Was It Always Like This?

Chapter 22

“Are you sure the red plug goes in there?” he asked for the third time.

“Do you want to do this yourself?” Xander leant back and put down the instruction booklet.

“Leave him alone, come and help with these boxes” Willow shook her head and checked a notebook. “Dawn, that one goes in the study” she shouted as the young girl sighed and turned to her left.

“Where to Miss?” a young moving man stopped in the hallway with a dolly loaded with boxes.

Willow stood on tiptoe to read the number of the top box then checked her list. “Sorry, they need to be in the front bedroom” she winced as he sighed and began lifting the individual boxes upstairs.

“Good grief” Giles put down one of the boxes and stretched his back. “Why can’t I help Xander install the satellite TV thingy?” he pouted.

“Because he was just about to stab you with his screwdriver” she patted his shoulder and reached up to kiss him. “Why don’t you unpack the kitchen while we finish up in here?” He walked off shaking his head and mumbling under his breath.

“What’s up with Giles?” Buffy asked as she carried some empty boxes downstairs.

“He’s getting in everyone’s way and I’ve relegated him to kitchen duties” Willow shrugged. “After these we only have three more boxes for the study and then we’re done with the unloading” she grinned as Buffy easily lifted the box that Giles had given up on. “Technically you were the one who persuaded him to stay in America” Willow reminded her.

“Next time you guys can emigrate and get some English people to move your books” she grinned over her shoulder as she headed upstairs. “Tell Giles that we could do with some coffee for the workers”

*****

“I can’t believe you don’t have some of the same books” Xander argued several hours later as they fought over the Chinese takeaway.

“All of his are in weird languages and he doesn’t have any on robotics or science” Willow shrugged and finished handing out drinks. “Although we discovered that we both had Wind in the Willows” she grinned.

“I told you” Xander sat back and looked at Buffy. “There is one less book you would have had to carry today” he emphasised his point with his chopsticks before returning to his food.

“Giles!” Dawn shouted from the hallway. “Hurry up or there won’t be any left”

“I was just checking to see if I had any emails” he smiled as he came downstairs. “Mmmm” he dived straight into the large pile of takeaway containers. “I’m starving” he mumbled as he finally sat down beside Willow and kissed her cheek. “Did you find my record collection?” he asked hopefully.

“I got Buffy to dump them in your study” Willow nodded and sat back with a sigh. “Let’s not do this again any time soon” she yawned.

“Shouldn’t need to” Giles agreed “We have plenty of capacity for any future expansions”

Buffy caught Dawn’s startled look and stared at Willow. “Future expansions?” she asked carefully and saw Xander put his chopsticks down and lean forward a little.

“He means more books” Willow rolled her eyes. “Right?” she turned to see his grin and started to get worried.

“Absolutely” he nodded and laughed at the shock on their faces.

Once the food was finished everyone found a comfortable seat and they gave the new satellite TV system a test. “It’s just like football” Xander shrugged his shoulders.

“It might be just like your version of football” Giles agreed. “However, rugby players don’t need ten layers of padding, helmets or a rest break every thirty seconds” he explained patiently.

“So the kicker stays on the field?” Xander asked over his shoulder as another play unfolded in front of him. “That’s weird” he shook his head but continued to follow the game.

“I can’t believe you agreed to the sports channels” Buffy followed Willow and Dawn upstairs.

“It was one of the things on his list to make him stay in America” Willow shrugged. “Apparently he used to play it years ago and has a mission to explain it to Xander so that they can watch games together every week”

“This is a really pretty room” Dawn sighed as they started to hang up clothes in the master bedroom. “You can see most of the park from here” she sat on the window seat and stared out at the view.

“Don’t tell me, the trees were on his list?” Buffy guessed and smiled as Willow nodded and sighed. “What was on your list?” she asked and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Not much, I just asked for a study of my own and enough room that you guys could stay over” Willow shrugged and closed the wardrobe door. “Oh, and something for the garden” she grinned and headed downstairs again. “Cool, huh?” she nodded as they all stood and looked at a huge hammock slung between two very old oak trees. “I’ve always wanted one and he said we should get one each but I managed to find a place that supplied one big enough for two” she gingerly sat on the edge before swinging her legs into it.

Dawn looked around at the garden. “Your neighbours can’t see into this part of the garden” she pointed to the sheltering trees.

“They can’t?” Willow asked and tried for surprised innocence before Buffy tutted.

