Fic Part 1/3 Si Aliquid Amas

[littleotter73]

Title: Si Aliquid Amas
Author: littleotter73
Pairing: Giles/Buffy
Rating: FRAO/NC-17
Setting: Post Chosen
Beta: catchoo152, with my heartfelt thanks! She’s brilliant and always pushes me further than I think I can go. Any remaining mistakes are totally mine.
Special Thanks: Go to quinara  for her help with the Latin translations and from saving me from embarrassing myself with Google Translator.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Buffyverse.
A/N: Translation of the title is at the end of the story.
 

 

 

Si Aliquid Amas (Part 1/3)

 

Giles had just returned from the airport, where he’d seen the last of the newly activated Slayers off. Some had headed home to clean up their own cities of vampiric and demonic activity, whilst others had left with Faith and Robin to guard the new Hellmouth in Cleveland - but these last few had had nowhere else to go and were currently on a jumbo jet bound for England to join the few Watchers, like Robson, who had survived the bombing of the Council building, as well as assassination attempts by the bringers. As he put the car in park, Giles let out a huge sigh. In a few days, he too would find himself on a plane heading home, taking up the dubious task of rebuilding the Council as its new Head Watcher.

 

In truth, he really didn't want to do it, but he felt he owed it to his Slayer that he should. They had been sitting ducks waiting for the First to come after them in the days before the final battle, rapidly running out of time. Had there been another way, Buffy wouldn't have had Willow perform the activation spell, but her instincts had been right and she had unleashed the powers of the Slayer on the Potentials. These new Slayers were managing fairly well after the apocalypse, but now the organization had to find the ones who hadn’t been part of the fight, take care of them, and provide them with Watchers, training, and coping mechanisms. Like Buffy, these girls were not brought up in the Council and they had no idea what was happening to them.

 

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked through the lobby of the hotel making his way to the bar. When he sat down, he threw his new prescription sunglasses and rental car keys down onto the counter.

 

"What's your poison tonight, Mr Giles?" the bartender asked.

 

"Whatever you've got on tap, Dan, the darker the better," he answered, running a hand through his hair.

 

"You seen all of 'em off now? Their parents must be relieved. Can't believe they would just send ‘em to Sunnydale for an exchange program. There were rumblings about odd seismic activity for months."

 

Giles ignored the reference to the troubles in Sunnydale. "Just four of us left, and we'll be out of your hair in a couple days."

 

“No trouble at all, Mr Giles, we’ll miss ya when ya head back to that country of yours,” Dan replied before heading off to serve another customer.

 

Just the four of them. The original gang. Buffy had sent Dawn off to LA to be with their father once she had located him a week after the final battle. She hadn't given him much of a choice, saying she would come back for her sister when she was settled. Giles took a long draught from the pint that was placed in front of him. Oddly enough, Dawn was fine with this decision, seemingly set on taking full advantage of her situation as a “Sunnydale survivor” and her father’s overwhelming sense of guilt at having abandoned his daughters years ago.

 

Draining half his glass, Giles felt his heart grow heavy. He and Buffy still walked on eggshells around each other, despite him having apologized for that awful business with Spike, as well as siding with the rest of the group when she was unceremoniously thrown out of the house. She had accepted his apology, acknowledging that she could see his perspective, but that it had hurt her nonetheless; and he had to admit that he had been surprised when she apologized as well, saying that she had never meant to hurt him and that she had gone too far when she slammed the door in his face. Yet, after all the sorries were said and absolutions given, things were still tense between them.

 

He also noticed how restless she was, like she didn’t know what she wanted to do with herself now that the Hellmouth was closed, only that she was determined to take a break from slaying. The last time they talked, she seemed to have her heart set on taking up residence in Rome, and in a way, he couldn't blame her. The Eternal City was not a favorite amongst the demonic population, as the Vatican, the very heart of the Catholic Church, was ensconced within, and all the religious iconography throughout the city put them off.

