Book One: Chapter Five (Part 1 - 8,083 words)
WARNING: SEXUAL SITUATIONS
Fred wasn’t sure what time it was when she finally opened her eyes, only that she was cuddled against the side of one warm body with another one pressed up against her back, an arm resting over her. Opening her eyes, she raised her head. Daylight was streaming in through the crack in the curtain, throwing a thin shaft of light on the bed where she, Wesley and Giles lay. She smiled softly, the events of the previous night playing through her head. The whole experience had been simply unbelievable. She had never imagined anything like that ever happening to her, but now that it had, she certainly didn’t regret it.
Moving her hand from where it was resting on Wesley’s chest, she reached up to stroke his temple. He was definitely not as pale as he had been since he had come out of surgery at the hospital. However, he desperately needed a hair cut - he had obviously been neglecting that along with everything else in the last month. She wondered if there would be time to take him to a barber’s at some point. Not that he’d want to do something like that when they had research to do.
She found herself chuckling to herself softly. She had found two men who loved research and knowledge as much as she did. They were probably the closest things to kindred spirits she had ever found, even with the time she had spent at the university. It was a wonderful feeling to find that, and to be lying in between both of them now.
Wesley stirred when he felt something touch his hair. Confused blue eyes opened, blinking owlishly until the memories resurfaced, playing out in his brain in vivid Technicolor. He glanced down, seeing the large hand on his stomach, and then turned his head to see the woman he loved. Spooned in behind her was the bulkier form of Rupert. His smile grew - it hadn’t been a dream. Slowly, he stretched long limbs before turning on his side to face Fred.
‘Morning,’ he mouthed.
“Good Lord, please tell me the two of you are not habitual early risers?” came Giles’ voice, thick with sleep, from behind Fred. “Let the old man have his rest,” he added, the tone now carrying an amused edge. Finally lifting his head, he rested it next to Fred’s, both of them looking at Wesley. “Hello there, Sleeping Beauty.”
Fred couldn’t help but grin as she looked out of the corner of her eyes at Giles. “I’m not even sure what time it is,” she admitted. “Just kind of woke up. And waking up between two very handsome men is definitely the best way to wake up if I do say so myself.”
She bit back a giggle at their faces and turned her attention fully back to Wesley. “How are you feeling this morning? You look a lot better. Your color’s finally come back.”
‘Feel good.’ Wes paused, his eyes lit up with happiness. ‘Sated,’ he mouthed, teasing his lovers. He shook his head, wondering how his life could have changed so drastically for the better in the midst of such a tragedy. ‘Feel...cared for,’ he confessed, his heart beginning to race at the two faces staring back at him. He felt Giles’ hand reach over Fred and grip his shoulder.
“You are cared for,” he reminded him. “And dare I say...loved. You’re a good man, Wesley. You deserve to have that love, to have someone who cares for you and not the fact that you can carry on his lineage or translate books for them,” he pointed out before moving his hand over Wes’ heart. “This...this is what makes you special.” He smiled, knowing Fred agreed.
“Very special,” she echoed. “And definitely loved.”
She rested her hand over Giles’ and looked over at him, knowing that both of them would definitely do whatever was necessary. She already loved him for his dedication to Wesley, and she found that she was loving him for the fact that he was just Rupert as well. “And one of the first things we need to take care of when we get a chance is your hair,” she told Wes with a grin.
Giles smiled down at Fred when Wesley blushed. “Yes, something closely cropped to draw attention to those beautiful eyes.”
Giles’ brow then furrowed when the other man looked down instead of at them. He was thinking about his scar again. Allowing himself to think like his friend for a moment, he shook his head. Wesley saw the scar on his throat as a representation of what he considered his failure.
“Wesley, look at me. It’s not a mark of failure. You didn’t fail - the scroll proved that you were right. That scar, while noticeable, is a badge of honor. And I know every time I see it, I will know that one of my young lovers is willing to put everything on the line for those he loves. For as brilliant as you are, you lead with your heart. It’s something I honestly wish I could do. Don’t ever be ashamed of this.” He placed his hand on Wesley’s neck, his thumb rubbing next to the bandage gently.
Fred felt tears in her eyes at Giles’ words because he was right. Wesley had been willing to give up everything he knew and loved in order to save Connor from a terrible fate. He had been willing to give up the only real home and family he had. “Wesley,” she said softly, waiting for his eyes to focus on her, “you did the right thing, and because of that, you’re worth more than any ‘handsome man’ or ‘seer’ or ‘demon hunter’ in this world. What happened to you woke all of us up, and I know that I would never be ashamed to be seen with you, wearing that, since I’d always know that you got it because you were doing what you had to do. And you’ll be able to see that through now, so it won’t be for nothing either. It’ll always mean something to all of us.”
She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. “And when Connor’s older, you know what I plan to do? I plan to point that scar out to him and tell him that you got that for him, protecting him because he deserves to know that you would do anything for those you love.”
When Fred said what she did, Giles wanted to roll her over and kiss her till she was breathless. She had hit the nail on the head, and bringing Connor into it seemed to have gotten Wesley’s attention.
Wesley met their gazes, surprise clear in his eyes. How could they see things in him he couldn’t see in himself? He could see the depth of feeling in each of them, and knowing it was for him was a bit overwhelming. Pity he was used to, but love? The kind you felt down to your very being? He had never tasted that.
‘How?’ he mouthed, confused.
“How what, Wesley? How can we feel like this? How can we love you in spite of mistakes that were made? I have news for you, mistakes were made. But not by you. And we’re not your father. No matter what happens, you will always reside here,” he said, placing a hand over his own heart. “And here,” he added, sliding a hand up Fred’s torso to place a flat hand over her heart.
“He’s right, you know,” she told him. She reached over and took Wesley’s hand, which she pressed over Giles’ on her chest with her own. This - the three of them touching like this, together like this, felt so right in her mind and definitely in her body. “And we’ll be here to remind you of that every day.”
She looked over her shoulder at Giles, locking eyes with his and knowing the answer to her question but asking it anyway. “Won’t we?”
“Absolutely,” he replied, rubbing his thumb along the curve of her breast. “Emotionally...” He paused, ducking his head, and nipped at the juncture of Fred’s throat. He kept his eyes locked on Wesley’s and grinned when he saw the blue eyes darken. “And physically.” Sliding his hand out from under theirs, he clasped the back of Wes’ neck, gripping it. “This isn’t a flash in the pan. You’re not a one-night stand. These feelings are genuine, and they run deep. I’m fairly certain that it’s the same for Fred. I know you and I have had enough words to last us ten lifetimes. So I won’t make promises. But I can show you, by action, what you do to me. How seeing the hunger in those beautiful eyes makes me hard. Last night, feeling you around me, seeing the pleasure on your face, free of your past, I nearly came right there. I’m pretty sure Fred can say the same thing. And so today is going to be about spoiling you.”
“Definitely - on both counts.” She smiled at Wesley - she could the reaction Giles touching her brought out in him, and she loved it. Spending a day with them, just the three of them, doing something for Wesley, would be wonderful. Something he deserved. “Giles, you said that we can’t do anything further until we get those books, right? So we can do something else in the meantime. First, we’re getting your hair cut just like we said and then we’re doing whatever you want as long as it doesn’t involve shutting ourselves up in this apartment...at least not until tonight, anyway.”
Giles smirked, rolling up above Fred, bracing his weight on his arms, hovering above them both. “I don’t know, shutting ourselves up in here has its merits,” he began, ducking his head to kiss Wesley hard. Pulling back after several minutes, he smiled at Fred, both of them clearly enjoying the glazed look in Wesley’s eyes. “The things we could do,” he added, now moving on to kiss Fred. When oxygen became a necessity, he pulled back, having thoroughly enjoyed the taste of every crevice of her mouth. “But she’s right. This is the calm before the storm. We need to get out today. Enjoy ourselves.”
She grinned up at him after the toe-curling kisses he gave both Wesley and her. Shutting themselves up would be a lot of fun, she knew - and something she definitely wouldn’t hate doing either because how many girls could say that they were getting to close themselves off from the world with two very intelligent, very pretty men.
Wesley had to see, however, that they weren’t ashamed to be seen in public with him, and the sooner he knew the better. So going out when they had to chance was the best idea. And besides, she knew that both she and Giles wanted a chance to fawn over him.
“Who gets dibs on the bathroom?” she asked. “With three of us here, are we going to have to come up some sort of schedule or something?”
Giles wanted to say they could always use it together. But this whole situation was too new. A touch or a look could lead to something more. Not that that would necessarily be a bad thing, but today...they needed to get out. He pushed himself up to his knees then stood, smiling down at the pair on the bed.
“Why don’t we let Wes go first, then you, Fred? I can take my shower last.” He gripped Wesley’s hand and helped him to his feet, keeping hold of him till he was certain the younger man’s legs would support him. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll change your bandage when you get out.” He was thankful that he would have something to do with his fingers other than ravish him once they were alone. “This entire day is for you, Wesley,” he reminded him gently. “Now go.”
