Your Surrender: Chapter 10
Title: Your Surrender
Author: the_huffster
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R for language and violence
Timeline: Season 4 AU
Synopsis: Giles has landed a job teaching at UC Sunnydale after defeating the Mayor and Buffy ends up, unknowingly, taking Giles' class. Surely all this extra time together won't affect their relationship, right?
Riley had offered to take Buffy to the Espresso Pump to celebrate her passing her midterms, and Buffy couldn’t bring herself to pass up a free mocha. They talked about their plans for Thanksgiving break, Buffy laughing as Riley told her about the previous year’s Thanksgiving with his family. The Slayer was in the middle of complaining about spending Thanksgiving alone when she saw Giles walk into the Espresso Pump.
“Giles!” she waved him over when he looked over, a small smile on her face as he walked over. “Hey,”
“Buffy,” he gave her that smile he saved for just her before he noticed the young man watching them, raising an eyebrow when he looked back at Buffy.
“Oh, right. Giles, this is Riley Finn.” Buffy introduced, blushing about the fact that she may have forgotten Riley was sitting across from. “Riley, this Rupert Giles.”
“Aren’t you the new history professor?” Riley asked as he briefly shook the older man’s hand.
“I am,” Giles answered before taking a sip of his coffee.
“And you’re friends with one of your students?”
“We knew each other before, Riley.” Buffy explained as she motioned to the seat next to her. “Giles, sit down.”
“As much as I appreciate the offer, I don’t want to intrude on your um…date.” Giles declined, giving a small smile. “I’ll see you late, Buffy.”
He turned to leave, stopping when he felt Buffy grab his wrist.
“Giles, it’s not a date.” She said when he turned around to give her a curious look. “Sit.”
There was a moment of hesitation before he sat next to Buffy, catching the expression on Riley’s face. The three of them sat in, what Buffy knew to be, awkward silence before small talk was made. The small talk somehow led to the Slayer and ex-Watcher laughing over a story that Riley failed to see humor in, so he chose to sit across from them and observe their behavior.
“Oh! Since Mom’s outta town visiting her sister for Thanksgiving, I was thinking that we could have Thanksgiving with the gang.” Buffy turned to look at Giles, a hopeful smile on her face.
“Are you going to leave me with all of the cooking and dishes?” a teasing smile appeared on the older man’s face when the blonde rolled her eyes.
“Sorry to run, but my flight leaves tomorrow morning and I promised some of the guys that we go to the pool hall tonight.” Riley spoke up when he realized it was almost like he wasn’t there. “I’ll see you after the break, Buffy.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Buffy gave him a smile. “Have fun with your family.”
“I will,” he grinned before turning his attention to Giles. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Giles.”
“You too,” they shook hands again before Riley turned and left the Espresso Pump. “You shouldn’t have done that, Buffy.”
“Done what?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” he gave her a stern look.
The blonde just shrugged and took a sip of her mocha, causing Giles to roll his eyes as Buffy nudged his shoulder with hers. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Buffy looked at the ex-Watcher.
“So…” Buffy drawled as she bumped her knee into his.
“Hm?” he turned his head towards her.
“Thanksgiving. You and me, plus the gang?” Buffy said as she finished her mocha. “You know, for a good ol’ fashion Scooby holiday. Hopefully without too much of Hellmouth,”
“That sounds perfect,” they shared a brief smile before Giles got to his feet and offered his hand to Buffy. “Let’s get out of here, Buffy.”
The blonde took his hand and followed him out of the coffee shop, aware that Giles refused to let go of her hand. Her smile grew when he laced his fingers with hers.
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“I think our first Scooby Thanksgiving went well, don’t you?” Buffy asked as finished picking up the last shards of broken glass from one of the smashed windows.
Giles removed the pack of ice from his temple and just stared at the blonde. The rest of the Scooby Gang had left an hour after dinner had been finished, which left Giles and Buffy to clean up the mess his apartment was in. Giles had put away the leftovers, cleared the table and washed the dishes while Buffy picked up the evidence that the vengeance spirit had attacked them.
“You mean besides being attacked?” he made his way to the couch, leaning his head back as he put the ice pack against the quickly bruising skin. “And besides all the yelling over doing your job, and the yelling about Angel?”
“It could’ve been worse,” she pointed out as she sat next to him. “I mean, one of us could’ve died.”