 

He had hoped she would come to England to help him set up the new academy that would train the new Watchers and Slayers, but he didn't have the heart to ask her after she had shared her desire to go to Rome. And now Xander and Willow were going their separate ways too. He supposed a parting of ways was inevitable - after all, he had left the group two years prior hoping to jump start Buffy back to living, and when he returned to deal with Willow’s apocalypse, he had only stayed long enough for the Wicca to be able to travel back to England with him. He also knew from his observations over the last several months that Xander, Willow, and Buffy still had issues regarding the Slayer’s resurrection and all that had followed it during the last two years. Thinking on it, he surmised that a natural separation was bound to happen. They needed their own time to grieve, mourn their losses, and heal, and maybe it was easier if they did it without the others. Perhaps there wasn’t enough to give each other when they needed time to focus on themselves.

 

Finishing the beer and checking his watch, he realized he had just over an hour before he had to meet his young friends at the fancy seafood restaurant outside the shopping mall a few miles away. They had decided to go to that grown up arcade place, Dave and somethingorother’s, to mindlessly blow off some steam. At the last minute Buffy had offered to accompany him to the airport, but he’d told her to go have fun and relax with the others. He thought he had noticed a twinge of disappointment in her face, but then she had smiled and thanked him. Hopefully, he’d still get some time alone with her before they headed their separate ways. For some reason, he needed to be around her, and it just didn’t seem like enough when they were with the others.

 

After plunking down enough money to cover his drink and a generous tip, he made his way to his room. He truly needed a shower and a shave, having foregone them earlier that morning.

 

Forty minutes later, he was clean and dressed, allowing his hair to dry naturally, a little wild. He felt rather unsettled in the fitted forest green dress shirt and tight black jeans Buffy and Willow had picked up for him after they had arrived in this extreme northern suburb of LA. Having been so busy making plans for the new Slayers, and working with Faith and Robin to set up a successful operation once they settled in Cleveland, he had foolishly asked the young women to pick up some clothes for him. He supposed they had guessed his sizes, and most of the clothes he had been wearing over the last two weeks were looser, but the dress clothes they had picked out for him definitely fitted more snugly than he liked. Rifling through the bag to find some socks, he came across a small box and opened it, finding a small silver hoop inside. He rarely wore an earring anymore and wondered which one of them had picked it out. A small smile appeared on his lips as he inserted the hoop through his ear. Maybe he’d just leave it in.

 

With five minutes to spare, he met his friends at the restaurant. He had expected them to be late since they usually were, and was therefore pleasantly surprised to find them waiting for him.

 

“Hey Giles! Gosh! You look amazing!” Willow blurted out enthusiastically.

 

He blushed and ducked his head, thankful he was still wearing his shades. “Thank you, Willow. You and Buffy have impeccable taste.”

 

“Actually, it was all Buffy. I had to go settle an altercation between Kennedy and Vi. We didn’t need a throw down in the food court over who bagged the most übervamps,” the redhead explained with mild exasperation.

 

Giles figured he shouldn’t have been surprised that Buffy would take the time to find nice things for him to wear since she’d always loved fashion, but he was nonetheless. Maybe Rome wasn’t where she should head, but Florence. Of course, London also had its fair share of design houses...

 

“Thank you, Buffy. I suppose I have you to thank for the earring as well?”

 

“No, that would be me, Big Guy,” Xander stated, trying to keep a straight face.

 

“Well, thank you, Xander, I never knew you cared,” Giles riposted as Buffy smacked the dark haired man in the stomach.

 

“Ow! Geez, Buff, be careful around us mere mortals, okay?” he complained, clutching his belly.

 

“So did the three of you rot your brains on video games this afternoon?” the Watcher asked as they waited for their table.

 

“Yep, quality time blowing away zombies and killin’ Nazis,” Xander answered. “You would have loved it!”

 

Giles rolled his eyes and looked at Willow and Buffy, “You as well?”

 

“Yup, but after a while, it was time for some racing on the motorbikes!” Buffy responded with a wide grin.

 

“You... uh... like motorcycles?”

 

“Yeah, I’m just a little chicken to do it in real life. No road rash or dismemberment to deal with in the arcade.”

