Title: Rest and Relaxation

Series: Of Slayers and Knights

Fandoms: BtVS and LOTR (book and movie)

Disclaimer: I do not own BtVS and LOTR.

When: pre FOTR, undetermined for BtVS

Characters: Buffy, Boromir, Faramir

Summary: Buffy needs to blend in, learn how to be a 'proper' lady and stop antagonizing the Gondorian courts. These attempts are not very successful.

A/N: I was always slightly puzzled that so many people think that Boromir wouldn't understand Sindarin – I mean, he was the son of the Steward, despite the fact that he wasn't studious, he would been required to learn it, probably from a very early age. So, this is just a random inspiration from that fact. Thanks to all of my reviewers. You are inspiring me to write this when I definitely should be doing other things :)

The doors slammed open as Buffy determinedly strode into the room, ignoring Boromir, who was peacefully sitting in a chair by the fire. Boromir ignored her much in the same way, not even glancing up from the book he was reading. These dramatic entrances had become far too common of an occurrence for him to pay too much attention to it.

"I trust that the lessons went well then," he said dryly, turning another page. Buffy glared at him, sitting down in a nearby chair huffily. His lips threatened to twitch into a smirk, but he still did not turn to look at her.

"Funny, Boromir, really funny. Since when have the lessons ever gone well? I think I drove the man to tears this time," she frowned. He looked up from the book incredulously.

"What have you been doing to the poor man? It surely cannot be that difficult to remember. I drove my tutors to distraction when I was younger, but I don't think that I ever forced them to tears." The smirk did escape him this time, as he remembered 'the good old days'. He had drawn such enjoyment from deliberately goading the tutors.

"Easy for you to say, you had to learn this stuff." She crossed her arms and had a monumental internal struggle to not let a pout show through.

"Yes, and so do you, I believe. Father will not be able to take much more of your flippancy." Boromir said a tad more seriously and returned to his book.

"What's his problem with me? Wait, no, don't answer that." She said upon seeing Boromir's expression, "I mean, he had no problem with it when I first met him. Did someone shove a stick up his ass when I wasn't looking?" He choked, half amused, half incredulous and just a little bit disproving. One either learned to live with Buffy or constantly butt heads with her – a thing his father was willing to put to the test. For his part, he had long given up trying to moderate her behavior. It was actually refreshing to see the nobles so…shocked (to put it mildly) by her.

"Buffy, he has too many obligations to be constantly on the look out to fix your mistakes. He will not care how you act with him privately, but your public behavior is a reflection on him. If he can not control you from acting so belligerently, others might take it upon themselves to do so – or see it as a sign that his control is slipping. We, none of us, can afford that."

Buffy looked for a moment as if she would protest, before slumping back into the chair with a groan. "I hate politics."

Faramir chose this opportune moment to walk in, looking extremely harassed. He took no notice of the two figures by the fire, instead choosing to mutter what had to be insults in that language which Buffy recognized to be Sindarin. He was also pacing, a thing rarely seen from the usually calm and collected figure. More often than not, it would be Boromir who was pacing while Faramir calmly sat reading.

"Faramir, that man is as stiff as a board and likely has a stick up his arse, as Buffy had so aptly put it. I highly doubt that he would be able to do the required amount of stretching for that activity you just mentioned." Boromir chimed in his opinion of Faramir's ranting, still not looking up from the text he was reading. Buffy had a vague moment of being impressed that sweet, good natured Faramir could be vulgar enough to warrant such a response from Boromir. Perhaps there was some merit in putting more effort into learning the language after all; she was just dying of curiosity to know what Faramir had said. She also had to repress a snigger at Boromir's timely comment. Dry wit – it seemed to run in the family.

Faramir turned calmly around to retort, but stopped short at seeing Boromir in front of the fire with a book of all things.

"You're reading," he said.

"Yes, and you are standing around hoping that a fly will enter your mouth," was the dry retort. Faramir's mouth shut with a click and a half-hearted glare was aimed toward his brother.

"But you never read. Leastways not," a quick glance was stolen to view the title, "the Narn i Hin Hurin? Isn't that…ah, rather long for your tastes, dear brother?" Faramir's tone was teasing – he knew full well that Boromir liked all of the old tales– a throwback to the days when Faramir had begged his older brother to read to him. He just had a particular fondness for the war stories. But it was rare for him these days to have the patience to be sitting down and actually reading them!

"Contrary to the popular impression that I have given my tutors, I am not illiterate. Even I feel the occasional need to wind down with a book," this time Boromir did glance up, amusement clear on his face.

"Ah, my apologies," Faramir grinned. He finally turned to Buffy, who had been watching the interaction with a smile, too wiped out from her lessons to contribute. "And how go your lessons, Buffy?" he asked. She perked up falsely,

"Oh, horribly. I think they've given up on me- thought it more merciful for me to just shock everyone to death."

Faramir laughed and moved to sit down at the last chair beside the fire. "Hardly. If they had not given up on Boromir, I doubt that they would give up on you." Buffy bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at the face Boromir had made at Faramir's words. Faramir took no notice, blithely continuing. "They are extremely pig-headed, those tutors. Why, I was already surpassing Boromir in my lessons when they had finally gotten him to stop roughhousing with the hounds long enough to sit still in the-" any other words he might have said where cut off when Boromir launched himself at his brother, the book forgotten on the chair.

"Lies, Faramir, all lies!" Boromir exclaimed while the two brothers rolled around on the floor laughing like mad. Buffy watched them fondly, laughing as well, knowing how rare it was for them to just let go like that. It seemed that tonight was going to be a break from many conventions.

She eyed the book lying abandoned on the plush seat. With a shrug she grabbed it and flipped to the beginning. If she already had to learn the damn language, she'd better start from somewhere.

Fin