Hidden Truths (1/14)
Title: Hidden Truths
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRAO overall/FRM this chapter
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: Post Series, AU.
Synopsis: Buffy goes to England to see Giles after the near apocalypse that was diverted by Angel, Spike, and the others in Los Angeles. Will they admit their true feelings for one another?
Author’s Notes: This was written for buffy_bigbang. Very special thanks to wyvernwolf for spending a few weeks looking over each chapter and offering her suggestions on how to make it better.
Giles took a sip of his lukewarm tea, grimacing before he roughly placed the mug back onto the coaster on his desk. He sighed heavily, removing his glasses before dragging his hand across his face. The last two weeks had been rather horrible, though he hadn’t known the full extent of the losses until two days ago.
Angel had called to break the news of Wesley’s death. In fact, the only three of the team in Los Angeles to survive had been Angel, Illyria, and Spike. According to Angel, it had been an extremely close call…but somehow the three of them had been able to avert an apocalypse.
Giles found it strange to feel a deep sense of gratitude to the three, but he did. He wondered about Illyria, almost felt a sense of sympathy for her. She had developed a dependence on Wesley. Once the battle was over, she found it easier to just leave. Giles suspected that the Old One had actually fallen in love with Wesley. Neither Angel nor Spike knew where she had gone.
Now, Angel and Spike were in Alaska hunting down a tribe of demons that were feeding on the Eskimos. At least, that’s what Angel had told Giles. Giles found it difficult to believe that the two vampires were willingly staying together. He briefly wondered if there was more to their relationship than he had originally been told but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind.
It wasn’t his business. And, if he were honest with himself, he really didn’t want to know.
Wesley…
Wesley’s death had come as a shock to Giles. Wesley had changed drastically over the years, and not all for the better. Giles blamed Angel for that fact. But, Giles had been proud of Wesley. He had left the Council and hadn’t looked back, not even when Quentin Travers had begged him to join forces with Buffy and himself once more.
Giles was secretly glad that Wesley had turned Travers down. Being a Watcher hadn’t come naturally to Wesley…he wasn’t bred into the role as Giles had been. But, he had more than made up for his past, Wesley had died trying to save the world…and Giles could only respect him for his efforts.
“Is that really a computer I see on your desk?”
Giles looked up quickly, his thoughts interrupted by a very familiar voice. A slow smile appeared on his face as he pushed his chair back and stood, walking around his desk.
“Willow has found it immensely amusing as well. I must admit, it does make keeping track of the Slayers much easier. However…if you repeat that to her, I will deny it with every fibre of my being.”
Buffy chuckled and stepped further into his office, almost hesitantly. And then she looked into Giles’ eyes and nearly ran into his arms. As she pressed her cheek against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and sighed softly.
“Hello, Buffy.”
“I know I didn’t schedule an appointment…”
He chuckled and rubbed her back soothingly. “You are the only Slayer who doesn’t require an appointment.”
She stepped back and looked up at him. “Is that because I’m your favourite?”
“Yes.” He answered without hesitation, before smiling and continuing. “And because of the fact that you wouldn’t bother to make an appointment anyway. And if by some miracle you did make an appointment, you’d either be late or - ”
“Funny, Giles.” Her smile faded as she noticed the weariness in his eyes. “How are you?”
“In all honesty, I’ve been better.” He cleared his throat and sat down on the edge of his desk. “But, then…I’ve been a hell of a lot worse. All in all, I’d say I’m fair. And you? When did you arrive in London?”
“I’m good…and I got in about an hour ago. I would’ve been here sooner, but I had to take care of some things before I could leave.”
Giles nodded slowly. “And Dawn?”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “In love…with Rome, with school, with…Marco. She sends her love and said to tell you that she misses you.”
Giles swallowed and lowered his eyes for a brief moment. “It’s been far too long since I’ve seen either of you.”
“We talk every week.” Buffy offered before exhaling slowly. “But, it’s not the same. And Dawn isn’t the only one who misses you, you know.”
Giles looked back up and smiled. “I miss you too. Um…both of you.”
A somewhat comfortable silence fell over them for a few minutes before Buffy spoke again.
