Title: Green Raven Shantey 3/6
Author: Elisabeth
Email: dragonydreams@yahoo.com
Rating: PG - this part (NC-17 eventually)
Pairing: Willow/Giles, Buffy/Riley, Xander/Anya, slight Willow/Tara
Summary: Giles receives a mysterious brochure to a resort and takes the gang on vacation.
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Joss et al.
Spoilers/Timeline: Day after the episode 'Restless' (end of season 4).
Distribution: WLS, WWW, ODD, anyone else - please ask.
Author's Note: Thanks to my wonderful Betas for all of your help.

Willow awoke to the sounds of birds welcoming the new day. She felt the body spooned behind her and immediately thought that Tara was with her. Then she remembered that Tara had dumped her, on the phone no less, last night. Who could be in the bed with her then?

A strong hairy arm snaked around her waist, holding her close. The tattoo on the arm was all the clue that she needed... Giles. 'That's right, I asked Giles to stay with me,' she remembered. She couldn't deny how good and right it felt waking up in his arms.

Willow rolled over so that she was now facing the sleeping man beside her. Giles looked so peaceful asleep. She gently reached out and traced the crinkles around his eyes and around his lips. Her hand continued to explore the features she had known and loved for years. He looked different today though. Perhaps it was because Giles was asleep, in a bed, lying next to her. She never imagined that a moment like this would happen. Yes, she had dreamed about it, fantasized about it, but she never believed that this moment would happen. She couldn't get over how incredibly right this felt. Like she had done it hundreds of times before and would do so hundreds of times again.

Giles had woken up around the same time that Willow had. He was just as awed about the reality of the situation as Willow. Not knowing that Willow was awake yet he decided to enjoy the situation as much as he could before she kicked him out of her bed. He had cautiously circled his arm around Willow's middle, pulling her close. He loved the way her body fit so well against his.

He felt Willow stir and turn over to face him. He closed his eyes, feigning sleep, not wanting the night to be over yet. It took all of his willpower not to react when he felt Willow's gentle touches on his face. He was relieved that she was no longer pressed against his body so that she wouldn't feel his body's response to her caresses. He knew it was wrong to be aroused, Willow needed comfort from him, not this. Unfortunately his body didn't always listen to his brain, especially around Willow. He wondered if this felt as perfect and right to Willow as it did to him. How natural it felt, as if this is how it should always be.

Giles' eyes fluttered open and he slowly smiled at Willow's beautiful face. "Good Morning," he softly greeted her, idly running his hand up and down the small of her back.

Willow shuddered at the gentle caress. "Good morning," she blushed. She couldn't believe that the simple caress could arouse her so easily. Willow's hand was now resting on Giles' chest, above his heart and she could feel its rapid pounding. Feeling emboldened by the early hour and the contentment of the moment she slowly lifted her face to Giles'.

Giles held his breath as Willow drew closer to his mouth. He knew that any sudden move on his part would probably scare Willow away and that was the very last thing he wanted. After an eternity he finally felt Willow gently press her lips against his. Giles responded to the kiss, pulling Willow closer. What began as a tentative question rapidly grew in intensity and passion. Willow's hands slid up to run through Giles' already tussled hair, holding him firmly in place. After an eternity of bliss they separated, panting harshly.

"Good morning, indeed," Giles breathed. When his heartbeat had returned to near normal he observed, "I take it you're feeling better this morning?"

"Yeah," Willow sheepishly admitted. "Should I apologize? For kissing you?"

"What do you think," he growled. "As much as I hate to ruin this moment, might I ask why you kissed me?"

"I don't know," Willow shrugged. "I guess it just felt right. It felt natural, you know. Like we've done this before."

"I know exactly what you mean." Giles kissed her again.

"I suppose that I should be going," Giles sighed when they let up for air.

"Aww, can't we just stay here for the morning?" Willow pouted.

"I would love nothing more, but we did say we'd meet the others for breakfast."

"Goddess, I'd forgotten about them." Willow sat up, frantically looking about the room, as if they were hiding in the shadows.

"I suppose I should be flattered," Giles chuckled, sitting up as well. Reluctantly he got out of the bed and started refilling his pockets, putting on his socks and shoes and glasses. He left his shirt open, figuring he'd be removing it again when he returned to his room to shower.

