CHOCOLATE ICE
a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic
by Viv

Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: T to M (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.

Part 1: Bad Girl

'God Giles, I swear my toes are gonna fall off! Haven't you ever heard of frostbite!' cried Buffy after her Watcher. They had been walking in the snow for three hours now, both of them carrying heavy backpacks, and she was completely frozen. Her feet were soaked by the snow that had got in from the top of her boots, her gloves had become wet once she'd fallen into the snow a couple of times, and her nose was constantly dripping. She must have been a horrible sight, maybe even gross enough to frighten the Yeti himself.

'Well then at last we'll have a real-life example of what a "fashion victim" is,' replied Giles dryly. 'I told you to wear decent clothes.'

'I refuse to wear boots that make me look like I'm going on a mission to the Moon,' retorted Buffy. 'Why don't they have Sunny-Beach or Tropical-Island demons? All we ever get is Ice Demons or Sewer Monsters!' Giles rolled his eyes.

'Buffy, for Pete's sake, stop feeling sorry for yourself!' he growled at her, obviously made just as grumpy as her by the snow and cold.

'Why should I? I gave up an afternoon of shopping with my Mom because of you!' she complained.

'So? You're the Slayer, it asks for some sacrifices! You're acting like a six-year-old brat.' Irked by that last comment, Buffy actually felt herself start to seethe with anger. It warmed her up a little.

'A six-year-old, huh?' She muttered under her breath, stopping in her tracks and letting Giles plod along in the snow by himself. 'I'll give you six-year-old...'

'You know very well that I myself would have preferred to stay at home in the warm with a good book and a cup of tea,' continued Giles, too concentrated on advancing through the thick snow to notice that Buffy wasn't next to him anymore. 'But have you seen me compl...' There was a splat, and a jolt, and freezing wetness.

Buffy grinned, very pleased with herself. She had hit him right where she had wanted, the only place that was uncovered by layers of clothing, the back of his head, and his left ear. With a bit of luck, the melted snow would actually drip down his neck for extra bonus points. She had always been good at snowball fights, when her parents had brought her on skiing trips with her cousin. The white powder fell off Giles' hair as he slowly turned his head to glare at her furiously.

'Told you you should have chosen a hat with ear-flaps,' she taunted with a wicked smile, before starting her trek again, walking past him. Which she regretted instantly. Buffy squealed when he grabbed her jacket and shoved snow down her back. She'd been completely unprepared for his attack, deeming him way too old to actually fight back. But now... this was war!

From a crevice between the rocks, the icy blue pair of eyes watched in dismay as the two people down the hill chased around, hurling snow at each other, one of them shrieking with laughter and cold from time to time, the other alternatively chuckling and growling curses. The figure that watched them wondered how unconscious they could be. And how long it would be before they found his lair. Particularly as he recognised the blonde figure who was having snow rubbed into her scalp. He thought that he'd better take action before they trapped him.

'All right, all right, now I've lost my glasses!' announced Giles breathlessly, holding his hands up at Buffy to ask for a truce. She kept her grip on the snowball she had just made.

'Is that another one of your tricks?' She asked, raising a curious brow. She could have sworn he hadn't been wearing them for some time now.

'No, really...' he said, crouching down and searching the snow. Buffy dropped her snowball and bent over to help him look. After all, having a Watcher with her was annoying enough, let alone having a blind one.

With a thud, snow landed right at the back of her head, making her left ear ring a little and causing droplets to drip into her already soaked clothes and hair. She turned to Giles and glared at him. He smirked smugly at her, pointing at the glasses in his hand.

'I must be going potty, they were in my pocket all the time,' he said. Buffy was about to haul herself at him and show him how nice it was to get your hair caked with snow, when a low rumble caught her attention.

'Buffy, look out!' Giles' scream caused her to mechanically throw herself in his direction, and she felt something whirr next to her as she went. She rolled in the snow by her Watcher, and sat up again to look at what had nearly hit her. A giant snowball was rolling down the side of the mountain, gaining size and speed as it went. More rumbling indicated more balls falling.

'Move, quick!' she yelled, forcefully grabbing Giles' arm and hauling him under the cover of a cluster of rocks. The giant pellets kept on falling, some soaring over their heads, showering them with powdery snow. Giles slipped his backpack off his shoulders and started searching for something to defend them.

'Looks like Ice Demon decided to share our snowball fun,' muttered Buffy, peering over the top of the rock that sheltered them, and immediately ducking back down as more gigantic balls tumbled towards her. She cringed at the idea of what one of them could do to her if it hit her in the face.

'Here, try this,' he said, handing her a crossbow. Buffy frowned at him.

'Giles, there's no way I can hit him. He knows where we're hiding, and he won't stop before he knows that we're dead.' Giles sighed.

'Do you have anything better to offer?' An idea suddenly struck Buffy.

'I'm going to distract him. In the meantime, you can shoot at him.'

'Are you stark raving...' Giles started indignantly, but Buffy had already lunged out of their hiding place into plain view. He shuddered, trying to stop himself from thinking of what would happen to her if she got hit.

