Shippy Giles & Buffy Drabbles

[quaggy]

And here are the rest of my drabbles for giles_shorts. The only question remains is if I will ever be able to write a BtVS drabbles that includes someone other than Giles or Buffy!


Title: A Moment During The Scooby Reunion
Word Count: 100
Last line prompt: "She wanted to keep him all to herself."
Pairing: Buffy/Giles


She wanted to keep him all to herself, but she was going to have to give him back to his parents eventually.

“He’s quite taken with you,” Giles laughed.

“It’s mutual,” Buffy replied, smiling down at the infant.

“Has that inspired any thoughts?” he asked, his eyes hopeful.

“No, Giles, my biological clock isn’t ticking,” she replied and did her best not to laugh at his crestfallen expression. “Because we’ll have one of these of our very own by the spring.”

“Wait… Do you mean?”

“Here,” Buffy said, passing the baby to her awestruck husband. “You better get some practice.”

These next two are linked.

Title: Go Where You’re Needed
Author: Quaggy
Word Count: 100
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Last line prompt: "She turned and looked at him so sadly."


She turned and looked at him so sadly when he said that he was returning to England, but she didn’t seem surprised.

“I figured. You need to set up operations in London, right?”

“Yes, but I can stay here, if I’m needed.” But his words seemed to only make her more forlorn.

“Not as much as you are there. No one else can do what you do.” And suddenly, Giles realized that in a world full of Slayers, Buffy might reasonably assume that no one needed her.

Except he did. Down to his very soul.

“Buffy, please? Come with me?”


Title: Stay Where You Belong
Author: Quaggy
Word Count: 100
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Last line prompt: "It didn’t matter how much she begged."


It didn’t matter how much she begged, Giles would eventually leave again. Buffy knew that without needing to be told. She just wasn’t enough to keep him by her side.

But she never expected that he’d ask her to go with him.

“You mean that?”

“With all my heart.” His voice shook with emotion and she knew he wasn’t lying.

“If I come with you, you’ll never be able to get rid of me,” she warned, blinking back tears.

“Promise?”

It was hard to say who reached for who first, but neither one had any intention of ever letting go.

Comments

[quaggy]

Ugh. One of my main reasons for ignoring the comics completely! And I didn't even ship Buffy/Giles back then!

And I had such good icons on LJ to express my displeasure at the thought!! Wait... Go here and pretend that's my icon!!

[dhw]

Booooooo!

*shakes fist*

And it's all the more fun when you add in Wesley too...

*runs away cackling*

[quaggy]

Yeah, Faith can have Wesley and Buffy can have Giles. Though I suppose that a comic AU where Giles relationship with Faith goes as canon and Buffy reconnected with Wesley could be interesting... But nah. I like my OTP too much and Faith not nearly enough. (I never watched AtS, so I never did see Faith's redemption arch. I've been told I'd like her more if I had.)

Besides, I like Robin/Faith (especially if her becomes her de facto Watcher). Though Faith/Kennedy has potential too. I firmly believe that Faith needs relationships where Buffy isn't a factor!

[dhw]

I like Faith and Giles' canon relationship in the comics. It's not romantic (from what I remember), but it's close. Both of them are kind of outcasts and in Buffy's bad books (well, at that point in time) - and both of them are willing to do whatever is required in order to ensure that good prevails.

Plus, I like the camaraderie they develop. I'm a big Giles and Faith fan (whether that be shipped or gen - though I love gen the most!) =)

I'm not the hugest fan of Robin, although that could just be because I didn't care for season 7 and he appeared then - I suspect, had he appeared a few series earlier, I would have really loved him as a character.

Though I could get behind a little Faith/Kennedy....

[quaggy]

I like Faith and Giles' canon relationship in the comics. It's not romantic (from what I remember), but it's close. Both of them are kind of outcasts and in Buffy's bad books (well, at that point in time)

Yeah, I get all that. I think my biggest problem is that it all cycles back to Buffy and Giles estrangement, which was bad enough in Season 6 & 7. (Despite my shipping preferences, I'm approaching this all from a purely platonic level right now.) If there had been no falling out, just a mutual agreement that they needed to be doing their separate things right now and, at least Faith would be with Giles to protect him, so Buffy wouldn't have to worry, that would be different. But without that groundwork, there is just something about Giles getting close to Faith, especially when he is on the outs with Buffy, that just reeks of replacement/rejection for me. (And I don't care how good the explanation might have been for Giles's will. That was just some messed up shit.) For me, even if it's not romantic, Buffy & Giles need to be together an a unit. It was one of my biggest problems with a large percentage of Spuffy fic, they either marginalized Giles or they turned him evil.