Giles waited for the bathroom door to close, before sitting down on the mattress in the spot Wes had just occupied. “We certainly have our work cut out for us,” he remarked, still looking at the closed door.
Fred nodded, sitting up and drawing her legs up to her chest as she followed Giles’ gaze toward the door. “He still thinks we’re going to disappear, doesn’t understand why we care so much.” She looked down at the bedspread and picked at a stray thread that had become a bit unraveled. “His father really did a number on him, didn’t he? To make him feel that worthless when it comes to being loved by anyone.”
“I’ve seen his father turn watcher initiates in blithering, sobbing messes. I can only imagine what he did to his own son. Wesley doesn’t believe that he’s worth loving. He and Xander are a lot alike in that regard. Both coming from homes that had to be absolute hell, yet they have these huge hearts and care so deeply. I’ve never hurt an old man in my life, but I do know if Roger Wyndam-Pryce bothers to show his face around here, I’ll make certain he spends his entire trip in traction. I won’t let him hurt Wesley anymore than he already has,” he told her. “If he calls, make sure you give me the phone first. The old bastard is tricky. The only way we can truly thwart him is to close ranks around Wesley. He may use his wife to get access first. Elizabeth Wyndam-Pryce is a gentle woman. Just watch Wesley when she calls. Any change in his demeanor will be able to tell us whether Roger is there.”
Nodding her head, she blinked back a few tears and then turned her gaze back from the bathroom door to Giles. “We’re in this together - whatever it takes, however long it takes. I know we can make him see that we both love him.”
He found a warm smile crossing his handsome face at her declaration. He turned to face her, reaching a hand up to stroke her cheek. “We are indeed. And we will succeed. Just be patient with him, he’ll come around. Follow my lead for times when we need to push him a bit.” He leaned down and kissed her gently. “Thank you, for my own part. But mostly for managing to see the man Wesley truly is. He deserves your love.”
Fred reached up and cupped her hand over Giles’ after he pulled back from her following the kiss. She considered everything that he had just told her and knew he would make good on his threat against Roger Wyndam-Pryce - why did the asshole have to have the same name as her own father? Giles was ruthless with anyone who crossed him but unbelievably gentle with those he love and protected. And she was ready to stand by him in that. “He deserves both of our love. In fact, I think he deserves as much love as he can get, but if you don’t mind, I’m only going to share him with you.”
“I don’t mind.” He cast an amused glance toward the closed door, “And somehow, I don’t think Wesley will mind either.” Reaching his free hand down, he placed it on her bare hip, his green eyes studying her brown. “Wesley was right, you know. You do have a big heart. I never once expected to find myself here,” he began, referring to the bed. “I would have protected both of you regardless. You’re a phenomenal woman, Winifred. And much stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
Fred found herself blushing from the fact that he had just paid her an enormous compliment. The fact that they were both still quite naked and sitting on Wesley’s bed and he had was holding her was nowhere near as important as the man in the adjoining bathroom, the one that they both loved - though she had to admit that being this close to Giles was enough to make her blush too.
“I...if you had asked me last week if I would be willing to share the man I loved with someone else, much less another man? I probably would have looked at you like you were nuts, but there’s just something...there’s something about you and Wesley and me that...I like, that I think we need. I know I couldn’t handle this alone, no matter how strong you think I am. Sharing all of...this...” She waved her hand around expansively. “It just seemed right. Even if it was something I never thought I’d ever do.”
When she dropped her hand down, it brushed across one of the scars on his torso, and she remembered the stories he had told a few days before in the hospital. She wondered briefly which ones were from what. The long one in his side, the smaller ones marking his chest - which had been given to him where? “We all have scars, you know. I think that’s why we need each other.”
“Not all scars are on the outside,” Giles observed sadly. He had come to terms with a great many of his own personal demons - it was the benefit of age as well as situation. Wesley hadn’t had that chance yet. “There’s a lot you don’t understand about Wesley’s childhood. We were raised in the same hell, just different variations. I’ll help you in that regard. He needs you most there, I think. Mainly because you aren’t attached to that. But a bigger part of him will want to protect you from that. Don’t let him push you away.”
She nodded at his warning, knowing that she probably would never be able to understand that part of both of their lives. There was a difference between being a slave as an adult and being terrorized as a child. She could guess, sure, and probably sympathize with the pain on some level, but she couldn’t imagine anyone having to live with anything like that. It was hard just to even consider it. However, she had seen things that would cause most people to hide in their closets for the rest of their lives, so she wouldn’t let anyone, not even Wesley, try to protect her in that way, shutting her out and treating her like some kind of fragile porcelain doll. Even if it was because he loved her and didn’t want her to see that dark place in himself.
“I won’t let him,” she promised. “I know a thing or two about physics - I can figure out how to counteract a repelling force, especially from a stubborn man. You’re right that I will probably need help in understanding certain things, though.” Shifting forward, she wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug, resting her head on his should for a brief moment. “I think for once, I’m at a loss for what to say next.”
Giles smiled patiently, wrapping his arms around the slight form. Leaning his cheek against the dark head on his shoulder, he understood what she was trying to say. “Sometimes silence can speak the loudest. Our lives, they revolve around words. Wesley and myself were forced to sacrifice our childhood to words. Just be Fred. Let your actions speak for you. I guarantee they’ll get through to him faster than anything you could possibly say. Except for the three I have heard you use.” He nodded when she looked up at him confused. “When you told him you loved him.”
Fred was about to respond when Wesley opened the door and came out of the bathroom, and from that moment, all their attention was on him. She could feel Giles’ heart beating faster and could tell he was fighting with himself for control. It was a feeling she most definitely understood because Wesley...it had been true when she had thought that he was beautiful the night before, and it was even more so now, looking stronger and happier than he had been in days.
Giles, meanwhile, was surprised to see Wesley so uninhibited around them. Standing there, naked as the day he was born and freshly showered, there wasn’t a trace of blush in him. Giles found the sight delicious but forced himself to behave. This day was for Wes.
Giving Giles’ arm a gentle squeeze, Fred slipped off the bed and walked over to the bathroom, standing her toes for a moment to give Wesley a kiss before she disappeared inside to take her turn.
Once she left the room, leaving the two of them alone, Wesley finally looked down. All of his insecurities came back with a vengeance. Having Fred there, the only person connected with his new life, it kept him from having to face his inner demons. But here, with Rupert, he could hear his father’s voice in his head.
“You’re pathetic. Needy little twerp. You know you’ll just screw it up. You’ll drive them both away.” In reflex, Wesley closed his eyes, and clenched his fists, trying to tamp down the panic that was welling up in his gut.
Giles, seeing Wesley rooted to the spot, clenched his jaw. He approached quietly, but it was unneccesary. Wesley was so tied up with battling whatever was going on in his head, he could have arrived in a tank and the younger man wouldn’t have noticed. If he had to put money on it, he’d say it was Roger Wyndam-Pryce’s voice tormenting his son. Reaching a gentle hand up, he cupped the younger man’s cheek, stroking the skin with his thumb. He smiled when surprised blue eyes opened to look at him.
“He’s not here, Wesley. He can’t hurt you. Fred and I won’t let him, but we can only protect you to a point. Someday, you’ll have to make a stand and reclaim things for yourself,” he cautioned, making certain to keep his voice soothing. He was completely unprepared when the younger man leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss was desperate, needy. Breaking it could do more damage than good right now. So Giles gave into his passion, keeping things on a tight reign, but still trying to give Wes what he seemed to be seeking. After several minutes, Wesley pulled back for air, and he looked into blue eyes darkened by need and passion. “It’s all right, Wes. We’re not going anywhere. Whatever the voice in your mind is telling you, it’s wrong.”
He gripped the young man’s hand and led him over to the bed. Sitting him down, he reached under the bed for the sizable first aid kit and sat by Wes’ side so that he could replace his bandage. Taking out the appropriate ointment and gauze, as well as two rolls of tape, he set about covering the wound. Giles gasped softly as he started to tape down the fresh bandage when he felt long slender fingers wrapping around his penis. Closing his eyes, a groan emitted from deep in his chest as he felt the long firm strokes on his rapidly filling fresh.
“Wes, we shouldn’t start something we can’t finish right now,” he managed to rasp, his hips moving of their own volition into the younger man’s hand.
*****
After leaving Wes and Giles in the other room, Fred quickly got into the shower, washing her hair and soaping down her body. She found she was a bit sore from the night before with the two men, but it wasn’t too bad, and in all actuality, she found that she was very, very happy. She had been telling the truth when she had told Giles that she had never imagined she would ever be doing anything like this, but she knew that he didn’t want to take Wesley away from her and that Wesley didn’t want to leave her for the other man either. He wanted them both, and he would have them both.
All this meant that the possibilities for the future were enormous - retrieving Connor, returning with Giles to Sunnydale, living as a family. For the first time in a long time, she was actually letting herself think about a long-term future, something she had never let herself do in Pylea and hadn’t been able to do while living at the Hyperion.
