Threads: Insomnia (Part 2)
Oct. 18th, 2010 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akainagiThreads: Insomnia (Part 2)
Author: AkaiNagi
Rating: PG
Genre: X-over with Stephen King’s Insomnia. AU: does not adhere to season three cannon i.e. Faith, Angel’s return, etc.
Summary: Buffy returns from Phoenix carrying a curse, one she must face alone. But when she disappears again, will anyone, even her Watcher, keep faith in her?
It was a little after 3 AM, on the morning of what would be her first day as a senior at Sunnydale High, when Buffy finally admitted to herself that she was in over her head.
Three hours.
She had slept for three hours.
From the time she had returned from patrolling at just after midnight to the time her hellish internal clock signaled her to wake tallied just over three hours.
Could it be some new Hellmouth curse? Some badass new vampire plot? Deprive the slayer of sleep until she either went batshit insane or, in her rest-deprived state, made a fatal mistake?
Curses were Giles’ territory. But she hesitated to go to her Watcher with this. He had maintained a impersonality since Buffy’s return that bothered her more than she wanted to admit. It was more than just his usual oh-so-British reserve.
He had been the only one who had not slung any arrows at her since her return, even though he was probably the one with the most reason to do so. She had abandoned her post at the Hellmouth, endangered her friends, left her Watcher in the lurch without so much as a word, without even furnishing him with proof that she was still among the living.
But now that forgiveness had been doled to all parties, Giles was the one who still held her off at a distance. It occurred to Buffy, in those early morning hours that seemed made for rumination, that she had damaged the trust between them beyond repair.
As quickly as the thought entered her head, she pushed it away. She refused to believe that the relationship with her Watcher couldn’t be mended. It might take time, but she would get her old Giles back. And she would start tomorrow.
*~*~*~*
Her first day back at Sunnydale High passed like a blur. A frenzy of make-up exams, greetings from classmates who had noticed her extended absence, the scrutiny of teachers who, no doubt briefed by Herr Snyder, already had her pegged as the class troublemaker.
Lunch was a brief respite from the frenzy. The banter among Scoobies was growing easier as time went on. It would take a while, Buffy knew, to regain the trust of not only Giles, but her friends as well.
Of course when Cordy recommended a new cream for sagging eyelids, that was when Buffy got vaguely annoyed.
“Well if those things droop any further, you’re gonna trip on them,” Cordelia said matter-of-factly.
And when Willow pulled her aside and asked her if everything was okay, because she just looked so tired, Buffy didn’t have the time or the strength of mind to bare her troubles to Willow, even if she was her best friend. So Buffy simply told her she was having trouble sleeping lately, what with all the stress of starting up school again. She felt bad about the white lie, but one major disclosure a day was about all she could manage in her current state.
*~*~*~*
“Insomnia?”
Buffy sighed. “Yeah, Giles. Y’know that thing where you lie in bed and count sheep, or cracks in the ceiling and basically do everything but sleep.” She thought for a moment. “Well, not everything but sleep … well, you know what I mean. “
Giles cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. “Yes … quite. And you are suffering from this malady?”
Buffy smiled. This was the familiar bookish Englishman she knew. “If by that you mean am I having trouble sleeping? That would be of the affirmative.”
Giles digested this for a moment. “Buffy,” he began with a sigh. “With all that you’ve been through, it’s no surprise that it might affect your sleep adversely.”
Buffy shook her head vehemently. “No, Giles. You don’t understand. This isn’t the kind of trouble sleeping you get from drinking one too many lattes. It’s too … precise. It’s almost methodical. Every night I wake up a few minutes earlier. Every … single ... night.” She clenched her fists in frustration, her voice taking on a slightly hysterical edge. “By the time I get back from patrol I’m lucky if I get three hours. Soon it’ll be two, then one, and then if I’m not a total freaking crackpot by then, I’ll be walking around on no sleep at all.”
A Buffy in distress garnered Giles’ full attention. “Very well, Buffy. What can I do?”
“Tell me this is some kind of curse. Give me something I can stake, or stab, or behead and get my life back,” Buffy pleaded.
“I can do some research on the matter,” Giles said after considering it for a moment. “But, I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high. I’ve never heard of any curses involving sleeplessness. Rather the opposite, in fact. Most curses involve putting a person to sleep.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “How very Snow White.”
Giles chuckled. Buffy realized she couldn’t remember how long it had been since she heard Giles laugh. Since well before her summer sojourn. Before Angelus. Suddenly she was gripped with the desire to unburden herself on the one person who never judged her, and was always there for her. So maybe he was a little further away since her return, but he was still there.
She must have been staring. “Was there something else?” Giles asked.
I’m sorry I left without telling you …
I’m sorry I never called …
I’m sorry for what Angelus did to you …
I missed you …
“… Just … um … thank you, Giles. For your help, I mean.”
Giles looked slightly bemused. “Of course, Buffy.”
Before she said something she couldn’t take back, Buffy grabbed her backpack and retreated from the library, leaving a puzzled Watcher in her wake.
