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ITLE: Take Me: Take Two 6/9
RATING: FRT
PAIRING: Giles/Anya
SUMMARY: Fear Itself Some of these chapters differ very little from the episodes. This is one of them. if I were doing this from scratch it's not the way I would do it today. I'd love to know if you're reading and what you think.
A/N: Thanks to janedavitt for the beta.
“It looks a lot like the skin of a Melkar demon,” Anya said after examining a chunk of skin that Willow had ruthlessly carved away.
Giles looked over the orange matter on the newspaper-covered table with scientific interest. “I thought Melkars were a bit paler.”
“It depends on the season. They tan,” Anya stated.
Willow gestured with her knife at the pumpkins she and Xander were carving. Oz was still sketching a face on his and Buffy seemed to be waiting for hers to rot. “Thank you again for letting us do this at your place this year, Giles,” Willow said, “The smell kind of gets to me at Xander’s.”
“It's the bleach smell. Smell of bleach; whites day, people!” Xander said defensively when everyone but Willow gave him a disgusted look.
“Yes, well, it's our pleasure to have you all. Anya and I are looking forward to the holiday this year.”
Oz tapped the little ghost on the tabletop to make it say 'boo'. “Never would have guessed.”
“We might’ve gone overboard a little," Giles admitted. "It’s been a while since I bothered to decorate for a holiday.”
“I think it looks great,” Willow said.
“Thank you,” Anya said. “I'm embracing my new culture. Even if it does include the evisceration of innocent gourds and the crass commercialization of the supernatural."
“You know, I kind of see your point, Anya; all those stereotypes of ugly witches. Still, Halloween is fun and one of the holidays I celebrate the same way as all most of my friends." Willow gave Buffy a smile as if to get her to join in the celebration.
Buffy finally spoke up. “Just thinking about the life of a pumpkin. Grow up in the sun, happily entwined with others… Then somebody comes along, cuts you open and rips your guts out.” She pulled out a handful of slime and seeds from the new opening in hers to demonstrate.
Anya looked at Buffy and then sent Giles a worried glance. He telegraphed back that women scorned were Anya’s specialty, not his.
“And on that happy note…” Xander said hastily. “Everyone up for a video tomorrow, something
to get your spines tingled and your gooses bumped?”
“We were doing the Alpha Delt thing,” Willow said. “The scary house?”
“What thing?” Xander asked.
“It sounds a little lame,” Buffy said.
Oz said, “It actually borders on fun. And it’s for a good cause. You have to go through the
whole scary house maze to get to the party and it's usually worth getting to. Those guys go all out."
"As witnessed last Friday," Willow said.
"Yeah…" Oz nodded
"Yeah? What? There's a party?" Xander said, still confused.
"Didn't we tell you?" Willow asked. Seeing Xander's lost puppy look she added. "You and Buffy can come, too. It’s open to the public, they just ask for a donation at the door to the Alpha Delts charity, United Cerebral Palsy. It’s a good cause.”
Oz said, “I’m pretty sure the Alpha Delts picked it because a corporate sponsor offered to supply some of the beer.”
“Well, that doesn’t change that fact that it’s a good cause. I had a cousin with C.P.,” Giles said.
Willow said, “You and Anya should come, too, Giles. It’ll be good for you to get out for a while.”
“Yes, after many weeks of doing nothing but watching educational TV and playing Scrabble with me poor Anya deserves a night out among young people,” Giles said.
“He’s being sarcastic, Willow,” Anya said. “We went to a friend’s party this past weekend and I taught Giles to shag on the beach.”
“That’s dancing, right?” Oz asked.
“What? You think he needs lessons in the other kind? Besides, I’ve won our last three games of Scrabble and now he won’t play it with me.”
“I’ve just become bored with Scrabble, that’s all,” Giles said.
“Buffy, are you all right?” Anya asked. “You usually make some kind of yuck face at the mention of Giles having any kind of fun at all. You’re sitting there just looking mopey and inattentive.”
“Um, why should it bother me? You guys can play Scrabble all you want. I wasn’t moping, I was just thinking. I'll be in full slayer mode tomorrow night. Can't party; got to patrol. Speaking of, I'm gonna get going and get some sleep.”
“Buffy, before you go, is there some specific danger you're sensing?” Giles asked.
"No. But then we were caught off guard when your pal Ethan turned everyone into their costumes."
“True. But what happened then was anomalous. Creatures of the night shy away from Halloween. I promise you, there's little chance of any supernatural activity.” Giles said.
