Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9393851.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer
  Relationship:
      Rupert_Giles/Willow_Rosenberg
  Additional Tags:
      Teacher_(school_lbirarian)_student_relationship, Teacher-Student
      Relationship, Willow_meets_the_age_of_consent, Soulmates
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-01-20 Chapters: 2/2 Words: 5001
****** Blood Bond ******
by JenniferEsther
Summary
     "Then he handed her the book. And everything changed."
     My take on what Willow was repressing with her unrequited crush on
     Xander.
Notes
     Minor discussion of religious issues
     DISCLAIMER: These characters are the property of Joss Whedon, The
     WB, and Mutant Enemy. The story is mine. The
     quotation is from Percy Blythe Shelly's poem "The Witch of Atlas."
     My first published fic from 1998. It was on Worst Witch and UCSL, the
     Unconventional Shippers List
     I wrote this for ASH's 44th birthday 2/4/98. It reflects my
     understanding of safe sex and the layout of Giles' apartment at the
     time.
***** Chap. 1 *****
Good gods, she'd kissed him. Giles sat paralyzed in the broken chair, still
gripping its arm which he'd snapped off in his struggle to keep from grabbing
her.  She'd kissed him, and she'd as good as promised to make love to him. A
girl who was his student, with whom he worked so closely.
 
He'd tried to tell her that he didn't want her to come near him, that he wanted
her to stop kissing him, but his lips wouldn't utter those lies. Not when he'd
wanted her from first sight. He'd known he was in love with her for months,
now.  And it was real love, love that had grown as he came to know her.  It
wasn't just some mystic prophecy, this blood bond; it did show the path for
true love.
 
But how had she known about it? Was she reading the watcher diaries? And why,
oh why, had he even tried to explain it? He had no idea that she would make the
connection between an arcane bit of watcher lore and the two of them; still, he
shouldn't have spoken of the bond to her.  He knew she would have found the
information anyway, but maybe he would have been spared the torture of that
kiss.  God, he didn't want to be spared.
 
He lunged from the chair, roaring his frustration. "I love her and I am not
going to allow her to sacrifice her body, or her future, to me.  The powers can
just bloody well find another way to fulfill the prophecy!"  By the time his
mystic double number 44th birthday arrived in a few days, he could be far from
her; she wouldn't have the financial resources to follow.
 
He knew that was stuff and nonsense; he couldn't leave. The Hellmouth was still
at hand.  Buffy wouldn't be a very effective slayer if her watcher
disappeared.  He was ready to damn Sunnydale to Hell, but what if she was
harmed because he left?  Maybe he could just barricade himself in his house. 
After all, the prophecy said his lifemate would come to him in his bed.  He
would just stay out of bed and not let anyone he knew into the house.  When the
woman sent by the watcher's council showed up, he would relieve her of her
virginity as quickly as possible, making the approved woman his lifemate, and
thus setting his true love free.
 
He restlessly paced the library as he thought. Finding himself in front of the
bookshelf containing watcher references and journals he decided to look through
the lore once more, in hopes of finding a loophole.   He pulled the appropriate
books and piled them on the study table, then settled himself behind it. As he
had so often in the past he sought the solution to his problems in his books. 
"Hmmm.  Must bond with a lifemate no later than one's 44th birthday, lifemate
must be a virgin, must be the first virgin the watcher beds. Bond guarantees a
fertile union, at least one child generally in five to ten years after bond
formed." He knew marriage wasn't required, since the rules predated the formal
ceremony, but he vaguely recalled that no escape lay there. He flipped to the
appropriate text. "Let's see. Watcher and lifemate need not remain together,
but neither can cleave to another, lest that outsider die before or upon the
taking of vows. Love was... not required."  Damn. He could cherish his love,
but not possess her. Have a child but not one with her hair, her eyes.
 
But in the next few precious days, until his fateful birthday, he would love
her. He would savor every moment they were together and he would remember every
moment of the past.  He prayed, to who he didn't know, that he could let her
go.
 
