Forcing His Hand – Chapter Five

Three days later, he was in the basement of the Magic Box going through the latest shipment of books. Hearing a soft creak from the stairs, he looked up and smiled.

“Hello.”

She returned his smile as she stepped off the last stair. “Hey.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit this early in the day?”

She shrugged her shoulders and hopped onto the table beside the box of books. “I missed you.”

“Oh?” He dropped the book he was holding back into the box. “You saw me last night after patrol.”

She narrowed her eyes pointedly. “Yeah, you were having a research party. I missed you.”

He smiled and moved to stand in front of her. He reached up and combed his fingers through her hair. “I missed you too.”

She sighed heavily and leaned into his touch. “We really need some alone time, Giles.”

He lowered his head, moving his lips towards hers. “We’re alone now.”

Her lips parted eagerly, her tongue drawing his into her mouth. His hands cradled her face as he returned the kiss hungrily. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him closer to her. He groaned softly and reluctantly broke the kiss. He smiled shyly as he took a step backwards.

“Giles…” She pouted with a whimper.

He glanced at the stairs and cleared his throat. “Anya could come down at any time.”

She gave him a small smile. “You know that she knows we’re seeing each other.”

“Mm, yes.” He sent her a mock glare. “No thanks to you and Willow.”

“Hey, I didn’t know she was standing there!” She defended herself quickly.

He chuckled softly. “I realize that. However, I would prefer not to give her any more ammunition to embarrass me relentlessly in front of customers. And…actually finding us in a passionate embrace would definitely give her all she needed.”

She rubbed her palms against her thighs and sighed. “Okay.”

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Buffy, there’s nothing I want more right now than to take you into my arms and kiss you.”

A grin played at her lips. “Nothing?”

He reddened slightly and shoved his hand into his pocket. “Well…almost nothing.”

“Can I ask you something?”

He nodded and took a step forward. “Of course.”

She swallowed nervously and twisted a ring on her finger. “How slow are you wanting this to go?”

He cleared his throat and ran his hand through his hair. “Um…I…we’re not ready, Buffy.”

She sighed heavily. “I know, but…” She shook her head and slid off the table. “Will you patrol with me tonight?”

He nodded slowly, holding her gaze. She took two steps towards him and wrapped her hand around his tie. She smiled as she gently tugged him towards her, allowing her eyes to roam appreciatively over his body.

“Good. I like it when you patrol with me.”

Using two fingers under her chin, he tilted her face upwards and smiled. “I enjoy patrolling with you.”

He leaned down and captured her lips with his, causing a groan to rumble softly in her chest. As his tongue slid along hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers running through his hair. He took a few steps forward, gently pushing her back towards the table.

When her backside bumped against the table, he dropped one hand from her back and blindly reached for her bag. His fingers closed around it and he broke the kiss, his smile dancing in his eyes. Handing her the bag, he stepped back and sighed.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

She gripped her bag tightly and took a step towards the stairs. “Yeah…”

She glanced up the stairs and then back at him. When she turned her body back towards him, he gently shook his head.

“Buffy…”

She nodded quickly. “Yeah, uh…yeah…tonight.”

He inhaled deeply as she quickly ran up the stairs. He darted his eyes between the stairs and the box of books still resting on the table. Buffy…books…

He smiled, knowing there was no choice to be made, and took the stairs two at a time. He found her quickly, near the ladder leading to the small loft whispering to Willow as Anya discussed the difference between barberry and bearberry with a customer at the front counter. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and walked up behind her, gently taking hold of her arm and turning her around.

She opened her mouth to speak, but had no time to form any words before his lips descended on hers. He kissed her slowly, mindful of keeping his hands from roaming too much over her back. When he ended the kiss, she took a deep breath and smiled up at him.

“What was that for?” She asked breathlessly.

He gave her an enigmatic smile and stepped back. “I’ll see you tonight for patrol.”

He glanced at Willow, who was smiling brightly at him. He blushed lightly and ducked his head. “Hello, Willow.”

As quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared through the door leading down to the basement. Buffy lifted her hand, touching her fingers to her still-tingling lips.

