Last Resort

~~~~~
Giles slowly picked himself off the floor, and it took him a full minute to figure out that he was behind the counter of the Magic Box. It had occurred to him, just before Bobrachnilothtot sent him on his way, that his double might have got on the plane and headed off to England. To his relief, he was still in Sunnydale.

He placed both hands fondly on the worn wooden countertop. It was comforting to know he was back in his own dimension where people behaved in a familiar, predictable manner.

He was drumming his fingers on the countertop in a familiar, predictable manner, when he suddenly felt a pair of arms encircle him from behind. Giles nearly vaulted out of his skin.

“Sorry, did I scare you?” came the sensually husky voice of Spike directly in his ear.

“Spike!” Giles shouted in alarm. “What d’you think you’re doing?”

“Taking you up on your promise,” he answered and began nibbling at Giles’ earlobe.

Giles was thrown for a loop—this was not the sort of familiar, predictable behaviour he was expecting. Under normal circumstances he might have spun about and clouted the bleach-blonde vampire. But if there was one thing he’d learned from his short time in Rupert’s dimension, it was that surprises could often be pleasant. Whatever was going on here, it bore further exploration.

And it appeared that Spike was very much in the mood for exploration. His slim, cool hands crept down Giles’ stomach and began loosening his belt.

Giles cast an anxious glance at the sign in the window and was relieved to see it was turned to read ‘Closed’. He knew there would be consequences—this was his own dimension, after all—but he honestly didn’t give a damn. Something must have happened, in his absence, to inspire this kind of familiarity with the vampire, and he was curious to find out how far their relationship had progressed. Just how far would Spike dare to go?

When his pants hit the floor and he stood fully exposed from the waist down behind the counter of his shop, Giles was pretty sure he could expect Spike to see this through to the end. That thought sent thrills of anticipation throughout his entire body.

Giles shuddered as Spike’s mouth clamped onto his neck, his tongue lapping at his skin, his teeth grazing but not biting. Fingers as cool and strong as steel closed around his cock and worked him until he was hard and seeping from the tip. And when Spike growled softly in Giles’ ear it made the hairs on his neck stand on end. Spike’s hands disappeared and Giles moaned in disappointment. But the sound of Spike’s fly being undone more than made up for it.

“I want to be inside you, Rupert,” he whispered gruffly. “I want you to feel how hard you make me. Do you want that?”

Giles’ cock leapt at Spike’s words and he whimpered.

“Is that a yes, then?” asked Spike.

“Oh God, yes!” Giles groaned.

Spike chuckled and for a moment there were rustling noises as he dug out a tube of lubricant from a paper bag. He drizzled copious amounts of the stuff between Giles’ ass cheeks, spreading it around with his slick fingers. There was no preamble. Spike’s hard shaft was sliding between his greased cheeks and with no warning whatsoever, he was pushing his way into Giles’ tight opening.

Giles let out a soft grunt and had to force himself to relax as his ring of muscle stretched to accept Spike’s cock. It was a strange sensation—the burning pull of his sensitive tissues was offset by the coolness of Spike’s flesh inside him. But as the cool shaft slowly pushed its way deeper and deeper, Giles no longer cared about the burn.

Spike’s lithe body pressed up against him, his arms clutching tightly around Giles’ chest as his hips began to rock, his rigid penis gliding effortlessly in and out of Giles’ tight, lubricated hole.

Giles had to relieve his aching need by rubbing himself against the cupboard door. The inanimate friction was hardly a substitute for Spike’s hand, but he didn’t want to say or do anything to distract Spike, who was clinging to him as if he was afraid he would disappear if he let go.

They were working up a decent rhythm and the countertop was bearing more and more of their collective weight as passion took its toll on their balance. Giles was pretty much bent over the counter with Spike riding him hard when the bell over the shop door jangled. Their heads snapped up at the sound, and they stared helplessly as Xander walked in and froze at the sight of them.

“Oh, Sweet Mother of Pearl! I didn’t see that. I did not just see that!” Xander exclaimed and high-tailed it out of the store.

Giles’ heart thumped painfully against his ribs from the dread thrill of getting caught. Spike noticed his lover’s change in heart rate and gave him an odd look, sniffing at him suspiciously.

