Title: The Present
Series: The Love in Motion Series (Part 1)
Authors: Jacinta and Tag
Date: February 2001
Disclaimer: Joss and Co. owns everything. We're just allowing the
characters to choose their own path. We don’t own the song
‘Man Smart, Woman Smarter’ or any of the songs on the Grease
Soundtrack either. ;-)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: NC-17 (hey, this is us ;-)
Spoilers: Season 5 - Set after 'Checkpoint'
Distribution: Gabi if she wants it, theLIST too. Anyone else just ask.
Summery: It’s Buffy’s birthday and Giles has a special gift for her. Hey, get you’re mind out of the gutter… for a while at least. ;-)
Dedication: To all our ill Chat Buddies out there. Hope you get better soon guys!
Feedback: only if you want to, but it would be appreciated.
Authors note: Thanks to all the people giving us feedback and demanding still more, it’s your fault! J
Thanks also to Sandy aka Milk for betaing the story.
Giles was puttering around his apartment, putting final touches to the preparations for Buffy’s birthday party. After being delayed at work he had rushed home, just having enough time for a quick shower and change before getting everything ready. As it was, he had just managed to finish when he heard a knock at the door. Knowing that Buffy was going to be arriving earlier than the rest of the gang, he took a deep breath to calm himself, then opened the door to reveal the birthday girl, looking up at him with the most beautiful smile he had seen on her in a long time.
“Hey Giles,” she said as she moved through the doorway, stopping once inside to look around at the ceiling where he had hung a banner and all the other decorations scattered around his living room. “Wow… this is all for me?”
“Ah, yes… y-you only turn twenty once.”
“It’s wonderful. Thank you so much.”
“Happy Birthday Buffy,” said Giles as he hesitantly brought his arms around her to give her a hug.
She returned his hug with an unexpected intensity. <God it feels so good to hug him>
Giles was startled when she kissed him on his cheek before she let him go.
“So is this the only present you got for me or are there more?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye. Grinning at her, he moved off to retrieve his present from the kitchen.
“I-It’s not much, b-but I hope you like it,” said Giles as he came back into the living room, handing her his present.
“As long as it isn’t made of tweed… ” smirked Buffy, achieving in getting him to smile back.
<He really has a sexy smile> thought Buffy, <Got to get him to smile more often>
Inside the box was a book entitled ‘Tourists Guide to Europe’, an open plane ticket to London and a travel plan for three months with all expenses paid.
“Oh my god…” Her jaw dropped open in shock as she turned her eyes to meet his. “I can’t accept this Giles… it’s too much.”
“Nonsense, you’ve earned it.”
“But the money it cost you…”
“I wouldn’t have been able to spend if you hadn’t made the council pay me for the last two years.”
“Still, it’s too much…”
“No, Buffy… after everything you’ve done for me, it’s the least I can do.”
Opening the card, she read the standard printed birthday greeting and then Giles’ message written below it.
Happy Birthday Buffy.
If you are in need of a tour guide, I am more than happy to oblige.
Love, Giles
After carefully placing the card and present down on a table,
she threw herself at him and hugged him again.
“Thank you so much.”
She kissed him on his cheek again and watched with satisfaction as he blushed.
“I can't wait to tell the gang. They'll be so jealous.”
“Who will be jealous?”
The gang had arrived without them noticing.
“I just got the best present from Giles!” squealed Buffy.
“What'd he get you, he didn't want to tell.”
Willow gave Giles a sullen look. He had kept the secret close to his chest the last few days.
Grabbing the book and card, she rushed over to show them what he had given her. Willow’s eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw what it was.
“Wow!” was all she managed to say.
“That is so sweet” chimed in Tara.
“Why don’t you every buy me nice expensive gifts like that?” Anya grumbled to Xander, who was too busy glaring at Giles to pay much attention.
“Way to go G-man. Make us all look like cheapskates.”
“Xander!” admonished Willow.
“It’s not the cost, it’s the thought that counts Xander. I’m going to love what you guys give me too. So gimme pressies!”
“Eager much there Buffster?” smirked Xander.
“Yep.”
Willow handed her the present from her and Tara.
“I hope you like it. We spent hours trying to find just the right one.”
Moving to sit down in a chair, Buffy placed the box on her lap and ripped the lid off, giving a squeal of delight as she removed a beautiful soft blue dress from inside. It was sleeveless and low cut with a hugging bodice, but flowed out from the waist to just above knee length. Inside the box was also a pair of matching shoes. Placing the box down on the couch, she stood up and held the dress against her as she swirled around. This would be perfect for an evening out in Europe, or anywhere for that matter.
“Oh wow, it’s so wonderful! Thank you so much guys. I love it!”
Giles couldn’t help but smile as he watched her. It had been a while since he had seen her this happy and carefree, he just hoped nothing would happen to spoil it. She stopped swirling long enough to give each girl a big hug, then placed the dress carefully back in the box.
“Me and Anya couldn’t agree on what to get you, so we got you separate gifts.”
“Aw guys, you didn’t have to do that…”
“Hold that thought till you see what they are Buff.”
“Ooookaaayyy” said Buffy with just a slight amount of trepidation.
“Happy Birthday B,” said Xander as he handed her his present.
“Thanks Xand.”
Opening it up Buffy started to giggle, then held it up for the others to see. It was a Gameboy Color and a Xena:Warrior Princess game to go with it.
“I think it suits you… warrior woman that you are.”
“I think it’s childish and silly,” muttered Anya in the background.
“Well I like it. It’ll help me with my hand/eye co-ordination. I might even try to do some of those spins and kicks she does,” said Buffy grinning from ear to ear.
“What, I don’t get beaten up enough in training as it is, so you have to introduce more ways to batter and bruise me?” whined Giles, trying unsuccessfully to hide his grin.
“I’m always open for new ways to get you on your back.”
If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn she looked him up and down when she said that.
<No, you’re just imagining things. She couldn’t possibly have done that>
“Here open mine now,” demanded Anya. “Xander said it was an inappropriate gift, but I think it’s very nice.”
“Thank you Anya, I’m sure it’s…”
Buffy’s words trailed off as she opened the box to reveal a skimpy black negligee and a bra and panties set of almost the same blue as the dress, just a lot more transparent.
“… lovely.”
