Grateful
a Buffy the Vampire Slayer story
by nermal

"Here, for your itchy nose." Giles lay the handkerchief down on the library table next to a stack of book and in front of Wesley. "You look as if it's giving you a hard time," he added, softly, lest Wesley think the sniffling and sneezing had been bothering him.

"Oh..." Wesley blinked, rubbed his nose once more into the damp, wrinkled hanky he was holding, and sniffled wetly. "Thank you. I... appreciate..." He paused, nose twitching as he reached for the clean hanky. Another nose-twitch and a wet sniffle changed his mind and Wesley buried his nose back in the used one. "Heeyish! YISH! Eeeiishhoosh! " Three wet sneezes, semi-muffled by an over-used cloth sounded in the near empty room. "Pardon me. I... huh! Hmmphhshh! " The stifle jerked Wesley forward in his seat and he groaned quietly as he leaned back, unfolding Giles' hanky. "Excuse me. Again."

Giles waited for the wet nose-blows and itchy sniffles to calm down before sitting down next to Wesley. "You needn't apologize.. You're not doing anything wrong."

"It's bothersome," Wesley mumbled. His glasses got set down on top of a book, the over-used hanky tossed into a rubbish bin, and the book in front of Wesley shut before Wesley could protest. He simply watched as Giles cleared the table in front of them, with the occasional snuffle, of course.

"Not bothersome..."

"Oh? No?"

"No. Not at all." On the contrary, but Giles kept that thought to himself. No need to let his new lover know how the ticklish sneezes and sniffles had been warming Giles' insides all afternoon. He didn't think he could keep it from Wesley very long, especially if they ended up spending tonight together, but Giles could wait a while longer. "Do you feel all right, though? You don't sound too hoarse or congested."

Wesley shook his head. "I feel all right." He quieted. "It's... nothing really."

"A rather sneezy nothing." Giles slid an arm around Wesley and rubbed his back lightly. The suit jacket had come off when the school day ended, making it easier for Giles to tell when Wesley was getting tense. "Might just have a touch of cold in the head."

"No, I... it's..." The hesitation this time was due to the itchiness in his pinkish, sensitive nose. Wesley brought the hanky to his face with both hands and built up to three, quick, tickly sneezes. "Eissh! Ish! Hisshew! " He gave his nose one quick blow and sighed with resignation when he saw the questioning look on Giles' face. "Hay fever," he mumbled and turned away to rub his nose into the cloth.

Warmth bubbled up inside Giles. He savored the idea of Wesley's nose, red and twitching with tickles he couldn't control and finally having to get rid of them with a series of ticklish, allergic sneezes, then quickly let it go to soothingly rub Wesley's back. "Bless you. Is it very bad? We should get you some Benedryl on the way home."

Wesley flushed, but didn't pull away from the attention. "It's not terrible. I just didn't expect..." He looked down at the table for a few moment, then raised his eyes to Giles. "At home, my allergies don't usually act up until the middle of summer. Different climate, I ought to have realized."

"Hush. I told you not to feel bad, Wesley. It's not like you can control it, and it's certainly not something youve do'ne wrong."

"I suppose. That is, I know. It's nothing to worry about. And you're right, I ought to take an antihistamine and not come into work like this."

Fingers moving over Wesley's neck, Giles rubbed gently. The flashes of insecurity were more common from Wesley when they were alone, which at least ensured Giles that his attempts to get closer to Wesley were working. However, he'd rather Wesley not feel bad about something that wasn't worth feeling insecure over. Poor thing, Giles thought, and smiled at the strong affection he was starting to feel for Wesley. "You ought to take it so you're not miserable and can get through the day with a minimum of discomfort."

"Yes, yes. I... That feels good." Wesley's shoulders started to relax and slowly, carefully it seemed, he sighed. After Giles had rubbed his neck, then between his shoulder blades for a few minutes, he drooped a bit more. "Oh, my allergies," he said quietly and reached up scrub his hands over his face. "My nose is so itchy." Wesley glanced at Giles, an uncertain look on his face after the admission.

"It looks itchy," Giles murmured. His fingers stroked the hair at the nape of Wesley's neck. "Rather pink and trembling after a day of sneezing. Think you might be ready to come home with me?"

Pressing a finger to his twitchy nose, Wesley's uncertain look slowly changed to a smile. "I think so,

Rupert.""Good." A smile came with the reply, as did a kiss. "Let's get ready to close up the library."

Wesley read the label on the box of allergy tablets, a frown of concentration on his face. "I think, perhaps, I'll wait before bed to take this. I'm afraid I'll fall asleep before we finish the tea."

