SquidgeWorld Archive

Festive Yet Practical
by Gileswench
gileswench@yahoo.com

This was the life. Giles stretched out his legs a bit further and looked at his toes, toasting nicely in front of the fire. His feet were warm and dry, his belly was full, and there was a warm glow in his breast that spoke of contentment and joy.

This wasn't at all how he'd expected to feel just one week ago. He cast his mind back to that fatal day, but could no longer summon up the frown it had caused at the time.

They'd been in the Magic Box, just talking the way old friends do when Buffy brought up birthdays. When she asked him when his was, he avoided the question as deftly as he could manage. He ought to have known Buffy wouldn't be so easily put off.

"C'mon, Giles, everyone has a birthday," Buffy said as she folded her arms under her bosom. "If I don't get out of mine, you don't get out of yours."

"It's not that I haven't one," Giles replied patiently as he shelved some new stock. "It's simply that I haven't celebrated it for some years."

"Why not? I know why I'd like to stop thinking about mine, but most people don't have a birthday curse like I do.and if you do have one, then I want a suffering buddy." She slumped down at the tarot table and fiddled with a crystal sitting near the edge. "It would be nice to have something to celebrate - really celebrate - about now. So why don't you do birthdays?"

"If you must know, it's because of socks."

Buffy sat up straighter and frowned at his back.

"Huh? Socks? I don't get it."

Giles put the last book on the shelf, then came over to the table and sat down. He tossed his glasses carelessly aside and sighed.

"I don't suppose I've told you very much about my early life, have I?" he said.

"Nope," Buffy said. "Every time I bring it up, you go into total avoidance mode."

"That's because I don't much care to think about it." He picked up his glasses and fiddled with them, avoiding Buffy's eye. "It wasn't much fun to live."

"How bad was it? Your parents didn't.I mean, they didn't.hurt you, did they?"

"No, no, of course not. It wasn't anything they did. It was more the fact that there were so many of us and not a great deal to go around."

"So many of you?" Buffy cocked her head. "Funny. I always thought you were an only. You just seem so self-contained."

"No, there were six of us. I was the eldest. I had three brothers and two sisters. Then my aunt and uncle died in an accident and my three cousins came to live with us. Nine children to feed and clothe and educate, and my father never rose very high in the Watcher's Council. My parents did their best, but there was simply no way to see to all our needs properly."

"Ouch."

"Birthdays and Christmas were the worst. The other boys at school would talk about their new toys and books and games. I never said anything. What child wants to admit his birthday treat is socks?"

Buffy grimaced.

"Socks? They gave you socks for your birthday?"

"And underclothes for Christmas. It's impossible to enjoy such utilitarian gifts, especially when contrasted with sailboats and model airplanes." Giles put his glasses back on and stood. "At any rate, it was all a long time ago. There's no point in thinking of it now."

He went back to organizing the new stock with an air of finality. Buffy knew full well the conversation was over, but she was determined not to allow the subject to drop for good. She stood and gathered up her purse.

"I gotta go," she called to Giles. "I'll come back tonight and we can do some training. My hand to hand's getting sloppy."

As soon as she got home, Buffy called Willow.

"Hey, Will, want to play Net Girl? I have a mission for you."

*****

Over the course of the next week, Giles found himself confused with the behavior of everyone around him. Xander started asking him odd questions about his favorite color, dessert, cartoon characters, and films. Anya asked him the size of every piece of clothing he wore. Willow babbled in the way she did when she wanted desperately to avoid being talked to about some particular subject. As for Buffy, she was nowhere to be seen. Dawn would make cryptic comments about how busy her sister was, but refused to actually explain what was going on. Even Tara had asked some strangely personal questions of late. That, as much as anything, made Giles nervous.

Still, they were all determined not to give themselves away. Even when he set small conversational traps, the Scoobies managed to avoid falling for them. Impressed as he was by their ability at long last to manage some form of stealth, Giles was also worried as hell about what it all might be leading to.

The answer came on Giles' birthday. He rose at his usual hour, attended to his toilet in the usual way, and ate his usual breakfast of oatmeal, tea, and half a grapefruit. Then he washed the breakfast dishes, knotted his tie, and headed to work. All in all, it was just another day.

When he arrived at work, Anya greeted him with her usual eagerness to open the doors and start taking money from people. Giles headed for the office and did some paperwork.

