CHOCOLATE ICE
a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic
by Viv

Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: T (this is an edited version of an adult story - for the complete version, please go to the Buffy/Giles section of www .neptunienne. net)
Feedback: Please! Constructive comments and criticism are very welcome
Disclaimer: All characters mentioned in this story belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Television, etc. The story is written for the pleasure of the author and readers, and has no lucrative purpose whatsoever. Please don't reproduce this story anywhere without the author's consent.
Notes: The story starts out in Season 3, after "Helpless", but before "Bad Girls". This story is a response to Julia on the Buffy/Giles ML, which required Buffy and Giles getting snowed in somewhere and smoochiness ensuing.

Prologue

'I'm in a little wooden hut on the slopes of a mountain. Outside it's snowing so strong that it's impossible to see a thing, or to go outside. But it's all warm here 'cause there's a fire in the fireplace, and I have Keanu Reeves to keep me warm.' Buffy smiled happily at the nice picture she had just described, and opened her eyes again.

'Is he naked?' Asked Faith, who was sitting next to her on the library table, loudly chewing gum and visibly bored. Buffy had been trying to teach her how to play "Anywhere But Here". However, the usually cute and romantic fantasies she and Willow used to think up just tended to turn into porn movies when it was Faith's turn to invent them.

'That could be arranged,' conceded Buffy with a grin. Faith shrugged.

'Damn I'm bored. Where's G-man?' She exclaimed, looking around the room.

'I dunno, but he's usually punctual. He'll be here soon. I think he called us in for something about that furry monster I ran into the other night.'

'Yeah, well I'm waiting five more minutes, then I'm outta here,' let out Faith, bounding off the table to pace around the library like a panther trapped in a cage. 'Calling me in on a Saturday morning...' She grumbled threateningly.

'I guess I don't need to ask if you had fun last night, then,' said Buffy with a grin. Faith's lack of sleep was quite obvious, considering her crankiness and the dark rings under her eyes. However, she just shrugged casually. The library doors suddenly swung open and Giles walked in briskly. He was wearing a thick sweater and a white woollen scarf.

'What's with the clothes? No tweed on weekends?' Let out Faith, eyeing him up, and smirking. Giles seemed taken aback for a moment, looked down at his clothes, then back at Faith with a sarcastic expression.

'Ha ha, very funny, I'm sure,' he replied dryly, striding up to the table where Buffy was sitting.

'So, why did you call us so early in the morning?' asked Buffy.

'Better be for a good reason, I'm not a morning person,' muttered Faith, walking towards the Watcher.

'Well, do you remember that furry demon you fought with a couple of days ago? Tall, smelly, very strong, a bit like a giant ape?' Buffy nodded, recalling the strange beast. Its face had been a cross between a bear's and a gorilla's, and it was covered with white fluff. She had found it trying to get into a house, and had chased it. They'd fought, and she'd managed to break one of its arms, but then it had fled. She would have probably been able to catch up with it, if she hadn't slipped on a patch of ice, which was really unusual in Sunnydale, even in early February.

'Well, I believe that this monster is what they commonly call a Yeti, in Nepal. You know, the abominable Snowman?' Faith snickered as she hauled herself onto the edge of the table again.

'You mean Bigfoot is back in town,' she said with a grin. 'Maybe he'll be a bit more of a man than the geeks who live in Sunnydale.'

'Well, actually the Yeti isn't some kind of missing link or disproportionate ape, as some people think,' continued Giles, ignoring Faith's comment. 'He's an Ice Demon. The Nepalese fear and revere him, because he has incredible powers. Such as to make ice and snow.'

'Oh,' let out Buffy. 'So the ice I skidded on was a present from Yeti-guy. He is so going to regret having made me break a nail.' Giles rolled his eyes theatrically at her shallowness. 'So, what was ape-man trying to do in town, anyway?'

'He was trying to feed,' said Giles. Buffy raised a brow. 'On children.' Buffy crinkled her nose at the thought. Faith merely snapped a chewing-gum bubble nonchalantly.

'I am so happy he just ended up breaking one of my nails. So, what do we do now? Will he be back?' Giles unfolded a map on the table. A pentagram was drawn on it in red felt tip.

'No. Now that you've wounded him, he's probably retreated back to his lair to look after his arm.'

'So how do we find his hidey-hole before he kills more kids?' asked Buffy, glancing at the map.

'I looked up some regional papers and found out that a child had gone missing in every town at the points of the pentagram, apart from Sunnydale which is the last point. The centre is the Coastal Range. He must live somewhere around there,' he said, pointing to a black dot drawn in the middle of the five-pointed star.

'Looks like you're gonna see your "Anywhere But Here" fantasy come true, B.,' teased Faith.

'Oh, so that's why you've got all those woolly clothes on!' exclaimed Buffy to Giles, trying to divert his attention and her own from what Faith had just said.

'Precisely,' replied Giles.

'Sounds cool to me. I'm in,' said Faith.

'Ah Faith... A-Actually I-I think it would be best if... if you stayed here and held the fort while Buffy and I slay the monster,' let out Giles nervously. Faith looked disappointed.

'You don't trust me,' she pouted.

'Of course - of course I do, Faith, otherwise... I wouldn't trust you to-to stay here and keep the Sunnydale vampires and monsters at bay.' Faith frowned, irritated.

'Why does Buffy always get to do the fun stuff?' she asked.

'Fun? I'm going to freeze my butt off, my lips are going to be all chapped and I'll fight some great big guy who smells like he hasn't had a shower since his birth - 1000 years ago. As a bonus, I'm sure I'll have fascinating lectures about how snow melts, with England here.' Giles sighed in despair. 'But I'm in. I guess. If you ask me nicely.' He glared at her. 'If you say pretty please,' added Buffy with a grin. Faith rolled her eyes at the pair of them and decided that she had no chance to get between them anyway.

'Go pack your bags, I still have to arrange accommodation,' he replied dryly, folding up the map and doing his best to dodge Buffy's demand.

'Giiiiles?' teased Buffy. 'If you don't say it, you can go kill Bigfoot all by yourself.' He frowned and looked down at her.

'Buffy, would you please come along with me to slay the big bad monster of the mountains?' He asked. She stared up at him expectantly. 'Pretty please.' he growled between his teeth, his voice barely audible. Buffy grinned and got up.

'See, that wasn't so hard!' He glowered at her, and wordlessly went to his office to find them a place to sleep in the closest mountain resort.

'How cute, Watcher/Slayer closeness in the snow. Pass the barf bag,' let out Faith with a mildly angry and disgusted expression.

'Sorry, Faith, next time I promise I'll let you go and have all the fun you can take with Giles,' answered Buffy, grinning.

'Like you'd let me go pelvic on your Watcher, B.,' she replied with a smirk. Buffy flushed wildly with an expression of utter shock.

'I... no way... that's just... hey!' she started incoherently, not even knowing herself what she was protesting against. Giles walked back into the library at that moment, which made her close her mouth and drop her gaze to the floor immediately.

'Everything all right in here?' He asked, slightly puzzled at the red tinge on Buffy's face and Faith's mischievous expression.

'Yeah, uh... I've gotta go pack my bags!' let out Buffy hurriedly, turning to leave. Giles glanced at his watch.

'Yes, and remember to take sensible clothes. I'll come and pick you up in...' he heard the Library door swing shut after Buffy, and let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. '... in an hour or so.'