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Chapter 6

Giles stood in the shower and sluiced himself off, trying not to think about what had just happened, but failing miserably.

He couldn’t believe that he had had a wet dream about Spike. He didn’t even think of Spike in a sexual way. No, he told himself, that wasn’t entirely true. Quite a few times this evening, he had thought various parts of Spike’s anatomy had looked sexy.

If he was honest, it wasn’t even just today, he had been having thoughts like this for a while now. He just hadn’t realised that his subconscious thoughts had moved so far along, as to dream about Spike touching his body and making love to him. Did he really want that to happen?

He shook his head, not wanting to go down that road at the moment. He decided there was nothing he could do about it right now anyway, so he turned off the water, grabbed his towelling robe which was hanging by the cubicle door and went to step out of the cubicle.

As he put weight down on his foot, however, he yelped in pain, his ankle buckled and gave way and he went down on the floor. Whilst his mind had been so overtaken by thoughts of his confusion and embarrassment, he had somehow managed to block out all the messages from his pain receptors and so hadn’t felt anything as he had hot-footed it into the shower.

Now that his thoughts were clear again, however, the pain came back with a vengeance and all Giles could do was sit there for a moment contemplating his next move. He didn’t think he could make it back to bed unaided.

Luckily for him, the decision was taken out of his hands because at that moment the bathroom door suddenly crashed in, reverberating as it banged against the side of the bath. Spike was standing there in the doorway with a deeply concerned look on his face.

When he saw Giles collapsed on the floor, pain in his eyes, Spike went straight to him and gathered him gently into his arms, carried him effortlessly back into the bedroom and placed him down on top of the crisp, new sheets on the freshly made bed.

Giles was touched that Spike had gone to such trouble for him. He hadn’t even thought about having to change the sheets but Spike had just carried on and done it without request or complaint.

“Are you alright, mate? I’m sorry, I forgot all about your ankle in the heat of the moment, otherwise I would have come to help you.”

“It’s quite alright. I’d forgotten all about it myself too, right up until I stepped out of the shower anyway, and the ground came up to meet me rather more quickly than I anticipated.”

“Well, it’s funny what tricks the mind can play on you. It just proves that you can think through the pain or ignore it entirely if you are focused on something else.”

Giles blushed at that comment, just waiting for Spike to take the opportunity to crack a joke about what he had, in fact, been focused on, the thing which had led him in to this predicament in the first place.

To his surprise though, Spike did nothing of the sort. He just went to the chest of drawers, located a clean pair of pyjama trousers and passed them to Giles to enable him to get changed and take off his robe.

Giles got changed carefully whilst Spike busied himself tidying the bathroom, giving Giles a much needed moment of reflection and privacy, before he came back in to collect Giles’ robe.

“T..T..Thank you, Spike. Thank you for the pyjamas and the assistance and for going to the trouble of changing the sheets for me. It really was most kind of you, to go to such lengths.”

“No problem, luv. I have to say we’ve probably all been there at one time or another. Maybe not quite as publicly as you managed it, but still...”

Spike smirked as he looked down at Giles who was underneath the top sheet, leaning back against the headboard. Giles smiled sheepishly up at Spike.

“Thank you for being so nice about this. I was expecting ridicule.”

“Oh, I haven’t closed that option entirely. I just thought a momentary reprieve might be called for.”

Giles blushed again, but when he caught the twinkle in Spike’s eye he knew that any ribbing he got would only be minor and meant as a shared joke, as opposed to comments intended to humiliate him.

He looked back at Spike with an expression of gratitude in his eyes and Spike gave a little nod in acknowledgement. Giles sighed, things would be alright now.

He lay down in the bed and Spike went to the door to leave but just before he closed it behind him, he poked his head back round and said:

“Oh, and next time you want to have naughty thoughts about me, just remember I’m right next door, and the real thing is a hundred times better than a dream any day, when you’re ready to find out.”

With that, Spike shut the door and Giles could hear him chuckling as he went back towards his room. Giles lay there and groaned quietly to himself. He knew! Spike knew that it was him whom Giles had been thinking of whilst in the throes of his dream.

Now Giles was even more embarrassed. Maybe he could shrug it off and deny it in the morning. Make up another excuse for shouting out Spike’s name. No, it was hopeless. Spike would never believe him. Giles turned on his side and closed his eyes and tried to sleep but then his eyes suddenly popped open.

He had been focusing on the first part of Spike’s speech but now he suddenly remembered the last bit: ‘when you’re ready to find out’ – now that sounded like a definite invitation. Giles’ lip quirked up as he was finally dropping off to sleep – a polite gentleman never refuses an invitation. With that thought, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

*****

The next morning, Giles awoke to the smell of frying bacon wafting up to him from the kitchen. He sat up in bed and tested his ankle with gentle flexing and bending movements. It was still quite painful but definitely improving. Perhaps another day keeping his weight off it, should see him able to hobble about on it the day after.

He was just debating getting himself over to the bathroom somehow, when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, towards his room. Spike appeared in the doorway with a tray in his hands with a full breakfast, toast, tea and even a British newspaper.

“W..W..Well, I can’t believe it. Thank you, Spike, how kind of you. This is amazing and so thoughtful. You went to all this trouble just for me? A British newspaper! Gosh, I’ve really missed that. Where on earth did you get all this from.”

“I popped out when you fell asleep and went to the new all-night market down by the docks. They get deliveries direct from the ships that heave to from all over the world.”

“I can’t remember the last time I had breakfast in bed. I feel highly honoured. There’s way too much here, though. I’ll never eat all this.”

“Well I was hoping you might say that. Shove over and I’ll help you polish it off.”

Spike smirked down at Giles who smiled back and slid over to allow room for Spike to sit on the bed too. Giles spread two slices of toast with thick butter and jam and passed one over to Spike, who tucked in with relish. Giles did likewise, enjoying the taste so much more than usual because it had been prepared for him and he had a bit of company, which made all the difference.

Giles started in on his cooked breakfast and had a couple of bites then looked over at Spike, who was looking back at him with big puppy dog eyes. Giles smiled.

“Would you like a bit, Spike?”

“Thought you’d never ask, mate. Could I have a bite with a bit of everything on, please. It doesn’t work unless you can taste it all at once.”

Giles smiled again, he couldn’t seem to stop himself this morning. He went to give Spike the fork but Spike was sat with his mouth open, so Giles blushed, loaded up the fork and carefully, with his other hand held underneath, moved the fork over to Spike who leaned in to accept it.