That was when things changed. He'd barely sat himself down when there was a knock on the door. He looked up, startled and curious.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Just little me," said Buffy as she entered the room. "So, what do you have planned for your big day?"

"Big day?" Giles blinked and frowned. "What big day?"

"It's February twentieth, and that's your birthday, unless you lied shamelessly to Uncle Sam when you filled out your application for permanent alien residence status."

"Unless I.Buffy! What have you done?"

"In my defense, it was Willow who looked it up.after I sort of asked her to do it. But you wouldn't tell me and I wanted to do something for your birthday, so we had to be sneaky. And is your middle name really Lancelot? Because if it is, I so need to have a word with your parents about naming defenseless babies." She dropped a brightly wrapped package on his desk. "Here. This is for you. Happy birthday, Giles."

He wanted to frown. He wanted to glare. Buffy and Willow had grossly invaded his privacy, and God only knew what they might do with the information they'd discovered. Somehow, though, he couldn't help the confused smile that broke out on his face.

"You did all that.just to celebrate my birthday? Why, Buffy?"

"Duh! Because we like you, you big dummy," she said with a grin. "Besides, after your terrifying tale of childhood gift deprivation, I felt it was important to teach you how fun birthdays can be, even if you do get socks and underwear." She gestured to the package. "Well? Aren't you going to open it?"

"Will it explode?"

"Try it and see."

With a small giggle he couldn't entirely repress, Giles attacked the wrapping paper. Then he stared in befuddlement at the contents.

"Buffy, I hesitate to ask, but what, precisely, are these?"

He held them up and inspected them, grimacing slightly.

"Those are socks, Giles."

"They're.so very.brightly colored. And very oddly shaped."

"These are what we call toe socks, Giles. They keep each little piggy nice and toasty warm," she explained with a smile. "Also, they're fun. See? Practical doesn't always have to be grey and boring. See all the cute little magical symbols? I thought they were perfect for a guy who's a little on the magical side himself."

"M-magical?"

"Well, you run a magic shop and you deal in doing in supernatural beasties, and you do some magic every once in a while to help keep me safe, so yeah, magical." She held out her hand to him. "Come on, Giles. There's a party in the back room just waiting for a guest of honor."

With only the slightest hesitation, he took her hand and allowed her to help him to his feet. Giles was surprised when she snaked her arms around his waist, but needed no urging to complete the hug.

"Thank you," he said softly.

She looked up at him with a warmth in her eyes he'd never noticed before.

"It's just a silly pair of socks."

"No, it isn't. Well, they are silly - dreadfully silly, in fact - but they're also.thank you. For thinking of this."

He watched her eyes flicker from his eyes to his lips and back to his eyes again. His hand caressed her cheek softly. Her eyes drifted shut and there was no way he could resist. He pressed his lips to her forehead, then the tip of her nose, which made her giggle. At last, he touched his lips to hers for the first time.

When he pulled slightly back, she opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

"I'm probably as silly as the socks," she said.

"Very likely," he said, "but then I've always rather enjoyed silly things. And like the silly socks, you do have practical applications, as well."

"Come on. The guys are waiting."

She took his hand again and led him to the back room where the rest of the gang lay in wait for their arrival.

"Hail to the birthday boy!" Xander crowed. "I wasn't sure how many candles to put because I didn't want to burn the place down.and because no matter how I threatened, Will wouldn't tell me how old you are."

"Buffy threatened me, too," Willow said, "and I'm scareder of her. She has more weapons and she knows how to use them all properly."

Giles stared in amazement at the clearly homemade cake and the stack of presents waiting for him.

"You.you did all this for me?"

"Buffy made the cake," Tara said shyly. "It was really all her idea. But we thought it was a nice idea."

"And Tara made the punch," Willow added. "And Xander and Dawn did all the decorations."

"The balloons and streamers are quite nice," Giles said. "And I'm sure the punch will be delicious."

Xander lit the candles, paying more attention to them than the situation really required. Dawn beamed openly, while Tara blushed and looked at the floor.

"I let them in to put up the decorations and bring in all the food and presents," Anya blurted out. "And I didn't say anything I wouldn't say on any ordinary day, so you wouldn't know this was waiting back here."

