Chapter Six

Buffy walked into the living room, still towel-drying her hair.  Her smile faded slightly when she saw Giles – sitting on the sofa, staring at the window…his finger absently tracing the rim of the tumbler of scotch resting on his thigh.  He was very obviously in deep thought…and those thoughts were very obviously not the ones he was having before she had left to take a shower.

“I’m okay, love.”  He said quietly, slowly turning his eyes towards her. 

“Not at all weird…”  She murmured, walking over and lowering herself to the cushion next to him. 

“You’ve always thought that, haven’t you?”  He asked, lifting his tumbler to his lips. 

“Thought what?”

“That aspect of the Bond…when I know you’re there.  This isn’t anything new.”  He said with a smile, gesturing towards a mug of coffee. 

She returned his smile and picked up the mug, blowing over the top of it before taking a sip.  “You sure you’re okay?  Because…this mood is exactly opposite to the one you were in when I went to take a shower.”

“I just…don’t know how to reconcile everything that’s going on…”  He swallowed, then rubbed his chest.  “In here.”

“What do you mean?”  She leaned forward, placing her mug on the coaster then turned to face him – giving him her full attention. 

“There are so many things that are different, but so many that are the same.  And…figuring out how to bridge those together is…exhausting and confusing and – I think I’m having anxiety issues.”

“To be honest, I’d be surprised if you weren’t.”  She looked at him for a moment and sighed.  “ I mean…I’m still working through things too.  I wake up in the middle of the night – and you’re not breathing, your heart isn’t beating…and I freak the hell out.  For just a few seconds.  And then I remember – and I’m okay.”

“You’re…’okay’?”

“Well, yeah.  Because you’re here, you’re kind and caring, and you love me.”  She smiled softly, hoping he’d return her smile. 

He didn’t.

She reached over to him, placing her hand on his cheek.  “But, when that initial panic calms down? I move closer to you and you automatically pull me into your arms and you give me a sleepy kiss wherever your lips can reach.  And then you whisper “I love you, Buffy” and…everything is right in the world.”

She paused for just a second and then offered him a second smile.  “Except for the fact that you steal all of the blankets now.”

This time he did return her smile.  And then he took her hand in both of his and looked into her eyes. 

“Earlier, I…well, I confused you and I’m so very sorry about that.  I am keenly aware of my desire, my literal need, to be with you.  And it doesn’t help that I address the issue, then immediately want to fuck you wherever we are.”  He swallowed as her eyes widened.  “And, I did.  Oh, love…I wanted to fuck you.  I’m having a very hard time keeping myself from…” 

He cleared his throat and closed his eyes in an attempt to reorient himself.

“It’s okay, Giles.  I get it.  And…furthermore, I’m pretty okay with it.”  She leaned into him and kissed him softly, pulling back when his eyes snapped back open.  “Actually, I’m more than pretty okay with it.”

“What?”

“Look, you using sex as a crutch?  I don’t think that’s what you’re doing.  I really don’t.  If I did, I’d be more hesitant.  And, as you’ve clearly noticed…I’m not.”

“I think I’ve realised an annoying aspect of having a demon co-existing with a soul.”  He said seriously.

“Ru…how about I promise that I’ll tell you if I feel that it’s slipping into crutch territory?”  When he gave her a slow nod, she smiled and gestured towards the hall with a tilt of her head.  “So…you still interested in taking a few steps back and continuing from where we left off before I went to take a shower?”

He stared at her for a moment, then furrowed his brow.  “You’re trying to reassure me that we’re not having too much sex by…suggesting we have sex?”

“See, you say it like that…but, your eyes tell a very different story.”  She whispered, grinning at him.

“This is all very confusing.”  He admitted, even as his eyes changed color as his arousal intensified.  “But, also…bloody amazing.”

“So…not opposed?” 

He answered her by quickly pulling her towards him and covering her mouth with his.  As his tongue dipped between her lips to flick against hers, she groaned.

