Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
~Keysuna
A/N Thought it was about time Buffy and Giles patched things up. The tension I had built between them was fun to develop, but now it's just getting tedious.
~ ~ ~
Buffy landed a high roundhouse kick in the vampires face. The demon staggered back to hold his balance but suddenly attacked with a jumping half twisting crescent kick which the Slayer easily ducked. She had forgotten how hard it was to concentrate in High School, at least here, in her environment of tombstones and demons, she could work off the stress.
Giles watched the blonde fight against the dark, and he noted that she treated the fight more like a dance then a duty. It was the first time he had heard of a Slayer that battled the night with a smile on her face.
After parrying a series of blows, Buffy grabbed onto the vampires arm and hit him in the face with a high front snap kick. Detaching herself from his limb she punched him squarely in the gut and a fury of punches to the face that had him falling to the floor. Rising above him, stake in hand and delight glimmering in her eyes, she let the weapon slid into his chest.
The Watcher noticed that as the demon became dust on the damp soil, a ring was left behind. Before he could say anything, Buffy knelt down and picked it up, handing it to the interested Watcher.
"The Anointed one is coming." She watched him take the ring. "I have it under control."
Giles met her eyes. "You sure?" The words came out almost tedious.
The Slayer nodded, and was the first to let her gaze falter. "I think that's all of the evil undead out there tonight, and I got a English exam to study for, so bye?" She hated having to ask for permission.
"Very well, good night then. I'll do research on this anointed one." Giles made the title sound like a fictional piece she had made up.
"You really don't have to." Buffy said quickly, shifting her weight. "I know who it is and I know where he'll be. . . I've got it under control."
The Watcher gave a small shook of his head and withdrew his glasses to clean them. "You seem to have everything under your control." His voice was even as he said it, no emotion leaking into his voice, and yet the statement left Buffy feeling pained.
"It wasn't like this before." She said softly letting her gaze fall to the floor.
Giles looked up from where he had previously been cleaning his glasses with the underside of his shirt. "How was it then Buffy? I'm your Watcher, I'm supposed to be guiding you though this, and yet, you keep pushing me off to the sidelines." He waited until she met his harsh gaze. "I understand that circumstances are different, that you already know everything that I have to teach, but that's no excuse to leave me in the dark. I am still your only tie to the Watchers Council and you can't expect to save the world with only yourself to turn to-"
"But that's all I ever had!" The Slayer nearly cried, feeling her eyes water up and wondering if she would be able to fight them back. "I'm the Slayer, I'm alone." She took a shaky breath. "I'm always alone."
The Watcher waited for her to regain herself and replaced his glasses. "You seem to surround yourself with enough people to keep you from feeling lonely." He was through feeling pity for her, even as she struggled not to cry.
"Willow and Xander, they're my best friends. . . or at last they were. . ." She trailed of pitifully. "Maybe it's wrong to have introduced them to the demonic world, but they're the only reason I was able to survive last time around."
"And what of the man, Angel?" Giles still had no mercy to spare her until he gave her reason to do so.
Buffy shook her head, seemingly regaining herself at the name of the dark stranger. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Well we bloody well talk about it!" The Watcher had used up his patience and Buffy took a small step backward at the outburst.
"Get off my back about it, OK?" She shot back quickly. "I serve my duty and get the job done. What I do with my personal life is my business!"
"I've been more then lenient when it comes to your activities. You are not a school girl, your the Slayer! Your the Chosen one-"
She cut him off. "I'm the Chosen one to fight evil, I know!"
The Watcher was still infuriated with her, but kept silent as she seemed to be preparing to speak.
"Do you know what's happening? Well do you!" She cried, eyes beginning to water. "The Master is going to rise, and last time around, he killed me!" Her breath was caught as she continued. "But I still win, even though I die, I still win." The Slayer was on the verge of crying as she confessed her hidden fears to the Watcher. "I still have nightmares about it, years from then, I can still see his face, feel him killing me."
Tears were running free from her eyes, and Giles wasn't sure if he could comfort her. This was the first time she had spoken to him about her emotions concerning her position in the world. He felt the anger fall, and be replaced by sorrow. This girl standing in front of him had her life ahead of her, yet she already knew how it played out, and she wasn't looking forward to it.
