Title: Under the Influence

Author: Froxyn

Rating: FRM

Pairing: Buffy/Giles

Timeline: S5ish. No Dawn, no Glory.

Synopsis: Giles is injured and admitted to the hospital. Painkillers loosen his tongue a bit.

Author’s Note: Thanks to wyvernwolf for the beta!

Buffy grabbed her pager from the bedside table and narrowed her eyes as she read the number. When she exchanged the pager for the phone, Riley groaned.

“You’re seriously returning a page? Right now?”

Buffy didn’t look at him as she dialled the number. She didn’t have to...she knew that he was lying there, his erection evident under his unbuttoned jeans, and a scowl on his face.

“Yeah, I am...because it’s Will. And Will wouldn’t have called tonight if it wasn’t important.”

Riley opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Buffy quickly speaking into the phone. His scowl only grew when he heard her utter a short ‘on my way’ and then climbed out of bed.

“Buffy...”

She shook her head as she pulled on her clothes and slipped into her shoes. “Giles is in the hospital...”

Riley gave an exasperated sigh and sat up. “I’m sure he’s fine, Buffy. He always is...”

Buffy turned slowly and glared at him. “Giles is in the hospital because he got hurt on patrol. A patrol he was on because he gave me the night off to go on a date with you.” She glanced at his groin when he suggestively rubbed his erection. “You’re seriously expecting me to stay here and have sex with you...when he’s hurt and in the hospital?”

Riley offered her a small grin and a shrug of his shoulder. Buffy clenched her jaw and shook her head in anger before turning and storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Riley’s grin faded and he inhaled deeply. He wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling that Buffy wouldn’t be back.

* * *

The nurse at the admission desk recognized Buffy as she came running through the doors. Before Buffy could even ask, the nurse was giving her the room number and pointing towards the elevator. Buffy thanked her and took off.

She punched the call button for the elevator and paced impatiently. After a few seconds of waiting, she gave up and pushed the door to the stairs open.

Taking the stairs two at a time, her mind raced. Willow hadn’t said how badly he was hurt...not that Buffy had actually given her a chance to say much more than ‘Giles is in the hospital’. Her guilt was gnawing at her...screaming at her that if she hadn’t asked him for the night off because Riley wanted to do something ‘special’, Giles would be safe in his own home with a cup of tea.

It wouldn’t be an issue again, she promised silently. As soon as she found out that Giles was going to be okay, she was breaking it off with Riley. If he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, understand what Giles meant to her, then he’d never understand anything about her.

She reached the fourth floor and pushed the door open. She read the signs quickly and took off towards room 438, trying not to let her panic completely consume her.

As long as he was alive, they could work through any other problems.

She found the room quickly and rushed inside, skidding to a halt when she saw him. Tears welled in her eyes as she slowly walked towards his bed.

“Oh God...”

Giles cracked his left eye open and swallowed. “I’m sure...it looks worse than it is...”

His hair was matted with blood...some dried, some just congealed. She briefly wondered why they hadn’t cleaned it. Seeing the line of sutures that ran along his hairline, she decided that it didn’t really matter.

She pulled a chair as close to the bed as she could get it and sat down, taking his right hand in hers as she gently stroked his hair with her left. “What happened?”

“Got hit.” He replied bluntly and closed his eye. “Doesn’t hurt. Not with the drugs anyway.”

Buffy gave a small smile and sighed. She was getting ready to tell him to go back to sleep, but realized that he already had. She lowered her hand from his head and stared at him. Hopefully the wound wouldn’t scar too badly...but even if it did scar, it would mesh in with his hairline...it shouldn’t be too obvious.

Not that he was vain about his appearance. He never had been...or else he wouldn’t have worn that god-awful scarf back in high school. She chuckled softly at the thought, looking up as the door opened.

Willow walked in with a cup of coffee and handed it to Buffy. When Buffy furrowed her brow, Willow smiled.

“Figured you’d be here by the time I got back.” She glanced at Giles as she sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the bed. “He’s going to be okay...nothing was fractured, thankfully. Just a big laceration, a lot of blood...and another concussion.”

