Your Surrender: Chapter 12
Aug. 13th, 2011 02:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_huffsterTitle: 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?
Giles looked up when the door to his office opened, surprise evident on his face when Buffy walked in. It had been four days since the movie night at Giles’ apartment, and this was the first time he had seen her without one of the Scoobies. He stood up and gave the Slayer a shy smile, his right going straight into his pocket.
“Hey, Giles.” Buffy said as she leaned against the wall near the door, her arms wrapped around her waist.
“Hello, Buffy.” He gestured to the chair across from him, moving to sit on the side of the desk when she declined. “Is there something that you needed? I uh…I didn’t expect to see you until Thursday,”
“I just wanted to tell you that we’re having a mini-celebration at the Bronze on Thursday,” Buffy said as she kept her eyes on the floor. “We figured we would celebrate surviving our first semester in college. And by ‘our first semester’ I mean me, Willow, Oz and you.”
“I assumed that,” he chuckled as he took off his glasses, setting them on the desk behind him.
“Right,” she muttered before continuing. “We’re gonna meet up there at six. I just wanted to come by because I’m pretty sure I won’t see you until Thursday, and even then I won’t really get to talk you. You know, finals and all.”
“I would love to be there,” Giles ran a hand through his hair.
“But?” she prompted, a flash of disappointment in her eyes when she looked up. “You already have plans, don’t you?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking, Buffy.” He sighed, the fingers on his right hand twisting the onyx ring on his left.
“What do you mean?”
There was a pause as she looked around the office, noticing how empty it was since she entered the room. Buffy continued to look around the office until understanding dawn on her.
“Why does it look like you’ve packed up completely?” her eyes met his, panic coursing through her.
“Because I have,”
“Why?”
“Because I’m leaving for England,” he whispered, breaking the eye contact when he saw the devastation in her eyes. “I told the school that a family emergency came up, and that I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
“When are you leaving?” Buffy couldn’t take her eyes off of the ex-Watcher.
“My plan takes off at 5:45 on Thursday,” he forced himself to get the words out, wincing when he felt the glare Buffy was giving him.
“Where you gonna tell me before then?” Buffy asked as she took a small step towards him.
“I was going to tell you after your finals.” He glanced up at her, sighing at the expression on her face.
“Is it because of what happened on Friday?” the fear was plain in her voice, and tore at Giles’ heart.
“Friday made me realize a few things that I need to sort through and accept,” he began, not sure how to explain his reasons. “I…Buffy, I…”
“How long are going to be gone?” she cut him off.
“A few months?” he shrugged before walking over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not leaving you, Buffy. I promise, I’ll be back.”
Without saying anything, Buffy launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Giles returned the hug with no hesitation, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. They stood like that for a moment before Buffy pulled back enough to look up at him.
“Promise me you’ll call when you land?” she gave him a small smile when he nodded his head in agreement. “And you have to call on a regular basis, okay? You’ll be on the other side of the world, and I’ll have no way of knowing if you’re all right or if you’re alive. So, you need to call me and tell me that you’re not dead and safe. And you have to come back as soon as you sort through whatever it is you need to sort through…”
At the small chuckle he gave, Buffy trailed off and shook her head. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”
“You are, but I rather enjoy your ramblings.” He smiled before hugging her again. “And I promise to call you, Buffy. I’ll call you every day, if you want me to.”
“Have a safe flight, Giles.” She whispered before leaning up and kissing his cheek.
Giles opened his mouth, but closed it when the Slayer turned and left the office.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Willow looked up from the notes spread out on her bed when the door opened, a smile on her face when Buffy walked in. She decided to take a break from studying to talk to her best friend, and to find out if she had talked to Giles like she said she would.
“Did you tell Giles about Thursday night?” the red head asked, making sure to not knock off her notes.
“Yeah,” Buffy flopped on her bed and began pulling out her notes and textbooks, knowing she needed to really start studying.
“Well?” Willow prompted, her eyes wide in curiosity. “What did he say?”
“He said that he wants to make it, but he has plans already.” The blonde sighed, flipping through her psychology notes to the place she left off.
“What kind of plans?”
“The kind that he can’t reschedule,”
Willow raised an eyebrow, positive that there was more than what Buffy was saying. The tone she was using, her lack of detail in her answers and the fact that she was really focusing on her notes all told the Wicca that there was more to the story. Taking a deep breath, Willow looked at her friend and put her resolve face on.
“Buffy, what really happened?” she asked, determined to find out the truth.