“Remind me to give them plenty of notice before we come over” she suggested to her sister and pushed the hammock, causing it to sway lightly. “You should get a couple more of these and we could spend all summer out here”

“I’ll add it to my list” Willow grinned and they spent another half hour in the garden before the sun set and a cold breeze started up.

“Offside” Xander shouted at the TV and looked up to see the girls coming back to join them. “This is a great game” he pointed to the screen enthusiastically. “It’s over already?” he looked incredulously at Giles as the players trooped off the park.

“Another advantage” Giles grinned. “The game lasts forty minutes each half”

Xander thought for a moment or two before winking at Willow. “No cheerleaders”

“Well you may have a point there” Giles nodded in agreement before wincing as Willow nudged his ribs.

“I need to patrol and Dawn’s got school in the morning so we should get going” Buffy looked to Xander.

“Sure, I’ll just visit the little boys room” Xander nodded.

“Are you free next Saturday night?” Giles asked as he helped Buffy into her jacket. “I think a house warming party is definitely called for to thank you for all your help today” he smiled at Dawn as well. “You can bring Martin if you want”

“That would be nice, thanks” Dawn blushed slightly.

“I’ll call you tomorrow” Willow sniffled a little as she hugged Buffy. “Thanks for everything” she kept eye contact until Buffy nodded slightly. “And you Dawnie, are you sure you’re not a slayer, the way you were throwing those boxes around today?” she grinned and pulled the young girl into a rib crunching hug.

“Thank you” Giles held onto Buffy for several breaths. “Today wouldn’t have happened without your help”

“Hey” Xander pouted. “I leave the room for two minutes and suddenly there’s an orgy” he pointed to the hugging couples and smiled as Willow opened her arms for him. “That’s better” he sighed and pulled Dawn beside him.

“Thanks Xan” Willow giggled and pulled away from him. “Can you make it to our house warming party next Saturday night?” she asked.

“I’ll be here to see the game on Saturday afternoon so I don’e whe why not” he shrugged and turned apologetically to Giles as Willow looked surprised. “Sorry big guy”

“It’s alright” Giles assured him and patted his back. “I was going to break the news a little more gently than that but..” he shrugged and held out his hand to Willow. “I promise the house will be tidied and ready for the party before we watch the game” he pouted a little before winking at Xander over Willow’s shoulder as she sighed and hugged him.

“Let’s go and leave them to the rest of the unpacking” Buffy shook her head.

*****

“Where do we start?” Willow looked at the huge pile of boxes in the middle of her study.

“As you know” Giles bent down to pick her up. “Tactical planning has always been a bit of a talent of mine” he strode down the hallway towards the spare bedroom.

“I thought you had hurt your back?” she giggled as he kicked the door open. “Rupert, it’s beautiful” she gasped as she saw the bed made up and a huge vase of roses standing on the dressing table. “When did you get time to do all this?” she looked around at the rose petals scattered across the bed covers.

“I enlisted some help” he admitted and sheepishly stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Just one problem, I couldn’t find any matches” he admitted.

“You could have done it yourself” she protested as all of the carefully laid out candles burst into life with one word.

“I wanted to save my strength for something else” he grinned and pulled her into his arms. “Welcome to your new home, Ms Rosenberg” he sighed before kissing her for several minutes.

“We would have moved several months ago if I’d known it would be like this” she assured him and let her head roll back as he kissed the skin revealed by unbuttoning her blouse.

“You should have put it on your list” he looked up as her hands disappeared under his sweater. “Mmmm Will” he sighed and pulled her towards the bed.

“Rupert, please” she whispered as he dropped her bra on the floor and slowly moved to undo her jeans.

“There’s no rush” he spent a few moments nibbling around her belly button before standing up to drop his clothes on the floor. “We have the rest of our lives together” he watched her lick her lips before kissing her.

“I want you now” Willow finally pulled away to catch her breath. “And later, I want you in every room of our house” she gasped and closed her eyes for a second or two as he let his fingers gently stroke her thigh. “Please” she begged as he spread her legs apart and began stroking her clitoris.

“I wanted this to last all night, for you to have this whenever you thought of our first night here together” he pushed away from her and searched for his jeans. “But I don’t think I can wait any longer” he admitted as he searched through the pockets.

“Don’t” she raised herselto hto her elbows before reaching out to pull him back onto the bed. “We don’t need anything” she saw him hesitate and grinned. “I’m not proposing a future expansion” she giggled as his eyebrows rose in shock. “I’ve taken care of that side of things and we don’t need the condoms any more” she watched him swallow and take several deep breaths. “Unless there is something you haven’t told me?” she slowly squirmed higher up the bed till she could rest on the pillows.

