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summer_of_giles2015-06-18 06:26 pm
the-huffster.livejournal.com) wrote in summer_of_giles2015-06-18 06:26 pm
Entry tags:
Legacy (6/?)
Title: Legacy
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_huffster
Pairing: Eventual Buffy/Giles
Rating: Overall R/ This chapter PG
Setting: Completely AU- no vampires, demons, slayers, watchers, etc; I've also fudged some ages more for plot than anything else
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: When strange murders begin to appear in Sunnydale, all eyes are on loner Rupert Giles. Is Rupert's past repeating itself, or is there more than what's on the surface?
Author's Note: Here are the links to the previous five chapters I did for last year:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chpater 5
Rupert smiled as he took a sip of his pint, chuckling at a story Buffy was telling him. They had been sitting at a local brewery; of course he had never really noticed it until Buffy brought up getting their drink there. One drink had turned into two, and soon they found themselves ordering something to eat. He laughed at her reaction when he reached across the table to steal an onion ring.
“If you wanted onion rings, you should have order them.” Buffy giggled.
“I didn’t want a whole order of them,” he pointed out before taking a bite of the ring he had taken.
He smiled at the glare Buffy gave him before they broke off into another round of laughter. He had been taken by surprise how relaxed he was feeling, especially around someone he’d only had a few conversations with. During the first fifteen minutes they had been at the brewery, Rupert had opted to stay quiet and listen to Buffy. And it was only after Buffy had made a joke about his shyness did he start to be active in the conversation.
There was a difference between the easiness he felt at the moment, and the easiness he felt when working with Anya. With his employee, the easiness came from the need to have some sort of relationship simply because it was just the two of them during business hours. But with Buffy, there was no need to really form any kind of relationship; she didn’t work for him and they had no sort of connection apart from Anya. And yet she choose to come by the store the day after Anya’s party and get to know him, and that was were the easiness came from.
“What was Angel doing at your store today?” Buffy asked after a moment. She gave an apologetic smile at his look of confusion. “Detective O’Conner.”
“Ah. He wanted to ask me a few questions,” Rupert said before quickly taking a sip of his pint. “It would appear that many people, including those on the police force, believe that I’m the one responsible for that young woman’s death.”
“You don’t have to worry about Angel making it seem like you admitted to anything,”
Rupert set his glass down and looked at her with a raised an eyebrow. He was sure there was a story behind the familiar way Buffy spoke of the detective, but he didn’t want to come right out and ask. And judging by the smile on the blonde’s face, she had picked up on his curiosity.
“Angel and I used to date a few years back. He was the mysterious older guy that every girl wanted to date, and we had a connection when we met one night.”
“What, um…what happened?” he asked, more for the sake of conversation than anything else.
“He had just graduated from the police academy and was focusing on his career. Between how busy he was and with how busy I was preparing for life after Sunnydale High, we drifted and it was better we end our relationship on good terms. But that was about three years ago.” She picked up an onion ring and took a bite of it, washing it down with her beer. “And before you ask, he’s not that much older than me.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he chuckled as he finished his pint. “I was only going to comment that he looked very young to be a detective.”
“He worked hard to get promoted, hence why he was so busy. He’s a good guy though, and an honest cop. Which brings me back to my earlier statement of you not having to worry about him making it seemed like you admitted guilt.”
“Well, that’s good to know.”
They spent the next thirty minutes talking about this and that, both having stopped at two drinks so they wouldn’t have to worry about how they were going to get back to their homes. The later it got, the more the brewery filled up; and the more it filled up, the more stares Rupert began to notice. There had even been the few comments he had overheard from nearby people.
“Wonder if she knows who she’s on a date with?”
“Hopefully she’s stronger than she looks, otherwise we might be hearing about another murder tomorrow.”
Rupert gritted his teeth and took a few breaths. He glanced at the couple that was staring at him before he looked back at Buffy.
“It’s getting late.” He simply said as he stood up, helping her out of the booth they had occupied for the last two hours.
As they made their way out of the brewery, Rupert had to keep himself from lashing out when he heard some of the comments being made about Buffy. It was one thing for everyone to whisper about him, but it was another to turn that focus on someone who had nothing to do with his past. He let out a small breath once the doors to the brewery closed behind them.
“I’m sorry about what happened in there,” he said softly as they began walking back to their cars.