“Willow?”

Willow met her friend’s wide eyes. “Yeah?”

Buffy lowered her voice to a whisper. “I…I really think I love him.”

Willow beamed at her. “Maybe you should tell him.”

Buffy shook her head slowly, causing Willow to arch an eyebrow at her. “Why not?”

“He’s…well, he’s only said it that once. And…what if – ”

Willow placed her hand on Buffy’s arm. “He loves you, Buffy. He asked you to be his…he kissed you in front of me…he loves you. Now…do you love him? Or…do you just really think you love him? Because if you’re just thinking, then maybe you shouldn’t tell him just yet. But…”

“I love him.” Buffy interrupted softly.

Willow smiled warmly. “Then tell him.”

Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “I’ll tell him tonight…after patrol…”

Willow could do nothing but grin happily.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They walked side by side through their third cemetery of the night. She nudged his arm with her shoulder and smiled up at him.

“So would you consider patrolling with me a date?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No. I would consider it a very enjoyable venture, but, no, not a date.”

“Why not?”

He stopped walking and looked down into her eyes. “Because, for me, a date consists of giving you my undivided attention. Being able to talk to you, or hold you, without fear of having to stake a vampire or chase a demon at less than a second’s notice.”

He smiled as he lifted his hand and brushed his fingers down the side of her face. “And as enjoyable as I find patrolling with you to be…it would be a tremendous error if I could not pay attention to our surroundings.”

“I really…and I mean really…want to kiss you right now.” She sighed heavily and glanced over his shoulder. “But, right now I have to do my job…”

She gripped his jacket with both hands and quickly, but carefully, shoved him to the side as she pulled a stake out of her back pocket. The vampire leered at her as he advanced quickly.

“Did I break up the lovefest?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “I really don’t have the time, or the inclination, to spend with banter tonight.”

Giles grinned at her use of words and leaned against a headstone to better watch the proceedings.

“Aw, come on, Slayer.” He ran his tongue over his fangs. “Give me your best shot.”

Buffy tilted her head as she pretended to think over the request. With a quick nod, she hurled her stake at the vampire’s chest.

“Okay.”

The vampire stared incredulously at her as he exploded into dust. Giles pushed himself away from the tombstone, his eyes wide with surprise. Buffy brushed her hands and turned to face him, her smile fading slightly.

“What?”

“That was…um…rather beautiful to watch.”

She scoffed lightly. “Beautiful? All I did was throw a stake at him.”

“With extremely accurate aim…from a fairly impressive distance.”

She sauntered up to him with a grin on her face. “Did I impress you?”

“Always.” The word left his lips on a breath.

She reached for his hand and turned it so that she could read his watch. “Nine-thirty. Want to call it an early night? I can always come back out later for another sweep…”

“It’s been a fairly busy evening. We, uh…we could probably use a break.” He agreed softly.

“Walk me home?” She whispered as she laced their fingers together.

“That would be logical, considering my car is parked in your driveway.” He replied in a hushed tone as he allowed her to lead him out of the cemetery.

She gave his fingers a gentle squeeze and smiled up at him. “I could make you a cup of tea.”

He stepped over a tree root and narrowed his eyes. “Your mother – ”

“Won’t be home until later. There was a big showing at the gallery tonight. She told me not to expect her home until late.”

He cleared his throat and steered her onto the sidewalk in the direction of her house. “How…late?”

Buffy shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not really sure. But…the last time there was a big showing, I was home before she was…and that was back in the patrolling with Angel days.”

“Oh.”

She looked up at him, her smile shining in her eyes. “And this showing is a lot bigger than that one was…”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Oh.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He sat down on the couch, resting his cup of tea on his knee as she fumbled through the stack of videotapes. He smiled when she shoved one into the VCR and grabbed the remote.

“What are we watching?”

She sank down on the couch beside of him and turned the television on as she hit the ‘play’ button on the VCR remote. “Re-Animator.”

Giles chuckled and took a sip of his tea. “Shocking film.”

She grinned and looked at him. “Yeah, but it’s funny.”

He shook his head in amusement, pulling her against his side and holding her close.