Willow got up as well, sliding her robe on. She held his hand as she followed Giles to the door. She lingered with him on the small porch. Neither of them was sure of how to say goodbye. Giles leaned down and gently kissed her. "I'll see you shortly," he said as he left. Willow stayed to watch him until he was inside his cabin before heading back in.

*****

Xander stood, mouth agape, at the sight before him. He rationalized that his eyes must have been playing tricks on him. All this fresh air was doing things to his brain. He did not just see Giles leave Willow's room first thing in the morning. He did not see Giles and Willow kiss. He did not see his best friend in her robe kissing a man goodbye with his shirt unbuttoned. Isn't Willow supposed to be gay?

Xander dropped the flowers he had picked as a surprise for Anya and ran back to his cabin for a reality check. The sooner they all got to breakfast, and the truth, the better.

*****

Ethan arrived at his office early, ready to get things under way. He flipped on the monitors in Willow's room and it was empty. Shortly she returned from outside and headed for the bathroom.

"I wonder what she was doing outside in her robe this early," Ethan mused. He rewound the recording from her cabin for the last several hours. Just to make sure he wouldn't miss anything he went back six hours. Willow and Giles were asleep together. He fast-forwarded through the night; the only thing changing was their positions on the bed. He zoomed the camera closer to the figures on the bed. He so loved digital recording systems. Finally, after sunrise, he saw Giles and Willow open their eyes. He set the tape to play at the regular speed and watched as Giles pulled Willow closer to him. "Now it's getting interesting. How far will you go Ripper?"

Ethan watched the slow seduction with interest. "Not quite what I had hoped for, but it's something to work with. The girl obviously has feelings for Ripper. After that kiss, things should move along quite easily. They said something about meeting the rest for breakfast. I must inform the kitchen staff."

*****

"No way." Buffy insisted when Xander told her what he had seen.

"Way. Why would I make something like that up?"

"Because you're trying to pull my leg. You're making a joke, a really bad, gross, icky joke."

"Believe me, Buffy. Never in a million years would I ever think of something like this ever happening, even as a joke."

"So let me get this straight," Buffy grimaced as she got an image of what she was about to repeat. "You saw Giles, my watcher, with his shirt unbuttoned, coming out of Willow, my best, gay, friend's cabin and she was only wearing a robe. Then he kissed her, on the mouth. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"Yes." He shuddered. "There has to be a reasonable explanation for that right?"

"Maybe he just slept on the couch. I mean, Willow wouldn't cheat on Tara, especially not with Giles."

"I don't know about that," Anya interjected. "She's cheated before." She glared at Xander.

"Yeah, but that was just a fluke, a clothes fluke. And she was devastated when Oz cheated on her. She would never do something like that, again."

"There could be any number of explanations," Riley agreed. "Why don't we just ask them at breakfast."

"You mean ask them straight out what's going on?" Xander asked in disbelief. He looked at Buffy for confirmation of this bizarre idea being proposed.

She shrugged. "It might work."

*****

The group was waiting at the entrance to the dining hall when Giles arrived. He had a silly grin on his face at the thought of seeing Willow again. The grin did not go unnoticed by the others, their fears beginning to be confirmed. He almost missed the accusatory glares being sent his way by Buffy and Xander.

"Where's Willow?" he asked when he reached the group.

"Shouldn't you already know that?" Xander sneered.

"Hey guys," Willow beamed as she joined the conversation. "Isn't this a beautiful morning?" She stole a look at Giles, not sure how to be around him around the others.

Giles was trying very hard to keep his hands off of Willow and stuffed them in his pockets so that he wouldn't hold her hand or put his arm around her. All he could think about was being close to Willow, yet he didn't want to embarrass her in front of her friends. He never wants to make her uncomfortable.

"Yeah, real beautiful." Xander deadpanned. "Let's eat."

As they approached the table, Giles pulled out a chair for Willow. She was surprised by the gesture, but sat in the proffered chair. Buffy and Xander moved to sit on either side of Willow, but Giles wasn't about to be separated from her and quickly took a seat next to her. Xander and Buffy exchanged nervous looks and took their seats.