"I'm afraid." She whispered, breaking him from his thoughts. "I don't want to die, not again, two times is enough, don't you think?."
Giles nodded and took a step forward to take her into a hug. He was surprised as she took the initiative and embraced him. The Watcher had expected it to be awkward, but found himself calming the sobbing girl as she cried out her fears.
~ ~ ~
Angel watched the scene from behind the shadows. The Slayer was sobbing in the arms of her Watcher, and as much as he wanted to go help her, he knew a vampire had no business in the matter. His thoughts turned to what she had mentioned before the break down, about the Anointed One and the inevitable rise of the Master. Angel knew how the prophecies played out, he also knew there was little he, or anyone could do to stop them. The Slayer was the only one who could help herself, he, and the Watcher could only offer support. Sending one last glance toward the scene before him, he turned and walked out of the cemetery.
~ ~ ~
Buffy watched as Giles paced the library, playing with the ring they had picked up from the dusted vampire.
They were both waiting for the other to speak, yet neither had the courage to begin.
The Slayer sat on a wooden chair, her feet against the table so she was leaning backwards. It was getting late, and she was afraid that if she didn't get home soon, her mother would start to worry. What she had said to Giles about fearing the upcoming events was true, she was terrified. But. . . just being able to see her mother again seemed to make even facing the Master again worth it. Accidentally she pushed to hard and the chair fell from beneath her, making her land flat on her bottom.
Startled, the Watcher looked at the girl. And then, suddenly, she burst into laughter. Giles gave her a confused look, and then started to chuckle as well as he rushed over to help her up.
Buffy pushed the giggles aside and let her eyes fall to the floor, a small smile still on her lips. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Giles stepped back and let the Slayer stand on her own.
She met his eyes and she didn't have to say anything, he nodded his response.
He helped her upright the chair and as she safely sat back in it, he took the seat next to her. Folding one hand over the other, he watched her shift positions awkwardly.
"There's a prophecy, that says I'm going to die, and I do." The Slayer started off the conversation without Giles needing to prompt her. "Or at least, I did." She added feebly.
Giles leaned forward, interest sparked in his gaze. "But you come back."
"Yeah." She rolled her shoulders forward. "Xander does CPR, and then I kill the Master."
"Xander? The very boy who is a disgrace to the English language?"
Buffy slightly smiled. "Yep, that's the one."
"Anything else. . ." Giles wondered, but trailed off as the Slayer met his gaze.
"Stuff happens, yeah, but nothing apocalypse-y, I'll keep you updated."
"I'd like that."
Buffy nodded, more to herself then in reply to the Watcher.
~ ~ ~
The Slayer had little luck in tracking down the Anointed One. He seemed to have disappeared under ground, along with the rest of the Masters henchman, and she had little intention of risking life and limb to go travel down there. The Anointed One was not really a threat, and if she came across him, she would drive a stake through his heart.
Patching things up with her Watcher had turned out to be more of a relief then she expected. Giles treated like the adult she was, and yet still took control if Buffy needed to relive the events of High School without burden. She still hadn't found the time, or place to create a real friendship with Xander, Willow and Jesse, so she told Giles as they trained in the library that she was cutting patrol early to hang out the Bronze.
"The Anointed One is still out there you know." He reminded her sternly, helping her put away the equipment she had been using.
"Yeah, and he's being such a threat by staying under ground." Buffy mocked and stretched her arms above her head. "Look, if anything comes up, beep me."
The Watched sighed and waved her off, ecstatic the Slayer flashed him a smile and ran off toward home.
~ ~ ~
Buffy ran a quick hand through her hair as she stepped into the lights of the Bronze. The club was filled, which was to be expected on a Friday night. She quickly scanned the lower floor, and found Xander sitting alone at a table.
"Hey." The Slayer said with a grin as she slid into the seat next to him.
"Buffy!" His attention quickly changed from day dreaming and he locked his eyes on hers. "How'd the Slaying go?"
Buffy cast a look around to see if anyone was listening in. "Not so loud!" She hissed.
"I meant, how did the Laying go?" He looked smug for a moment, but the facade evaporated as Buffy gave him an annoyed look. "No, I didn't mean that either."
