Title: Rakish Uncle?
Author: Sav
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R
Disclaimer: All belongs to joss
Author Note: I borrowed a scene from Life Serial Ep.

(SUMMERS HOME— CORRIDOR— NIGHT)

Giles stood in the hallway outside the bathroom holding a glass of water for Buffy. She’d gotten pretty scratched up with several lacerations across her face tonight. Some were deeper than others. All looked extremely painful.

It worried him that she didn’t seem to care for her own safely anymore. She acted as if her getting hurt shouldn’t matter as long as she got the demon in the end.

But it did matter. 

Especially to him. Buffy was his pride, his devotion. He cared for her more than anything or anyone in this world. To see her now, to see how she acted and approached life, broke his heart.

The light that once shinned so bright inside her… was gone.

The bathroom door opened, interrupting Giles thoughts. Buffy came out, walking gingerly as Giles handed her the glass of water and pain pills before asking.

”Feel any better?”

”I think at one point, I actually turned completely inside out. But yeah, better”

Giles followed the slayer into her room where he watched her starting to take a seat on the bed, but as he moved to join her, she changed her mind an sat on the floor. Giles wondered with a little bit of hurt stinging his heart, if she really couldn’t stand sitting next to him that much, that she had to be on the floor so she wasn’t to close to him.

Sense his return they grew much closer in so many ways, yet… in others, the distance between them was almost unbearable to him.

He could tell she was purposely distancing herself from him and the others, he just hadn’t figure out why… yet.

“I’m sorry I didn’t find this demon with my research”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t much of a fight. I got lucky….This time. Giles, I’m really screwing up”

“What? Come on. You were being tested— sequentially— by some unknown demon. I don’t call that screwing up”

“No, it completely is. I let the demon set the rules”

“Go easy on yourself, will you? I mean, you don’t have to figure the whole thing out at once, you know. Job and everything. You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“The nice people at the phone company? Seem to think it’s not hard enough”

“Well, I may be able to do something about that. I, this, this is for you”

Giles reached inside his shirt pocket and pulled a thin slip of paper out. Buffy wondered what it could be as he smiled at her. He hoped she wouldn’t take this the wrong way, that she would know he was only offering her help out of the kindness of his heart. Buffy, in all due right, was a proud woman. He didn’t want her thinking he didn’t believe in her enough to know that she could make it without this handout from him.

“Um, you just gonna stare at that or let me see what you got?” Buffy asked with a smile as Giles chuckled softly.

“Right you are” he handed it to her as Buffy’s eyes grew wide at the amount.

“A check - - Giles, I can’t take this. It’s too much”

He was pleased she wasn’t angry at him for offering his help. He knew how much he hurt her when he left, telling her she was on her own. Though in his heart, he never truly felt that way. He would always be there for her in any way she needed him. 

“All right, if your sure, I’ll just tear it up then-” Giles said with a smile as he leaned towards her to grab it. Buffy pulled back with a smile, holding the check to her chest.

“I was just being polite. I’m taking the money. This is great. More than great. Like, I don’t really know how to say this... I guess, it’s a little like having Mom back”

Talk about a blow to your ego, he thought.

“This is a scenario in which I am your mother?” Giles asked.

If Buffy really told him what she wanted him to be or she felt about him, she was sure he would either have a heart attack or pass out from shock.

“Wanna be my shiftless absentee father?” She offered.

The only thing Giles wanted to be was with her.

In any way other than fatherly.

“Is there some sort of rakish uncle in this mapping?”

Buffy made a face that Giles couldn’t describe as she thought… (He wants to be my uncle? He can’t want that! How can I tell him I’m in love with him if he wants to be related to me?!)  Maybe I should explain what I meant when I said, it was like having mom back?

“I’m just saying... Giles, thank you. So much. It means a lot to me”

“I know, and you quite welcome”

Silence fell between them as they watched one another for a long moment. Buffy wanted so badly to sit next to him and hug him, but she wasn’t sure if that would be all right with her watcher. In fact the only reason why she hadn’t when they first came into her room, was because she was afraid to be so close to him, with out reaching out and touching him. An now Giles was trying to do the stiff upper lip thing, because of her comment, which she didn’t mean it the way she could tell he took it.