 

“I... I could... teach you sometime... if you like, that is,” Giles offered before mentally kicking himself, remembering they were heading in separate directions in a few days. How stupid. She was moving on and he had to accept that.

 

“Yeah, that’d be nice, Giles,” she answered, slipping her arm through his as the maitre d’ showed them to their table.

 

The Englishman looked down at her in surprise, but wrapped his free hand around the one curled in his arm in an expression of affection. Maybe one day he would teach her to ride.

 

The four of them shared three bottles of wine during dinner and got a little rowdy, but luckily it was late in the evening and they were in an area of the restaurant that had mostly cleared out. After they had finished dessert and coffee, they decided to head back to the hotel, catching a cab since no one felt it was a good idea for anyone in their party to drive.

 

“I say it’s time to raid the minibars in our rooms and party like it’s... party time!” Willow announced with a slight grin. When the Wicca got tipsy it was like having high school Willow back again; sweet, innocent, and full of pluck.

 

“Oh, yes! Whose room is the party room? Mine’s really messy.” Buffy looked at the others. “What? I had to get ready for our Scooby date. Clothes everywhere,” she explained with a small pout.

 

Giles always thought she was quite adorable when she did that. He never was able to resist when she pouted to get her way, usually to get a night off patrolling or avoid some other unpleasant Slayer duty she didn’t want to do, like burial detail when the demons didn’t “go poof” or melt into a puddle of goo.

 

“Umm... my room... just isn’t...” Xander started, but then stopped himself. There was no need to elaborate. Since living on his own again, he’d become a bit of a slob.

 

“I guess we could go to mine, but it’s sorta not ready for visitation. If you wanna wait, I could go clean it up,” Willow offered.

 

“No matter, we’ll party in mine,” Giles said against his better judgment. He wasn’t sure he was going to like the cleanup in the morning, but the truth was that he genuinely missed the camaraderie of his three friends and the movie nights they used to share years ago. Before things fell to shit, he thought somewhat bitterly before tamping it down. They didn’t have much time together, and he wasn’t about to ruin it by being a maudlin drunk.

 

The three Scoobies went back to their rooms and plundered their mini-fridges prior to heading to Giles’ room. One by one, they showed up at his door wearing pajamas and carrying sacks of beer, little bottles of spirits, candy, cookies, chips, and crackers.

 

When Buffy entered in red flannel pajama shorts mismatched with a long sleeve white and pink checked flannel top, she looked at him nonplussed, “Uh uh, Giles. As sexy as you look in your new clothes, it’s jammy time. Go change.”

 

The Watcher’s eyes went wide. “I don’t-” He stopped himself, but not in time.

 

“I bought you some. What? Do you sleep naked?” she asked as she walked over to the closet and rummaged through the bags of clothes she had bought him.

 

“Whoa, Buff. Let’s not get too personal with the Watcher. Some of us are not interested in what he does or doesn’t sleep in.”

 

“Just get the jammies, Giles. We can’t have a Scooby party until we’re all comfortable.”

 

“As I recall, Willow, we’ve had plenty of social events without sleepwear, and those where we did, I seem to remember vaguely that I-”

 

“Wore sweats and a t-shirt,” Buffy finished for him, dumping the royal blue satin pajamas pants in his lap. “Go change.”

 

Giles stared at them. He couldn’t possibly wear those. “Did you buy any other sets? Something in cotton, perhaps?”

 

“Nope. You didn’t make a list of what you needed, Giles, so I just guessed. Anyway, you had a satin bathrobe, so I figured you liked it. Now go change.”

 

“I-I do, but-”

 

“Then stop fussing and go!” the Slayer commanded pointing towards the bathroom.

 

“Yeah, Giles, it’s just jammies, we’ve all been jammied up with each other before. Besides, party: much drinking and making with the merry,” Willow agreed with a slight edge to her voice.

 

“You’ve lost, G-man, admit defeat and get changed. You’re killin’ my buzz!” Xander complained, pulling a bottle from his bag and twisting the cap off.