"You did very well, Anya," Giles said. "I'd no idea of any of this until Buffy came along."

"Blow out the candles, Giles," Buffy said. "And be sure to make a wish first. Oh, but don't tell us what it is or it won't come true."

Giles looked around the room at his friends. His heart swelled and there seemed to be some sort of mild obstruction in his throat. At last he focused on Buffy.

"I'm afraid I can't think of anything to wish for," he said.

"Oh, I bet you can think of something if you try hard. Who knows? It might even come true someday."

"Wishing on candles is silly," Anya said. "Candles aren't nearly as reliable as sources of wishes come true as vengeance demons are. Candles are just wax. D'Hoffryn considers them substandard wish-granting devices."

"It's just a tradition, Anya," Xander told her. "Don't worry about it."

Giles drew in a deep breath and blew out the candles. Wishes or no didn't matter.

"Bet I know what you wished for," Buffy said with a smile.

"Do you really?"

"Uh huh. You wished this cake would be chocolate, didn't you?"

"It's like you read my mind."

"Well, you're in luck because it is chocolate."

"It's good, too," Dawn said. "Buffy let me lick the beaters."

Giles smiled and reached for the knife. He could feel Buffy's hand on his back, warm and firm and gentle. As much as he was enjoying the extra attention and the promise of cake and presents, that was the best thing of all. Perhaps before the night was out, his real wish would come true and he'd be able to kiss her again.

As he cut the cake, Buffy passed the plates around to their friends. He delighted in the comfort of this brief, domestic moment of peace. His young friends ate heartily and shared jokes while he and Buffy took care of them all. His mind flashed back to Buffy's disastrous Thanksgiving so long ago. Even then, they had been the ones who stood together as the caretakers of the group. Even then as he grumbled he remembered how oddly right it felt to stand side-by-side with Buffy in the kitchen as they made a ritual dinner for their heart-adopted family.

This day was so much better, though. No arguing about whether or not to celebrate at all, no squabbling among their compatriots, no spirit warriors. This, he realized, was what they fought so hard to protect: these small, quiet moments of joy that most people took for granted and found rather dull.

This was the best possible miracle.

"Hey Giles," Willow said for what sounded like the third or fourth time, "aren't you going to open your presents?"

"Oh! Yes, sorry. Of course."

"It's not easy to distract Giles when he gets into the chocolate," Buffy said with fond indulgence. She handed him a package. "This is from Dawn, and I warn you I have no clue what she chose, so open it carefully."

"It's not gonna explode, Buffy," Dawn said. "I like Giles, even if he did keep it a secret what I am for so long."

"He only did that because I told him to."

Giles cleared his throat and ripped off the ribbon.

"Yes, well, let's see what this is, shall we?" he said.

"Dawn!" Buffy shouted. "I told you socks. Get him socks, I said. Those are not socks."

"You told everyone else socks or underwear. I didn't want to be stuck giving him the baby present just because you're afraid of me seeing men's underwear."

"Um.yes," Giles said uncomfortably. "They're very.sheer, aren't they? Th-thank you, Dawn."

He whisked the bright red mesh briefs away and grabbed for the next package.

"That's from me!" Anya crowed.

"Ah." Giles wasn't the least bit sure this would be any better, but he manfully ripped into the paper. "Good lord! Anya, where did you find these?"

Her face fell.

"Don't you like them? Did I do something bad?"

"No, no," he said quickly. "I like them very much. And the matching socks."

"Who's that?" Xander asked peering at the boxers.

"Paddington Bear," Giles said. "I used to read the books to my sister, before she learned to read for herself. Mum even made us marmalade sandwiches for tea sometimes."

"I always thought that sounded good," Dawn said. "Until I tried marmalade."

"We had those books, too," Buffy said. "And I think marmalade is tasty."

"That's because you're a big freak."

"Dawn your sister is not a big freak," Giles said mildly. "In point of fact, she's rather petite."

The smile he bestowed on his Slayer let her know he was only teasing. She smiled back and handed him the next package.

"This one's from Tara and Willow," she said.

Inside, Giles found a pair of dark blue boxers with moons and stars printed on them and a pair of hand knitted dark blue socks with a narrow purple stripe.

"These are quite.which one of you knits?"

"Tara does," Willow said proudly. "She made the socks and I found the boxers."