“I told you,” Buffy kept her eyes on her notes in an attempt to keep her from looking at Willow. “I invited him and he said he has plans already. Simple as that,”
“Did you tell him that this celebration is also for him?”
“Yes, I did. But he still can’t make it,” she picked up a pen and made a little note on the margin on the paper. “And that’s all that happened, Will.”
“Buffy,” Willow sighed. “I know you’re keeping from something from me, and I wanna know.”
“I told you…” Buffy began, continuing to look at her notes.
“Resolve face.” She cut her off. “And this has extra resolve, Buff.”
There was a moment of silence before Buffy leaned her head back on her pillow, heaving a sigh. A grin spread across Willow’s face as she adjusted her position and got ready to hear what Buffy had to say.
“We should really be studying, Will.” The Slayer said as she highlighted a small portion of her notes, her gaze never leaving the paper. “You know, considering we both have finals tomorrow.”
“Fine,” the red head muttered as she leaned back against the wall, picking up her U.S. Government textbook. “But I will get the truth, Buffy.”
Buffy just rolled her eyes and continued to look over her notes, well aware of the fact that her best friend kept glancing her way.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“What other plans could he possibly have?” Xander asked once Willow finished recounting what Buffy had told her two days ago. “I mean, it’s not like Giles really knows anyone else besides us.”
“He could be using code,” Anya suggested as she took a sip of her water, shrugging when the other three looked at her. “He could mean that he plans to have a one night stand tonight. And he probably figured after the last time he came to the Bronze with us and left with a woman that it would just be easier to say he had plans, instead of ditching us.”
“Make sense.” Oz shrugged as he finished what little was left in his beer bottle.
“I guess,” Xander said before he stood up straighter, narrowing his eyes. “Speaking of Giles…”
Willow and Oz turned around to see the ex-Watcher work his way through the crowd before turning back to see the grin on the ex-demon’s face.
“I told you he was using code,” she looked at her boyfriend, her grin growing when he just rolled his eyes.
“If that’s the case, then why is he walking over to us?” Xander asked. “Answer that, An.”
Any response she was going to give was cut off when Giles approached their table, a small smile on his face.
“Hey, G-Man.”
“Don’t call me, Xander.” The older man sighed, rolling his eyes when the other three chuckled at the exchange.
“Sorry, it’s habit.”
“Buffy said you weren’t coming ‘cause you had other plans,” Willow said when there was a pause in the conversation.
“I did,” he nodded his head in agreement, closing his mouth when Anya began talking.
“Did you run out of women to have sex with?” she gave Xander a look when gently kicked her leg. “Ow!”
“No, I decided that some things were more important than my plans.” Giles continued as he glared at the ex-demon. “Where’s Buffy?”
“She’s not here yet,” Xander answered as he finished his Coke. “Why?”
“Well, she said that you lot were meeting up at six…” he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders, positive that they could figure out the rest of his sentence.
“Oh,” Xander said.
They talked for a few minutes before the conversation naturally trailed off into silence. Oz was tapping his hand in time with the current song the band was playing while the rest just stood there, no one having anything to say.
“Congratulations, Giles.” Anya spoke up once she had had enough of the quiet, sighing when a puzzled expression fell on his face. “I for one know what it’s like to be stuck in a classroom for months with people who are much younger than you. So, congratulations on getting through a semester.”
“Thank you,” he gave her a smile, chuckling at the pleased expression on her face. “I think.”
“I’m pretty sure it was a compliment,” Xander laughed before turning to his girlfriend when she nudged his shoulder. “Yes?”
“I like this song,” she stated as she began dragging him on to the dance floor. “Dance with me.”
Willow, Oz and Giles just shook their heads as they watched the two head out to the dance floor, quickly disappearing in the sea of people. Oz and Willow told Giles about how they thought they did on their finals when he asked, the Wicca excusing herself to go use the restroom. A faint smirk made its way on Oz’s face when he noticed the ex-Watcher looking around the Bronze.
“Decided to take the risk?” he asked.
“I thought over what you had said and realized that you were right,” Giles answered as he brought his gaze to the young man. “The outcome of Buffy saying yes is worth that fifty percent chance of her saying no.”
“Good.” Oz nodded his head, his smirk growing when he noticed the worried expression on the older man’s face. “She’ll be here, Giles. Don’t worry,”
Giles just gave him a weak smile before taking a drink from his cup, sighing as his eyes swept across the front of the club again.
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?
