Title: Searching for the Truth
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRT
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline:
S4, AU.
Synopsis: Olivia comes to town. Does she need Giles’ help or is she there for
something more?
Author’s
Note: This is in response to a plot
bunny given to me by hamrensel. Also,
thanks to wyvernwolf
for the beta.
Plot
bunny is as follows:
“I have seen a lot of fics out
there that seem to highlight how badly Buffy reacted when she Giles with
Olivia. I would love to see one where the situation was reversed.
Olivia shows up at Giles place at the beginning of season 4 and Buffy is
walking around Giles’ shirt. Of course Buffy and Giles don't grow apart
from each between season 3 and 4 but closer.”
Buffy smiled to
herself as she rummaged through the refrigerator. Over the sound of water running through the
pipes as he took a shower, she could faintly hear his voice singing some song
that was probably recorded before she was born.
She closed the refrigerator door and sighed heavily, running her fingers
through her slightly tangled hair.
“I’m definitely going
to have to talk to him about getting cheese that isn’t blue.” She mumbled as she made her way to the
stereo.
No sooner had the
music started flowing from the speakers, a knock sounded at the door. She absently glanced at the clock and
furrowed her brow. Sure that she had
told
“Okay...it’s only
six, Will. You know that he takes...” Buffy started as she swung the door open,
narrowing her eyes as she finished her statement. “...forever in the shower. Who are you?”
The lady standing on
the door step checked the scrap of paper in her hand, then
glanced at the number of the apartment, before clearing her throat. “I was looking for Rupert Giles.”
Only when the woman’s
eyes took in Buffy’s appearance did Buffy realize that she was standing at the
door, dressed only in one of Giles’ dress shirts...and that she had left the
top three buttons undone. Shaking off a brief flash of embarrassment,
Buffy offered the woman a cautious glare.
“What do you want
with Giles?”
“Olivia?”
Both women turned
towards the voice to find Giles standing in the middle of the living room…
dressed in a dark blue robe, a towel around his neck, and staring in disbelief
at the woman.
Olivia relaxed
slightly and smiled warmly at Giles.
“Hello, Rupert.”
Buffy raised an
eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest. Giles noticed the concern in Buffy’s eyes and
offered her a gentle smile.
“Olivia is an old
friend from
Buffy rolled her eyes
and uncrossed her arms. “‘Girlfriend’
works. Come on in, Oliva.”
Olivia chuckled,
stepping into the apartment as Giles blushed lightly.
Giles gave a shy
grin, sliding his hands into the pockets of his robe as he nodded in
agreement. “My girlfriend.”
Olivia met Buffy’s
eyes and gave her a friendly smile. “Very nice to meet you, Buffy.”
Buffy returned the
smile, walking over to him and leaning into Giles’ side as he slipped an arm
around her shoulders. “You
too. So…‘old
friend from
“Not
exactly.” Giles replied as Olivia shook her head,
amusement in her eyes.
“Ripper didn’t have
‘girlfriends’....”
Buffy
snorted and leaned up to place a soft kiss on Giles’ cheek before stepping back
and gesturing towards the loft.
“I’m going to get
dressed...behave, okay?”
Giles’ eyes widened,
staring at her as she quickly made her way up the stairs. Olivia’s gentle chuckle caused him to turn
his eyes to her.
“She’s a bit of a
handful, I’d imagine.”
“She can be, at
that.” His glare softened as he ran his
fingers through his towel-dried hair.
“Not that I’m unhappy to see you, but...”
“Why am I here?” Olivia finished, dropping her purse onto the
desk as Giles nodded questioningly. “How
much of what you told me back then was the truth?”
Giles smiled
softly. “Well that would depend. Are you talking about Pink Floyd or – ”
“Monsters, demons, mouths of hell...those
things. How much was true and how much
was you trying to get me into your bed?”
“Oh...” Giles cleared his throat and rubbed the side
of his neck, suddenly very nervous.
“Those things...all of those things were true. In fact, um...well...this is a Hellmouth.”
Olivia darted her
eyes around the apartment, her eyes widening.
Despite the
awkwardness of the situation, Giles chuckled.
“The town is built on a Hellmouth. Sunnydale, that
is...not my flat, specifically.”
“Does Buffy
know?” Olivia whispered as she moved
towards the window.