Turning off the water, she stepped out and wrapped a towel around her hair briefly while she dried off. She hadn’t brought anything in with her, so she would have to do what Wes did - walk back out stark naked. She would get something to wear from her bag while Giles was showering. After hanging the towels back up, she opened the door and walked back out in the bedroom, stopping short at the sight before her, a smile crossing her face.
“I thought the idea was to actually get out of this bedroom sometime today, but if plans have changed, can anyone join in?”
Giles vaguely heard someone say something to him, but the motion of Wesley’s hand on his body was making it hard to thing. He didn’t notice the other man’s smirk when he leaned his weight back on his elbows, exposing himself further to Wesley’s attention. He could feel the fine sheen of sweat breaking out on his skin but wasn’t aware of anything but the blood roaring in his ears.
Wes had heard Fred’s question, however, and turned to look at her, his eyes lit with a mischievous smile. He waved her over, continuing his ministrations on Giles’ body. Leaning over on his side, he found the other man’s mouth, tasting the hunger on his tongue. It was heady.
Fred felt her smile growing wider as she walked over to the bed and joined them. Giles seemed to be well and truly caught up in what Wesley was doing, and when he leaned over to kiss him, she swallowed at the sight. Sliding behind Wes, she wrapped her arms around him, caressing her fingers over his body.
“You two are beautiful, you know that?” she whispered in his ear.
Wesley broke the kiss, looking over his shoulder when he felt Fred’s hands on his skin. He looked down at Giles’ leaking penis, using his thumb to smear a generous amount of precum on it. He held it out to Fred, for her to taste. His own whispered moan bubbled to the surface when her lips wrapped around his digit, her tongue swiping over the pad. He nodded his head toward Giles. If the day was to be for him, he wanted this moment to be for Rupert.
Fred closed her eyes briefly at the taste of Giles on Wesley’s finger, and then she opened her eyes again, seeing him motioning toward the older man. She understood what he was saying without any words and slowly slid from behind him off the bed again. She moved herself in between Giles’ legs, running her hands up along his thighs to his balls, which she began to caress as she leaned in to run her tongue up the underside of his shaft.
Wesley smiled to himself, seeing the glazed look in those loving green eyes. The man was lost in the pleasure. He understood what Giles had been trying to do. But with Fred’s help, they could do this for him. When she moved between Rupert’s legs, Wes slid his hand up the other man’s torso, and cupped the back of his head, swallowing the groan that he knew his other lover had caused. He could feel the trembling in the other man’s bulkier form. Even lost in his passion, Rupert still did what he could for them. The strain of keeping himself still could be felt in every taut muscle.
Giles’ thighs quivered around her as she lapped her tongue over the end of his cock and continued to cup his balls gently in her hand. Moving herself up closer, she took him in her mouth, sliding her lips down as far as she could comfortably go. This wasn’t something she had really ever done, so she was a bit worried about doing something wrong. Giles, however, seemed to be enjoying it, if the sounds he was making - muffled by Wesley’s mouth - were anything to go by. After a few minutes of sucking at him, she found her jaw hurting a bit and went back to licking him again.
Wesley was a bit surprised when the other man broke the kiss, his head thrown back in pleasure. Reaching down, he pinched the hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger, smiling down at Fred when Giles cried out.
“Close,” Giles ground out, releasing a loud cry when Wesley seemed to redouble his efforts. “Fred!” He called her name as a warning as he felt his cock lengthen and surge.
Fred had been alternating between sucking and licking when she heard Giles call her name and pulled back just in time. Wesley wrapped his arms around his shoulders to hold him as his cum came shooting out, splashing across his stomach and chest. Crawling up onto the bed on the other side of him across from Wesley, she ran her finger up Giles’ abdomen through the cum and then held it out to Wesley as he had done with her earlier. He opened his mouth, sliding his lips around her finger, sucking Rupert’s cum off her skin. His blue eyes lit with laughter when he heard the older man groan loudly.
“Bloody hell, the two of you are going to be the death of me,” he gasped, his breathing finally reaching a manageable level. Wesley shook his head, finally sliding his arm from around Giles’ shoulders. Rupert and Fred kept telling him how beautiful he was, but his old friend had no clue that like this, skin flushed, shining with sweat, cum splashed across his belly, Rupert was the definition of beautiful.
“After what you did to us last night, I think it was your turn,” Fred said. “Besides, if you die, you miss all the fun, and that’s not good.” Looking over at Wesley, she couldn’t help but grin, seeing the look in his eyes, the way he was enjoying this. “Plus, as I told Wesley, both of you are beautiful.”
Giles looked up at both of them, giving an undignified snort when she referred to him as beautiful. Wesley with his eyes and lean body was beautiful. He knew he was the vision of a patchwork quilt. Green eyes met blue with Giles giving him a mock glare. “Now that you have had your fun, may I please take my shower?” he asked, before turning to face Fred. “Thank you.”
He was talking to both of them but still looking at Fred. Kissing her gently, he turned and kissed Wes before standing. It took him a few moments before he trusted his shaky legs to support his weight.
“Try not to wear him out, I have plans for you both, later,” he teased the woman they both adored. Humming to himself happily, he made his way into the bathroom
“Would I do that?” she shot back.
Wes watched him go, before turning to face Fred. He was a bit surprised she had taken to including Rupert so easily in what they had. But he supposed with her declaration of her own feelings for the older man, he shouldn’t be. He smiled warmly, ducking his head down towards her. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed, before pressing his lips to hers.
Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tightly as they kissed until finally, they had to break apart, and she rested her forehead against his. “You don’t have to thank me. Been a hell of a few days, hasn’t it? I told Giles that if anyone had told me I’d be doing this, I would have thought them crazy. But you know...this...now...it’s just...right.”
Wesley nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. It did feel right, Rupert with them. He wanted to tell her even one of the million thoughts running around in his head and found it frustrating that he couldn’t. Hell, he wanted to be able to say ‘I love you’ in his own voice. Reluctantly, he reached for the pad on the nightstand.
Never, in a million years, did I ever think to be here with either of you. Especially after I hurt you. And Rupert, I treated him like a senile old fool when I was in Sunnydale before. I was an idiot on both counts. Yet both of you are here. I don’t understand it, but I’ll always be thankful for it, he wrote on the pad.
“You didn’t hurt me,” she whispered to him once she read what he had written to her. “And I made just as many mistakes - more possibly. But yes, we’re here, and we’re don’t going anywhere, so don’t ever think that we are. Everyone is entitled to make mistakes, and everyone is entitled to have those mistakes forgiven and forgotten. That’s what the others didn’t get. We love you, Wesley. I love you.”
She gave him another kiss, knowing that they needed to get dressed soon even though she was quite enjoying this. “Should we...should we get ready?”
Wesley took a deep breath, staring down at the pad. He wrote something really quick, then passed her the pad, before standing and moving to his closet to pick out some clothes.
I love you, so much, Fred. It’s killing me right now, not being able to say it. I want you to hear it, to know it. I don’t know what my voice is going to be like once my throat heals, but I will find some way to be able to say it.
Fred found herself sitting on the bed, staring at the note with tears forming in her eyes. It was amazing how such a simple thing like a voice was so often taken for granted. The ability to say words that held so much meaning without having to think about that part of things...
Getting up, she walking over behind Wesley and wrapped her arms around him from the back, pressing her cheek to his back. “I don’t care what your voice sounds like. That you’ll be healed and knowing that you love me - no matter how you’re able to say it or what it sounds like - will always be enough.”
‘It matters to me,’ he mouthed when he turned to face her. Wrapping his arms around her slight form, he wasn’t sure how to handle the fullness this amazing woman brought to his heart. After several moments, he pulled back, reaching into the closet for his denim shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He held up the two, wanting Fred’s approval. Today was about fun, about comfort, and apparently - according to Rupert - about him. He still wasn’t sure about the haircut, but if it would make them both happy, he would subject to it willingly.
She nodded at his choice - she wasn’t sure what exactly they were going to do after the haircut, but the shirt and jeans seemed a safe choice. And she was sure he’d look great in it, even though she hadn’t often seen him in jeans. In fact, the trip home from the hospital was probably the first time she had.
“Looks good,” she told him. “I’m going to go look for my bag, which I believe is still out in the other room. So you get dressed while I go find what I’m going to wear.” She gave him another kiss. “And I’m sure your voice will be fine. Even if you have a bit of a roughness to it, that’ll just make it even sexier than it was.”
Winking at him, she hurried out into the living room and found her bag, rooting around until she pulled out a green cotton top with spaghetti straps, a matching skirt and set of panties, which she brought back into the room for Wesley to approve in turn.
Wesley slid the jeans on quickly, not bothering with boxers. It was another thing his father always got on him about. He gave a mental shrug, figuring this was the first step in telling his father to stuff it. He put on a white tank top underneath the denim shirt, tucking both in just as Fred returned to the room. He looked at what she was carrying, giving a nod as his mind wandered, filled with the possibilities of that outfit. Milky skin, not only exposed to his eyes, but also more accessible to touch. He held his hands out at his side, presenting the finished picture to his love.
