the_huffster | A Twist in My Story: Chapter 3

Title: A Twist in My Story
Author: the_huffster
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R for language and violence
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.

"Look who decided to show up!" a voice called from the upper level as Rupert walked into the store, Nathan and Addison following close behind. "You are so lucky we aren't busy Saturday mornings, buddy."

"If it bothers you that much Chris, you can always leave." The older man smirked at the dark haired man's head popped over the rail. "Anyways, it's my bloody store and I'll come in when I want."

"You know what, I'm done talking to you." Chris remarked before making his way to the lower level. "Hey munchkins!"

"Chris!" the siblings greeted, running to give the young man a big hug.

Rupert smiled at the sight before him. He had only known the 25 year old for three years, but Rupert treated Chris as if he was his own son; which worked out for Chris considering his family had disowned him when he had finally told them he was gay. Nathan and Addison adored Chris- Nathan even called him his older brother whenever he talked about Chris- and Chris cherished them. The Englishman had found it incredible how easily he had formed an extended family- that included Chris, his boyfriend Blake and Rupert's other employee Jess- in the short time he had lived in Spring, and he was thankful for the three young adults in his life and the help they provided.

"Daddy met my teacher!" Rupert tuned in just in time to hear Nathan fill Chris in on that morning's events.

"It's Saturday though," Chris raised an eyebrow in confusion as he picked up Addison, Nathan sitting at the large table in the middle of the shop.

"She happens to live next door," Rupert went behind the counter and began looking over a few things that were left on the counter for him. "The one that's been on the market for a year,"

The young man screwed up his face in thought before nodding his head when he remembered the house his employer was referring to. He set the four year old down and restocked the bookshelves near the front, talking with Nathan and Addison as he did his job. A smile tugged at Rupert's mouth as he listened to his children fight for Chris' attention, the 25 year old trying his best to keep up with both conversations.

"That's enough, you two." He spoke up, taking pity on his employee. "Chris, did you have anything planned this evening?"

"Rupert, we've discussed this." The young man sighed as he turned to face him, a smile on both of their faces. "I'm flattered, really. But I'm with Blake and I just can't leave him for you. No matter how gorgeous you are,"

"You break my heart, Christopher." Rupert put on a wounded expression as he placed his hand over his heart. "But I do need you and Blake to watch them tonight,"

"Going away, Daddy?" Addison asked as she walked over to him.

"No, Princess." He assured her, lifting her up on to the counter. "I'm just having dinner with a friend,"

"I knew it! I told Blake and Jess that you had a new honey," Chris exclaimed as he gave a little jump of joy. "Who is she? Where did you meet? I want details, damn it!"

"Chris said a bad word," Nathan pointed out as he glared at the young man.

"Bad word," Addison whispered, shaking her head at Chris.

"Yes, he did say a bad word." Rupert agreed, chuckling in amusement. "I'm not going to tell you anything, Chris."

"Why not? Blake is your wingman, and I'm your girlfriend."

"Pardon?" he stared at his friend, putting his daughter down when she began to squirm.

"You know," Chris waved his hands around as he thought about how to explain himself. "You tell me all about your latest honey and how the dates go…smoochies."

The Englishman laughed at the explanation.

"I see," he took a few deep breaths to compose himself. "I hate to tell you, it's not a date. It's just a friendly dinner, nothing more. And if it were a date, I wouldn't tell you about the um…smoochies."

"You bitch!"

"Bad, Chris!" Addison scolded, shaking her head disapprovingly at him.

"You aren't allowed to say those words." The six year old glared, grinning when his father smiled approvingly.

At the disbelief on Chris' face, Rupert bent over as a fit of giggles washed over him. His laugh attack sparked laughter from the others and it took a few minutes for them calm down.

"We'll be at your house at 6:30," Chris said as he walked towards the back of the shop. "And when this 'friendly dinner' turns into something more, I want to be the first to know."

"What makes you so sure something will come out of this?" Rupert walked over to the center table and laid out the crayons and coloring books for Nathan and Addison.

"You're gorgeous, British, charming, sexy, a single dad…do I really need to go on?" the dark haired man looked at his employer over his shoulder. "You are a complete package that men and women want. It's just hard to believe you've been single for this long,"

"I chose to be single, thank you very much." Addison tugged on her father's hand to try and get him to color with her and her brother. "It's just easier that way, Chris. You know that,"

Without another word, Rupert sat in between his children and set about coloring the page his daughter had given him.

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"And he just stood there with the biggest grin on his face as he denied eating the cake," Rupert and Buffy leaned back in their chairs as they tried to keep the laughter down. "Addie was furious that Nathan had eaten her cake."

