Fic: Lessons

[kiss_me_cassie]

TITLE: Lessons
AUTHOR: cassie
RATING: G
CHARACTERS: Giles & Buffy, mentions of Potentials and Dawn
LENGTH: 670 words
SUMMARY: The world is safe (AGAIN) but now there are a bunch of new Slayers who haven't even finished High School. Giles plans to fix that.
NOTES: Thanks to Quaggy for suggesting I participate, the encouragement and the beta. All inconsistencies are mine.

"Good Lord, I don't even know where to begin," Giles complained, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Not a single one of these girls has completed even half of what would be required for a high school equivalency. How on earth are we going to prepare them to take their tests?"

Buffy shrugged and looked over his shoulder at the pile of homeschool workbooks he'd acquired over the past few weeks. There were a lot of them.

 

"You could always call Willow back to help you," she suggested, taking a bite of her apple.

"No, absolutely not," he said, putting his glasses back on and pinning her with one of his sternest looks. "Her time with the coven is more important."

 

"Ok," she said. "No skin off my nose. But if you want someone who could teach them, I'm just saying, Willow's your girl."

"Mathematics and some basic history," he countered. "Not witchcraft and mysticism. They have enough familiarity with that as it is."

Buffy shrugged again and kept munching on her apple. "I'm sure Willow could do both."

"While I'm sure she could, I shall not call her back from England." Giles sighed. "You did passably well in school, but when I imagine what you could have accomplished if you hadn't had slaying to contend with as well... I would like to think we can - and will - do better with these girls."

She cocked her head to the side. "We? Hey now, who said there was a we here?"

Giles glared.

"You can't possibly tell me that you're going to leave their education solely up to me, are you?" he questioned incredulously

Buffy stopped chewing and had the grace to look slightly ashamed.

"Not… entirely," she hedged. "I'm gonna to be teaching them plenty of stuff. Tracking, fighting, slaying… But maybe not so much with the book learning stuff."

"That's what I was afraid of," Giles said, sighing again. He took fortifying sip of his tea. "Shall I assume Dawn will be joining our little enterprise?"

"Probably. Although you have to admit, she's probably smart enough to be teaching some of the other girls," Buffy said, taking another huge bite of her apple.

"Be that as it may, she'll still have to study to pass the exams. Is she aware of that?"

 

"I haven't exactly explained the situation to her yet?"

"Buffy." Giles voice was stern but gentle.

"I know, ok? But what was I supposed to say? Hey Dawnie, I know the world almost ended - again - and we're homeless and your best friend died and we're currently living out of a hotel, but you're going to have to join the others with finishing school? Especially since it's gonna be a Slayer version of high school and not a nice, stable brick and mortar school."

Giles gazed at her sympathetically. "I know it's not something she'll be eager to hear, but that is exactly what you should have said."

Buffy grimaced. "Whoops?"

"Whoops indeed," Giles groaned. "So now in addition to telling twenty-odd Potentials - nay, twenty-odd Slayers - that they must finish their education, I also have to tell Dawn? Buffy, you must tell her yourself."

Buffy made a face at him. "Don't wanna."

"Well I 'don't wanna' either. And furthermore -"

"Can Xander do it?" she interrupted, looking at him hopefully.

"No, Xander cannot do it. You are her family, Buffy, and as such you need to be the one responsible."

 

"You know, really, we're all each of us has left. Xander is like her way-less-cool brother," she said cheekily. "So that would make you her stodgy, British -"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," he warned.
 

She grinned at him. "Uncle."

He coughed and smiled at her just the slightest bit. "Yes, exactly. Now, if we could get back to the matter at hand?"

"School?"

"School," he confirmed. He waved a hand towards the workbooks. "I suggest you choose a subject and study up this evening. We start the girls' lessons tomorrow."

 

 

Comments

[quaggy]

This was completely adorable and totally sweet! You know that I really liked your first draft, but I love the changes that you made! I really like how you presented Giles and Buffy here. Giles is so sweet! Alternating between grumpy and gentle and sort of dumping Buffy into teaching, whether she wanted to or not. And, I know I told you before, but I love the time period and topic you chose! Now I'm trying to think of what I can bribe you with so that you'll write more awesome little one shots like this one! :-)

[kiss_me_cassie]

Bribes won't work, but prompts might. I've never been able to do more than a handful of shorts (like bday ficlets) for Buffy, for whatever the reason.

[quaggy]

That can be arranged! And giles_shorts always has some wonderful prompts, you know. ;-)

[dragonyphoenix]

I love the idea of Giles insisting the Slayers finish high-school

[kiss_me_cassie]

He's a very responsible Watcher. ::nods::

[sparrow2000]

Hee, that was very cute. I can just see Buffy trying to palm explaining to Dawn off on Xander. *g*

[kiss_me_cassie]

It may be a little more earlier-season Buffy than post-series Buffy, but I'd like to think she got her playful side back a little after the latest apocolypse. *g*

(And thank you!)

[gilescandy]

Love it. I always think of the Slayer education system in full swing later on, but this is so perfect for how they would have started out. You nailed the lightheartedness that Giles and Buffy banter can achieve here. Their voices a perfect. Very well done!

[kiss_me_cassie]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

It's the lull before they have to go crazy dealing with more demon and vampire nonsense. Or have to go help out Angel and his crew in the alley... ;)

[il_mio_capitano]

This is so sweet! I can totally see Giles being all responsible about getting the Slayers a decent education. No cannon fodder they!

[kiss_me_cassie]

Aawwwww, THANKS! And yes, he will educates those girls come hell or high water!

[littleotter73]

A well rounded Slayer is a more prepared Slayer!

"I will cut that vamp off at the hypotenuse!" lol

Seriously, though, this was very cute. I love how Buffy's like "I'm teaching them stuff." Not exactly those words, but she's not shirking any duties, she's just not hopping on the teaching them school stuff. lol

And, of course, Giles has none of it and she's stuck teaching the baby Slayers a subject of her choosing anyway.

Nicely done and welcome! :)

[kiss_me_cassie]

Giles rocks. He never has any of it from any of them. They *will* be educated and responsible! ;)

(Thank you for the lovely words!)

[the_huffster]

This was a great little fic! The idea of Buffy trying to get around teaching them actual school stuff is a very Buffy-thing, as well as Giles calling her out on it lol

[dhw]

Just stopping by to leave some love in the comments after squee-ing at you over PM.

I absolutely adored this! And I very much hope you continue to write lovely Buffy-shaped things in the future!

[gilescandy]

Congrats!
Your story has been nominated for Watcher Watchers Award [Best Gen Fic, Giles] in the 2018 Headline Awards, celebrating the Anthony Head fandom and its amazing creators. Judging and voting will begin on Jan. 21st, and winners will be announced on Feb. 20th. Please let us know if you would rather not participate. Good luck! Find us at Headlineawards on Tumblr or tonyhead_awards on LJ.