“I don’t think you should allow her to patrol like this, Giles,” Anya said.
“Excuse me, I don’t remember Giles ever allowing me to do anything. Least of all on your say so.”
“There’s no reason to get angry. I’m sure Anya didn’t mean it that way,” Giles said quickly, trying to calm Buffy.
“Yes, I did, she can be mad all she wants. Buffy can be mad at me or the stupid boy who wasn’t good enough to lick her boots and stay that way. Even on Halloween it’s dangerous to slay when mopey and distracted.”
Buffy blinked. “As if you care.”
Anya glared and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t; Giles does. You have a choice; are you going to try and get yourself killed by some silly fledgling that doesn’t know that Halloween’s a day off, or are you going to spare Xander the embarrassment of being the only one without a date?”
“I guess I could go to the scary house thing. Just as a favor to Xander.”
“Careful with the flattery there, Buffy, my ego may explode,” Xander said.
“Sorry. Guys, I’m going back to the dorm, I still think tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
After Buffy left Xander said, “I think I’m beginning to like your girlfriend after all, Giles. Not much scares her, does it?”
“Well, there is something but if I told you, you’d never sleep soundly again," Anya said. Her voice was so grave it sent a shiver down Giles’ spine. Even after cleaning up Oz, Willow and Xander were still wide-eyed over Anya's pronouncement.
The next evening Anya stood in front of a grinning Giles with her hands on her pink furry hips and said, “This is suitably frightening, isn't it? I look like I've been devoured by the Energizer bunny. I also think the fur makes me look fat. What do you think?”
Even Giles knew that answering that question would get him in trouble but it couldn't be helped. Besides, the truth was flattering so he thought there would be no harm in telling it. “I think you look adorable.”
"Ha, ha, very funny, I suppose you like those Anne Geddes Calendars too? Babies in strange poses, dressed as various flora and fauna." Anya took a breath and continued, "And you do know that bunnies are just fluffy rats with really long ears? At least rats are forthright in their creepiness."
Giles said, "Well, um, you could be right… I'd never really thought, they are rodents…" He kissed her and thought to himself that she was truly adorable. “How long before we have to leave?”
“Not for a while yet, I was just seeing how it fit,” Anya said.
"Well, I wouldn't want you to have to wear this frightening thing any longer necessary," he said as he pulled down the zipper at the back of the costume.
It turned out to be a good thing that they were late meeting everyone. When they finally did get to the frat house it was scarier than Giles had anticipated.
“What was it with these people? They can't even stay out of trouble on Halloween,” Anya complained.
Giles barely noted her complaint as they watched the windows disappear from the house. "We'll need to go back home for supplies.” Then, more to himself, he murmured, “Hmm. Reality and matter distortion… Like a summoning spell's temporal flux."
Anya muttered, “You aren’t a sorcerer anymore, my phony cotton-tail.” Giles chose not to hear her. “Okay, you can admit I was right about that after we save the day.”
Saving the day turned out to be fairly simple and soon everyone was over at their apartment again filling up on leftover candy and recounting the evening's events. Giles was trying to look casual as he looked up some facts about the fear demon Gachnar. Anya would surely gloat over his Watcherly behavior.
Anya came to perch on the arm of his chair. After taking a handful of M &Ms from the candy bowl she asked, "So, what kind of spell is on that duffle, honey?"
"What do you mean? I haven't put any spells on my luggage." Giles gave Anya a look he hoped she would understand as, not in front of the children, dear. It only succeeded in making her laugh. Which was not a bad thing at all as it had an interesting affect on her breasts, making them jiggle pleasantly. He decided it would be best to get back to the finding out more about Gachnar.
“Come on, there's no other way you could have fit a chainsaw in that bag with all that other stuff," Anya stated.
Giles just grinned and kept on reading. The others in the room seemed more focused on the bowl of candy than anything he or Anya might say. The Scoobies had put the two of them in a slot that said, adult and uninteresting; this was an advantage most of the time.
"This is much better. There is no problem that cannot be solved by chocolate." Buffy said.
Willow answered, "I think I'm gonna barf."
Buffy said, "'Cept that," with a grimace.
Giles was about to ask Willow, to do any unavoidable puking in the bathroom when something in the book caught his eye. "Oh, bloody hell - The inscription!"
"What's the matter?" Buffy and Anya both asked.
"I should have translated…" Giles said, and showed all of them the book, with the Gaelic inscription under the illustration of Gachnar.
"What's it say?" Buffy asked, looking closely at small picture of the fear demon.