“Giles?” asked Spike. “I don’t believe it—is that you in there?”

Giles nodded, looking back at him apprehensively.

The realization of what was truly happening hit Spike hard. It had been Giles the whole time—not Rupert. And he was into it; there could be no doubt about that. Giles was every bit as turned on as Rupert would have been in his place, and that was good. No, he thought, that was even better.

He answered Giles’ worried expression with a wicked grin and with a thrust of his hips, he rammed his cock root-deep into his ass. Giles gasped at the shock of it, but then gave Spike a sly grin of his own.

“Harder,” he demanded, as if daring the vampire.

Spike raised his eyebrow at him but did as he was told. He thrust harder and harder, holding back only when he feared he might cause more pain than pleasure and set off the chip in his head.

He was close—so close. Giles reached below the counter and fisted his cock, pumping it in time with Spike’s pounding thrusts. When he came, he came hard, spilling his seed all over the cupboard doors with a strangled yelp.

Spike picked up speed, spurred on by Giles’ sweetly repressed orgasm. Soon his rhythm became sporadic, and as his own orgasm wracked his body, his knees buckled and he collapsed on top of Giles.

They both lay sprawled over the countertop, catching their breath, or in Spike’s case, waiting to regain enough strength for his knees to support him again.

“So—you enjoy your vacation?” asked Spike as he began straightening himself up.

“I found it…enlightening,” Giles replied.

“You’re not the only one,” said Spike and helped the winded watcher put his slacks back on. “I learned a thing or two as well.”

“I take it you and Rupert…”

“He’s a decent man—don’t matter what we did,” Spike said defensively. “And he really seemed to know me, you know? It wasn’t seamy or anything.” He was eyeing Giles warily, as if he expected to be shot down any moment and was preparing to retreat into himself at the slightest sign of disapproval.

Giles delved into the fathomless depths of Spike’s blue eyes. “I never really gave you a chance, did I?” he said remorsefully. “I never gave anyone much of a chance to be honest. But I’d like to try. I’d like to be more like Rupert…just…not all at once.”

It was far more than Spike had expected from him. It was more than he’d ever thought Giles would admit, and it touched him. He edged forward, tentatively going in for a kiss and Giles met him halfway. Their mouths came together softly, and Spike was immediately aware of the differences between Rupert and Giles. Giles was holding back, unsure of himself, waiting for Spike to guide him, whereas Rupert would have taken the lead right off, confident that Spike would follow.

Spike reluctantly ended their first kiss and once more eyed the watcher suspiciously. “You’re willing to give us a go?” he asked bluntly. “You gotta admit we never hit it off too well before. There was a death threat or two, if I remember right.”

“A lot has changed,” Giles said simply. “I’m more than willing to admit I’ve judged you too harshly in the past. And I’m not saying it’s going to be easy to put everything that’s been said and done behind us, but I’ve seen what it could be like between us, and I think it’s worth the effort.”

“You know, I had you pegged all wrong—I never thought you’d go for it. Rupert was right, though; he said you were the same person, deep down, and I should give you a chance.”

“Very wise man. You were smart to listen to him,” said Giles teasingly. Spike wiped the smile off his face with a deep, probing kiss.

“So…” said Spike, shaking off the effects of the kiss. “It should be wicked fun explaining this to the kiddies.” Spike passed his tongue over his teeth like he was already savouring the event.

“About that…” Giles began anxiously. “I was hoping we could keep this between ourselves for the time being. I don’t think I’m quite ready to ‘come out’ to Buffy and the others just yet.”

“Bit late for that, isn’t it?” asked Spike. “Xander will have blabbed to everyone about what he just saw.”

“Yes, maybe,” he conceded, “but as far as he knows it was Rupert, not me, he saw you with.” Giles saw the dark clouds forming behind the vampire’s eyes and he quickly back-pedalled. “Not that I’m ashamed of what happened between us…but I’d rather take it slowly and do this right. And besides, it isn’t fair to our friends to pull the rug out from under them, as it were.”

“But we will tell them eventually, right?” asked Spike uncertainly.

“I promise,” Giles said, and sealed the bargain with a kiss.