“Are you sure?” he whispered and saw her face fall a little. “Not that I wouldn’t want to have children with you but we haven’t discussed it and…” he closed his eyes and listened to the tiny voice in his head telling him to shut up. “I’m sorry, can I start again?” he asked and slowly started to stroke her thigh.

“Some day you can explain to me how you ever managed to get a second date with anyone” she shook her head before clearing her mind of everything else and concentrating on his body.

He blew across her breasts and watched as her nipples crinkled with the cold air. Licking his lips he bent down to heat them with his tongue before continuing down her body. “You are so beautiful” he sighed and blew against her pubic hair. “So beautiful” he mumbled as he watched her fists clench around the duvet.

“No more talking” she growled and stared at him as he slowly ruffled the hair with another breath before dropping a kiss on her clitoris. She managed to keep eye contact until he licked the length of her and then had to concentrate solely on remembering to breathe. His left hand joined the game shortly after as he expertly brought her to the edge before easing off and letting her calm down a little. He kept up the technique for several minutes before she finally whimpered his name and he realised that he wanted this as much as she did. Pulling back a little he kissed her thigh. “Willow” he said softly and waited for her to look at him. “I love you” he said softly and a tiny part of his brain memorised the silly grin that grew on her face. “I love you” he said more definitely and grinned back at her before dropping down and alternating licking and sucking on her clitoris to bring her to a screaming orgasm seconds later.

Willow could still see stars when she opened her eyes. “Oh goddess” she moaned as he blew across her breasgaingain on his journey back up her body. “You are a wicked, cruel man” she scowled at him for a moment before pulling him into a kiss. “And I think I’ve worked out how you managed to get second dates” she giggled a couple of minutes later when he rolled away from her and took several deep breaths.

“Willow!” he growled and caught her movement out of the corner of his eye. “Willow” he said more softly as she straddled him, pinching his nipples as her hands rested on his chest.

She took a deep breath as she raised herself enough to slide him inside, lowering herself slowly to savour the moment. “Ready?” she opened her eyes to see him with a frown on his face that she recognised as deep concentration. The look became even more serious when she pushed away from his chest and sat up straight above him. She clenched her pelvic floor a couple of times to tease him before raising up and almost off of him. The silly grin had returned to her face as she slowly built up the speed and depth of penetration but Giles had screwed his eyes shut. “So much better” she sighed and leant back a little further.

The rhythm she had built up was suddenly broken when he grabbed her hips and rolled her to the side. “Need more” he explained through gritted teeth as he rolled on top of her and started kissing her neck.

“More is good” she assured him and crunched her abdomen a little tlp olp out. “More” she groaned and pulled his head against her neck, one hand grabbing his hair as the other scratched down his back.

“So warm” he mumbled and tried to remember the rugby game from earlier. This distraction was rather spoiled when she rolled her hips under him again and shouted his name as she shuddered and gasped. “Willow” he grunted and gave up the battle for control, biting his lip to stop himself biting her shoulder.

“Thank you” he waited till she had opened her eyes and gently brushed some hair from her forehead.

“What for?” she asked.

“For falling in love with me, for realising what was happening, for having the courage to act on it and for agreeing to live with me” he said softly and kissed her.

“I’m not sure I had any control over any of it other than the last bit” she shrugged and pulled the duvet over both of them. “And you are on probation for the living together thing for six months, remember” she grinned.

“You won’t leave me” he shook his head and pulled her tight against him. “The rest of them will never agree to move all of your stuff again”

*****

“It’s not really my fault” she sighed as he slammed another pile of books onto a bookshelf. “I’ve only been working there for three months and I did say they could call me if anything went wrong”

“You’ve only been on holiday for three days, why can’t someone else sort it out?” he kicked the empty box out of his way and pulled another full one towards him.

“It’s your own fault for wanting to move in with a genius” she finished pulling on her sweater. “The reason they employed me was because they don’t have anyone else who can do this kind of stuff” She watched his back as he continued to stack shelves. Sighing she stepped over a box and gently rested her hand on his back. “I am sorry and I’ll try to get it cleared up as quickly as possible” When he didn’t react she shook her head and left the house.

Giles was clearing up dishes in the kitchen when Buffy knocked at the backdoor before pushing it open. “Hey Giles, is Willow around?” she asked brightly.