Spike closed his mouth, and slowly slid his lips back, releasing the fork from his mouth. Giles was captivated and couldn’t take his eyes off Spike’s mouth. Spike really played up to it as he saw Giles watching him, and he closed his eyes, leant his head back and sighed in delight, licking at an imaginary crumb on his lip.

“Delicious, if I do say so myself.”

“Oh, er, yes, absolutely… delicious, I mean, thank you.”

Giles shook his head to clear the thoughts of Spike using that tongue to lick other things and went back to his breakfast, sharing every other bite with Spike. They finished it together, ate the remainder of the toast and shared a pot of tea, which almost had Giles regretting the fact that Spike had brought up two cups, he would have quite relished the chance to share a cup with Spike too. What was happening to him!

Chapter 7

After enjoying their joint breakfast, and with Spike’s assistance in manoeuvring Giles about, the pair got dressed and headed down to the Magic Box.

Giles didn’t need to open up today as it was Sunday, he was, however, very excited at the prospect of going through some of the old boxes of Watchers’ diaries. He also found that he was just as excited at the thought of having Spike there with him, giving his assistance and personal insight into what they uncovered.

Spike carried down a comfy chair for Giles to sit in and then carried Giles himself down and got him settled, before getting the first box and placing it on the floor in front of Giles.

Giles opened the box and saw that the first journal was 1750 and the second followed straight after, being 1752, so he put the lid back on and Spike replaced the box and checked the next one along.

“We’d be better to start on the late 1800’s after you were turned. I can always go back over those older diaries later.”

“I’m happy to go through any of them, but I must admit, my own lifetime does interest me more.”

“Just check a few more boxes then until you find something a little nearer your time. Oh, and whilst you’re there, would you check in that cupboard in the corner. You should find a few bottles of single malt whiskey which I keep down here for when I’m doing inventory. It’s behind that box of lucky rabbits’ feet. I don’t actually sell many of those, but it stops Anya from going in that cupboard.”

Spike laughed at the thought of Anya’s morbid fear of bunnies, as he looked in a few more boxes. He found one from 1879 and carried the box over to Giles, then went over to the cupboard for the whiskey.

“20 year old single malt Scotch whiskey – now this is the height of decadence, I’m impressed.”

“I’ve got a supplier in town who orders it in especially for me. I much prefer it to the bourbon they have over here. I don’t see why one should forego all the pleasures from home.”

“Couldn’t agree more, mate.”

Spike handed Giles a bottle and went back to get some glasses.

“I’ll have to just go back upstairs to get another glass, there’s only one in here.”

“Well, I don’t mind sharing if you don’t. After all, it’s not much different than sharing breakfast this morning.”

“If you’re okay with it, then it’s fine with me. ‘I don’t got cooties’ as they like to say over here.”

Giles laughed at the girly voice Spike had put on for that comment, as he poured out a very generous measure into the tumbler. He offered it to Spike first, but Spike indicated that Giles should have the first sip.

“Host’s privilege.”

Giles swirled the glass and gently sniffed the whiskey, savouring the delicate aroma, before he took a sip. He closed his eyes and held the liquid in his mouth for a moment, allowing it to coat every surface with the delicious flavour. Then he swallowed and felt the soft warming sensation as it glided down his throat and settled in his stomach.

“Delicious”, he said, as he opened his eyes and caught a heated look of delight on Spike’s agog face.

“Is everything alright, Spike?”

“Wha... er... yeah, sorry, I was… um… Heavenly”

Spike stopped and shook his head slightly to try and clear it of the absolutely gorgeous image which Giles had presented him with. Spike had watched the whole process with a kind of awe. He had watched Giles move the whiskey around in his mouth and how his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he eventually swallowed.

He’d seen the satisfied smile that had lingered on Giles’ face, and the way the tip of his tongue had slipped between the beautiful lips to lick the last drop away, before those eyes had opened and Spike could see them fill with delight.

“I wouldn’t have said ‘heavenly’ was your area of expertise, but that aside, how do you know it’s heavenly, you haven’t had a taste yet?”

Giles’ question intruded on Spike’s reverie and, if it were possible for a vampire, he blushed.

“Sorry luv, just got a bit distracted. Hand it over then, don’t hog all the good stuff to yourself.”

Giles handed Spike the glass and Spike mirrored Giles’ actions, wanting to feel exactly what Giles had felt. When Spike finished Giles found himself in a similar predicament to the one Spike had been in.

He already knew he loved watching Spike’s face and he thought those lips were gorgeous, whether they were drinking whiskey or blood.

Spike put the whiskey down and when they had both regained their composure, Giles picked up the first journal: August 1879 – May 1881; Johann Braumann, Watcher; Sigrid Wenger, Slayer.

“When were you actually turned and what exactly happened. I’ve heard vague stories but nothing specific.”

“It was in London in 1880. I was going to meet Cecile, my amour at the time, when an enchanting dark princess caught my eye. She took me aside, enthralled me with those eyes, and that’s all she wrote, baby. I went back with her to meet Angelus and, after he got over his jealousy, he took me under his wing and taught me what fun can be found in mayhem.”

Both men took it in turns to drink the whiskey whilst Spike was talking, refilling the glass each time it emptied.

“I’m telling you, mate, those were some fine times. You never knew the real Angelus. He certainly wasn’t that ponce who took control after that incident with the Slayer. The curse warped the demon inside and when he eventually got out he went a little mad.

My Grandsire was nothing like that git. He had charm and elegance and nothing was too much for me and Dru. It was almost as if he was my Sire not Dru. She was so out of it most of the time, listening to the moon and talking to that blasted Miss Edith. Angelus was the one who taught me how to hunt, how to play and all the pleasure that could, literally, be sucked out of life.

It was best when we left Dru at home with Dalton and a few minions to watch out for her. The two of us would just go searching for some fun. We could be away from home for a couple of weeks at a time, setting something up or enjoying a couple of doxies in a local tavern. Then we’d head back to Dru, taking along a tasty little morsel for her, to keep her happy. She always liked to play with her food did my black goddess.”

Spike took a large sip, then pulled a face at the sensation and the memory of what had happened next. He was sat on the arm of Giles’ chair and, as he looked down, Giles could see the pain in his face and instinctively put his arm around Spike and patted him on the back as he continued.

“Then one day, after we’d been off for a week, we came back to find that Darla had returned and Angelus changed just like that. She was his Sire and he did whatever she said. Of course, she didn’t like me at all. She thought I was encroaching on her territory, her Angelus. She wasn’t so bothered about Dru because the poor love was mad anyway, but me, I was a threat. So she treated me like absolute shit and made sure that Angelus did the same. It was nothing to her to keep me chained up for days, hanging above the bed, being made to watch her with Angelus and getting tortured and whipped whenever I moved, or sometimes when I didn’t move. I couldn’t do anything to please her and it was like Angelus didn’t even see me when she was there, he was so in her thrall.”