"Well, they're rather splendid," Giles said. "Thank you both."

Xander handed a lumpy package to Giles.

"This is from me. I didn't make them, but I bought them with money I made using my hands in creative ways."

"Not everyone needs to knit, Xander," Giles said.

He grinned when he saw the Tasmanian Devil boxers inside. Xander took him aside to talk quietly.

"I was going to get Bugs Bunny, but my girl and her bunny fear, y'know. Sorry."

"It's perfectly fine, Xander. I like the Tasmanian Devil, too," Giles laughed. "Bugs Bunny wouldn't have been worth the trouble."

He turned to face the group as a whole, still smiling giddily.

"Well, thank you all for these.imaginative gifts."

"There's still one more," Buffy said. "After all, as much as we wanted to prove that socks and underwear can be okay presents, we all get it that they're not the greatest. So we all went in on one, super special thing for you."

With that, Willow and Xander reached under the table and brought out a much larger box than any of the others. Giles approached it a bit warily.

"When you say 'super special,'" he said, you wouldn't mean this is the package that bites, would you?"

"Open it and see," Buffy challenged.

His eyes grew wide and his lips parted in surprise when he saw what was inside the box.

"Dear lord," he breathed.

"Is it okay?" Buffy asked anxiously. "Do you like it?"

"Like it.it's wonderful. I can't wait to try it out."

"Why wait? When you weren't looking, Anya closed the store for the day," Buffy said. "We can go to the park and fly this baby until it gets dark, if you want."

"I do believe I want that," Giles said.

"Good thing I packed a picnic lunch, then."

"I can't stay," Willow said. "Sorry. Big essay due on Monday that I haven't started. But happy birthday, Giles. I'm glad we finally know when it is."

"Happy birthday, Giles," Tara added. "I hope you had a nice one."

"Yeah, I have to get back to the worksite," Xander said. "The boss let me take a couple hours, but I have to make it up on the weekend. If I stay any longer, I might have to make it up during the week, too. Have lots more of these, okay, Big Guy?"

"I could open the store again," Anya said. "Then I wouldn't have to lose any money."

Giles stifled a small laugh.

"If you'd like, Anya, of course," he said.

"And I promised Janice I'd come over and help her with her algebra," Dawn said. "She said I could stay for dinner."

"Okay," Buffy said. "Just make sure you don't spend all your time watching boy band videos. If you're going to goof off, find something tasteful, okay?"

Buffy and Giles watched all the others drift off. When the last one was out the door, Buffy turned to Giles and slid easily into his arms.

"Alone at last," she purred. "Still want to play with your airplane?"

"Of course I do. I've been waiting since I was a boy."

"Oh. So I can't tempt you.."

"Buffy, you could tempt me to almost anything," he said. "But you said you had a picnic ready, and I know a radio-controlled airplane was your idea."

"The others don't know about the whole fighter pilot fantasy. None of them were in any way sure you'd want this. Willow kept suggesting books and Xander was saying stuff about trying to get you into a Hawaiian shirt."

"And Dawn?"

"Wanted to get you a set of creepy monster movies."

Giles laughed.

"Come on," he said. "I want to fly my plane."

"And eat marmalade sandwiches?"

"You didn't make marmalade, did you?"

"A few. And some turkey, in case you thought those were too sweet and girly."

"I'll bloody well fight you for the marmalade."

She was giggling when he kissed her. It was a funny feeling, but one he decided he liked.

*****

The day was cold and windy, and then it started to rain. After a few abortive attempts at flying the plane, they went back to Giles' apartment. Once there, he built a fire while Buffy organized the picnic food on the coffee table. While she did that, Giles took off his sodden shoes and socks and cursed the puddle he'd stepped in. By the time Buffy announced that lunch was served, Giles had dried his feet and put on the brightly colored toe socks. He stretched his legs and wriggled his individually wrapped toes closer to the fire.

Buffy curled closer and allowed Giles to pop a marmalade sandwich into her mouth. When he leaned over to kiss her, she giggled again and pulled him still closer.

"So you like the socks?" she asked, her eyes dancing merrily.

"They're festive, yet practical. I love them. Second best birthday present I've ever been given."

"What's the best one of all?"

Buffy squealed as Giles wrestled her to the floor and kissed her soundly.

THE END