Giles rolled his head to look at her and his eyes darting to the gauze wrapped around her forearm. His free hand reached out to the slightly bloodstained bandage, his fingers slowly running up and down the area. Buffy leaned against his shoulder as he continued to lightly caress her gauze-covered forearm, a small smile on her face.
“I was more upset about being the only one who didn’t know Angel was here than anything,” she whispered. “I know everyone thought they were doing the right thing by keeping me in the dark, but I don’t love him anymore. So no distraction,”
“You don’t love him anymore?” Giles asked softly, moving his arm to hold her to his side.
“I’ll always love him, Giles. He was my first love and all,” Buffy turned her head up to look at him. “But he’s not my future, and I know that now.”
“But you’re still in love with him,”
“A part of me always will be. Again, he’s my first love.” She giggled before continuing. “There’s a difference between first love and true love,”
“Oh? And what’s that?” he asked.
“Angel’s not my true love,” she answered as she snuggled back against his side. “Someone else is.”
“Would that someone else be the pillock that you’re waiting for?” he could feel her smile against his chest, which caused him to let out a soft sigh. “Just…don’t spend your whole life waiting for him, Buffy. You deserve to be happy with someone who wants to be with you,”
Buffy didn’t trust her voice to reply, so she just nodded as a way of promising.
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Giles was finding it extremely difficult to focus on the text in front of him. Luckily, he wasn’t researching anything in particular. Buffy and Willow had gone on patrol while Oz offered to help Giles research- Xander and Anya skipping out on helping in favor for a date night. After trying to focus on the words in front of him and failing, the ex-Watcher heaved a soft sigh and leaned back in his chair.
“You okay?” Oz asked as he looked up from the book he had been looking over.
“I’m just a bit…preoccupied.” He ran a hand over his face before he met the young man’s gaze.
“Is it about Buffy?”
Giles just stared at Oz and blinked, not knowing what to say to the question. It always seemed to catch him off guard at the young man’s astute observations.
“What do you know, Oz?” he sighed, a faint smile on his lips when Oz merely raised an eyebrow in question. “I’m sure Willow has told you something,”
“She told me that you and Buffy slept together,” he confirmed, no sign of judgment in his expression or tone.
“We did,” Giles muttered as a blush crept up his neck.
“Nothing has happened since, though.”
Sighing, the ex-Watcher briefly went over the time that had gone by since he had slept with the Slayer. Normally he would have kept this sort of information to himself, but there was an urge to get everything out in the open. And if there was any of the Scoobies Giles could trust with this, it was Oz.
“You have feelings for her?” Oz asked once everything had been said, holding back his smile when Giles shrugged.
“I’m fairly certain that I do,” he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, taking off his glasses and placing them on the desk. “I think I have for some time, to be perfectly honest.”
“But it took having sex with her to realize it,” this time, he let his smile be seen when the older man nodded his head. “What are you going to do about it?”
“What can I do? She sees me as nothing but her friend,” Giles sighed as he met Oz’s eye, a sad smile on his face. “Besides, she has Riley.”
“Riley isn’t a factor, Giles. Everyone can see that,” the young man shook his head as he gently closed the book in front of him. “I think Riley is just there to take her mind off of something else,”
“Which would be my other reason why I have no chance,” the older man replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s someone else that she’s…waiting for, I suppose. That’s all I’ll say about that because it’s not exactly my place to divulge that information.”
Oz nodded his head in understanding before he leaned back in the armchair he occupied.
“My opinion,” he began as he looked Giles straight in the eye. “Tell her. You never know, maybe you’re more than just a friend to her.”
Giles just looked at Oz, a sense of wonder on his face. He tended to forget just how wise the young man was, and how much he could say in such a small amount of words. The ex-Watcher opened his mouth to say something, stopping himself when his front door opened. The two men gave Buffy and Willow a smile as they entered, Oz getting to his feet and quickly kissing his girlfriend.
“How was patrol?” Giles asked, looking over Buffy for any noticeable injuries.
“Slow and boring. There were a total of four vamps, all newbies.” The Slayer answered as she walked into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. “Nothing exciting. Hey Oz, do you think you can give me a ride back to my house?”
“No problem,” his arm slid around Willow’s waist as he gave Buffy a quick smile.
“I’ll fill you in on details tomorrow, Giles.” She said as soon as she put her empty glass in the sink. “I’m just really tired right now, so I need sleep more than anything.”
Giles said his goodnight to the three as they left his apartment, his mind still reeling from his conversation with Oz as he prepared for bed.