They had rapidly polished off two bottles and Giles had already opened the third bottle and they were making steady progress through that too, getting more and more drunk as they went.

Giles was rubbing circles over Spike’s back now to soothe him and Spike, leaning in to the hand, slipped off the arm of the chair and landed on Giles’ lap.

“Whoops, sorry Watsher, think I schlipped…”

“S’alright Shpike, chair’s big enough for two, an pleashe call me Rupert.”

“Thanks mate, that’s right nice of yer. You can call me Will.”

“Will. I much prefer that to Spike. So what happened next, Will.”

“Well, Darla coming back spoiled everything for me. Angelus really loved her and was always in her company. So Dru and I spent more and more time together. Even though she didn’t teach me the finer points, she was still my sire and I loved her. In the end she said Miss Edith wanted to go on a trip so we waited ‘til Darla was away hunting with Angelus and we packed up and left. I don’t even think Darla tried to look for us. Dalton said that Angelus was upset that we’d gone, but Darla talked him out of following us. I think she was pleased that we weren’t there to vie for his affections any more. That’s about it really. Dru and I were together from then on, right up to the time when we first bumped into you lot. I never forgot Angelus though. I think that’s why it hurt even more when that wanker came back after bedding the Slayer. ‘Cause I knew it wasn’t *my* Angelus, just a cheap imitation. I’m really sorry he hurt you too, Rupert. I did try to stop him from some of the worst things he wanted to do. I tried to ease things for you and bathe your wounds when he went out of the room.”

“That was real? I was so out of it and in such pain that I thought I dreamt it. I felt soft hands pressing on my back and side, and the scars, when they healed, were less than I expected. So that was down to you... I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, I knew what torture was like, I’d been through that, and seeing that freak there where my Angelus should have been, I’d have done anything to get rid of him. ‘S why I made the deal with the Slayer in the first place.”

Giles thought back to what he had gone through during that time when he had been tortured by Angelus. First it had been the harassment of Buffy and the others. Then had come the murder of Jenny, he had truly hated Angelus for that. Finally, his own suffering had been terrible, especially the final humiliation of Drusilla using his memory of Jenny to get the truth from him.

Now, he discovered that Spike had been helping him through it. Those fevered imaginings of touch and comfort had been real. The feelings which arose struck him to the core and his overall opinion of Spike took a sharp turn upwards. Now what was he to do?

Chapter 8

Giles had another sip of whiskey and thought about what Spike had just told him. He felt curiously pleased that Spike had cared enough to look after him. Alright, so it had been more because he hadn’t liked ‘warped’ Angelus but still, he could have just ignored what was going on and left Giles to suffer.

He also felt sorry for Spike, sorry for the loss of the man whom he had quite clearly loved. The way Spike described ‘his’ Angelus made Giles yearn for that kind of devotion himself.

Spike was bending forward to get the glass from Giles so he could have another sip when Giles started to bring the cup up to his own mouth at the same time. In Spike’s heavily inebriated state he couldn’t stop his momentum quickly enough and his head bumped into the rim of the glass. The tumbler rebounded and hit Giles on the chin and spilt the whiskey all down the front of his shirt.

“Oh Rupert, ‘m sorry, ‘re you ok?”

“’S alright, Will. Was an acshident, but I seem to be a bit wet.”

Giles looked down at his shirt as if surprised that it was wet even after what had happened.

“Better take it off, luv. You’ll get a chill if you sit in wet clothes. Here, I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. I can’t seem to get the buttons to fit through the holes.”

Giles was fumbling awkwardly so Spike helped him to push the offending buttons through the holes and then pulled the shirt open to the waist to get the material away from Giles’ chest. The liquid had seeped through to his chest making it all damp and some of the whiskey had obviously run down his collar, as tiny droplets were trailing a path down between his chest hairs. Spike watched the drops as they fell and he subconsciously licked his lips.

“Seems a shame to waste such good whiskey like that.”

So saying, he leant forward, caught one of the drops with the tip of his tongue and then dragged his tongue upwards, following the path the whiskey had taken.
Giles gave a little shiver at the feel of that tongue sliding along his skin.

“Mmm, now that’s how whiskey should be drunk.” Spike smiled up at Giles and then bent down to capture another drop.

This time he closed his lips around the droplet and sucked on Giles’ skin, softly at first and then getting a little harder until Giles gasped. The sound was made by a combination of a moment of pain, followed by a hint of excitement and ending up with enticing arousal.

When Spike looked down at Giles’ chest he could see a perfectly rounded little red love-bite right in the middle of the skin, between the whiskey trails. Giles followed Spike’s gaze downwards and looked at the love-bite darkening his skin and the arousal he was feeling deepened. He wanted more, much more.

A momentary flicker of concern for possible repercussions and recriminations hit him, but images from last night’s dream kept coming back to him all the time. When he added that to the feelings Spike was stirring within him now, he decided he didn’t care. Let tomorrow take care of itself, he wanted now and he would make sure he got it.

“I think you missed a bit”, he said, giving Spike a smile and raising his eyebrow questioningly.

Spike needed no second telling and the apparent acceptance of the situation from Giles only served to spur him on.

He adjusted his position so that he was straddling Giles as he sat in the armchair. Spike was satisfyingly gratified to feel a rapidly swelling shaft pressing against his own as their groins were pressed together.

He leered down at Giles, gave him a sexy little wink and then leant in once more to the delightful chest in front of him.

First he captured a drop on his tongue and traced its path back up to Giles’ neck; then he laid a trail of kisses across Giles’ skin, pausing every so often to apply a little more pressure, ensuring that Giles’ chest was now peppered by little red marks.

Giles was almost constantly groaning now as Spike switched randomly between the two methods of delicate torture. Spike loved seeing Giles so unrestrained and freely debauched. His head was rolling from side to side and his hands were reflexively gripping and releasing handfuls of Spike’s shirt as they rested on Spike’s shoulders.

One hand slid up Spike’s neck and ruffled through his hair before gripping tightly and pressing Spike’s head more firmly down as Spike added another love-bite to the impressive collection with which he had been adorning Giles’ skin.
Giles released his tight grip on Spike’s hair once more as the pressure from Spike’s lips gentled again to soft kisses.

“What was that?” Spike asked, suddenly raising his head off Giles’ chest.

Giles looked at him, bewildered for a moment as he tried to focus, before adding, “I think it was my brain melting into a puddle of goo!”