Buffy nodded and looked back at Giles, who seemed to be resting comfortably. “I’m breaking up with Riley.”

Willow’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“Because he expected me to stay there and have sex with him instead of coming here to make sure Giles was okay.” She absently rubbed her thumb over the back of Giles’ hand. “He obviously doesn’t understand the relationship between us.”

“Oh...”

With nothing more to add, and not really wanting to elaborate further on the subject, Buffy sat back and met Willow’s eyes. “So...what happened?”

“He was being Giles, you know?”

Buffy thought about that for a moment and then raised an eyebrow. “Which one of you was getting ready to be a midnight snack?”

“Xander. I sent him home because he was being all guilt-ridden and was getting on Giles’ nerves.” Willow answered with a smile. Her smile faded as Giles shifted on the bed. “I haven’t been that scared in a long time.”

They both quietened down and were content to just watch Giles. The steady beeping of the heart monitor told them that he was doing just fine at the moment. Buffy sighed softly and thought that if he continued to do just fine, she might take the opportunity to carefully wash the blood from his hair while he slept.

* * *

It was a couple of hours later when Giles opened his eyes again. Buffy smiled and gently stroked his still damp, but now clean, hair.

“Hey...how are you feeling?”

He licked his lips and stared into her eyes for a moment. “I’d be better if you’d take your clothes off and climb into bed with me.”

Buffy’s mouth dropped open and he smiled drunkenly before his eyes lost their focus and his eyelids closed again. Buffy glanced at Willow to find her staring at her expectantly. Buffy shook her head and then cleared her throat.

“It’s the drugs...he has no idea what he’s saying or who he’s saying it to...”

“Buffy...” He mumbled softly, forcing his eyes back open.

“Yeah?” She whispered, hoping that he didn’t hear the tremble in her voice.

“You’re Buffy. I know exactly who I’m talking to.” He licked his lips and allowed his eyes to close again.

Buffy stared at him in shock...and continued staring, even though his eyes didn’t open again. Willow said nothing, but sat back in her chair and watched Buffy watch over Giles.

* * *

Giles smiled as he chopped a green pepper.

It had been three weeks since the injury...and this had been the first day that he hadn’t had a headache. And so, he had taken full advantage of that fact and had decided to prepare a proper, homemade spaghetti sauce.

He hadn’t mentioned what had been said that night in the hospital. He remembered in perfect clarity what he’d said, no matter what drugs had been administered to him. He also remembered how Buffy’s eyes had darkened slightly when he had made his request. She masked it quickly, but he had definitely seen the arousal in her eyes.

She hadn’t mentioned anything about it either...but, he had noticed her looking at him more than she used to. Not really looking, he amended, but…seeing. She was seeing him more than she used to. He also noticed that Riley’s name hadn’t been mentioned in his presence since before the accident. He took that as a hopeful sign.

His smile grew as he tossed the pepper into the simmering sauce and added another pinch of salt.

* * *

Buffy sat on her bed in the dorm room that she shared with Willow. She was trying to study, but she was finding it incredibly difficult to concentrate on anything. More accurately, she was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than Giles. And it had been that way for the past three weeks. Ever since he had said...that.

She sighed heavily and closed the book with more force than was needed. Who studied on a Friday afternoon anyway?

She looked at the clock and came to a quick decision. She still had a few hours before patrol...and she’d much rather sit and talk with Giles than try to cram more information about the Persian War into her head.

She jumped off the bed and, as an afterthought, picked up her textbook. Giles might be able to help her study...surely he knew all about the Persian War.

* * *

Giles looked up as his front door opened. He smiled warmly as Buffy entered and closed the door behind her. She returned his smile, dropping the book onto the desk and then gesturing towards the knife in his hand.

“Feeling better today?”

“I am.” He stated and then glanced at the clock. “You’re earlier than I expected...”

She raised an eyebrow and wandered into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and leaning against the sink. “You were expecting me?”

He chuckled softly and deftly julienned a carrot. If he’d been looking at Buffy, he would’ve seen how much that impressed her.

“Well, yes...but, later. I had assumed that you would come by after patrol.”