~~~~~
Late that afternoon Giles drove a heavily blanketed Spike to Buffy’s house. As they feared, Buffy, Xander and Willow were waiting for them, ready to pounce as they entered the door.

“Ah,” said Giles. “I assume we’re about to get a lecture?”

“Hey—and I didn’t even have to make it a multiple choice!” Buffy said sarcastically. “You’re a sweet guy and all, Rupert, but you don’t seem to be catching on to the whole ‘sex in public is not a good thing’ idea. To be honest, I don’t care what you and Spike do in private…okay, so that’s not entirely true, but I can live with it…but while you’re stuck here, you’re living Giles’ life. What would he think if he found out you had sex with Spike in the middle of his store?”

“We were behind the counter,” Spike corrected her, more to mask Giles’ sudden case of the giggles than to start an argument. “It’s not like we were stark naked, shagging in the shop window.”

“Gah!” Xander exclaimed and did a little ‘freaked-out’ dance.

“Will you stop that, Xander?” Willow pleaded. “I’m sorry, Rupert—I tried to get them to use ‘I’ statements, but they don’t seem to be able to grasp the concept. I think…” she said, stressing the word ‘I’, “…it’s great that you and –and Spike are hitting it off so well. But I also think Buffy has a valid point. What you did today was reckless, and kind of illegal, and if you’d got caught, Giles would be the one who’d have to pay for it. And I feel that wouldn’t be fair to him.”

Giles was having a very hard time keeping a straight face, confronted with Willow’s wide-eyed, earnest concern. He decided the only thing for it was to put his plan into action and save himself from having to answer her.

Giles pretended to pass out, his performance greatly assisted by years of painful experience. Luckily Buffy was near enough and reacted quickly enough to catch him before he could hit his head and knock himself out for real.

When he estimated enough time had passed to make it believable, he opened his eyes and put on the best, befuddled expression he could muster. He was rather touched to see everyone huddled over him looking worried. Well—everyone but Spike, that is. Spike was standing over the others with his arms crossed, looking superior. Giles could almost hear him thinking what a chicken he was. Giles slowly sat up, gratefully taking all the help he could get, and Spike rolled his eyes at the sheer drama of it.

“Giles?” asked Xander, peering hopefully into the older man’s green eyes. “Are you you again?”

Giles blinked owlishly at everyone as if surprised to find himself on the floor. “I’m back. I’m home,” he said, smiling at them like he’d been gone for years instead of days.

Buffy grabbed hold of his hands and brought him swiftly to his feet so she could hug him. He hugged her back; surprised and relieved that she was happy to see him. When she let him go, Willow flung herself into his arms and hugged him until he grunted. Then she let him go and Giles turned to Xander who looked like he wanted to give him a hug but was afraid of how it would look. Xander shot his hand out towards him for a handshake, but Giles pulled him in for a hug instead. He was reluctant at first, but when it became clear there would be no roaming hands or tongues involved, Xander loosened up and gave him a good, manly squeeze in return.

“Good to have you back, Giles,” said Xander with a flushed grin. “Now things can finally get back to normal around here.”

A high-pitched ‘squeee!’ sound started up and Giles looked around to find the source of it. From seemingly out of nowhere, a super-hyped Dawn sprang at him, nearly knocking him off his feet in her attempt to hug the stuffing out of him.

“Hello to you, too, Dawn,” Giles laughed.

She released him with a bounce and a flick of her long, brown hair, and then she drilled him with a scolding glare. “You’re back for good, right?” she demanded. “You’re not gonna leave us again, are you?”

“Dawn, you know Giles is going back to England,” said Buffy sullenly. “Two days in a different dimension’s not going to make him change his mind.”

“Actually…” said Giles, “I was thinking I might stay here in Sunnydale.”

“Or not,” Buffy amended.

“So…let me get this straight,” said Xander. “Anya gets it in her head that if she sends you to another dimension for a holiday, you won’t want to move away… And that works?”

“Essentially, yes,” said Giles. “It gave me a chance to step back and think things through. I was wrong to think I was doing Buffy a favour by leaving—I know that now. So long as I’m needed here I’ll stay. That was a promise I made long ago, and I intent to honour it.”

“Great. Are we done with the pretty speeches now?” griped Spike. “Come with me, Giles. We need to have a word.”

No one said a thing as Spike led Giles into the kitchen. They knew he was about to fill him in on some of what happened while he was gone, and they were universally glad it was Spike doing the telling. They stood silently in the living room, but they heard no raised voices or shouts of shock coming from the kitchen. In fact, they couldn’t hear them talking at all, and the silence was making them anxious.