 

Giles sighed in resignation as he took the satin trousers and headed to the bathroom, shooting a glare at his Slayer on his way.

 

“Score!” Xander exclaimed after downing his shot of really cheap vodka. “I told you, you would get the first glare of the evening, Buff!”

 

“Don’t gloat, Xander, you’re insufferable,” Willow admonished through a fit of giggles.

 

“He always saves the best ones for you, you know.” He said, addressing the blonde. “Watcher’s pet! Since you lost, you owe me a Snickers bar.”

 

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him and tossed him the candy bar, “Just don’t get sick between the candy and the booze.”

 

Giles reentered the room wearing a grey t-shirt and the satin pajama pants, and stalked sulkily over towards the lounge chair in the corner. His room had two double beds and currently Buffy was sitting on one while the two best friends since kindergarten were lying down on their bellies comparing the loot from their minibars on the other, like two little kids with candy on Halloween.

 

“So, what do we have on tap for this evening?” Giles asked, taking a seat and trying to act as though he was not entirely uncomfortable with this level of exposure with his young friends.

 

“We could see if there’s a movie on,” Willow suggested, picking up the remote and clicking her way through the channels, stopping for a moment when she hit an ad for the pay-per-view porn channel.

 

“Moving on!” Giles groaned, gesturing towards the TV with his left hand. It was going to be a long night... He strolled over and pulled out a few miniature bottles of whisky from the mini-fridge before heading back.

 

“Uh-uh, can’t see the TV from there, Watcher-mine. Come sit.”

 

“Really, Buffy, it’s fine. I can-”

 

“What is with you? I don’t bite... unless you want me to,” she teased, waggling her eyebrows at him as she took a sip of the beer she had cracked a few minutes earlier.

 

“Ha ha,” was all he managed as he opened one of the bottles and downed it. Dear Lord, she was flirting with him. Too much alcohol already, he figured.

 

“Oh! The Princess Bride! Time to play the drinking game!” Willow shouted happily.

 

“What drinking game?” the chagrinned Watcher asked. As if these three needed to get any more piss drunk than they already were... Willow was an excitable mess, Xander would head towards the sentimental stage of drunkenness at any moment, and his Slayer was overly bossy and flirting with him.

 

Xander got up, turned off all the lights, and raided the fridge for a few beers before turning to Giles and motioning towards the bed Buffy was now reclined on. “Best sit, Big Guy, before she gets huffy. Oh, and here ... for the game,” he said, passing the bottles to Giles.

 

Giles rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed next to the blonde, who smiled up at him before returning her attention to the screen. He took her cue and made himself comfortable, and soon all the awkwardness was forgotten. They laughed, quoted as many lines as they could in their inebriated states, and took sips and chugs as key words were said and deeds were done in the movie.

 

About three quarters through, several tiny bottles of alcohol lay empty and several beers had been consumed. Buffy and Giles were leaning against each other while Xander and Willow were curled up around each other on the other bed. True to form, the younger man’s mood turned sentimental.

 

“You know... ev’ry great movie haza fellowship. Here,” he slurred, motioning towards the screen with his free hand, “here you have Fezzick, Westley, Buttercup, and... and... Inigo Mont... whatever. And then... like... The Fellowship of... the Ring. You have... all... those guys... and you know, the actorsh of the movie? They all got tattoos cuz they became a fellowship... just like in the story.”

 

“So?” Buffy asked, lolling her head towards him, trying to keep him in focus but ending up resting her head against Giles’ chest.

 

Giles smiled a lopsided grin at her. He’d always thought she was quite beautiful, known he’d been in love with her for quite some time as well, and here she was leaning up against him, rubbing her cheek against his heart. As the younger man continued to speak, the inebriated Englishman squeezed her to him, tilted his head and gave Xander his mostly undivided attention.

 

“So. We’re like a fellowsh... ship, too. Buffy. Giles. Will. Xander, that’s me!” he grinned pointing to himself. “We should get tattoos to say so!”

 

“Yeah!” Willow agreed with unabashed enthusiasm.