'Hey!' She shouted. 'Come get me if you can!' Her provocation was nearly instantly met with another shower of snow blocks. Giles could have even sworn that he'd seen ice projectiles the size of a beer barrel miss Buffy only by inches. He gritted his teeth, shuddering, hoping that she truly was agile enough to avoid the shower of snow boulders sent by the Ice Demon.

'Bloody hell,' he muttered, replacing his glasses onto his nose before carefully peering over the rock behind which he was hiding. Apparently, the demon had decided that he wanted to get rid of the girl who had broken his arm, and wasn't giving him any attention. Giles steadied his trembling hands, took his aim, and the arrow whizzed out of the crossbow.

There was a blood-curdling scream from the crack between the rocks. Giles smiled in satisfaction. His arrow had hit the monster right in the face, probably taking out one of its eyes. At the sound of the demon's howl, Buffy stopped somersaulting between the falling snowballs and looked up at the cave where the monster was hiding, to see what had happened.

She hardly heard Giles' cry before the block of snow hit her in the flank. Buffy swirled in the air like a snowflake in the wind, the ball exploding into powder as it touched her. She rolled down the hill and was only stopped when her curled-up body slammed into a pine-tree, a little further down. Giles ran to her, oblivious to any remaining danger, the only thought going through his mind being that she was probably wounded and needed his help. He grabbed her slight body and dragged her behind the rock, for shelter, as fast as he possibly could. Buffy was half conscious and mumbled a curse about snowballs. Actually, Giles felt thankful that the pellet had only been made out of snow, and hadn't contained any ice shards. He was thinking that things really couldn't get any worse, when big snowflakes started to fall. Giles looked up at the grey sky, then at the semi-conscious Slayer.

'For bloody Heaven's sake, what next?' he muttered gruffly, shaking Buffy slightly to make her regain consciousness. Her only response was a groan and more incoherent mumbling. She was obviously in no state to fight the demon right now, or to walk back to the town. Giles let out a sigh and drew a broadsword out of their bags, along with a phial containing an orange mixture and some matches. Fortunately, he still had this solution. Holding an old magic volume in one hand and his implements in the other, he started to perform the ritual.

Carefully, Giles entered the cave, Buffy's arm slung around his neck to support her weight, his rucksack hanging on his other shoulder and the sword in his free hand. He had expected it to be an ice-cave, a crack that led under a glacier or something similar, which was the usual habitat of snow demons. However, it was simply a cold and dark tunnel made out of damp rock. He mused that it was probably not the demon's true home, but rather the first place where it had been able to find safety after it had been wounded. Gently, he lowered Buffy down so that she sat against the wall, and was rewarded with a low groan from the stunned Slayer. She had more or less been able to walk into the cave with his help, which was proof enough that she didn't have any serious injuries. However, she was still very dazed, and the monster needed to be dealt with quickly. An injured Ice Demon became all the more dangerous; it would never let them get away from his mountain alive. Giles let out a sigh, then knelt down in front of Buffy. He had no other choice.

'I'm going to deal with the demon,' he told her quietly. 'If I'm not back once you feel better, try to find my sword to kill him, all right?' She gazed at him blankly, then nodded a little. He hoped that she had understood him, although he doubted it, considering the tumble she had just had. Slowly, Giles stood up, took a deep breath to muster up all the courage he could find, and wandered into the depths of the cave, holding his broadsword in his left hand and an electric torch in the other, praying to any god out there to keep him and the Slayer safe.


Buffy finally snapped out of the daze when she heard a scream and the sound of slashed flesh. She jumped to her feet, and immediately regretted it when her ankle actually crunched. She moaned with pain, feeling all her body wake up to the joys of bruising and strained muscles. But her worry for her Watcher was far more important than her physical condition. She dragged herself as fast as she could through the dark tunnel. With every step she took, she felt the temperature drop, until she finally arrived to a part of the tunnel that was covered with ice. A thick layer glazed the walls, the floor and the ceiling in a shiny opalescent coat. Buffy cringed at the thought of having to limp through the ice while she still felt dizzy. She was going to have a hell of a time, and yet more bruises.

Just as she set foot onto the slippery surface, she heard footsteps. They were slow and heavy, accompanied by panting. Buffy moved backwards, frowning hard. She couldn't have told whose screams had woken her up from her stupor. She knew that the demon had sharp claws, but then Giles had taken a sword with him. It could have been either of them getting cut to pieces. God, please let it be the demon! Her heart started to thump violently in her chest, and her throat knotted. She could hear the steps come closer and closer to her, the breath was raucous, laboured... whoever it was, he was exhausted. Buffy suddenly didn't want to see the face of the figure that was slowly appearing in the distance, preceded by a small patch of light. And what if it wasn't Giles? What if he had been savagely killed by the monster's claws? Buffy felt dread clutch at her throat, her legs started to tremble. And if it was the monster, would she even be strong enough to fight it, and avenge her Watcher?

'Buffy?' The Slayer took in a long, relieved gasp of air as she recognised his voice. It was Giles. A tired, weak and stumbling Giles, but Giles all the same. Buffy felt a sudden urge to run to him and hold him tight in her arms, incredibly glad to see him safe and sound. She frowned a little, and wondered where that sudden surge of affection had come from.