“Listen, I know it’s kinda early, but…since you’re the big boss and all…how about we go for a drink and catch up?”
Giles nodded and pushed himself off the desk. “I think that sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
Buffy smiled brightly and shifted the bag draped over her shoulder.
* * *
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as Giles placed a glass in front of her. “What’s this?”
He sat down across the table from her and took a sip from his glass. “Stout. And try it before you mock it.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow as Giles pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and shook one out. “You’re allowed to smoke in bars in England?”
He smiled and reached into his pocket for a lighter. “This is a pub, not a bar. And if there are ashtrays on the tables, then you’re free to smoke.”
He tapped the glass tray with his lighter to prove his point. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink, fully prepared to hate it. She murmured a sound of appreciation as he lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
She eyed him carefully and took another drink. “Why did you start smoking again?”
He grinned and tapped his ashes into the ashtray. “I never stopped, Buffy. I just don’t smoke frequently.” He gestured around the room with his free hand. “This…is one of my guilty pleasures. Of which, I have few, mind you.”
When she saw Giles glance towards the bar, she followed his gaze and shook her head. “You come here often?”
“Hm?” He returned his eyes to hers and shrugged his shoulder. “Once a fortnight, maybe.”
Buffy cast a quick glance back at the woman standing at the bar who was currently staring unabashedly at Giles. “Ever leave alone?”
Giles snorted and took another drag. “I leave alone more often than I leave with someone else.”
Buffy waggled her eyebrows playfully. “But, you do leave with women sometimes?”
Giles stared at her for a second and then pointed at her glass with his cigarette. “Finish your drink, Buffy.”
She grinned and lifted her glass to her lips, quickly swallowing half of the contents. Giles chuckled and motioned to the bartender for two more.
* * *
“You ‘member the time Wes decided to re’range your books?” Buffy asked drunkenly.
Giles grinned broadly, nodding as he finished off his fourth drink. “He did that but once. Never again.” He looked up as the bartender placed two more glasses on the table. “Ta.”
Buffy leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “You sound more English when you’re drunk.”
Giles raised his glass in a silent toast and took another drink. Buffy shook her head in amusement, running her finger through the condensation on her glass.
“He was good, wasn’t he? I mean…under the complete dorkiness…he was a good guy.”
Giles’ smile faded somewhat. “Yes. Yes, he was. A little misguided, perhaps. Pushed into doing something he really didn’t want to do. But, yeah…he was good.”
“I think Faith fucked ‘im.” Buffy blurted.
Giles’ eyes widened and he choked on a mouthful of the ale that the bartender had brought this time. “Buffy!”
Buffy giggled and shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry. I do though. I really think she did. She said something one time ‘bout Slayers gettin’ down n’ dirty with their Watchers.” She tilted her head slightly and looked at him. “Wasn’t her first Watcher a woman?”
“Mm-hm.” Giles mumbled.
“Int’restin’. You reckon she had somethin’ goin’ on with her too?”
Giles cleared his throat and drained his glass. “I think…we should find something else to talk about.”
“Do most Watchers have a more physical thing with their Slayers?” She asked, smiling drunkenly as she ran her finger up and down the side of the glass.
His eyes darted to her finger as he shrugged a shoulder. “I’m sure I’ve no idea. Some do, I suppose.”
“We didn’t.”
Giles lit another cigarette, taking a drag as he shook his head. “No. No, we didn’t.”
Buffy leaned forward, grabbing Giles’ lighter and spinning it on the table. “You were Faith’s Watcher for a while.”
“No. I was her Guardian for a brief time, not her…” He narrowed his eyes and tapped his ashes into the ashtray. “Are you really asking if I slept with Faith?”
Buffy pushed the lighter across the table and sat back up. “I dunno. Did ya?”
Giles stared at her, shaking his head as the smoke from the cigarette wound around his head. “No, I most certainly did not.”
“She woulda fucked ya, ya know. Told me so herself.” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Ya never thought ‘bout it?”
Giles snorted and inhaled a lungful of smoke. “No. I prefer the women I share my bed with to be a little less homicidal.”
Buffy glanced back at the bar, only to find another woman staring at Giles with a look of lust in her eyes. “You know her?”