Fred found herself staring - even with the somewhat scruffy hair that would be taken care of soon enough, he looked unbelievably yummy in the jeans and shirt. Especially in the jeans. “You should wear jeans like those more often,” she told him. “They show off your-” Ass “-they look really good on you.”
Wesley found himself blushing. Despite having been thoroughly made love to by both his lovers last night. the idea that Fred was checking out his arse embarrassed him. He smiled shyly, lifting his eyes a bit to watch her as she got dressed. She pulled on her panties and skirt and then pulled the top on over her head. He didn’t know why, but a part of him was thankful when she decided to forego the bra.
She thought about pulling her hair back, but then decided to leave it down. “Just need the last member of this group, and we’ll be ready to go,” she said, crossing over and slipping her arm around Wesley.
“I suppose that would be me,” Giles remarked, standing in the doorway. His manner seemed quite natural, despite the fact that he was stark naked. “And she’s right, those jeans show off your ‘assets’ admirably.” He smirked, tossing his own jeans and an emerald green shirt on the bed to get dressed. “Absolutely delicious, both of you.”
As he slid on his own jeans, Fred looked over at Wesley with a grin, thinking about what they had done with Giles earlier. “I’d say the same goes for you, Rupert.” The shirt he was buttoning up looked wonderful on him, setting off his green eyes the way the shirt Wesley was wearing set off his. “I think I’m going to be going out with the two best-looking guys in at least the whole of California.”
Once Giles was finished getting ready, they looked at each other.
“Off to the barber’s first?” she asked.
“Definitely,” Giles said, looking at Wes. “Might even get a trim myself, just so our boy doesn’t feel so ganged up on.” He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little bit of length that could come off. “And I’ll check my messages in the car, to make sure Anya hasn’t burned down the Magic Box,” he joked, tucking his wallet in his back pocket. He grabbed his cell phone out of his jacket, giving a sheepish look when Wesley snorted. His reputation as a technophobe was notorius. “Yes, I have a cell phone...prat. It’s only for emergencies.”
Fred raised an eyebrow after grabbing her purse from the dinner table as they headed out of the flat. “You have something against cells?” she asked while Wesley locked the main door. Once that was done, they walked down the elevator. She could see that Giles wasn’t exactly comfortable in the way he was holding it. “I remember being so surprised at how small they had gotten in the time I was away. I took the first one they gave me apart - wanted to find out how they had managed to do it. An-a few...people weren’t too pleased by that.”
“I have something against most technology. Which is ironic. Jenny, the woman I told you about, she was the computer teacher at Sunnydale High. She used to tease me about my distaste for anything after the twelfth century. I gave in and got this beastly thing after Buffy and Dawn’s mother passed away last year. I wanted them to be able to get a hold of me any time they needed me,” he explained as they exited the building, heading toward his car. “I’m still not fond of them, but I do admit, they serve a purpose.”
She nodded. “Guess that means I’ll be the techy one of sorts. I always end up doing the computer searches most of the time, even though it’s Wesley’s laptop.” When they reached Giles’ car, she nodded toward the back seat. “I’ll take the back again. You can sit up front, Wes. ‘Least I don’t have to share it with the wheelchair this time.”
Wes wanted to get the haircut part of this day over with. He knew Rupert well enough to know the other man would give him no peace today unless he acquiesced. And in this, he had a co-conspirator. A beautiful, brown-eyed co-conspirator. He didn’t stand a chance, and he knew it. He slid into the passenger seat, lost in thought about his lover - correction, lovers. Maybe he should stop thinking so much. They had both made it clear that they were there by choice, even though he was at a loss why these two amazing people would give him the time of day.
“Stop it,” Giles chided, gently as he drove. He smirked when Wes plastered a blank look on his handsome face, acting like he didn’t know what he was talking about. “I know you, Wesley. So stop brooding and just accept the fact that Fred and I want to be here.” He caught Fred’s amused gaze in the rearview mirror. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a barber shop and immediately made the turn into the parking lot. “And get ready to get that mop cleaned up.”
Fred covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh out loud at Wesley’s face in the mirror. He was so adorable at moments like this. She knew that after what had happened, it was difficult to get used to two people being there and refusing to leave. He would get used to it, though - she and Rupert would make sure of it.
They made their way into the shop, which wasn’t busy at all. The barber who served Wesley seemed a bit surprised at the bandage on his neck but said nothing about it and instead set to work shortening his dark hair. Giles, meanwhile, sat down in the next chair, and the other barber set to work on his hair. Fred watched them both with a grin as she leaned against the wall. Soon, Wesley was sitting there with a short, slightly spiky haircut. She loved it and could see Giles did too when they exchanged approving looks. Then the barber made noises about Wesley’s stubbly face, but she shook her head - razors and having them near his neck were probably not a good idea at the moment. Besides, they could take care of that easily enough when Wesley was ready. It would probably be better if one of the two of them, someone he trusted, did it for him anyway.
Giles also had to force down the protective instinct when the barber mentioned shaving Wesley’s face. Truth be told, the slightly scruffy look on the younger man suited him. It made his handsome face more manly and less boyish. He smiled, looking Wes up and down, sharing a look with Fred. They both approved. The sparkle in his green eyes showed the new look caused more reactions in him than just approval.
Giles’ trim was soon finished, and Fred made a point of looking both of them over as they stood up from the chairs. “Both of you look great. I love this look on you, Wesley,” she said, reaching over to run her fingertips across the short hairs on the back of his neck. Between the clothes and the hair, the whole look really suited him.
Wesley ducked his head, blushing at their clear praise. Seeing the hunger in Giles’ eyes made the corner of his lips curl slightly in a smile. Reaching up a hand, he rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. He still wasn’t certain about the look, but Fred and Rupert seemed certain. He met Fred’s gaze when Rupert stood to pay for the cuts. He arched an eyebrow, allowing the unspoken ‘Do you really like it?’ to come through.
She nodded vigorously to the question in his eyes and expression, taking his hand and pressing up against him while they waited for Giles for finish the transaction. “You look incredible,” she told him in a low voice. “Absolutely amazing.”
Even with the glasses, he looked more roguish than she could ever remember, and it was definitely something that turned her on. Giles’ idea for the haircut had certainly been right. Trying to play it nonchalant, she caressed her hand over his jeans-clad ass, but she couldn’t help it and a smile played across her face.
Giles chuckled deeply at the scene before him. For someone new to this lifestyle, Fred was certainly finding her pace quickly. “Come on, let’s get him out of here before you try and unwrap him,” he teased her, maneuvering the three of them out the door as she turned quite a bright shade of pink. Once they were outside, Giles suddenly stopped, placing a hand on Wesley’s arm. He removed the man’s glasses and uttered a soft groan. “Good god, we have got to get you contacts.” Wesley’s eyes were entirely too expressive, and he knew he wanted to see them - wanted to see the hunger, the pleasure, radiating from the blue depths.
Fred looked over his shoulder, seeing Wesley’s eyes and remembering what they had looked like when she had been above him, making love to him. “He’s right. Having contacts would suit you. You wouldn’t be hiding your eyes anymore.” About melting at the look that Wesley shot her way when she said that, she wondered if he had used the glasses for just that - to hide. He usually kept his feelings under the surface, but his eyes gave him away like nothing else.
Giles smiled knowingly. He was willing to bet that that thought hadn’t occurred to Fred until now. She hadn’t had to learn the art of not drawing attention to yourself until her stay on Pylea, but for someone like Wesley with his eyes, so blue, so inquisitive, so expressive, the need to cover them was more than just based on sight. In his world, with Roger Wyndam-Pryce, it was a method of survival.
“Come on, you two. Let’s go see a movie. My treat.” He draped his arms around both their shoulders and led them over to the car. “We’ll drive around for a bit, see what’s playing.”
“Sounds good to me,” Fred said, looking over at Wesley, who smiled and nodded in agreement. A movie would be perfect - she knew that he was probably still a bit uncomfortable being out with the bandage on his neck. Many people couldn’t help but stare.
They piled into the car and headed around, checking out some of the local theaters marquees. As they passed one, Wesley reached over and tapped Giles on the shoulder and pointed while Fred leaned over to see which movies were being played. Then she grinned.
“Die Another Day?” she asked, not sure that any of the other movies seemed the type either Giles or Wesley would be interested in. Besides, it was Pierce Brosnan, and she had always liked him.
Giles rolled his eyes, thinking about Pierce-bloody-Brosnan in a James Bond movie. He believed that Sean Connery would be the only Bond. And he knew that Wesley agreed with him. But sparing a glance at the other man, he followed Wesley’s gaze, clearly noting Fred’s excitement in the rearview mirror. Wesley was right; they would submit because it was what she preferred. The younger man had given in on the haircut for precisely that reason, so he could give in on the movie. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were actually going to see much of it, he had a feeling.
