Title: Distractions
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRAO (light)
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: Four months after Unconditional. Part XXXIII of the Giles Family Series (written in July 2011)
Synopsis: Work has been getting in Giles' way and Braden has some more training to do.
Author’s Note: Special thanks to A for looking over this fic.


"You’re dropping your shoulder."

Braden paused and took a step back from the dummy, turning his head towards his parents. "No, I’m not."

"You are." Buffy countered, agreeing with Giles as she jumped down from her perch on the pommel horse. "Your Dad’s right...you’re dropping your left shoulder just a hair before you throw a punch. Add that to the slight stutter-step you’ve picked up and your opponent will be able to time...and block...each one."

Braden rolled his eyes. Giles smirked as Buffy arched an eyebrow at their oldest child.

"Don’t believe me? Let’s go then...you and me, right now."

Braden sighed as Buffy stretched and then slipped into her fighting stance. "Mum..."

"Right now, Braden. And don’t you dare pull your punches with me, understand?"

Braden glanced over at his father, quickly realizing that he was going to be of no help at all. Giles merely crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe.

"Fine." Braden grumbled, taking a deep breath before facing off against his mother. "Wonder how many guys my age actually have permission to hit their mothers?"

Buffy chuckled and took a step to her left as Braden crouched slightly. "You have permission to try to hit me...I’ll bet you twenty quid you won’t be able to."

When Giles snorted, Buffy looked over at him. "What?"

"That just sounds amusing...you saying ‘quid’." He pushed away from the doorframe and gestured towards their son. "Carry on."

"Twenty?" Braden grinned. "You’re on!"

Giles narrowed his eyes in concentration, focusing on his wife and son as they circled one another. He held back his frustrated sigh as he watched Braden’s shoulder dip slightly. Less than a second later, Buffy successfully blocked the punch.

Giles was fairly certain that he wouldn’t be pulling twenty pounds out of his wallet tonight.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Braden groaned and took two steps back...effectively ending the sparring session. "Fine...you win..."

Giles shook his head, tossing Buffy a towel and handing Braden a bottle of water. "This isn’t about who wins, son. This is about learning how to fight without signalling your intentions."

"Doesn’t really help that I was fighting the Slayer, does it?" Braden mumbled, twisting the lid off the bottle with more force than necessary.

"Doesn’t matter who you’re fighting." Buffy stated, wiping the sweat from the side of her neck. "If you have the tells, then they’ll figure them out."

"Did you have any?" Braden asked before taking a large swallow of water.

Giles chuckled, earning him a playful glare from his wife. "What? You know you did...shifting on the ball of your right foot always led to a left-handed uppercut, for one."

Braden grinned brightly, the confirmation that his mother...the most successful Slayer in history...had tells at one time made him feel a lot better about his own problems that needed working on. "Well, if you fixed yours...then I bet I can fix mine. What do you say, Mum? Put that twenty quid down on a rematch for next week?"

Buffy snorted a soft laugh and reached over to ruffle his hair. She sighed, realizing that she was actually reaching up more than she had just a few weeks earlier.

"So much like your father..."

Braden gave her a crooked smile, his green eyes sparkling. "One day, I’ll have a Slayer who’ll challenge you for the title of ‘Most Successful’..."

"I have no doubt...especially if you pick up his training rituals." Buffy grinned proudly. "Go on...go grab a shower and you can go with me to pick Lucas up."

"Make it sound like you’re doing me a favour, why don’t you..." Braden joked, ducking out of the way when she moved to smack the back of her hand against his arm. "Telegraphed that one, Mum!"

Giles chuckled as Braden darted behind him and then headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. "Don’t wake Declan up!"

"I won’t!" Braden called back down, pausing to give Callie a quick cuddle before heading down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Giles smiled when he heard the tell-tale sound of Zephyr playfully bounding after Braden. He met Buffy’s eyes, arching an eyebrow at her as she took a step towards him.

"You, uh...you should probably grab a shower too..."

She gave a slight shake of her head and hooked the index finger of her right hand into one of his belt loops. "Would rather give you a blowjob..."