“Hm? Who?” He turned his head and gave the woman a small smile before turning back to Buffy. “Knew her once.”
Buffy grinned and propped her head up with her palm, resting her elbow on the scarred table top. “Is she one of the women you’ve left with before?”
He picked up his glass, scowling when he found it empty. He dropped it back onto the table and sighed heavily. “She is.”
“Do ya wanna leave with her again?”
He shook his head, seriously considering ordering another drink. “I’m here with you, Buffy.”
“And if ya weren’t here with me?”
He caught the bartender’s eye and motioned for two more stouts to be brought over. “I have a rule. If I leave here with someone, it’s for one night. And one night only. I make that point very clear. I don’t exchange phone numbers, I don’t tell them where I work, I don’t take them to my home, and I don’t go to their homes.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Where do ya take ‘em then?”
Giles chuckled, nodding a silent thank you to the bartender as he placed two glasses on the table. “Have you seen how many hotels there are around here?”
Buffy took a long sip of her beer. “Mm-hm.”
“I get a room, we have sex…she either stays or goes afterwards. It doesn’t matter which. It’s not a relationship I’m looking for when I leave with someone.”
“What is it then?”
Giles sighed and lifted his glass. “I can’t believe I’m discussing this with you.”
“Me either. Muss be the beer.” She grinned as she took another drink. “So…what is it?”
“A night to forget what I do, who I am. It’s a chance for me to be someone other than Rupert Giles, Head of the Council of Watchers, one-time Watcher to the most successful Slayer in all of history.”
Buffy smiled warmly. “You’ll always be my Watcher, Giles. Always…you’re mine.”
Giles crushed out his cigarette, dropping the butt into the ashtray as picked up his glass. He drained the contents quickly and took a deep breath.
“Perhaps…we should call it a night.”
She nodded and finished off her own beer. “I hope you’re not planning on walkin’, ‘cause…I’m not sure I can.”
He laughed, pushing his chair back to stand up. “Too far to walk. That’s why God invented taxis.”
Buffy snorted as she stood, leaning against his side as he wrapped his arm around her.
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRAO overall/FRM this chapter
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: Post Series, AU.
Synopsis: Buffy goes to England to see Giles after the near apocalypse that was diverted by Angel, Spike, and the others in Los Angeles. Will they admit their true feelings for one another?
Author’s Notes: This was written for buffy_bigbang. Very special thanks to wyvernwolf for spending a few weeks looking over each chapter and offering her suggestions on how to make it better.
Giles took a sip of his lukewarm tea, grimacing before he roughly placed the mug back onto the coaster on his desk. He sighed heavily, removing his glasses before dragging his hand across his face. The last two weeks had been rather horrible, though he hadn’t known the full extent of the losses until two days ago.
Angel had called to break the news of Wesley’s death. In fact, the only three of the team in Los Angeles to survive had been Angel, Illyria, and Spike. According to Angel, it had been an extremely close call…but somehow the three of them had been able to avert an apocalypse.
Giles found it strange to feel a deep sense of gratitude to the three, but he did. He wondered about Illyria, almost felt a sense of sympathy for her. She had developed a dependence on Wesley. Once the battle was over, she found it easier to just leave. Giles suspected that the Old One had actually fallen in love with Wesley. Neither Angel nor Spike knew where she had gone.
Now, Angel and Spike were in Alaska hunting down a tribe of demons that were feeding on the Eskimos. At least, that’s what Angel had told Giles. Giles found it difficult to believe that the two vampires were willingly staying together. He briefly wondered if there was more to their relationship than he had originally been told but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind.
It wasn’t his business. And, if he were honest with himself, he really didn’t want to know.
Wesley…
Wesley’s death had come as a shock to Giles. Wesley had changed drastically over the years, and not all for the better. Giles blamed Angel for that fact. But, Giles had been proud of Wesley. He had left the Council and hadn’t looked back, not even when Quentin Travers had begged him to join forces with Buffy and himself once more.
Giles was secretly glad that Wesley had turned Travers down. Being a Watcher hadn’t come naturally to Wesley…he wasn’t bred into the role as Giles had been. But, he had more than made up for his past, Wesley had died trying to save the world…and Giles could only respect him for his efforts.