Author: the_huffster
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R for language and violence
Timeline: Season 4 AU
Synopsis: Giles has landed a job teaching at UC Sunnydale after defeating the Mayor and Buffy ends up, unknowingly, taking Giles' class. Surely all this extra time together won't affect their relationship, right?
Riley had offered to take Buffy to the Espresso Pump to celebrate her passing her midterms, and Buffy couldn’t bring herself to pass up a free mocha. They talked about their plans for Thanksgiving break, Buffy laughing as Riley told her about the previous year’s Thanksgiving with his family. The Slayer was in the middle of complaining about spending Thanksgiving alone when she saw Giles walk into the Espresso Pump.
“Giles!” she waved him over when he looked over, a small smile on her face as he walked over. “Hey,”
“Buffy,” he gave her that smile he saved for just her before he noticed the young man watching them, raising an eyebrow when he looked back at Buffy.
“Oh, right. Giles, this is Riley Finn.” Buffy introduced, blushing about the fact that she may have forgotten Riley was sitting across from. “Riley, this Rupert Giles.”
“Aren’t you the new history professor?” Riley asked as he briefly shook the older man’s hand.
“I am,” Giles answered before taking a sip of his coffee.
“And you’re friends with one of your students?”
“We knew each other before, Riley.” Buffy explained as she motioned to the seat next to her. “Giles, sit down.”
“As much as I appreciate the offer, I don’t want to intrude on your um…date.” Giles declined, giving a small smile. “I’ll see you late, Buffy.”
He turned to leave, stopping when he felt Buffy grab his wrist.
“Giles, it’s not a date.” She said when he turned around to give her a curious look. “Sit.”
There was a moment of hesitation before he sat next to Buffy, catching the expression on Riley’s face. The three of them sat in, what Buffy knew to be, awkward silence before small talk was made. The small talk somehow led to the Slayer and ex-Watcher laughing over a story that Riley failed to see humor in, so he chose to sit across from them and observe their behavior.
“Oh! Since Mom’s outta town visiting her sister for Thanksgiving, I was thinking that we could have Thanksgiving with the gang.” Buffy turned to look at Giles, a hopeful smile on her face.
“Are you going to leave me with all of the cooking and dishes?” a teasing smile appeared on the older man’s face when the blonde rolled her eyes.
“Sorry to run, but my flight leaves tomorrow morning and I promised some of the guys that we go to the pool hall tonight.” Riley spoke up when he realized it was almost like he wasn’t there. “I’ll see you after the break, Buffy.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Buffy gave him a smile. “Have fun with your family.”
“I will,” he grinned before turning his attention to Giles. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Giles.”
“You too,” they shook hands again before Riley turned and left the Espresso Pump. “You shouldn’t have done that, Buffy.”
“Done what?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” he gave her a stern look.
The blonde just shrugged and took a sip of her mocha, causing Giles to roll his eyes as Buffy nudged his shoulder with hers. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Buffy looked at the ex-Watcher.
“So…” Buffy drawled as she bumped her knee into his.
“Hm?” he turned his head towards her.
“Thanksgiving. You and me, plus the gang?” Buffy said as she finished her mocha. “You know, for a good ol’ fashion Scooby holiday. Hopefully without too much of Hellmouth,”
“That sounds perfect,” they shared a brief smile before Giles got to his feet and offered his hand to Buffy. “Let’s get out of here, Buffy.”
The blonde took his hand and followed him out of the coffee shop, aware that Giles refused to let go of her hand. Her smile grew when he laced his fingers with hers.
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“I think our first Scooby Thanksgiving went well, don’t you?” Buffy asked as finished picking up the last shards of broken glass from one of the smashed windows.
Giles removed the pack of ice from his temple and just stared at the blonde. The rest of the Scooby Gang had left an hour after dinner had been finished, which left Giles and Buffy to clean up the mess his apartment was in. Giles had put away the leftovers, cleared the table and washed the dishes while Buffy picked up the evidence that the vengeance spirit had attacked them.
“You mean besides being attacked?” he made his way to the couch, leaning his head back as he put the ice pack against the quickly bruising skin. “And besides all the yelling over doing your job, and the yelling about Angel?”
“It could’ve been worse,” she pointed out as she sat next to him. “I mean, one of us could’ve died.”
