It was early the next morning, a Saturday, and Buffy was once again outside Giles' apartment building. She'd spent a sleepless night at home fretting about what she'd witnessed the evening before.
Giles and Cordelia? Cordelia was...was still in there. With Giles. Doing who knew what. Well, probably sleeping. It was awfully early yet.
Buffy fingered the key in the pocket of her overalls. Giles had given it to her in case of emergency, or if she needed one of his books or something and he wasn't there.
A little voice told her not to use it. Not today. Not now. She would regret it.
She ignored the voice.
Once unlocked, the door swung open easily. It was dark in the living room. The drapes were drawn. It was really quiet. A soft kind of early morning quiet. The kind she liked when she woke up early at home and went downstairs before her mom woke up. Right now it was marred by the knowledge that Cordelia had slept over -- with Giles.
Buffy grimaced. She so did not want that image in her head.
She closed the door noiselessly and walked to the middle of the room, unsure of what to do next.
She sat on the couch, on the edge of the cushion as if the couch might bite or engulf her. Easing back, she kicked off her shoes, brought her feet up under her and waited.
Upstairs, Giles rolled over in his sleep and fitted himself against Cordy's back, molding his body around her. She sighed happily and wiggled a bit to settle in against him. Both were deeply asleep, the sheet barely covering them across their waists, leaving legs and thighs and torsos uncovered.
Giggling. Buffy heard giggling. In her dream the person who was doing it was unseen and yet they sounded familiar. They sounded happy.
There was a muffled thump. Another one. More giggling.
Buffy cranked her eyes open. The room she was in was not her bedroom at home. Propping herself on her elbows, she glanced around and saw the dragonfly lamp on the table beside the couch, remembering that she was in Giles' apartment.
More thumping and some pounding -- running? What was that anyway?
A woman shrieked in a delighted sort of way. Then the sound of feet running overhead. Getting closer.
Cordelia, wearing only a towel wrapped around herself, flew down the stairs. She was closely followed by Giles in jeans and nothing else. He took the stairs three at a time and caught Cordy at the bottom landing, hooking an arm around her waist and swinging her off her feet.
Cordelia shrieked again, her face red with laughter. Giles brought her up against him back to front and nuzzled her neck. Cordy reacted as if that tickled her and squirmed violently in his embrace, her knees coming up together.
"Cut it out!" She didn't sound as if she really wanted him to stop.
Giles set her on her feet and pulled her around to face him. He kissed her then, taking his time about it, and Cordy's legs wobbled a bit. Giles scooped her up into his arms and, still kissing her, carried her over to the couch.
He dumped her on it.
Cordy bounced once, feet in the air, then lay back, her giggles quieting until they were all gone. She looked up at him and extended her arms.
"C'mere."
Giles knelt over her, lowering his head to claim another kiss. While his tongue invaded the warmth of her mouth, his hand undid the knot in the towel and shoved the material aside.
Feeling the cooler air on her skin, Cordelia tore her mouth away from his.
"Hey! No fair. You still have your jeans on."
Looking down at himself as though just realizing that what she was saying was true, he said, "Easily fixed." He undid the button. Then ever so slowly he slid the zipper down part way, until dark hair was revealed. His gaze met Cordelia's and she eyed him hungrily.
Lowering the zipper the rest of the way, he hooked his thumbs under the waistband and pushed down.
Leaning against the front door, Buffy closed her eyes when the voices within the apartment went silent.
She was grateful she'd gotten out of there when she had. Bending to put on her shoes, she felt like a sneak thief. She didn't like that feeling. She also didn't like the hollowness accompanying the realization that Giles had kept such a huge secret from her.
Confused, she walked away, glancing back over her shoulder once.
While Giles tangled with school paperwork in his office, a slim arm reached in from behind and snaked down over his shoulders and chest. Taking his glasses off and putting them on the desk, Giles leaned back in the chair, his head nestling into Cordelia's embrace. He lightly touched his lips to the inside of her arm.
"Did you miss me?" she purred close to his ear.
"Terribly so," he replied, swivelling the chair around. "Is anyone else here yet?"
"Just you and me, Handsome."
"Good." His hands closed over her wrists and pulled her down onto his lap.
As Cordy settled, melting against him, they indulged in a lazy kiss, a flowing follow through of movement.
"I wish you didn't have to train with Buffy today. It's Saturday," she complained into his mouth.
"I promise we'll spend the rest of the weekend together," he told her, his tongue sweeping against her lips.
"Mmm. Can't get enough of you." She increased the intensity of the kiss.
Just when a sense of urgency began to claim them, they heard Buffy call out Giles' name from the library.
Cordelia sprang off Rupert's lap and quickly adjusted her hair.
"Am I okay?"
"You're wonderful," Giles replied, a twinkle sparkling his eyes.
She smiled back affectionately.
"You look marvelously unmussed," he amended.
"I'm training you well."
"Only because I let you."
She stuck her tongue out at him then picked up her purse. She fished out her compact to check her makeup to make sure she was, indeed, unmussed.
Giles put his glasses on and went out to greet Buffy.
She wasn't alone. He wasn't surprised.
Willow, Xander and Oz were with her. There was a tangible sense of unrest hanging over them all.
"Has something happened? Did you have trouble during patrol last night?"
"Uh...no. Nothing like that. We went to a movie."
"Yeah, we thought it was going to be action adventure, and it turned out to be the story of a deceitful woman and her illicit love affair," Xander ground out.
Buffy shot him a look.
"It...wasn't quite what we thought it would be," she added.
"Well, perhaps next time you'll find out more of the details ahead of time and save yourselves the disappointment."
"That would mean spoiling the fun of watching it," Willow put in, then her eyebrows climbed as she realized the double meaning of what she'd said.
Buffy and Xander glared at her. Oz took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. When she turned gratefully to him, he gave a miniscule shrug and she uttered a small whimper. He squeezed her hand again.
Giles watched the tableau play out. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what else was going on.
"Is there something you're not telling me?"
Buffy frowned. "No. For once I'm not the one keeping secrets."
"Are you sure?" Cordelia stepped out of the office. "It seems to me that you're always keeping secrets. Big ones."
Unconsciously shifting into the battle stance she used when facing down vampires, Buffy straightened her shoulders.
Before she could say a word, though, Xander blurted out, "Look who's talking. Cor, how could you?"
Disdainfully, Cordelia asked, "How could I what?"
"How could you sleep with him? How could you sleep with Giles?"
The silence that followed was heavy with surprise and a sickening tension.