“Thought I’d come by before and see how you’re doing. It seems like you’re doing just fine.” She took a sip of the water before placing the bottle on the countertop. “What are you doing?”

“Making dinner.”

She nodded and then looked at the huge bowl of salad he was cutting up...and then noticed the large pot of pasta boiling away next to an equally large pot of sauce simmering. “A lot of food for just you.”

He nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “I was hoping you might want to join me.”

Buffy bit her lip and ventured a little further, silently wishing for a specific response. “A lot of food for just the two of us...”

“What we don’t eat will keep for a few days.” He answered softly, lowering the knife to the chopping board.

She smiled and exhaled slowly, happy that her wish had been granted. “Can I help you with anything?”

He visibly relaxed and gestured towards the wine rack. “You could...pick out a bottle to go with dinner.”

“A home cooked dinner...all from scratch, probably the pasta too...and a nice bottle of wine?” She chuckled as she pulled a bottle from the middle of the rack and read the label. “It’s very chick-flicky.”

He turned towards her and furrowed his brow in confusion. “Chick-flicky?”

“Yeah...” She nodded and opened the drawer to find the corkscrew. “You know...all romantic and stuff. Making dinner, plying with wine...the game of seduction...”

“Buffy...”

“The only thing that would make it more romantic would be candlelight.”

He swallowed nervously and glanced at the table. Buffy followed his glance and smiled at the two white tapered candles placed between two settings on the table.

“Yay for candles.” She whispered, carefully removing the cork from the bottle of wine.

“It isn’t a game.” He said softly. “It isn’t necessarily seduction, but...this isn’t a game to me.”

She offered him a warm smile as she grabbed two glasses. “So, it wasn’t just the drugs?”

He stood there, staring at her as she filled the glasses with the rich, red wine. Her smile faltered when she looked back up at him.

“Giles?”

“Why are you here?”

Her brow furrowed as she placed the bottle on the countertop. “What’s wrong?”

“If you’ve come to tease me about what I said, then perhaps you should start your patrol early.”

“Tease?” She shook her head as he continued to stare at her. She hadn’t missed the pain in his statement. “The last thing I want is to tease you. God, I thought I’ve been pretty obvious the past three weeks...”

“I’ve seen the desire in your eyes...” Giles admitted, clearing his throat before continuing. “However...if it’s merely sex you want, then you should go now.”

“Giles – ”

“Because I will give in to you and – ”

“What if I want more?” She interrupted, feeling more nervous than she had in her entire life.

When he stared at her in disbelief, and no words came from his mouth, she took a deep breath and continued softly. “Do you want more than for me to take off my clothes and climb into bed with you? Because, until just a few seconds ago, I thought that’s all you wanted from me.”

“What?” He whispered hoarsely.

“You haven’t said anything else...at all. I thought I saw something in your eyes once, but...” She sighed heavily and glanced at his lips. “I know that you were on some pretty heavy-duty painkillers and – ”

Her sentence was cut short as he quickly leaned into her and covered her mouth with his. He meant for it to be a gentle, promising kiss...and it was, for a short few seconds. It didn’t take long for her to push her tongue into his mouth...and it didn’t take much longer for him to lift her to the counter and step in between her thighs.

His hands cradled her face, his tongue sliding along hers as her fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt. When he felt her hands roam over his heated skin, he broke the kiss long enough to pull her shirt over her head. He glanced at her chest as he tossed the shirt into the living room.

He smiled as he watched her nipples harden through the thin satin cups of her bra. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders, leaning forward to kiss his chest as the garment fell to the kitchen floor. He licked his lips, sliding his right hand into her hair and guiding her mouth to his nipple. He murmured appreciatively as she gently sucked the hardened nub and moved his left hand to her back, easily unclasping her bra.

She quickly rid herself of the bra, sucking harder at his flesh as his fingers slid over the firm flesh of her right breast. When he gently pinched the sensitive nipple, she groaned against his chest.

“Bloody hell...” He mumbled, carefully pulling her mouth away from him.

Before she could protest at all, he plunged his tongue into her mouth. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he began to push her back. Just before her back touched the countertop, his arm knocked over one of the glasses of wine.