Memories. She was one of the first people he had met on the job. He'd been
behind the desk, trying to fit into his new role of librarian, when she walked
through the doors.  //What a beautiful woman.//  His body instantly responded.
//Down old chap.  This is a high school. She's probably a student.// He
couldn't, however, keep his eyes off her as she walked into the stacks. He did
finally notice the boy who had come in beside her. They were arguing in a
friendly manner.  //See, she has a nice boyfriend her own age. Focus on your
mission.//
 
She came back out of the shelves empty-handed. She had the most endearing
combination of shyness and determination on her face as she moved toward him.
He started forward and bumped hard into the desk. Brought back to normalcy, he
asked in his best librarian's tone, "May I help you"?
 
She was staring fixedly at his jacket. Gripping the edge of the desk, she said
"My book is gone.  I had to return it for the inventory and now I want it
back."   Then, she looked directly into his eyes for the first time.
 
His eyes locked to hers, distracting him; he knew he had to say something.
"Yes" he asked, with a pause, "and that book would be"? He was gripping his
side of the desk.
 
She stepped back and dropped her eyes, obviously embarrassed.   //Has she been
reading some smarmy romance novel?// Somehow he expected more
of a girl who looked so intelligent. "It's, it's Jane Austen's Persuasion" she
stammered.
 
"My favorite book" he blurted out before remembering librarians weren't
supposed to comment on the students choice of reading material for fear of
scaring them off.
 
"Mine too" she replied moving so close to the desk that he could smell her
light powdery perfume.
 
"Actually it's in my office. I was just re-reading it." In for a penny in for a
pound he figured. He headed for his office to retrieve it, but a small thump
made him look back . She had stepped right into the desk and jumped back as if
it had bitten her. He took a minute in his office to pull himself back
together. //You're a  professional, act like one.// He  convinced himself he
was only acting from the highest motives of customer service when he came out
of the office to give her the book.
 
Then he handed her the book. And everything changed.
 
The instant their hands touched, all the blood in his body rushed toward his
skin. Feverish heat spread quickly from his center to his head, arms and legs.
She flushed too, visibly, for ten seconds.  He fell back. It couldn't be, not
now, not here, not when he had to train his first slayer. But he knew it was
true. They shared the blood bond.
 
The girl grabbed the book and ran out of the library, leaving her bemused male
companion behind. "Who?" Giles stammered.  The boy answered "I guess you need
to check out the book , huh"? Giles forced a nod. "Her name is Willow, Willow
Rosenberg. She's a sophomore. Well, gotta go."
 
Giles was so stunned he didn't even notice where the boy went. //Oh prophets, a
child, only a sophomore. Well, she doesn't know.  Except she ran out of here as
if she knew I was a dirty old man. She'll probably never come back.// Already
he felt sick at the thought of never seeing her again. //You might see her on
campus.  It's a small school. But you must never speak to her.//  He threw
himself into organizing the library and preparing for his slayer and he tried
to forget.
 
He'd not had to face the problem of  never seeing her again.  Instead there had
been the sweet torture of seeing her far too often. Of learning about her
amazing mind and her thirst for knowledge, so like his own. Of seeing the
strength of her friendships and even being a friend, of a sort. Of experiencing
her loyalty, observing her bravery. Of watching how she had overcome her
natural fears to the point where she had even staked a vampire herself.
 
He had quickly seen that her heart belonged to Xander. It hurt to know she
didn't love him. He told himself it was much better that way. Since he could
never touch her, she should find happiness elsewhere. Xander's indifference
toward her was like a double pointed stake in his heart. It hurt to see her
unappreciated and unhappy. And it hurt more to stop himself from comforting
her.
 
At first he blamed Buffy for attracting Xander, but soon he saw that she didn't
encourage him. Besides, Buffy had repeatedly earned his trust as the Slayer and
as a friend. Then he blamed Xander, but not much. No matter what his intellect
told him, he did not want another male to touch his woman.
 