Obviously, neither were opposed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So…have you actually gone all full-vamp?”  Xander asked, taking a swig of beer from the bottle in his hand. 

Giles raised an eyebrow at him.  Willow stared at him in disbelief, then smacked his upper arm with the back of her hand.

“Ow!  What the hell, Will?”

“That’s one of those questions that you just don’t ask!”

Giles offered her an appreciative smile, then turned his eyes back to Xander.  “I think I might need some further clarification.”

Xander moved away from Willow to avoid any further smacks and then shrugged a shoulder.  “I don’t know.  I mean…for a vampire, you’re pretty human-looking.  Even when you…change.  Is that something you’re able to control?  Or, is that thanks to Lottie?”

“Ah…”  Giles said, crossing his left leg over his right and sitting back in his chair.  “That is thanks to Lottie.  What you’ve seen is, in fact, me going ‘all full-vamp’.  The only physical changes I exhibit are my eye color and…well, the teeth.  That was the point of the spell – to make it easier for me to integrate with the humans, should I be turned.”

Xander nodded, thinking about Giles’ explanation.  “So…can I ask what happened with the Council Board?  Because…there are a lot of rumours going around about old Gerry Blaketon.  Apparently, he sent out an email…but, Will and I didn’t get it.”

“No, I would imagine you wouldn’t have.  It’s very well known that you’re in the inner circle…regarding me.”

Willow’s eyes widened.  “Did he really expose you to the entire Council?”

“From my understanding, yes.  And urged people who had concerns with a vampire running the Council to leave the organisation with him.”

Xander and Willow exchanged a glance – Willow asked the question. 

“So…how many followed?”

“None.”  Buffy answered, slipping into the room.

Giles’ eyes darted to her, then slowly allowed his eyes to drift down her body before returning to her eyes.  “Hello, love.”

She gave him a look that clearly said ‘this is not the time’, but also gave him a smile.  “Hey.”

She held up an old leather satchel and her smile grew.  “Found it.  It was in the back of the closet in the spare room.”

Willow laughed.  “Oh my god, I haven’t seen that in years.”

Xander narrowed his eyes.  “In years?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.  What is it?  I mean, besides a bag…because I can see that it’s a bag.”

“Oh, we found it at an outdoor market on campus back at UC Sunnydale.  As soon as Buffy saw it, she went over to get a closer look.  And then she said it was perfect and bought it.  The girl running the stand said it was the easiest sale she’d ever made.”

“Perfect for?”  Xander prompted, still very obviously confused. 

Buffy opened the satchel and smiled fondly as she looked inside.  Then she carefully reached in and pulled out Mr Gordo with a sigh of adoration. 

“Mr Gordo?  You bought a leather bag for a stuffed pig?”

Buffy stared at Xander.  Xander smiled softly and gave her a wink.

“Of course you did.  Because it’s Mr Gordo.  Just pulling your chain a bit, Buffy.”

“You best be careful of how hard you’re pulling – especially when it comes to Mr Gordo.”

Willow laughed at their exchange.  Giles smiled affectionately.  Then Willow furrowed her brow. 

“Why is he here?  I mean…Mr Gordo never leaves where you’re living.  Because, you’ve always been – ”  She stopped herself as her eyes suddenly widened.  “Oh my god, you’re moving in together?”

Xander turned towards Willow and shook his head.  “How do you make these insane jumps that make no – ”

“We thought it was time.”  Giles interrupted.  “It’s something that I’d been wanting to ask for quite a while.”

“So…do you guys think you might be able to help me pack stuff up and bring it over?”

“Ah…yes, ask the person with the SUV if he can help you move because…boxes won’t fit in your car.”  Xander said teasingly, then gave her a genuine smile.  “Yeah, of course.  You good for this weekend?”