Once everyone was seated and had ordered Giles reached under the table for Willow's hand. The need to touch her was overwhelming.

After several meaningful stares and gestures of Buffy's head, Xander voiced what was on everyone's mind.

"Speaking of beautiful mornings... I woke up early this morning and thought I'd surprise Anya with some hand picked wildflowers. On my way back to the cabin I saw the strangest thing." He paused to see if Willow or Giles were going to interrupt him, but they didn't seem to know what he was getting at.

"What did you see," Giles asked, instantly on guard. "Is it something that we need to worry about?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Xander hinted. "I was walking back past your cabin Willow when I saw Giles leaving and..." he couldn't even finish the sentence, but then again, they already knew what happened next.

"Bugger," Giles said under his breath. 'I guess the cat is out of the bag.'

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Buffy demanded in her best disappointed mother voice.

"And what about Tara?" Anya asked. "I didn't think you suffered cheaters."

"I didn't cheat," Willow adamantly stated, the color rising in her cheeks in anger. "I'm not the one who cheated," she added, tears starting to fill her eyes.

"It's all right, luv," Giles comforted. "Perhaps you should start from the beginning. They don't know what happened."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. It feels like it was so long ago, not just last night." Willow took a deep breath, steeling herself to relate her humiliation. "Last night, before dinner, I called Tara to let her know how much I missed her and wished she was here. She wasn't there so I left a message on the machine. After I showered, to get rid of the dust from walking in the woods, I called her again and this time she answered." Her voice started to crack, but she continued. Giles rested a hand on her shoulder in support. "Tara told me that she had met someone else and wanted to explore this new relationship and couldn't do that if she was tied down to me." Tears were now freely flowing down her cheeks. "She's the one who cheated, not me."

Giles pulled his chair closer to Willow and gathered her up in his arms, allowing her to cry on his shoulder. He picked up the story, "Willow and I had arranged to order room service in her room earlier seeing as how you were all doing likewise. I arrived shortly after her phone call with Tara. She was crying her heart out and we spent the evening talking. Willow asked me to stay and hold her after her emotional evening and I wasn't about to refuse."

Willow had calmed down a bit and continued, "When I woke up this morning, with Giles, suddenly everything seemed right with the world."

"So you had sex." Anya concluded. All of the men shifted uncomfortably.

"No," Willow laughed. "We kissed."

Buffy and Xander both let out sighs of relief, although clearly still wigged about the kiss.

"So what, are you guys a couple now?" Riley asked.

"To be honest, we haven't discussed it yet." Giles stated, slightly embarrassed.

"And what if we were? What would be wrong with that?" Willow asked.

"Everything," Buffy practically shouted. After the entire dining room looked in their direction she continued in a quieter voice, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love you both, but come on, do you really think you could make a relationship work?"

"Why couldn't we?" Giles demanded.

"Because you're old," Xander exclaimed. "And what about you Willow, what happened to being gay? What, Oz cheated on you so you became gay? Then Tara cheated on you and you're straight again?"

"That is way harsh Xander. So I'm a little confused? Maybe I'm bi. It's allowed. Maybe Tara was just an experiment? Why does a person's gender have to matter when you love them?"

"You were in love with a woman?" Riley asked in confusion. Where had he been?

"I don't know," Willow admitted. "I really liked being with her, maybe I did love her. It certainly hurt the same to find out she'd cheated on me."

"Then how could you be kissing Giles the next day?" Buffy accused.

"That's enough Buffy. And you too Xander. Willow, you don't have to put up with this right now. Come, let's get out of here." Giles stood to leave and, holding hands, left with Willow in tow.

"Well, that went well," Anya concluded.

"What are we going to do about this?" Xander posed to the group. "We're not just going to let them start dating are we?"

"No, we have to make them see how bad that would be." Buffy agreed.

"Shouldn't we let them work this out on their own. What's so wrong with them getting together?" Riley asked.

"Besides, trying to break them up will only push them together. I've seen it happen before," Anya agreed.

"No, we'll make them see things straight; if it's the last thing we do." Buffy stated, leaving no room for argument.

Everyone finished off their breakfasts in silence. Each feeling more justified with every bite.