Spike grinned at Giles, “Not that, you daft bugger. I meant that.”

Even Giles’ less acute hearing could now hear a noise overhead.

“Two sets of footsteps, Doughnut Boy and Red at a guess, certainly not Buffy at any rate.”

“Oh no, they can’t find us like this.”

Giles gasped as he instinctively stood up and Spike ignominiously slid all the way down Giles’ legs and landed on his arse on the floor.

“Watch it mate”, Spike said indignantly, then he had to grin as he looked up at Giles, his hair all dishevelled, his shirt gaping open displaying evidence of Spike’s handiwork for all to see and his trousers tenting very impressively as his still-hard cock looked as if it was trying to burst through the material.

Spike definitely didn’t want to let that go to waste or to miss out on more of the fun he was having, so he jumped up, hit the light switch, grabbed Giles and dived behind the farthest line of boxes, making sure to angle his body so that he was the one who absorbed the fall with Giles falling relatively softly into his arms.

Once they were down on the floor Spike rolled them so that Giles was on the bottom, pinned beneath Spike and, therefore, unable to resist anything Spike wanted to do to him, which at this moment was a lot.

“Spike, get off me. They might come down here, we need to hide.”

“We are hidden. They won’t see us here unless they come right down this end and peer over the top of these boxes.”

“Which sod’s law dictates is exactly what they will do!” Giles was starting to sober up now with the shock of being discovered.

“Don’t get so worked up. They won’t find us here.”

Spike decided it was time to distract Giles before he insisted on them getting dressed again, so he slid himself along Giles’ lower body, making sure to press especially closely against Giles’ groin so their cocks rubbed together.

He leant down to Giles’ chest to continue where he had left off, but this time he went for the one piece of skin he had purposely avoided earlier. He took advantage of the fact that his night vision allowed him to clearly see the delicious body in front of him, to lightly drag his tongue over Giles’ nub and then blow gently across it.

As Giles shivered and groaned, Spike went in more deeply and sucked the whole nipple into his mouth, using his teeth as well as his lips to send Giles into a frenzy, so that he forgot completely about their unwanted callers. The only problem with that was that he was unknowingly groaning rather loudly. Spike paused in what he was doing for a moment and moved back up to Giles’ head and bent to taste his lips.

It was as if Giles’ lips had just been waiting for some kind of occupation after being neglected for so long. Giles almost grabbed hold of Spike’s lips with his own in his eagerness to explore that delicious orifice which had been giving him such pleasure.

They each delved deeply into the other’s mouth, wanting to taste everything, their tongues battling for dominance as they both wanted to be the first to savour the experience.

Spike eased his lips away briefly to allow Giles to catch his breath and he pressed his lips along the line of Giles’ jaw, placing little kisses all the way along ‘til he reached his ear. He nibbled gently on the lobe before moving down to Giles’ neck and after a moment’s pause; he sucked hard on the skin, giving Giles a love-bite just above the height of his collar. He smiled to himself as he wondered how Giles would explain that away.

Whilst Giles was so distracted Spike decided to make his move. He hadn’t been sure earlier how far he wanted to take this, but having seen Giles standing to attention, he knew now what he wanted.

Spike kissed a trail down Giles’ chest again and waited until the other man’s head was thrashing about to undo the button and carefully lower the zip on Giles’ trousers. Spike sucked another love-bite just to the side of Giles’ navel and used Giles’ movement to again disguise the fact that he lifted Giles’ underwear back to reveal the proudly standing cock in all its throbbing glory.

Spike took just a moment to admire the taut shaft in front of his eyes and then, in one swift move, he took the whole thing into his mouth, deep-throated it and swallowed around it, sending Giles into a sensory overload which seemed heightened even more by the fact that Giles was in the dark and everything was focused on that one thing.

Giles let out a startled yelp before he could stop himself, and without stopping in his ministrations, Spike quickly put his hand over Giles’ mouth to silence him. He slid his way back up Giles’ shaft to the head and he used his free hand to draw back the foreskin, allowing him easy access to the slit which was already oozing slightly. He licked across the top of the slit, swallowing the beads of pre-come glistening on the end.

Giles meanwhile, was tracing his own tongue across the fingers which were covering his mouth. He was copying Spike’s movements and when Spike again took Giles’ cock deeply into his mouth; Giles mirrored the action, taking Spike’s finger into his own mouth, lavishing the same attention upon it as he was receiving.

At that moment the overhead lights flicked on and the two of them froze instantly as they heard Xander’s voice at the top of the stairs.

“I thought I heard a yell or something down here.”

“Well, hurry up. Buffy said she’d ring any minute.” Willow’s voice floated down to them from the room above and they heard the phone ring and then Willow’s muffled one-sided conversation.

Xander made his way down the stairs muttering to himself.

“Wow, looks like the G-man was having some kind of party down here. Look at all these whiskey bottles and books just lying about on the floor, that’s not like him.”

Spike and Giles listened as Xander’s footsteps edged further into the basement, nearing the stacked piles of boxes.

“I hope these boxes aren’t all full of new research material for us to wade through. As if we don’t have enough of that as it is!”

Xander was getting closer and closer to the final row of boxes behind which Spike and Giles were hiding. The two were laying perfectly still, excuses rolling round in their heads as they tried to think how to explain away what they were doing, when they heard Willow’s shout from the doorway.

“Xan, Buffy’s here and she says she stopped off at your favourite doughnut shop on the way, but she doesn’t know how long she can resist before she starts tucking in.”

“Hey, she better hadn’t touch my chocolate sprinkles. There’s nothing down here anyway, I’m coming right now.”

Spike and Giles heard Xander running back across the basement and up the steps and then the light went off, plunging them back into darkness. Spike was, of course, the first to recover and with Xander’s last words ringing in his ears he decided to make sure that Giles followed suit.

He accelerated his efforts to take Giles’ shaft as deeply into his throat as he could and he swallowed hard and started humming around it, sending delicious vibrations tingling along Giles’ nerve endings.

Spike felt Giles’ sac tighten as his release became imminent and Spike massaged Giles’ balls as he felt the shaft pulsate in his throat before it started shooting out huge spurts of come straight down Spike’s throat and into his mouth as he pulled back for a taste.

As he came Giles sat almost upright and let out a loud yell, even through Spike’s fingers, before collapsing back into a semi-conscious heap on the floor. Spike licked his lips with a self-satisfied smile and listened to Xander closing the outside door, then saying to Willow: “Are you sure you didn’t hear anything then.”

“Doughnuts, Xander.”

“I’m there. It’s a shame Giles couldn’t come though.”