"That sounds all right... As long as you don't feel bad." Giles finished pouring out the tea for both himself and Wesley before settling down next to his lover on the sofa. "Do you? Feel bad?"

"No, not really..." Wesley paused to sip his tea and place the box aside. His nose was still a sensitive shade of pink from the sniffles and sneezes. He rubbed his index finger under his nose, sniffled wetly, and rubbed his nose again. "Mostly, itchy. You don't need to worry that much," he added, finger still under his nose.

"I-I..." Giles hesitated. Of course he worried, he cared about Wesley a lot. There was, however, the attempt to allay his guilt for finding Wesley's sneezy, itchy nose so... Well. There really was no way around it. Placing his mug aside, Giles slid closer to Wesley on the couch. "I don't want you to feel poorly," he started, and hesitated again when Wesley's nose twitched against his finger. "Do you need to..."

"Y-yes... sor-sor... itchishh! Chisshew! " Wesley sneezed against his finger, rubbed his nose, and sniffled over and over again until a wet "hitsssshishh! " slipped out as he reached for a tissue. "Sorry," Wesley murmured.

"Bless." While Wesley blew his nose gently, Giles drank some of his tea. He put his cup down when he could move in even closer to Wesley. "I don't want you to feel poorly," Giles said quietly. He cupped Wesley's face in his hand and leaned in for a gentle kiss.

"Rupert..." Wesley returned the kiss. "I know that."

"Remember it, it's true." Another small kiss to Wesley's lips, then to the corner of his mouth. Decided that he probably wasn't going to bet much braver, Giles brushed his nose gently over Wesley's. "Your nose is so handsome," he said quietly.

Giles could feel the smile on Wesley's lips when he brushed them with a soft kiss, then the slight twitch of his nose when Giles brushed his lips over it, too. "You've mentioned..."

"Because it's also true. And, and... I rather like..." A pause to rub his nose over Wesley's. "Like it like this..." Another pause to screw his courage to the sticking point. "Itchy. Sensitive. Sneezy."

"Oh." Wesley looked at Giles after he pulled away slightly. A thoughtful expression formed on his face. "Oh, that's... I wish you'd mentioned earlier."

"Ah?" It was Giles turn to look thoughtful, or, really, uncertain.

"Yes." Wesley took his glasses off, then reached over to remove Giles'. "I could've indulged you quite well last night..."

Relief flooded through Giles, quickly followed by the warmth of arousal. "Really? Your n-nose..." Shyness crept into his voice, but it felt so good to be able to say these things with Wesley. "Your nose was v-very allergic?"

"Very..." Wesley gently rubbed his nose against Giles' cheek before leaned in to kiss Giles. His nose brushed against Giles' with an itchy sniffle after the kiss, making Giles' breath catch. "I tried getting through the chronicle you leant me, but...." Here, Wesley sniffled again and his breath wavered. "But... Sneezing attack..."

"Oh..." Giles let Wesley turn away from the kisses, but rested his hand on Wesley's side.

Nose already twitchy from his sniffles, it didn't take long for Wesley's breath to hitch and his face to tense up. "Hih... huh, hutschh! tchushh, huh... huhushhoo! " He directed the sneezes toward his shoulder, gave his head a little shake, and loosed a stronger "hutChuussh! "

"Bless you." Licking his lips, Giles pressed in slightly closer. The sneezes had flushed Wesley's nose a deeper shade of pink and when that nose touched his own, Giles sighed involuntarily. "God, Wes..."

"Should have told me, Rupert," Wesley murmured. He sniffled damply between a few small kisses, then pressed into a deeper kiss. "Not so very hard for me to get a sneezy nose for you..."

"Don't want you to..." The kisses were getting deeper, longer, and warmer. Giles slid his arm around Wesley's waist to pull him in near. "I want you to.... Actually," Giles smiled, "I want you. And when you're like this, I simply want you more. It's... special, different, but certainly not required."

Wesley smiled. A broad, unaffected smile that made Giles so proud of his boyfriend. "I'm usually embarrassed of my hay fever - it's sloppy, or annoying, or inconvenient for a watcher."

"For a watcher, perhaps, inconvenient, I'll grant." Giles lowered his voice, touching his lips to Wesley's. "Here? With me? You're no watcher; you're my lover. And I can't say I don't like my lover's sneezing..."