*****

Ethan was practically dancing for joy in his office. "Well now, that's more like it. Before long Ripper and his witch will be all over each other to spite the others if for no other reason. And the rest of them won't even speak to them after that. This is even better than preoccupying the Slayer with Ripper. Soon they won't even want to be in the same room together. I'm going to have to agree with the witch, this is a beautiful morning."

*****

"Giles, could you please slow down," Willow panted. "We're away from them, I don't thing we're being chased."

He immediately stopped and Willow nearly tripped over him. "So sorry. I wanted to put as much distance between us and them as possible." He looked around at their surroundings. "Where are we exactly?"

"Did you get us lost?" Willow asked playfully.

"I certainly hope not. Ah, yes, now I recognize where we are. We're not far from the pond."

"Let's go there then. I suppose it's as good a place as any for a serious talk," Willow offered.

They continued on in silence, each gathering their thoughts. They found a bench near the pond and nervously sat beside each other.

"Shall I start?" Giles began. Willow nodded. Giles cradled one of her hands in both of his. "First, I want you to know that I will respect any decision that you make Willow. After all, you must have a lot going through that beautiful mind of yours." Giles ran his hand through her hair as he said this and Willow leaned into the caress. "If it helps your decision at all, I want you to know that I love you. I have loved you for some time, and I will continue to love you, regardless of whether you wish to pursue this or not."

"Thank you Giles, that does help. I won't lie; I am so confused right now. I don't know if it would be wise to jump into something with you so soon after being dumped by Tara. I also can't deny how badly I want to... want you. I don't want you to be some rebound guy though. I'd never want to hurt you like that. Because I love you too," she finished quietly.

Willow pulled Giles into a fierce hug, afraid to let go. When she finally pulled back she gave a little laugh. "Well, that certainly didn't solve anything."

"No," Giles chuckled with her. "I suppose not. Might I suggest that we simply allow things to progress naturally, with no pressure from either one of us for something more? I would never want to do anything to lose you as a friend, Willow. Although I would be thrilled to be something more."

"I think that all sounds really good, Giles. No pressure is definitely a good thing. Should we seal the deal with a kiss?" she mischievously asked.

"An excellent idea," he agreed.

Both had only intended on a short, friendly kiss. However, the moment their lips touched all intentions melted away and all they could feel was their desire for the other. Mouths willingly opened and tongues entwined, each trying to devour the other. Hands roamed through hair and over backs. Willow lightly ran her nails along Giles' spine. In response, Giles ran his hands along Willow's sides and torso, his thumbs teasing the sides of her breasts. Willow moaned into his mouth, encouraging his actions.

When oxygen started to become an issue they separated. "I guess we should let that be our answer," Willow finally managed to say.

"I'd say so. Might I ask a favor of you in that case?"

"Ask away."

Giles blushed a little as he asked, "Could you... if it wouldn't be too strange... could you please call me Rupert?"

"I think I can manage that, Rupert."

*****

"So what's the game plan?" Xander asked as they left the dining hall.

"I think the old 'divide and conquer' plan would be best." Buffy stated.

"Good idea. So who do you want?"

"I think I'd have more luck getting through to Giles than any of you."

"Okay, then I'll take Willow." Anya glared at Xander so he quickly added, "Talk to Willow. I'll talk to her."

"That's better," Anya mumbled. "I'll be at the spa while you're doing that. I want no part of this."

"I'll be in the gym," Riley agreed. "I don't want to get in the middle of this either."

"Wimp," Buffy commented. "All right, fine. Xander and I can handle this."

"So where do you think they went? Back to one of their rooms?" Xander practically gagged as he made this suggestion.

"May as well check there first. If they're not there then we should probably wait for them because they'll have to go back sooner or later."

"I vote for sooner," Xander replied.

When they reached Willow and Giles' cabins the group split up.

"Good luck," Riley said to Buffy, kissing her on the cheek, as he headed off to get his gym clothes.

"Yes, good luck alienating your friends," Anya agreed as she made her way to be pampered.

After watching them leave Buffy and Xander each took to their prey's cabin and knocked.

"Here goes nothing," Xander whispered as he waited.

NEXT