A Twist in My Story: Chapter 11
Title: A Twist in My Story
Author: the_huffster
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R
Timeline: AU
Synopsis: After giving up his life as Ripper, Giles seizes the chance to live a normal life and doesn't return to the Council. But years later when he meets first grade teacher Buffy Summers, he wonders if it's possible to really escape Destiny.
Author's Note: I decided to mess around with the years and make Giles younger just so it will fit with how I have this fic planned out. So please bear with me on the messing with years/ages.
“Back it up, partner.” Jess said as she stared at her employer before glancing Chris, who was equally as shocked as she was. “You saw someone else?”
“With a stake?” Chris added. “Did you see who it was?”
“If I had seen the person, don’t you think I would be describing them?” Rupert rolled his eyes before giving Addison a small smile when she looked at him. “All I know is that this person, whoever it was, clearly knew what they were doing.”
“So, what does this mean?” Chris lowered his voice as a costumer walked into the shop, pausing enough to give them a quick greeting. “Just let one of us know if you need anything, ma’am.”
“It means that there’s not as much pressure on me to make sure nothing seriously terrible happens,” Rupert explained before he walked to his daughter when she called his name. “What is it, Princess?”
“M’tired.” The four year old yawned as she sleepily rubbed her eyes.
“Well, why don’t I take you into the back so you can take a nap?” he asked, gently rubbing her back.
“But I wanna get Nafan,” she protested.
“I know,” he gave a small smile before he knelt down next to her chair. “But if you take a nap, Nathan will be here when you wake up.”
“Pwomise?” Addison stared at him as she held out one of her pinkies.
“Always,” Rupert chuckled as he wrapped his pinky around hers, both gently squeezing the other’s pinky. “C’mon,”
She giggled as her father picker her up, taking a moment to lightly toss her half an inch in the air. He grinned when she kissed his cheek as he made his way into the backroom, carefully setting his daughter on to the couch he kept back there. Rupert laughed when she snuggled under the blanket he had draped over her, a sleepy grin on her face.
“Love you, Daddy.” She whispered.
“I love you too, Addie.” He placed a kiss on the side of her head before leaning back and watching as she settled into her nap.
He left once he sure that she was fast asleep, asking Jess and Chris to check in on her until he came back from picking up Nathan.
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Rupert smiled as the six year old threw his backpack into the backseat before climbing in next to it. He waited until Nathan was buckled in before driving away from the front of the school, his gaze flicking to the rearview mirror to see his son staring out the window.
“How was school?” he finally asked.
“Boring!” Nathan grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Why was it boring?”
“Buffy wasn’t there! And we had this mean sub,” the boy turned to face the front, a scowl on his face as he thought over his day. “And he was a butthead.”
“And what made the substitute a, um…butthead?” Rupert tried his best to keep the grin off his face, knowing Nathan would yell at him- which would only make him laugh.
“I was drawin’ during free time, and he said I was doing it wrong! He told me I was colorin’ the bears wrong, but I wasn’t making bears. I was making monsters!” Nathan explained, flinging his head against the backrest. “Then he told me that monsters aren’t real. Clearly he’s never checked his closet and under his bed at night,”
Rupert did chuckle at that, coming to a stop at the crosswalk. He waited until the crossing guard waved him through the intersection before making his way back to the store.
“Then he listened to me telling Alice you have a tattoo, and he said anyone with a tattoo is stupid and a bad guy.” Nathan continued, waving as they passed one of his classmates. “I told him you were the smartest person in the whole world! And that you weren’t a bad guy,”
“What happened then?” Rupert asked as he turned on to the road that would lead him to the store.
“He said that you were obviously a bad guy before I was born,” Nathan finished as he shook his head. “But that’s not true, ‘cause you’re a good guy.”
Rupert barely nodded his head as he pulled up to a red light, seeing the questioning look in his son’s bright green eyes. As much as he wanted to say that he was a “good guy”, but his past wasn’t exactly what a “good guy” would have done. And he couldn’t tell him that he was when there was a very real chance that Nathan would find out everything when he was older.
