Title: No Strings
Author: Elisabeth
Email: dragonydreams @ yahoo.com
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Pairing: Giles/Willow/Oz, Willow/Oz
Word Count: 3335
Summary: Willow an Oz realize that Giles is lonely and decide to do something about it.
Timeline: Early season four.
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Joss et al.
Distribution: My site, the usual lists, anyone with previous permission. Anyone else - just ask.
Feedback: Yes please! It makes me happy and keeps me writing.
Betas: Gabrielle and Emmy
Author's Note: For the purpose of this story, Olivia never came to Sunnydale.
Author's Note 2: This was written for summer_of_giles 2009.
See Awards this story has won.
Giles reverently slipped the record from its cover, settled it on the turntable and set it in motion. He unconsciously held his breath as he lowered the needle to the vinyl, exhaling upon hearing familiar notes released into the room.
No matter what the children told him, nothing could ever compare to hearing good music played on a vinyl record album.
He paused for a minute, simply soaking in the music that took him back to a freer time in his life. A time of abandoned responsibility and highs from powerful magic. A time of irresponsibility, danger and Ethan Rayne. A time best forgotten.
With a sigh, Giles forced himself back to the present; the present required dusting. Picking up his trusty feather duster, Giles set about the task of removing the inevitable dust from his collection of books (and records).
As time passed, Giles found himself singing along to the music. The lyrics were old friends, welcoming him home, inviting him to lose himself for a little while.
Lose himself he did. Abandoning his task, Giles gave in to the music, singing along for all he was worth. The tool in his hands was no longer a feather duster. No…it was his beloved guitar – left behind in England, not a part of his life of rules and responsibility.
Having closed his eyes at some point, Giles was surprised, nay, horrified, to find Oz standing beside his desk, an amused smile on his face.
Giles abruptly stopped, nearly falling into a bookshelf in his haste.
"Don't let me stop you," Oz said gesturing towards Giles.
Fidgeting with the duster, Giles demanded, "How did you get in here?"
"Key," Oz said, holding it up.
Giles narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Where did you get a key to my flat?"
Oz shrugged. "Willow."
"And where did Willow get a key? Never mind, I probably don't want to know."
"You play a mean feather duster," Oz said, coming farther into the apartment.
Giles set the item in question down on the nearest table. Crossing to turn the record player off, he asked, "Is there something you wanted?"
"Just confirming a suspicion," he vaguely replied.
"That would be…?" Giles prompted.
"You miss it, don't you?" Oz asked by way of reply.
"Miss what?" As he often did when speaking with Oz, Giles felt like he was missing half of the conversation.
Oz moved over to Giles' record collection, squatting down to run his hands reverently over the albums. "Playing music." He twisted to look up at Giles, understanding plainly showing on his face.
Giles felt a sudden need to choke back a flood of emotion - the acceptance and knowledge on Oz's face were too much.
"Yes," he rasped. Clearing his throat, he asked, "How did you know?"
This time he had the decency to look slightly ashamed. "That, um, wasn't the first feather duster performance I've seen you do."
Giles shifted nervously. "I-It's not?"
"No, it's not," Oz confirmed. He stood and nodded towards the front door. "Thought you might want to try it on the real thing."
Giles watched, stunned, as Oz moved to retrieve the item he'd left beside the door. A guitar case. He set it on the coffee table and opened it to reveal a slightly battered acoustic guitar. He removed it from the case and offered it to Giles.
Moving in slow motion, Giles came to sit beside Oz on the couch, carefully taking the instrument from him. He took a moment to run his hands over the guitar, learning the secrets it held, before instinctively moving to tune it.
As he adjusted the tuner, Oz asked, "How long has it been?"
"Too long," Giles muttered. "At least five years."
When Giles took the pick in hand and strummed the strings, he felt a piece of himself settle back into place. A piece of himself he hadn't fully realized was missing until just now.
Oz stood and moved away from the couch.
"Where are you going?" Giles asked, surprised.
Oz nodded towards the door. "Thought I'd leave you to it."
"Stay, please. I-I'd like for you to stay, if you have the time," Giles nervously requested. He had no reason to be nervous, yet he was. Afraid that Oz would deny him after giving him this gift? Perhaps.
"I just thought you'd want to be alone, after so long," Oz explained, but resumed his seat.