 

“Does everybody have to get the same thing?” Buffy asked with a frown, “Cuz I don’ wanna. I wanna get something that’s just mine.”

 

“No, cuz I’d get something magick related, and maybe Giles could get a sword or something, cuz you know, he’s like the Dread Pirate Roberts with a sword,” she proposed, her face opening up with that childlike innocence.

 

“Thanks, Wills ... Willow! Rugged, dashing... and not your mother, Buffy,” he turned to remind her and she shook her head in agreement. “But... I’d prob’ly not get... so... mundane. Good idea, though, Xan’er!” He beamed, giggling because he was slurring too, and he found that rather amusing.

 

“SSHHH! Xander’s sleep!” Willow instructed putting her finger to her mouth. “Tattoos tomorrow,” she stated, yawning as the credits started to roll.

 

“Tattoos tomorrow. Right, Giles?” Buffy questioned, her eyelids beginning to droop.

 

Giles made himself a bit more comfortable on the bed. At some point during the movie, they had moved underneath the covers. “Right, Buffy.”

 

She curled inward with her head resting in that space between his chest and shoulder, and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Night, Giles. Missed you!”

 

“Goo’night, Buffy. Missed you too,” he said quietly, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head and holding her close.

 

“Giles?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Love you... never Spike,” she mumbled drowsily.

 

“Love you too,” he replied, drawing her tighter into his body, a half smile carrying him off to sleep.

 

-----------------------------

 

Consciousness came slowly to Giles as he smelled faint traces of ozone in the air. His head should have been pounding after all the alcohol he had consumed the night before, but he felt remarkably refreshed. Magick, his brain reasoned. Willow. He assessed his physical being. His body was weighted down by something warm and soft and cuddly, with a leg and an arm draped over him. Oh, and something warm moved against his hard, satin clad groin as his captor shifted her weight.

 

Not quite awake yet, he moved his hand to her naked thigh and thrusted lightly against her, enjoying the friction and the feel of her against his throbbing erection as a small moan escaped his throat. He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her scent... Oh, dear Lord! he thought as consciousness finally hit, Buffy’s scent. Slowly he opened an eye, trying not to panic. Looking at her serene face, he determined she was still asleep before scanning the room and catching sight of a freshly showered Xander walking towards him. Why, yes, it can get worse, the mortified voice in his head told him.

 

“Shhh, it’s okay, Giles, Willow and I woke up in a similar position, you’re fine,” the younger man whispered. “Hope it’s all right that I used your shower. I brought a change of clothes with me last night, not wanting to do the walk of shame back to my room. Oh, and I took the liberty of ordering room service for the two of you. I told them to leave it outside since I was in the bathroom. I didn’t want them to wake you guys up. Anyway, it should be here by now. I’ll just bring it in before I leave. Don’t forget, tattoos. We leave at 4:30 to head over to the tattoo parlor. Make sure you and Buffy meet us down in the lobby, okay?”

 

Giles stared at him for a moment allowing the words to sink in, “Thank you, Xander. Willow?”

 

“Already back in her room, probably asleep. Pretty cool of her to magick away the hangovers, huh? Left her kinda drained though,” Xander answered, winking his eye. “Anyway, I think I am going to head to the dining room for some breakfast. See you later.”

 

“Later,” Giles mumbled, closing his eyes. He heard the younger man bring in the cart and the smell of breakfast wafted through the room. He had almost settled down when the body against him started to tremble in light laughter and he stifled a groan as a certain part of his anatomy reacted to the movement. Bloody fabric! How he wished she had bought him some practical pajamas instead. He was already half erect and hardening quickly. The only thing he could do was act naturally. If he didn’t acknowledge the growing problem between them, then maybe she wouldn’t notice. “Good morning.”

 

“Morning,” she breathed between giggles.

 

“You’re laughing.”

 

“You have to admit that was kinda funny,” Buffy returned lifting herself up to look at him better.

 

“Xander or waking up with me?”