“Actual size.”
RATING: FRT
PAIRING: Giles/Anya
SUMMARY: Fear Itself Some of these chapters differ very little from the episodes. This is one of them. if I were doing this from scratch it's not the way I would do it today. I'd love to know if you're reading and what you think.
A/N: Thanks to janedavitt for the beta.
“It looks a lot like the skin of a Melkar demon,” Anya said after examining a chunk of skin that Willow had ruthlessly carved away.
Giles looked over the orange matter on the newspaper-covered table with scientific interest. “I thought Melkars were a bit paler.”
“It depends on the season. They tan,” Anya stated.
Willow gestured with her knife at the pumpkins she and Xander were carving. Oz was still sketching a face on his and Buffy seemed to be waiting for hers to rot. “Thank you again for letting us do this at your place this year, Giles,” Willow said, “The smell kind of gets to me at Xander’s.”
“It's the bleach smell. Smell of bleach; whites day, people!” Xander said defensively when everyone but Willow gave him a disgusted look.
“Yes, well, it's our pleasure to have you all. Anya and I are looking forward to the holiday this year.”
Oz tapped the little ghost on the tabletop to make it say 'boo'. “Never would have guessed.”
“We might’ve gone overboard a little," Giles admitted. "It’s been a while since I bothered to decorate for a holiday.”
“I think it looks great,” Willow said.
“Thank you,” Anya said. “I'm embracing my new culture. Even if it does include the evisceration of innocent gourds and the crass commercialization of the supernatural."
“You know, I kind of see your point, Anya; all those stereotypes of ugly witches. Still, Halloween is fun and one of the holidays I celebrate the same way as all most of my friends." Willow gave Buffy a smile as if to get her to join in the celebration.
Buffy finally spoke up. “Just thinking about the life of a pumpkin. Grow up in the sun, happily entwined with others… Then somebody comes along, cuts you open and rips your guts out.” She pulled out a handful of slime and seeds from the new opening in hers to demonstrate.
Anya looked at Buffy and then sent Giles a worried glance. He telegraphed back that women scorned were Anya’s specialty, not his.
“And on that happy note…” Xander said hastily. “Everyone up for a video tomorrow, something
to get your spines tingled and your gooses bumped?”
“We were doing the Alpha Delt thing,” Willow said. “The scary house?”
“What thing?” Xander asked.
“It sounds a little lame,” Buffy said.
Oz said, “It actually borders on fun. And it’s for a good cause. You have to go through the
whole scary house maze to get to the party and it's usually worth getting to. Those guys go all out."
"As witnessed last Friday," Willow said.
"Yeah…" Oz nodded
"Yeah? What? There's a party?" Xander said, still confused.
"Didn't we tell you?" Willow asked. Seeing Xander's lost puppy look she added. "You and Buffy can come, too. It’s open to the public, they just ask for a donation at the door to the Alpha Delts charity, United Cerebral Palsy. It’s a good cause.”
Oz said, “I’m pretty sure the Alpha Delts picked it because a corporate sponsor offered to supply some of the beer.”
“Well, that doesn’t change that fact that it’s a good cause. I had a cousin with C.P.,” Giles said.
Willow said, “You and Anya should come, too, Giles. It’ll be good for you to get out for a while.”
“Yes, after many weeks of doing nothing but watching educational TV and playing Scrabble with me poor Anya deserves a night out among young people,” Giles said.
“He’s being sarcastic, Willow,” Anya said. “We went to a friend’s party this past weekend and I taught Giles to shag on the beach.”
“That’s dancing, right?” Oz asked.
“What? You think he needs lessons in the other kind? Besides, I’ve won our last three games of Scrabble and now he won’t play it with me.”
“I’ve just become bored with Scrabble, that’s all,” Giles said.
“Buffy, are you all right?” Anya asked. “You usually make some kind of yuck face at the mention of Giles having any kind of fun at all. You’re sitting there just looking mopey and inattentive.”
“Um, why should it bother me? You guys can play Scrabble all you want. I wasn’t moping, I was just thinking. I'll be in full slayer mode tomorrow night. Can't party; got to patrol. Speaking of, I'm gonna get going and get some sleep.”
“Buffy, before you go, is there some specific danger you're sensing?” Giles asked.
"No. But then we were caught off guard when your pal Ethan turned everyone into their costumes."
“True. But what happened then was anomalous. Creatures of the night shy away from Halloween. I promise you, there's little chance of any supernatural activity.” Giles said.