'I'm here, Giles,' she said, as she caught a glance of him at last, when he was close enough. He was covered with frost and something that looked like mucus. His hair was a mess, and one of the sleeves of his thick jacket seemed to have been slashed. Three red gashes marked his cheek, probably where the claws of the demon had caught him. When Giles arrived to her and off the patch of ice, he slowly lowered himself to the floor and threw his head back, breathing in sharply.

'God, that was a close call,' he muttered, wiping slime off his face. Buffy wordlessly watched him. She hadn't often seen him in such a light. Like the hero who came back to the damsel in distress, after killing the evil dragon. But that was what he looked like. Just like some hero out of an epic poem. She smiled at the idea, and also sat down.

'Rough fight, huh?' she asked sheepishly.

'Very. He was rather resilient to all the getting killed part of things,' muttered Giles. After a beat, he looked up at Buffy with a tired glare. 'I've been around you too much. I'm picking up your dreadful manner of speaking.' Buffy managed a small grin.

'And I always thought that reading made your speaking English good,' she replied.

'Remind me to laugh when I get my lungs back,' he replied dryly, still breathless.

'What happened to your cheek?' asked Buffy, squinting at the bleeding wound.

'A brief encounter with razor-sharp claws,' he sighed, wincing, as if the fact that Buffy had mentioned it had revived the pain in his flesh.

'And how did you kill Yeti-man, then?' She asked. Giles slumped down a little further.

'I put a fire spell on my sword. It allowed the blade to have the power of flames... and that's pretty lethal for ice demons.' With a sigh, Giles hauled himself up again. 'Come on, I'm dying for a cup of tea and my thermos is at the entrance of the cave.' Buffy also managed to push herself onto her feet, and they slowly and painfully made their way to their bags.

'I can't believe this!' Exclaimed Buffy in awe, as she saw the snowstorm outside the cave. Giles glanced at it briefly, nearly nonchalantly, while he scoured through his bag, seeking his precious thermos flask. Buffy was unable to see a thing. It was very dark outside, the snowflakes covering the view totally. She glanced at her watch, and was surprised to find that it was already six o'clock. Sunset wouldn't be long now... how the hell were they going to get back to their hotel? She limped back towards Giles, shivering.

'So, what's the plan? We stay in the cave and freeze to death?' Giles was sipping at the steaming tea, and nodded faintly.

'That's the plan,' he let out. Buffy gazed at him in shock.

'You're serious?' she cried. 'Isn't there anything we can do?'

'The snow is the result of my killing the Ice Demon. When he felt his end close, he used all his power to create the storm. If we try to go out there, we'll get lost and be buried under piles of snow. Whereas here, at least, we have some shelter, damp and cold as it is.' Buffy let out a long sigh.

'This is no good,' she whined. 'I was so looking forward to sleeping in a comfy bed in a warm room after this trek.' Giles rolled his eyes at her.

'What was it I said about you acting like a six year-old?' Buffy gave him a filthy look.

'Yeah, and that's the reason why my clothes are soaking wet.' She shuddered at the thought.

'The nerve you have! Who started it?' He growled back, still drinking his tea, which was so hot that it numbed his mouth and lips. She pouted.

'I didn't expect you to fight back!' she protested.

'Well then it will serve you right for thinking that I'm a mug,' he muttered in return. Then he smiled fondly. 'Actually, I quite enjoyed it.' Buffy snorted.

'I'm sure you did. Shoving snow down my back and into my hair like that... did anyone tell you that you're a big bully when it comes to snowballs?' He chuckled a little, and she let herself drop down onto the floor next to him.

'Care for some tea?' He asked, handing her the plastic cup. She thankfully took it and sipped at the burning liquid, feeling its heat permeate her through her lips and her hands.

'Giles, you sure we're not going to freeze to death in here?' she asked worriedly. He shook his head.

'We have our sleeping bags. And the monster - thank goodness - made its nest out of dry branches and twigs. I'm pretty sure we can make a fire.' Buffy nodded, and shivered again, sipping more tea to keep warm.

'What about our clothes? It can't be good to hang around in a sopping wet sweater.' Giles nodded.

'Our anoraks are waterproof, so they should keep us warm. I think we'd better lose the rest until it dries. After getting the wood, of course.' Buffy let out a long sigh. This journey really hadn't turned out as she had planned. It was fortunate for her that Giles had such a good sense of survival. She wondered where Book-Guy could have picked that up.

'Hey, were you in the Boy Scouts?' she asked, grinning evilly. Giles looked at her with a mildly irritated expression, then hauled himself onto his feet.

'Come, let's go and get that wood,' he said, ignoring her question. Buffy stood up too, silently cursing Yeti-snowballs and pine-trees for her aches. She quickly followed Giles, who was making his way down the tunnel again.

'Hey, you didn't answer my question. Were you a boy scout?' He didn't look at her, and she started to chuckle as she imagined mini-Giles in a scout costume.

'What gave you that silly idea anyway?' asked Giles gruffly as they slowly advanced through the cave.

'Well, you're just so well organised and calm in survival situations, so it sorta shows,' she said, grinning.

'Is claiming that I'm a distant cousin of the McGuyver family going to stop you from trying to pry that kind of embarrassing information out of me?' he asked dryly. Buffy clapped her hands and exploded with laughter.

'Oh so you do have some pop culture?' she managed between two giggles.

