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estepheiaI'm sorry about the enormously long wait. My muse buggered off to distant shores, and only recently returned. I never gave up on this fic, though. I know where I'm going, it's just that sometimes I'm not happy with the tone, or only one of the character voices sounds okay. *sigh*
I also have to say, that I'm not normally a fan of long-winded stories. I often feel this ought to be speedier, but Giles and Ethan refuse to be rushed. They say they are too old to be rushed. :-)
TITLE: Broken English Part 9
PAIRING: Giles/Ethan
RATING: will eventually be R
SPOILERS: Set after 8x04 The Long Way Home (comics); set in Germany, btw
PROMPT: a vacation or roadtrip, magic, slash
WRITTEN FOR:
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spikendruPREVIOUS PARTS: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
“Well?”
“It seems my cell phone is currently being, uh, cremated in the car. You wouldn’t happen to...?”
“Sorry, mate.” Ethan lies.
Giles mutters something under his breath, too softly for Ethan to hear, but easy to read off his lips: “Bugger!”
*
Actually, ‘Bugger’ is putting it mildly. Giles just watched a small fortune go up in smoke, his shirt is soaking wet, his glasses are gone, his ankle is throbbing, and he’s freezing his arse off. If holds his breath to listen, all he can make out over the rapid hammering of his heart, is Ethan’s uneven breathing and the rustle of leaves whenever one of them shifts a little. Beyond that? Not a bloody sound. Not even the soothing hum of cars travelling in the distance. Great. No autobahn, no phone. While he’s sitting here, God knows where, incommunicado, counting his woes, Abramelin’s grimoire will go to another buyer.
But the crowning glory of today’s complete and utter disaster? The one thing Giles promised himself he’d never do again: Working magic with Ethan.
The last time another practitioner of magic poured massive amounts of power into him, Giles was preparing to stop
Giles clenches his fists.
“Come now, Rupert. Don’t look so glum. Look on the bright side. At least you’ve got company.”
Giles’s niggling suspicion that Ethan has him right where he wants him sharpens into certainty. “You’re not company.”
Ethan slaps a hand over his heart, as though hit by a bullet. “Ouch, you kill me!”
“Stop it. I have no patience for your games!”
“Ease up, Rupert, it’s not like you’re in any real danger. What do you think will happen when your valiant Slayer finds out her watcher is AWOL?”
Giles keeps his voice even. “Buffy will come for me.” And walk right into a trap?
“Exactly. We both know she’ll launch a full-scale rescue mission. Helicopters, flamethrowers, witches. The whole goddamn cavalry. Trust me; you’ll be rid of me before you know it.”
A shiver races down Giles’s spine. A chill that has nothing to do with the cold and everything with the trace of bitter finality that is skulking underneath Ethan’s easy smirk. A hint of despair that Giles never sensed from Ethan before. Giles squints, wishing he hadn’t lost his spectacles in the crash. The dark is playing tricks with his eyesight, making Ethan’s expression even harder to read than usual.
What does Ethan want with him?
Abruptly, Ethan scrambles to his feet. “As much as I hate to break up this cosy little palaver, it’s too cold to just sit around on our arses. We better get a move on before our pricks turn into friggin’ popsicles.”
Move? Not bloody likely. Giles doesn’t even try. Just shakes his head.
Stomping his feet, Ethan rubs his hands and breathes on them. “What? Got a hurtie? Want me to kiss it better?”
“Shut up!”
“Come now, Rupert, you white hats are supposed to scoff at scrapes and bruises.”
“I broke my foot. In the crash.”
“Oh?” The stomping stops. “My my, you really are buggered, mate.” And then: “Well, don’t look at me for first aid. I’m a chaos worshipper, not a doctor. One of the bad guys, remember?”
As if Giles could ever forget. Yet, he also remembers Ethan’s profound knowledge of herbs and drugs and his intuitive understanding of the human body. Not to mention the deftness of his hands. Squandered gifts, always used for self-gratification or gain. A bloody waste of talent.
“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t turned up,” Giles lashes out.
“Ah yes, driving too fast and crashing the car was all my doing. And whoever set your car on fire had fuckall to do with you or your precious Council. Right. And I’m the archbishop of
“You turn up, out of nowhere. Alive, when I know you to be dead! What am I supposed to think?”
“How about: ‘Welcome back’?”
Giles stifles a sigh. Tries to sound firm. In control. Just because Ethan has nothing to do with the people who torched the car, doesn’t mean that he isn’t up to one of his old tricks. “Look, Ethan—“
“No! You look, Rupert!” One brisk stride brings Ethan into striking range. Giles braces himself for a vicious kick, because, like him, Ethan is not above kicking someone who is already down. But the blow never comes. Instead, Ethan crouches beside him, close enough for the warmth of his breath to mingle with Giles’s. “I never made you do anything you didn’t want. When are you going to stop blaming me for each and every screw-up in your life?”
“For God’s sake, Ethan, this isn’t about Randall and the others!”
“You’re right. It’s not. Only, it always is, isn’t it? It’s always about Randall. And Deirdre. And the others. You think I don’t know my part in their deaths? We were young. We played with fire. We got burnt. Deal with it!” With that, Ethan stands up again.