Her last word came out as more of a whisper as she pulled the items out of the box. Despite the intimate nature of the gifts, Buffy did find them lovely. She imagined a certain Watchers’ face if he ever saw her in them, which sent a warm feeling tingling through her body. Giles in the meantime was blushing while he imaged Buffy in them. He thanked the PTB that no one seemed to notice it.
“They really are lovely Anya, thankyou,” she managed to say, giving her a quick hug.
Joyce and Dawn chose than particular moment to arrive.
“Hi Mom, Dawn” said Buffy as she hastily put Anya’s gifts back in the box, hoping that they hadn’t seen anything.
“What was that?” Dawn wanted to know.
“Sexy lingerie so that Buffy can find a boyfriend and have lots of orgasms,” proclaimed Anya.
“Anya! We've talked about this!” hissed Xander.
Buffy just buried her head in her hands and prayed to whichever deity was listening that she could be anywhere else in the world at that particular moment.
“Rupert, could you give me a hand to bring in some things from the car?”
“Certainly Joyce,” Giles was glad for the avenue of escape this afforded him.
Dawn just looked from Xander to Anya and back before moving towards Buffy.
“Mom said I had to get you something, so here” she said as she handed her a small package.
“Gee, thanks… way to go with the enthusiasm there Dawn.”
“Yeah, well… I’m just here for the free food.”
Upon opening it up, she found an antique photo frame with a picture of her and Dawn at the beach years ago. Both looked happy as they smiled at their father, who had taken the photo. Buffy traced a finger over their faces before moving to give Dawn a hug.
“Thankyou. It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, well… no need to get all mushy on me” said Dawn, even though she was hugging her back just as hard. Stepping back, Buffy quickly swiped away the tear that tried to fall before turning to see Giles and Joyce coming back in.
“Geez Mom, what did you do, buy out the whole store?” asked Buffy as she moved to help a very laden-down Giles with the packages her mother had brought.
“These aren’t just all from me Buffy. There are a few that came in the mail for you.”
“Oh God, which one do I start with?”
“This came for you, from you father,” said Joyce as she handed her an envelope with trepidation.
Inside was a generic birthday card, in which he had scrawled ‘Happy Birthday. Sorry I didn’t send you a gift. You’ve grown up so much over the last years that I wasn’t sure what to get you. Love Dad.’ and a cheque for $200.
“At least he remembered this year,” said Buffy in a very soft voice. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Giles standing next to her. He gave her shoulder a little squeeze while giving her a reassuring smile, then moved his hand away.
“Okay, who’s next?” she asked, trying to regain some of the excitement she had before.
“Here, this one is from Wesley, Cordy and Angel,” said Joyce as she handed Buffy a large box.
“They got me a gift, together? I’m almost afraid to open it… well, almost.”
Inside was an assortment of designer clothes and a card. The writing was in Cordys' familiar script. ‘Happy Birthday Buffy. I thought you could use some nice clothes since your dress sense probably hasn’t changed since I was last there. I picked them out and the guys helped to pay for them. Wish we could be there, but as you know, demons don’t take breaks for birthday parties, so neither do we.’
Each of them had signed their name at the bottom of the card. Also inside the card were two tickets to an Ice show in LA, with a note from Angel attached. ‘Just a little extra something from me. Hope you get to see it this time around.’
Buffy thought her heart would break all over again at seeing his handwriting, but it didn’t. Instead, all she could think about was how she was going to ask Giles to go with her to see the show.
<I guess I really am over Angel>
“I’ll have to call the guys tomorrow and thank them all. Nice to see Cordy still has good taste and that wonderful sense of humor.”
Last but not least, were the presents from Joyce. There were three boxes in different sizes. Buffy began with the largest. It revealed something very strange. It was almost like a full body leather suit. She looked up at her mother, but only got a sign to go on, so she pulled the paper off the second box. It contained a set of jewellery including a necklace, bracelet and a ring. It had been her grandmothers and something she had wanted since she first laid eyes on it as a 3 year old.
Her eyes turned to her mothers’, tears threatening to appear. It had been her mothers’ most precious set. Joyce gestured for her to open the last box before she let her emotions overtake her. In the last box was a scarf and note, which instructed her to put the scarf over her eyes and trust her mother.
“What is it?” She looked uncertainly to her mother.
“I'm not telling you, now put the scarf on and I'll lead you to it.”
Reluctantly Buffy rose and put the scarf over her eyes, holding her hand out she felt her mother take it. Then a second later, her mother let go of her hand and she felt a strong pair of arms lifting her up. She tensed for a moment, but relaxed when she realised who it was. Slowly they began to wander around his apartment, before heading outside.
“Uhm… Giles. Where are we going?”
“I was instructed to carry you around until your mother tells me to put you down.”
“Okay, you can put her down now.”
They had finally reached their destination. Giles gently placed Buffy back on her feet, holding her hands behind her back so she couldn't remove the scarf just yet. She could feel someone untying the scarf but holding it in place.
“Now close your eyes” Joyce instructed.
“Closed.”
“Ready Dawn?”
“Yeah” the teenager replied.
“Buffy, you can open your eyes on the count of three.”
Joyce removed the scarf.
“Okay… one... two... Three!”
Buffy open her eyes and Dawn pulled the sheet off a ... sleek black motorcycle. Buffy stood speechless, her eyes almost popping out of her head.
“Wow!” she finally managed, “I-I d-don't know what to say... thanks Mom” said Buffy as she turned and hugged her mother so fierce that Joyce had to remind her that air was a necessity for living.
“Can we go get some food now? I’m wasting away to nothing out here,” griped Xander playfully.
“And we can’t let that happen now can we…”
“Hell no G-man. So, come on, where’d ya hide the goodies?”
“I’m not telling if you insist on calling me that.”
“Aw, come on big G…”
Buffy couldn’t help but smile as she watched them banter all the way back into the house. She also couldn’t resist the temptation to watch Giles’ butt as he walked.
<He definitely has a nice butt. Very sexy, especially in those jeans>
“This day is just so great. I’m just getting spoiled rotten, especially by you and Giles.”
“Really? What did you get from him?” inquired Joyce.
“Oh, that’s right. You guys haven’t seen it yet. Come on, I’ll show you.”
With an arm around both her mom and Dawn, Buffy started back inside too.
By the time they got through the doorway, Xander was already well into the food.
“I see you found a way to stop him whining,” smirked Buffy.
“Yes, but I’m not sure how long the peace and tranquillity will last.”
“Hhy, nldka lkad nld..”