Giles looked up when the door to his office opened, surprise evident on his face when Buffy walked in. It had been four days since the movie night at Giles’ apartment, and this was the first time he had seen her without one of the Scoobies. He stood up and gave the Slayer a shy smile, his right going straight into his pocket.
“Hey, Giles.” Buffy said as she leaned against the wall near the door, her arms wrapped around her waist.
“Hello, Buffy.” He gestured to the chair across from him, moving to sit on the side of the desk when she declined. “Is there something that you needed? I uh…I didn’t expect to see you until Thursday,”
“I just wanted to tell you that we’re having a mini-celebration at the Bronze on Thursday,” Buffy said as she kept her eyes on the floor. “We figured we would celebrate surviving our first semester in college. And by ‘our first semester’ I mean me, Willow, Oz and you.”
“I assumed that,” he chuckled as he took off his glasses, setting them on the desk behind him.
“Right,” she muttered before continuing. “We’re gonna meet up there at six. I just wanted to come by because I’m pretty sure I won’t see you until Thursday, and even then I won’t really get to talk you. You know, finals and all.”
“I would love to be there,” Giles ran a hand through his hair.
“But?” she prompted, a flash of disappointment in her eyes when she looked up. “You already have plans, don’t you?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking, Buffy.” He sighed, the fingers on his right hand twisting the onyx ring on his left.
“What do you mean?”
There was a pause as she looked around the office, noticing how empty it was since she entered the room. Buffy continued to look around the office until understanding dawn on her.
“Why does it look like you’ve packed up completely?” her eyes met his, panic coursing through her.
“Because I have,”
“Why?”
“Because I’m leaving for England,” he whispered, breaking the eye contact when he saw the devastation in her eyes. “I told the school that a family emergency came up, and that I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
“When are you leaving?” Buffy couldn’t take her eyes off of the ex-Watcher.
“My plan takes off at 5:45 on Thursday,” he forced himself to get the words out, wincing when he felt the glare Buffy was giving him.
“Where you gonna tell me before then?” Buffy asked as she took a small step towards him.
“I was going to tell you after your finals.” He glanced up at her, sighing at the expression on her face.
“Is it because of what happened on Friday?” the fear was plain in her voice, and tore at Giles’ heart.
“Friday made me realize a few things that I need to sort through and accept,” he began, not sure how to explain his reasons. “I…Buffy, I…”
“How long are going to be gone?” she cut him off.
“A few months?” he shrugged before walking over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not leaving you, Buffy. I promise, I’ll be back.”
Without saying anything, Buffy launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Giles returned the hug with no hesitation, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. They stood like that for a moment before Buffy pulled back enough to look up at him.
“Promise me you’ll call when you land?” she gave him a small smile when he nodded his head in agreement. “And you have to call on a regular basis, okay? You’ll be on the other side of the world, and I’ll have no way of knowing if you’re all right or if you’re alive. So, you need to call me and tell me that you’re not dead and safe. And you have to come back as soon as you sort through whatever it is you need to sort through…”
At the small chuckle he gave, Buffy trailed off and shook her head. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”
“You are, but I rather enjoy your ramblings.” He smiled before hugging her again. “And I promise to call you, Buffy. I’ll call you every day, if you want me to.”
“Have a safe flight, Giles.” She whispered before leaning up and kissing his cheek.
Giles opened his mouth, but closed it when the Slayer turned and left the office.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Willow looked up from the notes spread out on her bed when the door opened, a smile on her face when Buffy walked in. She decided to take a break from studying to talk to her best friend, and to find out if she had talked to Giles like she said she would.
“Did you tell Giles about Thursday night?” the red head asked, making sure to not knock off her notes.
“Yeah,” Buffy flopped on her bed and began pulling out her notes and textbooks, knowing she needed to really start studying.
“Well?” Willow prompted, her eyes wide in curiosity. “What did he say?”
“He said that he wants to make it, but he has plans already.” The blonde sighed, flipping through her psychology notes to the place she left off.
“What kind of plans?”
“The kind that he can’t reschedule,”
Willow raised an eyebrow, positive that there was more than what Buffy was saying. The tone she was using, her lack of detail in her answers and the fact that she was really focusing on her notes all told the Wicca that there was more to the story. Taking a deep breath, Willow looked at her friend and put her resolve face on.
“Buffy, what really happened?” she asked, determined to find out the truth.
“I told you,” Buffy kept her eyes on her notes in an attempt to keep her from looking at Willow. “I invited him and he said he has plans already. Simple as that,”
“Did you tell him that this celebration is also for him?”