Spike smirked and looked down at the sated man in front of him. “I wouldn’t say that!”

Chapter 9

Spike and Giles just lay on the ground for a while recovering from what had just happened. Giles couldn’t quite believe that Spike had just given him a blow job with Xander and Willow standing in the shop just above them and Spike couldn’t believe that Giles had actually allowed him to do it.

The effects of the copious amount of whisky Giles had drunk, together with having come so hard and the relief that they hadn’t been caught in the act all led Giles to relax a little too much. Within moments he had slipped into a light doze. Subconsciously, Giles must have felt it as Spike moved up his body and lay down next to him with his arm draped comfortingly over Giles’ chest. The new feeling of companionship and warmth found Giles drifting deeper and deeper and it wasn’t long before it was obvious to anyone that Giles had fallen fully asleep.

Spike knew that even though he would have no problem staying where they were, Giles would be severely regretting a night spent on the hard floor come morning. Spike carefully rolled his body away from the peacefully sleeping man. He stood and stretched for a moment then bent down over Giles, eased his hands under Giles’ shoulders and knees and gently picked him up. Giles stirred slightly, muttered a few indecipherable words then settled himself more firmly against Spike’s chest, his head nestling into the crook of Spike’s neck.

Spike carried Giles upstairs, sat on the edge of Giles’ bed to pull the cover back, then laid the sleeping man down with his head on the pillow. Even in sleep Giles obviously didn’t like being separated from the snugly body and moved to the cold, empty bed. When Spike tried to pull his arm out from under Giles’ shoulder, Giles resisted and grabbed on to the departing arm, holding Spike at an awkward angle. Spike couldn’t pull away smoothly without disturbing Giles so he decided to make the best of a bad job and got in bed with him.

Spike angled himself over the top of Giles’ body so that he was lying on his side next to Giles with his own still tightly-clutched arm now stretched across Giles’ chest. To make himself more comfortable Spike lifted Giles’ arm which was wedged in between their bodies and put it around his own shoulders so that Spike was now able to rest his head on to Giles’ chest. He loved the feel of the soft hair against his skin, and he fell asleep with the steady rhythm of Giles’ heart beating under his ear.

*****

Giles was first to awaken the next morning and his first action upon opening his eyes was to close them again quickly as the resultant hangover from all the whisky he had drunk struck him with a vengeance. He tried to put his arm up to cover his eyes but it appeared to be stuck under something. The something moved slightly as he flexed his arm so he risked opening one eye to see if he’d perhaps got the cover caught on his arm. He closed his eye again swiftly when he realised that it was something considerably larger than the cover and it was blonde and snuggled closely onto his chest.

As the impressions registered, Giles realised he could feel more than just the weight of a head on his chest. There was also another weight further down across his bare abdomen and a third one lying across his upper thighs. Giles was well and truly covered and there was no way he would be able to get out without disturbing the vampire sleeping on top of him.

How could this have happened? Why was he in bed with Spike and, what was more, why was Spike draped across his body? His drink-befuddled brain took some time to interpret all these thoughts and even longer to dredge up the memory of what had happened the night before.

*****

Spike had been drifting towards wakefulness and the movement of Giles trying to tug his arm out from under Spike’s body sped the process along.

Spike felt Giles lift his head slightly to look down in the direction of his arm. He also felt the small increase in the rate of Giles’ heartbeat as the other man realised what was actually in his arms. Spike was quite pleasantly surprised that that was the only reaction he got. He had expected Giles to jump up in shock when he’d seen who was lying on him. Giles was either playing it really cool or there was always the chance that it hadn’t sunk in properly yet, of course. Spike realised it must have been the second option as he felt the exact moment when either his presence, or the memory of last night’s activities, registered on Giles’ consciousness. The heartbeat under his ear leapt into triple time and the body he was resting upon stiffened sharply before resting back down again trying to appear casual.

Spike decided to still play at being asleep and see what Giles would do next. He was interested to see if Giles would make a move or just shrug it off.

*****

Giles was in two minds. The images from last night were cascading back into his memory, along with all the feelings they had invoked. The most prevalent being the culmination of the evening with the heightened release coming after the threat of potential discovery. Giles didn’t think he had ever felt anything more potent in all his life. Just thinking of those cool lips around his shaft was enough to send a frisson of desire shooting through him again.

He was also reminded of the way Spike had protected him when they had heard Xander. Spike had dived behind the boxes with himself on the bottom to cushion Giles’ fall and make sure that Giles didn’t hurt himself as they landed. Plus, Spike had obviously brought them upstairs and settled Giles into bed, as he had no recollection of making the journey himself. He knew that if he had been left on the hard basement floor all night his body would have been severely regretting it this morning, whereas it would have made little difference to Spike’s body what surface he slept on. So he knew that Spike had moved the pair of them for Giles’ benefit not his own. That didn’t seem like the action of a selfish killer.

Now he was thinking along those lines he remembered what Spike had told him about the way he had taken care of Giles when he had been held by Angelus. Giles knew that Spike hadn’t liked that version of Angelus any more than he himself had, but still, Spike had done more than was necessary to look after him.

Even when Giles thought back over the last couple of days he could only see the kind, thoughtful things that Spike had done. He thought of the way Spike had tended to him when he had hurt his ankle and Spike had carried him about so he wouldn’t put further strain on it. Giles recalled how Spike had considerately changed his bed sheets when he had rushed to the shower after that embarrassing wet dream incident. Spike hadn’t even made fun of him. All he had done was to say that the real thing would be so much better than the dream and Giles now had first hand proof that that was true. Spike had even brought him breakfast in bed the next morning and they had had a delightful time sharing it and conversing over a British newspaper like civilised beings.

Giles thought back over all of these new insights and over everything else he had previously known about Spike. He realised that though Spike the vampire was a cold-blooded killer and a lover of violence and mayhem, underneath all that lay William. William, a man who was caring and compassionate. A man who thought of others and was happy to do things for them. A man who cared what happened to people and wanted to take care of them and their pleasures. A man for whom Giles himself could care and would want to do things for in return.

Giles thought of all these things and decided that he wanted more of this man in his life. He would take what he had to of Spike if it meant he would be getting all of William too.

Giles lay there for a moment, wondering how to make a start with these new feelings he had for Spike, or Will, as he would now think of him. Then he had a flash of inspiration and slowly started easing his arm out from under Will’s body.

*****

Spike, meanwhile, was trying to decide what to do. He could tell that Giles was thinking hard about something, as bursts of emotion kept sending his heartbeat soaring under Spike’s ear. Spike didn’t know whether he should just feign waking up or if he should stay where he was, supposedly asleep, and let Giles make the next move.