“Xand, don’t try to talk and eat at the same time… it ain't pretty.”
Retrieving Giles’ present, she showed it to Joyce and Dawn. Joyce looked from the gift, to Giles, to Buffy and then back to Giles again.
“Wow… that’s so generous of you Rupert.”
“It’s just a little something…”
“Cool, 3 months without you around. Sounds more like my present than yours.”
“Ha, ha, very funny Dawn.”
“Hey… How are you going to protect them against Glory while you’re gone?” asked Willow.
“Damn. I hadn’t thought of that,” muttered Buffy.
“Oh, that reminds me…” Giles wandered back into the kitchen to get an envelope.
“Here Joyce, this is for you… and Dawn.”
“But it’s not our birthday?”
“Please, open it.”
Inside was a three-month mystery holiday for Joyce and Dawn, all expenses paid.
“Oh my...”
“I thought Buffy would be able to enjoy her holiday better knowing that you were both out of Glory’s reach. And with a mystery tour, not even you know where you will be, so there is no possible way for her to find you.”
“That is so considerate Rupert, thank you.”
“Yeah, thanks Giles.”
“Gee, you just Mr Generosity today aren’t you Giles.”
Buffy couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she said it though.
“Okay, time to get this party swinging. Where’s ya stereo G-man?”
“In the cabinet there next to the television.”
“Cool, now just to find some music from this century.”
“Bleedin ha ha…” muttered Giles.
“Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!!” screamed Xander.
“What??”
“Giles… has a CD player… AND CD’S!” said Xander in mock horror. “Everybody, run for your lives!! The Hellmouth is opening again. The world is rotating backwards…” and on he went as he ran around the room, faking hysteria.
“Someone stop him before I have to go get my crossbow,” said Giles, making sure he didn’t grin through his glare. He knew if he looked at Buffy, who had been laughing behind her hand throughout Xander’s little performance, that he wouldn’t be able to maintain his composure.
“Okay, I’m stopping. This is me stopping. See, I’ve stopped. Oh… hey, look… the 25th Anniversary Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack… and the Grease soundtrack … nice tunes G-man.”
“Have you quite finished now?”
“For now,” smirked Xander.
“Okay birthday girl, any requests from the amazing DJ Xander?”
“The Grease soundtrack sounds good.”
While Xander set up the music, Giles moved Buffys’ gifts into the spare room and the others shifted the furniture in the lounge to make more room. Cranking the volume up high, Xander started to do an impersonation of John Travolta as the song ‘Summer Loving’ came on.
Giles just shook his head in amusement and went into the kitchen for drinks. Soon everyone else was joining in, prancing around the living room and singing along, with Anya pretending to be Sandy. When the song finished, everyone fell down onto a chair or the floor and burst out laughing.
Buffy gave a deep satisfied sigh as she looked around at her friends and family. This was turning out to be the best birthday she’d had in ages. It was nice to be able to just let go and be this carefree. None of them had been able to do that in a long time. As soon as the song ‘Greased Lightnin’ came on, Xander hopped up and began his impersonation again, singing along more loudly this time.
“Xander, could you please not murder the song?” Giles yelled from the kitchen.
The response he got was a loud raspberry. Giles chuckled to himself and continued making some tea. If anything Xander’s singing got louder and more off key than it was before. This earned him several pillows thrown in his direction in an effort to shut him up. Buffy’s shot managed to hit him square in the face. On the good side, this got him to stop singing. On the bad side, he was now chasing her around the room, intent on revenge.
Buffy fled into the kitchen, scooting around behind Giles and grabbing hold of his waist, placing him between Xander and herself. She felt him tense under her hands. Forgetting Xander for a moment, she leant back and let her eyes glide down his back only to stop at his butt.
Xander broke the moment by proclaiming, “It’s no use hiding. I’ll get you eventually.”
“Yeah well, you have to go through my Watcher first!”
She looked up and fled the other way around Giles, letting her hand run lightly across his butt, smiling when she saw him jump. Dashing back out into the living room, Buffy grabbed a piece of cake and turned to throw it at Xander. Unfortunately for her he ducked just as it came at him, causing the cake to hit Giles square in the chest.
“Oh god… Giles… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you!”
Giles just looked down at the creamy smudge that was starting to slide down his chest, then up to Buffy as he started to slowly walk towards her.
“Um, Giles… what are you doing?”
Giles didn’t answer her. He just stopped long enough to pick up a piece of cake and then continued toward her.
“Oh no… you wouldn’t…” said Buffy as she started to back away, realising what he intended to do.
“Wouldn’t I?” he said with just the slightest hint of a Ripper grin.
“Mom…”
“Hey, don’t bring me into this. You started it Buffy,” smirked Joyce.
Buffy circled around towards the others, hoping that Giles wouldn’t try throwing it at her if he might accidentally hit one of them instead. She was wrong. Despite her slayer speed, she still got hit on the shoulder. Giggling, she ran at the food table and grabbed a handful to retaliate.
“Food fight!” yelled Xander.
From there it degenerated into a free-for-all. It was a pretty even match until the girls decided to gang up on the guys. With six against two the odds were stacked against them. By the time a surrender was called, both Giles and Xander were covered from head to toe with a mix of cake, chips and whatever else had been used. Neither really cared though. They both had wide grins as they attempted to shake off some of the excess.
“Anya, honey… come give Xander a big hug.”
“No way! You’re all sticky and gross. I’m not touching you till you have a bath!”
“A bath actually sounds like a good idea,” said Buffy.
“Hey, why don’t we all go get changed and meet up at that new place down town?” asked Willow
“The new coffee bar? Sounds like a plan Will. Why don’t we all meet there in about an hour or so?”
Almost everyone nodded in agreement.
“I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day.” said Joyce.
“Are you alright Mom?”
“I’m fine Buffy, just a little tired. I think I’ll just go home and have a rest. You go have fun with your friends.”
“But if you’re not feeling well mom…”
“Go. Dawn will be there if I need anything.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Go, have fun. Just promise me you won't start any food fights.”
Buffy smiled and went to give her a hug.
“Thanks Mom. You’re the best.”
“Bye sweetie,” said Joyce as she and Dawn left.
“I guess we should start cleaning up then,” said Giles as he looked around at the mess they had created.
“Hey I'm birthday girl, you guys can clean up.”
“Considering you started this and were an active participant, you don’t get out of clean-up duty I’m afraid.”