"Buffy..." His tone was one of warning, but desire flickered in his eyes. "Not here, not now."

"Why not?" She asked, running her tongue over her bottom lip. "Dec’s asleep, Braden’s in the shower, Lucas is at Tom’s, and Haddie and Ev are with Mom. I can make it...quick."

"I’m sure you could." Giles sighed, fighting the urge to kiss her. "But, you know that we’re..."

He trailed off, casting a glance towards the stairs as the doorbell interrupted him.

"What? Is there some kind of sign outside that says I’m going to try to seduce my husband, so please interrupt me?" Buffy huffed, pulling her finger from his belt loop.

Giles grinned and quickly wrapped his fingers around her wrist. "You know as well as I do that you don’t have to try."

"Apparently, I do." She mumbled, pulling out of his grasp and moving around him.

His grin disappeared as he turned to watch her climb the stairs. "I’m sorry?"

She paused on the fourth step and heaved a somewhat sad sigh. "Rupert...you know exactly what I mean."

He opened his mouth to deny that statement, but then closed it almost immediately. He did know what she meant.

"Buffy, it’s not – " His jaw clenched when the doorbell interrupted him again.

"Can we talk about this later?" Buffy asked softly.

"No." Giles stated firmly, reaching up through the railing and placing his hand on her foot. "Because you think that I don’t want you...and that’s the furthest thing from the truth."

"There’s someone at the door...and Braden’ll be out of the shower soon. We don’t have time to talk about this right now."

"But we had time for me to come in your mouth?" He asked, his green eyes narrowing.

Buffy’s eyes flashed with annoyance as she pulled her foot out from under his hand. "Did you really just ask me that?"

"Yes, I did. Because if I’d agreed then that’s where we’d be right now...and you’d ask me to ignore the doorbell so we could finish." He replied, his tone equal parts frustration and confusion. "Tell me that's not true."

"Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it? Because you turned me down...again."

"Buffy – "

She interrupted him with a shake of her head, blowing out a deep breath as the bell sounded for a third time. "Not now, Rupert. Just...not now."

"But..." He started, trailing off as she ran the rest of the way up the stairs. Dragging his hand through his hair, he exhaled forcefully and wondered exactly where everything had gone wrong.

He swallowed thickly, immediately giving himself an answer. He knew exactly where things had gone wrong. But, he also knew that she didn’t understand...not that he had made it abundantly clear, of course. There were times that he forgot that she couldn’t really read his mind...it just seemed like she could most of the time.

She obviously thought that she wasn’t desirable to him for whatever reason.

She obviously thought wrong.

With that thought swirling around in his mind, he ran up the stairs...intent on asking their visitor, or visitors, to leave.

Hopefully, Braden would spend just a little longer in the shower...

* * *

Giles rushed into the room just in time to see Buffy close the front door. He glanced around, somewhat surprised to find no one to ask to leave.

"Who was it?"

Buffy’s eyes darted over to him, her eyebrow arching slightly. Obviously, she hadn’t expected him to follow her that quickly.

"Someone wanting to give us energy-saving lightbulbs..." She replied, running her fingers through her hair. "Look, I’m – "

He shook his head as he quickly made his way over to her, lifting his left hand to the side of her face. "Please, Buffy...please, be quiet for just a moment."

For the briefest of moments, she looked as though she was going to argue with him. And then she gave a sigh of resignation, her shoulders slumping slightly as his thumb rubbed over her cheek.

"Yeah, okay..."

He felt a twinge of sadness. A twinge that threatened to grow into much more. He stamped it down quickly and whispered her name as he lowered his mouth to hers.

He swallowed her gasp, slipping his tongue into her mouth as he pushed her back against the door. He felt her resist for just a second, more than likely trying to just assess the situation. And then he felt it...her fingers sliding through his hair, her nails scraping against his scalp as she tilted her head and began to return his kiss.

A groan rumbled in his chest as her teeth lightly bit his tongue and he reached down to guide her left leg over his hip as he effortlessly lifted her. She broke the kiss with a moan as he rocked his hips against her.

"Giles..."