Spike was just about to do something when he felt Giles gently start tugging his arm out from under Spike’s shoulder. Spike couldn’t stop the feeling of disappointment that surged through him as he realised that Giles was trying to pull away from him. He decided to make it easy for Giles and did a semi-roll on to his other side to allow Giles to get out and also to hide his face in case his hurt feelings should show.

Spike felt the bed shift as Giles got up, but the next second it was all he could do not to jump off the bed himself as he felt a slightly hesitant hand trying to move covertly over his crotch. Spike held in an un-needed breath as he felt Giles slowly undo the zip on his jeans and his now rapidly-expanding cock pushed its way past the constraining material.

Even Spike was unable to stop himself from reacting the next moment, however, as he felt the first long lick of Giles’ tongue against his shaft.

“It’s okay, Will. I know you’re awake.”

Spike froze for a second as it registered that Giles had just called him Will. It dawned on him that Giles hadn’t wanted to get away from him at all when he had pulled his arm out; he had wanted to get closer.

Spike realised that Giles had thought through everything that had happened and that they had done, and contrary to being repelled by it all and wanting to get as far away from Spike as possible, it had actually made Giles want him. What was more; it had made Giles want Will. Giles had seen through the entire ‘Spike’ persona, seen past all the bad things that Spike had done and had, in fact, seen right through to the man he still was underneath.

Spike felt humbled by it all, amazed and thankful that Giles had seen him for who he was and not what he was. Not only was Giles showing him that he accepted who Spike was, he was also showing him where he wanted them to go next. Giles was acknowledging what Spike had done to him and reciprocating in as open a manner as he could.

Spike’s eyes popped open and he looked down at the man whose head was hovering over his crotch. Spike could see that Giles was watching him with a tentative, though happy smile on his face, as if he was almost checking to see if this was alright with Spike before he carried on. Spike looked back, his eyes crinkling up as he smiled down at the man in front of him.

Giles’ eyes widened momentarily as he acknowledged Spike’s acceptance, then he raised his eyebrows mischievously, leant forwards and took the head of Spike’s cock deeply into his mouth and sucked hard. Spike nearly leapt off the bed as he felt those warm lips close around him.

This was what he had been missing; a touch of warmth. Spike loved the feel of Giles’ lips as they moved up and down his shaft and almost got as much pleasure from Giles’ warm breath as he did from the action itself. It had been a long time since he had felt heat like this; since he had felt someone want him like this.

Spike shivered as Giles blew air over the top of his cock and it hardened even more, if that were possible. Giles moved down to Spike’s inner thigh which he peppered with a little line of kisses. Then, with a quick peek up at Spike, he sucked the skin hard and gave Spike a small round love bite similar to those he recalled Spike giving to him last night. Spike let out a gasp as he felt the pleasure pain as Giles gave him a little extra bite at the end and then kissed it better.

Giles kissed his way to Spike’s ball sac and sucked them each in turn, playing with them until Spike was writhing above him. Giles licked his way lightly up Spike’s shaft again and took the head deeply into his mouth once more. He paused a moment to stop his gag reflex then swallowed Spike fully down much to the vampire’s shock and delight.

Spike couldn’t believe the feelings charging through him as Giles hummed around his shaft and used the motion of his swallowing to add delightful pressure and pleasure to his actions. Spike knew he couldn’t take much more of this and Giles, sensing that Spike was nearing completion, pulled back to suck on the head of Spike’s cock again as he stroked his balls and coaxed his release from him.

All the while Spike maintained eye contact with Giles and when he shuddered to completion he pulled Giles up the bed and kissed him deeply, wanting to show him how much this action and acceptance had meant to him. They savoured the moment, tasting deeply of each other; knowing there was a lot they needed to say and knowing they had taken the first step down a path which held many possibilities.

Chapter 10

Giles and Spike were woken from their brief post-coital nap by a hammering coming from down below in the shop. When Giles looked at his watch he realised it was well past time for the Magic Box to be open and his Monday morning delivery of newt’s eyes and bat wings had obviously arrived.

Giles got up and limped slowly over to the window. He carefully pulled back the curtain to make sure he didn’t expose Spike to the sun and leaned out, spotting the delivery man below.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll be right down.”

“Bit of a late night was it, Mr G?” shouted up the delivery man who knew Giles quite well considering the frequency of his visits.

“I think my alarm clock must be faulty.”

“Right! Of course!” he laughed and gave Giles a knowing wink. “I’ll believe you. Take your time; I’m due a break so I’ll have a coffee whilst I’m waiting.”

The delivery man got back into the cab of his truck and Giles pulled his head back in, shaking it bewilderedly as he did so.

“What’s the matter, you look confused?” Spike questioned, looking up at Giles from his comfy position propped up on Giles’ bed.

“That was Bob, the delivery man from my magic shop suppliers. He didn’t seem to believe me when I said my alarm clock hadn’t gone off. I don’t see why that should be so hard to accept.”

Spike laughed. “I think I can see why he was a bit doubtful, luv. Have you looked in the mirror this morning?”

Giles shook his head and hobbled over to the mirror on his wardrobe door. What he saw looking back at him left him in no doubt as to what Bob had been laughing about.

The reflection in the mirror showed a completely debauched man. His hair was all dishevelled; his lips were red and pouty, looking like they had been well kissed, as indeed they had. The most obvious thing, however, was a large purple love bite sitting so high and visibly on his neck that he knew he would struggle to cover it. Giles blushed bright red as he stood there looking at himself. Spike laughed again and Giles turned round and glared at him.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing. It’s all your fault.”

Spike’s face fell as he panicked that Giles was regretting all that had happened already. His face took on a stupid grin the next moment though, as he listened to the rest of Giles’ diatribe.

“You could have warned me how I looked before I went to the window. I wanted to keep this between us for a while, without outside interference. I don’t want anything to spoil what could be something special until we see what could develop.”

As Giles caught the stupid grin on Spike’s face he stopped his complaining.

“What’s the matter with you?”

Spike smiled back at him again, finding it hard to wipe the happy grin off his face.

“When you told me off then I thought you were regretting what we had done, but then I realised you were only regretting the fact that it had been discovered, because you thought it special enough to keep to ourselves.”

Giles blushed again and dropped his eyes away from Spike’s.

“Well, I thought it was. I’ve never felt like that before, but if you think it’s just a big joke then…”

Before Giles could finish his sentence, Spike had jumped out of bed and grabbed him, raising his chin to make him keep eye contact.

“No, luv. I meant it in a good way. I was pleased that you wanted to keep it just between us because you thought it was special. It meant a lot to me too. It’s been a long time since anyone’s been so nice to me.”