“Aw, spoil sport.”
Despite her complaining, she couldn’t help but smile up at Giles. It wasn’t long before they had returned the room almost back to its usual state.
“Okay, we’re going now guys. I need to go get this stuff washed off,” said Xander as he pulled at his shirt, which had begun to stick to his chest.
“Yeah, we better get going too. See you guys there,” said Willow.
“That’s right, desert and leave the birthday girl to finish the last of the cleaning.”
“I’m sorry Buff but this stuff is starting to feel pretty yuck right now,” complained Xander.
“I feel it too Xand, but I'm still stuck with finishing the cleanup.”
“Have I suddenly turned invisible or something?”
“Oh, no… that’s not what I meant Giles.”
“Buffy’s in trouble…” snickered Xander as he, Willow, Anya and Tara left.
“You wouldn't do something horrible to a defenceless girl, would you?” she smirked at him as she moved out of reach.
“Defenceless?” Disbelief was clear in his voice.
“You're far from defenceless my dear.”
He moved slowly towards her with an almost predatory look on his face. She fled, giggling, further away from him.
“Don’t you dare.”
“What? Can’t I give the birthday girl a hug?” he asked in faked innocence.
“One, you’ve already given me a hug and two, there is no way I’m gonna hug you when you’re all icky like that.”
“That’s what you think,” he said as he lunged at her, managing to grab her by the waist as she turned to run.
Buffy shrieked when he pulled her back towards him, enveloping her in his arms.
“Yuck! Let me go. This is so gross!” she giggled. <Gross yes, but still very nice> she thought.
“What’s the magic word?” he asked, his mouth close to her ear, his voice sending shivers down her spine.
“Please...” she said, almost as a whisper.
Feeling her tremble slightly in his arms, he let go and stepped back.
“W-Why don’t you use the bathroom first Buffy. I’ll finish off here.”
“Cool, you don’t have to ask twice,” grinned Buffy as she turned and headed to the bathroom. Inside though, she was still trembling.
“Just leave me some hot water,” yelled Giles. He hoped she had heard him. Although he might need a cold shower if he didn’t stop thinking about a certain naked slayer in his bathroom.
When Buffy was finished, she dried off and put on Giles’ robe, which he had left in the bathroom that morning and walked back into the living room.
“Hey, that’s my robe. What am I suppose to wear when I finish my shower?”
“Well what was I suppose to do? Walk around naked down here to the spare room?”
Buffy had never seen anyone turn quite the shade of red before that Giles turned now.
“Y-yes, well, I’ll g-go have my shower now,” he muttered as he walked past her, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ground in front of him.
With a devilish idea in her head, Buffy went into the spare room to get the clothes she received as a present. She was going to wear the dress Willow and Tara gave her, with the matching underwear from Anya.
<I’m gonna love seeing his face when he realises what I have on. And I don’t just mean the dress>
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Giles was trying unsuccessfully to rid his mind of the image Buffy’s words had created. It didn’t help that his mind kept reminding him that he was in the same shower that her naked body had just been in.
“Dammit man, you’re acting like a horny adolescent,” he berated himself. Resigning himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to be able to erase that image from his mind anytime this century, he quickly finished showering.
Stepping out and drying himself off, he realised another problem. Since Buffy had taken his robe, he was going to have to walk from the bathroom to his bedroom in just a towel. Normally, that wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, but with Buffy in his house, he was a little hesitant to do so. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he opened the door and walked as fast as he could to his bedroom. He wasn’t quite fast enough.
Unbeknownst to him, Buffy had seen him as he went up the stairs and into his bedroom.
All coherent thought left her mind, other than one word:
<Wow>
<Okay, just breathe, in… and out… in… and out…>
She then started to giggle when she saw a shirt fly through the air to land on the railing. Buffy then returned to the spare room to finish getting ready.
Once secure inside his bedroom, Giles had moved to his closet and proceeded to select and reject the clothes as he picked them. Finally, when he almost had given up all hope, he found the perfect shirt. It was a beautiful red silk shirt he had bought in London. The next item he came across was a pair of black pants. Grabbing a pair of black boxers and some socks, he laid out his clothes on the bed and started to get dressed.
The final touch was finding a pair of shoes. Not too dressy, but not too casual either. Searching the bottom of his closet was fast turning out to be rather dangerous. Dust-bunnies were flying around his ears, as he was discarding weapons, boxes with old and not so old photos and useless shoes.
Finally finding a nice pair, he sat on the bed to put them on then stood and with a final look at himself in the mirror, headed downstairs. Half way down the stairs, Giles just stood and stared in awe at the vision in front of him, as Buffy walked into the living room.
“Buffy, you look magnificent.”
“Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
“I scrub up okay for an old guy then?” he asked, coming the rest of the way down the stairs.
“Yes and no,” Buffy answered.
Smiling at the confused look on Giles’ face, she continued.
“Yes, you scrub up okay. And no, you aren’t an old guy.”
“S-Since w-when?”
His eyes lightened up at her words, but he couldn't help but tease her a little.
“Since when what?”
“S-Since when did I stop being old?”
“You were never old!”
Giles would have thought she was kidding, if it wasn’t for the total look of honesty on her face.
“Okay, I know I said it once, but I was wigged and I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me...”
“Hurt me? Like I had hurt you?” He clearly didn't understand what she was saying.
“I came to you for help, not Will, YOU! And you turned me down, told me to handle it by myself... And then there was that, that Olivia...”
She said the last bit so softly that he almost missed it.
<Olivia? What was that about?>
His thoughts were interrupted when she continued.
“But it's all behind us now. And since it’s my birthday and I want to go party, I say let's motor Watcher-man.”
“As you wish,” said Giles with a mock bow.
“Keep that attitude, I like it,” giggled Buffy.
“Come on, we’d better get going if we are to meet the others on time.”
Giles put on his leather jacket, grabbed Buffy’s gifts and then they both headed out to his car. Once there he faced a dilemma. He couldn’t open the trunk of his car without the keys, which were in the pockets of his pants; and he couldn’t get them out of his pockets, as his hands were full. Seeing his predicament, Buffy had a fiendish idea.
“Here let me help,” she said.
Expecting her to take the gifts out of his hands, he was more than a little shocked when she reached into his pockets, first one and then the other, to retrieve the keys herself. Moving off with an impish grin, Buffy opened the trunk and took the gifts out of Giles’ hands, who seemed too stunned to even move at that moment.