“All right, Bond it is,” Giles conceded with a grin as he pulled into the theatre parking lot.
Fred wasn’t sure what time it was when she finally opened her eyes, only that she was cuddled against the side of one warm body with another one pressed up against her back, an arm resting over her. Opening her eyes, she raised her head. Daylight was streaming in through the crack in the curtain, throwing a thin shaft of light on the bed where she, Wesley and Giles lay. She smiled softly, the events of the previous night playing through her head. The whole experience had been simply unbelievable. She had never imagined anything like that ever happening to her, but now that it had, she certainly didn’t regret it.
Moving her hand from where it was resting on Wesley’s chest, she reached up to stroke his temple. He was definitely not as pale as he had been since he had come out of surgery at the hospital. However, he desperately needed a hair cut - he had obviously been neglecting that along with everything else in the last month. She wondered if there would be time to take him to a barber’s at some point. Not that he’d want to do something like that when they had research to do.
She found herself chuckling to herself softly. She had found two men who loved research and knowledge as much as she did. They were probably the closest things to kindred spirits she had ever found, even with the time she had spent at the university. It was a wonderful feeling to find that, and to be lying in between both of them now.
Wesley stirred when he felt something touch his hair. Confused blue eyes opened, blinking owlishly until the memories resurfaced, playing out in his brain in vivid Technicolor. He glanced down, seeing the large hand on his stomach, and then turned his head to see the woman he loved. Spooned in behind her was the bulkier form of Rupert. His smile grew - it hadn’t been a dream. Slowly, he stretched long limbs before turning on his side to face Fred.
‘Morning,’ he mouthed.
“Good Lord, please tell me the two of you are not habitual early risers?” came Giles’ voice, thick with sleep, from behind Fred. “Let the old man have his rest,” he added, the tone now carrying an amused edge. Finally lifting his head, he rested it next to Fred’s, both of them looking at Wesley. “Hello there, Sleeping Beauty.”
Fred couldn’t help but grin as she looked out of the corner of her eyes at Giles. “I’m not even sure what time it is,” she admitted. “Just kind of woke up. And waking up between two very handsome men is definitely the best way to wake up if I do say so myself.”
She bit back a giggle at their faces and turned her attention fully back to Wesley. “How are you feeling this morning? You look a lot better. Your color’s finally come back.”
‘Feel good.’ Wes paused, his eyes lit up with happiness. ‘Sated,’ he mouthed, teasing his lovers. He shook his head, wondering how his life could have changed so drastically for the better in the midst of such a tragedy. ‘Feel...cared for,’ he confessed, his heart beginning to race at the two faces staring back at him. He felt Giles’ hand reach over Fred and grip his shoulder.
“You are cared for,” he reminded him. “And dare I say...loved. You’re a good man, Wesley. You deserve to have that love, to have someone who cares for you and not the fact that you can carry on his lineage or translate books for them,” he pointed out before moving his hand over Wes’ heart. “This...this is what makes you special.” He smiled, knowing Fred agreed.
“Very special,” she echoed. “And definitely loved.”
She rested her hand over Giles’ and looked over at him, knowing that both of them would definitely do whatever was necessary. She already loved him for his dedication to Wesley, and she found that she was loving him for the fact that he was just Rupert as well. “And one of the first things we need to take care of when we get a chance is your hair,” she told Wes with a grin.
Giles smiled down at Fred when Wesley blushed. “Yes, something closely cropped to draw attention to those beautiful eyes.”
Giles’ brow then furrowed when the other man looked down instead of at them. He was thinking about his scar again. Allowing himself to think like his friend for a moment, he shook his head. Wesley saw the scar on his throat as a representation of what he considered his failure.
“Wesley, look at me. It’s not a mark of failure. You didn’t fail - the scroll proved that you were right. That scar, while noticeable, is a badge of honor. And I know every time I see it, I will know that one of my young lovers is willing to put everything on the line for those he loves. For as brilliant as you are, you lead with your heart. It’s something I honestly wish I could do. Don’t ever be ashamed of this.” He placed his hand on Wesley’s neck, his thumb rubbing next to the bandage gently.
Fred felt tears in her eyes at Giles’ words because he was right. Wesley had been willing to give up everything he knew and loved in order to save Connor from a terrible fate. He had been willing to give up the only real home and family he had. “Wesley,” she said softly, waiting for his eyes to focus on her, “you did the right thing, and because of that, you’re worth more than any ‘handsome man’ or ‘seer’ or ‘demon hunter’ in this world. What happened to you woke all of us up, and I know that I would never be ashamed to be seen with you, wearing that, since I’d always know that you got it because you were doing what you had to do. And you’ll be able to see that through now, so it won’t be for nothing either. It’ll always mean something to all of us.”
She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. “And when Connor’s older, you know what I plan to do? I plan to point that scar out to him and tell him that you got that for him, protecting him because he deserves to know that you would do anything for those you love.”
When Fred said what she did, Giles wanted to roll her over and kiss her till she was breathless. She had hit the nail on the head, and bringing Connor into it seemed to have gotten Wesley’s attention.
Wesley met their gazes, surprise clear in his eyes. How could they see things in him he couldn’t see in himself? He could see the depth of feeling in each of them, and knowing it was for him was a bit overwhelming. Pity he was used to, but love? The kind you felt down to your very being? He had never tasted that.
‘How?’ he mouthed, confused.
“How what, Wesley? How can we feel like this? How can we love you in spite of mistakes that were made? I have news for you, mistakes were made. But not by you. And we’re not your father. No matter what happens, you will always reside here,” he said, placing a hand over his own heart. “And here,” he added, sliding a hand up Fred’s torso to place a flat hand over her heart.
“He’s right, you know,” she told him. She reached over and took Wesley’s hand, which she pressed over Giles’ on her chest with her own. This - the three of them touching like this, together like this, felt so right in her mind and definitely in her body. “And we’ll be here to remind you of that every day.”
She looked over her shoulder at Giles, locking eyes with his and knowing the answer to her question but asking it anyway. “Won’t we?”
“Absolutely,” he replied, rubbing his thumb along the curve of her breast. “Emotionally...” He paused, ducking his head, and nipped at the juncture of Fred’s throat. He kept his eyes locked on Wesley’s and grinned when he saw the blue eyes darken. “And physically.” Sliding his hand out from under theirs, he clasped the back of Wes’ neck, gripping it. “This isn’t a flash in the pan. You’re not a one-night stand. These feelings are genuine, and they run deep. I’m fairly certain that it’s the same for Fred. I know you and I have had enough words to last us ten lifetimes. So I won’t make promises. But I can show you, by action, what you do to me. How seeing the hunger in those beautiful eyes makes me hard. Last night, feeling you around me, seeing the pleasure on your face, free of your past, I nearly came right there. I’m pretty sure Fred can say the same thing. And so today is going to be about spoiling you.”
“Definitely - on both counts.” She smiled at Wesley - she could the reaction Giles touching her brought out in him, and she loved it. Spending a day with them, just the three of them, doing something for Wesley, would be wonderful. Something he deserved. “Giles, you said that we can’t do anything further until we get those books, right? So we can do something else in the meantime. First, we’re getting your hair cut just like we said and then we’re doing whatever you want as long as it doesn’t involve shutting ourselves up in this apartment...at least not until tonight, anyway.”
Giles smirked, rolling up above Fred, bracing his weight on his arms, hovering above them both. “I don’t know, shutting ourselves up in here has its merits,” he began, ducking his head to kiss Wesley hard. Pulling back after several minutes, he smiled at Fred, both of them clearly enjoying the glazed look in Wesley’s eyes. “The things we could do,” he added, now moving on to kiss Fred. When oxygen became a necessity, he pulled back, having thoroughly enjoyed the taste of every crevice of her mouth. “But she’s right. This is the calm before the storm. We need to get out today. Enjoy ourselves.”
She grinned up at him after the toe-curling kisses he gave both Wesley and her. Shutting themselves up would be a lot of fun, she knew - and something she definitely wouldn’t hate doing either because how many girls could say that they were getting to close themselves off from the world with two very intelligent, very pretty men.
Wesley had to see, however, that they weren’t ashamed to be seen in public with him, and the sooner he knew the better. So going out when they had to chance was the best idea. And besides, she knew that both she and Giles wanted a chance to fawn over him.
“Who gets dibs on the bathroom?” she asked. “With three of us here, are we going to have to come up some sort of schedule or something?”
Giles wanted to say they could always use it together. But this whole situation was too new. A touch or a look could lead to something more. Not that that would necessarily be a bad thing, but today...they needed to get out. He pushed himself up to his knees then stood, smiling down at the pair on the bed.
“Why don’t we let Wes go first, then you, Fred? I can take my shower last.” He gripped Wesley’s hand and helped him to his feet, keeping hold of him till he was certain the younger man’s legs would support him. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll change your bandage when you get out.” He was thankful that he would have something to do with his fingers other than ravish him once they were alone. “This entire day is for you, Wesley,” he reminded him gently. “Now go.”