"I’d fuck you right here if our son wasn’t just down the hall." He mumbled, covering her right breast with his warm palm. "Christ, I want you...I’ve wanted you...Buffy..."

She wrapped her other leg around him and arched against his touch. Whimpering his name, she did her best to pull his mouth to her neck. He gave her breast a squeeze and licked his lips as she inhaled sharply.

"I’d almost take my chances..." He murmured, moving his hand to edge his fingers under the hem of her shirt.

"Huh?"

"Of fucking you right here...right now..." He clarified before finally allowing her the sensation of his lips, teeth, and tongue against the sensitive flesh of her neck.

"Oh..." She sighed, closing her eyes as he tenderly sucked at her skin. When he felt his hand move between their bodies and pull at the drawstring of her track pants, her eyes snapped open. "Oh! Oh, no...Giles..."

"Want you..." He mumbled, his words vibrating against her throat. "God, I want you, Buffy...please don’t ever think that I don’t..."

"You...turned me down..." She whispered, carefully unhooking her legs from around him. "Like...more than once."

He leaned back and gazed into her eyes, nodding slowly as she slid down his body to stand in front of him. "That...that had nothing to do with you, Buffy."

Her eyes glistened as she swallowed and moved her hands to his chest, her fingertips lightly stroking the cotton shirt he was wearing. "Then what’s it about? ‘Cause...I’m really starting to worry here, Giles."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and offered her a tender smile. "There’s nothing to worry about, love. I’ve just had a lot on my mind...three more Slayers arrived this past week and I had to find Watchers for them. Then there was the nest of Blashovio demons – "

"Work?" Buffy whispered sadly. "Work has kept you away from me?"

"Mostly." Giles replied, gliding his thumb along her kiss-swollen bottom lip. "The rest of it is simply life. Friends, family...homework, training...we lead busy lives, Buffy."

"Maybe we should un-busy our lives for a while..."

"Easier said than done." Giles chuckled and leaned back down to brush his lips across hers. "But, I promise you...tonight is ours. Just you and me...dinner, a walk along the river..."

"Which will be interrupted by a vampire or some other beastie, probably. Because that’s how most dates with you end up..."

His eyes sparkled with amusement. "I remember one date that ended up with us making love in the front seat of the car..."

Buffy grinned. "Yeah...but, you said a walk, not a drive."

"Maybe I’ll amend my plans." He offered softly. "Because that was one hell of a night, from what I remember."

"Always is."

Giles smiled lovingly at her and then took a step back. At her questioning look, he gestured to the hall with a jerk of his thumb.

"Braden will be out of the shower soon..."

"Oh...and I guess you’d rather him not see us – "

"Hear, mainly." He interrupted, his eyes darting to her lips as he took another step back. "He doesn’t need to know what’s going through my mind right now. And if I stay that close to you, I’m not going to be able to keep my mouth shut."

"Tell me later?" She asked, walking by him and into the living room itself.

He nodded, a smile forming on his lips as he watched her bend over to pick up a stray toy. "Might be better to show you..."

Buffy grinned brightly, tossing the toy into the box in the corner of the room and feeling more at peace than she had half an hour earlier. Giles returned her grin and tilted his head in the direction of the hallway.

"I’ll, uh...go get Declan dressed if you want to hop in the shower. The four of us can go pick up Lucas...and then head over to your Mum’s. If you want, that is."

"Yeah, that sounds really good." She agreed, her grin drifting into seriousness for a moment. "I’m sorry, Ru. About earlier...downstairs."

His heart fluttered at the sound of her calling him ‘Ru’. That name was rarely used for him and more often for their eldest child.

"You’ve nothing to be sorry about, love. Your reaction was perfectly justified, given the circumstances." He exhaled softly as she walked over to him. "I’m sorry that my actions made you feel that – "

She reached up and drew his mouth down to hers, effectively ending his apology.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Dad?"

"Yes?" Giles replied, slowing to a stop for a red light.

"Are you sure it doesn’t bother you that I didn’t take my Oath?"

Giles’ eyes darted to the rearview mirror, quickly catching his second child’s eye. "I’m positive, Lucas. It’s your decision...I thought that we made that perfectly clear."