“Don’t stop...” She groaned as he lifted his head to survey the damage. “It’s just wine...God, Giles...don’t stop now.”

He smiled and quickly pushed the second glass, and bottle, further away from them. He reached to his left and plucked a tea towel from a hook on the wall, dropping it over the puddle of wine before running his hand over her abdomen.

“Christ, I want you...”

Buffy blushed at the tone of his voice, raw lust dripping from his words...love shining brightly in his eyes. She shuddered lightly as his fingers unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans.

“What happened to my shy, stammering ex-librarian?”

Giles swallowed thickly and hooked his fingers into her belt loops. “He was nearly killed before he had a chance to reveal his true feelings to his Slayer.”

Buffy’s eyes widened as she glanced at the healing scar on his head. “Nearly? You said it wasn’t that bad...”

“Ssh...” He whispered soothingly, tugging her jeans over her hips as he took a step backwards. “It was only ‘nearly’ because it would’ve been ‘certainly’ had Willow not been there. But...it did show me that I couldn’t continue as I had been...”

“Giles – ”

Giles swallowed and licked his lips as he dropped her jeans to the kitchen floor. “And…we can’t continue this here, Buffy.”

She stared at him as she sat up, placing her palm on the wine soaked towel. “What?”

He slid his hands up her thighs, pushing them apart and stepping back between them. He grunted softly as he pressed his denim-covered groin against her very damp satin underwear.

“If we stay here, I’m going to fuck you.”

Buffy gasped at the deep tone of his voice, sliding her hands up his chest…leaving a path of sweet, red wine on his skin. “And if you take me to bed?”

“There’s a very good chance that I’ll still fuck you…” He stated with a smile, lifting her from the counter. “But, at least there’ll be some semblance of comfort.”

She traced his left ear with her fingertips, gazing into his darkened eyes as he carried her towards the stairs. “I never would’ve thought having a man say he’s going to fuck me would turn me on so much…why do you think that is?”

He stopped on the small landing and gently pressed her back against the wall. “Do you want my honest opinion?”

“Always.” She whispered as she nodded, shifting her hips so that her core rested directly over his erection.

His eyes darted to her lips and he inhaled sharply as her tongue peeked out. He lowered the last of his defences and looked into her eyes.

“Because you know the truth. You know that my words are rarely meant to be taken at face value. And you know…” He lifted his right hand and tenderly rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb. “I want to fuck you, Buffy. I want you on your knees in front of me, my cock buried so deeply in your… ”

He paused and took a deep breath, not bothering to finish his statement before continuing.

“You know that I love you…more than I want to fuck you.” He smiled softly as her eyes widened. “It’s not the raw lust, the sweat dripping from our bodies as we push each other over the edge time and time again, the cries of ecstasy…that’s not what you’re after.”

“Giles, I…”

“You want love. You want to be loved…physically, emotionally, deeply. And you want your love to be accepted…held tightly and treasured.” He leaned into her, brushing his lips across hers as he rocked his hips against her. “And you know that I can give that to you. That’s the truth that you know without question.”

Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips made their way along her jaw to her ear. “And so when I say that I want to fuck you…you know that it’s love I will give you, over and over until you ask me to stop. That’s why it turns you on when I say it…in my opinion, of course.”

“Oh my God.” She whispered, tightening her legs around him as he stepped back from the wall and continued his journey up the stairs. “I love you.”

He smiled and kissed her lovingly as he stepped into the bedroom. They were well past the point of no return…and as he lowered her to the bed and felt her hands push at his jeans, he knew that neither of them were concerned about it.

They’d give in to their carnal needs right now…hard and fast, screaming each other’s names as they came. And later, he’d make love to her…tender and slow, whispering his undying and unconditional love for her.

At some point, they’d venture back downstairs to have the meal that he had so thoughtfully prepared for the two of them. And he was sure that he’d take that opportunity to clean up the mess that they had made…after all, red wine had a tendency to stain.

As he kicked his remaining clothes to the side and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him, he had a brief thought about patrol. He groaned loudly as she guided his cock into her and moved his hands to her hips.

One night without patrol would not bring about the end of Sunnydale, California.

~ End

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