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summer_of_giles2011-06-19 07:50 pm
skargasm.livejournal.com) wrote in summer_of_giles2011-06-19 07:50 pm
Entry tags:
Want ~ Giles/Xander ~ R
After 2 days of darkness, I thought it was only right that you got some schmoop!! A two-parter that you get all of straight away, I hope you enjoy. I'm back to working on 'What Ripper Wants...' and would like to say thank you for your lovely words of support as I explore this new (for me) pairing!!
Title: → Want
Pairing: → Giles/Xander
Prompts: → #257 : Drudge @![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
tamingthemuse
Parts: 1/2
Rating: → R
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
theladymerlin - any other mess ups are mine!
Summary: → Buffy and Willow are busy; Slayer Central and the Watcher Council is finished. Who wants a one-eyed carpenter around once all the building work has been done?
Graphics: Beautiful banner made bykatekat1010
A/N: →Winner of the Where Do We Go From Here? @ the White Knight Awards 2012
“Hey Giles, you English people have some weird names for things – I've been trying to stop the hedgehogs getting onto the grounds because the SiTs were getting all wigged out and the guy in the shop told me they used to be called urchins. Cool name but makes no sense to me. You guys sure like to talk although most of the time people seem to be going on about my accent!”
Reading the label on the box he was carrying, Xander followed Giles into the breakfast room. His early morning jaunt to the local hardware store meant that he was up and raring to go a little earlier than normal and Giles hadn't yet left for the new Watcher Building. He tried not to wonder when exactly having breakfast with Giles made the difference between a good start to his day and a great start – he just knew having breakfast, catching up on the news, simply sharing the early morning meal was just that little bit sweeter when Giles hadn't already left for work.
“Good morning Xander.”
“Oh, sorry, yeah, morning G-man. Hey, where's the Buffster?” Xander heard Giles give a heavy sigh and felt slightly guilty. He'd heard that sigh a lot lately, and more and more on his bad days it made him feel that he was a waste of space and not wanted. All he seemed to do was cause Giles grief. Buffy was the Queen of the Slayers, and Willow was rapidly becoming an incredibly powerful witch – what exactly did he have to offer?
“Buffy decided she needed to go to Europe. Nothing at all to do with Fashion Week she informs me but Willow has gone to Uzbekistan for some Wicca conference and - “
“Jet-set Scoobies!! I vaguely remember Buffy tellin' me something about her flight details but I wasn't really paying attention. I'll take this stuff and get out of your hair – I know you're busy.” With both Buffy and Willow gone, that left Giles in charge of the SiTs and the Watchers which tended to make him over-tired and more than a little bit temperamental. Xander didn't want to add to that stress, especially when he could do very little to help, and resolved to get out of the way.
“Xander, wait please.” Xander took a deep breath. For some reason he was scared – was this when Giles told him he was no longer needed?? Slayer headquarters was rebuilt and who really needed a one-eyed carpenter? Oh he knew it wouldn't be phrased that way but there was no two ways around it – with one eye he was more of a liability than an asset when it came to patrolling and fighting, and besides they had a slayer army. What did they need with a slightly overweight, out of shape, crippled man? A drudge that could be replaced by anyone but wouldn't because his friends felt guilty about what had happened to him. Maybe the thing to do was to pre-empt things.....
“Actually, Giles, I wanted to get as much done as I can. You see, I'm leaving.”
Totally unexpected and so not in the game-plan. Buffy and Willow had agreed to vacate the premises, giving him the space he needed to – well, to risk eviscerating humiliation by declaring his feelings for a young man who to all intents and purposes was straighter than the proverbial spirit level. Giles sighed and whipped his glasses from his face, staring out of the window sightlessly. This was meant to have been his opportunity to sit down and talk to Xander and stop dithering. He detested such behaviour in others and it was just as abhorrent within himself. But now it would appear that he had dithered far too long – Xander was talking about leaving. Something about visiting Sunnydale, finishing the tour that was aborted in Oxnard and making the most of the Disaster Funds that had finally trickled down to all of the ex-Sunnydalers.
He didn't want to stand in Xander's way but -
“You're being a silly old fool. Leave the boy alone.” Giles sighed once again and tried to decide what to do. He could go into Watcher Headquarters – there was always something to do there, even if it was as simple as stacking all of the books that were coming in. Amazingly, more than a few Watchers had survived the attack by the First and were more than willing to return to the fold. Especially now there was more than one Slayer and a slight change in the way things were done was being welcomed by most of them.
But he didn't want to go into work. He wanted to stop Xander from leaving, wanted to ask him to stay. But what did he have to offer?? An ageing ex librarian? A continued life facing death by supernatural means night after night? Who in their right mind would want to say yes to that, let alone a man who gave no indication that he was gay. Apart from occasional looks that Giles had caught, and a few curious questions there was nothing there to make Giles think that Xander was bisexual. But....
