014 Violate - Rupert Giles - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Title: Worries
Prompt Number/Prompt: 014 Violate
Character/Fandom: Rupert Giles/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Word Count: ~1400
Rating: FRT
Warning(s): References to pre-show and the post-show AU created for DM.
Summary: A look at the consequences of actions taken by Giles over the years.
You violated school rules by getting into that fight with your schoolmate. You’re to be suspended for tomorrow, and then you may return to class. I’m taking you home now.
Ten-year-old Rupert Giles sat in the back of his father’s Morris Minor, his spine ramrod straight, his bookbag on his lap. His jaw throbbed and ached where William had punched him, but he didn’t dare say so. He knew his father would simply say that since he had got himself into a fight, he would have to bear the consequences.
When they arrived at the detached home where they lived in London during the school year, Rupert followed his father inside and to his study. As the elder Giles walked over to one of the shelves to pull a book down, the younger stood in front of his desk. He wanted to put down his bag, rub his aching hands together, wipe off the dirt from his school uniform. But didn’t. Instead, he waited while his father circled around his desk with a rather large tome in his hands. He kept it so Rupert couldn’t see the title.
Once he sat down, he still said nothing, and Rupert began to worry. Had he disappointed his father that deeply that he wasn’t going to even speak to him? He continued to stand there, however, not moving, waiting.
Finally, he spoke, telling him that he couldn’t act like this, that there were more important fights waiting for him than schoolyard scuffles. Rupert didn’t understand as his father started to speak of destiny, of a tradition he would follow. What was he talking about? What did he mean by this?
And then his father turned the book towards him. Emblazoned on the cover was one word.
Vampyres.
The next words he said would stay with Rupert for years: “There is evil out there that must be stopped, son. Your grandmother has fought it. I’ve fought it. And you will too. This is why you can’t allow yourself to be distracted. You’re to become a Watcher and help protect the world against the monsters that threaten us all.”
And as his father continued speaking, explaining the Watchers Council to him, telling him that he would be going away to a special academy the next year in order to later take his place with the Council, Rupert’s stomach tied up in knots. All he could think was that all the things he wanted to do - music, history - were getting pushed aside, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to live up to his father’s expectations, that he’d let him down.
*****
You violated my trust in you, not to mention several laws of magic and of the Council. It’s going to take a lot to fix this, son. And it won’t be easy.
Twenty-one-year-old Rupert Giles sat in front of his father’s desk, itching for a fag. He could have conjured one, but he had promised. The condition of being allowed back in the house had been no smokes and no magic. Especially no magic. Not being allowed to have either, though, was making him jumpy and irritable.
“Come on. I said I’d give ‘em up, and I have,” he said, rubbing his fingers together.
“’Them up’, Rupert. Your grammar really has gone downhill.”
It had been a long time since anyone had called him Rupert and not Ripper. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “What more do you want?”
“It’s not as easy as saying you’re going to give magic up. It’s an addiction, like your cigarettes. And it must be dealt with.” His father took off his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on again. “Before the Council will consider taking you back, you must show you’re serious. You’re to go to Devon. We know the coven there, and their high priestess is willing to help you. She was your grandmother’s-.”
“Bugger that!” Rupert said, standing up, clenching his hand in a fist.
His father was on his feet in a flash. “Bugger nothing! Sit your bloody arse down, Rupert. Yes, I can resort to your language if it’s all that will get through to you.”
Shocked, he sat back down.
“Now you listen to me,” his father continued. “You’re an intelligent boy who made a great big blooming mistake that got your mate killed. You understand that, right? That’s why you came back. Your abuse of magic got Randall killed. Under most circumstances, that would be enough to keep you out of the Council for good, but I know you have a great deal you could offer if you get yourself together. So if you want this second change, you will do as you’re told and sodding well go to Devon.”
Rupert stared at him for several moments, his fingers still rubbing together. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t need a bloody intervention. And suddenly he wondered if his father really believed in him at all. Had he ever?
Well, he’d show him.
“All right. I’ll go.”
Deep down, he worried if he’d actually be able to get through this or if he’d let them both down.
*****
You violated Watcher tenants - not that this is the first time, mind. You go too close, became too involved. To them, you were too paternal. Maybe you were, but you and I know these girls aren’t just tools. Quentin and Roger, though…they don't see them as anything but. And right now, they have too much power for that to change, much as we wish it would.