'Occasionally,' he replied laconically, as they arrived in front of the ice-covered segment of the cave.

'This sucks,' declared Buffy, nervously glancing at the ice.

'Oh well, you wanted to see an of ice show. You're going to have a ball,' commented Giles sarcastically.

'Usually the people have ice skates on and they don't fall flat on their faces,' replied Buffy, slowly following Giles onto the slippery surface. 'How the hell did you manage to get to the monster and back without...' Buffy slipped, and caught Giles' arm quickly, nearly dragging him off his balance too. He managed to stabilise himself and haul her up again.

'Maybe because I'm wearing proper boots?' he offered sardonically.

'Maybe 'cause you're so heavy it's like you're attached to the ground anyway,' snapped Buffy in return, still holding his arm in case she slipped again.

'And I thought that you actually liked ice-skating,' he taunted her, as they slowly advanced over the smooth surface.

'Sure, when I have skates, the proper clothes and that my body isn't aching everywhere, I love ice skating,' replied Buffy. The tunnel slowly grew into a chamber. The Slayer wrinkled her nose at the stench, and at the view of the half melted Ice Demon pieces that littered the floor, lying in puddles of goo that looked just like mucus. Icicles loomed over them on the ceiling, and Buffy flinched and cursed as water from an icicle dripped down her back. Giles smiled, as he made his way over the pieces of monster and to its nest.

'It looks like the ice in here is melting,' he said. 'It was mostly caused by the demon, I suppose. With a bit of luck, the snow won't last either, once the demon's powers dissipate.' He hauled an armful of small branches against his chest.

'But then it will be dark outside and we won't be able to walk back to the village anyway,' grumbled Buffy. 'So we're still stranded here, whatever happens.' She walked over to help Giles carry wood back through the tunnel.

'Yes, I'm afraid we are,' he sighed. 'Is it so terrible to have to spend the night with an old stick-in-the-mud like me?' Buffy chuckled.

'Better than getting buried in the snow, I guess,' she said as they carefully made their way across the ice. 'Then again, I might change my mind if you start giving me a lecture about stalactites and stalagmites. I swear I'll run away, storm or no storm, if you do.' Giles chuckled a little.

'Fine then. But don't you start whining again,' he said with a smile.

'I do not whine!' protested Buffy. 'Just grumble and moan a bit about stuff that annoys me and... well all right, I'll try not to,' she finally agreed. They put down their pile of wood onto the floor.

'Well, I'll start the fire up, if you'll please go and get the rest of the branches for me.' Buffy sniffed.

'Man make fire, woman carry wood,' said Buffy in a cavewoman's voice. 'I get the picture.' And she marched off towards the demon's lair again. Giles let out a small sigh as he collected some stones and tried to organise a fire. The wood was damp, but with the help of an old newspaper that he had taken along just in case, it started to burn, producing a pleasant warmth that thawed his frozen hands a little. He sat back and fed the fire with more wood, until he felt its heat start to fill the small room. Happy with his work, Giles got up to barricade the entrance of the cave with snow. At least that would keep the warmth in, and the wind out. He ignored the sound of Buffy slipping on the ice, falling over and using words that were very unsuitable for young women, and had nearly walled himself and Buffy inside the cave when she finally arrived with more wood - and bruises.

'Giles, are you plain crazy?' She exclaimed when she saw what he had done. 'Do you want us to asphyxiate and freeze to death?' Giles turned to her and looked at her wearily.

'First of all, there's enough space between the top of the entrance and my snow wall for us and a dozen elephants to breathe, and secondly how do you think Eskimos keep warm in igloos?' Buffy pouted and put the wood down in a pile next to the fire.

'I just thought they shared a hell of a lot of body heat,' she muttered, teasing the fire with a twig. Giles tried to avoid putting what Buffy had just said into pictures in his mind. He was sure that it was a completely innocent comment, but sometimes she just didn't realise how provocative she could be... he sighed inwardly. The fact that she was so incredibly attractive didn't help any. He closed down that line of thought before he even started going there. He was going to have to sleep in this small cave with her tonight, and probably with less clothes than he was wearing right now. Getting himself aroused was really a bad idea.

'Yes, well...' He cleared his throat. 'I think that maybe... maybe we should... be rid of these... clothes,' he said, looking down at his soaked trousers. The contact with the humid cloth was starting to irritate his skin.

'Yeah, sure, Giles, I'm certain it absolutely will not be awkward at all for us to walk around half naked in a cave while our clothes dry.' Giles actually felt himself flush, and kept his eyes on his snow wall, patting imaginary holes out of it. He took in a deep breath and faced his defiant Slayer.

'Look, we-we...' He breathed again, trying to control his stutter and the redness that spread over his face. 'We'll stay in our sleeping bags and anoraks. Does that sound decent enough to you?' Buffy shrugged and made her way to their backpacks, to pull out the sleeping bags from them.

'I guess it will be OK,' she conceded, still fumbling in the bags. 'But what if there's an emergency? Like another ice demon coming to borrow a cup of mucus from its neighbour?' Giles glared at her. 'Well forgive me for living on the Hellmouth where that kind of thing actually happens every day!' Giles sighed and came to pull his sleeping bag out of its waterproof carrier and spread it down onto the cold ground.