So he watched Willow as discreetly as he could, praised her research, and never
touched her. And suffered. Whenever he entered the courtyard, or the halls, or
the cafeteria, anywhere that Willow might be, he instinctively looked for her.
He tried to tell himself he was looking for Buffy, but he kept looking even
when he was with Buffy.  Everyone seemed to think he was looking for Jennie
Calendar, and he let them think that. Sometimes, he couldn't believe that so
few people even seemed to see Willow. To his English eye, she far out-shown the
flashier types, like Buffy and Cordelia. Willow didn't seem to be to the taste
of southern Californians.   Giles found, as Shelly had written, "her beauty
made the bright world dim, and everything beside seemed like the fleeting image
of a shade."
 
The worst, or best, times were those when they were alone in the library doing
research. Not only did he have to worry about whatever crisis was at hand and
how Buffy was faring, he practically had to fight to keep his hands off Willow.
Sometimes he did give her a pat on the shoulder, supposedly encouragement. That
was even worse.  Too much for comfort and far too little for satisfaction.
 
For one unforgettable, very awkward dance at the prom he had held her in his
arms. He held her far from his raging body, at proper chaperon distance. It had
been heaven and it had been hell.  He felt he was qualified to judge at least
the part about hell. By the goddess, he wanted to do so much more than hold her
in his arms. He wanted to do everything it was possible to do with a woman,
even though none of it was possible for him with Willow.
 
That dance had determined him in a course to find a more appropriate outlet for
his romantic, who was he fooling  his sexual, feelings. He forced himself to
consider another woman, and eventually approached Jennie Calendar. He'd been
nervous and a bit guilty.  He knew as a watcher he could never marry Jennie. He
knew it couldn't be Willow but he would have to take a lifemate. Then, Jennie
had been possessed by a demon he had raised. He felt even guiltier.  He wanted
to help her, but could he be honest with her about having  someone else who was
his lifemate? When he finally explained to her about the obligations
and requirements for a lifemate she seemed to understand why there had always
been a distance between them. He still knew he could never tell her about his
blood bond with Willow.
 
He hated weekends.   He found the long summer holiday an abomination. When the
fall term began he had gone eagerly to work every morning, often being the
first arrival at the school. Giles almost became a morning person, which was
abnormal for a watcher. Mornings, he could be optimistic. Optimistic that he
would see Willow, and optimistic that her effect on him would lessen. Evenings,
he despaired that his love for her could never die and would never be returned.
 
School days her followed the movements of her hands. Nights he dreamed of how
those hands would feel on his skin. How her hair would look spread across his
pillow. He imagined the taste of her lips and what it would be like to hear
words of love in her voice. He dreamed of her perfume and so much more. In his
dreams he could forget their differences. The morning light made him remember
every obstacle, but he could never fully dismiss his dreams.
 
He hated his inability to control his feelings. He knew he was scum to want to
touch such purity. Willow's trust was so special to him that he did not dare
even talk to her as much as he wanted. The shortness of temper and aloofness he
had always possessed became more and more pronounced as he fought in vain for
control of his feelings.
 
Giles knew he was suffering the perversity of fate as Willow gave up working in
the computer lab for haunting the library. She was inescapable there, with
Buffy and Xander, or alone. She claimed that she liked the quiet, although the
trio of friends usually studied to loud rock music. She listened when he
lectured and asked intelligent questions. She taught him some basic computer
skills without ridiculing his nervous mistakes. Willow asked him about
classical music and lent him some of her music.  She even tried to talk to him
about Buffy as if they were all equal friends. How could he so desire to betray
such innocent trust?
 
Giles knew he would have loved Willow even if he were just a high school
librarian, but the blood bond made him unable to deny his feelings on any
level. The blood bond, that was what it all came down too.  The sign by which a
Watcher would know the woman who was the most perfect woman for him in all the
world. The total sustained flush that would overcome both, triggered at their
first skin to skin touch.
 
As a teenager he had tested as many women as he could, looking for his lifemate
as if life were a fairy tale.   In his twenties, he had denied and feared his
heritage. He had hoped the blood bond would never manifest, even as he
continued touching as many women as intimately as he could. When he had come
back to his responsibilities and gone to work for the museum, it seemed to him
he'd lost all opportunities to contact women at all. He decided that he would
never find the perfect woman and resolved to wait and see if a lifemate really
did show up on his 44th birthday.
 
