the_huffster (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_huffster) wrote2011-09-06 11:57 pm
the_huffster) wrote2011-09-06 11:57 pm
Entry tags:
A TWist in My Story: Chapter 18
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.
“Don’t you have an office?” Blake asked as he walked into the back room to find Rupert sprawled out on the couch he kept back there.
“This is it,” Rupert answered, turning his head to watch his friend walk in. “Any particular reason you’ve left Chris and Jess to handle my children on their own?”
“Yep,” Blake nodded as he walked over to the couch and sat down once Rupert had sat up,
The two sat in silence for a while. Rupert leaned his head against the back of the couch as Blake fished in his pocket for something, grinning when he found it.
“I came back here because of this,” he held up a small black box, not surprised to see the hurt flash in the older man’s eyes. “I know what you told Chris, but I want the truth.”
“That was the truth,” he swallowed around the lump in his throat as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes glued on the velvet box.
“I don’t buy the whole putting your kids in danger thing, not that it doesn’t put them in danger.” The younger man said as he turned to look at Rupert, daring him to interrupt as he went on to speak. “But you do too. Don’t tell me that it’s unlikely that one vampire or demon or whatever else is out there can get away from you, and then follow you home. You put Nathan and Addison in as much danger as Buffy did. So try again, Rupert.”
“How do I know she wasn’t just using me to have the one thing she can’t have?” he sighed at the slightly confused look that fell over Blake’s face. “Slayers aren’t known to live long enough to have a family. So…”
“You’re really doubting how Buffy feels about you?” Blake shook his head as he stood up and faced Rupert. “Anyone can see how in love with you she is, Rupert. And the same goes for you. You two are so in love with each other that complete strangers know it. I want the truth, why did you run?”
“She’s the Slayer, Blake.” He whispered as he rested his elbows on his knees, his face buried in his hands.
“Yeah, and you were supposed to be a Watcher. All the more reason why you two should still be together,” Blake pointed out as he watched his friend. “It’s Destiny, or Fate, or whatever the fuck you wanna call it.”
“I can’t be with her because she’s the Slayer,” Rupert muttered, not looking up to meet Blake’s gaze.
“We just established that…”
“Slayers don’t live long, Blake. And that’s fine, it never affected me because I didn’t go back and become a Watcher. But I had to go and fall in love with one,” Rupert cut him off as he still focused on the floor. “I can’t get involved when I don’t know how much time I have with her, especially since I have children who would be involved. I’ve already fucked up as a father by not trying hard enough to make sure Nathan and Addison had some form of regular contact with Amy, and I just learned how that affected Nathan. And Buffy is the closest thing to a mother that Addison knows…I can’t get involved with a Slayer when everything can be taken away because of something Buffy never asked for.”
“Let me get this straight,” Blake said once he was sure Rupert was done talking. “You’re running from the best thing that has happened to you since your kids were born because you don’t wanna watch Buffy die?”
Rupert just stared at the floor, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he thought over what Blake had said.
“I know you’re scared, Rupert. It can’t be easy to know that someone you love most likely won’t live for much longer,” the younger man began as he sat next to Rupert, the box that held the engagement ring still in his hand. “But do you really wanna miss out on what time you do have with her because of fear? And who knows, Buffy might not be a typical Slayer. She could out live every Slayer that came before her,”
Rupert just gave a small chuckle as he turned to look at Blake, a look of complete hopelessness on his face. Blake was truly shocked to see the amount of pain that was in Rupert’s eyes, and all he could do was give the older man a sympathetic smile.
“I’ve fucked it up, Blake.” He shook his head before leaning back into the couch, running a hand through his hair. “Last night, Buffy saved me from being killed by a vampire and…Christ, I was a right bastard to her.”
Blake just took in the bruises, well aware of how he had gotten them, and noticed the outline of a handprint. His eyes widened once his brain connected that particular bruise to one left behind by a slap. And from what he had learned about Slayers through Rupert, Buffy was much stronger than the rest of the population. He couldn’t help but wonder how Rupert had reacted to being slapped by someone with superhuman strength.
“You can still fix it, you know.” Blake pointed out, dropping the box into Rupert’s lap. “I’m not saying drop on your knee and propose to her, but talk to her. Let her know that you just let your fear get to you, and go from there.”
“What if she doesn’t take me back?”
“She will,” Blake smiled as patted Rupert’s shoulder in a comforting manner. “I mean, I took Chris back after he made an ass out of himself three years ago, didn’t I?”
