaced with the look of annoyance
that Giles had perfected over the years.
“What dreadful music have you brought along tonight?”
“Why are you so grumbly?” Buffy
asked, lifting her hand but dropping it quickly before she ran her fingers
through his hair.
Giles slowly turned his eyes to her and then sighed heavily. “I have perfectly good music to listen to,
and yet – ”
He turned and glared at Xander when he snorted. Xander choked on a biscuit as he quickly
backpedalled.
“I didn’t mean you don’t have decent music. You do, it’s just...kinda 70’s. But, that makes sense, you know...since
you’re – ”
“You’d do well to stop now, Xander.”
Giles interrupted, a hint of an annoyed growl in his voice.
Xander started to dig his hole deeper, but was hampered by
“You know he doesn’t mean anything by it, Giles. He’s just...Xander.”
Giles sighed heavily again and gestured towards the stereo. “Go on.”
Buffy smiled and stood up, placing her hand on his shoulder as she
leaned down to whisper into his ear. “I
promise I’ll turn it off when I notice the first dribble of brain...”
Giles rolled his eyes and then glanced at the two still sitting on the
couch. His eyes darted to the book in
Xander’s hand and he shook his head.
“You won’t find anything about the Morditian in that book, Xander.” He jerked his thumb towards the
bookcase. “Third shelf. Fourth
Realm Compendium, Volume Three.
Start there.”
Xander nodded and hurried to grab the book.
His jaw clenched as his fears were confirmed. Dreadful music. This was going to be a long night.
He muttered softly to himself and turned the page of his book, trying
his best to concentrate on the words in front of him. He looked at Buffy as she sat back down, her
knee brushing against his thigh as she reached across the table for a
book. She offered him a gentle smile as
she pulled the book towards her.
“It’s really not that bad if you just give it a chance.”
Giles gave her a look of disbelief, lowering his voice to a whisper that
he was sure the others wouldn’t be able to hear over the music. “You owe me.”
She grinned, nodding her acknowledgement as he turned his attention back
to his book.
* * *
Giles turned the page as a heavy drum beat emanated from his
speakers. He tried his best to ignore the
music, but his head shot up when he heard an extremely familiar guitar
riff…however, the voice definitely didn’t belong with the music. He groaned and pushed his chair back, causing
Buffy to look up at him as he stood.
“What’s wrong now?”
Giles merely pointed at the stereo.
“What the hell is this?”
“Puff Daddy.” Xander supplied
helpfully, smiling as he tapped the eraser of his pencil against his
thigh.
“Puff Daddy? Bloody...” He stopped himself from finishing the
statement and ran his fingers through his hair before stomping off to the
kitchen.
Buffy stood and made her way over to a stool at the kitchen
counter. “What’s wrong, Giles?”
“This...music. Do artists even need to write their own music
these days? Or is any classic riff fair
game? Kashmir...this is bloody
“You’re still a musician.” Buffy
stated, hoping to calm him down.
“Pardon?”
She smiled at the confusion in his eyes.
“You still play...and sing. It
may not be professionally, or semi-professionally, but...you sing for me.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Buffy...”
“Give it a chance, Giles. I know
it annoys you, but just...open your mind and listen to the words...the
music. It’s what a musician does,
right?”
Giles narrowed his eyes as she slid from the stool and walked back over
to the table. He thought over her words
and sighed. He knew she was right...and
he’d take her advice.
After this song.
“Bloody Kashmir.” He murmured to
himself as he continued preparing the tea...a little less violently.
* * *
After he had handed each person a mug of tea, prepared perfectly for each
individual, he sat back down at the table and smiled at Buffy. She looked at him questioningly as she took a
sip of her sugar-laden tea.
“An open mind, hm?”
She swallowed and gave him a nod.
“You might be surprised.”
He huffed softly and lifted his mug to his lips. “I make no promises.”
She smiled and pushed her book towards him, her finger pointing out a
specific passage. “I found this about
your Mortician.”
“Morditian.” Giles stated with a
smile.
“Reading this makes it sound more Morticiany than Morditiany.” Buffy replied, biting her bottom lip as his
fingers brushed over hers when he pulled the book closer to him.
Their eyes met and held one another’s gaze for a moment, each of them
aching to kiss the other...but knowing they couldn’t now. Not with
Giles read the passage and furrowed his brow, speaking as he continued
scanning. “Have either of you found
anything referencing
“Mm...” Giles murmured, turning
the page. “Seems as though the Morditian
is associated with Ragnarök.”
“With what?” Xander asked in a very perplexed tone.
“Ragnarök.” Giles repeated,
glancing at the book in Xander’s hand.
“There are a few myths concerning Ragnarök in that book...near the
end. See if you can find any mention of
a demon who uses water for malevolent purposes.”
“Okay...” Xander drawled, placing
the book on the coffee table and quickly flipping through the pages.
She smiled in wonder and made her way back to the couch, sharing a quick
and knowing look with Xander as she sat down beside of him.
* * *
With a renewed interest in researching the demon, Giles allowed the
music that had been annoying him for the past hour to simply fade into the
background. He had promised that he
would give it more of a chance, and that promise had been made with sincerity. But, at the moment, figuring out why a
Morditian was currently slinking along the backstreets of Sunnydale was more
important than techno-pop/rap dance music.