Giles felt himself relax again. No, not again. He felt a new peace settle over him as he began to play. Admittedly, he was a little rusty, but quickly found his feet - or should he say fingers - again.
He played and sang for what felt like hours, for Oz. Thanking him with music like he could never do with words. He knew that's how the other man would best understand him anyway.
~~*~~
Several days earlier…
"I promise, I'll just be a minute. I just need to borrow one of Giles' books," Willow babbled as she and Oz crossed the courtyard to Giles' apartment.
"Take as long as you need," Oz replied. "I'm in no rush."
"You never rush," Willow said with a grin, looping her arm through his.
When they reached the apartment door, they looked at each other and shared a smile. Loud music could be heard through the sturdy wooden door - Giles-y music.
"You think?" Willow asked.
"Probably," Oz agreed.
Willow quietly unlocked the door and slowly turned the handle, pushing the door open. Their suspicion was confirmed as they saw Giles singing along with his records, pretending his feather duster was a guitar.
Just as quietly, they returned to the courtyard proper.
"That's the third time I've seen him doing that since last week," Willow commented, sitting on the edge of the fountain.
"His place can't possibly need that much dusting," Oz said.
"He must be lonely," Willow said with a sigh.
"What makes you say that?"
"It's been a while since Ms. Calendar was killed. We never really see him with other adults, and he never talks about having non-Watchery plans," Willow said.
"And you plan to do what about that?" Oz asked, having a feeling he knew where this was going, even if Willow didn't.
"I don't know," Willow admitted. "Something. We're his friends, we should do something to make him feel loved."
"Like seduce him," Oz dryly commented.
"Yes! Wait. What?" Willow's face comically went from excited to confused. "Me seduce Giles? Um, boyfriend! Hello!"
Oz couldn't help smiling at her. "I am well aware that you have a boyfriend. And he's pretty glad you remembered about him too, considering how long you've had a crush on Giles."
Willow paled a bit. "How did you know about that?"
"Werewolf. Kinda got these enhanced olfactory senses. Plus, I've seen the way you look at him sometimes."
"You can smell lust?" Willow blanched even further. "That's just gross. And intrusive."
"Believe me, it's not something I would have chosen. Do you have any idea how much rampant lust there is in a high school or frat house?" Oz shuddered.
"You do a good job of hiding it."
"Lots of practice," Oz admitted. "Most of the time I don't even notice it, but when the pheromones are especially high, or right around my time of the month, it's kinda unavoidable."
"But, back to Giles…Why would you suggest that I seduce him?" Willow asked. "It's not like he's interested in me."
Oz tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. When Willow continued to just look at him, he tapped his nose.
"No way!" Willow gasped.
"Way," Oz confirmed.
Willow flushed a beautiful red. "H-he's interested in me?"
"You really have no idea how desirable you are, do you?" Oz murmured, brushing the hair away from Willow's face.
Willow shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Not going down that road again. I'd never cheat on you, even with you knowing about it."
"That's not what I was suggesting," Oz said, cryptically.
Willow's forehead scrunched up in confusion. "Then what…?"
"What if I told you you're not the only one Giles is attracted to?" Oz queried.
"Not just… I am not having a threesome with Buffy and Giles," Willow huffed.
Oz chuckled. "As lovely as that image may be, that's not what I was suggesting either."
"Then who?" Willow demanded.
"Me," Oz simply stated.
After several seconds of doing her best impression of a fish, Willow gasped, "You're not gay."
"No, I'm not," Oz agreed. "I may be a little bi, though."
"You never said." Willow frowned.
"Didn't matter," Oz pointed out. "I haven't messed around with any guys since we got together."
"But you did before?" Willow asked, sounding a little lost.
"On occasion. Mostly just with the Dingoes," Oz admitted.
"And you think Giles is…too?"
"I've noticed him checking me out from time to time. At first I thought it was because I'm in a band and he just missed playing, but that usually passes quickly. Besides, do you really think all he and that Ethan guy did was do magic together?"
"So, to sum up, you and I both sometimes have the hots for Giles, and sometimes he has the hots for us. And since he's lonely and singing into his feather duster, we should sex him up," Willow concluded.
Oz shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
Willow giggled a bit hysterically. "Okay, so how do we go about seducing Giles?"
Oz grinned. "I have an idea…"
~~*~~
Back in the present...