"Yeah, but...you could still be disappointed, I guess." Lucas responded, shrugging a shoulder.

"Are you comfortable with your decision?" Giles asked, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth as Lucas nodded. "Are you happy with your decision?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Then how could I be disappointed in that? All I’ve ever wanted..."

"We’ve wanted." Buffy corrected quickly.

"Right, yes...of course. All we've ever wanted is for you to be happy." Giles amended, turning his eyes to the road when the light turned green. "And you know that if you change your mind, I might be able to do something about it."

Braden playfully nudged his younger brother. " ‘Cause, you know...Dad knows the Head of Council..."

Lucas laughed and rolled his eyes, knowing that he was being teased. "Really? Are they pretty good friends?"

"Sometimes." Buffy chimed in, chuckling. "I’ve heard the Head of Council can be kinda...hard...when he wants to be."

Giles gave her a sideways stare as he turned onto the road that led to Joyce’s house. He cleared his throat, refusing to verbally acknowledge Buffy’s statement.

"My point is...it’s a choice. And choices can be changed depending on the situation or how a person’s views change." Giles glanced back at Lucas and smiled. "Happiness is paramount, Luke. Never forget that."

Lucas returned the smile and then looked over at his older brother. "What about you, Bay? Are you upset that I’m not going to be a Watcher too?"

Braden scoffed. "Why would I be upset? Don’t I have to put up with you enough at home?"

Declan giggled maniacally…even though there was no way he could understand the conversation. Giles pulled into Joyce’s driveway and killed the engine before turning around to grin at his youngest child.

"And what are you laughing at, young man?"

Declan giggled even harder and pointed at Braden. "Den!"

"Yeah, Braden’s a regular comedian…" Lucas chuckled good-naturedly.

"An’ Lugie!"

Lucas’ chuckle faltered. "Lukie. Kuh, not guh…"

"Yeah…Lugie!"

Braden snorted as he opened his door. "Lugie!"

Declan shook his head furiously. "No! Not Lugie…Lugie!"

"Lukie…" Buffy confirmed.

Declan nodded and grinned. "Yep! Lugie!"

"Dear Lord…this could go on all night…" Giles stated, shaking his head in amusement.

"Great…my baby brother is calling me a big ball of gross spit." Lucas grumbled as he opened his door.

Giles climbed out of the car and ruffled Lucas’ hair. "If it’s any consolation, he thinks he’s saying ‘Lukie’."

"Yeah, it’s a lot of consolation." Lucas sighed. "You try having a name that your brother can’t pronounce."

Giles laughed, unbuckling Declan from the car seat and lifting him out of the car. "You think ‘Rupert’ would be easy for a little kid to say?"

Lucas thought for a second and then his green eyes lit up. "What did your brother call you?"

Giles gave Lucas a wink and then carefully placed Declan on the ground. "Better get inside…you know Declan likes to race you for Grandma’s first hug."

Lucas smirked, knowing that his father was just avoiding the question. He’d get the answer out of him one day. Right now, his baby brother was running towards the front door as fast as he could.

As Lucas took off after Declan, Buffy slipped her hand into Giles’. Giles looked down at her as Braden ran after Lucas and Declan, easily catching up to them and playfully bumping Lucas out of Declan’s way.

"That was smooth…"

"Hm? What’s that?" He asked, letting go of her hand so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"What did Ewan call you?" She asked, leaning into him.

"I think…" He started and then lowered his voice…just in case anyone happened to be listening. "I want you on your hands and knees in front of me tonight."

He tightened his arm around her as she stumbled.

"I think…" He continued, pretending that he didn’t hear her sharp gasp. "I want to be inside you from behind…buried deep inside of you when you come."

"Giles…"

He stopped suddenly and moved in front of her, cradling her face in his large hands as he stared into her eyes. "And then I want you to fuck me until I come."

She shuddered and curled her fingers in the front of his shirt. "And I’m supposed to go into my mother’s house now and pretend that everything is all cool and shit?"

He grinned and leaned down, running the tip of his tongue over her bottom lip. "It is all ‘cool and shit’…isn’t it?"