Giving up on it, Buffy laughed and noticed that behind her was Willow and Jesse.
She turned toward them, her smile not faltering. "What's up guys?"
Jesse grinned and said hello, but Willow seemed uneasy. "Buffy, can I talk to you." She took a breath. "Alone?"
Confused at the red heads nervousness, the Slayer excused herself and followed Willow to an unoccupied couch on the other end of the club.
"Is something wrong Willow? Did something happen because if anything happened-" Buffy burst out, afraid that her friend had been hurt or worse. . .
"Buffy, calm down!" Willow laughed and shot a quick glance to where Jesse and Xander sat. "I just needed to talk to you away from the guys."
The Slayer giggled in relief and waited for the red head to continue.
"Do you know Owen?" Willow asked tentatively
It took the Slayer a moment to realize what she was talking about. Her High School love interest had been entirely focused on Angel, with a brief interruption by a certain Scott Hope. All others had been pushed to the side, so it took her a moment to remember the Emily Dickinson obsessed bookworm.
"Yeah. . ." Buffy breathed out a sigh. "Why do you ask?"
Willow's eyes momentarily shifted to where a boy sat across The Bronze. He had his head down, busily reading a paperback, Buffy had to guess that this was Owen. "Word on the street is he likes you."
"Will, who put you up to this?" The Slayer gave her friend a smile to accompany the semi harsh statement.
The red head looked flushed at the accusation. "What? No one, I was just wondering. . ."
Buffy kept her eyes on Willow until she gave it up. "All right! He asked me to ask you if you would consider going out with him."
Apart of the Buffy considered to pity him with a date, just for the sake of nostalgia, but that thought was quickly put to rest as she remembered exactly what happened to the boy on the original date.
"Nah, I think tonight I'll just hang out with my friends, c'mon, let's go back with the guys."
Willow seemed surprised at the statement and followed Buffy back toward the table where Xander and Jesse were currently seeing who could chug a coke the fastest. For all the immaturity that went along with it, Buffy thanked whatever Power had decided to bring her back for a second go around.
~Keysuna
A/N Thought it was about time Buffy and Giles patched things up. The tension I had built between them was fun to develop, but now it's just getting tedious.
~ ~ ~
Buffy landed a high roundhouse kick in the vampires face. The demon staggered back to hold his balance but suddenly attacked with a jumping half twisting crescent kick which the Slayer easily ducked. She had forgotten how hard it was to concentrate in High School, at least here, in her environment of tombstones and demons, she could work off the stress.
Giles watched the blonde fight against the dark, and he noted that she treated the fight more like a dance then a duty. It was the first time he had heard of a Slayer that battled the night with a smile on her face.
After parrying a series of blows, Buffy grabbed onto the vampires arm and hit him in the face with a high front snap kick. Detaching herself from his limb she punched him squarely in the gut and a fury of punches to the face that had him falling to the floor. Rising above him, stake in hand and delight glimmering in her eyes, she let the weapon slid into his chest.
The Watcher noticed that as the demon became dust on the damp soil, a ring was left behind. Before he could say anything, Buffy knelt down and picked it up, handing it to the interested Watcher.
"The Anointed one is coming." She watched him take the ring. "I have it under control."
Giles met her eyes. "You sure?" The words came out almost tedious.
The Slayer nodded, and was the first to let her gaze falter. "I think that's all of the evil undead out there tonight, and I got a English exam to study for, so bye?" She hated having to ask for permission.
"Very well, good night then. I'll do research on this anointed one." Giles made the title sound like a fictional piece she had made up.
"You really don't have to." Buffy said quickly, shifting her weight. "I know who it is and I know where he'll be. . . I've got it under control."
The Watcher gave a small shook of his head and withdrew his glasses to clean them. "You seem to have everything under your control." His voice was even as he said it, no emotion leaking into his voice, and yet the statement left Buffy feeling pained.
"It wasn't like this before." She said softly letting her gaze fall to the floor.