“Is that really a computer I see on your desk?”
Giles looked up quickly, his thoughts interrupted by a very familiar voice. A slow smile appeared on his face as he pushed his chair back and stood, walking around his desk.
“Willow has found it immensely amusing as well. I must admit, it does make keeping track of the Slayers much easier. However…if you repeat that to her, I will deny it with every fibre of my being.”
Buffy chuckled and stepped further into his office, almost hesitantly. And then she looked into Giles’ eyes and nearly ran into his arms. As she pressed her cheek against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and sighed softly.
“Hello, Buffy.”
“I know I didn’t schedule an appointment…”
He chuckled and rubbed her back soothingly. “You are the only Slayer who doesn’t require an appointment.”
She stepped back and looked up at him. “Is that because I’m your favourite?”
“Yes.” He answered without hesitation, before smiling and continuing. “And because of the fact that you wouldn’t bother to make an appointment anyway. And if by some miracle you did make an appointment, you’d either be late or - ”
“Funny, Giles.” Her smile faded as she noticed the weariness in his eyes. “How are you?”
“In all honesty, I’ve been better.” He cleared his throat and sat down on the edge of his desk. “But, then…I’ve been a hell of a lot worse. All in all, I’d say I’m fair. And you? When did you arrive in London?”
“I’m good…and I got in about an hour ago. I would’ve been here sooner, but I had to take care of some things before I could leave.”
Giles nodded slowly. “And Dawn?”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “In love…with Rome, with school, with…Marco. She sends her love and said to tell you that she misses you.”
Giles swallowed and lowered his eyes for a brief moment. “It’s been far too long since I’ve seen either of you.”
“We talk every week.” Buffy offered before exhaling slowly. “But, it’s not the same. And Dawn isn’t the only one who misses you, you know.”
Giles looked back up and smiled. “I miss you too. Um…both of you.”
A somewhat comfortable silence fell over them for a few minutes before Buffy spoke again.
“Listen, I know it’s kinda early, but…since you’re the big boss and all…how about we go for a drink and catch up?”
Giles nodded and pushed himself off the desk. “I think that sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
Buffy smiled brightly and shifted the bag draped over her shoulder.
* * *
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as Giles placed a glass in front of her. “What’s this?”
He sat down across the table from her and took a sip from his glass. “Stout. And try it before you mock it.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow as Giles pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and shook one out. “You’re allowed to smoke in bars in England?”
He smiled and reached into his pocket for a lighter. “This is a pub, not a bar. And if there are ashtrays on the tables, then you’re free to smoke.”
He tapped the glass tray with his lighter to prove his point. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink, fully prepared to hate it. She murmured a sound of appreciation as he lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
She eyed him carefully and took another drink. “Why did you start smoking again?”
He grinned and tapped his ashes into the ashtray. “I never stopped, Buffy. I just don’t smoke frequently.” He gestured around the room with his free hand. “This…is one of my guilty pleasures. Of which, I have few, mind you.”
When she saw Giles glance towards the bar, she followed his gaze and shook her head. “You come here often?”
“Hm?” He returned his eyes to hers and shrugged his shoulder. “Once a fortnight, maybe.”
Buffy cast a quick glance back at the woman standing at the bar who was currently staring unabashedly at Giles. “Ever leave alone?”
Giles snorted and took another drag. “I leave alone more often than I leave with someone else.”
Buffy waggled her eyebrows playfully. “But, you do leave with women sometimes?”
Giles stared at her for a second and then pointed at her glass with his cigarette. “Finish your drink, Buffy.”
She grinned and lifted her glass to her lips, quickly swallowing half of the contents. Giles chuckled and motioned to the bartender for two more.
* * *
“You ‘member the time Wes decided to re’range your books?” Buffy asked drunkenly.
Giles grinned broadly, nodding as he finished off his fourth drink. “He did that but once. Never again.” He looked up as the bartender placed two more glasses on the table. “Ta.”
Buffy leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “You sound more English when you’re drunk.”
Giles raised his glass in a silent toast and took another drink. Buffy shook her head in amusement, running her finger through the condensation on her glass.
