TITLE: BOUND 1/2
AUTHOR: PhenDog
AUTHOR E-MAIL: PhenDog@gmail.com
RATING: NC-17
SUMMARY: Ripper and Ethan claim one another and establish a bond not meant to be broken.
PAIRING: G/E
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Giles, Ethan, or anything else except my beloved computer named "Slate." (Obviously I don't own them, or I'd own a lot more than Slate and you'd have to pay to read this.) The Buffyverse belongs to Joss, ME (yes I know, old joke), and a whole bunch of alphabetical TV networks, `specially now that it's gone into syndication. Please don't sue, I know I don't have permission. Bad me. All my money went to bootleg X-files and Buffy episodes and Slate doesn't want to leave me!
WARNINGS: Unicorn, Graphic Slash, Bondage, Arboreal Abuse

DEDICATION: Well, to Elizabuffy of course…as my Creator she'd strike me down w/her evil fist if I didn't mention her. Apologize that my first G/E was angsty! *ducks* I will write you something nice one of these days, love, I promise. And to Kim…thank you SOOOO much for the beta! *hugs* Sorry I pushed you so hard for it and then proceeded to wait ANOTHER month before I published the fic *LOL* Anyway, without your insightful comments on some of what was wrong, this fic would be worse.
FEEDBACK: PLEASE!!! Lay it on me at PhenDog@gmail.com Good feedback will be treasured, printed, and taped on my wall. Flames will be treasured, printed in large typeface, matted, framed, and hung with care on my door for all to see. Either way, you'll be encouraging me to write more! Constructive Criticism treasured above all else!
DISTRIBUTION: GRB, Shades of Grey efiction, WatcherGirls, ODD, Giles_slash, Batpack, my LJ. Otherwise, if you want it, just let me know!

A/N: Oddly, this was inspired by Wench's Mini- Challenge "Giles learns about his destiny," but, it, ah, kinda took on a life of its own, so it's not really a response to that. Oh well!
Shall warn…if you want just the sex/magic/schmoop you might not want to delve in the epilogue. It's not really an unhappy ending, but, um…I like my angst.
I've learned I'm not good at writing bondage sex *LOL* I also learned that taking away one character's ability to speak makes it even harder. Anyway, hope its not too tedious for you and worked anyway…
Also, the observant might notice there's a Shakespearian sonnet appended to the end. I normally don't do things like that, but, well, I was watching "Judging Amy" two days ago before "Angel" came on, and they recited it during the show to say good-bye to a character…caught me off guard how perfect it was for both the feeling I wanted to express in the fic and some of the imagery it brought to mind. So I thought I'd share it w/you all! (`cause, you know, I'm evil like that!) I'll warn it's not an especially happy little bit of poetry if read very deeply.

The two looked across the circle at each other and smiled as the words continued to pour forth, echoing through the room. Ethan could see only the pinpricks of light from the candles in those otherwise flat, black eyes and knew his own must look the same, flooded with the magic. Though he longed to feast his eyes on that hard body that filled his dreams with what real life had yet to offer, he knew it was more important to maintain the visual connection. Slowly, he let the words grow louder, stronger, varying the pitch as Ripper matched him perfectly, intertwining his slightly deeper tones to weave his power into the spell Ethan was forming.

Suddenly, a speck of cool, white light appeared, floating between them. Ethan let his magic flow toward it, bolstering it and causing it to grow as he felt Ripper doing the same, careful to balance him.

His heart beat faster, and his mouth grew dry. The spell reached back to him through the connection, and he could feel it throbbing deep inside, consuming him with the euphoria and the warmth that burned through him, satisfying an emptiness he never found himself aware of until the very moment it began to be filled.

The light was pulsing now, beginning to blind him as Ethan reached down and allowed himself to feel his own touch at last, sure by the increased intensity that his partner had begun manual stimulation as well. Ethan's thumb stroked the tip of his own cock, eliciting a twitch that shot pure heat through the pooling warmth, before his hand took up its rhythm, finding the strokes he liked best.

Ethan felt his eyes close of their own accord, rolling back, but it no longer mattered, so long as the words continued to be said aloud, something that was so natural he no longer needed to think about it as they seemed to be drawn out of him with a life of their own, forming prose older than time itself.