"Yeah…" She breathed, swallowing hard as he moved back to her side. "Giles?"

"Mm?"

"Is everything okay?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why wouldn’t it be?"

"I don’t know. It’s just…" She shook her head as if to clear it. "This is a huge change in you. I mean…for the past few weeks you’ve been coming up with reason after reason to not make love to me. And now…I get this. And I just want to make sure that you’re okay…we’re okay…things are okay. You know?"

"It’s not such a huge change, love." He disagreed with a sigh. "The thoughts and desires have been there daily, nightly. I’ve woken in the middle of the night and just watched you sleep…thinking about all of the things I wanted to do to you and what I wanted you to do to me. The timing has just been really, very horrible. And I’m sorry that I allowed work to take me away from you…I’ll endeavour to not let that happen again."

"Are you sure that no one’s put a spell on you or anything?" Buffy asked.

Giles nearly laughed, but realized that she was serious. That she was truly worried.

"Oh, Buffy…I’m so sorry." He whispered, pulling her against his chest and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Daddy!"

Giles looked over, unable to stop his smile from appearing as his daughter ran across the front lawn. "Hello, Princess!"

Buffy moved to Giles’ side, smiling as Haddie launched herself at her father. "Definitely her Daddy’s girl…"

Haddie kissed Giles’ cheek and then grinned at her mother. "And yours!"

Giles chuckled and lowered Haddie back to the ground. "What have you been doing today?"

Haddie wrapped her arms around her mother in a tight hug. "Helping Grandma make biscuits."

Buffy ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair. "What kind?"

"Raspberry and sultana." Haddie replied happily. "Evan helped too…and made a mess. A huge mess! Katie thought it was so funny…"

"Katie?" Giles’ smile softened. "How is she, sweetheart?"

"She’s good. She said that you’re working too much and that Mummy worries too much and that both of the problems are unnecessary."

Buffy arched an eyebrow. "What did she mean by that?"

"Well…Daddy could let other people do some of the work and Katie says that you have nothing to worry about because Daddy thinks about you all the time." Haddie’s brow furrowed slightly and then she shrugged her shoulders. "Not really sure what she meant by that though."

Giles glanced at Buffy. Buffy merely smiled at Haddie.

"I think I get it, Hads." She stated quietly.

Haddie’s smile returned and she turned her bright green eyes to her father again. "Oh! And she told me to make sure to tell you that she loves you."

Giles swallowed as his eyes glistened lightly. "When you see her again, would you tell her that I love her as well?"

Haddie nodded emphatically. "Yep! Oh…you know how I said that Evvie made a huge mess? Well..."

She moved in between her parents and reached for her mother with her left hand and her father with her right. She took great pleasure in swinging their joined hands back and forth as she led them to the house, telling them all about the flour and eggs that she and her grandmother had had to clean off the floor, counters, and walls that afternoon.

Giles glanced at Buffy again.

This time he was met with a warm, loving smile which he returned instantly.

* * *

"So…apparently, Katie thinks you’ve been worrying."

Buffy sighed as she looked at her mother, a vegetable peeler in one hand and a carrot in the other. "You know…most normal people would be freaked out if their granddaughter told them about a conversation she’d had with her sister’s spirit."

Joyce shrugged a shoulder and lifted her mug of tea. "I’m not most people…and my family is certainly not what most people would consider normal."

"Mom!"

Joyce blew across the top of her mug and then took a sip. Lowering her mug back to the countertop, she tilted her head questioningly.

"Is everything okay? With you and Rupert, I mean?"

"Yeah, it is." Buffy replied, quickly and carefully peeling the carrot. "It’s just…he’s been working a lot and we haven’t…um…spent much time together in the past few weeks."

Joyce considered her words and then, realizing there was no good way to ask it, she let them fall from her lips. "And you were worried that he was cheating on you?"

"No, not at all!" Buffy answered without thought. "I was worried that he didn’t find me…"

She trailed off and cleared her throat, diverting her gaze from her mother. Joyce sighed in understanding.

"You thought he didn’t find you…desirable?"