“What happened in there?” she repeated, turning to look at him. “I’m pretty sure nothing happened. I was having a good time,”
“I meant just now. The stares and the comments,” he clarified. “I know you heard what everyone was saying about you. And I’m sorry that I ended up dragging you into rumors that surround me.”
He heard Buffy sigh before she stopped walking, which caused him to stop as well. He looked at her and mentally prepared himself for hearing that the young woman didn’t want to be around him anymore. Not that he would blame her; it wasn’t exactly as if she agreed to go through what he went through on a daily basis.
“I know we haven’t exactly known each other for a while, we haven’t even known each other for a week. But from what Anya says about you, and from getting to know you myself, it’s going to take more than people who want to judge you without really knowing anything about you to scare me away.” The blonde said, giving him a reassuring smile at the stunned look on his face. “I’m pretty good at reading people, and it’s safe to say that you aren’t a murderer. If anything, you’re a victim of a no win situation.”
Rupert just looked at her, not sure what to say to that. He was speechless, but in a good way. His quickly forming friendship with Buffy was completely different than the friendship he had with Anya; Anya had known nothing about his past or what people said when she had decided to be associated with him, but Buffy knew all of that before they even met. And even after getting some of the negative attention, she still wanted to be around him. It gave him a small sense of normalcy.
“Thank you.” He simply said.
She just smiled before they continued walking, parting ways a few moments later when they reached her car. Rupert shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her a small smile, not entirely sure why he was suddenly feeling awkward around her.
“I’ll come by the store tomorrow before I have work,” she said as she opened the driver door, smiling slightly.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Buffy.” Rupert felt his body tense as she quickly leaned up and kissed his cheek.
“Night,” she smiled before getting into the car.
He took a step back as the engine roared to life, watching Buffy drive off. He smiled slightly and made his way towards his own car. The evening had gone better than he could have expected.
At that thought, Rupert stopped walking and sighed. Anya most likely would work even harder to get him to date Buffy. He shook his head and continued walking.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“Am I going to Hell?”
A groan escaped Declan as he rolled over to start at his brother.
“There’s no such thing as Hell, Ru.”
“But…but Dad said…and so did church…” the eleven stuttered as he continued to stare at the ceiling.
The creak of the mattress springs alerted Rupert that his brother was moving. Soon, the small bedroom was filled with light. He turned to find Declan sitting up and staring at him.
“Ru, Dad was insane. And the church lies all the time.” The older sibling sighed after a moment when he saw the tears brimming in Rupert’s eyes. “You’re not going to Hell. You’re a little boy and…why would you think you’d be going to Hell?”
Rupert looked away, holding the stuffed bear closer to him. He knew it was stupid to be eleven years old and sleeping with a bear. But his mother had given him the bear when he was two, right before she died. He always kept it close when he needed comfort. And in the bedroom at his grandmother’s house, he definitely needed comfort.
“Ru, why do you think that’s where you’re going?” Declan repeated, moving to sit at the edge of his bed.
“Because I killed Dad.” He whispered, his voice shaky. “Maybe you weren’t the one that’s the demon. Maybe it’s me,”
He held the bear closer as his tears finally fell. Rupert closed his eyes just as he felt his brother squeeze his shoulder.
“You’re not a demon, Ru. And you’re not going to Hell. If you hadn’t done what you did, then Dad would have killed me.” The older brother said softly. “And it wouldn’t have been long until Dad killed you too. You did a good thing, Ru.”
Rupert opened his eyes and shook his head.
“I’m a killer, Dec. I’ll always be a killer,”
The sunlight caused him to wake up, Rupert finding himself on his living room couch. He slowly sat up and found his brother in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. He swallowed and looked around, he didn’t remember coming home. Or falling asleep.
“You were mumbling in your sleep,” Declan said as he walked toward the couch, holding out a mug to Rupert. “You still only do that after blackouts?”
“I suppose so. It’s not as if I live with anyone,” Rupert pointed out, taking the cup of coffee. “Do you know what time I came home last night?”
“It was about three in the morning.”
Rupert looked at his coffee as he tried to remember what he did after saying goodnight to Buffy, but nothing came to mind.
“Declan, do you still think that I’m not going to Hell?” he whispered after a moment.
Declan rolled his eyes and got up, heading towards the back door.
“You still think you’re a killer?” he asked over his shoulder before walking out to the back patio.