“She’s gone into work” he slammed the last mug down and threw the dishtowel onto the worktop.

“Something came up?” she asked and leaned against the doorway, preventing him leaving. “Or were you just having a fight and she decided to leave you to take it out on the dishes?”

“Buffy!” he shook his head in disgust and walked around her to the living room. “I’m just annoyed that she agreed to go into the office as soon as they called” he admitted.

“What else did you expect her to do?” Buffy asked quietly. “She grew up with a boss who expected her to drop everything and deal with the latest emergency, no matter how inconvenient it was” she smiled gently at him as he caught the gist. “The same boss who worked until the job was done and expected the same of everyone else” she watched him struggling to keep the grin from his face. “He was a mentor who would have shrugged and told her to ignore the real life stuff with a boyfriend because the work was more important”

“I wasn’t that bad” he protested.

“Maybe not” she shrugged, only partially agreeing with him. “But surely you understood how much we all changed because of the years of working together, and Willow changed more than any of us”

“And now she’s saddled with a pathetic old man who has a tantrum when she dares to put anything else ahead of him” he frowned again.

“I know she’s not saving the world and that international banking may well count as working for the bad guys” Buffy grinned. “But you taught her well and she won’t let someone else take the slack”

They sat in silence for a few minutes as he struggled to see the situation from Willow’s point of view. “Perhaps you have a point” he finally conceded and glared at Buffy as she grinned. “What did you want her for anyway?” he asked to change the subject.

“Just needed her advice on something, I’ll catch up with her later” she shrugged and headed for the front door.

“Give me five minutes and I’ll give you a lift” he pushed up from the chair and headed upstairs. When he came back down ten minutes later he had changed into his black jeans and a clean white shirt.

“What’s the occasion?” Buffy asked as they drove towards the centre of town.

“I need to get a present to apologise for being a grumpy old man” he sighed and checked the traffic before pulling onto the main street.

“Well I have seen this fabulous pair of shoes” she giggled and was relieved to see him laughing as well.

“Not for you” he rolled his eyes and pulled into a parking space.

“Hey, I’ve put up with more grumpy old man fits than Willow ever has” Buffy reasonably pointed out. “Besides, I still haven’t got you back for duping me out of shoes on the last shopping trip” she suddenly remembered their trip to the mall six months before.

“I promise, once I get the payment from the Council for the Mavid translation, I’ll take you shopping” he walked round the car to open her door for her. “In the meantime I have to get Willow something obscenely expensive and take her for dinner” he glanced round at the shops near them. “Any ideas?” he finally looked back towards her and smiled as she shook her head at him.

“You’ve got the computer place over there or the book shop round there” she pointed in two different directions. “Or the flower shop next door to the sexy lingerie place” she waggled her eyebrows and laughed as he blushed. “Oh come on Giles, I helped decorate the spare room, remember?”

He coughed and put his sunglasses back on. “Perhaps the book shop would be best” he started walking before turning to Buffy. “I’ll let Willow know you were looking for her” he nodded as she waved at him and headed in the other direction.

*****

“The patch should last for a while, at least until I can put together the justification for the upgrade” she sighed and pushed away from her desk.

“I can’t thank you enough Willow” the relieved looking manager of her department assured her. “How about I take you to dinner to make up for breaking into your holiday?” he asked.

Willow glanced at him as she packed her laptop into her bag. “It wasn’t a problem and thanks for the offer but I should really be getting home” she shouldered the bag and lifted her jacket from behind the door.

“At least let me buy you a drink” he persisted and held the door for her into the car park.

“Rupert will be really mad if I miss out on any more of the unpacking” she glanced round, trying to remember where she had parked her car.

“If you had moved in with me I would never be mad” he mumbled but she still managed to catch it.

“Richard, look, I’m sorry if I’m getting the wrong signals here, but Rupert and I are very happy together and I never mix business with pleasure” she watched him trying to think of a face saving way out of the situation. “Rupert?” Willow had seen him heading towards her from the other side of the building. “What on earth are you doing here?” she asked but thanked whatever gods were listening that he had turned up. “Is something wrong?” she asked as she realised that there might be a problem.

“Nothing’s wrong” he assured her as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I just wanted to see if you had finished” he took her bag from her before turning and holding his hand out to the younger man who was standing next to Willow. “Rupert Giles, I don’t think we’ve met” he said pleasantly before noticing a slight hesitation on the other man’s part.