His father’s words rang through forty-three-year-old Rupert Giles’ mind as he sat in the high school library, staring at the book he had given him almost thirty-five years before when he had told him of his destiny as a Watcher. Despite his mistakes twenty years before, he had fulfilled that destiny, but now, it had been taken away from him.
Taken away because he had dared to protect the girl he had been sent to watch over. The Council purported to protect everyone from evil, yet for thousands of years, they had perpetrated an evil on the girls who helped them to do so.
Now, Buffy and Faith were to get a new Watcher. One chosen by Quentin and Roger. Giles had always known that those two had disagreed with Marcus’ decision to send him to Sunnydale after Merrick’s death in Los Angeles. Now, they had what they wanted.
And Giles found himself worrying - he was sure that the new Watcher would be by the book, would try to rein in two girls who were not the norm for Slayers. He feared for how they would react and how they would deal. He was concerned about what the new Watcher would do if he or she couldn’t get them to behave the way he or she wanted them to.
Most of all, he worried that in doing what he had needed to do, he had let Buffy, Faith and all of Sunnydale down. As well as his father.
*****
You violated everything you were taught to believe in. You used magic with someone who aligned herself with evil and became bound to her. You conceived a child with her. You’ve let her change you. Love? I doubt she understands love. If you insist on staying with her, you’re no longer my son.
Fifty-two-year-old Rupert Giles stared at the receiver in his hand as he contemplated the caller on the other end - his father, wanting to find out if the rumors were true. Apparently, the coven had picked up on the bond between himself and Lilah.
So he had told him everything. About how Lilah had come to him and the bond had been created. How he had fallen in love with her. How they were going to have a child.
But his father didn’t believe that what they had could be true in any way. Instead, he had berated him and was forcing him to choose between him and the woman who was carrying his child. The woman he was now connected to in far more ways than the bond that had brought them together in the first place.
Before, he would have worried about what he was doing, second-guessed his decision, wondered if he was letting people down. But for the first time in his life, he wasn’t worried. He knew what he wanted, and damn those who wanted to take it away from him because he wouldn’t let them.
Without a word to his father, he hung up the phone, telling him his decision with that action. He then got up and went to find Lilah.
Prompt Number/Prompt: 014 Violate
Character/Fandom: Rupert Giles/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Word Count: ~1400
Rating: FRT
Warning(s): References to pre-show and the post-show AU created for DM.
Summary: A look at the consequences of actions taken by Giles over the years.
You violated school rules by getting into that fight with your schoolmate. You’re to be suspended for tomorrow, and then you may return to class. I’m taking you home now.
Ten-year-old Rupert Giles sat in the back of his father’s Morris Minor, his spine ramrod straight, his bookbag on his lap. His jaw throbbed and ached where William had punched him, but he didn’t dare say so. He knew his father would simply say that since he had got himself into a fight, he would have to bear the consequences.
When they arrived at the detached home where they lived in London during the school year, Rupert followed his father inside and to his study. As the elder Giles walked over to one of the shelves to pull a book down, the younger stood in front of his desk. He wanted to put down his bag, rub his aching hands together, wipe off the dirt from his school uniform. But didn’t. Instead, he waited while his father circled around his desk with a rather large tome in his hands. He kept it so Rupert couldn’t see the title.
Once he sat down, he still said nothing, and Rupert began to worry. Had he disappointed his father that deeply that he wasn’t going to even speak to him? He continued to stand there, however, not moving, waiting.
Finally, he spoke, telling him that he couldn’t act like this, that there were more important fights waiting for him than schoolyard scuffles. Rupert didn’t understand as his father started to speak of destiny, of a tradition he would follow. What was he talking about? What did he mean by this?
And then his father turned the book towards him. Emblazoned on the cover was one word.
Vampyres.
The next words he said would stay with Rupert for years: “There is evil out there that must be stopped, son. Your grandmother has fought it. I’ve fought it. And you will too. This is why you can’t allow yourself to be distracted. You’re to become a Watcher and help protect the world against the monsters that threaten us all.”
And as his father continued speaking, explaining the Watchers Council to him, telling him that he would be going away to a special academy the next year in order to later take his place with the Council, Rupert’s stomach tied up in knots. All he could think was that all the things he wanted to do - music, history - were getting pushed aside, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to live up to his father’s expectations, that he’d let him down.