Rupert just shook his head, clearly remembering the months that had followed after Chris accused Blake of cheating on him when he had seen Blake with an ex-boyfriend. The two continued to talk in the backroom, Rupert asking if Blake and Chris had looked further into adopting.
“Actually, we have.” Blake said as a soft smile crossed his face. “We’re actually in the middle of finishing up the paperwork.”
“Oh?”
“We found this woman, Jackie- she’s really nice and funny and sweet. Anyways, she’s about six months pregnant with a baby girl and she’s in college and she can’t afford to take care of a child.” Blake explained, biting his lower lip as he thought about the future daughter he would have in a matter of months. “So she put her child up for adoption because she doesn’t believe in abortion. We contacted her, and all she’s asking for is that we send updates every six months and let her see her once a year at least.”
“That’s not too much,” Rupert said, smiling at the joy on the younger man’s face.
“And we get to chose the name,” Blake finished, chuckling at the raised eyebrow Rupert gave him. “We’re naming her after Chris’ sister, Hannah Marie.”
“I’m sure Chris’ sister would be proud,”
“Once we had started talking about adopting, Chris had said if we ever had a baby girl that he wanted to name her after his sister,” Blake nodded, a smile still on his face despite the grim topic. “Of course I said yes. It wouldn’t be right if I said no, you know? I know how much he’s missed her since the accident,”
“I know he does,” Rupert sighed as he pocketed the engagement ring. “I can see it when he looks at Nathan and Addison.”
The two men shared a smile before dropping the conversation and making their way to the shop front.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rupert watched as Nathan excused himself from the table and made his way up the stairs. He turned his attention tohis daughter, who kept glancing at him throughout the day. He tilted his head when Addison quickly looked at her plate, pushing her food around with her fork.
“What’s the matter, Princess?” he asked as he leaned forward, being careful not to upset his injuries.
“The bad man hurt you,” she whispered as played with her hair once she had given up on pushing her food around.
“No, I just had a small accident.”
“You’re not supposed to lie, Daddy.” Addison looked up at him, worried shining in her bright green eyes. “You had the same marks in my dream,”
Rupert just looked at her, trying to keep his panic from showing on his face. “What do you mean, Addison?”
“You had the same bruises in my dream,”
“Does that happen a lot? The same things happening from your dreams?” he briefly closed his eyes as he ran his fingers through his hair, doing his best to keep his composure.
He opened his eyes just in time to see the five year old nod her head, tears swimming in her eyes as fear washed over her face. Without saying a word, Rupert moved to pick up his daughter and held her tight. At her gentle sobs, he whispered comforting words as he held her closer to him. There was no possible way for him to know if she had prophetic dreams because she was a Potential, or if it was because she was just born with the ability to have them.
“It’s okay, Princess.” He whispered as he turned and kissed the side of her head, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. “I won’t let anything bad happen, I promise.”
Addison just clung tighter to him as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, her tears soaking the collar of his shirt. He moved to the living room where he sat on the couch and did his best to comfort his daughter, holding her until her tears subsided and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. Even after she had fallen asleep, Rupert just sat on the couch and held Addison close.
He didn’t want her to be a Potential, not with the future she would have if she were Called. He also didn’t want her to have prophetic dreams because some higher power felt the need to mess with his life even more. It had been so much easier to explain away injuries that matched the ones in her dreams when she had been younger, but their brief conversation had informed him that she knew some of her dreams were not ordinary dreams.
“Dad?” Nathan yawned as he made his way down the stairs, confusion on his face. “How come Addie’s not in her bed?”
“I was just about to put her to bed,” Rupert gave his tired son a small smile as he stood up. “What are you doing up?”
“I had to go to the bathroom, and wanted to check on Addie.” The seven year old mumbled as he rubbed his eye tiredly. “She’s hasn’t been sleeping well lately,”
Rupert just gave his son a smile before motioning up the stairs. With one arm wrapped around his sleeping daughter and the other on his half-asleep son, Rupert made his way up the stairs and into Addison’s bedroom. He made sure she was tucked in and completely asleep before leading his son back to his bedroom, pulling the covers over him once he settled down.
“Night, Dad.” Nathan yawned as he snuggled into his pillow.
“Goodnight, Rabbit.” He smiled softly before softly kissing the top of his son’s head.
“Love you,”
“I love you too,”
Once he was sure the seven year old was asleep, Rupert trudged to his room and got ready for bed himself. Just before he fell asleep, he decided to do his best to patch things up between him and Buffy the next day.