“Right, Daddy?” the six year old asked as they pulled into an empty parking spot.
“Sometimes Nathan…” he began as they got out of the car, Rupert cutting himself off when he noticed a blonde in the his shop. “Buffy?”
Nathan looked into the front window, a grin replacing his confused expression when he saw his teacher.
“Buffy!” he exclaimed as he ran to the door, tugging it open before running inside.
Rupert walked through the door just as his son ran straight into the teacher, his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Hi, Buffy!” he greeted as he tilted his head to look up.
“Hey, Rabbit.” Buffy had only recently started calling Nathan by the nickname his father had given him shortly after he was born, and Rupert couldn’t help but smile every time he heard her use it.
“How come you weren’t at school today?” Nathan asked as he made his way to the center table, throwing his backpack on the surface so he could start on his homework.
“I wasn’t feeling so good this morning,” Buffy answered as she leaned against the front counter. “But I’m all better now.”
“Good, ‘cause this sub was a butthead!” Nathan exclaimed as he pulled out his homework folder.
“You can tell Buffy all about it after you finished your homework, Nathan.” Rupert chuckled at the eye roll his son gave him. “How was Addie?”
“She’s been sleeping this whole time,” Chris looked up from the magazine he was flipping through. “Hasn’t made a peep, and Jess is helping a costumer up there.”
Rupert looked up to the second floor and saw movement, smiling when he looked over at Buffy. She gave him a smile as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Hey, you.” She greeted, grinning as he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. “What’s wrong with Addie?”
“She was up most of the night from nightmares again.” He answered, his hands resting on her hips. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, completely recovered.” Buffy grinned as she pulled back, sighing at the look of concern that flashed in his eyes when he saw the ace bandage wrapped around her wrist. “It’s fine, Rupert.”
“What happened?” he made to gently grab her wrist, but she took a step back.
“It’s part of the reason I didn’t make it to work,” at his raised eyebrow, she gave him a soft smile before continuing. “I somehow fell down my stairs last night, and when I woke up this morning I was in a lot of pain.”
Rupert opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when he noticed the costumer Jess had been helping make his way down the stairs. Chris put the magazine under the counter as Rupert went to check on Nathan’s progress with his homework while Buffy volunteered to check up on Addison.
“Nathan, you’re supposed to be doing your homework. Not drawing,” he said as he sat down next to his son, a stern expression on his face.
“But it’s boring, Daddy!” Nathan complained, looking up from the paper he had been drawing on. “And this is hard!”
Shaking his head, Rupert pulled the doodled on paper away from Nathan and pushed his homework towards him. He sat there and explained the homework to his son, helping him when he needed to until Nathan claimed that he finally understood it.
“I’ll check it when you’re done,” Rupert got to his feet, ruffling Nathan’s hair before he noticed the time. “Are either of you okay to close up tonight?”
“One of us usually closes up, so I don’t see why we would not be okay with it.” Chris smiled, rubbing his arm when Rupert hit him. “Ow! Dick,”
“Chris said a bad word!” Nathan yelled as he continued working on his science homework.
“Bad Chris!” Addison’s voice sounded as her and Buffy walked out of the backroom, the four year old running straight towards her father.
“Did you have a nice nap?” he asked as he kneeled down, his arms wrapping around her so he could pick her up.
“Yep!” she answered, nodding her head enthusiastically. “You brought Nafan!”
“I told you he’d be here when you woke up, didn’t I?” Rupert grinned before kissing his daughter’s cheek and letting her down so she could watch her brother do his homework.
Thirty minutes later, Jess was the only left in the shop so she could lock it up once closing time came. Chris had bid them all a goodnight before leaving for his house, while Nathan begged his father to let him ride with Buffy.