*****
You violated my trust in you, not to mention several laws of magic and of the Council. It’s going to take a lot to fix this, son. And it won’t be easy.
Twenty-one-year-old Rupert Giles sat in front of his father’s desk, itching for a fag. He could have conjured one, but he had promised. The condition of being allowed back in the house had been no smokes and no magic. Especially no magic. Not being allowed to have either, though, was making him jumpy and irritable.
“Come on. I said I’d give ‘em up, and I have,” he said, rubbing his fingers together.
“’Them up’, Rupert. Your grammar really has gone downhill.”
It had been a long time since anyone had called him Rupert and not Ripper. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “What more do you want?”
“It’s not as easy as saying you’re going to give magic up. It’s an addiction, like your cigarettes. And it must be dealt with.” His father took off his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on again. “Before the Council will consider taking you back, you must show you’re serious. You’re to go to Devon. We know the coven there, and their high priestess is willing to help you. She was your grandmother’s-.”
“Bugger that!” Rupert said, standing up, clenching his hand in a fist.
His father was on his feet in a flash. “Bugger nothing! Sit your bloody arse down, Rupert. Yes, I can resort to your language if it’s all that will get through to you.”
Shocked, he sat back down.
“Now you listen to me,” his father continued. “You’re an intelligent boy who made a great big blooming mistake that got your mate killed. You understand that, right? That’s why you came back. Your abuse of magic got Randall killed. Under most circumstances, that would be enough to keep you out of the Council for good, but I know you have a great deal you could offer if you get yourself together. So if you want this second change, you will do as you’re told and sodding well go to Devon.”
Rupert stared at him for several moments, his fingers still rubbing together. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t need a bloody intervention. And suddenly he wondered if his father really believed in him at all. Had he ever?
Well, he’d show him.
“All right. I’ll go.”
Deep down, he worried if he’d actually be able to get through this or if he’d let them both down.
*****
You violated Watcher tenants - not that this is the first time, mind. You go too close, became too involved. To them, you were too paternal. Maybe you were, but you and I know these girls aren’t just tools. Quentin and Roger, though…they don't see them as anything but. And right now, they have too much power for that to change, much as we wish it would.
His father’s words rang through forty-three-year-old Rupert Giles’ mind as he sat in the high school library, staring at the book he had given him almost thirty-five years before when he had told him of his destiny as a Watcher. Despite his mistakes twenty years before, he had fulfilled that destiny, but now, it had been taken away from him.
Taken away because he had dared to protect the girl he had been sent to watch over. The Council purported to protect everyone from evil, yet for thousands of years, they had perpetrated an evil on the girls who helped them to do so.
Now, Buffy and Faith were to get a new Watcher. One chosen by Quentin and Roger. Giles had always known that those two had disagreed with Marcus’ decision to send him to Sunnydale after Merrick’s death in Los Angeles. Now, they had what they wanted.
And Giles found himself worrying - he was sure that the new Watcher would be by the book, would try to rein in two girls who were not the norm for Slayers. He feared for how they would react and how they would deal. He was concerned about what the new Watcher would do if he or she couldn’t get them to behave the way he or she wanted them to.
Most of all, he worried that in doing what he had needed to do, he had let Buffy, Faith and all of Sunnydale down. As well as his father.
*****
You violated everything you were taught to believe in. You used magic with someone who aligned herself with evil and became bound to her. You conceived a child with her. You’ve let her change you. Love? I doubt she understands love. If you insist on staying with her, you’re no longer my son.
Fifty-two-year-old Rupert Giles stared at the receiver in his hand as he contemplated the caller on the other end - his father, wanting to find out if the rumors were true. Apparently, the coven had picked up on the bond between himself and Lilah.
So he had told him everything. About how Lilah had come to him and the bond had been created. How he had fallen in love with her. How they were going to have a child.
But his father didn’t believe that what they had could be true in any way. Instead, he had berated him and was forcing him to choose between him and the woman who was carrying his child. The woman he was now connected to in far more ways than the bond that had brought them together in the first place.
Before, he would have worried about what he was doing, second-guessed his decision, wondered if he was letting people down. But for the first time in his life, he wasn’t worried. He knew what he wanted, and damn those who wanted to take it away from him because he wouldn’t let them.
Without a word to his father, he hung up the phone, telling him his decision with that action. He then got up and went to find Lilah.