Giles waited for the bathroom door to close, before sitting down on the mattress in the spot Wes had just occupied. “We certainly have our work cut out for us,” he remarked, still looking at the closed door.
Fred nodded, sitting up and drawing her legs up to her chest as she followed Giles’ gaze toward the door. “He still thinks we’re going to disappear, doesn’t understand why we care so much.” She looked down at the bedspread and picked at a stray thread that had become a bit unraveled. “His father really did a number on him, didn’t he? To make him feel that worthless when it comes to being loved by anyone.”
“I’ve seen his father turn watcher initiates in blithering, sobbing messes. I can only imagine what he did to his own son. Wesley doesn’t believe that he’s worth loving. He and Xander are a lot alike in that regard. Both coming from homes that had to be absolute hell, yet they have these huge hearts and care so deeply. I’ve never hurt an old man in my life, but I do know if Roger Wyndam-Pryce bothers to show his face around here, I’ll make certain he spends his entire trip in traction. I won’t let him hurt Wesley anymore than he already has,” he told her. “If he calls, make sure you give me the phone first. The old bastard is tricky. The only way we can truly thwart him is to close ranks around Wesley. He may use his wife to get access first. Elizabeth Wyndam-Pryce is a gentle woman. Just watch Wesley when she calls. Any change in his demeanor will be able to tell us whether Roger is there.”
Nodding her head, she blinked back a few tears and then turned her gaze back from the bathroom door to Giles. “We’re in this together - whatever it takes, however long it takes. I know we can make him see that we both love him.”
He found a warm smile crossing his handsome face at her declaration. He turned to face her, reaching a hand up to stroke her cheek. “We are indeed. And we will succeed. Just be patient with him, he’ll come around. Follow my lead for times when we need to push him a bit.” He leaned down and kissed her gently. “Thank you, for my own part. But mostly for managing to see the man Wesley truly is. He deserves your love.”
Fred reached up and cupped her hand over Giles’ after he pulled back from her following the kiss. She considered everything that he had just told her and knew he would make good on his threat against Roger Wyndam-Pryce - why did the asshole have to have the same name as her own father? Giles was ruthless with anyone who crossed him but unbelievably gentle with those he love and protected. And she was ready to stand by him in that. “He deserves both of our love. In fact, I think he deserves as much love as he can get, but if you don’t mind, I’m only going to share him with you.”
“I don’t mind.” He cast an amused glance toward the closed door, “And somehow, I don’t think Wesley will mind either.” Reaching his free hand down, he placed it on her bare hip, his green eyes studying her brown. “Wesley was right, you know. You do have a big heart. I never once expected to find myself here,” he began, referring to the bed. “I would have protected both of you regardless. You’re a phenomenal woman, Winifred. And much stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
Fred found herself blushing from the fact that he had just paid her an enormous compliment. The fact that they were both still quite naked and sitting on Wesley’s bed and he had was holding her was nowhere near as important as the man in the adjoining bathroom, the one that they both loved - though she had to admit that being this close to Giles was enough to make her blush too.
“I...if you had asked me last week if I would be willing to share the man I loved with someone else, much less another man? I probably would have looked at you like you were nuts, but there’s just something...there’s something about you and Wesley and me that...I like, that I think we need. I know I couldn’t handle this alone, no matter how strong you think I am. Sharing all of...this...” She waved her hand around expansively. “It just seemed right. Even if it was something I never thought I’d ever do.”
When she dropped her hand down, it brushed across one of the scars on his torso, and she remembered the stories he had told a few days before in the hospital. She wondered briefly which ones were from what. The long one in his side, the smaller ones marking his chest - which had been given to him where? “We all have scars, you know. I think that’s why we need each other.”
“Not all scars are on the outside,” Giles observed sadly. He had come to terms with a great many of his own personal demons - it was the benefit of age as well as situation. Wesley hadn’t had that chance yet. “There’s a lot you don’t understand about Wesley’s childhood. We were raised in the same hell, just different variations. I’ll help you in that regard. He needs you most there, I think. Mainly because you aren’t attached to that. But a bigger part of him will want to protect you from that. Don’t let him push you away.”
She nodded at his warning, knowing that she probably would never be able to understand that part of both of their lives. There was a difference between being a slave as an adult and being terrorized as a child. She could guess, sure, and probably sympathize with the pain on some level, but she couldn’t imagine anyone having to live with anything like that. It was hard just to even consider it. However, she had seen things that would cause most people to hide in their closets for the rest of their lives, so she wouldn’t let anyone, not even Wesley, try to protect her in that way, shutting her out and treating her like some kind of fragile porcelain doll. Even if it was because he loved her and didn’t want her to see that dark place in himself.
“I won’t let him,” she promised. “I know a thing or two about physics - I can figure out how to counteract a repelling force, especially from a stubborn man. You’re right that I will probably need help in understanding certain things, though.” Shifting forward, she wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug, resting her head on his should for a brief moment. “I think for once, I’m at a loss for what to say next.”
Giles smiled patiently, wrapping his arms around the slight form. Leaning his cheek against the dark head on his shoulder, he understood what she was trying to say. “Sometimes silence can speak the loudest. Our lives, they revolve around words. Wesley and myself were forced to sacrifice our childhood to words. Just be Fred. Let your actions speak for you. I guarantee they’ll get through to him faster than anything you could possibly say. Except for the three I have heard you use.” He nodded when she looked up at him confused. “When you told him you loved him.”
Fred was about to respond when Wesley opened the door and came out of the bathroom, and from that moment, all their attention was on him. She could feel Giles’ heart beating faster and could tell he was fighting with himself for control. It was a feeling she most definitely understood because Wesley...it had been true when she had thought that he was beautiful the night before, and it was even more so now, looking stronger and happier than he had been in days.
Giles, meanwhile, was surprised to see Wesley so uninhibited around them. Standing there, naked as the day he was born and freshly showered, there wasn’t a trace of blush in him. Giles found the sight delicious but forced himself to behave. This day was for Wes.
Giving Giles’ arm a gentle squeeze, Fred slipped off the bed and walked over to the bathroom, standing her toes for a moment to give Wesley a kiss before she disappeared inside to take her turn.
Once she left the room, leaving the two of them alone, Wesley finally looked down. All of his insecurities came back with a vengeance. Having Fred there, the only person connected with his new life, it kept him from having to face his inner demons. But here, with Rupert, he could hear his father’s voice in his head.
“You’re pathetic. Needy little twerp. You know you’ll just screw it up. You’ll drive them both away.” In reflex, Wesley closed his eyes, and clenched his fists, trying to tamp down the panic that was welling up in his gut.
Giles, seeing Wesley rooted to the spot, clenched his jaw. He approached quietly, but it was unneccesary. Wesley was so tied up with battling whatever was going on in his head, he could have arrived in a tank and the younger man wouldn’t have noticed. If he had to put money on it, he’d say it was Roger Wyndam-Pryce’s voice tormenting his son. Reaching a gentle hand up, he cupped the younger man’s cheek, stroking the skin with his thumb. He smiled when surprised blue eyes opened to look at him.
“He’s not here, Wesley. He can’t hurt you. Fred and I won’t let him, but we can only protect you to a point. Someday, you’ll have to make a stand and reclaim things for yourself,” he cautioned, making certain to keep his voice soothing. He was completely unprepared when the younger man leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss was desperate, needy. Breaking it could do more damage than good right now. So Giles gave into his passion, keeping things on a tight reign, but still trying to give Wes what he seemed to be seeking. After several minutes, Wesley pulled back for air, and he looked into blue eyes darkened by need and passion. “It’s all right, Wes. We’re not going anywhere. Whatever the voice in your mind is telling you, it’s wrong.”
He gripped the young man’s hand and led him over to the bed. Sitting him down, he reached under the bed for the sizable first aid kit and sat by Wes’ side so that he could replace his bandage. Taking out the appropriate ointment and gauze, as well as two rolls of tape, he set about covering the wound. Giles gasped softly as he started to tape down the fresh bandage when he felt long slender fingers wrapping around his penis. Closing his eyes, a groan emitted from deep in his chest as he felt the long firm strokes on his rapidly filling fresh.
“Wes, we shouldn’t start something we can’t finish right now,” he managed to rasp, his hips moving of their own volition into the younger man’s hand.
*****
After leaving Wes and Giles in the other room, Fred quickly got into the shower, washing her hair and soaping down her body. She found she was a bit sore from the night before with the two men, but it wasn’t too bad, and in all actuality, she found that she was very, very happy. She had been telling the truth when she had told Giles that she had never imagined she would ever be doing anything like this, but she knew that he didn’t want to take Wesley away from her and that Wesley didn’t want to leave her for the other man either. He wanted them both, and he would have them both.
All this meant that the possibilities for the future were enormous - retrieving Connor, returning with Giles to Sunnydale, living as a family. For the first time in a long time, she was actually letting herself think about a long-term future, something she had never let herself do in Pylea and hadn’t been able to do while living at the Hyperion.