“Hey G-man, you okay in there?? You've normally left by now – I just wanted to check you were alright.” Giles turned round swiftly as he realised that Xander had come back into the room, his voice catching in his throat as he looked Xander over. Dressed in baggy jeans, a stone-coloured tee-shirt and a black and red checked over-shirt, he was the epitome of casual. So why did the look of him cause Giles' heart to trip and beat double time? Why did looking into Xander's kind, gentle hazel eye make it impossible for him to remember what he wanted to say? He knew the boy – no, man – thought Giles was annoyed with him more often than not, but that wasn't the case. It was simply that he couldn't think what to say when he was drowning in Xander's eye. He was worse than a teenage girl with her first crush – even Buffy told him so.
“Xander – I – I wanted to talk to you.”
“Yeah? Okay. Is everything okay? I mean, I won't leave you in the lurch – if there's stuff you need doing before I go then I can handle that. I just – look, Giles, can we sit down?”
“Yes, yes of course.” Relieved at the reprieve, Giles followed Xander into the sitting room, taking a seat next to him on the leather couch and wiping his hands on the legs of his slacks as he realised they were sweating. Perhaps he still had the chance to convince Xander not to go? Even if they couldn't be together, he would much prefer to have the young man around. Xander was a part of his family and he didn't want to lose him. Turning to look at Xander, he forced himself to meet the younger man's eye. This was important – perhaps his only opportunity – and he took a deep breath. “Xander, I know things have been difficult lately – you – I - “
“Look, Giles, I understand. I know there's not much use for me here – I totally get it, you know? It's no-one's fault what happened to me and I don't expect you guys to let guilt get in the way of what needs doing. You've got the slayers and the new watcher's council – you don't need to be worrying about me getting in the way of all that. So that's why I've decided it's time for me to stand on my own two feet. I have the money, the time and the inclination – it's time I flew the nest and flapped my wings a bit, you know?”
“Oh Xander!”
“Don't be upset, Giles, please. No one is pushing me to do this – I've made this decision on my own. G-man, you have always been there for me and I appreciate that. Please, don't let - “
“Xander will you please shut up!” A stunned silence met his outburst and Giles realised he had probably only rarely raised his voice in such a fashion. And now there was a silence that needed to be filled and he wasn't sure he could do it. “I'm sorry. That was rude of me but I simply couldn't listen to you talking such drivel for much longer. I mean, really, Xander what on earth makes you think that we have you here through guilt? After all, when Willow went too far with her magic, did we dust our hands off and say 'oh well, out of sight is out of mind – let's leave her to rot in England while we get on with things?'? When Buffy went through that whole unfortunate phase after she came back from – after she came back, did we say oh dear, what a bad deal – better leave her to it? I'm not being very clear here and I'm sorry, it's just that have things I need to say and it's taking me months to get to this stage so I need you to just listen to me. Alright?”
WANT – PART TWO
Title: → Want
Pairing: → Giles/Xander
Prompts: → #257 : Drudge @
tamingthemuseParts: 1/2
Rating: → R
Beta:
theladymerlin - any other mess ups are mine!Summary: → Buffy and Willow are busy; Slayer Central and the Watcher Council is finished. Who wants a one-eyed carpenter around once all the building work has been done?
Graphics: Beautiful banner made by
katekat1010A/N: →Winner of the Where Do We Go From Here? @ the White Knight Awards 2012
“Hey Giles, you English people have some weird names for things – I've been trying to stop the hedgehogs getting onto the grounds because the SiTs were getting all wigged out and the guy in the shop told me they used to be called urchins. Cool name but makes no sense to me. You guys sure like to talk although most of the time people seem to be going on about my accent!”
Reading the label on the box he was carrying, Xander followed Giles into the breakfast room. His early morning jaunt to the local hardware store meant that he was up and raring to go a little earlier than normal and Giles hadn't yet left for the new Watcher Building. He tried not to wonder when exactly having breakfast with Giles made the difference between a good start to his day and a great start – he just knew having breakfast, catching up on the news, simply sharing the early morning meal was just that little bit sweeter when Giles hadn't already left for work.
“Good morning Xander.”
“Oh, sorry, yeah, morning G-man. Hey, where's the Buffster?” Xander heard Giles give a heavy sigh and felt slightly guilty. He'd heard that sigh a lot lately, and more and more on his bad days it made him feel that he was a waste of space and not wanted. All he seemed to do was cause Giles grief. Buffy was the Queen of the Slayers, and Willow was rapidly becoming an incredibly powerful witch – what exactly did he have to offer?
“Buffy decided she needed to go to Europe. Nothing at all to do with Fashion Week she informs me but Willow has gone to Uzbekistan for some Wicca conference and - “
“Jet-set Scoobies!! I vaguely remember Buffy tellin' me something about her flight details but I wasn't really paying attention. I'll take this stuff and get out of your hair – I know you're busy.” With both Buffy and Willow gone, that left Giles in charge of the SiTs and the Watchers which tended to make him over-tired and more than a little bit temperamental. Xander didn't want to add to that stress, especially when he could do very little to help, and resolved to get out of the way.