After so many years of resigning himself to a loveless life he'd begun to feel
unlovable. He knew Willow could never return what he felt for her. Yet she had
kissed him with so much passion.  She might be old enough to feel passion but
she wasn't old enough to decide who she wanted to spend her life with, whom she
wanted to father her children. No, on the night of his birthday he was going to
lock himself in his house and maybe cast a few protective runes. Against what,
he wasn't
sure, but it seemed like a good idea. He might even hide in the closet until
the woman from the watcher's council showed up.
 
 
***** Chap 2. *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
On the evening of his birthday, he decided he wasn't in fact so cowardly as to
hide in his closet. He locked all the doors and windows and searched the house
for intruders. He bathed and dressed in his best suit. Of course he always
ordered identical suits from his tailor in London, but he knew it was his
newest suit. He even left the porch light on so the woman from the council
could find his door. He tried to find some peace within himself for doing the
right thing, but he found none.
Several times he broke down at the thought of losing Willow, even though she
had never been his to lose. Each time, he would busy himself casting another
rune of protection. By 10 PM he was pacing in the living room, wondering where
his council-approved lifemate could be. He had the bedroom all prepared: clean
sheets and towels, new box of condoms, soft music, burning candles. //Maybe he
did have to be inbed for her to show up.// But he couldn't bear to meet someone
new soopenly.
Suddenly his front door opened and in stepped ...Willow. "How ...?" His shock
imprisoned him in the corner between the couch and the fireplace. Not only was
she in his house; she looked better than he'd ever seen her. She was wearing
her shortest skirt (he knew them all) and a top tight enough to show the
outlines of a bra had she been wearing one. She looked totally confident
holding a piece of paper in one hand and dangling his door key from the other.
"Buffy loaned me her key. She's covering for me, and no, she doesn't know why
I'm here. I just told her it was a watcher's prophecy you needed some help
with" His emotions burst forth as anger. "You must leave. The woman from the
watcher's council will be here any minute."
Willow locked the door and leaned back against it. "She's already here."
Giles moved toward Willow; he had to get her to leave. "She can't be. I
searched the house after I locked up; there's no one else here."
"No, there isn't." Willow came forward, up the stairs, holding out a piece of
parchment. "I'm the woman from the council. They do have email, you know. But I
didn't think you'd trust that, especially from a known hacker, so I had them
FedEx this to me. Check the seal. Check anything you want."
Giles made no move to take the document looking at it as if it were a sentence
to the tower. "You can't be. They don't even know who you are." "Yes they do.
Careful as you were to avoid it, there was mention of me in your reports. They
investigated - to be sure I wasn't a minion of hell I guess - and I told them
the rest." She stood holding out the parchment.
"So that's how you got past the runes."
"I was practically drawn here. I don't think I really needed the key."
"You shouldn't have contacted the council. You shouldn't be here. I don't want
you." Giles grabbed the envelope from her hand, ripped it in half and hurled
the pieces behind him.
"I don't believe you. The blood bond doesn't lie and I wouldn't be very perfect
for you if you didn't want me." Willow retorted, balling up her fists.
"What about perfect for you? You're in love with Xander." Giles accused as he
rose on the balls of his feet, ready to dart in any direction away form Willow.
"I never even noticed Xander until I met you." Giles stared at her with
disbelief. "I only fooled myself into thinking I liked him so I could avoid my
very real feelings for you. I wasn't ready. I was scared." Willow opened her
fists and stretched her palms out to him.
"You're still not ready. You should be scared to death." Giles raised his arms
to ward Willow away.
"Now you sound like you're lecturing Buffy." Willow took one step back and drew
herself up to her full height.
"And you're being as stubborn as she is." Giles returned, crossing his arms.
"When she trusts her instincts, she's right, and so am I. I'm trusting my
instincts now." She tried to move closer but he side stepped her.
"What about Buffy, then? Are you ready to be a step-mother to your best
friend?" Giles stopped and turned to confront her again.
