An Evening Out
An Evening Out
FRT
Giles/Xander preslash
unbeta'ed
Giles and Xander belong to Joss, not to me. I promise to give them back when I'm done.
So this is the first of several fics that have been languishing on my hard drive because I wasn't sure whether they were good enough to post. I welcome con crit as long as it's thoughtful. Please let me know if this worked for you or if it should have been left to languish. Thoughts on why it does or doesn't work would also be welcome.
“Hey, Rupert, looking good.”
And that, Giles reflected, was at least half the appeal of this particular bar. He felt guilty taking an evening out by himself, but sometimes he simply needed this. Back at the compound, he was Giles or Mr. Giles, the ancient repository of even more ancient knowledge, a man with one foot in the grave. Here, he was Rupert, and he was looking good.
Giles smiled at the bouncer. “Thank you, Michael, how are you this evening?”
“Pretty good. I’ve got a bet going with Zach about this guy who’s trying to get up the nerve to come in here. He walked around the block about six times, and then finally retreated to the Starbucks across the street. Zach says he’s gonna come in tonight. I say he’ll never get up the courage. Too bad, he looks like your type.”
“I have a type?” Giles asked, surprised.
“Oh, you’re not obsessive about it or anything, but generally if you leave with a guy he has dark hair, dark eyes, about your height, some muscle but not a body builder.
“Ah!” Giles said lightly. Inwardly, he cringed. Apparently he wasn’t hiding his attraction to Xander nearly as well as he’d thought.
“Look,” Michael nodded towards the coffee shop across the street. “He’s sitting right by the window there. Now tell me, isn’t that your dream man?”
Giles glanced over, mildly curious, then stared. “Indeed. You didn’t mention the eye patch.”
“Yeah, no way that's real. I'm not sure if the guy's trying for some kind of disguise or if he thinks it's sexy. Maybe both."
Giles hated the eye patch. Lately he hardly noticed it, but when he did he felt sorrow and anger for Xander's loss. Still, Michael had a point. From a purely easthetic point of view, the eye patch was rather sexy.
"How much was your bet?" Giles asked.
"Twenty bucks."
Giles took out his wallet and pulled out two twenty dollar bills. "I would not want either of you to suffer because of my interference, but he's not coming here tonight. I'm taking him home with me."
Michael took the money and smiled. "You're awfully sure of yourself, Rupert. Want to make a bet on it?"
"What do you suggest?"
"Twenty bucks says you can't pick him up within the next half hour. He's still in denial."
Giles pretended to consider it. "I'll bet you forty bucks I can go in there, sit at another table, and he'll pick me up within the next fifteen minutes. You pay double if we leave together within the next 5 minutes."
Michael smiled and held out his hand. "Rupert, it's going to be a pleasure taking your money."
Giles shook on the bet and then turned to cross the street, awash in happy anticipation. At worse, the need to collect his winnings from Michael would give him the excuse for another pleasant night out tomorrow. At best, he and Xander might find a shared interest that would give them an excuse for many pleasant evenings in.
FRT
Giles/Xander preslash
unbeta'ed
Giles and Xander belong to Joss, not to me. I promise to give them back when I'm done.
So this is the first of several fics that have been languishing on my hard drive because I wasn't sure whether they were good enough to post. I welcome con crit as long as it's thoughtful. Please let me know if this worked for you or if it should have been left to languish. Thoughts on why it does or doesn't work would also be welcome.
“Hey, Rupert, looking good.”
And that, Giles reflected, was at least half the appeal of this particular bar. He felt guilty taking an evening out by himself, but sometimes he simply needed this. Back at the compound, he was Giles or Mr. Giles, the ancient repository of even more ancient knowledge, a man with one foot in the grave. Here, he was Rupert, and he was looking good.
Giles smiled at the bouncer. “Thank you, Michael, how are you this evening?”
“Pretty good. I’ve got a bet going with Zach about this guy who’s trying to get up the nerve to come in here. He walked around the block about six times, and then finally retreated to the Starbucks across the street. Zach says he’s gonna come in tonight. I say he’ll never get up the courage. Too bad, he looks like your type.”
“I have a type?” Giles asked, surprised.
“Oh, you’re not obsessive about it or anything, but generally if you leave with a guy he has dark hair, dark eyes, about your height, some muscle but not a body builder.
“Ah!” Giles said lightly. Inwardly, he cringed. Apparently he wasn’t hiding his attraction to Xander nearly as well as he’d thought.
“Look,” Michael nodded towards the coffee shop across the street. “He’s sitting right by the window there. Now tell me, isn’t that your dream man?”
Giles glanced over, mildly curious, then stared. “Indeed. You didn’t mention the eye patch.”
“Yeah, no way that's real. I'm not sure if the guy's trying for some kind of disguise or if he thinks it's sexy. Maybe both."
Giles hated the eye patch. Lately he hardly noticed it, but when he did he felt sorrow and anger for Xander's loss. Still, Michael had a point. From a purely easthetic point of view, the eye patch was rather sexy.
"How much was your bet?" Giles asked.
"Twenty bucks."
Giles took out his wallet and pulled out two twenty dollar bills. "I would not want either of you to suffer because of my interference, but he's not coming here tonight. I'm taking him home with me."
Michael took the money and smiled. "You're awfully sure of yourself, Rupert. Want to make a bet on it?"
"What do you suggest?"
"Twenty bucks says you can't pick him up within the next half hour. He's still in denial."
Giles pretended to consider it. "I'll bet you forty bucks I can go in there, sit at another table, and he'll pick me up within the next fifteen minutes. You pay double if we leave together within the next 5 minutes."
Michael smiled and held out his hand. "Rupert, it's going to be a pleasure taking your money."
Giles shook on the bet and then turned to cross the street, awash in happy anticipation. At worse, the need to collect his winnings from Michael would give him the excuse for another pleasant night out tomorrow. At best, he and Xander might find a shared interest that would give them an excuse for many pleasant evenings in.