Wesley make the touch more firm, kissing Giles and sliding a hand into Giles' jumper. "I can hardly believe..." Wesley turned his head again, just slightly this time so that Giles could see his nose twitch and wrinkle against a tickle. "huhih.... hiyisshuh! Ah... you think, th-hihthink... eissshush! " A wet sniffle had Wesley rubbing his nose against the back of his hand. "You think ... Special... tschsshm! " Wesley smothered the sneeze against his hand until he could take the tissue Giles offered him. "heisshih! "

"I hope I won't have that difficult a time convincing you." Already missing the warm hand that had pressed to his side, Giles rubbed his palm up and down Wesley's chest. Arousal had been stirring inside him since early that afternoon with the first few, soft, wet sneezes Wesley had muffled into a handkerchief. It had been almost torture - but of the delicious sort - when a series of uncontrollable, itchy sneezes kept Wesley in Giles' office, away from the students until the tickling calmed down. Now, with Wesley sneezing so freely and so close to him, his arousal was heightening quickly. "Come upstairs. Indulge me?"

Wesley rubbed his nose into a clean tissue, added it to the pile of used ones, and leaned in to kiss Giles once more. "As if I could say no."

Giles sat down on the bed next to Wesley, giving the room a quick glance. He'd brought the allergy tablets, water and more tissues upstairs, despite Wesley telling him not to bother. Certain he could fetch anything else Wesley might need later on, Giles took one more second to enjoy the trembling anticipation that had filled him as he watched Wesley undress, and then sit down on the bed, overcome with a series of amazingly tickly, wet sneezes.

"heiih...hiyishhishh! " Wesley sprayed the sneeze out, glanced shyly at Giles, then directed another "iihyissh!" over his shoulder. "Should I... snff do you want... snff, SNIFF! Me to do something special?" The shyness had crept back over Wesley, nose sniffling against the finger he held beneath it, tickly expression forming on his face again. "heyihh... yih! Yitschewww! "

"No," Giles breathed and moved his lips across Wesley's shoulder. "Just stay close, touch me, don't..." He paused to draw Wesley's hand away from his face. "Don't hold back," Giles said in a low voice. "I want to see you."

"oh... huhoh... h'RISH! " Wesley let out a sharp sneeze and snuffled wetly. "Might need a tissue..."

"Mmm... of course." Giles' lips pressed to Wesley's neck with a warm kiss as Wesley muffled a few short, wet blows into a tissue. "Does your nose get very runny from your allergies?" The trembling sensation inside Giles' grew; he pressed himself close to Wesley, aware he might be trembling as he ran his fingertips gently over Wesley's chest. "Hm?" he coaxed when Wesley hesitated. "I-I'd like... if you..." Giles nuzzled Wesley and kissed his ear softly. "Tell me?"

Another warm kiss to his neck seemed to convince Wesley how interested Giles was. "Enough to keep me sniffling... until I start sneezing, and then..." Wesley ducked his head shyly, endearingly. "Quite runny. And itchy," he added, "I get such an itchy, runny nose in the summertime." He touched the edge of his index finger to his nose, as if talking about it made it quiver, and sniffled wetly. "I'm allergic..."

Giles' breath caught softly. Hearing Wesley talk about his allergies in that quiet, uncertain voice made Giles want to touch him more, feel Wesley move against him. His hand drifted down Wesley's side and stroked warmly. "Poor love," he murmured and watched his hand smooth over Wesley's hip. "Hopefully not so bad tonight."

"It doesn't feel..." Wesley's face grew slack again, eyes unfocused and lips parted between soft, panting breaths. "T-tuhhuh... t-too, badd..." Giles couldn't tell if Wesley was fighting the urge to sneeze or trying to coax it out, but either way the effect was positively delicious. His eyebrows drew together slightly over eyelids that struggled to stay open.

And his nose. Oh, dear lord... Giles shuddered, unable to repress it, and nuzzled his own nose over Wesley's, tickling gently when it twitched. He really did think Wesley had the most handsome nose, straight, perfectly shaped, distinct, sexy... Amazingly able to bring him hardness when Wesley nuzzled into the thatch of hair at his groin, or between his thighs and tickled his balls with the tip of his nose, then nuzzled up the length of Giles' erection. That had been good enough, to have Wesley nudging against him with his nose, bringing him to full, needy arousal before sucking him off or having Giles fuck him. Now, however, his nose looked desperately allergic, sniffling, wriggling, twitching with the need to sneeze. "Love your nose," Giles murmured and drew Wesley closer to him, "always have..."