“Sorry, Rupert this is Richard Davies, he’s in charge of the IT department” Willow hurriedly made the introduction.

“Pleasure” the younger man shook his hand before turning a bright smile on Willow. “I was just offering to buy Willow dinner for her help this afternoon”

Giles smiled pleasantly back at him but Willow could see the tell tale tightening around his eyes that meant he was angry. “I suspect she set the whole thing up to get out of the unpacking” he joked and put his arm round her shoulders. “However, I’m afraid I have first claim on her for dinner tonight, it’s our anniversary” he lied with consummate ease. “Six months since I came back from England and we finally admitted our feelings for each other”

“You’d known each other before?” Richard asked, trying to find out how this unlikely couple had got together.

“Rupert was one of my first teaching projects” Willow desperately tried to avoid a discussion of their initial relationship and get away from the uncomfortable feelings generated by the close proximity of the two men. “I agreed to tutor him when he first got a computer and we’ve collaborated on several projects over the years”

“What is it you do?” Richard asked, aware that he was making Willow nervous and trying to find out why.

“I’m a consultant for a major international research institute” Giles felt the need to impress this man and a part of his brain wandered off to work out why. “In my spare time I teach a class in Ancient History at the local University”

“Look at the time” Willow picked up the rise in testosterone levels and decided to end the discussion. “Richard, you shouldn’t have any more problems and I’ll work up the report when I get back from my holiday” she smiled at him and put her hand into Giles’ as they walked towards his car. “That was timely” she blew out a breath as he opened the door for her.

“Was he bothering you?” he asked, looking over his shoulder as the younger man got into a car. “I’ll have a word with him if you want”

“What would you say?” she looked at him as he pulled out of the car park. “Please stop being nice to my girlfriend?”

“Actually I was thinking more along the lines of asking if he liked having the use of all of his limbs” Giles admitted and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “He obviously makes you uncomfortable and I know you can deal with it yourself, but you will let me know if there is anything I can do?” He waited for her nod before reaching out and putting his hand on her thigh. “I am sorry about earlier” he said quietly and looked over his shoulder. “There are some presents for you on the back seat” he nodded.

“They’re beautiful” she gasped as she saw the large bunch of flowers. “What’s in the box?” she asked and turned round in her seat to try and reach it. “Rupert!” she giggled as she peaked inside the large box to see something white and lacy wrapped in tissue paper.

“Buffy suggested books but I think you’ve got everything that the local bookshop stores” he smiled and rested his hand on her thigh again.

“You don’t need to apologise for earlier” she started before he interrupted.

“I know how important your work is to you and I had no right to be jealous” he said seriously. “I’m just struggling to get used to someone else having the first call on your brain” he admitted. “Buffy reminded me that I was an even more unforgiving boss in High School”

“You weren’t that bad and we were trying to save the world” she reminded him. “Did Buffy come over?”

“She said she wanted to ask your advice on something and that she’d call you later” he turned to look at her as he stopped at traffic lights. “Have I told you today how much I love you and how beautiful you are?” he leaned across to kiss her properly.

“I think you managed to convey that quite well when you woke me up this morning” she blushed as she remembered. “How about we give dinner a miss, pick up some pizza and you can remind me again” she leaned across to run her hand up his thigh.

*****

“Hey Buffy” Willow snuggled into the chair and yawned. “Rupert said you were looking for me earlier”

“I just needed a best friend chat” Buffy leaned against the tomb wall. “What you doing for lunch tomorrow?”

“Nothing much, we could meet at the Espresso Pump, is everything OK?” Willow wasn’t too worried as Buffy sounded happy.

“Everything’s fine, I’ll explain tomorrow” Buffy smiled and glanced over her shoulder. “Can you hang on for a second?” she asked and rested the phone on top of a gravestone. “Sorry about that” she picked it up a minute later and headed towards the cemetery gates. “So, did Giles manage to make up?” she grinned.

“He decided against the books and went with the flowers instead” Willow laughed when Buffy explained her advice from earlier. “Yeah, he went in there too” she admitted and the two girls giggled.

*****

Willow looked around the Espresso Pump and waved at Buffy as she saw her sitting at a corner table. “Please” she smiled at the waiter as he suggested her usual. “OK, spill it” she rested her elbows on the table and glared at Buffy.

“It’s nothing world ending” Buffy shrugged and smiled at the waiter as he put Willow’s coffee on the table. “Is it OK if I bring someone to the party on Saturday night?” she asked and rearranged the sugar packets in the dispenser.