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.
“Don’t you have an office?” Blake asked as he walked into the back room to find Rupert sprawled out on the couch he kept back there.
“This is it,” Rupert answered, turning his head to watch his friend walk in. “Any particular reason you’ve left Chris and Jess to handle my children on their own?”
“Yep,” Blake nodded as he walked over to the couch and sat down once Rupert had sat up,
The two sat in silence for a while. Rupert leaned his head against the back of the couch as Blake fished in his pocket for something, grinning when he found it.
“I came back here because of this,” he held up a small black box, not surprised to see the hurt flash in the older man’s eyes. “I know what you told Chris, but I want the truth.”
“That was the truth,” he swallowed around the lump in his throat as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes glued on the velvet box.
“I don’t buy the whole putting your kids in danger thing, not that it doesn’t put them in danger.” The younger man said as he turned to look at Rupert, daring him to interrupt as he went on to speak. “But you do too. Don’t tell me that it’s unlikely that one vampire or demon or whatever else is out there can get away from you, and then follow you home. You put Nathan and Addison in as much danger as Buffy did. So try again, Rupert.”
“How do I know she wasn’t just using me to have the one thing she can’t have?” he sighed at the slightly confused look that fell over Blake’s face. “Slayers aren’t known to live long enough to have a family. So…”
“You’re really doubting how Buffy feels about you?” Blake shook his head as he stood up and faced Rupert. “Anyone can see how in love with you she is, Rupert. And the same goes for you. You two are so in love with each other that complete strangers know it. I want the truth, why did you run?”
“She’s the Slayer, Blake.” He whispered as he rested his elbows on his knees, his face buried in his hands.
“Yeah, and you were supposed to be a Watcher. All the more reason why you two should still be together,” Blake pointed out as he watched his friend. “It’s Destiny, or Fate, or whatever the fuck you wanna call it.”
“I can’t be with her because she’s the Slayer,” Rupert muttered, not looking up to meet Blake’s gaze.
“We just established that…”
“Slayers don’t live long, Blake. And that’s fine, it never affected me because I didn’t go back and become a Watcher. But I had to go and fall in love with one,” Rupert cut him off as he still focused on the floor. “I can’t get involved when I don’t know how much time I have with her, especially since I have children who would be involved. I’ve already fucked up as a father by not trying hard enough to make sure Nathan and Addison had some form of regular contact with Amy, and I just learned how that affected Nathan. And Buffy is the closest thing to a mother that Addison knows…I can’t get involved with a Slayer when everything can be taken away because of something Buffy never asked for.”
“Let me get this straight,” Blake said once he was sure Rupert was done talking. “You’re running from the best thing that has happened to you since your kids were born because you don’t wanna watch Buffy die?”
Rupert just stared at the floor, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he thought over what Blake had said.
“I know you’re scared, Rupert. It can’t be easy to know that someone you love most likely won’t live for much longer,” the younger man began as he sat next to Rupert, the box that held the engagement ring still in his hand. “But do you really wanna miss out on what time you do have with her because of fear? And who knows, Buffy might not be a typical Slayer. She could out live every Slayer that came before her,”
Rupert just gave a small chuckle as he turned to look at Blake, a look of complete hopelessness on his face. Blake was truly shocked to see the amount of pain that was in Rupert’s eyes, and all he could do was give the older man a sympathetic smile.
“I’ve fucked it up, Blake.” He shook his head before leaning back into the couch, running a hand through his hair. “Last night, Buffy saved me from being killed by a vampire and…Christ, I was a right bastard to her.”
Blake just took in the bruises, well aware of how he had gotten them, and noticed the outline of a handprint. His eyes widened once his brain connected that particular bruise to one left behind by a slap. And from what he had learned about Slayers through Rupert, Buffy was much stronger than the rest of the population. He couldn’t help but wonder how Rupert had reacted to being slapped by someone with superhuman strength.
“You can still fix it, you know.” Blake pointed out, dropping the box into Rupert’s lap. “I’m not saying drop on your knee and propose to her, but talk to her. Let her know that you just let your fear get to you, and go from there.”
“What if she doesn’t take me back?”
“She will,” Blake smiled as patted Rupert’s shoulder in a comforting manner. “I mean, I took Chris back after he made an ass out of himself three years ago, didn’t I?”
Rupert just shook his head, clearly remembering the months that had followed after Chris accused Blake of cheating on him when he had seen Blake with an ex-boyfriend. The two continued to talk in the backroom, Rupert asking if Blake and Chris had looked further into adopting.