Giles looked up from where he had previously been cleaning his glasses with the underside of his shirt. "How was it then Buffy? I'm your Watcher, I'm supposed to be guiding you though this, and yet, you keep pushing me off to the sidelines." He waited until she met his harsh gaze. "I understand that circumstances are different, that you already know everything that I have to teach, but that's no excuse to leave me in the dark. I am still your only tie to the Watchers Council and you can't expect to save the world with only yourself to turn to-"
"But that's all I ever had!" The Slayer nearly cried, feeling her eyes water up and wondering if she would be able to fight them back. "I'm the Slayer, I'm alone." She took a shaky breath. "I'm always alone."
The Watcher waited for her to regain herself and replaced his glasses. "You seem to surround yourself with enough people to keep you from feeling lonely." He was through feeling pity for her, even as she struggled not to cry.
"Willow and Xander, they're my best friends. . . or at last they were. . ." She trailed of pitifully. "Maybe it's wrong to have introduced them to the demonic world, but they're the only reason I was able to survive last time around."
"And what of the man, Angel?" Giles still had no mercy to spare her until he gave her reason to do so.
Buffy shook her head, seemingly regaining herself at the name of the dark stranger. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Well we bloody well talk about it!" The Watcher had used up his patience and Buffy took a small step backward at the outburst.
"Get off my back about it, OK?" She shot back quickly. "I serve my duty and get the job done. What I do with my personal life is my business!"
"I've been more then lenient when it comes to your activities. You are not a school girl, your the Slayer! Your the Chosen one-"
She cut him off. "I'm the Chosen one to fight evil, I know!"
The Watcher was still infuriated with her, but kept silent as she seemed to be preparing to speak.
"Do you know what's happening? Well do you!" She cried, eyes beginning to water. "The Master is going to rise, and last time around, he killed me!" Her breath was caught as she continued. "But I still win, even though I die, I still win." The Slayer was on the verge of crying as she confessed her hidden fears to the Watcher. "I still have nightmares about it, years from then, I can still see his face, feel him killing me."
Tears were running free from her eyes, and Giles wasn't sure if he could comfort her. This was the first time she had spoken to him about her emotions concerning her position in the world. He felt the anger fall, and be replaced by sorrow. This girl standing in front of him had her life ahead of her, yet she already knew how it played out, and she wasn't looking forward to it.
"I'm afraid." She whispered, breaking him from his thoughts. "I don't want to die, not again, two times is enough, don't you think?."
Giles nodded and took a step forward to take her into a hug. He was surprised as she took the initiative and embraced him. The Watcher had expected it to be awkward, but found himself calming the sobbing girl as she cried out her fears.
~ ~ ~
Angel watched the scene from behind the shadows. The Slayer was sobbing in the arms of her Watcher, and as much as he wanted to go help her, he knew a vampire had no business in the matter. His thoughts turned to what she had mentioned before the break down, about the Anointed One and the inevitable rise of the Master. Angel knew how the prophecies played out, he also knew there was little he, or anyone could do to stop them. The Slayer was the only one who could help herself, he, and the Watcher could only offer support. Sending one last glance toward the scene before him, he turned and walked out of the cemetery.
~ ~ ~
Buffy watched as Giles paced the library, playing with the ring they had picked up from the dusted vampire.
They were both waiting for the other to speak, yet neither had the courage to begin.
The Slayer sat on a wooden chair, her feet against the table so she was leaning backwards. It was getting late, and she was afraid that if she didn't get home soon, her mother would start to worry. What she had said to Giles about fearing the upcoming events was true, she was terrified. But. . . just being able to see her mother again seemed to make even facing the Master again worth it. Accidentally she pushed to hard and the chair fell from beneath her, making her land flat on her bottom.
Startled, the Watcher looked at the girl. And then, suddenly, she burst into laughter. Giles gave her a confused look, and then started to chuckle as well as he rushed over to help her up.
Buffy pushed the giggles aside and let her eyes fall to the floor, a small smile still on her lips. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Giles stepped back and let the Slayer stand on her own.
She met his eyes and she didn't have to say anything, he nodded his response.
He helped her upright the chair and as she safely sat back in it, he took the seat next to her. Folding one hand over the other, he watched her shift positions awkwardly.
"There's a prophecy, that says I'm going to die, and I do." The Slayer started off the conversation without Giles needing to prompt her. "Or at least, I did." She added feebly.