He was very glad that he had changed into slacks and wasn’t still in his jeans, otherwise he didn’t think he would still be breathing at this point. Giving himself a mental shake, he moved to open Buffy’s door for her, then walked to his side and hopped in. The entire drive was spent in companionable silence, with only an occasional glance at each other’s profiles when the other wasn’t looking.
Upon arriving, they went inside and scanned the room for the rest of the gang. Spotting them in a booth at the back, Buffy grabbed Giles hand and led him through the crowd. Willow and Tara were beaming with pride as they saw Buffy coming towards them wearing the dress and shoes that they had given her.
“Wow, Buffy, you look terrific,” said Tara.
“Thanks. You guys look good too. Much better than being totally covered in food.”
“See, she likes them better than me. She’s wearing their present,” grumbled Anya.
Before Xander could reprimand her, Buffy spoke up.
“I’m wearing one of your gifts too Anya.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”
The smile on Anya’s face could have lit up the entire room.
“See, I told you she’d like them,” she said as she hit Xander in the arm.
“Hey G-man, nice threads.”
“Y-Yes, t-thank you. Contrary to popular belief, I do own some clothes that aren’t made of tweed,” Giles managed to say, trying hard not to turn the same color as his shirt.
It was embarrassing enough when Buffy had opened Anya’s gift, but to know that she actually wore some of that lingerie now just made him flush even more. Seeing that the others already had their various caffeine drinks, Giles was glad for an escape.
“I-I’ll go get us some d-drinks then. Buffy, w-what would you like?”
“I think I could go for a white chocolate mocha.”
Rolling his eyes, he turned and headed off in what he hoped was the right direction. Going up to the counter, Giles ordered their drinks and waited. A few of the faces of the staff and some of the patrons looked familiar, yet he couldn’t quite place them. When the drinks finally arrived, he paid and headed back towards their booth.
“Hey, isn’t he that guy that used to sing at the Espresso Pump?” said a woman who had been standing not too far from were Giles had been.
“Yeah, it is. Hey, we should ask him to sing?” asked her companion.
“Do you think he would? I don’t think he has his guitar with him.”
“There’s one back here,” said the guy behind the counter. He had worked at the Espresso Pump around the same time Giles had been singing there.
“If you want to ask him, he can use that one.”
“Thanks, we will.”
They both headed off in the direction they had seen Giles go. The gang was enjoying a lovely conversation when the two strangers approached their booth.
“Um, excuse me. I don’t know if you’d remember us, but we’ve seen you a few times at the Espresso Pump. We really loved your singing and wondered if you could sing something while you’re here?”
<That’s where I remember them from> thought Giles.
“W-Well… I don’t have my guitar with me.” was all Giles could think of.
“That’s okay. There’s one behind the counter and the guy said you could use it.”
<Damn, there goes that excuse>
“I don’t know…”
“Oh come on Giles, please… for me?” pouted Buffy.
“Stop that Buffy. Pouting won’t do you any good.”
<Stop it right now, because otherwise I’m going to give in>
By now, several people at nearby tables had turned and also added their pleas for him to sing. It seemed half of them he vaguely remembered seeing at the Espresso Pump.
“It is my birthday after all. You wouldn’t refuse a birthday request would you?” asked Buffy, pouting even more.
<Blast! She knows I can’t resist when she does that!>
“Alright, alright. You win. But only one little song.”
“Yay me.”
Giving Buffy an *I’ll get you later* look, Giles stood up and headed towards the counter again. Arriving there, the guy had the guitar already out and ready for him. He recognised him now too. Joe was his name. Yet another person from that damned Espresso Pump.
<It’s a bleedin' conspiracy, that’s what it is>
Giving it a few strums, testing it’s tuning, he then thought of what he could play. Something short, but fun. Thinking of Buffy’s recent victory over Travers, Giles decided on a perfect song.
“Okay everyone, quiet please,” yelled Joe.
“Now, a lot of you will remember him from the Espresso Pump, but for those of you who don’t or haven’t heard him before, you don’t know what you’ve missed out on. He’s a talented singer that we’ve missed since he decided he wanted to be a shop owner. He has been gracious enough to honour us with a song tonight, so please sit back and enjoy.”
Several cheers and wolf whistles could be heard from those who did remember him.
“Thank you Joe,” grumbled Giles as he moved to sit on the edge of the counter that Joe had cleared for him, using a stool as a footrest.
“No problem.” he replied, grinning from ear to ear.
After he played the opening notes, he stopped and with a cheeky grin on his face said,
“You can see why I’ve chosen it ‘cause it’s only two cords.”
Let us put man and woman together
See which one is the smarter
Oh, some say man but I say no
Woman got the man like a puppet show
By now, half the audience were clapping along in time, with the rest soon joining in.
It ain't me, it’s the people that say
Men are leading the women astray
But I say, women today
Smarter than the man in every way
That’s right, the women are smarter
That’s right, the women are smarter
That’s right, the women are smarter
Smarter than the man in every way
Willow leaned closer to Buffy to whisper in her ear.
“I told you he had a sexy singing voice.”
“Yeah…” Her reply came out as a sigh as she sat there looking at him. <Damn sexy>
Willow looked from Buffy’s face to Giles and back again. She then sat back with a secret smile on her face, wondering if either knew how the other really felt.
Little boy sat down and he cried
Old man passing asked him why
He said “I can’t do what the big boys do”
The man sat down and he cried too
It ain't me, it’s the people that say
Men are leading the women astray
But I say, women today
Smarter than the man in every way
That’s right, the women are smarter
That’s right, the women are smarter
That’s right, the women are smarter
Smarter than the man in every way
Smarter than the man
Smarter than the man
Smarter than the man in every way, hey.
The room erupted into loud cheers and whistles, with several
pleas for more. Giles put the guitar down and moved to rejoin the others,
receiving several handshakes and praises along the way. He was greeted loudly
once he finally reached their table, where Buffy rose and gave him a hug.
“Thanks, that was great. I don't think I’ve ever had a better birthday than this one. I don't think it can be better. I got my watcher to sing for me.”
He blushed furiously, managing to stutter out,
“A-ah, w-well t-thank y-you.”
Once seated again, they started chatting about the European tour and anything else non-Hellmouthy related for a couple of hours. It was a nice break for all of them. Stifling a yawn, Willow pleaded that she needed an early start to studying tomorrow, so she and Tara needed to go. Standing up, Buffy gave them both big hugs.
