__The Benefits of Alcohol__
By Gibberish




    Giles walked into his apartment, surprised to find the door unlocked. He was about to reach for the baseball bat that he kept by the door, when he noticed the top of a blonde head on his couch. "Buffy? What are you doing here?"

 Buffy waved her hand in the air, nearly spilling the drink that she had in it. "Trying to be numb." She told him with a slight slur.

 "Are you drunk?" Giles exclaimed as he moved to stand in front of her. That was when he saw the half empty bottle of scotch on the table in front of her. "That was full." He said aghast.

 Buffy looked up at him and blinked owlishly. "I figured I'd be safe here. No magick, no drugses ..." She blinked at the word, then shrugged. "Just booze." She tilted her head and nearly fell over, but caught herself with a giggle. "You know, Giles, it tastes awful. Why do you drink it so much?"

 "Why are you drinking it at all?" Giles asked in return. He saw her lower lip tremble and sat down next to her.

 "Riley isn't coming back." She told him with a sniffle. Her eyes were huge as she took another drink. "Why do they always leave me, Giles?"

 "Why does whom always leave you?" Giles asked.

 "Guys, Giles, guys. Men." Buffy hiccupped. "Pike, my Dad, Angel, Mr. I love you too much to stay. Parker and now Riley." She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked up at him. "Why?"

 "I haven't left." Giles pointed out. "But then, I'm not a *guy*, am I?" He asked ruefully.

 "You're a guy." Buffy told him earnestly. "The guy all other guys are measured by." She giggled. "That sounded bad, but I didn't mean it that way. I don't even know how big you are to measure you that way." She gasped as she saw his eyes widen, then she practically fell to the floor laughing. "I can't believe I said that." Then she looked at him serious. "Do you want to know what Mom thought?"

 "No!" Giles said quickly. "Buffy, drinking is not the answer."

 Buffy looked at him with an odd expression. "It's what you do. I was careful. I didn't go to a bar, or a frat house, I came here." She threw her arms out and nearly knocked him over. "How much safer could I be?" She took another drink and reached for the bottle.

 Giles moved the bottle out of her reach. "I think that's quite enough. As it is, I could be arrested. How could you be so certain that you'd be safe here, with me?"

 "You're Giles, silly." Buffy answered him with a big smile. "You're the most trustingfullest person that I know. I mean, I think I could just strip right in front of you and still be safe. You know why?" She patted his chest. "I'll tell you why. You're Giles. You're the bestest, most wonderfullest man on Earth. And Olivia is absolutely out of her mind if she doesn't come back." She nodded in agreement with her statement.

 At the mention of Olivia, Giles took a healthy swig out of the bottle.

 "See, I'll show ya." Buffy got awkwardly to her feet. "This is how much I trust you." Before Giles knew what she was doing, she stripped off her top.

 Giles gulped. "Buffy!"

 Before he had fully assimilated her topless, she stripped off her bra.  That was when he drank down half of what was left off the scotch. When he looked again she was working on her skirt. "Buffy, please stop?" He pleaded.

 "Nope," Buffy said as she undid her skirt. "'Cause, see, I trust you that much." She wobbled a little on her feet.

 Giles stared and drank from the bottle as she stripped in front of him. Until he went to take a drink and found it empty.

 Buffy spread her arms out when she was completely undressed. "See how much I trust you?" She dropped her arms and looked at him. "Do you trust me?"

 "O-of course I-I trust you, B-Buffy." Giles said panicked.

 Buffy pouted at him. "How much?" When he didn't answer, her lower lip trembled again. "You don't trust me."

 Unfortunately, or fortunately, Giles was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol, himself. He stood in front of her and pulled off his sweater and T-shirt.

 Buffy's eyes were wide as she took in his bare chest. Her eyes followed the line of hair down his stomach to his jeans and swallowed. She watched his fingers unsnap the jeans and pull the zipper down.

 A part of Giles, the sane part, knew that this wasn't the smartest idea. Especially considering how his body had responded as soon as she had removed her blouse. She'd be able to measure from then on. He kicked off his shoes and pushed the jeans down and off.

 Buffy gasped. "No measuring." She said decisively. "Wouldn't be fair to the other guy." She looked into his eyes. "Thank you for trusting me, Giles." She said softly and promptly fell forward as she passed out.

 Giles caught Buffy in his arms. "Is that good or bad?"


   Buffy groaned as the pounding in her head woke her up. <What hit me? Did I kill it? Did it kill me?> Then she realized something. <Oh my God.> "Why am I naked?" She asked aloud.

 "You were showing me how much you trusted me."  Giles said. He had woken up a moment before her to the shock of a naked Buffy in his arms. He was curled up behind her, his left arm still under her. His right hand covered his face.

 "Giles?" Buffy said. "What ...? Oh God, the scotch."  She turned to face him before she thought about the fact that they were both naked. Until he groaned. Then, Buffy became aware of certain things. She suddenly giggled as she remembered her comment about the measuring stick.

 "What's so bloody funny?" Giles asked crossly.

 "Measuring stick." Buffy told him.

 Giles rolled his eyes as he bit back a grin. "Making comparisons, are you?"

 "That wouldn't be very fair." Buffy said. "For any kind of comparison, I'd have to put two of them together." Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth.

 Giles flushed, but grinned at her. "Well, at least you recognize the fact that I am a man."

 "Are you kidding?" Buffy asked. "A blind person ..." She closed her eyes. "I'm shutting up now." She felt Giles' chest shake and peeked at him. His eyes were lit with laughter, his mouth was smiling and he was holding her in his arms. When was the last time she had seen a truly happy expression on his face? "Happy looks good on you." She told him with a soft smile.