“I don’t know.” Rupert whispered to the empty room. “I hope not,”
Author:
the_huffsterPairing: Eventual Buffy/Giles
Rating: Overall R/ This chapter PG
Setting: Completely AU- no vampires, demons, slayers, watchers, etc; I've also fudged some ages more for plot than anything else
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: When strange murders begin to appear in Sunnydale, all eyes are on loner Rupert Giles. Is Rupert's past repeating itself, or is there more than what's on the surface?
Author's Note: Here are the links to the previous five chapters I did for last year:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chpater 5
Rupert smiled as he took a sip of his pint, chuckling at a story Buffy was telling him. They had been sitting at a local brewery; of course he had never really noticed it until Buffy brought up getting their drink there. One drink had turned into two, and soon they found themselves ordering something to eat. He laughed at her reaction when he reached across the table to steal an onion ring.
“If you wanted onion rings, you should have order them.” Buffy giggled.
“I didn’t want a whole order of them,” he pointed out before taking a bite of the ring he had taken.
He smiled at the glare Buffy gave him before they broke off into another round of laughter. He had been taken by surprise how relaxed he was feeling, especially around someone he’d only had a few conversations with. During the first fifteen minutes they had been at the brewery, Rupert had opted to stay quiet and listen to Buffy. And it was only after Buffy had made a joke about his shyness did he start to be active in the conversation.
There was a difference between the easiness he felt at the moment, and the easiness he felt when working with Anya. With his employee, the easiness came from the need to have some sort of relationship simply because it was just the two of them during business hours. But with Buffy, there was no need to really form any kind of relationship; she didn’t work for him and they had no sort of connection apart from Anya. And yet she choose to come by the store the day after Anya’s party and get to know him, and that was were the easiness came from.
“What was Angel doing at your store today?” Buffy asked after a moment. She gave an apologetic smile at his look of confusion. “Detective O’Conner.”
“Ah. He wanted to ask me a few questions,” Rupert said before quickly taking a sip of his pint. “It would appear that many people, including those on the police force, believe that I’m the one responsible for that young woman’s death.”
“You don’t have to worry about Angel making it seem like you admitted to anything,”
Rupert set his glass down and looked at her with a raised an eyebrow. He was sure there was a story behind the familiar way Buffy spoke of the detective, but he didn’t want to come right out and ask. And judging by the smile on the blonde’s face, she had picked up on his curiosity.
“Angel and I used to date a few years back. He was the mysterious older guy that every girl wanted to date, and we had a connection when we met one night.”
“What, um…what happened?” he asked, more for the sake of conversation than anything else.
“He had just graduated from the police academy and was focusing on his career. Between how busy he was and with how busy I was preparing for life after Sunnydale High, we drifted and it was better we end our relationship on good terms. But that was about three years ago.” She picked up an onion ring and took a bite of it, washing it down with her beer. “And before you ask, he’s not that much older than me.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he chuckled as he finished his pint. “I was only going to comment that he looked very young to be a detective.”
“He worked hard to get promoted, hence why he was so busy. He’s a good guy though, and an honest cop. Which brings me back to my earlier statement of you not having to worry about him making it seemed like you admitted guilt.”
“Well, that’s good to know.”
They spent the next thirty minutes talking about this and that, both having stopped at two drinks so they wouldn’t have to worry about how they were going to get back to their homes. The later it got, the more the brewery filled up; and the more it filled up, the more stares Rupert began to notice. There had even been the few comments he had overheard from nearby people.
“Wonder if she knows who she’s on a date with?”
“Hopefully she’s stronger than she looks, otherwise we might be hearing about another murder tomorrow.”
Rupert gritted his teeth and took a few breaths. He glanced at the couple that was staring at him before he looked back at Buffy.
“It’s getting late.” He simply said as he stood up, helping her out of the booth they had occupied for the last two hours.
As they made their way out of the brewery, Rupert had to keep himself from lashing out when he heard some of the comments being made about Buffy. It was one thing for everyone to whisper about him, but it was another to turn that focus on someone who had nothing to do with his past. He let out a small breath once the doors to the brewery closed behind them.
“I’m sorry about what happened in there,” he said softly as they began walking back to their cars.