“Who is he?” Willow demanded and bounced on her seat. “What’s his name, where did you meet him and have you checked him out?” she finally ran out of breath.

“His name’s John and he plays in a band and I met him at the Bronze a couple of weeks ago and yes, I have checked him out” she grinned as she got to the last part.

“Slut” Willow giggled. “I meant you’ve seen him in the daylight and stuff” she sipped her coffee.

“I don’t only ever go out with vampires” Buffy protested and looked sheepish as Willow raised her eyebrow. “Alright, yes, I’ve seen him in the daylight and he didn’t turn into a fiery ball”

“Give me his full name and I’ll run a check when I get home” Willow pulled out a notebook and Buffy grudgingly wrote down his name and address. “Of course you can bring him on Saturday, how much have you told him?”

“Just the basic, non demony stuff” Buffy shrugged. “He thinks I’m a personal trainer”

*****

“What do we know about him?” Giles frowned as he leaned against the door of Willow’s study and watched her search the internet.

“As soon as I know more than his name I’ll tell you” she sighed and scanned down the list of search results. “This looks promising” she mumbled and clicked through several more options.

“I just don’t think her track record is exactly reassuring” he sighed and moved into the room to sit on a chair and look over her shoulder.

“Ooooohh” Willow leaned back in her chair and pointed to a picture. “I think her average score just went up a few points” she grinned at the picture of a blonde drummer sitting at the back of a group shot.

“Isn’t he a little young for her?” Giles suggested before smiling as Willow looked at him in astonishment. “I’ll go and put the kettle on, shall I?” he suggested as she nodded and reached for her phone.

“Buffy, he’s really cute” she said excitedly. “Uhuh” she mumbled agreement as Buffy elaborated on his other attributes. “But doesn’t that mean he’ll have a gig on Saturday night?” she asked and scanned down the list of upcoming appearances for the band.

“He said he’ll have to leave by nine but he’d love to meet up with you guys” Buffy cradled the phone on her shoulder as she continued to make dinner.

“And you have warned him about Giles?” Willow checked over her shoulder to make sure he was still downstairs. “I mean, he’s pretty protective of you”

“You didn’t see him when I told him about Spike” Buffy rolled her eyes and kicked the oven door closed before leaning against the kitchen counter. “Ask him about it sometime” she pouted. “I need to go, see you on Saturday?” she said and had hung up the phone by the time Dawn and Martin came into the kitchen. “Hey Martin, do you want to stay for dinner?” she asked pleasantly and turned to get some plates out of the cupboard, completely missing the astonished looks passing between the two youngsters.

“Thanks Miss Summers” Martin finally answered on Dawn’s shrug.

*****

“Explain to me again why I can’t get the remote?” Willow looked at him over the arm of the sofa.

“Because you’re a girl” he sighed and moved to sit next to her, lifting her legs out of the way.

“But if that was an al lal law then how did Tara and I ever manage to watch TV?” she argued.

“You spent your time with Tara watching TV?” he asked incredulously.

“Sometimes” she grinned and then laughed on his continuing disbelieving look. “OK we never actually got around to it but the point is a valid one” she argued.

“Here, you can have it while I get this call” he dropped the remote in her lap and went to answer the phone. “Damn” he ran his hand through his hair. “Send me everything you’ve got and I’ll call you back in an hour” he promised and put his head round the door of the living room. “The Council need me to look at a prophecy”

“But we were nearly snuggling” she pouted and sat up to look at him. “Is it bad?” she asked seriously.

“You know the Council, they won’t pay my exhorbitant fees unless they’ve exhausted every other avenue” he leaned across the back of the sofa to kiss her. “It sounds quite serious but I won’t know until I get the information they’re sending through”

“I’ll put the kettle on and make us some tea” she sighed and pulled him in for another kiss before releasing him.

*****

“Dawn, is Buffy there?” Giles yawned and wiped his hand across his eyes while he waited for Buffy. “We have a problem” he said wearily and outlined the basics of the prophecy.

“I’ll call Xander and we’ll be with you in half an hour” Buffy said seriously and hung up. “Dawn?” she shouted as she went to her room to change. “Can you stay over at Martin’s tonight?” she asked as her sister popped her head round the side of the bedroom door.

“What’s wrong?” Dawn knew that Giles had been phoning about business and didn’t want to be kept out of the loop.