Mentally, he reached across the connection that was forming until his world was flooded with a brilliant green—Ripper. Ethan drank it in, tasting it, letting Ripper's arousal feed his own as they became hyperaware of one another, no longer two separate entities as they felt themselves drawing closer and closer to the earth shattering climax that started low and rose up, threatening to crash down over both of them. Ethan found himself unable distinguish his physical presence from Ripper's and had no idea whether that aching hardness or the sweet fingers that teased it were his or his companion's. It hardly mattered as their movements grew frenzied, voices no longer matching as they became high-pitched and fevered, broken with the ecstasy and barely managing the chant.

Then he felt the tightening, building up until it pushed him to the brink. For an instant, he held himself at the edge, but then he felt Ripper surging forward with his own orgasm, and Ethan let himself go, falling into the green and losing himself in its vastness as the white light between them exploded outward to envelop them both before fading away.

Slowly, Ethan came back to himself as the ringing subsided and his vision cleared, but the warmth remained, leaving him momentarily sated. When he found the strength to move, he crawled across the stained hardwood floor of their flat, bypassing the mess of burned out candles that lay in the center of the chalk marked circle.

Ripper was breathing heavily, eyes still closed and seemingly unaware of him as Ethan bent over him and running his hand through the longish, sweat soaked curls that covered his partner's head. Then he lowered his lips to take the other man's. At first the kiss was gentle, teasing, but soon Ripper started to respond, and Ethan opened his mouth as he let his body drape across his companion's. The tongue was soft and warm, like pure heated velvet against his own, before growing hard and pointed, alternating as the lips worked his, bruising and demanding. Finally, he broke off, gasping.

Ethan moved to kiss Ripper's throat, feeling the air move in and out reflexively under his mouth. "You're one hell of a kisser, Ripper."

"Good teacher," came the husky reply, and Ethan grinned against the salty, clammy skin, remembering how it had been, not so very long ago.

The other boy had been so tough, but so eager to learn when he'd joined their little group. Ripper had picked up the chaos and darkness so readily, Ethan had immediately seen in him one who was perhaps as serious about the magics as he was himself—not a mere dabbler like the others. Phillip, Deirdre, Thomas, Randall—all were weak and played with the forces for fun. They didn't understand. But Ripper…Ripper was serious. He had that aching hunger that Ethan recognized in himself, and he'd wanted him, wanted to taste him, so badly.

Normally, they had done spells as a group, keeping each other in check, but Ripper wanted more, and had turned to Ethan, who readily agreed, pleased to be asked. They increased their practicing until the nature and power of it grew more and more intense. There were certain spells…Ethan knew how intensely aroused he became and could tell it was having a similar effect on Ripper, though the other tried to hide it from him. One night, he'd added a little extra ingredient, and their magics had truly touched for the first time, Ethan's cobalt to Ripper's sweetest green. In the heat of the moment, Ethan had grabbed the other man, capturing his lips and grinding his arousal into the hard erection he found pressing against him. For his troubles he'd gotten a bleeding lip and a black eye as Ripper yelled at him that he wasn't "a bleedin' fairy."

The words were hateful, and they hurt. Certainly, Ethan's own sexuality had never been hidden; in fact, he was rather flamboyant about it. Even if Ripper had never approached him, he certainly hadn't seemed to mind.

"Oh, really? That's not what Deirdre says," he'd replied. "She says every time she offers, you blush and turn her down. And I certainly doubt you're the celibate type."

There had been no answer as the door slammed shut, and Ripper had left, finding some other place to sleep for the night. Ethan had spent the entire time sleepless, mind racing as he worried that he might never see him again. But Ripper had come back the next day, stuttering and apologizing, dropping the tough façade. They'd smoked and drunk and talked, leaning back on the stained couches and blowing rings at the ceiling. It was then that the secrets began to pour out.

Ethan's own past was an open book—tough kid, grew up poor but smart, dodging his booze-soaked father. At sixteen he'd left, and the rest was history. Most of the others in their group were similar, but he'd always known Ripper was different. Every now and then, the adopted accent would slip, revealing the smooth Oxford tongue of education and wealth, and, though he knew far more in some areas, Ripper's naivety in others was simply astonishing. Still, no one ever pushed. They all had the right to their privacy, and it was obvious he wanted his.

