Prompt: 057 - Manly March - Giles Fiction
Mar. 15th, 2008 12:44 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
laurtew.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
still_grrrTitle: Stupid Boy
Author: Laurtew
Rating: R
Word Count: 2000
Prompt: 057 - Manly March - Giles
Characters: Buffy, Giles, Parker Abrams
AN: Set during season four, right after Buffy is dumped by Parker.
Buffy stood in the kitchen, dishtowel in hand, waiting for Giles to hand her the next clean dish. Everyone else had gone home after the latest meeting, but she’d stayed to help Giles with the clean up. He handed her a bowl, which she dried, before putting it in the cupboard. It should probably concern her that she knew where all the dishes went in his kitchen, but it didn’t. There was something comfortable about knowing her way around her Watcher’s home, some connection between them. And she supposed that was how he intended for it to be. She looked over to see him watching her.
“You’ve been staring into space for most of the evening,” he said, breaking the silence. “What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing,” There was no way that she was explaining to him that she was upset about Parker Abrams.
“I think I know you better than that.”
“It’s no big deal, Giles. Just school stuff.”
“Are you having difficulty with your studies?”
“No, I’m doing well in my classes.”
“Friends perhaps?”
“Nope, got my friends and family. It’s all good.” She really wished he’d just drop this.
“Ahh. And that would leave boy trouble.”
“Like I said, Giles, it’s no big deal.”
“Is the trouble with him or with you?”
She pursed her lips, not saying anything.
“I’ll guess from your reaction, that the trouble is with the boy,” Giles said, nodding to himself
“I don’t want to talk about it,” She put a glass on the shelf and turned to face him.
“I don’t think you appreciate how concerned I am. This change in your personality, this withdrawn moodiness is worrying me.” He was standing in front of the sink, a cloth tucked at the waist like an apron, his hands wrist-deep in suds.
“And I don’t think you understand how much I just want to forget about this. Giles, it’ll blow over. I really don’t want to talk about it,” She took a bowl from him, drying it slowly.
He turned to face her, drying his hands on the dishtowel at his waist. He leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, and fixed her with a deep stare.
“Must I learn about your personal problems from Willow again?” His voice was quiet, his tone slightly hurt.
“Giles, it’s not that…I’m just not sure what you think you can do.”
“How do you know the ways I can help if you don’t share anything with me?”
“You want me to share about boys? Giles, what could you know about boys?”
“Buffy, it pains me to remind you, but I am a boy.”
She turned and looked at him, her eyes wide and startled. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of him as a boy, but then again maybe it was. He wasn’t really a boy, he was a man and he was her Watcher.
“I know that, Giles. It’s just that you…well, you are like a teacher. And you don’t talk to teachers about stuff like this.”
“Buffy, I am your friend. You can talk to me about anything. Did you talk to Xander about this?”
“Actually, I didn’t. Willow clued him in, but I never said anything.”
“Perhaps it would help you to get a male perspective.” Giles had gone back to the dishes. “I will guess the boy in question has shown no interest in you and you are worried that he doesn’t like you.”
Buffy laughed. She couldn’t help it. Giles made it seem like a high school crush. He had no clue what her life was really like, what he was asking for in requesting that she share. Maybe it would do him some good if he did know. Maybe if she shocked him enough he’d stop asking stupid questions.
“No Giles, not even close.” She took a plate from him and leaned on the counter, drying it and looking at him. “The boy in question and I slept together. We had a night of crazy hot sex and then the next day, he conveniently forgot who I was.”
“And you thought that there would be more to this?” He looked up at her from the glass he was washing. “The start of a relationship?”
“Well, yeah, I did. Why else would I have gone to bed with him?” His attitude gave Buffy a slight pause, but she went on. “He told me that I meant something to him, that I helped him feel again.”
“He gave you a line?”
“He gave me the whole spool, rod and, a copy of ‘Fishing Today’. He went on about how since his father had died that he’d learned to live in the moment and how I was the girl for him. He said I was different, special.”
“And after you slept with him?” He handed her the glass and she dried it.
“The next day I saw him using the same lines on another girl. And when I talked to him, he said he was sorry if he gave me the wrong impression, but he wasn’t interested at all.”
