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Title: An Innocent Picnic
1. Chocolate syrup and whipped cream. BUT they must be used in a
creative way - ie not as a sexual toy(being a G fic and all) or for
eating. I'd liketo see Buffy eating a banana at some stage. "You're sure this is what you want to do for training, Giles?" "Absolutely, Buffy. Biking is good exercise, and you need to get out in the sunshine a bit." "This is really just the world's cheesiest excuse to try to cheer me up, isn't it?" "Is it working?" The Slayer laughed slightly at her Watcher's boyish, eager smile. "I dunno. I'll get back to you on that." "Come on then, put them on and we'll get on our way." Giles held out a pair of tight, black spandex bike pants with red stripes down the outer legs that matched the ones he was wearing. "Great. So you want to be twinsies. Just tell me I don't have to wear a big baggy t-shirt like yours, okay?" "Wear what you like for a shirt, but the pants and shoes make a big difference." Buffy slipped upstairs and changed her clothes. She briefly considered wearing a tight crop top, but decided in deference to Giles' shy modesty to wear the biggest, baggiest t-shirt she owned. That way they would really be twinsies, just like she'd teased him about wanting to be. For all the troubles and miseries of the past few months, Buffy had to admit that at least one good thing had come out of the trials; she and Giles were back on track. Their friendship had weathered all storms and become stronger than ever. He'd become her lifeline again, and found his direction, too, it seemed. Maybe this day was exactly what they both needed. In the aftermath of Joyce's death, they'd had precious few opportunities to smile. Buffy donned the biking outfit in record time. She wanted to see Giles smile again. ***** Half an hour later, the pair were riding at breakneck speed along a deserted path in Breaker's Wood. Giles took point since he knew their destination and Buffy didn't. At long last, they reached a small meadow with a tiny lake. Giles brought his bike to a halt and climbed off, removing his helmet at the same time. Buffy braked and jumped off hers as well. As she removed her helmet, she shook her golden tresses. "Here we are!" "Great. Now where is here?" "Here, is where we are going to have a picnic." "Picnic? So where are the benches and the barbecue pits? Not to mention the families with the little kids who won't stop yelling?" Giles grinned as he shook his head. He would never in a million years admit it, but he loved it when Buffy teased him this way. He'd always had a soft spot for women who let him get away with nothing. "We don't need any of those things, Buffy. All we require is right here." He moved to a shaded area under a tree and pulled out a hamper Buffy hadn't noticed before. Opening it, he pulled out a cloth and spread it on a flat area of the ground. "Wow, Giles, Martha Stewart eat your heart out!" "I assume that's a compliment?" "Don't let it go to your head, domestic guy. So what's on the menu?" "Well, since outdoor cooking is not precisely my specialty...," Giles pulled out a package of hot dogs. "I wish it could be something a bit more gourmet, but this is what I can make." Buffy actually laughed at that. "It's okay, Giles. I never met a hot dog I didn't like - unless it was all burned and charcoaly. So as long as you keep an eye on them, we're good." In minutes Giles had lit the fire and was roasting the wieners on a long stick. Buffy, meantime, sat back and watched her Watcher cook as she ate a banana from the basket of fruit Giles had packed. She enjoyed the feeling of absolute security that washed over her. It had been far too long since she'd felt that way. It suddenly came to her that most of the times she'd felt this good had been when she was with Giles. "What are you thinking, Buffy?" Great. Even with his back turned he could tell when she was starting to wallow in her own mind. "Believe it or not, I was thinking about you. And me. You and me and how you always make stuff better for me. And how I never say thanks. So thanks." He turned and blinked. "Whatever for?" "Everything. Putting up with me when I do stupid stuff, and staying even when you could have left, and then there's the time you saved me from Amy's mom...do I really have to go on?" Giles sat back on his heels and flashed a Ripperish grin at her. "Yes, I rather think you do. What else have I done for you?" Buffy rolled her eyes and grinned back. "Well, let's see...there's the way you trained me, and all the research you do for me, and helping me deal with boyfriends you never once liked, and keeping me on track so I actually graduated high school and got into a good college. And lately, with Mom. You've done so much. You helped with all the paperwork and the funeral stuff, and you keep coming over to make dinner for Dawn and me and everything. I guess, I just never thought about how much you do for me before. Or how much I really don't deserve it." She ducked her head as the first tears tried to escape her eyes. She took a deep breath to stop them. Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "It's all right, Buffy. I do it all gladly." "Because I'm your Slayer?" His eyes met hers softly as his hand raised to her cheek. "No. Because you're Buffy. And because..." he sniffed the air and frowned. "Blast!" Giles raced to his campfire only to find that the hot dogs had begun to burn. He pulled them from the fire, muttering under his breath as Buffy giggled. "Not beating the Iron Chef with that one, are you Giles?" He shot her a sour glare that was defused by the fact that his lips would twitch into a wry smile. "That's enough of your cheek." He tossed the ruined wieners aside and pulled a fresh pair from the package. "Now stop distracting me, and perhaps we'll be able to have lunch sometime before next year." "Grouch," she grinned at him. This time, though, she remained quiet as she watched Giles roast the hot dogs. She enjoyed watching him concentrate on his cooking. She loved the way he always seemed to give his whole attention to whatever he was doing, yet always had an eye and an ear on everything else around him. Buffy knew Giles was well aware of her eyes on him. She wondered what he'd been about to say to her when he'd smelled the hot dogs burning. His eyes had seemed to bore straight through her to her heart in that moment. She'd almost thought he might try to...to... "Right. Lunch is ready." Giles rose briskly and slipped the wieners into the buns he'd brought for the purpose. They each added the condiments of their choice to the hot dogs and began to eat. Buffy took the first bite with slight trepidation. These hot dogs seemed awfully plump. Somehow, though, she managed to cram a bite into her mouth. The skin burst and dribbled juice down her chin, along with some relish. Giles laughed silently as he handed her a napkin. "It's not funny, Giles!" she laughed. "You missed a spot," he giggled. "Where? I don't see a spot I missed!" Giles held his napkin to the corner of her mouth. "Right there. Got it." He continued to look at her lips intently. Buffy felt the blush begin in her cheeks and spread across her face. As if compelled, she leaned toward Giles. He began to lean in toward her as well, his hand coming up to touch her shoulder gently. They both moved as if in slow motion, wanting the connection yet fearing to take a step that would irrevocably change their relationship. Their lips hovered mere millimeters from one another. Buffy could feel Giles' every breath against her mouth. He waited for her to make the move, allowing her to make the final decision. She closed her eyes and began to move toward him again. Suddenly, she was rolling to the side. Giles had shoved her over and leapt to his feet. "Giiiles!" But her Watcher was already grappling with a vicious looking demon. The two rolled over and over, neither able to gain mastery in the tussle. Buffy looked frantically for a weapon. "Buffy! Basket!" She raced to the picnic hamper and opened it expecting to find a crossbow, or at least a stake. "There's nothing useful in here, Giles! Just food!" "Use the dessert, Buffy!" By this time the demon had Giles pinned on his back. Buffy wasted no time. Dessert appeared to consist of brownies, chocolate syrup and a canister of whipped cream. She shrugged mentally before lobbing the brownies with great force and deadly aim at the hideous creature. Despite her strength and precision, however, the demon remained unfazed by the attack. "It's not working!" "I know it's not bloody working! Use the syrup!" The demon roared and began to lower it's disgusting head to Giles' throat when Buffy squirted the chocolate syrup at the beast. It gave a howl of anguish as the syrup dribbled down its back, leaving a trail of burned demon fur and flesh in its wake. Still it only slowed the attack and the bottle was empty. Buffy lobbed the empty bottle at the beast, but it hit Giles in the head. "Ooh, sorry!" "Don't bother apologizing; get the whipped cream!" The Slayer shook the canister with all her might then unleashed a stream of frothy goodness at the creature. As she sprayed it, the monster seemed to shrink and change shape. By the time she'd finished shooting the whipped cream at it, the monster had been reduced to a pair of small cubes on the ground. Buffy regarded them quizzically. "Fuzzy dice?" Giles scrambled to his feet and joined Buffy. "Yes, well, that's what you get when you kill a Fuszd'Acshe demon." He calmly picked up the dice and stowed them in the basket. "So chocolate syrup and whipped cream kill these...Fuzzback thingies?" Giles blushed slightly. "Um, well, not...not always." "So what does always kill them? And why did it work this time?" "Fuszd'asche demons are drawn to people when they...when they, um, f- fantasize. Only the items in one's fantasy may be used to destroy the demon." "So that's why the brownies didn't work. Good thing you weren't thinking about handcuffs or something." Giles blushed more deeply. Buffy decided to take pity on him. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Giles, I don't think I'm ready for whipped cream or anything, but I've been thinking about you a lot lately." "Buffy - I..." "No, Giles. Don't say anything. I know how you feel. I think I've known for a long time, and I wasn't ready, so I pushed you away. Now I just want to stop pushing. But I need to sort of take it slow. Is that okay?" Giles smiled warmly as he took the girl's face in his hands. "That's very okay, Buffy. We can take this as slowly as you like." When he moved to pull back, Buffy wrapped her arms around his waist. "Maybe not quite that slow, Giles." She raised her face to his. Giles could read what she wanted in her face. He was more than happy to give it to her. The kiss was warm and gentle. When it ended, Buffy snuggled her cheek against Giles' chest as he stroked her hair and dropped another kiss on the crown of her head. Fantasy could wait. The reality was so much sweeter.
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