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DISCLAIMER: I wish. You wish. We wish.
SUMMARY: Giles tries to train with a distracted Slayer. To no use.
WORDCOUNT: 855
NOTES: for Stars, happy birthday!
Companion piece for The Gift
FOCUS
by Leni
Giles ducked quickly, barely dodging the sharp dart. The small device lodged itself in the
wooden shelf behind him, leaving an irreparable hole in the wood. He inspected it
carefully and sighed. Hopefully Principal Snyder wouldn't notice. He looked around for the
culprit and, upon finding her, raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Oops?"
He glared at the girl; this night was getting to be too long. His hand ached from where
Buffy had stepped on it and he could feel bruises forming where she had held him too
tight. Giles breathed deeply, grabbing the dart and tightened his hand around it before
throwing it directly at Buffy. She caught it swiftly.
"At least not everything is lost," he said. Buffy looked chagrined and mutely
put the dart back in its box. "You've seemed uncharacteristically unfocused
tonight."
Her hand found a small dagger on the table and began twirling it nervously. Giles reminded
himself to make her practice with her left hand, she seemed to favour it heavily.
"I'm sorry," she said, the silver dagger a blur from one hand to another.
"I was just thinking..." She jerked her head up and studied him, as if a new
idea had just struck her. "Say Giles, what if Miss Calendar came and gave you a new
book? A novel she knew you've never read."
He sat on the closest chair, confused at the new topic. "I don't read novels,"
he answered sincerely.
Buffy pouted, but insisted. "Just if. What would you do?"
"Is Jenny giving me a novel?"
She sighed loudly, clearly expressing how not in tune with her he was. "This
is about me, okay? I'm trying to figure out what to give Angel!"
"Oh." Giles knew his hand would go to his glasses before it actually did.
Buffy's relationship with Angel was one that had given him many sleepless nights, and he
still wasn't comfortable with the idea. But she seemed happy, and Angel seemed to truly
appreciate the girl. Giles knew that few Slayers had ever managed to find such a
relationship, so he couldn't - and wouldn't - go against it. However, that didn't make him
any more agreeable to the fact that was Buffy talking with him about it. "I highly
doubt I'm the one you should be asking, Buffy," he said with equanimity.
The dagger stopped its dance, flying back into its case with a flick of Buffy's hand.
"There really isn't anyone else..." she confessed, now twirling her hair behind
her ears.
Giles made another mental note to discuss with Buffy about the outward signals that could
betray her in a fight. But back to the conversation at hand, "I'm sure
Willow---"
"Would tell Xander," she interrupted firmly. "And Xander would make a big
deal. He wouldn't be happy until Angel knew. Then Angel would be mad because he found out
from Xander and he'd dump me and never see me again. Ever." She pouted.
Giles tried not to roll his eyes. Angel would never react like that. But he wasn't sure
how to tell Buffy that. Willow would know. Giles began to think that he should have let
the girls have their night at the mall. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, he thought less
bemusedly. "I'm sure you are exaggerating," he cautiously told her instead.
Buffy sighed. "Maybe. But Xander would still blow it up."
Giles couldn't say in good faith that boy wouldn't, so he chose to stay silent. "Why
would you want to surprise Angel?" he asked, truly curious about the situation. Then
he noticed that her nervous fingers had settled on the volumes of Dains, a very precious
collection. More sternly, he added, "And could you please not leave dog ears in those
books?"
Buffy blushed, her arms dropping at her sides and then guiltily hiding her hands behind
her back. She mumbled something that he correctly translated to "Tomorrow is our
first anniversary." Not for nothing had Giles majored in demon languages. He shook
his head. Sometimes he forgot that Buffy was only a teenage girl, that alone made her
unstable. Add the fact that she was in love and Giles knew he was lucky she hadn't
accidentally fractured his arm earlier. "Go," he told her, raising from his seat
and signalling to the library doors. "It's early yet, I'm sure you will find Willow
if you hurry."
Buffy smiled, her eyes sparkling brightly at the unexpected favour. "Are you
sure?"
Giles nodded, a little amused at how easy it was to please her. Then he truly smiled as
his ward sprinted towards the gym showers faster than she'd ever run after a vampire.
"I'll do double duty tomorrow!" she called before disappearing in the hallway.
He still had to put the weapons and the training mat back in their holders. Giles did so
slowly, considering that it may be wiser to let Buffy patrol with Angel the next couple of
days, the vampire may have more luck than him in keeping her focused. Giles could only
trust Angel would achieve that in an appropriate way. He sighed, he sounded more like a
father every passing day.
The End.
09/08/04
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