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DISCLAIMER: If you want to give me Giles, I won't say no.
SUMMARY: Giles is trying to work at the library. Will Buffy and Willow let him?
RATING: G
WORDCOUNT: 1242
DEDICATION: For Knight, in her birthday. Happy Birthday, sweets!
LIBRARY MICE
by Leni
Those two were planning something. Whatever it was they were hiding it well, coming to the
library straight after classes to 'help' him. Giles had been surprised at first, even a
bit proud. He should have guessed when Willow ducked at the praise but he'd foolishly
blamed her natural shyness for it.
He'd left them at a table, two books and a cross-referencial one between them. "We
have something with one horn that eats liver in the sewers. Try to narrow it down."
Willow had gulped and gingerly put her hand to her belly, a grimace fleetingly crossing
her lips. Buffy's distaste, having discovered the bodies herself, showed most obviously.
Then she'd grabbed her book and determinedly began reading it. A minute later she'd looked
over the brim and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Didn't you have to work on the library's
records today?"
He really should have guessed it then - since when did Buffy care about his cover
job? - but Giles had stood up and asked if they'd be okay on their own. Receiving a nod
from each girl, he'd retired into his office. "We'll be just fine, Giles," Buffy
had called after him.
Just fine. Giles' eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Of course they were just fine. Because
whatever they were doing; research it wasn't.
They couldn't fool him. He could hear their steps around the library, books being pulled
in and out of their shelves. But everytime he'd tried to catch them, they'd avoided
discovery.
First he'd walked in into a mutual nail-painting session. Buffy had looked up curiously
without stopping to blow Willow's newly pale blue nails. He'd berated them for their
behavior and told them to keep the research if they really wanted to help. They'd looked
sufficiently chagrined by the time he'd gone back to his work.
Strike One.
Not five minutes later the noises started again. This time Giles had paid better attention
to figure out their positions - he had trained as a Watcher. He'd finally decided
they were very close to the Herbology & Biology section. In other words, just shelf
away from his Advanced Magics collection. Giles sighed, these kids would be the death of
him.
He got up again, prepared to guilt them - especially the overly curious Willow - into
doomsday if need be. There was no need. As soon as he stepped into the room, the giggles
reached his hearing. Giles rounded the corner to find the girls still on their seats,
their arms on the table and heads comfortably rested against them. In the end they met
almost at the middle of the narrow table, mouths moving rapidly back and forth. Giles
thought he heard the name 'Angel' at least twice.
He cleared his throat loudly and both girls startled. Giles looked around, everything was
just as he'd left it. Willow was wearing her 'I'm Cute and I Know It' look while Buffy's
expression informed him that she didn't understand his constant vigilance. "Anything
wrong, Giles?" the blonde asked after some silent seconds.
Giles shook his head. Scratching his nape absently as he tried to understand just what
he'd been hearing.
Strike Two.
For the next half hour he couldn't concentrate in his assignment, only continuing it
because Snyder would throw a fit if he didn't. Then, a step against the library's floor.
Giles stopped. Another step, then other joined, going quicker and quicker. He listened
attentively. Yes, definitely two sets of footsteps.
Giles thought about it for a moment. Maybe he'd been going about it wrong. If they wanted
to play, then it wouldn't hurt if he played too. Besides, now he realised, they clearly
had the advantage. Buffy had surely sensed him coming the instant he'd left his chair.
Now he moved slowly, disturbing as few objects as he could. He stepped so that his soles
wouldn't creak - which they thankfully didn't - and opened the door carefully - just for a
breeze to close it noisily behind him. He swore, even if only mentally.
"Aha!" he exclaimed when he entered the room. His shoulders drooped at the sight
that greeted him. Both girls were sitting calmly at their table, obviously mesmerised by
the contents of the books in their hands. If there was ever a poster of studying at
Sunnydale High, this scene would be it.
Buffy looked up from her book, curiousity etched on her face. "Giles, are you feeling
alright?" she asked concernedly.
Willow was quick to jump in. "You could go home, we'd handle everything here."
Giles shook his head, dejectedly walking back to his office. Fantastic, now he was hearing
things. He wondered when the line of sanity had been crossed without his knowledge. Then
something clicked. Two somethings, actually.
He rounded up and pointed a finger at Willow's book. "It's head down!" he
accused.
Willow's eyes widened considerably, going in shock over the book she held and muttering
under her breath when she saw he was right.
He pointed at Buffy next. "That is not the book I gave you!"
Buffy was blushing but she still faced him stoically. She showed him the book's cover.
"Underwater Carnivores," it read, and was in fact the book he'd given her at
first. Giles would give her points for effort, if he weren't so angry. He crossed his arms
on his chest and narrowed his eyes at his lying ward. "The other book,
Buffy."
The blush turned brighter and she meekly brought out a small leatherbound book from the
larger one. Giles shook his head. The double booked trick, he'd been doing it when Buffy
wasn't even born.
He took both books and placed them securely on a table at his side. Then he tapped one
foot impatiently against the floor, regarding both girls severely. "I have told you
countless times that that knowledge is dangerous. I had hoped you'd have listened,
especially you, Willow." His glare concentrated on the redhead, not lessening even
when the girl shifted uncomfortably under it. "You and I have already talked about
the dangers of someone as untrained as you working with this material."
"But I want to train!" Willow's protest died quickly under Giles' glare.
Buffy stayed at his other side, looking between her best friend and her Watcher. Giles was
right. But Willow had proved she had an affinity for magic. Surely it wouldn't hurt if she
learned some tricks! Buffy yearned to have someone who could truly help in patrol. Willow
would make a welcome buffer between her and Angel's newest levels of tension. But Giles
didn't seem about to bulge... Damn. It had been worth the try. "We are sorry,"
Buffy mumbled. Then she grabbed her friend's arm and tugged her to the door. "It'll
never happen again."
"B-but!" Willow sputtered as she was led away. "Don't give up, Buffy.
Stores. Magic stores! They'd have something, wouldn't they?"
Giles observed Willow's genuine smile and Buffy's nod of agreement. He sighed. It seemed
that his redheaded ward was bent on learning witchery. From a clinical assessment, he knew
a powerful witch could only be an advantage. But Willow was so young, so very innocent.
Moreover, she was so eager to understand and handle everything. Giles shook his
head. He'd lived through that eagerness and been that curious; he didn't want to see
Willow in his shoes. Let her go to those stores, he finally decided as he went back to his
office, they never held anything dangerous anyway.
The End
10/11/04
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