Giles didn't know how long he had been playing Oz's guitar when he realized there was yet another person in his living room. At some point, he'd closed his eyes; his fingers knowing what to do.
He wasn't at all surprised to see Willow sitting on Oz's lap. Well, perhaps he was a bit surprised by her choice of places to sit, but not by the fact that she was there.
"That was beautiful," she quietly said when Giles' eyes fixed on her. "I didn't know you could sing like that."
Giles coughed nervously. "Oh, um, thank you. You're too kind."
"It's not 'too kind' to state the truth," Willow objected.
"I, um, I'm a bit ou-out of practice," Giles stuttered. It wasn't just the praise from Willow that was flustering him. The fact that Oz was, for lack of a better word, nuzzling Willow's neck as if they were in the backseat of a car, and not sitting mere feet away from him, was a bit disconcerting.
"What's the matter, Giles?" Willow asked, trying not to let on how much what Oz was doing was turning her on.
It was a test they'd worked out. If Giles wasn't aroused by Oz feeling her up in front of him, then he'd pull away after just a little while. If Giles was aroused, then he'd just keep going until she was worked up enough to follow through with the rest of the plan.
"I, uh, I…" Giles wanted to stand up and move away from this display; he wanted to put the guitar down and run from the room, but was terrified of moving and having his growing hardness discovered. The truth was that, more than anything, he wanted to be a part of the scene before him.
Oz slid a hand down Willow's back and pressed gently, silently encouraging her to go to Giles. But not before pulling her into a quick kiss.
Her cheeks nearly the color of her hair, Willow slid off of Oz's lap and closer to Giles. She reached out and tried to pull the guitar from Giles' hands, but he reflexively tightened his grip on the instrument.
It wasn't until Oz added his hand to remove the guitar that Giles looked up.
"It's okay, Giles," Willow promised. "You can let go."
"I don't think that I should," he admitted.
They all knew he wasn't just talking about the guitar.
"I want you to," Willow said, boldly placing her hand on his thigh. She looked back at Oz, briefly, before focusing again on Giles. "We both do."
Giles sucked in a sharp breath. "B-both?" His eyes flew from Willow to Oz, trying to find the lie, waiting for one of them to break into laughter.
Oz moved from behind Willow to sit on the coffee table so that Giles could still see him. Finally wresting the guitar from Giles' slackening fingers, he said, "Yes, both."
Willow took advantage of Giles' surprise to lean forward and kiss him. She was a little disappointed that he didn't kiss her back right away, but she could understand that he was probably surprised by the situation.
"I'm not sure I understand," Giles admitted when Willow pulled away a few moments later.
"It's not so complicated," Willow said. "We both find you attractive, and you find us attractive, and we know you've been lonely…"
Sudden anger fuelling his actions, Giles abruptly stood. "This is a pity fuck?"
"What? No! Giles, I would never…no," Willow rushed to say, standing to face him.
"That's what it sounded like to me," Giles bristled.
Willow winced, "Yeah, it kinda did. Sorry. I'm not good at this whole seducing thing."
Giles softened a bit. She really was quite lovely when she was flustered. "Besides, what makes you so sure this is something I'd want?"
Willow ducked her head and glanced nervously at Oz.
"That would be because of me," Oz said, moving to join them where they stood. He slid an arm around Willow's waist. "I've, uh, noticed you noticing both of us."
"I'd thought I'd done well hiding it," Giles muttered mostly to himself.
"Oh, you did," Oz agreed. "You'd have to have my heightened senses to really notice."
Giles took a second to puzzle that one out. "Right, werewolves would have a heightened sense of… awareness."
They awkwardly stood there for a while, none quite sure what to do now.
"It appears that I've gone and ruined the moment," Giles commented.
Willow's face immediately brightened. "So, that means that you wanna?"
"More than you could ever know," Giles admitted.
Taking a tentative step forward, Willow moved closer to Giles, who immediately pulled her into a hungry kiss.
When they separated, both panting, Oz suggested, "This may be a good time to move upstairs."
He started to turn in that direction, but was halted by Giles' hand turning him back. "Not just yet," he virtually growled, kissing Oz just as passionately as he'd just kissed Willow.
"That's just…wow," Willow said, mostly to herself. She'd thought that she would be jealous seeing her boyfriend kissing someone else, and afraid that she'd be grossed out to see him kissing another man. Yet, here she was finding herself turned on even more by the sight.
