CHAPTER 7: Complicated
Images. An onslaught of images that refused to leave. Skin and sweat and candlelight. Smooth sheets and caressing touches. A soundtrack of muffled moans and noises started filling in... working with the images that now moved in his mind. His name leaving soft lips. Her hands on his back. Kisses and touches, heat and sensation. Moving together to -
"Giles?"
Giles increased the pressure of his polishing. Got to stop thinking about that. What were they going to do? What could this mean for the group?
"Giles??"
Would this change the dynamics of his relationship with Buffy? With Dawn? What -
Buffy's hand appeared in his line of vision, stilling the frenzied motions on his spectacles. Slowly he raised his eyes and found Buffy staring at him. Worry filled her eyes and tightened her face.
"Yes?"
"You're going to break me if you don't stop." Buffy's face contorted with exhaustion, humor and pleasure.
"What?" he said, looking down at her hands. Small fingers, soft skin on his own.
"I said you're going to break your glasses if you don't stop!"
"Y-yes. Quite." Must've misheard her. He sighed and looked about, trying to find something to say.
"We have to find Dawn. We have to talk about this now."
His gaze swung back to her. "I don't think that's necessary right this minute."
"Giles, this monk just told us that my little sister is actually our daughter. I think it's very necessary just this minute!" She started pacing, gesturing to illustrate her fury with the Powers that Be. "I can't believe this! Just when I think things are getting to a skewed version of normal, someone with a magical stick up their butts has to throw a whole new wrench in the works."
Giles started slowly polishing his glasses again. "Buffy -"
"Now there are thoughts. Thoughts I didn't want to have. Complicated thoughts that make my head hurt and make me remember why I hated the whole idea of being a slayer in the first place!"
"Buffy, you've been Dawn's mother since Joyce died. I know it's painful -"
Buffy twirled, her arms going wide. "Do you not understand that we're talking about my having a daughter who's only five years younger than me?!" Her hands moved, waving at herself. "Dawn only listens to me a little as it is, what do you think will happen when she hears what Guenter -" she pointed at the monk, who moved to correct her, but she was already continuing on "- has to say? Not to mention that we're going to have to tell her that half of her genetic material is yours! That's complicated! That's not something I wanted to think about because it makes everything really, really..."
"Complicated?" he asked.
"Yes! And complicated is scary. It's not like finding out she's adopted, Giles, this is a big deal!"