Giles’ blush continued, but this time he kept his eyes fixed on Spike and his mouth split into a shy, yet happy grin. Spike moved his hand from where it was holding Giles’ chin and slid it up to cup his cheek. Then Spike leant forward, moving slowly, watching Giles’ eyes widen then close as Spike pressed his lips lightly against Giles’ own.

Spike ran his tongue along the middle line of Giles’ lips and then he sucked in Giles’ bottom lip and bit it gently. Spike took advantage of the gasp issuing from Giles’ lips to push his tongue between them and swirl it around, exploring every crevice of Giles’ mouth, and even tasting a slight trace of himself still present from their earlier activities.

Giles quickly joined in, first slipping his own tongue into Spike’s mouth and tracing along the line of Spike’s teeth and then pulling back and kissing a trail along Spike’s jaw and down to the pressure point on Spike’s neck. He gently bit down on the skin then kissed away the little mark he had left.

Spike sucked his breath in hard as he felt Giles’ teeth on his neck and he felt his shaft instantly harden as the sensations shot through him.

“If you don’t want to give Bob even more to talk about by taking a long time to open the shop then I think you’d better stop that now, or you’ll find yourself spending the rest of the day in bed.” Spike groaned as Giles slowly pulled away from the trail he had been kissing up and down Spike’s neck.

“I suppose so,” Giles said reluctantly, “but I’d better just mark my place for later so that I know where I got up to.”

With that, Giles leant in again to the spot on Spike’s neck which had aroused such reaction. He placed his lips over the pulse point on Spike’s neck and sucked really hard, drawing the skin up into his mouth. Then he got his teeth involved too, pressing down on the skin, making as much of an impression as he could. By the time he released the skin he saw that it had left a livid purple mark and he sat back, clearly pleased with his handiwork.

“Very nice, if I do say so myself.”

“Hey, no fair! I don’t get to see what you’ve done.” Spike pouted as he looked at Giles’ smug face.

Giles tilted his own neck to one side and said, with a grin, “It looks like this. Now let’s see you hide it, just like me.”

Spike laughed, “No need, luv. I wear my battle wounds with pride.”

Giles shook his head as he looked down at Spike. “Fool!” he added with a smile.

Giles got up and went over to the wardrobe and took down the suit he was going to wear that day. He hobbled to the bathroom and got ready and when he went back in to the bedroom Spike was already dressed.

“I know you’re hobbling around a bit now, but I’ll still carry you downstairs. There’s no point putting more strain on your ankle than you have to.”

Giles nodded and smiled his thanks to Spike. Truth be told his ankle was already aching somewhat from the small bit of walking he had done, so anything that alleviated the situation would be a boon. Plus he quite liked the idea of being in Spike’s arms again and this gave him the perfect excuse.

Giles finished getting himself changed then held his hands out and said, “Ready when you are, thanks.”

Spike turned his back to Giles and looked at him over his shoulder.
“Piggyback?” he questioned.

Giles face fell for an instant before he pulled his usual mask into place.
“Oh… of course… thank you, Spike.”

Spike turned back round with a big grin. “Only joking, luv. Just wanted to see your face.”

Giles gently cuffed Spike on the head. “You’ve had your fun, now carry me downstairs before I feel the need to retaliate.”

Spike smirked back at him. “Well, much as I would enjoy that, I think it’s time we got down to the shop before your friend, Bob, tries to investigate your whereabouts.”

With that, he wrapped one arm around Giles’ shoulders and the other under his knees and swept him off his feet in a movie-star manner. Giles quickly grabbed on tight around Spike’s neck as he was pressed tightly to Spike’s chest prior to going downstairs.

“Oh, Spike, you’re my hero!” Giles faked swooning, with the back of his hand to his forehead.

“You’re daft, mate!” Spike replied, chuckling at Giles’ antics.

Just as they reached the shop they heard a knocking on the door so Spike carried Giles over the open it and stepped back himself to stay out of the direct sunlight. Bob was at the door with a trolley full of supplies which he quickly wheeled in.

“Morning Mr G. Everything okay?” Bob queried with a bright smile on his face.

“Yes thank you, Bob. Sorry the shop wasn’t open when you arrived.”

“That’s ok. I could tell you were otherwise occupied.”

“Yes, I must get the alarm clock mended.”

Bob smirked again, “Whatever you say, Mr G. Where do you want these supplies?”

“Oh, just put them over by the side of the count, would you please. My new… er… assistant will put them away for me.”

Bob looked around then, not having seen Spike standing in the shadows behind the door.

“Is that Anya chick not here any more.”

“Oh yes. She is just a bit late this morning too.” As he said this, Giles looked at his watch wondering where, indeed, Anya had got to.

“Must be going round, this broken alarm clock thing,” Bob laughed. “So, who’s the new guy?”

“This is Spike. He’s assisting me with a new project I’m working on.”

“Are you venturing out into pastures new, Mr G?” Bob asked, as he unloaded his trolley.

“You could say that, mate.” Spike snorted, as he strolled over to start taking the boxes down to the storeroom like the good assistant he was supposed to be.

Bob finished what he was doing and gave Giles the paperwork to sign. Giles was too on edge to check it all thoroughly and just signed the form and gave it back to Bob, wanting to be rid of him as quickly as he could.

“Bye, Mr G. I’ll see you next week. I hope your neck will be better soon. Judging by the size of that Band Aid it must have been a nasty cut.” Bob pushed his trolley out of the shop, and as the door closed behind him, Giles could see him still laughing as he got back in his cab and drove off.

Giles’ hand shot up to the plaster on his neck and he groaned with embarrassment. He had tried covering the love bite up with some concealing make-up which he kept in for when he had to try and minimise the extent of his injuries for the sake of his customers. He didn’t think they would be too impressed with the sight of their shop owner with a black eye or large bruise on his cheek or whatever his latest injury was. However, this time even that had failed to fully cover the vivid mark which Spike had bestowed upon him, so he had gone to his second favourite standby, a sticking plaster.

Spike came back up then for another load and he laughed at seeing Giles with a red face and a hand to his neck.

“I take it Bob wasn’t buying the alarm clock story then.”

“He said he hoped my injured neck would get better soon.” Giles said, glaring at Spike. “Which, of course, is all your fault.”

“Hey, tit for tat. You gave as good as you got.”

Giles smiled smugly as he looked at Spike’s neck. “Yes, I did, didn’t I. Speaking of that, aren’t you going to even try to cover it up.”