“Thank you so much guys.”
“No problem, anytime. It’s really been a fun day. See you guys later,” said Willow.
She and Tara then meandered their way through the crowd and left. Anya elbowed Xander and mumbled something about being horny.
“We'd better go too Buff, I actually have work tomorrow.” he said with a grin.
“Yeah, sure Xand. We know why you guys really want to leave,” she smirked.
After giving them both a hug, she watched them leave then turned to Giles.
“So Watcher-man, just you and me huh?”
“S-So it would seem. Well, do you want me to take you home now, or is there anything else you would like to do?”
“Hhhmmm… you know what I would really love to do. Go somewhere where we can see the stars. Just sit there and look at them for a while. I haven’t had time to do that in ages,” said Buffy, wistfully.
Giles just smiled at her and extended his arm.
“As you wish.”
Looping her arm in his, she smiled up at him as he escorted her through the room and out to the car, again opening her door for her. Giles drove them to a spot overlooking Sunnydale. This far away from the city lights, the stars could be seen very clearly. With a deep satisfied sigh, Buffy hopped out of the front seat and into the back, sitting on the back of the car with her feat on the back seat.
“Come join me in the back Giles.”
After getting over the initial shock that statement created, he moved slowly to join her, being careful not to sit too close. Just then a cold breeze came by, making Buffy shiver. Seeing this, Giles took of his leather jacket and handed it to her.
“Here, put this on.”
“Thanks. You’re the real gentlemen tonight.”
“As opposed to how I am every other night?” he asked with a grin.
“You know what I mean smartypants,” said Buffy as she playfully hit his arm.
Putting on his jacket, she was surrounded by his wonderful smell mixed in with the smell of leather. It felt so comforting, like home, like she belonged there. Giles always made her feel that way, but for a while now she had been feeling other things as well. She slowly moved closer to him and felt him tense when she leaned her head against his shoulder. Buffy broke the silence.
“This is nice.”
“Ah y-yes it is.”
“I'm mean sitting here in the dark, looking at the stars and not in some graveyard waiting for some stupid vamp to rise...thank you for a wonderful birthday Giles.”
“It was my pleasure. You deserved to have a normal birthday for a change. No prophecies, or demons, or anything like that.”
“Still, I can't help the feeling that a disaster is waiting to happen just around the corner.”
Moving her back so that he could look at her face, Giles was surprised to see a single tear rolling down her cheek. He cupped her face in his hand while his thumb wiped away the tear.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to spoil this day for you Buffy.”
Buffy smiled up at him as she placed her hand over his on her face. She turned to kiss his palm and then returned it to her cheek, closing her eyes as she tilted her face, snuggling into his hand.
“What did I do to deserve you?” Buffy said as she opened her eyes to look into his.
“Other than being your wonderful self, nothing.”
“Sweet-talker.”
“No, just stating the truth.”
“Yeah, well… if I’m so great, then how come guys can’t seem to run away from me fast enough?” Buffy said, dropping her hand and turning away from him.
Giles put his hand under her chin and turned her back to face him.
“Because they were stupid bloody pillocks who couldn’t see what was right in front of them. Don’t blame yourself for their shortcomings Buffy.”
She leaned forward to place a soft kiss on his lips before nestling her head under his chin, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close.
“Thank you. You always seem to know how to make me feel better.”
Giles was still too stunned to reply, so he just brought his arms up to hold her also. After a few minutes Buffy pulled back far enough to raise her head and look at Giles. He still had a shocked expression on his face, as if he didn't really know what had happened.
“What? Is it so surprising that I would kiss you?” she asked.
“N-No…y-yes… I-I mean…”
“You really have a way with words, you know.”
All she got in response was a glare.
“Want me to do it again?”
“W-What?” Giles wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly.
<It must be my imagination. She really wouldn’t want to kiss me again>
“You heard me,” she said as she smiled up at him, moving her hand up to remove his glasses, place them safely in the jacket pocket and return to caress his cheek.
<Oh dear God, she does want to kiss me>
His reply came out as a whisper.
“Y-yes.”
She moved her hand to the back of his neck and pulled his face down towards hers. She kissed him just as softly as she had before, but only pulled back so that their lips were mere centimetres apart.
“Again?” she asked huskily, her breath washing over his lips.
“God yes,” he replied, bringing up his hands to frame her face.
This time he pulled her back for another kiss. It started out just as soft as their first two kisses, but soon started to escalate. Buffy began to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt, struggle for what seems like hours to get them undone, then played with the chest hair now exposed to her exploring fingers. His hands too had started exploring, trailing down her arms and under the jacket to wrap around her waist, pulling her closer.
Giles deepened their kiss, slowly tracing the contours of her lips with the tip of his tongue, begging her to give him entry. Parting her lips, Buffy moaned at the first contact of his tongue to hers, the sound causing a shiver to go straight down his spine to his loins. He added a moan of his own when she ran her fingertips lightly over his nipples.
Not content with her position, Buffy moved so that she could sit astride his lap, trailing her hands up into his hair and plundering his mouth with her tongue in much the same way as he had been doing to hers. Finally breaking the kiss to breathe, they rested their foreheads against one another while still maintaining a firm hold with their hands.
“Wow…” Buffy managed to say.
“Wow… indeed…” came his breathless reply.
Pulling back to look into his eyes, Buffy trailed her fingers over his face and neck, as if to memorize every single detail, stopping when they reached the top of his chest.
“Giles…I…”
Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them again to continue.
“I love you.”
Buffy silently watched his face as the realisation of what she had said sunk in.
“Y-You do?”
“Yeah, I do.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Giles pulled her back toward him and place soft, sweet kisses on her lips, each kiss broken by his words.
“I… love… you… too...”
Buffy leaned back again to look at his face. She was rewarded with the most wonderful smile she had ever seen on his face. Smiling back, she moved forward and kissed him again, probing his mouth with her tongue as her hands lowered to caress his chest. His answering moan was accompanied by his pulling her flush against his body, running his hands up and down her back.
Buffy’s hands snaked in between their bodies to undo the last of his buttons as she pulled his shirt out of his pants, pushing the material aside to better access his chest. Wanting to expose more of her skin too, he moved his hands to the sides of her waist and slowly brought them up, brushing the sides of her breasts with his thumbs, then moved them under the shoulders of the jacket, pushing it off.