'Let's just hope it doesn't come to that,' he said gruffly, desperately concentrating on his job rather than on the idea of Buffy running after a snow demon dressed only in her underwear. He felt that it was going to be a very long night for him and that he would have to very frequently keep his indecent thoughts in check.

Buffy watched as Giles laid down his bed, and started to do the same. She smiled behind his back, loving the way he had actually flushed when she had started to bug him about being half naked. She actually quite liked the idea. It wasn't as if he was going to try his luck with her, not in this reality, anyway. She still felt a little ashamed of thinking of her Watcher like that. But yeah, she was attracted to him. And she liked him. A lot. However, there was Angel in Sunnydale. She couldn't forget about him, she still loved him. At least she was sure of that... well, nearly. Sunnydale was so far away...

'So, how do we do it next? Both turn around to strip?' Giles looked up at her, taken aback by the question. She was pretty sure that he was going to stutter and stumble on words and get even more embarrassed and flushed. Then his expression shifted a little, became more confident.

'No, actually there's quite a clever trick for that...' He slipped his arms inside of his jacket, and started fumbling under it. 'It's quite possible to get the wet clothes off underneath the anorak.' Buffy nodded, and started doing the same. Damn, she wasn't going to be able to taunt him about taking peeks of her undressing. She wasn't quite sure if he was just really stuffy and embarrassed to see anything more than a woman's knee, or if he was so jumpy right now because he was in this situation with her in particular. While she battled with her soaked pullover, she decided that she was going to go with thinking he was a prude. To believe that he might actually want her was a possibility that boggled her mind too much to her taste. She saw Giles shake a sopping wet shirt out of his jacket, cursing.

'We wouldn't have had to do this if you hadn't started this stupid snowball fight,' he grumbled. Buffy grinned at him.

'Hey, I thought we had a rule about whining,' she retorted, finally unzipping her anorak a little, so that she could push her pullover out it. She saw Giles actually flinch at the sound of the zipper and grinned inwardly.

'Yes well... well... I wasn't whining. I-I-I was grumbling.' Buffy chuckled a little, feeling much better now that she was rid of the soaking wet wool. She laid her pullover close to the fire, and decided to lose her bra as well. If Giles had noticed that she had laid it down next to her pullover, she hadn't been able to detect it. He was quite subtle when it came to showing any reaction whatsoever. Finally, Buffy kicked off her boots and pulled off her socks, letting out a long sigh of relief.

'Wow, those were really killing me.' She let out, before directing her sore toes towards the fire, to warm her feet up. She smiled and stretched on her sleeping bag like a cat, nearly purring at the simple pleasure of feeling her feet again.

'I told you those boots weren't made for climbing mountains,' he said, taking off his own. Buffy laughed a little and looked up at him.

'Jeez, you're quite Mr-Moralising-Man, aren't you?' She said, grinning broadly. Giles smiled back at her a little.

'Yes, well... Slayer, Watcher; stakes, books; you do the slaying, I do the research; you do the whining, I do the moralising. To each their own.' Buffy giggled, then unzipped the sleeping bag and rid herself of her soaked jeans before sliding inside. It was pure bliss compared to the sticky creasy mess she had been wearing before. She sat up in the bag and wriggled closer to the fire, laying out her trousers as she did so. She saw Giles do the same, and they smiled at each other, both of them curled up in their own little bag. Buffy wondered if she would be able to steal a glance of Giles. Or even take a big fat look. And would she get away with it? She grinned to herself and closed her eyes, imagining what she might see...


'Hey Giles,' said Buffy's voice, and he instantly woke up. He hadn't realised that he had been so tired; he'd actually dozed off as soon as he'd entered his sleeping bag. He shook his head a little, and felt for his glasses, that had fallen off his nose while he'd been sleeping.

'Hm?' He asked, still a little dazed. He replaced his glasses and saw Buffy sitting up in her bag, close to the fire. She had probably kept it going while he slept. She smiled at him as he looked at her.

'Sorry I had to wake you. You did sleep a whole four hours, though.' Giles raised a brow, surprised. The fight with the demon and the walk up the mountain had really exhausted him, then.

'I-I really didn't know I was that tired... you did well to wake me,' he said, sitting up and wincing as he felt all his muscles ache.

'I also slept a little, but then the fire went down and I got cold, so I woke up,' she explained. Giles nodded faintly. 'I was wondering, you said you'd packed some food with you? I'm really starting to starve, here...' Giles smiled at her.

'Yes, I think we do have food for peckish Slayers somewhere... try the outer pocket of my rucksack,' he said, stretching his muscles carefully. Buffy immediately grabbed his bag and started to fumble with it. He heard the sound of a zipper coming down, and the Slayer got her hands on some crackly packets.

'All right! We have candy b...' Buffy stopped in her tracks all of a sudden, frowning. Giles looked at her quizzically. Buffy's expression shifted from surprised to sarcastic.

'Is something the matter?' He asked.

'Oh yay. You have packed...' she pulled handfuls of candy bars out of the bag. '... ten large, sweet, delicious, cocorific candy bars. Guaranteed to make you become a teenager again.' She threw one at him, in a rather aggressive way. Giles caught it, and looked at the packet. It was band candy. The candy that Ethan had been handing out to make all the Sunnydale people as irresponsible as kids.