They had end up going to the local Tex-Mex restaurant Gringos for their dinner, and had talked about this and that while they waited for their food to arrive. Rupert had learned that Buffy had graduated from college a year early- allowing her to become a teacher at the age of 22- with a degree in English when he told her about graduating from Oxford with degrees in History and Archeology.

"A Doctorate and a Masters?" Buffy boggled, dipping a chip into the green sauce. "That's insane, Rupert. You must have been the perfect kid growing up, huh?"

"Actually," he gave a sheepish smile, taking a sip of his Root Beer as a way of stalling. "There was a period where I was possibly the worse son ever, and it seemed to get worse as I got older."

"What happened?" her eyes grew wide as soon as the words were spoken. "Wow, I am so sorry. Could I get anymore tactless? You don't have to answer that,"

"No, it's fine. I've actually accepted that phase in my life," he gave her a small smile before eating the chip in his hand. "When I was fourteen, I began to rebel against my parents. It started off as small, juvenile things but by the time I was twenty-one, I had dropped out of college and found myself involved with the worse people I could find. For three years I was living on the streets with these friends, not caring if we were breaking the law and completely hopped up on drugs and booze. It was, literally, rock bottom."

"What made you change your mind?"

They paused their conversation when their food arrived, extending the brief silence to take a few bites of their dinner.

"I watched my friend die," Rupert softly replied, his eyes focused on his plate. "Things got out of control one night, and we ended up killing Randal. Well, our actions led to the situation of either kill or be killed. After that, I left without saying a word when the rest were asleep and spent the next three months kicking my drug habits and making my way back to parents' home.

"My father's company got me back into Oxford, and after I graduated I travelled the world for nearly four years." He chanced a glance at her and found understanding on her face. "I came back when I was thirty-one, got a job at a museum- thanks to my father's company, again- and met my ex-wife. The rest is relatively simple to figure out,"

"Wow, and here I thought my past was rocky." Buffy gave a half-hearted giggle in case she offended him, but the smile he gave assured her that everything was fine. "All I can say is that my parents divorced when I was fifteen, I was expelled from my high school in L.A. which caused me and my mom to move to Sunnydale and a few more things happened that I doubt you would believe."

From there, the two discovered they had more in common then they had thought. Both knew of the difficulties to do something that they had no interest in, Buffy being vague about what it was that she had left behind; although she had told him, even in Texas, she was having to do what it was she had left, but it wasn't as frequent as it had been.

"So what was it that you did in Sunnydale?" he thanked the waiter as another glass of Root Beer was placed on the table, the empty one being picked up.

"It's complicated," Buffy waved her hand, hoping to brush off that conversation. "Why do you find the occult and all that interesting?"

"It's, at the risk of sounding like a freak, fascinating." Rupert grinned, running his fingers through his slightly mused hair. "Knowing the origins, myths, folklore and everything else about the creatures that make the dark so terrifying, it's…."

"Fascinating?" they both chuckled as the blonde finished his sentence, Buffy pushing her nearly empty plate away from her. "I have a friend who's like that. I guess you could say Wes inspired the subjects of my books, although the others helped in their own way."

"I would imagine so," he nodded his head in agreement, signaling for the check. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say certain characters were based on your friends?"

"Nailed it," she finished off her water before reaching into her purse to pull out her wallet.

"No, I've got it." His credit card was out and handed to the waiter before she could blink. "I asked you out to dinner, I'm going to pay."

"Is this some subtle way of calling this a date, Rupert?" Buffy teased, giggling at the blush that crept up Rupert's cheeks.

"It's merely assuring that you pay next time," he remarked with a cheeky grin.

"You seem pretty sure there's gonna be a next time," they gathered their things and left the restaurant, heading towards his car. "Maybe tonight was completely horrible and I never wanna see you again?"

He didn't say anything, just chuckled and opened the passenger door for her. On the drive back to their neighborhood, they talked about her family- her mother had passed away last year and the only family she had left were her friends Willow, Xander, Wesley and Faith- and about his family, which led to a brief conversation about death when Rupert had mentioned that both his parents had died four years ago.

"So we don't end tonight on a depressing note," Buffy said as they pulled up to his driveway. "I did enjoy tonight."

"As did I," they walked to the middle of the sidewalk in between their houses, a shy smile pulling at the corner of Rupert's mouth.

"It isn't exactly how I pictured meeting the parent of one of my students," Buffy pushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I think you definitely earned another chance to hang out with me as your neighbor."

"I'm glad to hear I passed," his remark caused both of the to laugh for a few seconds. "Goodnight, Buffy."

"Night, Rupert."

He slowly made his way back to his house, making sure to stay outside until she had entered her house. After all, he wasn't sure what force of darkness was prowling the neighborhood at that hour. A grin overcame him as he entered his home, already picturing the conversation he was going to have with Blake and Chris.

A Twist in My Story: Chapter 3

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