Fic: "Undercover"
Title "Undercover"
Author
lorelei_frolick
Rating PG
Word Count 928
Prompt 012, "It's Over, it's Under"
Characters/Pairing (if any) Faith and Giles. Some slight Giles/Faith subtext.
Summary To convince Faith to go undercover Giles has to lead by example.
Author's Note Takes place during Buffy Season 8. This story was inspired by a SPOILER for Faith's upcoming arc. My story probably is nothing at all like what the actual story will be though, and it's otherwise spoiler-free.
Dancing had always been like slaying to Faith; it let her be free. No trying to live up to expectations she knew she could never meet, no pretending to be a leader. When she was on the dance floor she could forget all that duty and responsibility crap and just be. But it wasn’t working tonight; something had changed.
Faith kept thinking back to when she had walked out on Giles. She had snapped right in the middle of her crash-course in table etiquette. After Giles had told her to sit up straight for about the forty-third time she had just thrown her fork down, crossed her arms and slouched even lower in her chair.
“Screw this. Just send a SWAT team after her, like they did for me.”
“We aren’t that kind of organization, Faith. I’ve told you, we need someone to get close to her, if not to bring her to our side, at least to find out more about what she’s up to.”
“And if I’m your top pick for the job I think you need a new game plan. I maybe got the experience to get in this rogue-slayer chick’s head, but I’m never gonna get into her world. I never even had Tea Party Barbie, or any Barbie, actually. How the hell do you expect me to deal with a real one?”
Giles hadn’t answered, but just looked at her thoughtfully. It made her uncomfortable and she got up to leave.
“You don’t have to be defined by your past,” he told her.
“Just forget it,” Faith said as she walked out. “I’m as likely to fit in to that world as you are in mine. Never gonna happen.”
Now Faith felt bad about it. Giles had told her that this was something only she could do, something neither Buffy nor any of the other hundreds of Slayers could do better. But she knew he was wrong, and there was nothing she could do about it.
When the band finished their set Faith pushed her way through the cheering crowd towards the bar. The band was really hot. In Boston and SoCal there had been rich-brat clubs, and thug clubs, and yuppie clubs. But at this place the music was so good everybody came. The only common denominator was that they were all cool, so even though she was in London Faith still felt right at home.
As usual, once Faith was at the bar it wasn’t long before some guy sat down next to her.
“Buy you a drink?” he asked.
“Naw, I got it.”
“Fag?”
Faith screwed her face up. “What?” She turned to the guy, and her jaw dropped in surprise.
Giles was smirking amusedly back at her. “Means ‘cigarette,’ Faith.”
“Yeah,” she said, taking one from the pack Giles offered her and trying to regain her cool. “I knew that.”
“Sure yeh did.” He took a cigarette for himself and offered Faith a light. Instead of leaning forward Faith took Giles’ hand and held it up to her cigarette. She noticed his lighter looked old and well-used.
As Giles lit his own cigarette Faith looked him over. Mussed hair, earring in one ear, black leather coat, gray shirt that brought out the silver in his hair but also made it look cool, and frayed jeans. She hadn’t thought Giles owned any jeans, much less frayed ones.
“Why are you talking like that?” she asked, commenting on the change in his accent.
Giles shrugged casually. “’S’how I talked when I was your age. Used to come ‘ere all the time too.” He looked around the club. “Was more psychedelic back then. It changed.”
“Like you did.”
“Like everybody does.”
Faith tried to imagine Giles at her age, living her kind of life. She was surprised that it wasn’t hard to do. She wondered what it took to make him change, and how long, and if it had been as hard for him as it was for her.
He took a drag on his cigarette and turned to her. “So, this is ‘your world,’ right? Think I fit in okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” Faith agreed grudgingly. Then she smirked. “But then I’m always open to you ‘fitting in’ with me.”
Giles choked on his cigarette smoke and started coughing.
Faith laughed. “Still a librarian at heart, huh Giles?” she asked when his coughing fit subsided.
“Yes, well, sometimes a superficial change is all that’s necessary,” he said, the same old Giles she was used to again. “I need you on this assignment, Faith.”
Faith sighed and nodded. She felt like she owed Giles something after he had gone to so much trouble to make a point. And part of her felt good about doing the responsible thing. It was a new feeling and weird.
Faith was pensive as she and Giles left the club together.
“Was it always an act, Giles? The bad boy thing? Were you always Mr. Do-Right underneath, or was it really you?”
Giles was silent for a while. “I was certainly acting out, against too much pressure and expectations.”
Faith nodded, understanding.
“Whether it was really ‘me’..." he trailed off.
“I don’t think it was. I don’t think people really change.”
Giles shrugged. “But they can be complex. They usually are.”
“I guess.”
“Is it just an act for you?”
Faith thought she should be offended. She was herself, she didn’t put on an act for anybody. That was always how she had been. But now things were changing.
“I dunno,” she said. “I’m still figuring it out.”