'Oh my God...' he mumbled. 'I can't believe this...' Buffy was glowering at him.

'So much for Brain Guy!' She said. 'Is that all you took along? Or did you add some bezoar eggs, maybe?' Giles grimaced a little and shook his head.

'I'm really sorry Buffy... I-I... well, it wasn't I who packed the food, actually.' Buffy looked at him intently.

'Who was it then? Ethan?' She snapped angrily. Giles let out a long sigh.

'Faith.' Buffy rolled her eyes. 'I-I... I was late getting all the weapons and the rest of my stuff ready, and I asked Faith to-to go to the cafeteria and find us some snacks to keep us going.' Buffy shook her head, let out a long, highly irritated sigh, and started to search the outer pockets thoroughly.

'Well, what else did Faith stuff into your bag? Booze? A rubber chicken? A goat? Condoms?' Buffy's hand came out with a handful of foil packets. 'Condoms.' Giles felt his face turn crimson.

'What on earth...' he murmured between his teeth, nearly shuddering with anger and embarrassment at the thought of what Faith had intended them to do, drugged with band candy... Buffy let out a sigh and stuffed the condoms back into the bag's pocket. Giles saw that she too had gone a rather dark shade of pink. She looked up at him and then they both averted their gaze, awkwardly.

'Well... well Faith really does know how to-to... make people uncomfortable, doesn't she?' Let out Giles softly, clearing his throat.

'Yeah,' replied Buffy very quietly. Giles felt his heart rate slow down to normal, as he tried to think of a solution to find something to eat. They did need something to keep their calories up, or else they'd just get frozen.

'Uh, Buffy, why don't you drink some tea for the time being, while I try to think of something?' Buffy nodded, and silently reached for the thermos flask. She was trembling. He frowned a little, not really understanding what was wrong with her. 'Are you all right?' He asked, concerned.

'Oh yeah, never better,' she replied evasively, pouring herself a cup of tea.

'But... you're trembling?' He insisted a little, though he hated to pry with her.

'Me?' She looked down at herself. 'Oh yeah, so I am. I think it's the cold.' Giles shrugged a little. The room was quite warm, compared to the temperature that it must have been outside, anyway. However, Buffy was from California, she wasn't used to these temperatures.

'You'd better drink up, then, it'll warm you a little,' he said gently. She nodded, and sipped some tea, then pulled a face.

'Let me guess,' she said. 'Faith made the tea?' Giles swallowed hard.

'What-what's wrong with it?' He asked worriedly.

'Nothing. Except that I'm not supposed to be drinking that kind of stuff before I turn 21.' Giles let out a long sigh and threw his head back.

'Really Buffy, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into Faith but... look there's no need to be embarrassed. It was her stupid idea; we're just her victims - and we didn't get caught in the prank she was trying to play on us.'

'She is so going to pay for this when we get back,' growled Buffy. Giles wasn't even sure that she had registered what he had just said, but he nodded.

'You know... it took at least ten candy bars until I really became... well, like an irresponsible teenager again. I'm pretty sure that if you have one or two, it should be all right... besides... it didn't have any effect on Xander...' Buffy let out a sigh.

'But what about you?' She asked. He smiled at her.

'I think I could stand losing a pound or two,' he replied. He hated to see the famished expression on her face and how her eyes were pitifully glued on the forbidden chocolate bars.

'Well, I guess...' She fingered a pack of candy, and took it into her hands.

'If ever you start doing anything stupid, I promise to stop you from eating more,' he said. She looked up at him and grinned.

'Yeah sure, Giles. As if you could...' she started to unwrap the paper from the candy, and took a bite. There was an expression of pure joy on her face. Giles smiled at it, even though his stomach was starting to grumble enviously.

'Well if you do get out of hand, I'll make you finish the spiked tea, and you'll sleep like a baby,' he said with a grin. Buffy laughed, chewing at the chocolate.

'Hey, I am a Slayer. I'm resistant to lots of things,' she said.

'I don't think that alcohol is one of them. I take it you got tipsy after one glass of champagne on New Year's and fell asleep under the Christmas tree.'

'I'm going to kill Xander for repeating that embarrassing episode to you,' she hissed, smacking her lips and rolling the empty candy wrapper into a ball before chucking it into the fire. Giles laughed a little, and his stomach growled again angrily.

'I think someone needs something to eat,' said Buffy with a smile.

'Yes, well I can't, can I?' replied Giles stiffly. 'I'm pretty sure I would quite quickly become completely... well, not me.' A pensive expression went over Buffy's face, then she looked back at Giles.

'Well, what could happen, in the worst of cases?' She asked. Giles grimaced. She really didn't have any idea of how lustful and provocative he had been when he was in his Ripper phase. He used to try anything out for a laugh or to challenge death.

'We could walk out into the snow and freeze to death?' offered Giles. Buffy shook her head.

'Unlikely. I hate the cold. If you tried to open that snow wall you made, I'd rip your head off.'

'Yes, of course, us killing each other - or rather, you killing me - is another scary possibility.' Buffy chuckled a little, and shook her head again.