“He was good, wasn’t he? I mean…under the complete dorkiness…he was a good guy.”
Giles’ smile faded somewhat. “Yes. Yes, he was. A little misguided, perhaps. Pushed into doing something he really didn’t want to do. But, yeah…he was good.”
“I think Faith fucked ‘im.” Buffy blurted.
Giles’ eyes widened and he choked on a mouthful of the ale that the bartender had brought this time. “Buffy!”
Buffy giggled and shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry. I do though. I really think she did. She said something one time ‘bout Slayers gettin’ down n’ dirty with their Watchers.” She tilted her head slightly and looked at him. “Wasn’t her first Watcher a woman?”
“Mm-hm.” Giles mumbled.
“Int’restin’. You reckon she had somethin’ goin’ on with her too?”
Giles cleared his throat and drained his glass. “I think…we should find something else to talk about.”
“Do most Watchers have a more physical thing with their Slayers?” She asked, smiling drunkenly as she ran her finger up and down the side of the glass.
His eyes darted to her finger as he shrugged a shoulder. “I’m sure I’ve no idea. Some do, I suppose.”
“We didn’t.”
Giles lit another cigarette, taking a drag as he shook his head. “No. No, we didn’t.”
Buffy leaned forward, grabbing Giles’ lighter and spinning it on the table. “You were Faith’s Watcher for a while.”
“No. I was her Guardian for a brief time, not her…” He narrowed his eyes and tapped his ashes into the ashtray. “Are you really asking if I slept with Faith?”
Buffy pushed the lighter across the table and sat back up. “I dunno. Did ya?”
Giles stared at her, shaking his head as the smoke from the cigarette wound around his head. “No, I most certainly did not.”
“She woulda fucked ya, ya know. Told me so herself.” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Ya never thought ‘bout it?”
Giles snorted and inhaled a lungful of smoke. “No. I prefer the women I share my bed with to be a little less homicidal.”
Buffy glanced back at the bar, only to find another woman staring at Giles with a look of lust in her eyes. “You know her?”
“Hm? Who?” He turned his head and gave the woman a small smile before turning back to Buffy. “Knew her once.”
Buffy grinned and propped her head up with her palm, resting her elbow on the scarred table top. “Is she one of the women you’ve left with before?”
He picked up his glass, scowling when he found it empty. He dropped it back onto the table and sighed heavily. “She is.”
“Do ya wanna leave with her again?”
He shook his head, seriously considering ordering another drink. “I’m here with you, Buffy.”
“And if ya weren’t here with me?”
He caught the bartender’s eye and motioned for two more stouts to be brought over. “I have a rule. If I leave here with someone, it’s for one night. And one night only. I make that point very clear. I don’t exchange phone numbers, I don’t tell them where I work, I don’t take them to my home, and I don’t go to their homes.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Where do ya take ‘em then?”
Giles chuckled, nodding a silent thank you to the bartender as he placed two glasses on the table. “Have you seen how many hotels there are around here?”
Buffy took a long sip of her beer. “Mm-hm.”
“I get a room, we have sex…she either stays or goes afterwards. It doesn’t matter which. It’s not a relationship I’m looking for when I leave with someone.”
“What is it then?”
Giles sighed and lifted his glass. “I can’t believe I’m discussing this with you.”
“Me either. Muss be the beer.” She grinned as she took another drink. “So…what is it?”
“A night to forget what I do, who I am. It’s a chance for me to be someone other than Rupert Giles, Head of the Council of Watchers, one-time Watcher to the most successful Slayer in all of history.”
Buffy smiled warmly. “You’ll always be my Watcher, Giles. Always…you’re mine.”
Giles crushed out his cigarette, dropping the butt into the ashtray as picked up his glass. He drained the contents quickly and took a deep breath.
“Perhaps…we should call it a night.”
She nodded and finished off her own beer. “I hope you’re not planning on walkin’, ‘cause…I’m not sure I can.”
He laughed, pushing his chair back to stand up. “Too far to walk. That’s why God invented taxis.”
Buffy snorted as she stood, leaning against his side as he wrapped his arm around her.