Alchemy – Chapter Two

Giles looked up as his office door opened. He smiled when Oz walked in, holding Haddie’s hand. Oz grinned and shrugged a shoulder.

“Someone wanted to see you.”

Haddie’s green eyes shone brightly as she let go of Oz’s hand and ran across the room. “Diddy!”

He scooped her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hello, beautiful.”

She shook her head quickly. “No. Mummy!”

He laughed gently. “Yes, Mummy is beautiful…but so are you. My beautiful little angel.”

Haddie giggled and squirmed in his arms.

Oz sat down at the table and looked over at the piece of paper, his brow furrowing. “Interesting.”

Giles nodded in agreement and pushed the paper towards the young man. “Yes, quite. Faith found them carved on the trunk of a tree in Bolivia.”

“Found anything?”

“Maybe.” He turned the open book so that it was facing Oz. “Though the symbols seem to derive mainly from alchemy. And most of them are from ancient alchemy.”

“In Bolivia?” Oz looked up in confusion.

“Yes. It’s quite puzzling. Not apocalyptic, but puzzling. According to Buffy, Faith sensed something in the area.”

“What kind of something?”

“Weird, I think is how she described it.” Giles gave a sardonic grin.

Oz chuckled. “That’s helpful.”

Giles sighed. “That’s Faith.”

“Who’s the expert in alchemy around here?”

“John Crifo. But something’s telling me that this isn’t about alchemy.” Giles ran his hand through his hair and looked down to find Haddie had dozed off. “I could send a copy of this down to him…”

Oz nodded in agreement. “Wouldn’t be a bad idea.” He smiled and gestured towards the clock. “Lunch wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”

“No, it wouldn’t.”

Oz pushed his chair back and stood, motioning to the door with a tilt of his head. “Lunch at my house.”

Giles smiled and shifted his sleeping daughter in his arms.

* * *

Willow groaned and gently moved Maria. Oz chuckled softly, which earned him a glare from his wife.

“How long did you breastfeed?”

Buffy looked up as she bounced Haddie on her thigh. “Different lengths for each one, actually. Braden spent the shortest amount of time because he started chewing…which wasn’t exactly pleasant. Why?”

“Yeah, the chewing? Not so much fun.” Willow grumbled.

Buffy nodded in understanding and looked at Giles. “Ru was about Maria’s age, wasn’t he?”

Giles swallowed a bite of his sandwich and thought for a second before he nodded. “Near enough, from what I can remember.”

Haddie gently patted Buffy’s stomach and giggled. “Ebbie!”

Buffy and Giles exchanged a quick glance. Oz raised an eyebrow and Willow grinned.

“What did she say?”

“Um… ‘baby’.” Buffy replied in a not so convincing tone.

Oz chuckled again as Giles took another bite of his sandwich. Buffy cleared her throat and met her husband’s eyes.

“So, find out anything about the symbols?”

He shrugged a shoulder, swallowing and lifting a glass of water to his mouth. “I’m fairly certain that they’re ancient alchemy symbols. But…I don’t think they’re actually referring to the science of alchemy. I sent a copy down to John Crifo to see what he could come up with.”

“Yeah, that’s not at all confusing.”

Giles smiled and handed a small piece of ham to Haddie. “Alchemy wasn’t frequently practiced in Bolivia. It’s quite the enigma at the moment.”

“Yay, a puzzle for you to solve.” Buffy mumbled.

Willow snickered softly and passed Maria to Oz. “So…you want to see the list?”

Giles furrowed his brow. “List?”

“Yeah, the Giles baby pool. A lot of money in the pot right now.”

Giles rolled his eyes in amusement. “I still can’t believe you’re betting on when our child is going to be born.”

“Not just that.” Oz stated softly, leaning down to place a tender kiss on Maria’s forehead. “Gender and name, as well.”

Willow nodded quickly and grinned. “Xanadu is the front-runner for names at the moment.”

One look at the expression on Giles’ face was enough to cause Buffy and Willow both to collapse into laughter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Giles had just gotten comfortable and closed his eyes when Buffy spoke softly.

“Giles?”

“Mm?” He mumbled sleepily, his arm draped over her and his hand resting lightly on her stomach.

“Are you upset with me?”

His brow furrowed and he placed a kiss in her hair. “No. Why would you think I am?”

“I don’t know. Because I haven’t felt like doing anything for a few days?”

His eyes opened and he took a deep breath. He instantly knew that the conversation was based on her hormones. He also knew, from past experiences, that it was best not to mention that fact. Instead, he pulled her back against his chest and moved his lips to her shoulder.