 

The Watcher took advantage of the change of position to roll them over to their sides and smile at her. Maybe this didn’t have to be awkward even if she still kept her leg positioned between his and her free arm rested on his side.

 

“Xander, silly!” she replied in her patented ‘duh’ voice, playfully hitting him on the chest. “He’s so cute trying to take care of us.”

 

“Ah,” he responded, not really knowing what to say and opting to change the subject. “Are we really getting inked?”

 

“Not gonna chicken out, are ya?” she teased, smiling brightly at him.

 

“Never!” Giles declared, returning her grin. He wouldn’t back out unless the rest of them did. Not that he relished the idea of being inked again, Eyghon’s mark had been quite enough, but he’d be damned if he was the only one out of the four who didn’t. Besides, with all of them moving on, maybe it was for the best. They’d at least have something to remember their time together by. Not that any of them could forget, but it would be a tangible reminder all the same.

 

“This is different,” she remarked, trailing her fingers up her Watcher’s side.

 

“Yes,” was about all Giles could manage as he closed his eyes and held his breath. When he opened them again, they had darkened and he looked into hers with a silent question as his head inched closer to hers. Not seeing an answer, he raised his hand to move a strand of her hair out of the way, changed direction, and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

 

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed, but he didn’t want to lose their tenuous friendship over a silly mistake. Losing her to Rome was one thing, they could always visit one another, but losing her altogether because he’d betrayed her trust was something he didn’t want to contemplate. He drew her closer and she scooted her whole body until she was flush against him.

 

Giles felt his cock twitch against her stomach and he couldn’t hide the mortification in his eyes when she looked up at him.

 

“Oh!”

 

He sighed and threw his head back in frustration, “I’m sorry, Buffy.”

 

“No, it’s okay, Giles. I mean it’s the morning and it’s natural with guys. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

 

“It’s not your fault-”

 

“Yeah, I get that, it’s not yours either!” she snapped, pushing back from him and hopping out of the bed. He sat up quickly, placed a pillow in his lap, and noticed her tone soften when she continued, “I’ll... I’ll grab a shower and you can... do what you need to... to calm down, and when I come out, we can have some breakfast together, okay?”

 

“Fine,” he mumbled in humiliation, watching her retreat to the bathroom before slamming his fist down on the mattress. “Probably the last you’ll see of her, old chap. Bloody brilliant.”

 

Despite the disappointment and the self directed anger, his hard on still raged between his legs, not wanting to be denied. He tried conjugating verbs in three different dead languages and conjured up some fairly nasty images involving past demon deaths, but nothing helped. He stared in the direction of the bathroom. She’d turned on the shower but hadn’t stepped into it yet. Perhaps if he knocked on the door and asked whether he could use it first, turn the taps all the way to cold? No, that wouldn’t help, he’d be standing there in front of her fully exposed through the stupid satin pajama bottoms she’d insisted he wear, and she’d be totally... what was the word he was looking for? Ah, yes, wigged. Best to let her have the shower and he’d sort himself out when he’d hear the water pressure change.

 

He didn’t have to wait long, and while he felt a bit like a pervert, she had told him to take care of his problem while she was in bathroom. He took off his shirt, threw it on the floor, and lowered the waist of the pajama bottoms down past his hips. It wasn’t like this was the first time he would touch himself while fantasizing about her, it was just the fact that she was in the next room, naked and in his shower; the girl of his dreams so close, yet a million miles beyond his reach.

 

Grabbing his hot, throbbing erection with his left hand, he started to stroke himself. When he closed his eyes, he could still feel her arms wrapped around him, and the smell of her perfume still lingered on the pillow next to him. He squeezed his cock harder as he thrust into his hand. Had she not been in the next room, the frustrated Watcher would have drawn this out since he now knew the feel of her against him, but the logical part of his brain, not to mention his eager body, betrayed the extended fantasy as he spread his precum down his shaft. God, yes. He was already so close and he started to pump faster and harder as he remembered how she felt writhing with laughter against him, her thigh rubbing up against his hardening cock. Feeling his balls tighten, he stroked his shaft a few more times, gave one last thrust, and bit down on his lip in a Herculean effort to remain quiet as he felt his release come in waves. It had been a long time since he had come that hard, her proximity eliciting a primal calling within him.

