Fic: Different Needs

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

Title: Different Needs

Characters: Xander, Giles

Rating: For all ages

Setting: Season Three of BtVS

Summary: Xander is fed up from being the Zeppo, can Giles help him become a-somebody? Will Giles ever see him as more than just an aggravating little boy?

Notes: This idea is from Murasaki (thanks hon!) But the ending is from a dream I had last year about Xander and Giles.

Disclaimer: They belong to Joss and co.

Distribution: Want it? Yay! Just let me know first.

Great thanks to lusciousspike and llywela13 for the great beta.



******



Different Needs


Part One:



Enough! No more!

His interaction with Cordelia this morning had finally pushed him to find a solution to his suffering. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't be the 'useless' member in this team. Yesterday was bad enough with Buffy trying to find the nicest way to send him home without hurting his precious feelings. But having Cordelia confront him about his worthlessness in front of his friends was just too much for him to handle, especially with his friends trying to tell him otherwise without denying Cordelia's accusations.

Okay, he was done with this. This time he had to take this issue more seriously. It wasn't like Cordelia was wrong. He knew he was the least useful member in the group. Everyone had a specialty of their own. Buffy was the slayer, Giles was the one with the source of knowledge, Angel was the muscles, and Willow was the hacker and the wanna-be-witch. Oz, even though he matched his normalness when he wasn't a werewolf, was much smarter and a better fighter than him.

He had to do something about this.

Now.

To the rest of the story...

Comments

[scarlettlily.livejournal.com]

I just read the whole story and it was great but oh the ending was so sad. I wanted it to be romantic but alas I understand.

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! Many people wanted a romantic ending but I couldn't see it, Xander and Giles have different needs, that's why it this fic felt gen to me. :)

[hesadevil.livejournal.com]

I haven't had time to finish reading this (I've read Parts 1 and 2) but think the idea of Xander seeking training from Giles an excellent one. His fighting skills (along with other character's acquisition of welding, mining, languages etc)certainly went from nil to more-than-adequate with no explanation from ME. Your Giles voice is spot on, as is Xander's examination of the inadequacies he finds in himself and his family relationships.

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked. This is not really a missing scene or episode but I'm glad it felt like it. It was supposed to be a slash fic but then I kept it gen because I liked it better that way. I hope you like the ending, a few people did, but the majority hated it.

[hesadevil.livejournal.com]

I've already finished the final part and like it - a lot. But that may be because I'm not a fan of slash. That's just me, I have nothing against gay sex, (although I couldn't stand the Willow/Kennedy stuff) I just can't bring myself to read fanfic which has characters behaving in what I think of as uncharacteristically.

Having said that, no one in this fic behaves out of character. There was a softer, sympathetic side to Giles, one that he showed very rarely and mostly in his dealings with Buffy. I'm thinking of the few times we saw his 'fatherly' nature - the farewell to his 'girls' at the airport for example and the awkward leave-taking of Xander.

As for Xander himself, you've shown the very essence of a teenage boy (Best thing about staying with Giles was the food) struggling with many problems in his life and coping in the only way he knows how.

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy that you liked the ending. With Giles, I've always thought he considered Xander an annoying child, in this fic he was forced to spend more time with Xander to discover another side of him. Giles had been very lonely in season three, he misses Jenny, he needs Jenny, he needs someone like Jenny, that's why his thoughts of Xander got a little twisted, while Xander needed something else. He needed a parent. It all crashed in the end because both expected something else from the other and it wasn't simple friendship.