“Giles found a prophecy that unsurprisingly lerighright back to the Hellmouth” Buffy explained. “We’re meeting over at his place and we’ll probably be working on it all night”

“I’ll pack my bag and be ready in five” Dawn turned to head for her own room.

“Dawn” Buffy struggled into her shoes before striding after her. “Not this time, but I’ll call you in a few hours and let you know that everything’s OK” she assured her and went to p Xan Xander. “Xander’ll be here in ten minutes and we’ll drop you off at Martin’s” she sat on the bed. “I just spoke to Martin’s mom and she says she’d love to have you over, apparently you’re such a polite young woman” Buffy lifted Dawn’s chin with her finger and smiled. “Winning over the mom, smart move”

*****

“Why don’t we just flatten every old tomb in Sunnydale?” Xander huffed as they waited in some bushes and kept a watch on a specific family tomb. “I mean I could get a couple of bulldozers from the site and we could get rid of these things once and for all”

“Xander, we can’t desecrate every tomb on the off chance that it contains the organs of a thousand year old demon who is set to rise on this night after the sacrifice of a virgin” Giles patiently explained. “It is more mystifying how they can still find a virgin in Sunnydale” he mumbled quietly.

“Hey” Willow whispered next to him and elbowed his ribs.

“Sshhhh” Buffy waved her hand at a small pinpoint of light that was weaving across the cemetery towards them. “Heads up” she whispered and they all made sure of their weapons.

“Strange time for a picnic” she stepped out of cover as the small group of acolytes reached the tomb. They stared at her in astonishment. “I know, you must be really bummed” she walked towards them and was aware of Giles and Xander moving to flank them. “You wait a thousand years, you go to the trouble of finding a virgin” she pointed at the unconscious girl slung over the shoulder of one of the robed figures. “Then, just when everything’s about to kick off, you bump into the Slayer” she stopped a few feet from them and crossed her arms. “You know how this is going to end” she advised as the apparent leader pointed to two of them and then at her. She shook her head and flattened the first one with a punch straight to his nose before stepping to one side and flooring the other one with a straight arm to the throat. “You’ll attack me and I’ll beat the crap out of you” she pointed at the next one to run at her and caught him with a roundhouse kick. “A couple of you will try to run away” she inspected her nails as Xander and Giles both incapacitated the two who ran in their direction. “Then the one with the hostage will think he can bargain his way out of it” she walked deliberately towards the remaining acolyte and stared straight at him. “Put the girl down gently” she advised and watched as he carefully laid out the unconscious girl onearnearby tombstone. “Get a new hobby” she advised as she hit him once and watched as he crumpled to the ground.

“So we’ve moved from bad puns to screenplays?” Giles asked sourly as he helped Xander tie up the acolytes.

“I’m still working the kinks out of it but I think it went pretty well?” she looked towards Willow and grinned. “How is she?” she asked as Willowckedcked the girl’s pupils with a small flashlight.

“Can’t really tell but they needed her alive to begin with so I’d guess they slipped her something in her drink” Willow shrugged and checked her watch. “If we call the police they can get her to hospital and take these guys in for attempted date rape”

“It would avoid any unnecessary explanations” Giles nodded and handed Xander a phone. “Use this one, it was in his pocket” he nodded to one of the acolytes and watched as Xander dialled the emergency number and reported a disturbance in the cemetery.

“Just need to clear up the loose ends” Buffy hefted the gas tank to the door of the tomb before kicking the door open and rolling the open tank inside. “Giles, did you ever find the matches?” she grinned.

“You told her?” Willow stared at him in astonishment before walking towards the tomb and conjuring a small flame in her hand. “Just you wait till I get you home” she threatened and carelessly three fle flame over her shoulder as she walked back towards their car.

Giles shook his head and watcthe the interior of the tomb fill with smoke and flames before heading after the others.

*****

“And then Giles and I both stepped out and pow” Xander mimed a solar plexus punch. “Bam” he did the same for a left hook. “The final two bad guys are eating dirt” he nodded at an impressed Dawn.

“I still don’t see why I couldn’t have come along” she pouted.

“Surely the pajama party at Martin’s was more fun?” Buffy asked as she carried a tray of drinks past them. “Stop talking about work and mingle” she frowned at both of them and waited till they had lifted glasses and wandered off to join the party.

“So Buffy tells me you used to play in a band?” the young blonde asked nervously as he sat at a garden table across from Giles.

“About two hundred years ago” Giles admitted and grinned as Willow dropped a kiss on his head. “We liked to think we were a bit of a cutting edge rock band” he stretched in his chair and smiled at the memories. “Leather jackets and groupies” he mbermbered happily.