“Please, Daddy! I promise I’ll be good!” he said as he tugged on his father’s pant leg. “Please, please, please!”
“Nathan…” Rupert sighed as he turned around, looking down at the pleading look on his son’s face.
“I don’t mind, Rupert.” Buffy said, laughing at the hopeful grin on Nathan’s face. “I mean, we live next door to each other. And we live about five, ten minutes away.”
Nathan was slightly bouncing up and down as he looked up at his father, mouthing “please” over and over again. Rupert reached down and grabbed his son’s backpack before placing it in the backseat next to Addison. The six year old’s face fell when he watched his father put his backpack in the car, his shoe kicking at a small rock on the pavement.
“It’s stupid,” he muttered as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“What was that, young man?” Rupert asked.
“I said it’s stupid,” Nathan repeated, glaring up at him.
“Well, if you’re going to talk like that then you’re not riding with Buffy.” He gave his girlfriend a quick wink, which caused her to hold back the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Daddy! I didn’t mean it!” his small hands gripped one of his father’s hands as he jumped up and down, a worried look on his face. “I’m sorry! Honest.”
“Just wear your seatbelt,” he smiled at the cry of joy Nathan gave before he ran to Buffy’s car, waiting impatiently next to the backseat door.
“I’ll be careful,” Buffy promised when she saw the flash of anxiousness that crossed Rupert’s face.
“I know, I’m just being a parent.” He lightly chuckled.
“Which is completely adorable,” she grinned as she gently kissed him.
“You better get going before he becomes too impatient,”
Giving him one last kiss, Buffy walked over to her car and unlocked it. She laughed as the six year old eagerly climbed into the back and quickly fastened his seatbelt.
“Tell Addie not to touch my backpack!” Nathan called before he closed the door.
Rupert laughed and waved as Buffy backed out of the parking spot, getting into his car. After asking his daughter if she was ready, he started up the car and pulled out his spot while he told Addison her brother’s message.
“Nafan’s packpack,” the four year old whispered as she leaned over and touched it.
Rupert just shook his head as he laughed.
Author: the_huffster
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R
Timeline: AU
Synopsis: After giving up his life as Ripper, Giles seizes the chance to live a normal life and doesn't return to the Council. But years later when he meets first grade teacher Buffy Summers, he wonders if it's possible to really escape Destiny.
Author's Note: I decided to mess around with the years and make Giles younger just so it will fit with how I have this fic planned out. So please bear with me on the messing with years/ages.
“Back it up, partner.” Jess said as she stared at her employer before glancing Chris, who was equally as shocked as she was. “You saw someone else?”
“With a stake?” Chris added. “Did you see who it was?”
“If I had seen the person, don’t you think I would be describing them?” Rupert rolled his eyes before giving Addison a small smile when she looked at him. “All I know is that this person, whoever it was, clearly knew what they were doing.”
“So, what does this mean?” Chris lowered his voice as a costumer walked into the shop, pausing enough to give them a quick greeting. “Just let one of us know if you need anything, ma’am.”
“It means that there’s not as much pressure on me to make sure nothing seriously terrible happens,” Rupert explained before he walked to his daughter when she called his name. “What is it, Princess?”
“M’tired.” The four year old yawned as she sleepily rubbed her eyes.
“Well, why don’t I take you into the back so you can take a nap?” he asked, gently rubbing her back.
“But I wanna get Nafan,” she protested.
“I know,” he gave a small smile before he knelt down next to her chair. “But if you take a nap, Nathan will be here when you wake up.”
“Pwomise?” Addison stared at him as she held out one of her pinkies.
“Always,” Rupert chuckled as he wrapped his pinky around hers, both gently squeezing the other’s pinky. “C’mon,”
She giggled as her father picker her up, taking a moment to lightly toss her half an inch in the air. He grinned when she kissed his cheek as he made his way into the backroom, carefully setting his daughter on to the couch he kept back there. Rupert laughed when she snuggled under the blanket he had draped over her, a sleepy grin on her face.
