Author: M. Jade
Title:What Would Happen...
Rating:PG
Summary:Giles has an interesting dream.
Spoilers:Mention of "Restless"
Disclaimers:BtVS does not belong to me. I'm trying to hold it hostage, but
darn it, Joss keeps waving the lawsuits in front of me.
Distribution:Strange Brew, Bite Me...Please, anyone else ask.
Notes:{}indicates song lyrics, and the song is What Would Happen by Meredith
Brooks.
More Notes:For anyone who is not familiar with lucid dreaming, it simply
means that the dreamer is in control with what is going on.
Even More Notes:Answer to the Dreams Challenge at Strange Brew

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Rupert Giles was aware he was dreaming. He had started out in the school
library where he used to work, and there had been something too unreal about
one of the books on the shelf. That had been his cue. The Watcher’s
Council had taught him well. Giles had been one of the best lucid dreamers
they had encountered, and his talent served him well at times. There were a
number of times his dreams had alerted him to potential dangers, such as the
recent visit from the legendary First Slayer who had invaded the dreams of
the Scooby Gang in order to kill them, and his control over them was
fundamental as to forcing them to divulge their meaning. Tonight, however,
he just wanted to let himself go and have a good time. That was how Giles
ended up at the Bronze.

The club was sparsely populated. The crowd was thin, and there were very
few people on the dance floor. He didn’t even bother to stop at the bar.
He chose, instead, to take a seat a small table in the corner. The table
was vacant, and that was exactly what he had wanted. The music the band was
playing in the background was faint, and for now he didn’t care what it was.
Giles had other things in mind.

He spotted her almost immediately. There, by the door, she stood like a
vision. Her fiery red hair, which was currently framing her face, her soft
green eyes, and the pale blue dress he had imagined her in were, in his
mind, perfection. Willow was as stunning as he had ever envisioned her, and
that only made the dream even better. The witch didn’t even bother to speak
to him; she just glanced over into his direction, and made her way over to
his table. Willow took Giles’ hand and her touch was like fire. Even that
simple of contact seemed to send an intense wave of electricity throughout
his entire body. She led him out to the floor, put her arms around him,
and, as the music slowly came up, they began to dance.

{Electricity}
{Eye to Eye}
{Hey, don’t I know you?}

“Willow, he breathed into her ear.

“Shush, Rupert,” she commanded him as the music went on. Giles didn’t feel
he had much of a choice. When he was in her arms, there was nothing else.
That was the best part. The outside world, with all its problems, hassles;
all of his insecurities were gone. In this dream world, there was only
Willow. And the music.

{I can’t speak.}
{Strip my senses}
{On the spark}

Giles didn’t know why he had chosen Willow. Something in the redhead made
him feel at peace, more peace than his girlfriend Olivia or even his late
love Jenny had ever provided him. It just happened one day that Willow
appeared in his dream, and he ended up feeling more content when he woke up
than he ever had in his entire life. As long as he dreamed, his brain
didn’t bother to process it. He wasn’t sure that he ever wanted to. Right
at that moment, he didn’t want to be psychoanalyzed or his motivations
scrutinized. All Giles wanted to do was dance.

{I’ve never been defenseless}
{I can’t even make sense of this}
{You speak and I don’t hear a word}

“Why am I here, Rupert,” she asked.

“I don’t know Willow,” he replied absent-mindedly. As he said it, he was
staring into her eyes. The truth was that he wasn’t sure himself what it
all meant. He hadn’t really consciously chosen the music, but it was as if
she was singing to him. It was all the things he had wanted her to say to
him, and more.

{What would happen if we kissed?}
{Would your tongue slip past my lips?}
{Would you run away?}
{Would you stay}
{Or would I melt into you?}
{Mouth to mouth}
{Lust to lust}
{Spontaneously combust}

There was no denying what he wanted to do. Giles wanted that one perfect
moment, that one shared thing between two people and he intended to share it
with Willow. Offhand, he wondered what his father or grandmother would say
if they knew what Giles was doing. It wasn’t exactly what they had taught
him a good Watcher was supposed to do. Fantasizing about a young woman who
was more than half his age, he didn’t think they would have approved. Giles
had known Willow for three years, and she still had no idea what being so
close to her did to him.