“Do you still play?” he asked and the two men settled into an extended discussion on classic songs.

“He’s really cute” Willow assured Buffy as they both sat on the steps of the decking and watched Giles and John in deep discussion.

“He’s cute and funny and smart” Buffy sighed and a soppy grin settled on her face. “And the tight butt in those jeans, mmmmmmmm”

“Yeah” Willow nodded in agreement.

“Hey” Buffy finally shook herself out of contemplation of his butt to look at Willow. “I still can’t quite get used to you doing the guy thing again” she grinned as Willow blushed.

“I never stopped doing the guy thing” she whispered. “I just do the girl thing as well” she admitted.

“Still?” Buffy raised an eyebrow. “What does Giles say about that?”

“John’s is the first cute butt I’ve ogled since I got together with Giles” she held up her hands. “And I don’t see what’s wrong in admiring from afar” she nodded and giggled.

“Will” Xander shouted at her and waved from across the garden. “Settle an argument” he pointed to where Martin and Dawn were sitting on the grass. “Did my egg last longer than yours in science class?” he winked at her as she looked at him in astonishment.

“You hard boiled your baby Xan” she sighed and smiled as Dawn and Martin started to laugh. “Never take advice from Xander about science” she warned them seriously before checking her watch. “Come and help me in the kitchen” she put her arm through his and left the others sitting together.

“Are you going to sit there being served all day?” she leaned down to whisper in Giles’ ear as she passed. “Because you’ll only pay for it later once everyone has gone” she promised.

“Have a seat” he stood up and offered Willow his seat. “Let me take care of the hosting duties for a while” he suggested and headed towards the kitchen.

*****

“I think today was a success” he sighed as he dropped into the armchair and yawned. “But I thought they’d never leave” he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.

“Who knew that being a hostess was such hard work?” she gave in to a jaw cracking yawn. “Can we leave the cleaning up till tomorrow?” she pouted.

“I’ll sort it out in the morning” he assured her and moved to sit next to her on the sofa. “You worked really hard to organise everything so leave the rest to me”

“If you insist” she mumbled and snuggled into his chest as he put his arm round her. “You seemed to be getting on OK with John?” she smiled up at him.

“He’s a nice bloke, certainly a lot better than the last one” he frowned and rested his head on the back of the sofa. “Asked if I’d sit in on a few sessionslet let them hear some of the old stuff” he grinned as she pulled back to look at him.

“You’re going to be in a band?e gie giggled and stood up. “You know that I’ve always had a thing for musicians?” she held out her hand and pulled him up.

“I try to ignore your past relationships, particularly the ones that involved werewolves” he rested his hands on her hips as she preceded him upstairs.

“Thank you for today” she leaned against his back as he looked at his eyes in the bathroom mirror. “It felt kind of weird to welcome all of our friend’s to our home but I got used to being the Lady of the Manor by the end of it”

“Oh god, you haven’t been reading Lady Chatterley have you?” he asked as he pulled his sweater and t-shirt off. “I don’t think I‘ve got the energy to be a lusty gardener tonight” he wrapped his arms round her as she leaned against him.

“Surely you’re not fed up with the Librarian and naughty pupil already?” she started to giggle but it was cut off with a huge yawn.

He helped her undress before dropping the rest of his clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed. “I watched you today” he admitted as she turned on her side to let him spoon her.

“Can’t get out of the habit?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t ever want to” he admitted and pulled her tighter against him. “You were laughing with Xander and I had a flashback to a time in the library when you were trying to tutor him for a Chemistry test” he leaned down to kiss her neck before continuing. “He finally seemed to get the hang of it and answered a couple of questions correctly and you leaned across to kiss him” he heard her breathing starting to slow down and knew that she was nearly asleep. “He turned round and asked you why you’d done it and you told him it was a reward for him being so smart” he smiled at the memory.

“I don’t remember” she mumbled and kissed his arm where it cradled her head.

“I remember it vividly because it was one of the first occasions where I felt jealous and it took me months to work out that I was starting to have feelings for you” he took a deep breath. “If I’d known then that I’d end up one day, lying in our bed with you in my arms, I’d probably have admitted myself to the nearest hospital for treatment for concussion”

“Sometimes I can’t quite believe we’ve ended up here either” Willow admitted in a quiet voice and turned round in his arms. “But there is nowhere else I’d rather be than right here”