Unable to answer, Wesley gave a brief nod before his breath hitched in his chest. "ihih! " Face suddenly tight, he tipped his head back a fraction, waited a moment, then brought it down quickly with a full, rounded, "itchushhoosh! "

"Bless you," Giles breathed out the words.

"hitchush! chush! huh-uhhsshoooo! " Wesley drew the last sneeze in the triple out a little longer than usual, lips slightly pursed around the release and face screwed up around his pink nose. His expression remained frozen, body tense, until his nose twitched. "CHUSSHEEEW! "

"... oh ..." Giles' cock twitched as the sound of the tickly, louder, higher pitched sneeze. The sound had been perfectly... perfectly Wesley. Masculine, strong, but with that added note of desperation. Shifting on the bed, he took Wesley's hand and rested in on his cock, encouraging him to touch, rub, anything, Giles needed to feel him. "Oh, Wesley, so beautiful..."

Wesley sniffled damply, fingers moving clumsily over Giles' erection as he snagged a tissue with the other hand and wiped his nose. After a quick, blow he leaned in close to Giles and started kissing him again. Between kisses there were small, quiet sniffling sounds, but they just made Giles want to kiss Wesley harder, deeper, hold him closer and move his hands over Wesley's body. Soon, Wesley was lowering him down to the mattress, body pressing to Giles' and his mouth moving from Giles' lips to his neck, shoulder and chest.
Arching up into the soft touch of nose and lips nuzzling at the center of his chest, Giles shut his eyes. He could hardly believe how eager and aroused he was, and then how grateful and ful of warmth he felt when he looked down and watched Wesley. "Wes..." Giles touched his fingertips to Wesley's shoulder.

Wesley looked up, sniffled a little bit, and turned his head to kiss Giles' fingers. "Rupert..." He nuzzled against Giles' hand, affectionately, pressing a kiss to the palm, and then dipped his head down to nuzzle more lightly against Giles' stomach. The touch was so light, teasing, and ticklish that it made Giles moan. When Wesley moved lower, nose brushing the sensitive skin below Giles' navel, Giles gasped.

Gasped and writhed, and finally groaned loudly at the feel of Wesley's nose rubbing against his erection. The touch was still light and drove Giles crazy with the heat and desire pulsing through him. He groaned again, about to try and arch his hips up closer to Wesley, when he caught sight of Wesley wrinkling his nose and sniffling. Giles forced himself to ease back against the mattress; he quieted his breathing so he could hear the soft, panting breaths that Wesley took as he built up to a sneeze.

A very tickly sneeze judging from the way Wesley's nose flushed pink around the nostrils and quivered with a few wet sniffles. He moved away from Giles, but it seemed more an involuntary movement than anything else. Wesley's shoulders trembled as he leaned over Giles and pulled away another inch or two. His nose trembled, too, as he tensed up against the hitching breaths. "huhuh... h'h'h...hhuh! h'EISSSHOO! YISSHEW! "

"Oh..." Giles couldn't halt the sigh. Wesley looked amazing - how he managed that perfect balance between vulnerable and desirable was beyond Giles at this point. All Giles could do was yearn toward him

"hitsshoo! tschoo! yisshew! " A triple of smaller sneezes followed and kept the distracted look on Wesley's face long after they finished. He was sniffling repeatedly now and moving in closer to Giles once more to rub his nose against Giles' stomach. "S-sorry, I'm... oh, huhuhh... eiish! eisshISHHOOSH! " The louder, stronger sneeze rushed out before Wesley could finish the first and left a surprised look on his face. "Oh.. sneezing..."

That one soft word, in Wesley's low, hoarse voice, sent such a thrill through Giles. Hands shaking with need, he tugged Wesley back up next to him on the mattress. He kissed a line from between Wesley's shoulder blades to the base of his spine, and took a moment to relish the feel of his lover's body under his hands. Another moment later, he was moving inside Wesley, warmth and tightness and his slicked hand moving over Wesley's erection and oh, god so perfect so much better than what he'd been hoping for.

Giles watched Wesley swallow down two allergy tablets with the whole glass of water, and blow his nose again. Once Wesley was finished, Giles clicked off the bedroom lamp and drew Wesley into his arms and against his chest. "Wes... I... thank you."

"Mm..." Nuzzling Giles' chest, Wesley made a quiet sound. "You enjoyed that?"

"Enjoyed? I haven't had sex that brilliant in..." Giles paused. He pressed a kiss to Wesley's hair and smiled. "Never been this good. With anyone. I'm so grateful."

Wesley leaned up and kissed Giles. "And I can't wait to earn your gratitude again."

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