Author
lorelei_frolick
Rating PG
Word Count 928
Prompt 012, "It's Over, it's Under"
Characters/Pairing (if any) Faith and Giles. Some slight Giles/Faith subtext.
Summary To convince Faith to go undercover Giles has to lead by example.
Author's Note Takes place during Buffy Season 8. This story was inspired by a SPOILER for Faith's upcoming arc. My story probably is nothing at all like what the actual story will be though, and it's otherwise spoiler-free.
Dancing had always been like slaying to Faith; it let her be free. No trying to live up to expectations she knew she could never meet, no pretending to be a leader. When she was on the dance floor she could forget all that duty and responsibility crap and just be. But it wasn’t working tonight; something had changed.
Faith kept thinking back to when she had walked out on Giles. She had snapped right in the middle of her crash-course in table etiquette. After Giles had told her to sit up straight for about the forty-third time she had just thrown her fork down, crossed her arms and slouched even lower in her chair.
“Screw this. Just send a SWAT team after her, like they did for me.”
“We aren’t that kind of organization, Faith. I’ve told you, we need someone to get close to her, if not to bring her to our side, at least to find out more about what she’s up to.”
“And if I’m your top pick for the job I think you need a new game plan. I maybe got the experience to get in this rogue-slayer chick’s head, but I’m never gonna get into her world. I never even had Tea Party Barbie, or any Barbie, actually. How the hell do you expect me to deal with a real one?”
Giles hadn’t answered, but just looked at her thoughtfully. It made her uncomfortable and she got up to leave.
“You don’t have to be defined by your past,” he told her.
“Just forget it,” Faith said as she walked out. “I’m as likely to fit in to that world as you are in mine. Never gonna happen.”
Now Faith felt bad about it. Giles had told her that this was something only she could do, something neither Buffy nor any of the other hundreds of Slayers could do better. But she knew he was wrong, and there was nothing she could do about it.
When the band finished their set Faith pushed her way through the cheering crowd towards the bar. The band was really hot. In Boston and SoCal there had been rich-brat clubs, and thug clubs, and yuppie clubs. But at this place the music was so good everybody came. The only common denominator was that they were all cool, so even though she was in London Faith still felt right at home.
As usual, once Faith was at the bar it wasn’t long before some guy sat down next to her.
“Buy you a drink?” he asked.
“Naw, I got it.”
“Fag?”
Faith screwed her face up. “What?” She turned to the guy, and her jaw dropped in surprise.
Giles was smirking amusedly back at her. “Means ‘cigarette,’ Faith.”
“Yeah,” she said, taking one from the pack Giles offered her and trying to regain her cool. “I knew that.”
“Sure yeh did.” He took a cigarette for himself and offered Faith a light. Instead of leaning forward Faith took Giles’ hand and held it up to her cigarette. She noticed his lighter looked old and well-used.
As Giles lit his own cigarette Faith looked him over. Mussed hair, earring in one ear, black leather coat, gray shirt that brought out the silver in his hair but also made it look cool, and frayed jeans. She hadn’t thought Giles owned any jeans, much less frayed ones.
“Why are you talking like that?” she asked, commenting on the change in his accent.
Giles shrugged casually. “’S’how I talked when I was your age. Used to come ‘ere all the time too.” He looked around the club. “Was more psychedelic back then. It changed.”
“Like you did.”
“Like everybody does.”
Faith tried to imagine Giles at her age, living her kind of life. She was surprised that it wasn’t hard to do. She wondered what it took to make him change, and how long, and if it had been as hard for him as it was for her.
He took a drag on his cigarette and turned to her. “So, this is ‘your world,’ right? Think I fit in okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” Faith agreed grudgingly. Then she smirked. “But then I’m always open to you ‘fitting in’ with me.”
Giles choked on his cigarette smoke and started coughing.
Faith laughed. “Still a librarian at heart, huh Giles?” she asked when his coughing fit subsided.
“Yes, well, sometimes a superficial change is all that’s necessary,” he said, the same old Giles she was used to again. “I need you on this assignment, Faith.”
Faith sighed and nodded. She felt like she owed Giles something after he had gone to so much trouble to make a point. And part of her felt good about doing the responsible thing. It was a new feeling and weird.
Faith was pensive as she and Giles left the club together.
“Was it always an act, Giles? The bad boy thing? Were you always Mr. Do-Right underneath, or was it really you?”
Giles was silent for a while. “I was certainly acting out, against too much pressure and expectations.”
Faith nodded, understanding.
“Whether it was really ‘me’..." he trailed off.
“I don’t think it was. I don’t think people really change.”
Giles shrugged. “But they can be complex. They usually are.”
“I guess.”
“Is it just an act for you?”
Faith thought she should be offended. She was herself, she didn’t put on an act for anybody. That was always how she had been. But now things were changing.
“I dunno,” she said. “I’m still figuring it out.”