When it reached her elbows, Buffy had to move her arms back to allow it to slide off. Giles didn’t let it. Instead, he held her arms behind her back and trailed kisses across her cheek to her ear, lightly biting her lobe before moving to lick, nip and kiss his way down her neck. All Buffy could do was moan and grind her hips towards his before whispering,
“Please… let me touch you.”
Relinquishing his hold, he let the jacket fall to the floor of the car as her arms came back to his chest once more, all the while continuing his sweet torture of her neck. His hands eased down to grip her hips and pull her hard against his erection, causing her to moan even louder. Giles then started to kiss along her collarbone and down her chest to the valley between her breasts as his fingers moved to the zip at the back of her dress. Soon he had unzipped it and was trying to unhook the bra. After several fumbled attempts he finally succeeded.
He slid the material off her shoulders to expose her breasts, stopping only long enough to gaze at them momentarily, before kissing and nipping his way around her right breast, avoiding her nipple, until she was squirming in his lap, begging him for more. Happily obliging, he licked slowly around and across her nipple, flicking it with the tip of his tongue before closing his mouth around it and sucking, extracting a groan of pleasure from Buffy. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, he moved his mouth to repeat his ministrations on her left breast, while his hand massaged and lightly pinched her right one.
Wanting to make him moan just as much as he was making her, Buffy slowly pushed Giles back until he was lying back on the car. It was now her turn to kiss, lick and nip her way down his throat and chest, stopping to suck lightly on both of his nipples, then moving further down across his stomach, in the wake of her hands. She deftly unfastened his belt and unbuttoned his pants, slowly dragging down the zipper, making sure to run her hands along his penis as she did so. Giles groaned and bucked his hips towards her at the sensation. Smiling mischievously, Buffy moved her hands back up to the waistband of his boxers, hooking her fingers over the edge and running them lightly against his skin, eliciting another groan from him.
She slowly pulled the boxers down, kissing and licking his skin as she exposed it, until she had them down far enough to release his straining erection. Mimicking his earlier actions, she kissed around his penis, never quiet touching. Now it was his turn to moan in frustration, but he kept still, letting her decide with which speed they should continue. Deciding that he’d had enough torture for now; she moved to hold the end of his shaft in one hand while the other fondled his balls. She then started to lick and nip her way along the underside of his penis, swirling her tongue around the tip when she reached it.
<Oh god……oh god……oh god…>
The mantra sounded throughout Giles’ head until he felt her take him fully into her mouth.
“Oh dear god!”
All thought left him as she started to suck, lightly at first, then with more force, all the while moving her mouth up and down in a constant rhythm. He thrust his hips toward her mouth, unable to hold still any longer.
“Ah, I-I d-don't t-think I-I c-can t-take t-this m-much l-longer l-love.”
She gave his tip a final kiss before she rose and left the car. Giles sat up and watched in confusion as Buffy moved to the drivers seat and removed the keys.
“B-Buffy, did I do something wrong?”
“Nope, nothing wrong. I'm not ready to have little Buffy's or Giles's running around just yet, so a condom would be good don't ya think?”
“O-Of course, you’re right.”
He was embarrassed that he hadn't thought about it, but thankful that she obviously had. She moved to open the trunk and retrieved the box she had gotten from Anya.
“What a-are you d-doing?”
“Getting us some condoms.”
“And there are some in my trunk because…?”
“Because Anya included a little extra something that I didn’t show you guys.”
She fetched the condoms and returned to his side.
“I don’t know whether to be appalled or grateful?” muttered Giles.
“So, you want the strawberry flavoured or the banana flavoured?”
Pulling her back into his lap he replied,
“I just want you.”
“Smooth talker,” said Buffy as she randomly threw one of the condoms onto the floor of the car.
Any further talk was halted as Giles covered her lips with his, renewing their earlier passion. His hands moved to slide her dress off her hips and down her legs, removing her panties along the way. Kicking them out of the way, Buffy then went about removing his shirt, pulling him to stand up so she could remove his pants and boxers also. Opening the foil packet, she rolled the condom on, making sure to take her time, driving him insane with pleasure and desire.
Not wanting to sit on the cold surface of the car, Giles slowly lowered himself down onto the back seat, trailing kisses down Buffy’s body as he went. By the time he was sitting, his face was buried between her legs, nipping the insides of her thighs and around her hot centre. At the first touch of his mouth on her nether lips, Buffy’s hips bucked uncontrollably towards his mouth.
“Oh god Giles…” she moaned, moving one of her hands behind her to hold onto the back of the drivers seat for support as she felt her legs starting to give way beneath her. The other hand held his head, encouraging him to continue.
Placing his hands on her bottom in an effort to keep her still, he increased the pressure of his ministrations, slowly licking from top to bottom of her centre. He then concentrated on her clit, alternating between licking, nipping and sucking until she was moaning and writhing so much he could barely keep a hold of her.
“Giles… I want you… inside me… now…please…” she managed to say through the moans.
With a final lick, her move his mouth away and gently eased her down to straddle his lap, bringing his hands up to frame her face pull her to him for another kiss.
“I love you,” she said as she slowly impaled herself on his rock hard member, watching his face the entire time. She could see her love reflected in his eyes.
“Oh Buffy… I love you too, so much...” he said before groaning in pleasure and reclaiming her lips, sliding his hands down her back to her hips and pulling her even closer. Rising just enough so that only his tip was inside, Buffy then slowly descended again, repeating the action over and over till they were both quivering with the need for release.
Giles trailed one of his hands around to rub her clit with his thumb as she continued to ride him. She screamed his name into the night air as she came, the contractions of her centre bringing Giles with her, his voice joining hers in a cry of ecstasy. Both wrapped their arms around each other, murmuring words of love as their bodies recovered. After a few minutes, Buffy pulled back to look into Giles’ eyes as she caressed his face with her hand.
“Wow… If I’d have known it was going to turn out to be this good, I would have kissed you a lot sooner.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment then, shall I?” Giles responded with a smirk.
“Oh yeah,” came her answering sigh.
“Well, I might have said something sooner too if I had known, or even imagined, that you loved and wanted me as much as I did you.”
“I’m glad we discovered that we did.”
“So am I Buffy, so am I.”
After a few more sweet kisses, they pulled apart so Giles could remove the condom and wrap it in a tissue from the centre compartment.