But that day…Ripper asked him what he knew of demons and vampires. Ethan had laughed, even as Ripper pointed out that, as a sorcerer, he should know better than to dismiss such things so easily. Then he'd told him nearly everything—about Rupert Giles and who he'd been, and about Watchers, and Slayers, and a Council who had tried to steal his future and push him into a destiny he never wanted. "If I can…If I can make myself unworthy…" he'd choked.

Though he wasn't sure he believed, Ethan had touched his friend's arm with a finger, letting his magic flow across the surface of the skin. Ripper flinched and looked up startled. "That was you? Last night…I felt you?"

Ethan nodded. "We touched. You taste…sweet. I shouldn't have forced myself on you, though. I thought maybe…I mean, with the exception of yours truly, no one turns down Deirdre, you know?"

There was the blush again. Then Ethan had guessed it, and wide-eyed he'd asked the question. Stammering, Ripper tried to deny it, but finally owned up to being a virgin.

"How the hell do you go twenty-one years without a single shag?" Ethan had asked incredulous.

"It…uh, it wasn't encouraged," was the reply. "They kept us separate, boys and girls, until we could be suitably matched. Even though there were times…the penalties for getting caught…" he shivered, a shadow passing across his face, and Ethan began to realize just what a sheltered life his friend had run from. Given that, he understood Ripper's fear of Deirdre. If she found out, she'd not only mock him to his face, but probably do it in front of the others as well.

This time, when he ran a hand along the other's arm, there was no move to back away. It wasn't until he'd leaned closer, inches away, that Ripper had whispered, "I don't…"

Ethan had reached up to stroke his face. "I won't force you, Ripper. Couldn't. But if you want it, it's there. It's okay to want, and I do want you. I want to feel your body, but more than that, I want your energy, to bathe myself in the feel of your power… more than such a tiny lick. You're beautiful, Ripper."

"And you…I still feel you," came the quiet admission. "Last night, I couldn't forget. It's why I came back."

"Just sex and magic, that's all it is. You don't need to be afraid of it." When their lips had come together seconds later, there hadn't been any hesitation, but they'd been too drunk for it to go much further that night.

In the weeks that followed, they'd found the spells and experimented, touching themselves and each other, bringing their magics together more and more until they began to crave one another, but still, Ripper had hesitated, either afraid or unwilling to go further. Then Ethan had stumbled across it. The Spell. The one Ripper had been saving himself for, Ethan had said. If you were going to stay a virgin for so long, he pointed out, surely the reason must be to use it toward some end. The other hadn't completely dismissed it. Instead, he'd simply responded, "Maybe…but not yet."

Now as they lay together, naked and sated, Ethan brought it up again. "I love your green, Ripper. I long for it. Do you lay awake nights lusting for my power, missing it when it's not filling you?"

There was a groan as the hands came up to stroke his back and play with his hair. "You know I do, Ethan. You know it."

Ethan shivered at the caress and rewarded Ripper by running his hands along the light curls that covered the chest until he found the sensitive nubbin of a nipple and began to stroke it with his thumb. He marveled at how much more Ripper allowed with each of their sessions. His distaste of expressing sexuality with another man was lessening bit by bit. Now, Ethan was noticing Ripper was more and more often the one to take initiative, going further, exploring more, and suggesting the joining spells—as he had done that night. "We could taste each other always, Ripper. Be more powerful together than we ever would be alone. I even know the perfect place. Just as soon as you're ready."

Though he pretended not to notice, Ethan felt the tension as Ripper's anxiety came forth again. He understood. The spell was powerful, complex, and dangerous, not to mention that it would require a level of intimacy far beyond what they'd practiced previously.

It was also a choice. He knew Ripper hadn't turned to him fully and still distrusted the part of himself that sought out the other man, a thing Ripper had apparently never thought possible. If they did the spell, though, it would force the issue, binding them together in a way far more intimate than blood or sex.

But as Ripper let out a long breath, the words in it surprised him. "I want you, Ethan, more than…more than anything. I'm ready."

"You're certain? This is serious, Ripper."

"More certain than I've been of anything in a long while. Do you know I dream of you? Last night I dreamed you were inside me." He didn't bother to elaborate and explain whether he was referring to Ethan's power or Ethan's body, though his tone made it easy to infer either.

"Tomorrow, then," Ethan replied, reeling from the joy that was attempting to well up inside him, praying to the gods that Ripper wouldn't change his mind. "Full moon, anyway. Perfect."

NEXT