And then he heard her softly singing along to the song currently
playing. By the softness of her voice,
he was fairly certain that she didn’t even realize that she was singing. He smiled and listened to her, allowing her
slightly out of tune singing to draw his attention away from the research.
His smile slowly disappeared as he raised his head and looked at
her. He knew that the words weren’t her own,
but hearing her sing them made him wonder...
Did she really think what they were sharing was nothing more than an
affair? Even if they hadn’t actually
consummated their relationship yet?
If you love me, say it
Or was it something else? Was it
that she wanted to tell their friends about their blossoming love?
He swallowed nervously, watching her as she stood up and made her way to
the kitchen. Xander watched Giles,
grinning as he gently nudged
She arched an eyebrow as Giles licked his lips while he watched Buffy
bop around in his kitchen as the heavy bass line slipped into a completely
different song. He smiled as Buffy
poured two glasses of juice, miraculously completing the task without spilling
a drop...even as she danced to the rhythm of the music.
“That’s a man in love...”
Xander nodded, leaning back against the cushions with a grin on his
face. “And he has no idea that he’s
showing it.”
Giles recognized the lyrics.
Though he was sure that he had never heard this version of the song
before...another case of another artist sampling from an earlier piece of
work. However...as Buffy walked back into
the room and handed him a glass of juice, he realized that he didn’t care this
time.
I took one look at you and it was
plain to see, you were my destiny
Handing him a glass of juice, she looked into his eyes as the lyric left
her lips. His eyes darkened slightly and
she suddenly realized that she was singing aloud. When she hesitated in continuing, he smiled
softly and shook his head.
“Keep going...”
“Um...” She glanced around
nervously, biting her lip when she noticed
Seemingly having forgotten that the other two were in the room, Giles
lowered his eyes and stared at the glass in his hand as his skin reddened. He couldn’t stop the soft sigh from escaping
his lips when he felt her fingers gently touch his cheek.
“Giles...” She echoed his sigh
when he didn’t look up. Knowing that
their secret was more or less out of the bag, she continued. “I was just singing a song.”
“I know.” He responded softly.
She smiled and finally ran her fingers through his hair, just as she had
been aching to do for a while now. “But
you are.”
He lifted his head and looked up at her, silently questioning her. Her smile grew as her fingers moved down the
side of his neck.
“My destiny.” She clarified
softly, giving a subtle tilt of her head towards their friends. “And...I think they’ve picked up on what
we’ve been hiding. Are you okay with
that?”
He nodded slowly, gazing up into her eyes as he took a deep breath. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Her eyes
glistened as he took her free hand into his, rubbing the back of her hand with
his thumb. “And I think we just
confirmed their suspicions.”
As they continued to gaze at one another, Xander rolled his eyes. “Would you just kiss her, for Jiminy’s sake?”
“Anya.” Xander stated as if that
was the only explanation needed.
The kiss was sweet and tender...and they mutually ended the union before
they were tempted to deepen the kiss.
Giles swallowed nervously and felt his nerves begin to calm as Buffy
smiled warmly at him.
They turned towards
Three weeks and five days was the answer. Two days earlier had been their one month
anniversary. They had been able to keep
the turn in their relationship secret for all of four days.
He chuckled softly as Buffy sat on the edge of the table, shaking her
head in amusement as she swung her legs.
As the questions started, he shifted in his chair and was suddenly very glad
that Anya was on some sort of retreat with Halfrek.
He relaxed when he felt Buffy’s fingers lightly stroke the nape of his
neck. Seeing the happiness in
Though he did roll his eyes when Xander stated that technically they
owed the official announcement to the ‘brain-dribbling music’ he detested
so. Buffy just laughed and, sliding from
the table and reclaiming her seat next to Giles, said that they were working on
his music appreciation.
Giles grinned and reached around her to pick up the nearly forgotten
volume on the table. And within a few
minutes, the research had started back up...this time with Buffy’s hand lightly
resting on his thigh as they read.
They hadn’t been reading long when Giles felt Buffy’s eyes on him. He looked up and offered her a small smile.
“Yes?”
Buffy glanced over at the couch and, after finding that neither
He arched an eyebrow at her in a silent request for her continue. She took a nervous breath and leaned closer
to him.
“Would you mind if I stay tonight?”
His eyes darted to her lips as he shook his head. “You know I don’t mind if you stay.”
Her fingers moved slowly, lightly stroking the inside of his thigh. She smiled as he gave a gentle shudder.
“I mean, with you…in your bed.”
He was sure she could see his arousal in his eyes. He nodded slowly, dropping his hand to cover
hers on his thigh.
“Please stay tonight.”
Her smile grew and she brushed her lips across his.
Right now, they’d research. In a
little while, they’d order a pizza or some Chinese for dinner. And then they’d figure out a way to politely
ask Xander and
He shifted in sudden discomfort, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before
gesturing to the book in front of her.
“Um…research…”
She chuckled softly and removed her hand as she lowered her eyes to the
text.
Neither of them saw the small grin shared by Xander and
~ End
Curious about the songs? Click
and Listen.
Come With Me
– Puff Daddy
If You Love
Me/You’re All I Need (Puff Daddy Remix) – Brownstone/Method Man ft Mary J.
Blige