Fic: Defining Normal (Giles/Xander, part 2/??)
Title: Defining Normal (2/?)
Author: Moosesal
Pairing: Giles/Xander
Rating: PG-13 (may get to R for language)
Written for: antennapedia for the Giles/Xander No One Knows ficathon. The request was for an important revelation about Giles; Buffy being helpful; and competent!Xander.
So I had hoped to have this finished for today, but it's taking more than I'd expected. Plus, as usual, when I need to write one thing, other things invade my thoughts. So here's part 2 -- it's a little shorter compared to part 1, but I had a logical stopping place. There are a few more parts to come.
Part one can be found here.
Xander figured if anyone could help him figure out what was going on, it would be Willow. Surely it was just Andrew who'd lost his mind. Maybe Giles was sick or something and Andrew was playing some joke. He picked up his phone and pressed speed dial 2 for Willow.
Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again.
He got the same message for her work, home, and mobile numbers. And again when he tried Dawn.
Maybe it was a London thing, he thought. He'd talked to Buffy the day before and everything had been fine. He dialed her number.
Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again.
"Shit," he muttered. "What the fuck is going on?"
Xander got up from his desk and walked over to his bookcase. There were photos there of the gang -- Giles included -- in the library at Sunnydale High, in Giles's apartment, at the Magic Box. He wasn't imagining or making things up.
He pulled copies of the Watchers journals off his bookcase for the past several years and everything he remembered was there. So where was everyone?
He thought maybe it was all a dream and went up to his room for a nap. He'd see what the world was like when he woke up. Two hours later things were still the same. Willow, Dawn, and Buffy were unreachable.
He called the switchboard at the London Council office. When he asked to speak with Rupert Giles, he was told no one by that name worked there. Finally he was left with the debate over whether or not to try calling Giles at home. He had his number for emergencies, but he didn't know what he'd say if he got Giles on the line. Or what he'd do if he didn't.
Finally he gave in and dialed.
Giles slipped through the door of his flat and headed for the kitchen, saying hello to Ethan as he passed him sitting in his favorite chair. He'd stopped at the market on his way home from the library and picked up a few things for dinner. He emptied the grocery bag, putting things away in cupboards and the icebox then turned to the dish on the floor.
"Ethan," he called. "Come eat."
Ethan came scampering into the room and rubbed up against his leg as Giles put fresh kibble in his bowl. Giles scratched between his ears. "Such a good kitty."
While Ethan nibbled at his dinner, Giles set about fixing his own meal. It was lonely cooking for one, but at his age he'd begun to think it might be his fate. He held a faint glimmer of hope, though, that the right person was still out there for him.
He was stirring a pot of soup on the stove when the phone rang. He rarely received phone calls and almost left it, assuming it was a telemarketer, but Ethan's meow and pointed look made him change his mind.
He answered on the fourth ring. "Rupert Giles."
"Giles?"
"Yes?" He didn't recognize the voice.
"Thank god. I thought ... I don't know what I thought." The voice on the other end sounded a bit panicked.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But with whom am I speaking?"
He heard a soft laugh. "It's me. Xander."
"Xander?" He was quite confused now. "I'm sorry, but your name's not familiar."
"Xander Harris." The man clarified, but Giles was certain he knew no one by that name.
"I'm sorry, but you must have me confused with someone else." He hung up the phone and looked down at Ethan. "That was quite odd." He finished preparing his dinner then ate at the table, book at his side.
TBC
Author: Moosesal
Pairing: Giles/Xander
Rating: PG-13 (may get to R for language)
Written for: antennapedia for the Giles/Xander No One Knows ficathon. The request was for an important revelation about Giles; Buffy being helpful; and competent!Xander.
So I had hoped to have this finished for today, but it's taking more than I'd expected. Plus, as usual, when I need to write one thing, other things invade my thoughts. So here's part 2 -- it's a little shorter compared to part 1, but I had a logical stopping place. There are a few more parts to come.
Part one can be found here.
Xander figured if anyone could help him figure out what was going on, it would be Willow. Surely it was just Andrew who'd lost his mind. Maybe Giles was sick or something and Andrew was playing some joke. He picked up his phone and pressed speed dial 2 for Willow.
Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again.
He got the same message for her work, home, and mobile numbers. And again when he tried Dawn.
Maybe it was a London thing, he thought. He'd talked to Buffy the day before and everything had been fine. He dialed her number.
Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again.
"Shit," he muttered. "What the fuck is going on?"
Xander got up from his desk and walked over to his bookcase. There were photos there of the gang -- Giles included -- in the library at Sunnydale High, in Giles's apartment, at the Magic Box. He wasn't imagining or making things up.
He pulled copies of the Watchers journals off his bookcase for the past several years and everything he remembered was there. So where was everyone?
He thought maybe it was all a dream and went up to his room for a nap. He'd see what the world was like when he woke up. Two hours later things were still the same. Willow, Dawn, and Buffy were unreachable.
He called the switchboard at the London Council office. When he asked to speak with Rupert Giles, he was told no one by that name worked there. Finally he was left with the debate over whether or not to try calling Giles at home. He had his number for emergencies, but he didn't know what he'd say if he got Giles on the line. Or what he'd do if he didn't.
Finally he gave in and dialed.
Giles slipped through the door of his flat and headed for the kitchen, saying hello to Ethan as he passed him sitting in his favorite chair. He'd stopped at the market on his way home from the library and picked up a few things for dinner. He emptied the grocery bag, putting things away in cupboards and the icebox then turned to the dish on the floor.
"Ethan," he called. "Come eat."
Ethan came scampering into the room and rubbed up against his leg as Giles put fresh kibble in his bowl. Giles scratched between his ears. "Such a good kitty."
While Ethan nibbled at his dinner, Giles set about fixing his own meal. It was lonely cooking for one, but at his age he'd begun to think it might be his fate. He held a faint glimmer of hope, though, that the right person was still out there for him.
He was stirring a pot of soup on the stove when the phone rang. He rarely received phone calls and almost left it, assuming it was a telemarketer, but Ethan's meow and pointed look made him change his mind.
He answered on the fourth ring. "Rupert Giles."
"Giles?"
"Yes?" He didn't recognize the voice.
"Thank god. I thought ... I don't know what I thought." The voice on the other end sounded a bit panicked.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But with whom am I speaking?"
He heard a soft laugh. "It's me. Xander."
"Xander?" He was quite confused now. "I'm sorry, but your name's not familiar."
"Xander Harris." The man clarified, but Giles was certain he knew no one by that name.
"I'm sorry, but you must have me confused with someone else." He hung up the phone and looked down at Ethan. "That was quite odd." He finished preparing his dinner then ate at the table, book at his side.
TBC