The Glitter Jungle:
Fiction:
Extra Helping of Treacle
A tale from his childhood. Giles/Ethan
They snuck into the Activity Room late at night, after lights-out. The halls were dark and empty, and they were very serious about the sneaking - looking around corners, listening hard to warn them of any adult nearing. Closing the Activity Room door behind them as they entered and went about the job at hand.
They covered the dart board with a special mixture Ethan had made; some weird blend of soap and wax that made it impossible for any dart to hit its target. Tomorrow, when the seniors would come in here for their big game, they would face a significant obstacle. Laughing, the two rascals snuck back out and celebrated their victory with leftover treacle sponge pudding.
How they got caught, Giles was never sure; Ethan's tendency to gloat in front of the wrong people, probably. They were punished severely; the Headmaster kept them doing chores for weeks after the incident. Before the whole thing, Rupert didn't know Ethan very well. Just another kid in school. He knew the boy was different, sensed it, but didn't know just how different Ethan was. It wasn't just his disregard for authority; not just the weird, almost adult look he got some times. It wasn't just the way Ethan's fingers sometimes moved, studying, exploring, over something, like a book or fabric or anything really. It was something more.
Those weeks they spent cleaning and scrubbing every inch of school made them grow close, and a six year old pre-watcher learned a lot more than he bargained for about a six-and-three-months old little dark haired boy.
That was the beginning of their relationship; rooted in a prank and a punishment. It hadn't changed much.
Giles reflected over all that, and then huffed at Anya.
"Go and eat."
Xander and Anya both hurried to do as told. And Giles felt that somehow, this reminiscing was something more than just that, more than just a fond memory sparked by a few careless words.
Well, only time will tell.
He sighed and turned to take another piece of Buffy's birthday cake.
Info:
Giles: Yeah, this is a lively space. It's like
the activity room we had at public school. Sorry. I, uh, one time I, uh,
I was up to a little bit of a prank with the dart board--
Anya: I'm bored. Let's eat.
Xander: Anya, we've talked about this.
Anya: I'm sorry, that was rude. Please continue
your story. [Quietly:] Hopefully it involves treacle and a headmaster.
Giles: Go and eat.