“Love you, Daddy.” She whispered.
“I love you too, Addie.” He placed a kiss on the side of her head before leaning back and watching as she settled into her nap.
He left once he sure that she was fast asleep, asking Jess and Chris to check in on her until he came back from picking up Nathan.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rupert smiled as the six year old threw his backpack into the backseat before climbing in next to it. He waited until Nathan was buckled in before driving away from the front of the school, his gaze flicking to the rearview mirror to see his son staring out the window.
“How was school?” he finally asked.
“Boring!” Nathan grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Why was it boring?”
“Buffy wasn’t there! And we had this mean sub,” the boy turned to face the front, a scowl on his face as he thought over his day. “And he was a butthead.”
“And what made the substitute a, um…butthead?” Rupert tried his best to keep the grin off his face, knowing Nathan would yell at him- which would only make him laugh.
“I was drawin’ during free time, and he said I was doing it wrong! He told me I was colorin’ the bears wrong, but I wasn’t making bears. I was making monsters!” Nathan explained, flinging his head against the backrest. “Then he told me that monsters aren’t real. Clearly he’s never checked his closet and under his bed at night,”
Rupert did chuckle at that, coming to a stop at the crosswalk. He waited until the crossing guard waved him through the intersection before making his way back to the store.
“Then he listened to me telling Alice you have a tattoo, and he said anyone with a tattoo is stupid and a bad guy.” Nathan continued, waving as they passed one of his classmates. “I told him you were the smartest person in the whole world! And that you weren’t a bad guy,”
“What happened then?” Rupert asked as he turned on to the road that would lead him to the store.
“He said that you were obviously a bad guy before I was born,” Nathan finished as he shook his head. “But that’s not true, ‘cause you’re a good guy.”
Rupert barely nodded his head as he pulled up to a red light, seeing the questioning look in his son’s bright green eyes. As much as he wanted to say that he was a “good guy”, but his past wasn’t exactly what a “good guy” would have done. And he couldn’t tell him that he was when there was a very real chance that Nathan would find out everything when he was older.
“Right, Daddy?” the six year old asked as they pulled into an empty parking spot.
“Sometimes Nathan…” he began as they got out of the car, Rupert cutting himself off when he noticed a blonde in the his shop. “Buffy?”
Nathan looked into the front window, a grin replacing his confused expression when he saw his teacher.
“Buffy!” he exclaimed as he ran to the door, tugging it open before running inside.
Rupert walked through the door just as his son ran straight into the teacher, his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Hi, Buffy!” he greeted as he tilted his head to look up.
“Hey, Rabbit.” Buffy had only recently started calling Nathan by the nickname his father had given him shortly after he was born, and Rupert couldn’t help but smile every time he heard her use it.
“How come you weren’t at school today?” Nathan asked as he made his way to the center table, throwing his backpack on the surface so he could start on his homework.
“I wasn’t feeling so good this morning,” Buffy answered as she leaned against the front counter. “But I’m all better now.”
“Good, ‘cause this sub was a butthead!” Nathan exclaimed as he pulled out his homework folder.
“You can tell Buffy all about it after you finished your homework, Nathan.” Rupert chuckled at the eye roll his son gave him. “How was Addie?”
“She’s been sleeping this whole time,” Chris looked up from the magazine he was flipping through. “Hasn’t made a peep, and Jess is helping a costumer up there.”
Rupert looked up to the second floor and saw movement, smiling when he looked over at Buffy. She gave him a smile as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Hey, you.” She greeted, grinning as he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. “What’s wrong with Addie?”
“She was up most of the night from nightmares again.” He answered, his hands resting on her hips. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, completely recovered.” Buffy grinned as she pulled back, sighing at the look of concern that flashed in his eyes when he saw the ace bandage wrapped around her wrist. “It’s fine, Rupert.”
“What happened?” he made to gently grab her wrist, but she took a step back.