Buffy was just about to go in and check on them when the front door swung open and Anya entered, looking highly pleased with herself. “I have good news!” she stated proudly. “I found Bob, and he sent Giles back to us.”

“We know,” said Buffy, taking some of the wind out of her sails. “We were here when he came back a few minutes ago.”

Anya frowned. “No. That’s not right,” she said. “Bob said he sent Giles back first thing this morning, not a few minutes ago. Giles has been home all day.”

The stunned Scoobies exchanged glances and turned to face the kitchen, where it was still abnormally quiet.

“Giles!” Buffy called out loudly. “Are you okay in there?”

They could hear muffled voices now, and the sound of something falling off the counter and landing with a thud on the floor. It was a very big something, by the sounds of it. A few seconds later Giles reappeared, looking flustered and dishevelled—his hair was mussed slightly and his shirt was partly un-tucked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he said with a nervous half-smile, taking in Anya’s presence with a jolt of dread. Did she know, he wondered? And if she did, had she told the others? “Spike was just…erm…”

“Filling him in,” Spike said, helpfully. He came up behind Giles, staring lustfully at his ass and not caring a bit what anyone thought. He casually wrapped his arms around Giles’ waist, resting his chin on the other man’s shoulder. “Got a problem with that?”

Giles sighed and hung his head. This was not how he wanted to break the news, but it was too late now. He could tell from the expressions on his friends’ faces that the damage was already done.

“Then…it was you…at the store?” Buffy squeaked.

“It was,” Giles admitted quietly.

“But you’re not…I thought you were…you know…one of us,” said Xander, getting panicky again. “You’re not…one of them.”

“There are a lot of things about me you don’t know,” Giles answered, suddenly finding Spike’s embrace reassuring. “I don’t expect you to accept us, at least not right away, but I am asking you to try and understand. I can’t go on living the way I was—I was more lonely than you can imagine, and I didn’t dare say anything for fear you might find out I was…”

“Like Rupert?” Willow finished for him.

Giles nodded, subconsciously holding his breath in anticipation of their reaction.

“I liked Rupert,” said Buffy after a moment’s deliberation. “He was very sweet. And easy to talk to. Kind of like Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Ruth had a love child. Okay…that was a disturbing image.”

“Who am I to judge? When I came out you were all Mr. Supporty Guy. I’m there for you one hundred and five percent,” said Willow with a sweet smile.

Dawn grinned from ear to ear; “You guys are so cute together! If there’s a wedding in the future, I call dibs on Best Man.”

They all looked at Xander, who squirmed uncomfortably under their combined stares. “Just…no more public displays, alright?” he begged.

“Agreed,” said Giles, holding his hand out to the younger man. Xander hesitated briefly, but he shook it, and the relief was palpable throughout the room.

~~~~~
As the evening wore on, Giles regaled them all with a highly edited account of what happened in the other dimension. It made for a very short story, and it didn’t help that Dawn kept asking probing questions about the gaps in his narrative.

A pizza was ordered and the latest demon menace was discussed at length. There was joking and laughing, and if Giles would sometimes reach over and grab Spike’s hand, no one seemed to mind. When the evening drew to a close, Giles wondered how such a tight-knit group had ever managed to drift apart in the first place. He made a silent vow to himself to do everything in his power to keep them together from now on.

As he and Spike headed out the door, Willow pulled him aside, leading him away from the house so they could talk in private. “While you were gone, Rupert gave me some good advice,” she said. “He told me that I needed to heal myself before I can heal my relationship with Tara.

“At first, when he told me about the baby, I was so jealous I couldn’t see straight. But now it’s kind of like a challenge…if that other Willow and Tara can be happy together, then so can we—I just have to work hard enough. Does that make sense?”

Giles smiled warmly at her. “It makes perfect sense,” he said and wrapped his arm comfortingly around her shoulder. “Just don’t forget that you’re not alone. Nothing is so overwhelming that it can’t be overcome with the help of your friends.”

Willow looked pensive for a moment. “Do you think Rupert’s glad to be home again?” she asked.

Giles gazed up at the starry sky, picturing Rupert holding his new son, surrounded by his family. They were probably busy picking out names for the baby or decorating the nursery. “I’m certain of it,” he said.