The room was empty but the enticing smell and sounds of movement from the kitchen indicated where she might find her erstwhile Watcher. Rolling her sleeves up both literally and figuratively, she entered the lion's den.
His back was to her as he cooked what smelt like bacon and eggs at his stove. To her right, she noticed he'd set two places on the tiny table placed against the wall. She hesitated, not sure if she wanted to get what would obviously be an embarrassing meeting over and done with, or to turn tail and run. His greeting as he turned and saw her took the decision from her hands. "Good morning. Sleep well?" Giles moved toward the table, frying pan in one hand, spatula in the other.
"Like a log." She waited for his blush, or a stammered comment. Nothing. Swallowing, she decided he was just too embarrassed, and she'd have to make the first move. "A-about last..." The rest of her words were muffled by the swift, hard kiss he stooped to give her as he passed. She stood still, shocked and unsure of this new Watcher of hers. "Wha..?"
He glanced in her direction, completing the dishing up of their breakfast. "Thought I'd save you the embarrassing 'About last night' comment, so we can get on with the day." He pulled a chair out for her. "Hungry?"
She shook her head, still confused. "Actually, yeah." He waited until she was seated before moving to his own place. "This looks delicious Giles."
"Well, tuck in then. Don't let the egg go cold. Then we can decide what to do for the day."
Her fork paused halfway to her mouth. "Do?"
"Yes." He continued eating, totally oblivious to her reaction. "You haven't had a chance to see any of Bath yet. Thought you might like to have a tour."
"Tour? Giles, it was snowing a blizzard last night!"
"Buffy, this is England! Snow one day, sludge the next. The sun's been shining all morning. It's still chilly, but I thought you might like to see a bit of the city before having a pub lunch. You have to have an English pub lunch while you're here." His grin was beguiling. She realised he was proud of his city, and wanted to show it off to her.
She sighed, then began eating her breakfast. "Alright. A tour then a meal. But the first sign of snow, and we come straight back here!"
Giles nodded. "Deal."
It didn't snow, but about an hour after their lunch, the precarious English weather changed again, and it started raining. They returned promptly to Giles' flat, where he proceeded to build a fire for them. Buffy decided to read the Watcher's journals he hadn't shown her before. They spent the next few hours in their books, Giles occasionally glancing over at his companion, amused at the alternate expressions of shock, disbelief and curiosity. He closed his book as darkness began to fall. Buffy had moved to the floor in front of the fire, reading one of the more salacious journals. Taking off his glasses, he closed his eyes and waited.
"Ewww! This is so not what I think it is." Giles smiled as he opened his eyes. Taking the proffered book from her hands, he examined the drawing.
"Brandol was an extremely inquisitive Watcher. He and his Slayer conducted several 'experiments'." The image was of a young woman smaller than Buffy. facing a demon. Behind the girl stood an older man. They were all naked, and obviously not involved in a battle.
"Experiments? He made that girl..."
"On more than one occasion I believe. He was very precise in noting the results."
"How can you be so calm about it?" He could hear the outrage growing in her voice.
"It happened several hundred years ago. It's too late for me to save the poor girl. And I've already read this particular journal several times. I expelled my rage at her Watcher some time ago."
Buffy shook her head. "Well, there's no way we're gonna be doing that." She blushed at his raised eyebrows. "I mean...."
Giles smiled, then glanced at the clock on the mantle. "It's time to call Dawn."
Grateful for the reprieve, Buffy moved toward the telephone. Her back to Giles, she called her sister, chatting with her for a few minutes. She barely noticed the feather touch of lips against her hair. She could have imagined it, and the second against her cheek. It was harder to pretend the hands about her waist, and the open kiss on her neck weren't real. She leaned into her Watcher, closing her eyes as she tried to concentrate on what Dawn was saying. She almost gave up when his hands began to caress her breasts. Biting her lip, she held back her moan as she tilted her neck to give him greater access. Finally bidding her sister farewell, she lowered the handset. Giles took the piece from her and returned it to its cradle. She turned to him, inviting his kiss. He pulled her to him as he plundered her mouth, both of them happy to just learn how to please each other in this more chaste of caresses.
Finally Giles pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. He waited only until his breathing had settled. "You haven't done any slaying tonight." She shook her head. "I don't suppose you're hungry." Again a negative movement. "What about.....?" She didn't allow him to finish his question, capturing his lips with hers. Giles let her take the lead this time, knowing instinctively she enjoyed being the aggressor. Stepping back, he pulled her with him as he returned to his seat. Laying her across his lap, he took control of the kiss; softening it, wanting to take his time in learning the contours of her mouth. He released her, looking into her lust-hazed eyes. "Want me to watch again?"
Buffy's eyes widened, then lowered as if calculating her next move. Finally she rose, turning to face him. Her silhouette was framed by the flames behind her. Waiting only to ensure she had his full attention, she began to disrobe, methodically and without guile. She stopped until she was wearing only her bra and panties. The apricot tones blended in with her own tanned skin, and the high cut of the panties gave the impression of legs longer than they were. Giles licked his lips, anticipating her next move. Buffy surprised him by shaking her head. "Now it's my turn to watch."