Buffy looked at Giles, whose eyes sparkled at her.  She nodded and grinned at Xander.  “That’d be great, thanks guys.”

Willow grinned brightly.  “I think this calls for celebratory pizza night.”

Giles nodded, then pushed himself up out of his chair.  “Why don’t you go ahead and order – I just need to make a phone call.”

Buffy tilted her head in a silent question.  He smiled and cleared his throat.  “Interim Head nomination…”

“Oh…”  She paused for a second and then exhaled a quick breath.  “You’re sure this all on the level?”

“I am.”  He bent down and gave her a soft kiss.  “Someone needs to be in charge while they figure out the logistics of how this will work.  Or if it even can work.  I can’t run the Council from home, Buffy.  Someone needs to be in there – and it has to be someone I trust implicitly.”

“Yeah, I know.  It’s just…it makes me anxious.”

He smiled and gave her a wink.  “I can help with the anxiety…”

“Rupert…”  She said, glancing over at Willow and Xander, who were busy arguing over pizza.

“Tea, love.”  He said, even as his eyes darted to her lips.  “Tea is the cureall for anxiety.  You know this.”

She nodded slowly, then placed her hand on his chest.  “You okay?

“Doing better.  I wouldn’t say that I’m ready to go frolicking through the meadow on a warm Spring afternoon, but…I’m working through the teething issues one at a time.”

“Interesting choice of words.”  Xander said with a chuckle.  “But, hey…we found this pizza place that does an apple crumble pizza.”

“Get one…or two.”  Giles replied immediately, garnering an amused grin from Buffy.  “What?”

“Your sweet tooth is alive and well.” 

“You’re sweet…”  He whispered.

“And yet…”  She replied, gently rubbing his chest before pulling her hand away.

“And yet…”  He repeated, wistfully. 

She recognised the tone instantly and shook her head.  “Don’t, Ru.  You’re obviously not ready – and I’m not pushing.  You have to know you’re ready.  I can’t know that.”

“Hey, what’s all the whispering about?”  Xander said.

Giles’ eyes slid towards Xander, then he allowed his head to slowly follow.  “If we wanted you to know what we were talking about, we wouldn’t be whispering.”

Xander gave a quick nod, then lowered his gaze.  “Yeah…sorry.”

He turned back to Buffy and slipped his right hand into his pocket.  “Anuwat Mitry…is who I’m nominating.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow.  “Not who I was expecting.  But, a good choice.  So long as you make sure that he knows that I will not be reassigned to another Watcher at any point in time.  Ever.”

Giles chuckled, lifting his left hand and gently squeezing her shoulder.  “I highly doubt he’d think otherwise.  Please don’t let them order any absurd pizzas.  No going off menu tonight.”

“You say that like there’s something wrong with anchovy, jalapeno, and tandoori chicken…”

Giles didn’t even bother to turn to look at Xander.  Instead, he held Buffy’s gaze. 

“Xander is not to place the order, yes?”

“Does garlic affect you?” Willow asked curiously.  “I mean…crosses do and you have no reflection.  We should probably actually sit down and write a list of what traditional vampire aspects are applicable to you.  Shouldn’t we?”

“Yes.  Gerris suggested this as well earlier.  And we should, but not tonight.  So, let’s just be safe and leave off the garlic bread, if you don’t mind.”

Xander twirled the pen he was holding and then drew a line through something with an exaggerated flourish.  “No garlic bread – check!”

Giles offered him a smile and then gave Buffy another soft kiss.  After he left the room, Xander looked at Buffy…tapping the tip of the pen against his chin.

“So…he doesn’t have a reflection.”  He mused.  Then he gave her a crooked smile.  “Does that mean you do his hair for him now.”

“One – shut up, Xander.  Two – order the pizzas and don’t forget the apple crumble.  Three – I dare you to ask Giles that question.”

Xander scrambled to pick up his mobile phone.  Buffy and Willow shared a glance, then burst into laughter.