“Buffy...” Giles sighed and made his way over to the
stereo, pressing the power button and clearing his throat once more. “Buffy is more than my girlfriend,
Olivia. She’s...she’s my Slayer.”
Olivia turned to him,
narrowing her eyes. “Slayer?”
“Oh God...you’re not
going to give her the ‘one girl in all the world’
speech, are you?” Buffy smiled as they
both looked at her before training her gaze on the older woman. “Because it’s not really ‘one girl’ anymore
and on top of that...it’s boring. Giles
is my Watcher...we were assigned to one another three years ago. You know about Watchers and Slayers?”
Olivia swallowed
thickly and glanced at Giles. “I know
what Ripper told me all those years ago...”
“Rupert.”
“Hm?” Giles
answered.
Buffy shook her head
softly as she gestured to Olivia. “No...I was talking to her. His name...it’s
Rupert, not Ripper. He doesn’t go by
Ripper anymore. And...if
he told you about it, what he told
you was the truth.”
Giles shifted
uncomfortably as Olivia darted her eyes between him and Buffy. He ran his fingers through his hair again and
then stared at his wet fingers as though he had forgotten he was standing there
wearing nothing but a robe.
“Um...I’ll get
dressed and then we’ll talk, yes?”
Olivia merely nodded,
which did nothing to lessen Buffy’s curiosity.
Giles swiftly walked past Buffy, tenderly touching her shoulder as he
did. Buffy watched Olivia watch Giles
climb the stairs...and when Giles was out of sight, Buffy coughed lightly to
get Olivia’s attention.
Seeing Buffy’s
unspoken question, Olivia sighed and shrugged a shoulder. “I thought the stories he told me were simply
a ruse to...”
“Get you out of your
clothes?” Buffy offered as she smiled
when Olivia trailed off. “Maybe some of
it was. But, Watchers and Slayers and
the duties they have to protect this world from the evils of darkness? Yeah, that’s all true.”
When Olivia inhaled
shakily, Buffy gestured to the couch.
“Have a seat...I’ll make some tea while we wait for Giles.”
Olivia lowered herself
to the leather sofa and tried her best to relax. After all that she had been through in the
past four months, that was a harder task than she ever would have imagined.
* * *
Giles glanced into
the kitchen as he came down the stairs, dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt
similar to the one Buffy had been wearing earlier. “Do you need any help, love?”
Buffy smiled, waving
him off as she pulled a box of cookies...biscuits, as Giles called them...down
from the cabinet. He returned her smile
and, after pausing to make sure that she didn’t need his help with anything,
made his way to the chair opposite the sofa.
As he sat down, he
noticed Olivia’s obvious examination of him.
He smiled nervously as she met his eyes.
She shook her head
lightly and gestured vaguely. “This is a
new look for you.”
Giles furrowed his
brow in confusion as he glanced down at his clothing. “Denim?”
“Happiness.” Olivia
stated quietly, smiling as he looked back up.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you truly happy before.”
“I’m rather sure I
haven’t been.” He admitted, turning to
watch Buffy carry a tray laden with tea things into the living room.
When Buffy stopped
and gave him a pointed stare, he tilted his head in a silent question. Buffy heaved a sigh of exasperation and
gestured to the coffee table with a tilt of her head.
“Unless you want to
run the risk of me spilling tea all over your fifteenth century almanac of
demonic activity, I suggest you clear a spot for me.”
The corner of
Olivia’s mouth twitched in amusement as Giles rolled his eyes, muttering
“seventeenth century” as he cleared the surface. Olivia watched the interaction between the
two...the age difference was obvious, but not nearly as obvious as the depth of
their genuine affection for one another.
“You’ve been her
Watcher for three years?”
Giles looked up and
nodded as he took the cup from Buffy.
“We’re in our fourth year...”
“Romantically?”
Buffy laughed as
Giles’ eyes widened, the cup stopping halfway to his lips as he stared at
Olivia. “No...God, no. We did a lot of soul-searching after
graduation a few months ago...I didn’t even realize that I loved him until he
blew up the high school...”
“You blew up the high
school?” Olivia asked dubiously.
“I...well...the mayor
was a giant snake and...there was no other way
to...” Giles sighed and lowered his
cup. “Everything I told you when we were
young...other than me being a founding member of Pink Floyd...was the truth.”
Buffy arched an
eyebrow. “Pink Floyd? That
worked for you?”