“Xander, wait please.” Xander took a deep breath. For some reason he was scared – was this when Giles told him he was no longer needed?? Slayer headquarters was rebuilt and who really needed a one-eyed carpenter? Oh he knew it wouldn't be phrased that way but there was no two ways around it – with one eye he was more of a liability than an asset when it came to patrolling and fighting, and besides they had a slayer army. What did they need with a slightly overweight, out of shape, crippled man? A drudge that could be replaced by anyone but wouldn't because his friends felt guilty about what had happened to him. Maybe the thing to do was to pre-empt things.....
“Actually, Giles, I wanted to get as much done as I can. You see, I'm leaving.”
Totally unexpected and so not in the game-plan. Buffy and Willow had agreed to vacate the premises, giving him the space he needed to – well, to risk eviscerating humiliation by declaring his feelings for a young man who to all intents and purposes was straighter than the proverbial spirit level. Giles sighed and whipped his glasses from his face, staring out of the window sightlessly. This was meant to have been his opportunity to sit down and talk to Xander and stop dithering. He detested such behaviour in others and it was just as abhorrent within himself. But now it would appear that he had dithered far too long – Xander was talking about leaving. Something about visiting Sunnydale, finishing the tour that was aborted in Oxnard and making the most of the Disaster Funds that had finally trickled down to all of the ex-Sunnydalers.
He didn't want to stand in Xander's way but -
“You're being a silly old fool. Leave the boy alone.” Giles sighed once again and tried to decide what to do. He could go into Watcher Headquarters – there was always something to do there, even if it was as simple as stacking all of the books that were coming in. Amazingly, more than a few Watchers had survived the attack by the First and were more than willing to return to the fold. Especially now there was more than one Slayer and a slight change in the way things were done was being welcomed by most of them.
But he didn't want to go into work. He wanted to stop Xander from leaving, wanted to ask him to stay. But what did he have to offer?? An ageing ex librarian? A continued life facing death by supernatural means night after night? Who in their right mind would want to say yes to that, let alone a man who gave no indication that he was gay. Apart from occasional looks that Giles had caught, and a few curious questions there was nothing there to make Giles think that Xander was bisexual. But....
“Hey G-man, you okay in there?? You've normally left by now – I just wanted to check you were alright.” Giles turned round swiftly as he realised that Xander had come back into the room, his voice catching in his throat as he looked Xander over. Dressed in baggy jeans, a stone-coloured tee-shirt and a black and red checked over-shirt, he was the epitome of casual. So why did the look of him cause Giles' heart to trip and beat double time? Why did looking into Xander's kind, gentle hazel eye make it impossible for him to remember what he wanted to say? He knew the boy – no, man – thought Giles was annoyed with him more often than not, but that wasn't the case. It was simply that he couldn't think what to say when he was drowning in Xander's eye. He was worse than a teenage girl with her first crush – even Buffy told him so.
“Xander – I – I wanted to talk to you.”
“Yeah? Okay. Is everything okay? I mean, I won't leave you in the lurch – if there's stuff you need doing before I go then I can handle that. I just – look, Giles, can we sit down?”
“Yes, yes of course.” Relieved at the reprieve, Giles followed Xander into the sitting room, taking a seat next to him on the leather couch and wiping his hands on the legs of his slacks as he realised they were sweating. Perhaps he still had the chance to convince Xander not to go? Even if they couldn't be together, he would much prefer to have the young man around. Xander was a part of his family and he didn't want to lose him. Turning to look at Xander, he forced himself to meet the younger man's eye. This was important – perhaps his only opportunity – and he took a deep breath. “Xander, I know things have been difficult lately – you – I - “
“Look, Giles, I understand. I know there's not much use for me here – I totally get it, you know? It's no-one's fault what happened to me and I don't expect you guys to let guilt get in the way of what needs doing. You've got the slayers and the new watcher's council – you don't need to be worrying about me getting in the way of all that. So that's why I've decided it's time for me to stand on my own two feet. I have the money, the time and the inclination – it's time I flew the nest and flapped my wings a bit, you know?”
“Oh Xander!”
“Don't be upset, Giles, please. No one is pushing me to do this – I've made this decision on my own. G-man, you have always been there for me and I appreciate that. Please, don't let - “
“Xander will you please shut up!” A stunned silence met his outburst and Giles realised he had probably only rarely raised his voice in such a fashion. And now there was a silence that needed to be filled and he wasn't sure he could do it. “I'm sorry. That was rude of me but I simply couldn't listen to you talking such drivel for much longer. I mean, really, Xander what on earth makes you think that we have you here through guilt? After all, when Willow went too far with her magic, did we dust our hands off and say 'oh well, out of sight is out of mind – let's leave her to rot in England while we get on with things?'? When Buffy went through that whole unfortunate phase after she came back from – after she came back, did we say oh dear, what a bad deal – better leave her to it? I'm not being very clear here and I'm sorry, it's just that have things I need to say and it's taking me months to get to this stage so I need you to just listen to me. Alright?”