“Yes, I did. But he still can’t make it,” she picked up a pen and made a little note on the margin on the paper. “And that’s all that happened, Will.”
“Buffy,” Willow sighed. “I know you’re keeping from something from me, and I wanna know.”
“I told you…” Buffy began, continuing to look at her notes.
“Resolve face.” She cut her off. “And this has extra resolve, Buff.”
There was a moment of silence before Buffy leaned her head back on her pillow, heaving a sigh. A grin spread across Willow’s face as she adjusted her position and got ready to hear what Buffy had to say.
“We should really be studying, Will.” The Slayer said as she highlighted a small portion of her notes, her gaze never leaving the paper. “You know, considering we both have finals tomorrow.”
“Fine,” the red head muttered as she leaned back against the wall, picking up her U.S. Government textbook. “But I will get the truth, Buffy.”
Buffy just rolled her eyes and continued to look over her notes, well aware of the fact that her best friend kept glancing her way.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“What other plans could he possibly have?” Xander asked once Willow finished recounting what Buffy had told her two days ago. “I mean, it’s not like Giles really knows anyone else besides us.”
“He could be using code,” Anya suggested as she took a sip of her water, shrugging when the other three looked at her. “He could mean that he plans to have a one night stand tonight. And he probably figured after the last time he came to the Bronze with us and left with a woman that it would just be easier to say he had plans, instead of ditching us.”
“Make sense.” Oz shrugged as he finished what little was left in his beer bottle.
“I guess,” Xander said before he stood up straighter, narrowing his eyes. “Speaking of Giles…”
Willow and Oz turned around to see the ex-Watcher work his way through the crowd before turning back to see the grin on the ex-demon’s face.
“I told you he was using code,” she looked at her boyfriend, her grin growing when he just rolled his eyes.
“If that’s the case, then why is he walking over to us?” Xander asked. “Answer that, An.”
Any response she was going to give was cut off when Giles approached their table, a small smile on his face.
“Hey, G-Man.”
“Don’t call me, Xander.” The older man sighed, rolling his eyes when the other three chuckled at the exchange.
“Sorry, it’s habit.”
“Buffy said you weren’t coming ‘cause you had other plans,” Willow said when there was a pause in the conversation.
“I did,” he nodded his head in agreement, closing his mouth when Anya began talking.
“Did you run out of women to have sex with?” she gave Xander a look when gently kicked her leg. “Ow!”
“No, I decided that some things were more important than my plans.” Giles continued as he glared at the ex-demon. “Where’s Buffy?”
“She’s not here yet,” Xander answered as he finished his Coke. “Why?”
“Well, she said that you lot were meeting up at six…” he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders, positive that they could figure out the rest of his sentence.
“Oh,” Xander said.
They talked for a few minutes before the conversation naturally trailed off into silence. Oz was tapping his hand in time with the current song the band was playing while the rest just stood there, no one having anything to say.
“Congratulations, Giles.” Anya spoke up once she had had enough of the quiet, sighing when a puzzled expression fell on his face. “I for one know what it’s like to be stuck in a classroom for months with people who are much younger than you. So, congratulations on getting through a semester.”
“Thank you,” he gave her a smile, chuckling at the pleased expression on her face. “I think.”
“I’m pretty sure it was a compliment,” Xander laughed before turning to his girlfriend when she nudged his shoulder. “Yes?”
“I like this song,” she stated as she began dragging him on to the dance floor. “Dance with me.”
Willow, Oz and Giles just shook their heads as they watched the two head out to the dance floor, quickly disappearing in the sea of people. Oz and Willow told Giles about how they thought they did on their finals when he asked, the Wicca excusing herself to go use the restroom. A faint smirk made its way on Oz’s face when he noticed the ex-Watcher looking around the Bronze.
“Decided to take the risk?” he asked.
“I thought over what you had said and realized that you were right,” Giles answered as he brought his gaze to the young man. “The outcome of Buffy saying yes is worth that fifty percent chance of her saying no.”
“Good.” Oz nodded his head, his smirk growing when he noticed the worried expression on the older man’s face. “She’ll be here, Giles. Don’t worry,”
Giles just gave him a weak smile before taking a drink from his cup, sighing as his eyes swept across the front of the club again.
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no subject
Date: 2011-08-13 07:13 am (UTC)Great chapter! Great story! I can't believe it's almost over.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-13 07:14 am (UTC)And yeah, I can't believe it's almost over either
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Date: 2011-08-13 07:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-20 04:12 am (UTC)