“More
often than not.” Giles’ mouth quirked into a
smile for the briefest of moments before turning his attention back to Olivia. “What’s happened, Liv?”
Olivia shook her
head, but lowered her eyes. “Nothing, I
was just...”
“You wouldn’t come to
Olivia was quiet for
a few moments. Buffy and Giles exchanged
a quick glance, Buffy sitting on the couch...her body turned towards
Olivia. When Buffy opened her mouth to
say something, Giles gave a quick shake of his head...his eyes telling her to
give Olivia more time.
“Lars is dead.” Olivia whispered, her voice trembling.
“Dear Lord...” Giles whispered, shock in his voice as his
hand reached out for Olivia’s. “Liv...I’m so sorry.”
Buffy wasn’t exactly sure
who Lars was, but it was obvious that Giles knew him...and the news of Lars’
demise was seemingly not what he had been expecting to hear.
“What happened?” Giles questioned gently.
Olivia swallowed hard
and lifted her head. Her question was
barely audible, but Buffy had no trouble hearing the pain in Olivia’s words.
“What does a vampire
look like?”
Giles didn’t hesitate
in pulling Olivia into his arms. Buffy felt her heart fill with sadness over the pain that Olivia
was feeling. She’d help Giles
explain as much as Olivia wanted to hear...or could handle hearing.
And later, after
patrol, she’d ask Giles who Lars was.
* * *
“So...you felt okay
leaving them there alone?”
Buffy surveyed the
cemetery from her vantage point from her seat atop a headstone. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Oh, she wasn’t his
girlfriend.” Buffy stated, pulling a
stake out of her back pocket.
“They just used to
have sex.” Buffy slid from the grave
marker and gripped the stake. “Stay
here...you see anything, you scream...okay?”
“Uh-huh.”
Hearing the
distraction in
“Huh? Oh, yeah...I’m just...they used to have sex?”
Buffy returned her
gaze back to the vampire stalking through the cemetery. “Yeah...long time ago. Nothing to worry about. Stay here.”
* * *
Olivia smiled as she
took the cup of tea from Giles. “Thank
you.”
“You’re
welcome.” Giles responded softly as he
sat down next to her, reaching over to the coffee table for his own cup. “Over the years, I’ve found that tea cures
all…or nearly all.”
Olivia glanced around
the room, her eyes stopping on a picture of Rupert and Buffy that was
positioned on the desk in the corner of the room. “She seems very mature for her age.”
“Hm?” Giles
murmured before noticing what Olivia was looking at. With a nod, he smiled softly. “Oh...she is.
After seeing so much and dealing with all she’s had to deal with, she’d
need to be.”
“Very true, but I was
actually referring to the notion of her leaving a man whom she’s been in a
relationship with for a few months alone with a woman with whom that same man
shares a sexual history. Most older women
wouldn’t be comfortable with that.”
Giles met her eyes
and hesitated for just a moment. “I’m in
love with her, Liv.
Buffy and I…she knows I’d never do anything to betray her trust again.”
Olivia arched an
eyebrow at him. “Again? You cheated on her?”
“What?” Giles looked mortified at the thought. “No!”
“But you’ve lost her
trust before?”
Giles breathed a
heavy sigh, lowering his eyes and staring into his cup of tea. “It was over a Council tradition that I disagreed
with…but participated in nonetheless.
I’d prefer not to talk about it right now.”
Olivia remained quiet
for a few moments, sipping her tea as she watched him silently berate himself
for past sins.
“If she had known the
real reason I came by, she might not have left us alone.” She gave him an almost nervous smile as his
eyes snapped to hers. “Though
I have no intentions of following through on that plan.”
“Lars…”
Olivia sighed, her
eyes glistening. “There’s nothing you
can do about that. I know how it works
now…I know that Lars isn’t coming back…and I know that there would be nothing
romantic about it if he had. I think I
already knew that deep down.”
Giles stared at her,
understanding flickering in his eyes.
“You…wanted comfort. Physical comfort…from me?”
Olivia chuckled
softly. “There was a time when you
would’ve simply said that if I wanted you to fu – ”
He interrupted her
quickly, shaking his head. “I’m not that
person any longer, Olivia. I…what we
shared…I was running from my destiny then…denying who I really was.”
“I know.” Olivia stated with a gentle smile. “That’s why my plans changed…as soon as I saw
you look at her. I think I could be
friends with the man you’ve become…”
Giles relaxed and
returned her smile. “I think I would
like that.”