'I don't think so. Even as Ripper you knew better than to push me too far, and besides I don't think that I'd ever be able to harm you that much, even if I was very drugged.' Giles smiled at her fondly. That was the sweetest thing she could say - although very untrue. She hadn't hesitated once before punching him in the face on several occasions. Oh, for his own good, of course, but she had ruthlessly done it all the same.

'I really don't think that I should, you know,' he replied quietly.

'Aw c'mon. You'll need some strength to walk back tomorrow and keep your body heat up for the night, and I really don't want to carry a frozen Watcher down the mountain.' Giles smiled a little at her. He should have known better, but he felt as if he were giving in. Her arguments made sense, really. Buffy handed him a candy bar, and he looked at the wrapper pensively.

'Well, I suppose... but look, I want you to promise to knock me out if I start making a fool of myself.' Buffy giggled.

'Did you actually ask me to hit you? I mean, how bad a fool do you think you could be if you actually prefer being pummelled by a Slayer?' Giles frowned and let out a sigh.

'I... Ripper...' he sighed again, feeling the words getting caught in his throat and redness spreading from his ears to his cheeks. 'If I really become as I was in my Ripper years, it's-it's probable that I might try to... well...' he cleared his throat, thinking that being hit right now by his Slayer would be less painful than trying to explain to her that he already wanted her as Giles, and that Ripper had the same desires, mixed with a "see, want, take" policy.

'Giles, if it's going to be morning before you finish that sentence, I'd rather you'd just eat up.' Giles let out another sigh, and started to unwrap the chocolate bar, then broke it into pieces, nervously.

'It's just that you're... you're a really attractive girl, Buffy. And-and...' She smiled at him.

'All right, I get the picture. If you try to make a pass at me, I'll knock you out. Is that what you were trying to say?' she said. Giles smiled and sighed in relief.

'Yes. Thank you.' And he popped a piece of candy into his mouth, while Buffy opened another pack and also started to chew on more chocolaty goodness.


'I just don't get how it can be sunny all year long in Sunny-bloody-dale,' grumbled Giles, reclining against the cave's wall. He was sitting next to her now, and the candy bars were nothing more than a pile of empty paper and foil.

'Well you're the brain guy; you're the one who knows about that kind of stuff,' let out Buffy, grinning at him. Damn, he was cute. She'd noticed that ever since they'd met, but now it was even more obvious. She was starting to have really fuzzy feelings about her Watcher, but worst of all, she didn't even feel ashamed anymore. That was something she hadn't expected the candy to do to her.

'I just can't believe that you can stand living in a place where the weather never changes. No rain, no clouds, no snow...'

'I think I can happily do without them, you know?' replied Buffy with a smile. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

'Yeah, and look where that puts you. A bit of cold weather, a couple of snowballs, and you're whining like a lost puppy, or catching pneumonia,' he snorted. Buffy put on an offended expression, and shoved his shoulder.

'Don't push me, candy or not, I can still kick your ass,' she replied.

'That's another thing you Americans do. Destroy the English language. "Candy"? Can't you say chocolate or sweets, like everyone else?'

'Everyone else in England, you mean?' Let out Buffy with a provocative smirk. Giles glared at her out of the corner of his eye. 'You know, I think we have you outnumbered,' she whispered in his ear. He turned to face her and smiled back at her. Their faces were so close that she suddenly felt a shudder go right through her. A warm, pleasant shudder. Ooh, bad, Buffy, bad... she bit her lip.

'But we're cleverer. Bloody colonials,' he added, his smile broadening. Buffy giggled and moved away from him, feeling a familiar tension start to spread from her stomach into her entire body.

'You're just bitter we got our independence,' she taunted in a singsong tone. Giles chuckled a little.

'And maimed our language,' he replied. 'But at least you give us something to complain about. After the weather, of course. You know, it's quite a hobby in England.' he added with a grin.

'I knew it, I knew you got a kick from telling your poor little Slayer off all the time!' Buffy pouted. 'I'm sure you actually find excuses to grumble at me whenever you can.' He smirked at her.

'And I'm sure you enjoy it, too,' he replied in a low growl. Buffy felt her heart falter at the sound of his voice. Hell, could he sound sexy when he wanted to! And she knew that he had told her to knock him out if he started to flirt with her, but she didn't want to. Instead, she decided to play coy, and looked away.

'Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. I guess you'll never know,' she replied playfully, throwing some twigs and a branch onto the fire.

'Women!' he hissed, rolling his eyes.

'Aw, there you go, I found you something else to groan about.' Giles' eyes met hers as she said it. Buffy felt as if electricity was crackling between them. His expression was incredibly wicked, and dangerously seductive.

'It's not the same kind of groaning,' he replied softly. Oh his lips, God she wanted to kiss those lips now... Angel, think of Angel. Maybe that would calm her down a bit. But she was really unable to focus on anything else than... Giles. Fortunately, he slowly pulled his gaze away from hers, and Buffy was relieved. There was still Giles somewhere inside him, trying to get a grip over himself and put his Ripper impulses into check. And there was still her Conscience somewhere deep down, badly buried in band candy, but still crying out that they should stop, that they would regret it in the morning, and that if Giles had asked her to put an end to his seduction moves, there was probably a good reason. But why was she always the one who was supposed to stay responsible and good?