Turning off the water, she stepped out and wrapped a towel around her hair briefly while she dried off. She hadn’t brought anything in with her, so she would have to do what Wes did - walk back out stark naked. She would get something to wear from her bag while Giles was showering. After hanging the towels back up, she opened the door and walked back out in the bedroom, stopping short at the sight before her, a smile crossing her face.
“I thought the idea was to actually get out of this bedroom sometime today, but if plans have changed, can anyone join in?”
Giles vaguely heard someone say something to him, but the motion of Wesley’s hand on his body was making it hard to thing. He didn’t notice the other man’s smirk when he leaned his weight back on his elbows, exposing himself further to Wesley’s attention. He could feel the fine sheen of sweat breaking out on his skin but wasn’t aware of anything but the blood roaring in his ears.
Wes had heard Fred’s question, however, and turned to look at her, his eyes lit with a mischievous smile. He waved her over, continuing his ministrations on Giles’ body. Leaning over on his side, he found the other man’s mouth, tasting the hunger on his tongue. It was heady.
Fred felt her smile growing wider as she walked over to the bed and joined them. Giles seemed to be well and truly caught up in what Wesley was doing, and when he leaned over to kiss him, she swallowed at the sight. Sliding behind Wes, she wrapped her arms around him, caressing her fingers over his body.
“You two are beautiful, you know that?” she whispered in his ear.
Wesley broke the kiss, looking over his shoulder when he felt Fred’s hands on his skin. He looked down at Giles’ leaking penis, using his thumb to smear a generous amount of precum on it. He held it out to Fred, for her to taste. His own whispered moan bubbled to the surface when her lips wrapped around his digit, her tongue swiping over the pad. He nodded his head toward Giles. If the day was to be for him, he wanted this moment to be for Rupert.
Fred closed her eyes briefly at the taste of Giles on Wesley’s finger, and then she opened her eyes again, seeing him motioning toward the older man. She understood what he was saying without any words and slowly slid from behind him off the bed again. She moved herself in between Giles’ legs, running her hands up along his thighs to his balls, which she began to caress as she leaned in to run her tongue up the underside of his shaft.
Wesley smiled to himself, seeing the glazed look in those loving green eyes. The man was lost in the pleasure. He understood what Giles had been trying to do. But with Fred’s help, they could do this for him. When she moved between Rupert’s legs, Wes slid his hand up the other man’s torso, and cupped the back of his head, swallowing the groan that he knew his other lover had caused. He could feel the trembling in the other man’s bulkier form. Even lost in his passion, Rupert still did what he could for them. The strain of keeping himself still could be felt in every taut muscle.
Giles’ thighs quivered around her as she lapped her tongue over the end of his cock and continued to cup his balls gently in her hand. Moving herself up closer, she took him in her mouth, sliding her lips down as far as she could comfortably go. This wasn’t something she had really ever done, so she was a bit worried about doing something wrong. Giles, however, seemed to be enjoying it, if the sounds he was making - muffled by Wesley’s mouth - were anything to go by. After a few minutes of sucking at him, she found her jaw hurting a bit and went back to licking him again.
Wesley was a bit surprised when the other man broke the kiss, his head thrown back in pleasure. Reaching down, he pinched the hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger, smiling down at Fred when Giles cried out.
“Close,” Giles ground out, releasing a loud cry when Wesley seemed to redouble his efforts. “Fred!” He called her name as a warning as he felt his cock lengthen and surge.
Fred had been alternating between sucking and licking when she heard Giles call her name and pulled back just in time. Wesley wrapped his arms around his shoulders to hold him as his cum came shooting out, splashing across his stomach and chest. Crawling up onto the bed on the other side of him across from Wesley, she ran her finger up Giles’ abdomen through the cum and then held it out to Wesley as he had done with her earlier. He opened his mouth, sliding his lips around her finger, sucking Rupert’s cum off her skin. His blue eyes lit with laughter when he heard the older man groan loudly.
“Bloody hell, the two of you are going to be the death of me,” he gasped, his breathing finally reaching a manageable level. Wesley shook his head, finally sliding his arm from around Giles’ shoulders. Rupert and Fred kept telling him how beautiful he was, but his old friend had no clue that like this, skin flushed, shining with sweat, cum splashed across his belly, Rupert was the definition of beautiful.
“After what you did to us last night, I think it was your turn,” Fred said. “Besides, if you die, you miss all the fun, and that’s not good.” Looking over at Wesley, she couldn’t help but grin, seeing the look in his eyes, the way he was enjoying this. “Plus, as I told Wesley, both of you are beautiful.”
Giles looked up at both of them, giving an undignified snort when she referred to him as beautiful. Wesley with his eyes and lean body was beautiful. He knew he was the vision of a patchwork quilt. Green eyes met blue with Giles giving him a mock glare. “Now that you have had your fun, may I please take my shower?” he asked, before turning to face Fred. “Thank you.”
He was talking to both of them but still looking at Fred. Kissing her gently, he turned and kissed Wes before standing. It took him a few moments before he trusted his shaky legs to support his weight.
“Try not to wear him out, I have plans for you both, later,” he teased the woman they both adored. Humming to himself happily, he made his way into the bathroom
“Would I do that?” she shot back.
Wes watched him go, before turning to face Fred. He was a bit surprised she had taken to including Rupert so easily in what they had. But he supposed with her declaration of her own feelings for the older man, he shouldn’t be. He smiled warmly, ducking his head down towards her. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed, before pressing his lips to hers.
Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tightly as they kissed until finally, they had to break apart, and she rested her forehead against his. “You don’t have to thank me. Been a hell of a few days, hasn’t it? I told Giles that if anyone had told me I’d be doing this, I would have thought them crazy. But you know...this...now...it’s just...right.”
Wesley nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. It did feel right, Rupert with them. He wanted to tell her even one of the million thoughts running around in his head and found it frustrating that he couldn’t. Hell, he wanted to be able to say ‘I love you’ in his own voice. Reluctantly, he reached for the pad on the nightstand.
Never, in a million years, did I ever think to be here with either of you. Especially after I hurt you. And Rupert, I treated him like a senile old fool when I was in Sunnydale before. I was an idiot on both counts. Yet both of you are here. I don’t understand it, but I’ll always be thankful for it, he wrote on the pad.
“You didn’t hurt me,” she whispered to him once she read what he had written to her. “And I made just as many mistakes - more possibly. But yes, we’re here, and we’re don’t going anywhere, so don’t ever think that we are. Everyone is entitled to make mistakes, and everyone is entitled to have those mistakes forgiven and forgotten. That’s what the others didn’t get. We love you, Wesley. I love you.”
She gave him another kiss, knowing that they needed to get dressed soon even though she was quite enjoying this. “Should we...should we get ready?”
Wesley took a deep breath, staring down at the pad. He wrote something really quick, then passed her the pad, before standing and moving to his closet to pick out some clothes.
I love you, so much, Fred. It’s killing me right now, not being able to say it. I want you to hear it, to know it. I don’t know what my voice is going to be like once my throat heals, but I will find some way to be able to say it.
Fred found herself sitting on the bed, staring at the note with tears forming in her eyes. It was amazing how such a simple thing like a voice was so often taken for granted. The ability to say words that held so much meaning without having to think about that part of things...
Getting up, she walking over behind Wesley and wrapped her arms around him from the back, pressing her cheek to his back. “I don’t care what your voice sounds like. That you’ll be healed and knowing that you love me - no matter how you’re able to say it or what it sounds like - will always be enough.”
‘It matters to me,’ he mouthed when he turned to face her. Wrapping his arms around her slight form, he wasn’t sure how to handle the fullness this amazing woman brought to his heart. After several moments, he pulled back, reaching into the closet for his denim shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He held up the two, wanting Fred’s approval. Today was about fun, about comfort, and apparently - according to Rupert - about him. He still wasn’t sure about the haircut, but if it would make them both happy, he would subject to it willingly.
She nodded at his choice - she wasn’t sure what exactly they were going to do after the haircut, but the shirt and jeans seemed a safe choice. And she was sure he’d look great in it, even though she hadn’t often seen him in jeans. In fact, the trip home from the hospital was probably the first time she had.
“Looks good,” she told him. “I’m going to go look for my bag, which I believe is still out in the other room. So you get dressed while I go find what I’m going to wear.” She gave him another kiss. “And I’m sure your voice will be fine. Even if you have a bit of a roughness to it, that’ll just make it even sexier than it was.”
Winking at him, she hurried out into the living room and found her bag, rooting around until she pulled out a green cotton top with spaghetti straps, a matching skirt and set of panties, which she brought back into the room for Wesley to approve in turn.
Wesley slid the jeans on quickly, not bothering with boxers. It was another thing his father always got on him about. He gave a mental shrug, figuring this was the first step in telling his father to stuff it. He put on a white tank top underneath the denim shirt, tucking both in just as Fred returned to the room. He looked at what she was carrying, giving a nod as his mind wandered, filled with the possibilities of that outfit. Milky skin, not only exposed to his eyes, but also more accessible to touch. He held his hands out at his side, presenting the finished picture to his love.