 

As his breathing calmed, coherent thought entered his mind again. You’ve made quite the mess of things, Giles... literally, he berated himself while looking down at his cum covered belly, chest and hand. He had to admit that part of him felt rather alpha male looking down at the evidence of his lasciviousness, but still, he had fucked it up where Buffy was concerned and that thought sobered him up immediately. He looked around for tissues or something to clean up with, but there was nothing within reach so he decided to mop up the evidence using the sheets. The housekeeping staff would be in later to change the linens anyway. Tucking himself back into his pants, he reached down, picked up his shirt, and headed over to the vanity sink next to the bathroom.

 

He took a washcloth from the rack, and just as he was about to turn on the hot water, he heard his Slayer let out a sob. Placing both hands on the counter, he leaned in and closed his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat. Christ, Giles! You fucking wanker! He wasn’t sure what he could do to fix things, but first things first, he really needed to wash up. He could shower after breakfast, if she stayed for it, which he was fairly sure she wouldn’t at this point. Not if he had reduced her to tears and sent her running for the safety of the shower.

 

Having cleaned himself up, he reached into the shopping bag for some clean clothes and found he was down to his last pair of jeans and a blue polo shirt. Luckily he still had a few more days of underwear left, and he got dressed in a rush when he heard Buffy turn the shower off. His heart started to pound and he wasn’t sure what to expect.

 

She emerged from the bathroom fully clothed in jeans and a pink t-shirt. Apparently, she too had brought a change of clothes over and placed them in the bathroom when he wasn’t looking. Her hair was still wet, but she had run a comb through it and he thought she looked radiant.

 

“Hey,” she greeted, stepping into the bedroom, shoving her hands in her back pockets.

 

Leaning over to put on his socks and boots, thereby cleverly avoiding eye contact, Giles answered, “Feeling better?”

 

“Yeah, you?”

 

“Um...”

 

“Sorry, stupid question.”

 

“Things are fine, Buffy,” he reassured her in his calm Watcher voice, trying to normalize the situation. Braving her scrutiny, he caught her eyes and continued, “I’m just about ready. You want to have a look and see what Xander ordered us for breakfast?”

 

“Sure.” She walked over to the tray and pulled the lid off. “Bacon, pancakes, orange juice, milk, and, oh! Xander, you are the best!” she exclaimed.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Four jellies!”

 

“Really, jellies?”

 

“Look for yourself.”

 

Sure enough, there were four powdered donuts with blackberry jelly seeping out of them. “I can’t remember the last time I had a jelly. Thank you, Xander!” Giles agreed with enthusiasm as he walked over and retrieved one of the favored confections.

 

The pair ate the donuts in an uncomfortable silence, neither knowing quite what to say to the other. When they finished breakfast, the Watcher and Slayer continued to look for something to jump start conversation. Finally, Buffy broke the silence.

 

“I’m going for a run. Wanna join me?”

 

Giles stared at her, contemplating the offer, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. “Thank you, but... uh... I think it best if I...” He allowed himself to trail off, not thinking of a damned thing he really needed to do.

 

“Yeah, probably for the best,” the Slayer said, looking down at the floor. She hurried over to him, kissed him on the cheek, and headed for the door. As she grabbed the handle, she turned and added quietly, “For the record, it was really nice waking up with you this morning.”

 

Giles lifted his head. Since the quick kiss, he had kept his focus on the ground, trying to calm his emotions, but now he offered her a slight smile. “My pleasure, Buffy. I shall see you at 4:30, yes?”

 

“I’ll be there,” she answered and left his hotel room, the door slamming behind her of its own volition, echoing through his entire being.

 

“My pleasure? Of course she knows that, you prat!” the angry Watcher muttered as he went to clean up some of the mess in his room. It wasn’t as bad as he originally thought it would be, maybe Xander had done some cleaning before taking his shower this morning.

On to Part 2/3