'Look Giles, we'd better... why don't we try to sleep a bit?' Sleep, yes, good idea. Maybe that would help relieve a bit of the tension between them. And then she could dream, and he could dream, but in separate sleeping bags. Buffy took a deep breath, trying to cool off a little.

'I suppose it's a good idea. But what about the fire?' muttered Giles.

'Good point, we don't want it going out,' she said. 'Unless we want to become Popsicles during the night.' Giles grinned wickedly as she said the word.

'I don't want to hear what you're gonna say,' Buffy snapped as sternly as she could, raising a hand towards him. His grin faded down to a smirk, but mischief still glimmered in his eyes.

'So, do we take turns keeping the fire up?' he finally asked. Buffy was relieved that he had dropped whatever dirty joke he was about to say about Popsicles.

'You already slept four hours,' she pointed out.

'All right, then it's your turn.' Buffy nodded, and curled herself up in the sleeping bag, closing her eyes. Now she just had to forget that they were both in a cave, beside a fire, high on band candy and both obviously horny. Suddenly, a shiver went through her, and then she sneezed. Repeatedly. Cool, now she was catching a cold. Well, at least, that wasn't anything like sexy.

'Darn, I hate the cold!' She growled. Giles burst out laughing in the background. 'Shut up, Giles!' She snapped. He did. And then he came towards her, still tucked in his sleeping bag, like a giant snake sliding to her.

'I think you need to be warmed up,' he said. Before she could protest, he had unzipped his jacket and was wrapping it around her shoulders. Buffy could only gaze in shock. She was seeing more of Giles than she had ever dared to imagine. His muscular shoulders and arms, the greying down on his chest... she closed her eyes, trying to refrain from moaning with desire and frustration combined. He was in his sleeping bag, wearing nothing but his underwear... at least, she thought that he had underwear... did he? She hit herself mentally for putting that kind of picture into her mind. God she was going to kill Faith when she got her hands on her, this candy was really making her lose all control over herself.

'There, better?' asked Giles softly.

'Uh... ah...' was all she could let out as a sign of gratitude, her eyes half covered with her long lashes, but not enough to stop her from seeing his flesh, his smile, and the incredibly sexy expression in his eyes.

'You're welcome,' he replied with a smirk. 'Besides, you're now able to take on my traditional role, and watch.' She tried to glare at him, but her pathetic attempt at looking angry just came out as an expression that pleaded for him to stop. His smile simply broadened and he came closer to her. She thanked Heaven that she was so tightly wrapped in both his and her jacket, because the feeling of his hand on her shoulder would have driven her crazy otherwise.

'Giles...' she started, and swallowed hard, hypnotised by the fire that was reflected in his eyes.

'You know, if you're still cold, the Eskimos really do share a lot of body heat. And two sleeping bags are warmer than one...' She stared at him, feeling her body vibrating through and through with desire for him, for those lips, for those strong arms... she tried to shake the ideas out of her mind, but one of his hands swept across her cheek, gently.

'Giles, please don't...' she squeaked.

'Don't you want to?' he murmured into her ear. Stupid man, wasn't it obvious? Wasn't her breathing laboured enough or her face flushed enough for him to notice?

'You told me to... to stop you, if you tried to...' she managed to spit out. He continued to stare meaningfully at her, his face only inches away from hers, his breath warm against her lips.

'That wasn't the question I asked,' he murmured, his lips coming closer to hers. Buffy could only let out a small moan, between protest and surrender. She wanted him so badly that her body was trembling and her stomach fluttering with desire. All she could think about right now were those lips, which slowly came closer and closer, closing in on her. They finally brushed against hers, drawing another low moan out of her throat. For a moment, they remained completely still; there was only the warmth of his lips against hers, of his breath on her skin. Then he slowly kissed her, superficially, with tantalising lightness. He repeated the movement again and again, before delicately slipping the tip of his tongue over the edge of her lips, to part them. Buffy didn't resist anymore, she let his mouth close over hers, suck her lower lip into its warmth, slowly, sensually. His tongue found its way inside, and she felt sparks flash down her spine when it started to probe and play with hers. She was so concentrated on the delicious kiss that she hardly noticed Giles slipping one arm behind her shoulders and the other around her bust, claiming her into his embrace, and taking complete possession of her, and of her mouth.

Buffy broke the kiss after what seemed like instants and an eternity all at once. Her breath was ragged and fast. This was so good, all she knew now was that she wanted more, and that Giles was going to give her just that.


Buffy held him tight in her arms, pressing her face to his chest and intertwining her thighs with his. She felt his strong arms close over her, as he pulled her on top of him, and then covered them both with the two sleeping bags. Buffy showered his chest and throat with small kisses, as he did with her hair and forehead. Finally, she looked up at him, and smiled.

'Wow,' she murmured. He grinned at her smugly.

'I know,' he replied, and kissed her lips gently.

'Bighead,' she retorted, kissing him back harder. He chuckled playfully.

'Well, at least we know a way to avoid freezing to death,' he whispered. She grinned broadly.

'Because you intend to start again?' She asked, provocatively raising an eyebrow.

'Because you don't?' He replied, and their lips met again in a deep kiss, full of satisfaction and promise for the night to come.