Fred found herself staring - even with the somewhat scruffy hair that would be taken care of soon enough, he looked unbelievably yummy in the jeans and shirt. Especially in the jeans. “You should wear jeans like those more often,” she told him. “They show off your-” Ass “-they look really good on you.”
Wesley found himself blushing. Despite having been thoroughly made love to by both his lovers last night. the idea that Fred was checking out his arse embarrassed him. He smiled shyly, lifting his eyes a bit to watch her as she got dressed. She pulled on her panties and skirt and then pulled the top on over her head. He didn’t know why, but a part of him was thankful when she decided to forego the bra.
She thought about pulling her hair back, but then decided to leave it down. “Just need the last member of this group, and we’ll be ready to go,” she said, crossing over and slipping her arm around Wesley.
“I suppose that would be me,” Giles remarked, standing in the doorway. His manner seemed quite natural, despite the fact that he was stark naked. “And she’s right, those jeans show off your ‘assets’ admirably.” He smirked, tossing his own jeans and an emerald green shirt on the bed to get dressed. “Absolutely delicious, both of you.”
As he slid on his own jeans, Fred looked over at Wesley with a grin, thinking about what they had done with Giles earlier. “I’d say the same goes for you, Rupert.” The shirt he was buttoning up looked wonderful on him, setting off his green eyes the way the shirt Wesley was wearing set off his. “I think I’m going to be going out with the two best-looking guys in at least the whole of California.”
Once Giles was finished getting ready, they looked at each other.
“Off to the barber’s first?” she asked.
“Definitely,” Giles said, looking at Wes. “Might even get a trim myself, just so our boy doesn’t feel so ganged up on.” He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little bit of length that could come off. “And I’ll check my messages in the car, to make sure Anya hasn’t burned down the Magic Box,” he joked, tucking his wallet in his back pocket. He grabbed his cell phone out of his jacket, giving a sheepish look when Wesley snorted. His reputation as a technophobe was notorius. “Yes, I have a cell phone...prat. It’s only for emergencies.”
Fred raised an eyebrow after grabbing her purse from the dinner table as they headed out of the flat. “You have something against cells?” she asked while Wesley locked the main door. Once that was done, they walked down the elevator. She could see that Giles wasn’t exactly comfortable in the way he was holding it. “I remember being so surprised at how small they had gotten in the time I was away. I took the first one they gave me apart - wanted to find out how they had managed to do it. An-a few...people weren’t too pleased by that.”
“I have something against most technology. Which is ironic. Jenny, the woman I told you about, she was the computer teacher at Sunnydale High. She used to tease me about my distaste for anything after the twelfth century. I gave in and got this beastly thing after Buffy and Dawn’s mother passed away last year. I wanted them to be able to get a hold of me any time they needed me,” he explained as they exited the building, heading toward his car. “I’m still not fond of them, but I do admit, they serve a purpose.”
She nodded. “Guess that means I’ll be the techy one of sorts. I always end up doing the computer searches most of the time, even though it’s Wesley’s laptop.” When they reached Giles’ car, she nodded toward the back seat. “I’ll take the back again. You can sit up front, Wes. ‘Least I don’t have to share it with the wheelchair this time.”
Wes wanted to get the haircut part of this day over with. He knew Rupert well enough to know the other man would give him no peace today unless he acquiesced. And in this, he had a co-conspirator. A beautiful, brown-eyed co-conspirator. He didn’t stand a chance, and he knew it. He slid into the passenger seat, lost in thought about his lover - correction, lovers. Maybe he should stop thinking so much. They had both made it clear that they were there by choice, even though he was at a loss why these two amazing people would give him the time of day.
“Stop it,” Giles chided, gently as he drove. He smirked when Wes plastered a blank look on his handsome face, acting like he didn’t know what he was talking about. “I know you, Wesley. So stop brooding and just accept the fact that Fred and I want to be here.” He caught Fred’s amused gaze in the rearview mirror. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a barber shop and immediately made the turn into the parking lot. “And get ready to get that mop cleaned up.”
Fred covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh out loud at Wesley’s face in the mirror. He was so adorable at moments like this. She knew that after what had happened, it was difficult to get used to two people being there and refusing to leave. He would get used to it, though - she and Rupert would make sure of it.
They made their way into the shop, which wasn’t busy at all. The barber who served Wesley seemed a bit surprised at the bandage on his neck but said nothing about it and instead set to work shortening his dark hair. Giles, meanwhile, sat down in the next chair, and the other barber set to work on his hair. Fred watched them both with a grin as she leaned against the wall. Soon, Wesley was sitting there with a short, slightly spiky haircut. She loved it and could see Giles did too when they exchanged approving looks. Then the barber made noises about Wesley’s stubbly face, but she shook her head - razors and having them near his neck were probably not a good idea at the moment. Besides, they could take care of that easily enough when Wesley was ready. It would probably be better if one of the two of them, someone he trusted, did it for him anyway.
Giles also had to force down the protective instinct when the barber mentioned shaving Wesley’s face. Truth be told, the slightly scruffy look on the younger man suited him. It made his handsome face more manly and less boyish. He smiled, looking Wes up and down, sharing a look with Fred. They both approved. The sparkle in his green eyes showed the new look caused more reactions in him than just approval.
Giles’ trim was soon finished, and Fred made a point of looking both of them over as they stood up from the chairs. “Both of you look great. I love this look on you, Wesley,” she said, reaching over to run her fingertips across the short hairs on the back of his neck. Between the clothes and the hair, the whole look really suited him.
Wesley ducked his head, blushing at their clear praise. Seeing the hunger in Giles’ eyes made the corner of his lips curl slightly in a smile. Reaching up a hand, he rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. He still wasn’t certain about the look, but Fred and Rupert seemed certain. He met Fred’s gaze when Rupert stood to pay for the cuts. He arched an eyebrow, allowing the unspoken ‘Do you really like it?’ to come through.
She nodded vigorously to the question in his eyes and expression, taking his hand and pressing up against him while they waited for Giles for finish the transaction. “You look incredible,” she told him in a low voice. “Absolutely amazing.”
Even with the glasses, he looked more roguish than she could ever remember, and it was definitely something that turned her on. Giles’ idea for the haircut had certainly been right. Trying to play it nonchalant, she caressed her hand over his jeans-clad ass, but she couldn’t help it and a smile played across her face.
Giles chuckled deeply at the scene before him. For someone new to this lifestyle, Fred was certainly finding her pace quickly. “Come on, let’s get him out of here before you try and unwrap him,” he teased her, maneuvering the three of them out the door as she turned quite a bright shade of pink. Once they were outside, Giles suddenly stopped, placing a hand on Wesley’s arm. He removed the man’s glasses and uttered a soft groan. “Good god, we have got to get you contacts.” Wesley’s eyes were entirely too expressive, and he knew he wanted to see them - wanted to see the hunger, the pleasure, radiating from the blue depths.
Fred looked over his shoulder, seeing Wesley’s eyes and remembering what they had looked like when she had been above him, making love to him. “He’s right. Having contacts would suit you. You wouldn’t be hiding your eyes anymore.” About melting at the look that Wesley shot her way when she said that, she wondered if he had used the glasses for just that - to hide. He usually kept his feelings under the surface, but his eyes gave him away like nothing else.
Giles smiled knowingly. He was willing to bet that that thought hadn’t occurred to Fred until now. She hadn’t had to learn the art of not drawing attention to yourself until her stay on Pylea, but for someone like Wesley with his eyes, so blue, so inquisitive, so expressive, the need to cover them was more than just based on sight. In his world, with Roger Wyndam-Pryce, it was a method of survival.
“Come on, you two. Let’s go see a movie. My treat.” He draped his arms around both their shoulders and led them over to the car. “We’ll drive around for a bit, see what’s playing.”
“Sounds good to me,” Fred said, looking over at Wesley, who smiled and nodded in agreement. A movie would be perfect - she knew that he was probably still a bit uncomfortable being out with the bandage on his neck. Many people couldn’t help but stare.
They piled into the car and headed around, checking out some of the local theaters marquees. As they passed one, Wesley reached over and tapped Giles on the shoulder and pointed while Fred leaned over to see which movies were being played. Then she grinned.
“Die Another Day?” she asked, not sure that any of the other movies seemed the type either Giles or Wesley would be interested in. Besides, it was Pierce Brosnan, and she had always liked him.
Giles rolled his eyes, thinking about Pierce-bloody-Brosnan in a James Bond movie. He believed that Sean Connery would be the only Bond. And he knew that Wesley agreed with him. But sparing a glance at the other man, he followed Wesley’s gaze, clearly noting Fred’s excitement in the rearview mirror. Wesley was right; they would submit because it was what she preferred. The younger man had given in on the haircut for precisely that reason, so he could give in on the movie. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were actually going to see much of it, he had a feeling.
“All right, Bond it is,” Giles conceded with a grin as he pulled into the theatre parking lot.