“You must have been hurt.”
“Giles, I was pissed. Now I just feel stupid.” She put the glass on its shelf.
“Why ever should you feel foolish?” He had finished with the dishes and was wiping the counter.
“Because I fell for such an obvious line.”
“It wasn’t obvious or you wouldn’t have fallen for it. I’m sure the boy was convincing enough.”
“Oh, he even had teary eyes,” Buffy smiled at Giles. She was surprised at how comfortable she felt and she couldn’t believe she was talking to Giles about this. “He didn’t take it over the top and cry though; he just teared up enough so that I would notice. And would you believe that I felt like I’d done something wrong?”
“You thought you’d driven him off?”
“Right. Was I too strong? Was I too aggressive? Was I too passive? I even told Parker that I could change if that was what he wanted. Gha! I was so stupid.”
“You were not stupid,” Giles hung the dishrag on the stove handle and ushered Buffy towards the couch. “You had no cause to think that this boy was lying. You trusted him and he abused that trust. The fault is his, not yours.”
“That’s what Willow said,” Buffy sat down next to him on the couch. “Only she said it in English. But I still feel stupid. And now, I’m looking at other guys and wondering what line they are going to give me.”
“Buffy, not all men are like that,” He smiled and put his hand lightly over hers. “You just need to be careful with the men you choose.”
“I guess that’s the real trick.” Buffy said with a sigh. “Thank you for listening to me.”
“I’m always here if you need me.” He looked up at her with a reassuring smile. “All you need do is ask.”
“That’s my Giles,” Buffy put her hand on his knee. “At least I’ll always have you. The one thing I can depend on. Oh! And I’ve got to go. I still have to patrol and I have an early class tomorrow.”
“Would you like me to go with you?” Giles asked
“I’ve got it, Giles.” She rose to her feet, walking towards the door. “But thanks. I’ll see you later!”
Before Giles could stand up, she was out the door and off into the night, leaving him sitting with a frown on his face.
*******************
Giles walked into Lowell House with the intention of looking for Parker Abrams. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to the boy, but he hoped he could keep his temper in check. A part of him knew that this was a bad idea. He was sure the boy would leave Buffy alone, now that he’d gotten what he wanted from her, and he knew that he was likely to embarrass himself by yelling at Parker, but the part of him that cared for his Slayer cried out to defend her honor.
Giles would simply make sure that this Parker understood that Buffy was to be respected and that it would be in his best interest to stay as far from her as he could; Guam was nice this time of year. Giles walked into the main room and looked around, hoping to see a directory. Realizing that he was on his own as far as locating the boy went, he found a seat on a couch.
Two young men were tossing a Frisbee about, while another sat not too far from Giles, conversing with one of the Frisbee players.
“Oh, you're lying. She says that to Walsh?”
“Hope to die.”
“Doesn't lack for guts. You've got to give her that.”
“Yeah, but she's nuts.”
“Oh, come on. Like you never wanted to tell the professor off? Hey, Parker!”
At the sound of the name, Giles’s head shot up and he focused on the young men. A tall, thin, dark-haired boy had walked in and was now being surrounded by the others. Giles narrowed his eyes and watched.
“Forrest. What's up, man?” The dark-haired boy asked.
“What's the scoop on Buffy Summers? Is she cool?”
Giles visibly started. What did this other young man want to know about Buffy for? Could she have been the person the young men had been talking about?
“Buffy? Yeah, she's all right, I guess. I mean, kind of whiney.”
“How's that?”
“Well, you know, clingy. I mean, we got a little physical-- Uh, well, fully physical, and then she's all over me, you know, like we're betrothed or something.”
Giles was clenching his fists now. How dare this boy talk about Buffy that way?
“No, but fun was had, yeah?” the one called Forrest asked.
“Oh, yeah.” Parker laughed. “The word is stamina. I mean, definitely a bunny in the sack, but later on, well. You know the difference between a freshman girl and a toilet seat? A toilet seat doesn't follow you around after you use it.”
It took everything Giles had not to jump up and pummel the cretin. He was contemplating exactly how to deal with the boy when one of the group surrounding Parker lashed out and punched him. Giles was shocked, but rather pleased. At least there were still some gentlemen in the world. The rest of the group stared at the gentleman in question, then ushered him away from the fallen Parker.