Giles wasn't entirely sure how they made it up to his bedroom. One moment he was kissing Willow and then Oz, and then Willow again. His head was spinning from sensation overload, and yet he never wanted it to stop.
Before you could say 'threesome', Giles found himself on his bed, naked, with an equally naked Willow poised above his mouth while Oz was sucking his cock.
The sounds Willow made as he licked her nearly drove Giles over the edge. That, along with what Oz was doing to his cock. Who knew the quiet young man had such a talented mouth?
Just when Giles thought he could hold back no longer, Oz suddenly pulled away, eliciting a disappointed groan from Giles.
"Switch," Oz said, crawling up the bed.
"I…wha-…can't," Giles brokenly said with panting breaths.
"Not you," Willow said, moving next to Oz. "You just take a minute there to regroup."
"Marvelous idea," Giles huffed, turning his head to watch the couple sharing his bed. Their mouths were fused together as Oz's fingers disappeared between Willow's legs, where Giles' mouth had just been, and Willow had one had wrapped around Oz's cock, lightly stroking it.
Giles whimpered as his arousal kicked up a notch at watching Willow and Oz. They truly were a perfect couple. He couldn't quite believe that they would want to share themselves with him, when they seemed to be so in sync with each other.
Before his doubts could draw him away from his own bed, Willow disengaged from Oz and straddled Giles, leaning down to kiss him. Giles was so caught up in the kiss that he flinched when he felt fingers sliding down his cock. Condom - he vaguely processed. Oz was fitting him with a condom. Smart lad.
Willow leaned back and, with Oz's help, lowered herself onto Giles. She went slowly, taking him in bit by bit until he was fully inside her.
When Willow didn't immediately start moving, Giles clenched his fists and forced himself not to move before she was ready.
"Everything alright?" he choked out.
"Yeah," Willow sighed happily. "It's just…I've never…with anyone but Oz."
Giles' eyes widened briefly at that admission. He didn't know why it surprised him, but he felt even more honored that she would share her body with him, knowing the only man she'd ever made love to was right beside her.
"Willow, I don't--"
"Don't say anything," Oz interrupted, kissing Giles so that he couldn't.
As his tongue met Oz's, Willow began to move, slowing raising and lowering herself. Once Giles caught her rhythm, he began to meet her downward thrusts. Blindly reaching out, Giles found Oz's neglected cock and began to stroke it, matching the motions to Willow's.
"Not going to last much longer," Giles ground out.
"S'okay," Willow said. "Me either."
Abandoning Oz for a moment, Giles flipped Willow beneath him, delighting in her squeal of surprise. He smirked down at her before crushing his lips to hers. He began to pound into her at a pace that he knew would quickly bring him to completion. It only took a few more thrusts before Giles was crying out as his body found release.
He was only vaguely aware that he had not been a gracious enough lover to ensure Willow's own release, but he also knew that there was another nearby to help her find it.
Giles rolled off of Willow and tried to catch his breath. He turned onto his side in time to watch Oz take his place, causing her to moan in pleasure. Once again, Giles watched in awe as these two moved with sure motions, knowing exactly what to do to ensure the other felt as much pleasure as possible.
He did not have to wait long for them to join him in exhausted bliss.
As they relaxed in post-coital languor, Giles found himself between his new lovers. He slid back until he was sitting against the headboard.
Running a hand over his face, he muttered, "I'm afraid that I still don't really understand what this all means. What happens next?"
Despite all that they had just shared, Willow blushed. "We could always do that again."
Giles smiled. "That wasn't what I meant."
"I know," she said. She turned onto her stomach to look up at Giles. "And I guess I don't know. I mean, I'm still with Oz, that hasn't changed."
"Nor would I expect it to," Giles assured her.
"That's not to say that this can't happen again," Oz said, mimicking Willow's pose.
"Right," Willow quickly agreed, nodding her head. "In fact, I'm really hoping that can happen again."
"I guess," Oz started, "when you have that itch that needs to be scratched, or when you start feeling lonely, we want you to know we're here for you." He paused. "Both of us; only together."
"I understand," Giles solemnly stated. "I have no desire to come between you. I can't thank you enough for sharing yourselves with me. You truly are an amazing couple and I can't help but wonder why you would do this for me."
"Because you're Giles," Oz said.
"Because you're our Giles," Willow added, simply and earnestly.
"I like the sound of that."
The End