Giles rolled his head to look at her and his eyes darting to the gauze wrapped around her forearm. His free hand reached out to the slightly bloodstained bandage, his fingers slowly running up and down the area. Buffy leaned against his shoulder as he continued to lightly caress her gauze-covered forearm, a small smile on her face.
“I was more upset about being the only one who didn’t know Angel was here than anything,” she whispered. “I know everyone thought they were doing the right thing by keeping me in the dark, but I don’t love him anymore. So no distraction,”
“You don’t love him anymore?” Giles asked softly, moving his arm to hold her to his side.
“I’ll always love him, Giles. He was my first love and all,” Buffy turned her head up to look at him. “But he’s not my future, and I know that now.”
“But you’re still in love with him,”
“A part of me always will be. Again, he’s my first love.” She giggled before continuing. “There’s a difference between first love and true love,”
“Oh? And what’s that?” he asked.
“Angel’s not my true love,” she answered as she snuggled back against his side. “Someone else is.”
“Would that someone else be the pillock that you’re waiting for?” he could feel her smile against his chest, which caused him to let out a soft sigh. “Just…don’t spend your whole life waiting for him, Buffy. You deserve to be happy with someone who wants to be with you,”
Buffy didn’t trust her voice to reply, so she just nodded as a way of promising.
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Giles was finding it extremely difficult to focus on the text in front of him. Luckily, he wasn’t researching anything in particular. Buffy and Willow had gone on patrol while Oz offered to help Giles research- Xander and Anya skipping out on helping in favor for a date night. After trying to focus on the words in front of him and failing, the ex-Watcher heaved a soft sigh and leaned back in his chair.
“You okay?” Oz asked as he looked up from the book he had been looking over.
“I’m just a bit…preoccupied.” He ran a hand over his face before he met the young man’s gaze.
“Is it about Buffy?”
Giles just stared at Oz and blinked, not knowing what to say to the question. It always seemed to catch him off guard at the young man’s astute observations.
“What do you know, Oz?” he sighed, a faint smile on his lips when Oz merely raised an eyebrow in question. “I’m sure Willow has told you something,”
“She told me that you and Buffy slept together,” he confirmed, no sign of judgment in his expression or tone.
“We did,” Giles muttered as a blush crept up his neck.
“Nothing has happened since, though.”
Sighing, the ex-Watcher briefly went over the time that had gone by since he had slept with the Slayer. Normally he would have kept this sort of information to himself, but there was an urge to get everything out in the open. And if there was any of the Scoobies Giles could trust with this, it was Oz.
“You have feelings for her?” Oz asked once everything had been said, holding back his smile when Giles shrugged.
“I’m fairly certain that I do,” he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, taking off his glasses and placing them on the desk. “I think I have for some time, to be perfectly honest.”
“But it took having sex with her to realize it,” this time, he let his smile be seen when the older man nodded his head. “What are you going to do about it?”
“What can I do? She sees me as nothing but her friend,” Giles sighed as he met Oz’s eye, a sad smile on his face. “Besides, she has Riley.”
“Riley isn’t a factor, Giles. Everyone can see that,” the young man shook his head as he gently closed the book in front of him. “I think Riley is just there to take her mind off of something else,”
“Which would be my other reason why I have no chance,” the older man replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s someone else that she’s…waiting for, I suppose. That’s all I’ll say about that because it’s not exactly my place to divulge that information.”
Oz nodded his head in understanding before he leaned back in the armchair he occupied.
“My opinion,” he began as he looked Giles straight in the eye. “Tell her. You never know, maybe you’re more than just a friend to her.”
Giles just looked at Oz, a sense of wonder on his face. He tended to forget just how wise the young man was, and how much he could say in such a small amount of words. The ex-Watcher opened his mouth to say something, stopping himself when his front door opened. The two men gave Buffy and Willow a smile as they entered, Oz getting to his feet and quickly kissing his girlfriend.
“How was patrol?” Giles asked, looking over Buffy for any noticeable injuries.
“Slow and boring. There were a total of four vamps, all newbies.” The Slayer answered as she walked into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. “Nothing exciting. Hey Oz, do you think you can give me a ride back to my house?”
“No problem,” his arm slid around Willow’s waist as he gave Buffy a quick smile.
“I’ll fill you in on details tomorrow, Giles.” She said as soon as she put her empty glass in the sink. “I’m just really tired right now, so I need sleep more than anything.”
Giles said his goodnight to the three as they left his apartment, his mind still reeling from his conversation with Oz as he prepared for bed.