Maybe it’s just as well that Giles can’t stand up as well, because white-hot rage washes over him, momentarily dispelling the mind-numbing cold. “You!” he spits, hands balled into fists. “You’re not the one who got burnt.”
“No? Well think again, mate.” Ethan’s voice sounds jagged. “Where do you think I’ve been, since that bullet smashed into my brain and dropped me dead?”
Giles flinches. Around them, skeletal trees glower in silent reproach. Snowflakes continue to trundle down. With all this yelling they must have woken every goddamn living thing in the whole bloody forest, but all Giles can hear is the hammering of his heart and Ethan’s agitated breathing.
Is it possible that Ethan is saying the truth? The image of Ethan writhing and screaming as hellish flames gnaw at his flesh tastes like bile in Giles’s mouth.
Of course he’s glad that Ethan is no longer dead. However, he also knows that hell is not exactly a place renowned for letting go of its prey. What kind of deal did Ethan make? Was he forced to claw his way out of his own grave, like Buffy, reanimated by dark necromancy? Who’d be interested in bringing him back into play? Janus? The First? A dark coven?
“Why are you here, Ethan?”
“To see you.”
Even though the words ring true, this is not the answer Giles is looking for. “That’s not what I asked.”
“I know.”
TBC
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no subject
Date: 2008-12-07 06:37 pm (UTC)OMG! That was so wonderful! I'm dying to know what Ethan is up to.
Also, thanks so much for posting links to all the previous chapters, because I definitely need to re-read from the start to appreciate this properly.
:rushes off to pimp:
no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 07:30 am (UTC)Yes, Ethan is kind of beating around the bush, instead of just telling Giles what he wants. But you'll soon find out.
I looove your icon, btw.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-07 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 07:34 am (UTC)I am always happy to receive feedback. It's gratifying to know, that even after such a long wait there are still readers out there who will pounce on the new installment.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-08 11:35 pm (UTC)Of course he’s glad that Ethan is no longer dead. However, he also knows that hell is not exactly a place renowned for letting go of its prey. What kind of deal did Ethan make? Was he forced to claw his way out of his own grave, like Buffy, reanimated by dark necromancy? Who’d be interested in bringing him back into play? Janus? The First? A dark coven?
“Why are you here, Ethan?”
“To see you.”
Even though the words ring true, this is not the answer Giles is looking for. “That’s not what I asked.”
“I know.”
Yes, yes, don't we all want to know what Ethan is up to.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 06:29 am (UTC)The odd thing is: I thought I left enought clues throughout the story to make it quite clear what Ethan wants (although he finds it extremely difficult to actually say it).
:-)
no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 09:49 am (UTC):Jumps up and down:
I know what he wants!
no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 08:42 pm (UTC)Care to tell me????
no subject
Date: 2008-12-10 01:42 pm (UTC)I think he wants Giles back, and who can blame him?
no subject
Date: 2008-12-10 06:02 pm (UTC)Don't worry, Ethan has a very definitive deadline, he has to spill the beans soon, or else...
*grins evilly*
no subject
Date: 2008-12-09 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-10 07:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-10 05:38 pm (UTC)I'm all caught up, aren't I?
NO FAIR!
*pouts*
Well, write more!
*waits*
Wasn't that long enough? Come on!
*tap tap tap*
Okay, so it's brilliant, I love the characterizations, and I can't wait for the two men to have it out with each other and gosh I hope there's
sweaty mansexan emotional connection.Now write! I'm waiting!!
no subject
Date: 2008-12-10 06:00 pm (UTC)I promise you will get a new chapter Friday or Saturday. It is already written but I need to make sure that I am a good way into the next part before I post. :-)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-01 02:59 pm (UTC)Lovely! The one thing Giles promised himself he’d never do again: Working magic with Ethan.
Ah, Giles. You know you wanna do it! You can fool yourself, and you can fool the Scoobies, but you can't fool Ethan! He knows you better than you know yourself. Dear Lord, just thinking about it causes a tingle to travel down his spine, makes his hands twitch with the urge to touch and— Yep. There's our Ripper . . .
Stomping his feet, Ethan rubs his hands and breathes on them. “What? Got a hurtie? Want me to kiss it better?”
Oh, yes, please.
“I never made you do anything you didn’t want. When are you going to stop blaming me for each and every screw-up in your life?”
Oh, yes! That's exactly what Giles needs to accept - his own choices. Mayber some weren't so good, but they were his responsibility, and Ethan could never have made him do anything he didn't want to do, even if it's more comfortable to deny it now. Wonderful character analysis.
And I am extremely chuffed that I don't have to wait for the next installment!
*snuggles*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 08:22 am (UTC)Oops, I meant to comment on your feedback back when I read it, but then I got sidetracked, and besides, I was working on the next few installments, so I never got round to it. Sorry.
I'm pleased you are still reading (and enjoying) the story. I feel so guilty about the slow progress I'm making, but I promise you, this story will not be abandoned, even if it looks that way. I have the rest outlined, and whenever the muse is willing, I go back to the outline and flesh out what I can, or scribble into my notebook. :-)