Author: AkaiNagi
Rating: PG
Genre: X-over with Stephen King’s Insomnia. AU: does not adhere to season three cannon i.e. Faith, Angel’s return, etc.
Summary: Buffy returns from Phoenix carrying a curse, one she must face alone. But when she disappears again, will anyone, even her Watcher, keep faith in her?
It was a little after 3 AM, on the morning of what would be her first day as a senior at Sunnydale High, when Buffy finally admitted to herself that she was in over her head.
Three hours.
She had slept for three hours.
From the time she had returned from patrolling at just after midnight to the time her hellish internal clock signaled her to wake tallied just over three hours.
Could it be some new Hellmouth curse? Some badass new vampire plot? Deprive the slayer of sleep until she either went batshit insane or, in her rest-deprived state, made a fatal mistake?
Curses were Giles’ territory. But she hesitated to go to her Watcher with this. He had maintained a impersonality since Buffy’s return that bothered her more than she wanted to admit. It was more than just his usual oh-so-British reserve.
He had been the only one who had not slung any arrows at her since her return, even though he was probably the one with the most reason to do so. She had abandoned her post at the Hellmouth, endangered her friends, left her Watcher in the lurch without so much as a word, without even furnishing him with proof that she was still among the living.
But now that forgiveness had been doled to all parties, Giles was the one who still held her off at a distance. It occurred to Buffy, in those early morning hours that seemed made for rumination, that she had damaged the trust between them beyond repair.
As quickly as the thought entered her head, she pushed it away. She refused to believe that the relationship with her Watcher couldn’t be mended. It might take time, but she would get her old Giles back. And she would start tomorrow.
*~*~*~*
Her first day back at Sunnydale High passed like a blur. A frenzy of make-up exams, greetings from classmates who had noticed her extended absence, the scrutiny of teachers who, no doubt briefed by Herr Snyder, already had her pegged as the class troublemaker.
Lunch was a brief respite from the frenzy. The banter among Scoobies was growing easier as time went on. It would take a while, Buffy knew, to regain the trust of not only Giles, but her friends as well.
Of course when Cordy recommended a new cream for sagging eyelids, that was when Buffy got vaguely annoyed.
“Well if those things droop any further, you’re gonna trip on them,” Cordelia said matter-of-factly.
And when Willow pulled her aside and asked her if everything was okay, because she just looked so tired, Buffy didn’t have the time or the strength of mind to bare her troubles to Willow, even if she was her best friend. So Buffy simply told her she was having trouble sleeping lately, what with all the stress of starting up school again. She felt bad about the white lie, but one major disclosure a day was about all she could manage in her current state.
*~*~*~*
“Insomnia?”
Buffy sighed. “Yeah, Giles. Y’know that thing where you lie in bed and count sheep, or cracks in the ceiling and basically do everything but sleep.” She thought for a moment. “Well, not everything but sleep … well, you know what I mean. “
Giles cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. “Yes … quite. And you are suffering from this malady?”
Buffy smiled. This was the familiar bookish Englishman she knew. “If by that you mean am I having trouble sleeping? That would be of the affirmative.”
Giles digested this for a moment. “Buffy,” he began with a sigh. “With all that you’ve been through, it’s no surprise that it might affect your sleep adversely.”
Buffy shook her head vehemently. “No, Giles. You don’t understand. This isn’t the kind of trouble sleeping you get from drinking one too many lattes. It’s too … precise. It’s almost methodical. Every night I wake up a few minutes earlier. Every … single ... night.” She clenched her fists in frustration, her voice taking on a slightly hysterical edge. “By the time I get back from patrol I’m lucky if I get three hours. Soon it’ll be two, then one, and then if I’m not a total freaking crackpot by then, I’ll be walking around on no sleep at all.”
A Buffy in distress garnered Giles’ full attention. “Very well, Buffy. What can I do?”
“Tell me this is some kind of curse. Give me something I can stake, or stab, or behead and get my life back,” Buffy pleaded.
“I can do some research on the matter,” Giles said after considering it for a moment. “But, I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high. I’ve never heard of any curses involving sleeplessness. Rather the opposite, in fact. Most curses involve putting a person to sleep.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “How very Snow White.”
Giles chuckled. Buffy realized she couldn’t remember how long it had been since she heard Giles laugh. Since well before her summer sojourn. Before Angelus. Suddenly she was gripped with the desire to unburden herself on the one person who never judged her, and was always there for her. So maybe he was a little further away since her return, but he was still there.
She must have been staring. “Was there something else?” Giles asked.
I’m sorry I left without telling you …
I’m sorry I never called …
I’m sorry for what Angelus did to you …
I missed you …
“… Just … um … thank you, Giles. For your help, I mean.”
Giles looked slightly bemused. “Of course, Buffy.”
Before she said something she couldn’t take back, Buffy grabbed her backpack and retreated from the library, leaving a puzzled Watcher in her wake.