“What’s the point. No-one’s going to think anything of it on me. Besides, I want it to show, I’m proud to have a lover who wants to leave his mark on me. Plus, I wouldn’t want you to forget where you got up to.”

Giles blushed again, but this time he didn’t mind. He didn’t feel embarrassed as he had with Bob. He felt pleased that Spike wanted to display his mark with pride for all to see. Even though they wouldn’t know who had made it, he and Spike would and it was a special secret to share. Giles also felt a little thrill that Spike had called him his lover. It proved that Spike was really okay with this thing they had between them, this Affaire de Coeur as it were, and Giles found it added to his own pleasure and excitement too.

Spike interrupted his musings then by holding up a wrapped box.

“Where do you want this putting? Is it for downstairs or do you want it up here to go on display?”

“I don’t know what it is,” Giles said, looking puzzled. “I only ordered my usual stock, let me check.”

Giles looked down at the invoice he still held, his finger sliding down the list of contents.

“Free gift for one hundredth order. Well, I never even noticed that when I signed off. I wonder what it is.”

“Well, here you go, you can do the honours.” Spike passed the package over as Giles came up to the desk.

Giles carefully tore open the wrapping and lifted the lid of the box and looked inside. His cheeks flushed red again and he closed the lid down quickly and started stuttering.

“Oh… er… Well, it’s obviously some kind of m…mis…mistake.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense, mate. What is it?”

Spike grabbed the package away from Giles, who futilely tried to stop him. Spike just swatted his hand away and upended the box onto the desk in front of them. He gave a little wolf whistle as he looked at the contents which fell out in front of their eyes.

There were a pair of black leather, thigh-high boots with stiletto heels; a black lace basque with attached suspenders; some black fish-net stockings; black silk panties, some fluffy pink handcuffs and to finish off, a leather rider’s crop whip.

Giles didn’t think he could possibly go any redder as he looked at all the items on the counter.

“Well, they must have made a mistake. Sent the wrong costume out as a joke.”

“It says ‘free gift’, so it can’t be a mistake. It must be a favourite with magic shop owners.”

“Well not this one! What on earth would I do with something like that?” Giles blustered as he put things higgledy piggledy back into the box, before catching sight of the calculating expression on Spike’s face.

“Oh, I don’t know, luv,” Spike laughed. “Looks to me like we could have a bit of fun with that.”

Giles blushed yet again and shut down the lid of the box tight, then jumped as the bell on the door jingled as Anya and Xander burst in, giggling.

“Sorry we’re late Mr Giles. We were… Anya paused for a moment then she and Xander both spoke at the same time.
“caught in traffic” “the car broke down”

Anya frowned at Xander.

“Xander, if you do not want me to say that we were in bed all morning having many orgasms then at least agree with the excuse I made up like you told me to do instead.”

“Ahn! What did we discuss about not mentioning orgasms in public?”

I was attempting not to, but you ruined my story,” Anya pouted.

“Never mind. It was a good try sweetie.”

Xander patted Anya on the shoulder then spotted Spike standing behind a somewhat shifty-looking Giles.

“What’s Fangless doing here?”

“Spike,” Giles emphasised the name, “has been helping me unload the new stock, as there was nobody else here to do it.”

“I already apologised for being too busy having sex to be here on time. I hope he hasn’t made a mess of my stockroom.” Anya was already hurrying down the stairs so the rest of her speech floating back up to them. “I keep everything in a precise place.”

“Didn’t touch a thing, pet,” Spike shouted down after her, whilst hiding a smile at the way Giles was trying to keep the box hidden behind his back.

“Do you want me to help with anything, G-man?” Xander asked, wondering why Giles was looking so shifty. “How about that box?”

“What… er, no… thank you, but I can deal with that. And how many times have I asked you not to call me G-man.” Giles finished, getting quite agitated.

“Hey, okay, I’m sorry. Take a chill pill! I’ll go and see if Anya needs any help.” With that Xander left to go down to the storeroom and Spike burst out laughing.

“Close call, eh mate. Shame they hadn’t come in a few seconds earlier and seen all your new toys. It would have so good to have seen your face.”

“Well, I’m glad my embarrassment amuses you,” Giles said a bit sharply.

“Hey, don’t be like that. I was only joking, I wouldn’t really want to embarrass you – well not much anyway. Would you like me to take the box upstairs for you and put it somewhere out of the way?”

“Yes, thank you,” Giles added, calming down now. “I would feel more comfortable if it wasn’t here in plain view where anyone could open it by mistake.”

Spike took the box upstairs just in time because as he disappeared the door bell jingled again and in walked Buffy and Willow. Giles turned to greet them, hiding a small smile of relief that Spike and the box were out of the way.

“Buffy, Willow, how nice to see you. How are you today?”

“Hi Giles. We’re just peachy, thanks,” Buffy said as she crossed over to the big table they used for research. “So, I guess we’d better start in on finding this new ‘big and ugly’ that’s been attacking everyone.

Buffy turned round to see Giles limping as he followed her across to the table.

“Oh my God, Giles. What happened to you?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, I’m fine really.”

“You don’t look fine, Giles,” Willow added. “You’ve hurt your neck as well as your leg.”

Giles’ hand clapped against the side of his neck as he blushed, “Oh, it was just a scratch. I got the scratch and hurt my ankle when we were fighting the Nerekra demon.”

“We? Who’s we?” Buffy asked, looking upset at the fact that Giles had been fighting demons without her.

“Spike came to me because he said he knew where the demon was holed up. We had to leave right away in case it had a chance to escape and I knew you were out at that party so Spike and I went to corner it and Spike killed it. He was magnificent.”

“Giles, did you just say that Spike was magnificent?” Buffy looked shocked.

“What? No… I.. No, what I meant was that the fight was magnificent. Real artistry, such excellently crafted manoeuvres.”

“Hey, you never say that about me!”

“Of course, I do Buffy. You are a superb fighter and you know I think that. It’s just that I don’t often have a chance to actually watch Spike in action. But anyway, that isn’t important now. All that matters is that the Nerekra is out of the way so that’s saved you a lot of bother.”

“Well, that’s great, it saved me a lot of bother. I’d much rather have been at my party anyway, we had a blast didn’t we Willow.” Buffy still looked a little put-out and unsure whether she should be upset about what had happened or not.

“We sure did,” Willow chipped in, wanting to chivvy her friend along. “And you staked a vamp on the way home too, so it was a good night.”

Buffy smiled her thanks at Willow and the pair of them sat down at the table and got out their college books as there was nothing specific for them to research right now and homework was beckoning.

Giles turned round as the bell jingled again indicating the first customer of the day and he went to work as the day settled down into its normal routine.