“Man, you have got to watch how you react.” Forrest’s voice faded away as they left the building.
Giles stood, walking towards where Parker lay, a plan now fully formed in his head. The young man had made a point, but he hadn’t made an impression; Giles would.
Parker was starting to wake up, tossing his head and groaning. Giles bent over him, shaking him lightly.
“Are you all right?” Giles tried to put concern in his voice.
“I…I think so.” Parker’s voice was shaky as he sat up.
“Here, let me help you up.” Giles reached out, closing his hand over Parker’s wrist to pull him up. He couldn’t banish the thought from his head that this was the boy who had hurt Buffy and the next thing he knew, his hand was squeezing on the boy’s wrist. He could feel the bones grind together and had to admit that it was satisfying.
“Hey, watch it! You hurt me.”
“Did I?” Giles used his grip on the boy to steer Parker away from the crowd, off to a deserted section of hall.
“Where are we going?” Parker’s voice sounded whiny.
“I’m taking you somewhere quiet.”
Parker obviously wasn’t worried about Giles, for he nodded and calmly let himself be herded away from any witnesses. Giles ignored the few students who walked by, focusing his attention on Parker.
“I think that guy broke my nose.”
“That may very well be.” Giles recognized that his voice had picked up an edge, but he didn’t care.
There must have been something in that tone however that alerted Parker. He turned to look at Giles, his brow furrowing with thought.
“Do I know you?”
“Not yet.”
“Huh?”
“Parker, I heard what you said about Ms. Summers.”
“Oh, not you too. What are you, her father?”
“No, but I am her friend.” Giles let his irritation show. “You will not speak about Buffy that way.”
“Or what? You’ll lecture me to death?”
Giles stepped forward, slightly leaning in, using his size to intimidate Parker. He knew it was crude, but it seemed that crude was about all Parker Abrams understood. Parker moved back, trying to put distance between them and Giles was gratified when the boy backed up against the wall. There was nowhere for him to go. Giles loomed over him, and bent in, so that Parker could hear him better.
“I suppose that is one option. Or perhaps I’ll just pull your testicles out through your nasal cavity. I’ll bet I could even keep you conscious while I do it. Although I *was* leaning towards using your private parts to sharpen my sword. Though that would have the drawback of your fainting halfway through. No matter. Whatever method I choose I can assure you that there will be nobody to help you and no one will ever find your body.”
Through Giles’s whole speech, the boy had said nothing, the color draining from his face. Giles had kept his voice low and deep, wanting this pillock to know exactly who he was dealing with. Now he raised the volume a hair, enunciating each word.
“You will leave Buffy alone. You will stay away from her. You will never speak about her again. Do we understand each other?”
Parker backed up as far as he could; he was flat against the wall. When Giles turned his glare on the boy, Parker nodded, quickly.
“Good. I’m pleased that we had this talk.” Giles put his hand on Parker’s shoulder and squeezed down. “Run along now. These hallways can be quite dangerous, you know.”
Giles took a step back and Parker bolted. Giles shook his head as he walked back to the main room and exited the building. Stupid boy.
The End
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Date: 2008-03-15 12:22 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-03-15 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-03-29 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-17 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-29 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 02:05 pm (UTC)“He gave me the whole spool, rod and, a copy of ‘Fishing Today’.
Great Buffy-speak!
I love how you played with the scene of Riley decking Parker and Giles then taking it one step further. Gotta love when Ripper comes out to play. *weg*
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Date: 2008-03-29 09:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 03:49 pm (UTC)“I suppose that is one option. Or perhaps I’ll just pull your testicles out through your nasal cavity. I’ll bet I could even keep you conscious while I do it. Although I *was* leaning towards using your private parts to sharpen my sword. Though that would have the drawback of your fainting halfway through. No matter. Whatever method I choose I can assure you that there will be nobody to help you and no one will ever find your body.”
You've really captured that polished menace he can do so well!
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Date: 2008-03-29 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:51 am (UTC)Can I read this on Strangely Literal? Puh-leeze!
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Date: 2008-04-27 05:55 am (UTC)