“I don’t think you should allow her to patrol like this, Giles,” Anya said.
“Excuse me, I don’t remember Giles ever allowing me to do anything. Least of all on your say so.”
“There’s no reason to get angry. I’m sure Anya didn’t mean it that way,” Giles said quickly, trying to calm Buffy.
“Yes, I did, she can be mad all she wants. Buffy can be mad at me or the stupid boy who wasn’t good enough to lick her boots and stay that way. Even on Halloween it’s dangerous to slay when mopey and distracted.”
Buffy blinked. “As if you care.”
Anya glared and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t; Giles does. You have a choice; are you going to try and get yourself killed by some silly fledgling that doesn’t know that Halloween’s a day off, or are you going to spare Xander the embarrassment of being the only one without a date?”
“I guess I could go to the scary house thing. Just as a favor to Xander.”
“Careful with the flattery there, Buffy, my ego may explode,” Xander said.
“Sorry. Guys, I’m going back to the dorm, I still think tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
After Buffy left Xander said, “I think I’m beginning to like your girlfriend after all, Giles. Not much scares her, does it?”
“Well, there is something but if I told you, you’d never sleep soundly again," Anya said. Her voice was so grave it sent a shiver down Giles’ spine. Even after cleaning up Oz, Willow and Xander were still wide-eyed over Anya's pronouncement.
The next evening Anya stood in front of a grinning Giles with her hands on her pink furry hips and said, “This is suitably frightening, isn't it? I look like I've been devoured by the Energizer bunny. I also think the fur makes me look fat. What do you think?”
Even Giles knew that answering that question would get him in trouble but it couldn't be helped. Besides, the truth was flattering so he thought there would be no harm in telling it. “I think you look adorable.”
"Ha, ha, very funny, I suppose you like those Anne Geddes Calendars too? Babies in strange poses, dressed as various flora and fauna." Anya took a breath and continued, "And you do know that bunnies are just fluffy rats with really long ears? At least rats are forthright in their creepiness."
Giles said, "Well, um, you could be right… I'd never really thought, they are rodents…" He kissed her and thought to himself that she was truly adorable. “How long before we have to leave?”
“Not for a while yet, I was just seeing how it fit,” Anya said.
"Well, I wouldn't want you to have to wear this frightening thing any longer necessary," he said as he pulled down the zipper at the back of the costume.
It turned out to be a good thing that they were late meeting everyone. When they finally did get to the frat house it was scarier than Giles had anticipated.
“What was it with these people? They can't even stay out of trouble on Halloween,” Anya complained.
Giles barely noted her complaint as they watched the windows disappear from the house. "We'll need to go back home for supplies.” Then, more to himself, he murmured, “Hmm. Reality and matter distortion… Like a summoning spell's temporal flux."
Anya muttered, “You aren’t a sorcerer anymore, my phony cotton-tail.” Giles chose not to hear her. “Okay, you can admit I was right about that after we save the day.”
Saving the day turned out to be fairly simple and soon everyone was over at their apartment again filling up on leftover candy and recounting the evening's events. Giles was trying to look casual as he looked up some facts about the fear demon Gachnar. Anya would surely gloat over his Watcherly behavior.
Anya came to perch on the arm of his chair. After taking a handful of M &Ms from the candy bowl she asked, "So, what kind of spell is on that duffle, honey?"
"What do you mean? I haven't put any spells on my luggage." Giles gave Anya a look he hoped she would understand as, not in front of the children, dear. It only succeeded in making her laugh. Which was not a bad thing at all as it had an interesting affect on her breasts, making them jiggle pleasantly. He decided it would be best to get back to the finding out more about Gachnar.
“Come on, there's no other way you could have fit a chainsaw in that bag with all that other stuff," Anya stated.
Giles just grinned and kept on reading. The others in the room seemed more focused on the bowl of candy than anything he or Anya might say. The Scoobies had put the two of them in a slot that said, adult and uninteresting; this was an advantage most of the time.
"This is much better. There is no problem that cannot be solved by chocolate." Buffy said.
Willow answered, "I think I'm gonna barf."
Buffy said, "'Cept that," with a grimace.
Giles was about to ask Willow, to do any unavoidable puking in the bathroom when something in the book caught his eye. "Oh, bloody hell - The inscription!"
"What's the matter?" Buffy and Anya both asked.
"I should have translated…" Giles said, and showed all of them the book, with the Gaelic inscription under the illustration of Gachnar.
"What's it say?" Buffy asked, looking closely at small picture of the fear demon.
“Actual size.”
