Victoria
By Gabriele Schulz

AUTHOR: Gabriele Schulz
EMAIL: gabi@gschulz.de
RATING: PG-13
DISTRIBUTION: Watching me, Watching you, The New Buffy/Giles Relationshippers, Jess's Library, Greatest Love Of All. Others please ask first.
SPOILERS: Passion. It's set after GII though.
FEEDBACK: Writing it, I thought it sucked, but I may be wrong...
SUMMARY: Giles has a date and Buffy isn't happy about it. B/G
DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Productions, Kuzui Enterprises, 20th Century Fox Television, the WB Television Network, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I do not mean to infringe upon any copyrights.
NOTES:
Cap's challenge was:
A girl Buffy's age just asked Giles out. This causes Buffy to realize two things. One, there is no hands off rule with Giles like she thought. (This gives Buffy a happy.) Two, the little tramp beat her to Giles. (This gives Buffy an angry.) Now our slayer decides that there is only one thing too do. Beat the girl to a bloody stain, but that will get her in trouble so instead she will sabotage the date. Besides if it goes bad enough she can be there to comfort Giles afterward. (and maybe give them both a happy.)
I didn't come up with anything, so here it is.
Kidding aside, this feels more like the concept of a story that has potential than a finished thing. But maybe some of you find something interesting in it...
DATE: 8/9/99

She entered the store, a smile on her face as usually.

"Hi Buffy."

"Hi Victoria."

Buffy went around the counter and gave Giles the quick kiss on the cheek that had become their general way of greeting over the summer.

He turned his attention back to the young woman, he had been talking to, when Buffy had entered.

"Eight o'clock, then."

She smiled at him.

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it. Bye Buffy. See you tonight, Rupert."

He just nodded and smiled and Victoria went out, smiling one more time at him before leaving.

Giles watched her go and Buffy couldn't help the uneasiness she felt suddenly. She neither liked nor disliked Victoria, but the way she had said his name...

'Rupert', almost like a sigh.

"Is she looking for a special book?"

He turned around to Buffy.

"What? No, no."

Buffy watched him waiting for him to go on.

"Sh-she asked... she... we're having dinner tonight."

"Oh."

"And afterwards we'll possibly go to... eh... a theatre."

"Y-... you mean l-like a... a..." God, what was wrong with her. Giles was the one who stuttered.

"Date, I guess."

"Oh."

He sighed.

"Go on, make your witty comment so that we can get to work."

But she didn't.

"Yes... I mean no... ehm... I'll..."

She turned around and went into the backoffice, closing the door behind her.

He watched after her, not knowing how to interpret her reaction.

*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*

She couldn't believe it. She was pacing the backoffice feeling so many things, it was hard to put them in any order.

She was in love with Giles. After the summer, during which they had developed a close bond, that had become dear to both of them, her feelings had grown even more. When she was at the college she missed him and she found herself staying late at "The Library" just to be with him.

And a short while ago she had begun to fantasize. About how he some evening wouldn't kiss her on the forehead but the mouth and how she would respond and drag him into the backoffice.

But those feelings had been very new still. She hadn't thought about how to make her dreams come true yet. She hadn't made any plans yet, thinking that she had time to find out how *he* felt. He hadn't been dating since Jenny after all. She knew that he was over her, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was ready for someone else.

Or so she had thought. But obviously he was ready. Not only to go out, but to go out with someone, who was probably not older than Buffy herself. She felt a certain relief at the thought that he was willing to be with someone again. But it should have been *her* not some nice, pretty, book-loving chick.

Her indifference towards Victoria had changed into the desire to make a closer acquainance with her inner organs. She would never know what hit her, but Giles would probably investigate and if he ever found out... god, was that really the only reason not to beat her into a bloody pulp.

Buffy was a little frightened by her vicious feelings. She didn't like it to be out of control and she was now. She didn't know what to do.

She thought about how she had dreamed of going out with him and how the evening would end and suddenly those possibilities seemed like a nightmare.

She had to do something about it. Something that would put an end to the date (and if possible to any further ones), but yet nothing that would seriously hurt one of them. Unfortunately Buffy could only think of violence at the moment.

Then it hit her. If she couldn't hurt one of *them*, she could still hurt herself...

*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*

She opened the door as quietly as possible. She could see the light in the backoffice. She had talked Giles into eating here.

She took a deep breath and looked down at herself. Her clothes were dirty and a little bloody. She had cut herself (well it was hardly more than a scratch) and now she tore apart one of the straps on her top.

Then she moaned.

"Giles."

He was out of the backoffice in a second and she let herself fall into his arms.

He picked her up into his arms and carried her past Victoria who had gotten up and looked worried.

"Oh God, Buffy, what happened?"

Giles lay her down on the couch and inspected her wound.

"Giles..." Buffy did her best to appear a little disoriented.

"I'm here Buffy, are you all right? Did they break something?"

He knew that she couldn't possibly be in such a bad condition from that little scratch.

"Should I call a doctor?"

He turned to Victoria.

"Ehm, no, I think she's quite fine. I guess she'll need some rest... maybe we could..."

"Of course. I'll leave you alone. It's only a couple of blocks."

She got her purse and jacket, then looked at Buffy, who had her eyes half closed.

"Good-night, Rupert."

Buffy could only see two blurry figures, but when they were both still standing in the door to the backoffice after a while she opened her eyes.

Victoria was kissing Giles.

And Giles started to return the kiss.

Buffy suddenly felt miserable. She had put an end to the date, but not to what she feared most. That Giles could fall in love with someone else.

She had no right to be here. If Giles didn't love her, getting rid of Victoria wouldn't help. Because there would be others. And sooner or later he would fall in love with one of them.

She got up and walked up to them.

"Buffy!"

"I'm sorry Giles. I didn't want her to intrude and that was the only thing I could come up with."

"You're...?"

"I'm not hurt. Physically. I'm okay."

She nodded towards Victoria then walked away.

"Buffy..."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

She went out without turning around.

*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*

The next afternoon Giles watched Buffy as she put away some books in the store. When she had entered an hour before, she had just said "Hello" and begun to work. No kiss, no smile and not a single word since that "Hello".

He finally walked over to her.

"Are you all right?"

"I told you it was just an act."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She stopped putting away books and looked at him.

"Did you sleep with her?"

"I-I... we... no."

"You need three starts to say that?"

"She... we wanted to, but... I couldn't."

"I heard it happens to everyone once in a while."

"No-not physically. I guess I could, I just... I couldn't."

She looked at him in a peculiar way and afraid to hear her next question he talked again.

"Why did you do it?"

"I told you. I didn't want her to intrude. We are... a family. You and I and Willow and Xander and Oz and even Cordelia and Angel. She is not a part of that and I don't want her to be."

He nodded and to her surprise she saw disappointment in his face.

He turned around walking towards the counter, but she stopped him and turned him around to her again.

"Why? Why did *you* think I did it?"

"Nothing."

"Giles!"

They looked at each other for a long moment and Buffy knew that it was because of her that he hadn't slept with Victoria. She tried to picture them as the young woman tried to seduce him and he had to think of her.

She suddenly smiled and seeing Giles' confused look said.

"You're right."

That didn't exactly clear things up for him.

"About what?"

But she didn't want to waste any more time so she just stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

She was glad to see that it only took him a second to return *her* kiss.

"Where did she try to seduce you?"

"The backoffice couch."

"Let's see whether I do better."

She dragged him along with her, closing the store and moving into the backoffice right onto the couch to make her favorite fantasy reality.

THE END