"At least I can understand her problems." Willow followed his movements to face
him.
"Do you want to be caught up in Buffy's problems forever? Do you want to give
up being a normal teenager?" He tried to turn from her again.
"Yes! Yes, I want to share her troubles and I'm ready to stop being a normal
teen, or as normal as I ever was." Willow circled to stay in front of him.
"Zeus! What can I tell you to make you leave?" Giles made a break past Willow
toward the hall to the backdoor .
"You can tell me you're in love with someone else. Are you? Are you in love
with Miss Calendar or anyone else?" Willow allowed him to retreat a few steps.
Giles sensed he had a way out and he leapt for it. "Yes, yes" he answered. "I
am in love with someone other than Miss Calendar."
Willow moved right in front of him, looked him in the eye and said
"Who?"
Oh God, oh gods, he was trapped. Giles sighed deeply “With you. I love you,
Willow Rosenberg." She threw her arms around him and started to kiss him. He
held her tightly but moved his face out of her reach. “You know I'm not Jewish.
God, whoever he/she is, knows I would convert if it would help. I'm not sure
anything will help if you bring home a teacher more than 25 year older than
you."
"I know you aren't religious like that, but if it matters to you we have years
to discuss it."
Giles tried to distance himself “The kabbalah has many insights on mystic
subjects. Such as ...” but Willow wouldn't let him go.
She pulled his head down for a kiss. "I didn't mean discuss it now. Now is the
time for our own mystic rite." He couldn't fight when she touched him like
that. He surrendered to her kiss.
"Willow, are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure. Now don't talk unless you're going to tell me you love me."
"Willow, do you love me?"
"Yes, Giles, I love you with my whole heart and my whole soul."
The tension in his body was incredible. It drove them both toward the bedroom.
They didn't notice the glow of the candles or the soft music or the clean
sheets as they fell to the bed. Giles put his hand under the hem of her shirt
and touched her breast. Frantically he pushed up her top so he could behold
both breasts. She was trying to remove his jacket. "No, Willow, let's not hurry
this" he said with soft intensity. "Lifemates have years together, but lovers
have only one first time."
"This is a ceremonial mystic rite for us isn't it?" she asked.
"Yes, my love" Giles replied. They sat up and he reverently slipped her shirt
over her head and off. He bent his head and slowly, gently kissed one breast,
then the other. He kissed and sucked and touched until Willow was moaning
loudly.
Finally he drew back. "More" he whispered. Willow stood and turned away so he
could unfasten her skirt. He pushed it down and she stepped out. Her lovely
backside was revealed in tiny black panties. She was wearing thigh-hi stockings
and her usual loafers. Giles turned her toward him. She rested one hand on his
shoulder and smiled softly as she removed her shoes. He could hardly breathe as
she sat down beside him and rolled down her stockings. As she stood again to
remove her panties he reached out and slid them down over her hips until she
could step out of them. He tangled his fingers briefly in her curls before he
pulled back to look at her. She stood totally exposed before him, still totally
confident.
Willow reached out and took off his glasses. Giles started to shrug out of his
jacket and she pushed it off his shoulders. She untied his tie as he unfastened
the buttons of his shirt and they removed them together. She knelt down and
took off his shoes and socks, stroking his feet in a maddening way. She stood
again and held out her hand for him to rise. He did as if in a trance. He stood
staring, arms at sides as she carefully unfastened his trousers and lowered
them to the floor. She had to beckon him to step out of the discarded clothing.
As she reached for his boxers he realized that one touch could make him come.
He motioned her back and removed them himself. Now it was her turn to stare.
"Jeepers. I've done the research. I looked at the pictures. I read the
statistics and, like, wow" Willow blurted out.
Slowly they stepped together and wrapped their arms around each other with a
deep kiss. Each seemed to be trying to devour the other. Hands clenched at
buttocks and begin to roam all over. They wanted to claim every inch. He needed
to possess her, but how? He would last only a few strokes in this condition and
she couldn't be ready yet. While he tried to think she pushed him back to a
seat on the bed and kneeled down before him. Seeing what Willow was about to do