Then again, what do I know. I never made it past the first few pages of the comic book, with Giant Dawn. Just because you CAN do something storywise, doesn't mean you should! :-P

[dhw]

That's fair. And I see what you mean. I think it would have been nice had the comics gone in that direction, and it would have been really interesting to see how their relationships with each other changed because of it - more specifically whether, had Giles and Buffy parted under better circumstances, she would have accepted him teaming up with Faith.

That said, I know it's bad, but I do kind of love the drama. And the whole idea that Faith is a sort of crutch because he can't really deal with not having Buffy there. Twisted, but then again, so am I. It would make a great basis for something almost edging into darkfic (my favourite kind of fic to write - and read!). Hmmmmm...

*slaps self*

Now is not the time to get distracted with dark fic ideas. Bad DHW!

It was one of my biggest problems with a large percentage of Spuffy fic, they either marginalized Giles or they turned him evil.

That was something I really disliked too. I mean, I do like a good Spuffy fic now and then (though, TBH, when it comes to BtVS, I'm more interested in Giles-centric fic) - but I really dislike it when the whole Watcher-Slayer thing is just cast aside as though it means nothing. Especially since it is so ripe for some excellent conflict and drama in Spuffy fics!

Just because you CAN do something storywise, doesn't mean you should!

Something I wholeheartedly agree with.

That said, I did really enjoy the Angel and Faith comics and Buffy Season 10. And I'll probably continue to read season 11 when that comes out too... =)

[quaggy]

Huh. I could have sworn I wrote a response to this!

That said, I know it's bad, but I do kind of love the drama. And the whole idea that Faith is a sort of crutch because he can't really deal with not having Buffy there.

Yeah, but that's really unfair to poor Faith. I might not like her much, but I do feel somewhat protective over her, you know? But it is an intriguing concept and I once read a fic that explored that dynamic. In the end, I found it really unsatisfying because in trying to not throw Faith under the bus as she got Giles and Buffy back together (which I totally respect), it really felt like Buffy got the raw end of the deal. Like Giles was sort of choosing her because she was his default, not because he wanted or needed her. So I think I'm less interested in the whole premise. Besides, the Buffy & Giles reunion was one thing that the comics got right. ;-)


That said, I did really enjoy the Angel and Faith comics and Buffy Season 10. And I'll probably continue to read season 11 when that comes out too

Yes, it does seem like the comics course corrected by Season 10. I might read all of Season 10 someday, but there so much other good fanfic to read and write that it might take me a while. That and you never can quite trust the comics not to go full out "Spike flies around in a steam-punk spaceship piloted by bugs" levels of WTF again. :-P

[dhw]

True. I think you're just a much nicer person than me. lol.

But I do get what you mean about the whole throwing Faith under a bus thing. I love a good angsty/dark fic where nobody really wins when it comes to this sort of thing, rather than an actual fluffy romance/drama thing, as someone always ends up with the short end of the stick in order to ensure a happy ending for the other characters. If nobody has a happy ending, I think it really works - but that's never really a super popular option in fic (which I think is a shame. It's hard to find good darkfic that isn't just written for shock value or just used as an excuse to write awful non-con. Urgh. But that's a rant for another time...)



Spike flies around in a steam-punk spaceship piloted by bugs.

Urgh.

That is all I have to say about that whole storyline (and probably the kindest thing I could say, too).

[quaggy]

I love a good angsty/dark fic where nobody really wins when it comes to this sort of thing, rather than an actual fluffy romance/drama thing, as someone always ends up with the short end of the stick in order to ensure a happy ending for the other characters. If nobody has a happy ending, I think it really works - but that's never really a super popular option in fic (which I think is a shame. It's hard to find good darkfic that isn't just written for shock value or just used as an excuse to write awful non-con. Urgh. But that's a rant for another time...)

I think whether happy, sad, or bittersweet, the ending has to be earned. You're right that too often fics with angsty bleak endings get there by choosing the most convenient way to get there (people not talking, letting misunderstandings bread, unfounded stubbornness) rather than working towards a most character consistent ending. Honestly, I think a fic where everyone is trying their best and it still doesn't work is far more wrenching than a "and no one can ever know" style ending. But then, I'm much more a fan of a bittersweet ending than outright angst. I think, at least in fic, it's easier to find stories that have earned their happy endings, or even bittersweet ones for that matter, than ones than straight up dark and angsty ones.


Urgh

Well said!!

Though it's a convenient shorthand why it's impossible for most people to fully accept the comics as "canon".