“Actually, we have.” Blake said as a soft smile crossed his face. “We’re actually in the middle of finishing up the paperwork.”
“Oh?”
“We found this woman, Jackie- she’s really nice and funny and sweet. Anyways, she’s about six months pregnant with a baby girl and she’s in college and she can’t afford to take care of a child.” Blake explained, biting his lower lip as he thought about the future daughter he would have in a matter of months. “So she put her child up for adoption because she doesn’t believe in abortion. We contacted her, and all she’s asking for is that we send updates every six months and let her see her once a year at least.”
“That’s not too much,” Rupert said, smiling at the joy on the younger man’s face.
“And we get to chose the name,” Blake finished, chuckling at the raised eyebrow Rupert gave him. “We’re naming her after Chris’ sister, Hannah Marie.”
“I’m sure Chris’ sister would be proud,”
“Once we had started talking about adopting, Chris had said if we ever had a baby girl that he wanted to name her after his sister,” Blake nodded, a smile still on his face despite the grim topic. “Of course I said yes. It wouldn’t be right if I said no, you know? I know how much he’s missed her since the accident,”
“I know he does,” Rupert sighed as he pocketed the engagement ring. “I can see it when he looks at Nathan and Addison.”
The two men shared a smile before dropping the conversation and making their way to the shop front.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rupert watched as Nathan excused himself from the table and made his way up the stairs. He turned his attention tohis daughter, who kept glancing at him throughout the day. He tilted his head when Addison quickly looked at her plate, pushing her food around with her fork.
“What’s the matter, Princess?” he asked as he leaned forward, being careful not to upset his injuries.
“The bad man hurt you,” she whispered as played with her hair once she had given up on pushing her food around.
“No, I just had a small accident.”
“You’re not supposed to lie, Daddy.” Addison looked up at him, worried shining in her bright green eyes. “You had the same marks in my dream,”
Rupert just looked at her, trying to keep his panic from showing on his face. “What do you mean, Addison?”
“You had the same bruises in my dream,”
“Does that happen a lot? The same things happening from your dreams?” he briefly closed his eyes as he ran his fingers through his hair, doing his best to keep his composure.
He opened his eyes just in time to see the five year old nod her head, tears swimming in her eyes as fear washed over her face. Without saying a word, Rupert moved to pick up his daughter and held her tight. At her gentle sobs, he whispered comforting words as he held her closer to him. There was no possible way for him to know if she had prophetic dreams because she was a Potential, or if it was because she was just born with the ability to have them.
“It’s okay, Princess.” He whispered as he turned and kissed the side of her head, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. “I won’t let anything bad happen, I promise.”
Addison just clung tighter to him as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, her tears soaking the collar of his shirt. He moved to the living room where he sat on the couch and did his best to comfort his daughter, holding her until her tears subsided and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. Even after she had fallen asleep, Rupert just sat on the couch and held Addison close.
He didn’t want her to be a Potential, not with the future she would have if she were Called. He also didn’t want her to have prophetic dreams because some higher power felt the need to mess with his life even more. It had been so much easier to explain away injuries that matched the ones in her dreams when she had been younger, but their brief conversation had informed him that she knew some of her dreams were not ordinary dreams.
“Dad?” Nathan yawned as he made his way down the stairs, confusion on his face. “How come Addie’s not in her bed?”
“I was just about to put her to bed,” Rupert gave his tired son a small smile as he stood up. “What are you doing up?”
“I had to go to the bathroom, and wanted to check on Addie.” The seven year old mumbled as he rubbed his eye tiredly. “She’s hasn’t been sleeping well lately,”
Rupert just gave his son a smile before motioning up the stairs. With one arm wrapped around his sleeping daughter and the other on his half-asleep son, Rupert made his way up the stairs and into Addison’s bedroom. He made sure she was tucked in and completely asleep before leading his son back to his bedroom, pulling the covers over him once he settled down.
“Night, Dad.” Nathan yawned as he snuggled into his pillow.
“Goodnight, Rabbit.” He smiled softly before softly kissing the top of his son’s head.
“Love you,”
“I love you too,”
Once he was sure the seven year old was asleep, Rupert trudged to his room and got ready for bed himself. Just before he fell asleep, he decided to do his best to patch things up between him and Buffy the next day.
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...as you can see, I always vote for more character torture. I do reach my angst threshold after awhile, though. Eventually. ^_~
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But, I don't feel strongly about that or anything. ;)