“We’ve both been tired, Buffy. Work has been hectic the past few days and…well, you’re due to give birth in less than two weeks. It’s understandable that we haven’t – ”

“You haven’t felt like it either?” She interrupted quickly. Before he had a chance to reply, she asked another question. “It’s because I’m whalish, isn’t it? You don’t want to make love to me because – ”

He took his turn at interrupting her, rolling her onto her back so he could look into her eyes. “Stop, Buffy. You’re not…whalish. You’re beautiful and very desirable. But, I know that you’re not going to take my word for it.”

“I don’t get how you can find me desirable…” She whispered sadly.

He sighed and took her hand, lifting it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on her fingertip. “I’m going to do something, but know that I’m not asking for anything.”

Before she could question him, he took her hand and pulled it under the blankets. She gasped when he pressed her hand against the unmistakable hardness of his erection.

“Giles…”

“Ssh.” He whispered thickly, leaning over her and giving her a tender kiss. “Know that I want you, Buffy.”

He tightened his grip on her hand when she started to caress him. “Buffy…I know you’re tired, love. I just thought you might need physical evidence of my desire for you. I’m not asking you to do anything.”

“What are you planning to do then?”

He smiled and kissed her again. “If it doesn’t subside on its own, I can take care of it later.”

She bit her lip and looked into his eyes. “Or…you could take care of it now…here.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “I, uh…”

“I love watching you touch yourself. I always have, you know that.” She offered him a tired smile. “I may not feel up to making love at the moment, but…I wouldn’t mind watching you…”

Just the thought of her watching him masturbate caused his cock to harden even more. He inhaled shakily and cleared his throat. She smiled as she pushed the blankets off of his body.

“Let me watch.” She whispered.

He licked his lips and rubbed his palm over the pajama-clad bulge. He stared into her eyes as he slipped his pajama pants over his hips and grasped the base of his erection. Her eyes darted to his groin, a soft whimper escaping her lips.

He smiled, his hand slowly moving up the shaft towards the head. “Just the thought of you makes me hard, Buffy.”

“Are you thinking of me right now?”

He nodded, his thumb gliding over the sensitive glans. “Yes. How nice it feels when you touch me…or taste me.” He moved his hand back to the hard shaft, squeezing gently. “How wonderful it feels to be buried deep within you…your warmth surrounding me as I thrust into you.”

“God…” She sighed heavily, her fingers circling his nipple. “Tell me more.”

His hips arched against his hand, his breathing became heavier. “I want to be inside you. Your mouth, your…” He paused until she met his eyes. “Your cunt…”

He grinned as she moaned. He didn’t use the word very often, but when he did it always had the desired effect.

“Your ass. Thrusting so slowly into your ass. My God, Buffy…I want to be inside of you.”

His hand moved faster, his grip tightening. She smiled, lust showing in her eyes.

“Do you only think about fucking me?”

He shook his head quickly. “No…sometimes it’s your hand on me, your tongue teasing me. Your breasts rubbing against my cock. Sometimes it’s you…fucking me. Your tongue inside of me while I fuck your hand. Jesus, Buffy…I’m close…”

She raised an eyebrow. “Hasn’t taken very long.”

“Never does when you watch.” He mumbled, his thumb gliding through the moisture collecting on the head. “I’ve a vivid imagination…too vivid at times…”

“Come for me, Giles…” She whispered huskily. She leaned down, placing her mouth next to his ear. “And let me lick the come from your hand.”

He groaned loudly, her words pushing him over the edge. His body trembled violently as he came, the first spurt landing on his abdomen. He continued stroking himself, coating his hand in his semen. He came again quickly, crying out her name.

His eyes closed when he felt her tongue on his stomach. They reopened when she pulled his hand from his softening cock and lifted it to her mouth. He fought to control his breathing as he watched her clean his semen from his fingers.

“Buffy…”

“I wanted to make love with you tonight, you know.” She whispered lovingly as she released his hand and rubbed his chest. “I just…can’t right now.”

“Mm…” He nodded in understanding and reached up to caress her cheek. “Are you alright? I mean…can I…”

She smiled and shook her head, lowering her body and resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m fine…more than, really. Knowing that I can look like this and still – ”

“Always, Buffy.” He inhaled deeply. “I’ll always want you. And I’ll always think you’re beautiful. Because…you are.”

She draped her arm over his chest and snuggled as close to him as the baby allowed. “Thank you.”

He closed his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips as his fingers lazily stroked her hair. His earlier exhaustion caught back up to him quickly. He barely registered the gentle kick against his side.