“It’s part of the reason I didn’t make it to work,” at his raised eyebrow, she gave him a soft smile before continuing. “I somehow fell down my stairs last night, and when I woke up this morning I was in a lot of pain.”
Rupert opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when he noticed the costumer Jess had been helping make his way down the stairs. Chris put the magazine under the counter as Rupert went to check on Nathan’s progress with his homework while Buffy volunteered to check up on Addison.
“Nathan, you’re supposed to be doing your homework. Not drawing,” he said as he sat down next to his son, a stern expression on his face.
“But it’s boring, Daddy!” Nathan complained, looking up from the paper he had been drawing on. “And this is hard!”
Shaking his head, Rupert pulled the doodled on paper away from Nathan and pushed his homework towards him. He sat there and explained the homework to his son, helping him when he needed to until Nathan claimed that he finally understood it.
“I’ll check it when you’re done,” Rupert got to his feet, ruffling Nathan’s hair before he noticed the time. “Are either of you okay to close up tonight?”
“One of us usually closes up, so I don’t see why we would not be okay with it.” Chris smiled, rubbing his arm when Rupert hit him. “Ow! Dick,”
“Chris said a bad word!” Nathan yelled as he continued working on his science homework.
“Bad Chris!” Addison’s voice sounded as her and Buffy walked out of the backroom, the four year old running straight towards her father.
“Did you have a nice nap?” he asked as he kneeled down, his arms wrapping around her so he could pick her up.
“Yep!” she answered, nodding her head enthusiastically. “You brought Nafan!”
“I told you he’d be here when you woke up, didn’t I?” Rupert grinned before kissing his daughter’s cheek and letting her down so she could watch her brother do his homework.
Thirty minutes later, Jess was the only left in the shop so she could lock it up once closing time came. Chris had bid them all a goodnight before leaving for his house, while Nathan begged his father to let him ride with Buffy.
“Please, Daddy! I promise I’ll be good!” he said as he tugged on his father’s pant leg. “Please, please, please!”
“Nathan…” Rupert sighed as he turned around, looking down at the pleading look on his son’s face.
“I don’t mind, Rupert.” Buffy said, laughing at the hopeful grin on Nathan’s face. “I mean, we live next door to each other. And we live about five, ten minutes away.”
Nathan was slightly bouncing up and down as he looked up at his father, mouthing “please” over and over again. Rupert reached down and grabbed his son’s backpack before placing it in the backseat next to Addison. The six year old’s face fell when he watched his father put his backpack in the car, his shoe kicking at a small rock on the pavement.
“It’s stupid,” he muttered as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“What was that, young man?” Rupert asked.
“I said it’s stupid,” Nathan repeated, glaring up at him.
“Well, if you’re going to talk like that then you’re not riding with Buffy.” He gave his girlfriend a quick wink, which caused her to hold back the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Daddy! I didn’t mean it!” his small hands gripped one of his father’s hands as he jumped up and down, a worried look on his face. “I’m sorry! Honest.”
“Just wear your seatbelt,” he smiled at the cry of joy Nathan gave before he ran to Buffy’s car, waiting impatiently next to the backseat door.
“I’ll be careful,” Buffy promised when she saw the flash of anxiousness that crossed Rupert’s face.
“I know, I’m just being a parent.” He lightly chuckled.
“Which is completely adorable,” she grinned as she gently kissed him.
“You better get going before he becomes too impatient,”
Giving him one last kiss, Buffy walked over to her car and unlocked it. She laughed as the six year old eagerly climbed into the back and quickly fastened his seatbelt.
“Tell Addie not to touch my backpack!” Nathan called before he closed the door.
Rupert laughed and waved as Buffy backed out of the parking spot, getting into his car. After asking his daughter if she was ready, he started up the car and pulled out his spot while he told Addison her brother’s message.
“Nafan’s packpack,” the four year old whispered as she leaned over and touched it.
Rupert just shook his head as he laughed.