Title: Just Like A Fairy Tale
Author: soft_princess
Website: Fly With Me
Date: October 2007
Word count: 500

Fandom: BtVS/AtS
Pairing: Giles/Xander
Rating: FRC
Disclaimer: Joss owns, I don't.
Spoilers/setting: post-Chosen.
Summary: Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, good triumphed over evil. And they lived happily ever after. The end.

Note: written for the Giles/Xander Fest's Dabble-a-Day prompts @ gilesxander. This fic was built using the five "Fairy Tales" prompts; see summary.



"Once upon a time..."

He doesn't want this to happen. It's so not his style; it's way farther than left field. It's left field in Tanzania, wherever that is (he's pretty good at guessing, and in his head, it's very very far away). Xander can't think of a situation in which this would be a good thing.

Ignoring it doesn't work. Wishing it would go away isn't working any better. Talking about it to his friends is out of the question.

He can't, in no way, get rid of his completely ridiculous crush on the librarian. He's a man, he's old even, but... damn.

"In a kingdom far away"

"Tanzania?!"

That's what Xander said the moment Giles mentioned his first assignment. Then came the reassurance that wasn't really one: "I'll be going with you, of course." And then, to top it off: "There's a situation I should be monitoring while we're there."

Not that Xander isn't grateful for the company, but he could have done without the demon clan they had to keep an eye on "just in case."

And that crush hasn't gone away in the last eight years either. It makes working together a bit of a pain in the ass; and that's kind of an understatement.

"Good triumphed over evil"

In Xander's infinite wisdom, he celebrates the dismissal of the Grunt demon clan by grabbing Giles into a hug. Not a manly slap on the shoulder, or a good old handshake, no, a face-buried-in-Giles' shoulder kind of hug. Sure, they made demon pâté out of the clan, the "just in case" having turned into a full case of "baby killers in training," but that doesn't explain what Xander is doing right this minute.

Which happens to be not pulling away fast enough, not pulling away at all, even. Xander's settling there pretty comfortably, in fact.

Giles doesn't seem to mind.

"And they lived happily ever after."

There aren't any slayers in Tanzania. Giles mentions South Africa as Xander's second assignment, but Xander isn't listening. Instead, he's focusing on Giles' lips as they move. It's pathetic, it's worse than pathetic: it's just ridiculous. But he can't stop.

"...rather discuss something else?"

"Huh?"

Giles smiles. He's not repeating what he just said though, and Xander isn't having any luck remembering a word of it either.

"Perhaps I should demonstrate?" Giles leans over and kisses Xander's lips.

Oh. Well, that's definitely something Xander can get behind, especially if it leads to more of the same. So he kisses back.

"The end."

They don't mention Xander's next assignment again, not even when they're back in England, having spent the last two days in Tanzania without once leaving their hotel room.

It looks like they might be getting their happy ending after all. Xander finds a job not with the Council, because working for your long-term crush is one thing, but working for your lover/partner is completely different and a world of no. They make time for each other, and they don't think about the amount of time they spend in the bedroom.

Xander hates himself for thinking "it's like a fairy tale."