“I suppose I should be getting you back home now?” he asked.
“Yeah, it is getting late and I don’t want mom to start worrying.”
Silently gathering their clothes, they got dressed and moved into the front again, Giles reaching over to hold Buffy’s hand after he had started the journey home. Once he got there, Buffy helped him carry her presents inside. On the front steps was a very messily wrapped object with a small card taped to the front.
“Who could that be from?” asked Giles.
“Only one way to find out,” said Buffy as she handed Giles the packages she was carrying and bent to pick it up.
“Oh great… I don’t know if I want to open it.”
“Why, who’s it from?”
“Spike.”
“Spike?!”
“Yeah…I guess it won’t hurt to take a peek,” she said as she ripped off the paper to reveal a book of poems by William Blake.
Buffy turned to look at Giles when she heard him chuckling beside her.
“What’s so funny?”
“I just hope they are better than some of the poems I’ve read that Spike wrote while he was still human.”
At that, even Buffy had to laugh.
“Okay, we’d better get inside before mom starts to wonder what we’re doing out here,” giggled Buffy.
“I can’t do anything, my hands are full,” replied Giles with a cheeky grin spreading across his face as he purposefully looked her up and down.
Buffy looked at him in shock for a second, before swatting his arm as she moved to open the door.
“Mom, I’m home,” she yelled as she walked inside, holding the door open for Giles.
Joyce was sitting on the couch with Dawn, watching an old movie.
“Hi honey, how was your evening?”
“It was totally amazing. I don’t think I’m ever going to have another birthday quite as great as this one.”
“Really? That good?”
“Definitely. Lots of great conversation and company at the coffee bar, Giles sang for me and then we went out for a nice drive to do some star gazing before coming back here.”
“Wow, you really are getting spoilt today aren’t you,” said Joyce with a smile.
“So, are you going to tell Rupert where to put your presents or do you intend to make him stand there holding them forever?” she added.
Turning around, Buffy looked at Giles with a twinkle in her eye and said,
“I don’t know Mom, he kind of looks good where he is, you know. Like one of those statues you place in a foyer or something.”
Giles response was to glare at her.
“I’m just kidding. Come on grumpy, I’ll show you where to put that stuff.”
He followed her upstairs and into her room, where she stopped and took the top boxes out of his hands.
“Just put them down on the floor for now, I’ll sort them out later,” said Buffy as she placed her own set of boxes down. Before she could turn around to face him, he had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest.
“So I’m a good statue am I? Grumpy too?” he asked, his mouth next to her ear as his hands started to tickle her sides.
“I had to say something. And telling them I just had the best sex of my life would probably not have been good.”
He stopped his tickling.
“The best sex of your life?”
“At this point anyway, yeah. But I was kinda hoping that you would change that soon.” She turned in his arms and smiled up at him.
“But not here, I wouldn't want to give my mom a heart attack.”
“Yes, I’m sure the knowledge that you are shagging your 40 something year old Watcher would send her right over the edge,” he said somewhat miffed.
“I didn't mean it that way. I just want to break it to her slowly, starting with me telling her that I'm in love with you. But it might be better to wait until she's feeling a little better.”
“Yes, you’re right. I think discretion is paramount at this point.”
“Okay, but I think you should know that I’m fighting really hard not to open the window and scream it into the night.”
“So am I Luv, so am I.”
With that, Giles pulled Buffy into passionate kiss, before reluctantly letting go as they headed back downstairs. They went into the living room and joined Joyce and Dawn. After a little, while Giles excused himself, mumbling something about having to open the Magic Box the next day.
“Well, goodnight Rupert. And thank you again for all you’ve done today.”
“It was my pleasure. Goodnight Joyce, Dawn.”
Dawn grunted a response while stuffing more popcorn into her mouth. Giles headed out to his car, with Buffy accompanying him.
“I’ll see you at training tomorrow afternoon then?” asked Giles.
“Yeah, same time as always.”
After a few awkward seconds, Giles pulled Buffy to him for a hug, not really wanting this night to end. Giving her a gentle kiss on the top of her head, he tried to step back, only to be halted by Buffy’s refusal to let go. Giving him a final squeeze, she let go and stepped back allowing him to get into his car. She stood on the sidewalk, looking after his car as he drove away. When she was unable to see it any more, she turned around and went back inside.
“I’m just gonna head straight to bed Mom. It’s been a long day.”
“Okay sweetie, see you in the morning.”
“Night Mom, night Dawn.”
“Night Buffy.”
Buffy went up to her room, changed and climbed into bed. It wasn’t long before she was asleep and dreaming of a certain Watcher.
The next day, Buffy strolled into the Magic Box for training, actually on time for once. Anya, Willow, Tara and Xander were at the table researching and Anya was behind the counter, counting money.
“Where’s Giles?” asked Buffy as she approached them.
“He’s in the training room getting ready. He said to go straight in when you get here,” replied Anya.
She found him on the mat doing some warm-up exercises. Leaning against the wall, she watched his moves and appreciated what she saw. Then she got a wicked idea. Sneaking up as quietly as she could, she returned his actions from the night before, running her hands over his ribs, tickling him. He tried to wriggle out of her grip, but only succeeded in twisting around and falling onto his back, bringing her down on top of him.
“I told you I’m always open for new ways to get you on your back,” smirked Buffy.
“Do you hear me complaining?”
“Not yet,” she responded and then rubbed herself against his groin.
At this moment, Anya chose to poke her head through the door and they scrambled to their feet.
“Boss, can I borrow your car? I have to get some change from the bank.”
“Ah, y-yes. T-The key i-is in my j-jacket.”
“Thanks,” she said as she turned and left.
“Now, where were we…” Buffy said as she slowly walked back to Giles, running her hands up his chest.
“Need any help?” Xander asked as he appeared in the doorway. Once again they jumped apart, both flustered.
Meanwhile outside, Anya was putting her bag and coat onto the back seat when she noticed something shiny on the floor of the car. Picking it up, she recognised it as one of the condom packets she had put in the box of Buffy’s present.
<Well, well, well… I wonder what those two got up to last night> she thought with a grin.
Over-riding the initial temptation to run back in and tell everyone about her new discovery, Anya decided to keep this little pearl of information to herself. As Giles always said, knowledge is power. Putting the condom packet in her bag, she hopped in and drove off, thinking of the many ways she might be able to blackmail them.