Giles managed to gasp out "Condoms in the drawer." She found the box and for a
second she looked confused, then she apparently remembered the instructions.
Slowly and carefully she opened the packet, left a reservoir and unrolled the
sheath over his hard cock. Then she slid the tip of his cock into her mouth and
licked him as best she could. It wasn't practiced but it was heaven for Giles.
He began to stroke back and forth in her mouth, just short slow strokes. She
took his rhythm and they built together, but not for long. "Willow, oh gods
Willow, I'm going to come!" He exploded. Willow had a look of triumph on her
face.
Giles couldn't stop looking at her and it was too late to stop loving her but
could he get hard twice in one night? Willow answered his unasked question.
"Hey, if a 16 year old girl can't make you get it up twice in one night you're
not having a mid-life crisis, you're already dead and just haven't noticed
yet."
He laughed to hear such words coming from dear sweet Willow's mouth.It made him
want to hear more. "To pay for that remark you'll have to beg me, beg me to do
what you want."
Giles pulled Willow onto the bed and dived between her thighs. He paused to
inhale her fragrance. Her smell seared into his brain. He stroked her lightly
with his tongue. She moved under him, first retreating from the new sensation,
then craving it. His pace increased. Her body convulsed as she came. "Oh Giles,
Oh God, I'm ready, Please, Giles."
"Oh no, that's not begging."
Carefully Giles slid one finger into her. She was wet but so tight.He was
afraid he might hurt her badly but he began to lick her lightly again, just
flicking the tip of this tongue across her clit. He felt her relax around his
finger and knew she would be all right. He teased her until she was moaning and
pressing his head against her. He relented and increased his pressure until she
came a second time. "Please, please do it. Aren't you ready?"
"I'm ready" he replied as he rolled onto his side to show her how ready he was.
"But you aren't quite begging."
"Couldn't you at least put it on?"
"That's good, that's very close to begging so I'll do that."
Giles moved away from her just long enough to don another condom. He started
tonguing her and then stopped and very carefully put two fingers inside her.
Willow cried out in pleasure but Giles could feel that a third finger would
break her barrier. He didn't think that would count and now he knew he had to
keep her forever. He licked her more, lightly nibbling on her clit as he slid
his fingers all the way in, then almost completely out. Willow cried, "Giles,
make love to me, fuck me, pleaseput your cock in me!"
"Now, that's begging, my love."
He immediately moved up her body to do as she asked. "This will hurt but I'll
do my best."
"JUST DO IT, please." Giles used his hand and looked as well as he could to aim
for the perfect alignment. He pushed into Willow's virgin passage and felt her
tear. She couldn't help screaming.
"It's all right. Yell as loudly as you need to. I'll go slowly."
"No, no, fast, so I'll feel the pleasure more than the pain."
"Will you?" He began to move within her.
"I think so," she gasped. He obeyed and pumped into her as quickly, although
not as deeply, as he could.
"Oh yes, oh yes" Willow grabbed his backside and dug her nails in. That was the
final spur. They came together and were suffused with the blush of the blood
bond.
"Oh, Willow, I promise I will love and treasure you forever."
"Giles, I promise I'll love you forever too."
Blood Bond Epilogue
Giles rolled off Willow and reached for a clean, very soft handkerchief he had
placed next to the bed. He moved back between her legs kissing her softly and
blotting the thankfully small amount of blood. He carefully set the
handkerchief on the table. "Aren't you going to throw that away?" Willow asked.
"Never, it represents the most precious moment my life has ever had."
"This was the most precious moment of my life too. But I will have to get home.
Can you set an alarm for four A.M.?"
"I hate that you have to leave."
"You need your job, unless you can find another Hellmouth we can all move to."
"The gods forbid there's such a place."
"Exactly, so set the alarm and don't cry for what we can't have yet."
"In some ways you're wiser than I."
"Yes, but I still love you." They slept in each others arms the rest of the
night, or at least until 4 A.M.
The End
Chapter End Notes
     I appreciate all comments. Let me know if I misspelled something.
     This was beta read by my dspouse but it was long ago.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!