"Yeah…" Buffy admitted softly after a moment. "Turns out he was just tired and overworked…stress of the job and such. But, yeah…I was really starting to worry."

"Buffy…" Joyce started, reaching out to stroke her daughter’s hair. "You know that’s not…I mean…I see how he looks at you."

Buffy blushed lightly. "I know…he…we…um…yeah, I know, Mom."

Joyce smiled and exhaled slowly. "Leave the kids here tonight, sweetheart."

"Mom – "

"We can’t ask you to take five children with little notice, Joyce." Giles stated, causing both women to look at him.

He offered them a small smile and rubbed the side of his neck. "I, uh…just came in for a cup of tea."

Joyce’s eyes sparkled with amusement as she reached over and flipped the switch on the kettle. "Tea’s easy…and you didn’t ask, I offered."

Giles’ gaze shifted to his wife. Buffy bit off a piece of the carrot and chewed thoughtfully. She met her husband’s eyes and swallowed.

"It’s not like we have five toddlers. Braden and Lucas can help with the younger ones…and Haddie can keep Evan out of trouble."

Giles’ eyes darkened a shade and then he cleared his throat. "Are, uh…are you sure, Joyce?"

"I’m their grandmother, Rupert…I’m more than happy to have them stay the night." She answered with a gentle laugh. "Besides, you two obviously need some alone time to talk all of this through."

The tips of Giles’ ears reddened slightly, but he nodded in agreement. "Yes, well…um…thank you."

Buffy nearly laughed at the fact that her mother had volunteered to watch their five children so that they could have a night of uninterrupted sex.

But, then she realized it was more than that. It wasn’t so that they could have sex. Well, not for the most part. Mostly it was so Giles could be free to show Buffy, without question, that Katie was right. She had nothing to worry about.

She swallowed her laughter and offered Giles a bite of her carrot, which he accepted with no question.

She’d thank her mother later.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Giles took a deep breath and exhaled softly as he held the front door open for his wife. It had been a long, nearly distracting, ride home and, as he allowed his eyes to roam down to her backside, he knew he wanted nothing more than to push her onto the closest stationary object and bury himself within her.

He also knew that would be the biggest mistake he could make. If he allowed that scenario to play out, all it would show her was that he was...horny. His brow furrowed at that particular thought.

Buffy turned around and looked up at him, her smile fading slightly when she saw his furrowed brow. "What’s wrong?"

"I’m sorry?"

"You’re looking...concerned." She stated, lifting her hand to his chest. "Concern is not what I want you to be feeling right now."

"Oh...oh, no. I’m not concerned, really. It’s more that..." He paused, glancing at her hand as her fingers rubbed against his shirt. "I want you."

He shook his head as she grinned, continuing before she had a chance to say anything.

"But, it needs to be more than sex." He sighed as he lifted his hand and gently ran his fingers through her hair. "Do you know what I mean?"

"How about we open a bottle of red and just see where the evening takes us?" She replied after a moment.

He smiled softly, the pad of his thumb caressing her cheek. "That would be lovely."

Buffy grinned as she heard an annoyed bark come from the back porch. "You take care of the dogs, I take care of wine and glasses?"

Giles chuckled when Zephyr joined Callie in demanding to be let in. "I doubt they’d be content to stay outside..."

She snorted and gently nudged him towards the kitchen door. "Not when they know someone’s home."

"We could...pretend we’re not home."

Buffy laughed as Callie let out a howl, which was echoed by Zephyr. "Oh, yeah...I’m sure they’d believe that."

Giles joined in with Buffy’s laughter and made his way into the kitchen. His eyes sparkled with amusement when he saw that Callie was standing on her back paws, her front paws resting on the ledge of the kitchen window as she peered inside.

He couldn’t actually see her tail, but judging by the excitement he could easily see in her eyes, he assumed that it was wagging wildly. He snorted another laugh when Zephyr’s head popped into view for just a second as he jumped up to see what Callie was looking at.

"Second best thing to come home to..." He murmured happily as he made his way to the back door.

Buffy smiled as she carefully pulled two wine glasses from the cupboard.


~ End

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