It took a lot for Giles to pretend that Willow was just another member of
the Scooby Gang. Willow was supposed to be a friend of his Slayer who
happened to help out in their fight against their enemies. Every time he
got close to the hacker, it was awkward for him. He had to keep reminding
himself that she was simply a young woman doing a job, not some nubile nymph
teasing him. Most importantly she was his friend, and Giles had done his
best to treat her as such. Willow almost certainly did not have the
slightest idea as to his dreams and her part in them. In the end, he
convinced himself that it was for the best.

{Room is spinning}
{Out of control.}
{Act like you didn’t notice}
{Brushed my hand}

His dreams had been getting worse. They had been simple at first, harmless
little things, but recently they had begun to get more suggestive and
erotic. Giles knew he should stop, let it go, but part of him needed to be
there, to feel her skin. The whole effect was intoxicating to him. The
more he dared to experience with Willow, the more he wanted.

There was also the danger that his dreams would carry out into the real
world. There had been a few times he had come perilously close to
attempting to live out these dreams, and it scared him. So far, Giles had
managed to catch himself any time he found himself staring at Willow’s
enchanting features or wanting to touch her a little longer than necessary.
The more he dreamed, the harder it became to hold back. He was afraid that
if he ever dared to share any of this with the sweet redhead, it would ruin
the tentative friendship they had built, and that was not a chance he was
willing to take.

{Forbidden fruit}
{Ring on my finger}

They both had someone they cared about, someone they had made promises to.
Giles had Olivia, who he did care for; there was no question as to that.
Olivia meant the world to him, and she was a wonderful woman, but she had no
clue as to these dreams of his. Olivia had no idea that in his dreams Giles
had chosen someone else.

Then there was Tara. Willow clearly liked the girl, and Giles did respect
their relationship. Willow was an independent young woman with a life of
her own, and Tara was the one she had chosen to share that life with, as he
had chosen Olivia. But in his dreams, Giles didn’t care about that. In his
dreams, no one stood between them.

{You’re such a moral, moral man}
{To throw it away, no questions}
{Will I pretend I’m innocent?}

In his dreams, all his propriety and morals be damned. Every time he had
hugged Willow, or come thisclose to her, he had kept his cool and managed
not to act like some bloody prat. In the real world, he had remained the
consummate gentleman, and it had worked. Willow didn’t know about the world
he had created in his mind, the things that he had imagined them doing.

But in his dreams, she wanted him just as much. Willow, too, had forgotten
all the proper things they were supposed to do. In his dreams she acted as
boldly as Giles did.

“This is nice,” she commented sweetly as they continued to dance.

“Yes, I would have to agree, Willow,” he replied as he began to stroke her
silky hair.

“But it could be nicer,” the redhead added. The music played on.

{What would happen if we kissed?}
{Would your tongue slip past my lips?}
{Would you run away?}
{Would you stay?}
{Or would I melt into you?}
{Mouth to mouth}
{Lust to lust}
{Spontaneously combust}

{What would happen if we kissed?}

“What would happen,” Willow mused, repeating the lyrics to the song. Giles
didn’t know how to answer. Each time in his dream, it was different. The
situation was always the same, but their reaction was never the same. This
time he chose to say nothing. Willow, however, chose to act.

“Let’s find out,” she purred. She leaned in and gave him a polite kiss in
the cheek, something friendly and nice, and looked up into his eyes. No,
this was not what he wanted.

{I struggle with myself again}
{To keep the walls from crumbling}
{I don’t know if I can turn away}

They were in the middle of the dance floor; no one else was paying attention
to them. They were alone in the spotlight, and for once, Giles chose to
give in. They had never gone this far in his dreams. Now, he wanted to.

“Willow,” he breathed as he took her chin in his hand and held her to him.

“Rupert,” she replied. Giles bent down to her and pressed his mouth to
hers. The effect was electric. His whole being felt like it was on fire,
and the heat seemed to fill the whole room. She eagerly returned his kiss
as they kept swaying to the music. Yes, this was the type of moment he had
envisioned. The two of them, alone and uninterrupted. It was magic, unlike
anything he had ever experienced with Jenny or Olivia. This was the magic
he imagined Willow could weave. They just stood there and kept at it as the
music went on, no one seeming to be paying any attention to them.

{What would happen if we kissed?}

Giles awoke with a start as he heard the telephone ring. It had been a
wonderful dream, but as all dreams must, this one had ended. He groaned as
he reached over to grab the receiver.

“Hello,” he answered as he listened to who was on the other line. “Oh,
hello, Willow.”