"Snff!" Sitting up in bed against pillows
and cushions that had been gathered from all parts of his apartment, Giles'
head was bent down with his nose hovering just above a handkerchief that seemed
to envelop his whole hand. "Snff... snffsnff--"
His breath hitched and mouth twitched into a frown for a moment. Then he
snapped forward. "heyyyy-YIHGShhhhuhh!"
He sneezed, sounding relieved to get it out at long last.
"Bless
you!" Buffy called cheerfully as she came in through the doorway, tray in hand.
"Poor Giles."
He looked
up at her, still sniffling into his handkerchief. Then he folded it up and set
it down on the bed beside him.
"Hope this
is hot enough," she said, sitting down on his other side and placing the tray
on his lap. "Tea isn't exactly my specialty, though you'd think it should be
part of the whole slayer package, what with all you British watchers about." She
watched him eye the mug and the series of additives from sugar and creamer to
honey and lemon. "Go on, drink up," she said reassuringly, cuddling a little
closer to him in bed.
Giles gave
a lengthy blink and reached up and under his glasses to massage the bridge of
his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Then he took up the mug and gave it a
test sip. The tea was perfect. "Thank you." He sighed gratefully and took
another sip.
"Buffy to
the rescue," she said with a smile, reaching up and sliding his glasses off his
face. She rubbed them clean with a bit of her shirt, which was pink and
tight-fitting and snapped back against her chest as she placed the glasses on
the nightstand. Then she snuggled even closer, hugging his arm.
"Buffy..."
Giles said within a sigh. "I don't really think you should get this close to me
when I'm with cold."
She shook
her head and made no effort to pull back even a smidge. "I don't think slayers
catch cold very easily. Besides, how many recorded cases have there been of a Slayer
catching colds from her watcher?"
Giles thought
it over as he added just a bit of lemon to the tea and drank it. "Snff! I don't know of any off hand..."
"Well,
there you go then!" she said with a smile and a snugglish sort of hug of his
side. He smiled back, his eyes closing for longer and longer blinks now.
Giles drank
steadily, putting the cup down when he felt another sneeze coming on. He took
up his handkerchief as his breathing became ragged, and cupped it right over
his nose and mouth since she was still so close. "hah-hahh-IIHHKShhuhh! Snffsnff-ihGuschhhhh!"
"Bless
you," she said again, leaning forward to notice he had finished his tea. This
was good news, considering how sleepy he was looking now. She moved the tray
away but stayed right there at his side, a hand on his chest, which slowly rose
and fell with breaths. Then it filled quickly with a gasp and Giles quickly
recovered his handkerchief. "hehhhhh-H'KShhhhhh!
Snff! Snff!"
Buffy said
with a sigh, "Poor Giles has a snuffly little nose today."
Giles
turned his head and his nose brushed gently against her jaw line. She gasped
softly at the slight wetness, then let him draw her closer in his arms. He
nuzzled into her neck, sniffling. And she smiled when his breaths caught again.
"Not so... snff! Not... hihhh-oh... hihh-hih-hehhShxxxkkkk!" He sneezed against her neck, his body
shaking against hers, though he held her tightly. She crooned, snuggling back
into him. "Snffsnff! Snff! Not so
poor, I think," he finished. She nodded in agreement and closed her eyes in
pleasure.