 Giles brushed back her hair from her face. "Not nearly as good as it looks on you." He brushed her cheek with his finger tips. "Why aren't we rushing into our clothes?"

 "Maybe, because we don't need them." Buffy suggested. Her fingers lightly brushed through his chest hair. "I've never dated a guy with chest hair. It's nice."

 Giles held her hand to his chest. "Buffy, not ten hours ago, you were drinking yourself into a stupor because Riley had left you."

 "No, I was drinking myself into a stupor because I was alone. Again." Buffy told him. "I loved Riley, I really did, but I knew what he was. He was cute and funny and sweet and kind and normal and ... Safe. Everything I needed after dark, silent and brooding. They had more in common than I thought, though, they both left."

 "Light and dark." Giles commented. "Sunshine and moonlight. Where do I fit in?"

 "My security blanket at night and my sunblock during the day." Buffy said with a grin.

 "I beg your pardon?" Giles said confused.

 "You think this is the first time I've thought about this, but you're wrong." Buffy told him. "The first time I really thought about it was at the Prom, but I shoved it aside. Then, when this school year started and you sent me away, I began to wonder if you were like the rest. I tried to prove to myself that I didn't need you. Really blew that one, huh? God, when Ethan turned you into the demon ... I didn't know what had happened to you and, suddenly, I knew that you were the one person I couldn't do it without. It scared me. Then Prof. Walsh and Adam and then Faith. Things were just so crazy and then you were drinking more. Everything just fell apart and you were ..."

 "Drunk." Giles supplied.

 "Then it was okay again." Buffy said. "We beat Adam. Okay, the visit from the first Slayer was pretty weird, but we were all together again. Riley went home and we all spent time together again and I didn't miss him. There was a point to all of this, I know there was." Buffy said self-consciously. She took a deep breath. "You were already so important to me, Giles, that any more and ... Then if you left ... It would make what I felt when Angel left feel like a walk in the park. During the day."

 Buffy met his eyes and he was startled by the intensity of them. "I'm not going anywhere." He repeated the words he'd uttered so long ago.

 "Promise?" Buffy asked.

 "Promise." Giles told her as he cupped her cheek in his hand. "Do you really think I could leave you?"

 "Everybody else does." Buffy whispered.

 "That's not true." Giles told her. "Your Mum, Willow, Xander, they won't leave you either."

 "Not the same." Buffy said.

 "No, I suppose it isn't." Giles agreed. "I won't leave you, Buffy. I can't. You see, when you walked into the Library and I looked into your eyes, I was hooked. Mind, body and soul, they belonged to you. I didn't realize it at the time, I don't think I realized it until you ran away. Somehow, some way, you became my world, Buffy."

 "I guess that makes you the sun, the moon and the stars." Buffy told him with a smile.

 "No, it just makes me yours." Giles told her. He leaned into her and kissed her gently. She sighed against his lips, so he took another taste. He nibbled lightly at her lips and gently deepened the kiss.

 Buffy pressed as close as she could, the feel of his chest hair against her breasts was incredibly exciting.

 Giles felt her breasts against his chest and groaned at the sensation. He settled her onto her back and trailed kisses to her neck and lightly nipped at her exposed artery and couldn't prevent a grin when she gasped. His right hand captured her left breast and they both groaned. Giles flicked his thumb over the already puckered nipple. Then, he felt Buffy repeat the action on his own nipple and his body jerked.

 Buffy felt him engulf her right breast into his hot mouth and whimpered as he flicked the nipple with his tongue.

 "We don't have to do this." Giles told her. "We can wait." He needed to be sure.

 "Haven't we waited long enough?" Buffy asked and took his erection into her hand. His hips jerked as he thrust into her hand. "I'd say you're more than ready." She breathed against his neck.

 "*God,* yes." Giles said on a groan. "What about you? Are you ready?" His hand, which had been kneading her breast, slid over her stomach to see for himself. She was hot and wet and so very ready. His slid one finger and then another inside her and her hips came off of the bed. She was so responsive. He moved his fingers slowly in and out of her and she thrust against his hand even as she continued to stroke him.

 "Please, Giles?" Buffy moaned and he removed his fingers. She whimpered, then she felt him move above her.

 Giles moved between her thighs and settled his weight on one arm as he used his other hand to guide himself to her hot center. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he pressed his tip into her clitoris. Her hips, once again, came off of the bed. He pushed just the tip of his penis inside and waited for her to meet his eyes. When their eyes locked, he pushed his way home. "Jesus!" He rasped She was so hot and tight around him that he almost came. He held still to regain control.

 Buffy had bit her bottom lip when he'd thrust into her to keep from screaming in pleasure and felt him lean down to kiss it. He run his tongue over the bite marks and began to move. In and out, slowly at first, then with increasing speed and force.

 Giles thrust into her with everything he had and she met him thrust for thrust. He kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue in and out of her mouth in time with their lower bodies.

 With each downward stroke he made, Buffy moved closer and closer to the brink, until she finally screamed into his mouth.

 Giles swallowed her scream as he continued to thrust. Three more hard thrusts and he groaned his own release. "Buffy." He collapsed on top of her and she held him to her tightly. Once he caught his breath, he rolled them so that she was on top. "You all right, Luv?"

 "Way past all right." Buffy told him. "Well into incredible. Fantastic." She looked into his eyes. "Exhausted." She grinned when he smiled.

 Giles laid her head on his chest. "Then, we'll rest for a bit." He felt her wiggle her bottom to shift into a more comfortable position.

 Buffy felt him begin to harden inside of her once again and lifted her head to look down at him. She gave him a wicked grin. "Or possibly not." And she wiggled her bottom again.


* * *