“By mother, I only meant, it was like having someone back who actually cared about me. Not because I was the Slayer, or their sister or friend, but because I was me. It just feels nice to have someone here and not want anything from me in return”

“I would never ask anything from you…at least, nothing I didn’t think you were willing to give”

“I know” She told him softly. This was why she knew it would be ok to tell Giles how she felt. That she was in love with him and she knew he loved her. Maybe he wasn’t in love with her, but she knew he was attracted to her. She caught him, several times, on several different occasions, checking her out.  But at the time she was with Reily, and things with her own heart weren’t right yet.

She was confused about a lot of things an thankfully smart enough to know that all though she was in love with Giles, it wasn’t their time to try at a relationship. Not until things settled down and she could devote the time and attention to him that he deserved.  

Buffy got up slowly, her ribs still aching as Giles stood to help her. He grabbed her arms, steadying her as their bodies came closer together.  Buffy could feel his breath gliding over neck before she turned her face up to look into his eyes. What she saw there, the desire, the love and wanting for her…she knew he didn’t think of her as his family. She knew he wanted her as she wanted him.

All she had to do now was find a way to tell him.

“Buffy?”

“Hmm?”

“I said, are you all right?”

“Oh” She laughed softly , dropping her eyes to his hands. They were still holding her arms. “Yeah I just… I was just thinking”

“About?”

She smiled up at him as he smiled down at her. Their eyes locked for several moments before either of them could think or reason why this should or shouldn’t happen, they began to lean into one another. Giles slid his eyes from hers to her lips then back to Buffy. Letting her fully understand what he was about to do. She simply smiled and moved in closer till their lips brushed.

Both moaned softly as they equally deepened the kiss.

“Buffy? Are you coming down for dinner or not?!”

At the sound of her sister’s voice, Buffy grunted then pulled away from Giles. He smiled warmly as she rested her forehead to his chest.

“Yes Dawn, in a minute!”

“Well hurry up, I’m starving!”

Giles chuckled when Buffy sighed.

“Ya know, I asked my mom for a dog, begged her even…”

“It’s all right darling. We have all night”

Lifting her head, Buffy smiled brightly at him.

“Darling? I like that”

“I’m glad” He kissed her again, lightly, before drawling away. “Buffy, I have to ask, before we go any further-“

“I love you Giles”

He looked shocked for a long moment. Then he smiled slowly and kissed her again.

“I’m in love with you as well”

“I know. An I’m sorry for all the crap I pulled on you, I was just-“

Giles stopped her with any other kiss. This time slipping his tongue between her lips, drawling a surprised gasp from her, before she joined in. Tasting him, learning the shape and feel of his mouth with her tongue, as she kissed him feverishly. Giles slipped his hands into her hair, holding her to the kiss as Buffy ‘s tangled in the front of his shirt.  

“BUFFY!”

Growling, Buffy pulled away, placed a quick kiss to his lips then started to head out to the door telling Giles.

“That’s it. I‘ve had a sister long enough!”

Laughing, Giles caught her just before she walked out, his out stretched arm hooking around her waist, careful of her ribs, before he drew back to him.

“Slayers don’t kill humans” He told with a smile before kissing her jaw line.

“True, yes, but, what about mystical keys that are suppose to open demon dimensions?”

He was laughing again, his 5 o’clock shadow tickling her jaw. She turned in his arms to face him and cupped his face in her hands.

“That sounds amazing”

“I’m sorry?”

”You laughing. You don’t do it nearly enough”

He was grinning at her till Buffy looked like she was about to apologize for something, so he kissed her.

“Buffy if you aren’t dying up here, I am *SO* gonna kick your – oh my god! “

Buffy and Giles laughed when they heard Dawn’s gasp. Pulling away from each other, they saw Buffy’s sister watching them in complete shock.

“Are you two, were you just, oh my god! Buffy! What’s going on?!”