They both turned
towards the door when it opened. Giles’
smile broadened and his relief shone clearly in his eyes as Buffy stepped into
the room.
“Hello.”
Buffy grinned as she
watched Giles’ eyes quickly check for any visible injuries. “Not a scratch…for me. Three vamps weren’t so lucky. And
Giles narrowed his
eyes and stood up quickly. “Demon? Is she
alright?”
Buffy laughed,
motioning
“
“I’m fine…”
Giles smiled, nodding
as he made his way towards the kitchen. “Of course. Let me
just get a sample first.”
“Told
ya, Will!” Buffy stated,
reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small container filled with the goo
and tossing it to Giles. “Already got
one for you, babe.”
Giles blushed lightly
at the term of endearment, catching the container with ease. “Thank you.”
“Go on, then.” Giles laughed, shaking his head in amusement
as
Buffy watched him as
he tilted the container, examining the viscous fluid inside. “Everything okay?”
“It looks harmless
enough. I’m rather sure it would feel,
um...gross...when doused in it, though.”
“Yeah...there was no burny-Will or itchy-Will, so I guessed everything was okay
there.” She waited until Giles met her
eyes and then sighed softly. “I meant
here. Is everything okay here?”
“Oh.” Giles replied softly, placing the container
on the kitchen counter. “Yes, love.”
Buffy regarded him
carefully, hearing something in his
tone. “You sure about
that?”
Giles opened his
mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Olivia’s soft voice.
“Any reason for my being
here...other than gathering as much information about vampires as I could...were cast to the side the moment I realized that Rupert is
in a serious relationship. I would do
nothing to jeopardize his...or your...happiness,
Buffy.”
Buffy stared at her,
but her stare held no anger. “So...you
came here for – ”
“That was the nature
of our relationship many years ago, Buffy.”
Giles said quickly before she could finish her statement. “We...comforted...one another.”
“Oh.” Buffy replied, sliding her hand into
his. “And Lars?”
“Lars broke my heart
more than once.” Olivia sighed, a
wistful tone to her voice. “But, he was
there for me when Rupert left to go back to...this, I suppose.”
Giles smiled as he
nodded. “Well, the
Academy...but essentially, yes.”
Olivia paused for a
moment and then sighed once more. “Lars
and I never married...we just didn’t see the point. Now I wonder if maybe we should’ve.”
Silence fell over
them and Giles led Buffy to the couch.
She looked at him questioningly as he gently nudged her down to the
cushions.
“I’m sure you’re
starving. And I’m rather certain that
airline food is as appetizing as it’s always been.”
Both of the women
smiled gratefully at him and Buffy gestured to her bag that she had dropped
onto the table.
“I stopped while we
were out and picked up some cheese.”
Giles narrowed his
eyes. “I have cheese...”
“It’s blue and
disgusting. You’ve lived in
Giles glanced at the
container and grinned. “Unless it’s the
consistency of snot and is spewed forth from a demon?”
Buffy rolled her eyes
and settled herself more comfortably on the couch. “When it comes to cheese...it’s all about being yellow.”
Olivia laughed and immediately
started in on a story of Giles’ youth involving his obsession with always
having a wedge of blue cheese in the refrigerator. Giles stood there and watched them for a few
seconds...his ex-lover and the young woman he hoped to spend the rest of his
life with.
As they laughed
together, Giles smiled and made his way into the kitchen. His smile grew when he heard the water from
the shower turn off.
Laughter was one
thing that had become constant since the start of his romantic relationship
with Buffy. And he hadn’t realized how
much he had missed it beforehand.
He pulled the block
of American cheese out of her bag and rolled his eyes playfully when Buffy
started telling Olivia about his training pads and how adorable he looked
wearing them. Making his way into the
kitchen to prepare something for the four of them to eat while telling
embarrassing stories about one another, he thought over Olivia’s words.
He had never
seriously considered marriage to anyone...mainly because he had never thought
that it would be an issue. It was far
too soon to honestly discuss the thought of marriage with Buffy. After all, they’d only admitted their love
for one another four months earlier.
He looked over at her
as he carefully unwrapped the cheese and pulled a
knife from the drawer. He smiled lovingly
as she turned to look at him, meeting his eyes and mouthing ‘I love you’ as
Olivia’s laughter continued.
Maybe four months was long enough.
~ End