Giles leaned forward, interest sparked in his gaze. "But you come back."
"Yeah." She rolled her shoulders forward. "Xander does CPR, and then I kill the Master."
"Xander? The very boy who is a disgrace to the English language?"
Buffy slightly smiled. "Yep, that's the one."
"Anything else. . ." Giles wondered, but trailed off as the Slayer met his gaze.
"Stuff happens, yeah, but nothing apocalypse-y, I'll keep you updated."
"I'd like that."
Buffy nodded, more to herself then in reply to the Watcher.
~ ~ ~
The Slayer had little luck in tracking down the Anointed One. He seemed to have disappeared under ground, along with the rest of the Masters henchman, and she had little intention of risking life and limb to go travel down there. The Anointed One was not really a threat, and if she came across him, she would drive a stake through his heart.
Patching things up with her Watcher had turned out to be more of a relief then she expected. Giles treated like the adult she was, and yet still took control if Buffy needed to relive the events of High School without burden. She still hadn't found the time, or place to create a real friendship with Xander, Willow and Jesse, so she told Giles as they trained in the library that she was cutting patrol early to hang out the Bronze.
"The Anointed One is still out there you know." He reminded her sternly, helping her put away the equipment she had been using.
"Yeah, and he's being such a threat by staying under ground." Buffy mocked and stretched her arms above her head. "Look, if anything comes up, beep me."
The Watched sighed and waved her off, ecstatic the Slayer flashed him a smile and ran off toward home.
~ ~ ~
Buffy ran a quick hand through her hair as she stepped into the lights of the Bronze. The club was filled, which was to be expected on a Friday night. She quickly scanned the lower floor, and found Xander sitting alone at a table.
"Hey." The Slayer said with a grin as she slid into the seat next to him.
"Buffy!" His attention quickly changed from day dreaming and he locked his eyes on hers. "How'd the Slaying go?"
Buffy cast a look around to see if anyone was listening in. "Not so loud!" She hissed.
"I meant, how did the Laying go?" He looked smug for a moment, but the facade evaporated as Buffy gave him an annoyed look. "No, I didn't mean that either."
Giving up on it, Buffy laughed and noticed that behind her was Willow and Jesse.
She turned toward them, her smile not faltering. "What's up guys?"
Jesse grinned and said hello, but Willow seemed uneasy. "Buffy, can I talk to you." She took a breath. "Alone?"
Confused at the red heads nervousness, the Slayer excused herself and followed Willow to an unoccupied couch on the other end of the club.
"Is something wrong Willow? Did something happen because if anything happened-" Buffy burst out, afraid that her friend had been hurt or worse. . .
"Buffy, calm down!" Willow laughed and shot a quick glance to where Jesse and Xander sat. "I just needed to talk to you away from the guys."
The Slayer giggled in relief and waited for the red head to continue.
"Do you know Owen?" Willow asked tentatively
It took the Slayer a moment to realize what she was talking about. Her High School love interest had been entirely focused on Angel, with a brief interruption by a certain Scott Hope. All others had been pushed to the side, so it took her a moment to remember the Emily Dickinson obsessed bookworm.
"Yeah. . ." Buffy breathed out a sigh. "Why do you ask?"
Willow's eyes momentarily shifted to where a boy sat across The Bronze. He had his head down, busily reading a paperback, Buffy had to guess that this was Owen. "Word on the street is he likes you."
"Will, who put you up to this?" The Slayer gave her friend a smile to accompany the semi harsh statement.
The red head looked flushed at the accusation. "What? No one, I was just wondering. . ."
Buffy kept her eyes on Willow until she gave it up. "All right! He asked me to ask you if you would consider going out with him."
Apart of the Buffy considered to pity him with a date, just for the sake of nostalgia, but that thought was quickly put to rest as she remembered exactly what happened to the boy on the original date.
"Nah, I think tonight I'll just hang out with my friends, c'mon, let's go back with the guys."
Willow seemed surprised at the statement and followed Buffy back toward the table where Xander and Jesse were currently seeing who could chug a coke the fastest. For all the immaturity that went along with it, Buffy thanked whatever Power had decided to bring her back for a second go around.