“What happened in there?” she repeated, turning to look at him. “I’m pretty sure nothing happened. I was having a good time,”
“I meant just now. The stares and the comments,” he clarified. “I know you heard what everyone was saying about you. And I’m sorry that I ended up dragging you into rumors that surround me.”
He heard Buffy sigh before she stopped walking, which caused him to stop as well. He looked at her and mentally prepared himself for hearing that the young woman didn’t want to be around him anymore. Not that he would blame her; it wasn’t exactly as if she agreed to go through what he went through on a daily basis.
“I know we haven’t exactly known each other for a while, we haven’t even known each other for a week. But from what Anya says about you, and from getting to know you myself, it’s going to take more than people who want to judge you without really knowing anything about you to scare me away.” The blonde said, giving him a reassuring smile at the stunned look on his face. “I’m pretty good at reading people, and it’s safe to say that you aren’t a murderer. If anything, you’re a victim of a no win situation.”
Rupert just looked at her, not sure what to say to that. He was speechless, but in a good way. His quickly forming friendship with Buffy was completely different than the friendship he had with Anya; Anya had known nothing about his past or what people said when she had decided to be associated with him, but Buffy knew all of that before they even met. And even after getting some of the negative attention, she still wanted to be around him. It gave him a small sense of normalcy.
“Thank you.” He simply said.
She just smiled before they continued walking, parting ways a few moments later when they reached her car. Rupert shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her a small smile, not entirely sure why he was suddenly feeling awkward around her.
“I’ll come by the store tomorrow before I have work,” she said as she opened the driver door, smiling slightly.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Buffy.” Rupert felt his body tense as she quickly leaned up and kissed his cheek.
“Night,” she smiled before getting into the car.
He took a step back as the engine roared to life, watching Buffy drive off. He smiled slightly and made his way towards his own car. The evening had gone better than he could have expected.
At that thought, Rupert stopped walking and sighed. Anya most likely would work even harder to get him to date Buffy. He shook his head and continued walking.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“Am I going to Hell?”
A groan escaped Declan as he rolled over to start at his brother.
“There’s no such thing as Hell, Ru.”
“But…but Dad said…and so did church…” the eleven stuttered as he continued to stare at the ceiling.
The creak of the mattress springs alerted Rupert that his brother was moving. Soon, the small bedroom was filled with light. He turned to find Declan sitting up and staring at him.
“Ru, Dad was insane. And the church lies all the time.” The older sibling sighed after a moment when he saw the tears brimming in Rupert’s eyes. “You’re not going to Hell. You’re a little boy and…why would you think you’d be going to Hell?”
Rupert looked away, holding the stuffed bear closer to him. He knew it was stupid to be eleven years old and sleeping with a bear. But his mother had given him the bear when he was two, right before she died. He always kept it close when he needed comfort. And in the bedroom at his grandmother’s house, he definitely needed comfort.
“Ru, why do you think that’s where you’re going?” Declan repeated, moving to sit at the edge of his bed.
“Because I killed Dad.” He whispered, his voice shaky. “Maybe you weren’t the one that’s the demon. Maybe it’s me,”
He held the bear closer as his tears finally fell. Rupert closed his eyes just as he felt his brother squeeze his shoulder.
“You’re not a demon, Ru. And you’re not going to Hell. If you hadn’t done what you did, then Dad would have killed me.” The older brother said softly. “And it wouldn’t have been long until Dad killed you too. You did a good thing, Ru.”
Rupert opened his eyes and shook his head.
“I’m a killer, Dec. I’ll always be a killer,”
The sunlight caused him to wake up, Rupert finding himself on his living room couch. He slowly sat up and found his brother in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. He swallowed and looked around, he didn’t remember coming home. Or falling asleep.
“You were mumbling in your sleep,” Declan said as he walked toward the couch, holding out a mug to Rupert. “You still only do that after blackouts?”
“I suppose so. It’s not as if I live with anyone,” Rupert pointed out, taking the cup of coffee. “Do you know what time I came home last night?”
“It was about three in the morning.”
Rupert looked at his coffee as he tried to remember what he did after saying goodnight to Buffy, but nothing came to mind.
“Declan, do you still think that I’m not going to Hell?” he whispered after a moment.
Declan rolled his eyes and got up, heading towards the back door.
“You still think you’re a killer?” he asked over his shoulder before walking out to the back patio.
“I don’t know.” Rupert whispered to the empty room. “I hope not,”