“Nothing” Buffy told her with a smile before lacing her fingers through Giles’ and tugging on his hand. They started heading down stairs as Dawn followed.

“What do you mean nothing? You and Giles were Kissing! I saw tongue!” Dawn stopped briefly on the steps and made a disgusted face. “Ewww! I saw tongue! “

“Who’s?” Xander asked, coming in from the kitchen.

“Buffy’s!”

“Oh yeah? Who was the Buffster smooching this time?” Xander asked with a sly smile then caught Buffy holding Giles hand.   The look on his face made Buffy and Giles laugh as they passed him and went to the dinning table. They took a seat next to each other, smiling, waiting for everyone to join them. 

“I know how you feel” Dawn told Xander as she walked past him and took a seat across from Buffy.

“So you guys are like…together now?” Dawnie asked when Anya and Willow came in from the kitchen with their hands full of the gang’s dinner.

“Who’s together?” Willow asked as Anya placed a set of dishes on the table. Buffy grabbed two then handed Giles one as he thanked her with a kiss. Willow nearly dropped the plate of spaghetti she was carrying as she watched Buffy lean into Giles a little more to deepen the kiss.  

“Right there with ya Will” Xander mumbled as Anya smiled.

“So Buffy and Giles are orgasm friends now?”  Everyone turned to look at her as Buffy and Giles chuckled against each others lips. With one final kiss, they pulled away as Buffy answered Anya.

“Not yet but soon. I hope” She winked at Giles who gave her a shocked look at first. Then he smiled wickedly at her as Dawn and Xander moaned  ‘ewww’ while Willow, who still a little shocked, smiled and told them.

“That’s great guys. I’m really glad you’re happy”

“Yeah, M-Me too” Tara told them softly before placing two, two litters of coke on the table.  

“Thank you Willow, Tara” Giles nodded at them with a gentle smile as Dawn reached for the spaghetti bowl, telling Buffy an Giles ...

“Look, I don’t care what you two do, as long your happy and I *DON’T* see it. Got it?”

“Understood” Giles told her then looked over at Buffy who was watching him. “What?”

“Nothing” Her smile was warm as Xander gagged.

“Oh please. This is gross. Look I feel the same way as Dawnie here, but do you two *have* to make googolly eyes at one another while were trying to eat?” 

“No, of course” Giles told him then leaned over to Buffy and kissed her. His slayer groaned contently as Xander and Dawn dropped their forks and covered their eyes. Willow and Tara were laughing while Anya continued to eat. Her free hand sliding along Xander’s thigh before it stopped at his crotch.

“Doesn’t that give you any ideas?” She asked him with a naughty grin as Xander looked like he was about to be sick.

“An! How can you think about that when their-”

“Sucking face?” Dawn offered while keeping her eyes down to her plate. Completely ignoring her sister and Giles.

“What she said” Xander told his girlfriend.

“What? I think its great their finaly happy. Don’t you?”

“Well yeah sure it’s just… I kinda always thought of Giles like a dad. And seeing him making out with Buffy…” 

Giles looked up at Xander.

“You do? Think of me as a-a father I mean?”

‘Well yeah, of course G”

Giles smiled.

“Thank you Xander. You know I feel the same”

“You think of him like a father?” Anya asked as Giles glared.

“No. I think of Xander as a son”

“Oh. Cause, I was gonna say…”

“So, We’re all ok with this?” Buffy asked, interrupting Anya, who gave her a dirty look.

“I was going to say anything bad. I’ve been good at learning what to say and when to say it , you know”

Everyone eyed her suspiciously .

“Well I have! The old me would have asked if they had sex all ready and was it good? Cause Giles is kinda old-

“Hey!” Giles protested as Buffy kissed him.

“Don’t listen to her” Buffy whispered to him before laying another kiss to his lips. “I like my men, older” 

“And if they did have sex; I hope it wasn’t on the table, cause well, were eating off it”

Everyone eyed the table then Buffy and Giles before a clatter of silver wear was heard hitting their plates.

All except Anya’s, who keep eating.

The End