Giles let out a bark of laughter. His Slayer would always surprise him. Standing, he followed her lead. His clothes fell away with precision, the target not to entice, but to display. When he wore nothing but his boxers, he paused, allowing her to view him. He wasn't blind about his body. He was a middle-aged man who'd seen much of life, and who'd experienced more than most men would in several lifetimes. There were scars marking the flesh, some old, others more recent. The matt of hair on his chest was speckled with gray, and the lines about his eyes weren't all created from laughter. He knew what he was, but he wasn't embarrassed by it. Nor did he think Buffy would be disgusted with him. She would have known his shape, and the condition of his body from their workouts. She wouldn't have had expectations he could never have met.
Buffy stepped closer to Giles, her hand extended. She traced her fingers through the whorls of hair on his chest, before running one of them down the path to his groin. She poised at his boxers, then jouneyed back up again. She rested her palm against his heavily beating heart. "I don't want a threesome with a demon, but there are some positions in those journals I wouldn't mind trying."
Giles smiled. "In that case, perhaps we should find a more comfortable location?" At her answering nod, he laid his hand against hers before pulling it from his flesh. Gripping her gently, he pulled her toward his bedroom. They paused beside the bed. Bending down, he kissed her again, deciding this was one of his new favourite pastimes. He caressed her bottom through the silk material of her panties, the sheerness allowing the contact to be almost as intimate as if she were completely naked. He slipped his fingers into her lips, tracing back and forth along the narrow chasm. Buffy moaned in his mouth and hooked one of her legs around his hips. Encouraged, Giles lifted her until her second leg joined the other. She now rested against his arousal, the already damp material of her panties creating friction as they rubbed against him. It was his turn to groan as she pressed into him again and again.
Giles turned, putting one knee on the double bed. Leaning forward, he lowered her onto the mattress before resting his weight atop her. Impatient now to feel her heat, he grabbed the material beneath his hands and ripped it from her body. Buffy pulled away from him. "So that's why they call you Ripper." Growling, he captured her lips again as he rolled them both onto their sides. Now given free reign, his fingers dipped again and again into her essence as he rubbed along her swollen netherlips. When she stiffened, he realised he'd found his target. Using his forefinger, he rubbed her clit, enticing it to come out and play. At her mewls of encouragement, he increased the pressure and speed of his actions while his own hips began to thrust against hers in a corresponding rhythm.
The sound of tearing material pulled him back from the haze that had been enveloping. The feel of the cool night air against his buttocks warned him of what had happened, but he pulled away from her lips and glanced down in time to see what was left of his boxers being extracted from between their bodies. He looked back up at Buffy as she smiled in triumph and lifted her trophy. His eyebrow raised. "Trying to take my title from me?"
Buffy laughed before dropping the material in her hand. "That depends. You might be able to regain it if you can do something about this." She sighed as she looked down. Her bra was still securely fastened, her breasts separated from his flesh by the material. She felt Giles' hand slide from behind her, trailing along her hip, then up her stomach. Her muscles clenched in reaction, reminding them both of the unfinished business they had. Pausing for just a moment, Giles grabbed the front of her bra and somehow managed to separate the material with one hand. Buffy looked up, impressed. "How did you learn that trick?"
"A man has to have some secrets." He leaned forward, rubbing her released breasts with his chest. Her nipples hardened as they were caressed by the soft hair covering his body. "You might find me a dull chap otherwise."
Buffy felt him shift, pushing himself into her opening. Moving her hands onto his ass, she encouraged his actions. "Oh Ripper, that's one thing I can guarantee I'll never call you." They both sighed as he entered her completely, stretching her as he filled her. It felt...right. Maintaining eye contact, they began to rock. There was no fight for dominance now. No one person trying to maintain control. This was a partnership, equals joined as they reached for their goal. Their rhythm matched as they continued in silence, the only sounds their breathing and the slapping of flesh against flesh. The expression in Buffy's eyes clouded as she neared her climax. He increased the rhythm once more, pushing her further toward the edge. Only when her eyes opened in acceptance did he allow his own orgasm release, her name on his lips as he filled her.
Buffy opened her eyes, lethargy enticing her to descend into sleep. She smiled to see her Watcher in repose, the usual lines of worry gone. Lifting her hand, she stroked his sweat-soaked hair, noting the natural curl that he normally straightened out. There were no words of undying love, no declarations of being blind before, no wonder of how they hadn't realised earlier that they were each other's soulmates. They were what they had always been. Slayer and her Watcher. This night had only been an acknowledgement of what had always been between them. She just hadn't been ready to see it before.
Giles opened his eyes, gently smiling at his Slayer. "So, what were you saying about trying some of those positions you saw?" Buffy's laughter ran out in the dark room.