Domestic Tuesdays

[jupiter2932]

Hello, everyone. I’m jupiter2932/schweinsty and your host for the week. As a friendly reminder about our schedule: Lonely Prompts and sharing completed fills are encouraged on Sundays, while new themes and prompts are posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are a Free for All day. We'll share our posts on DW and LJ for everyone's convenience. Keep an eye out for notifications!

With that being said, today's theme is domestic fic. Prompts should have characters in domestic situations, though what that looks like is totally up to you.

Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full names and the fandom's full name
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above-mentioned spoiler cut.

Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt

Some examples to get the ball rolling...
+ Push, Nick Gant(/Kira Hudson) + Cassie Holmes, sometimes home is a series of cheap motel rooms
+ Stargate: Atlantis, any, defending the city from an attack
+ Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Cimorene, spring cleaning

We are now using AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2024 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? You can use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community. Fret not, DW members, we are working on a way to search through old entries for prompts for you!

While the use of LJ's advanced search options is available, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching in the future.

If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so…and spread the word! comment_fic


tag=domestic

Comments

Fill: Universal Remedy [BtVS: Giles, Willow: PG]

[badly_knitted]

Americans, with their American ways and their reliance on coffee, will never understand the importance of a proper cup of tea. And by that, Giles means tea made with loose leaves and brewed in a teapot, not what Americans term tea, made with teabags and drunk, as often as not, with the bag still floating in there.

“You’ve had a nasty shock,” he tells Willow, patting her hand a bit awkwardly. Dealing with teenagers, or children of any age, is not one of his talents, certainly not part of his Watcher training, and since he doesn’t have siblings, he finds young people a bit baffling, especially those of an American persuasion. They’re like a different breed, similar to the British variety but less domesticated, bordering on feral. “What you need is a soothing cup of tea.”

“Oh. Okay,” Willow replies vaguely, still looking somewhat dazed and upset. Giles can’t really blame her; she’s handled the existence of vampires extraordinarily well, but being held prisoner by a lovestruck robot demon would be a bit much for anyone.

He leaves her sitting on his sofa and goes into the kitchen, filling the kettle and putting it on. While the water heats, he gets out cups and saucers, and sets them on a tray along with a small jug of milk and the sugar basin, then adds teaspoons, one in each saucer. He will absolutely NOT serve tea in mugs; it’s a deplorable habit, quite disgraceful, treating quality tea like common coffee.

When the water boils, he warms the pot, swilling water around inside it, then pouring it away before adding two spoonfuls of Earl Grey, one for each person, and a third for the pot, just as his grandmother taught him. Pouring the water over the leaves, he puts the lid on, then the tea cosy to keep everything hot while the tea steeps. Setting the pot and the tea strainer on the tray, he carries everything into the lounge, placing it careful on the low table.

Willow is still right where he left her, staring into space, clutching a wad of damp tissues in her hands. She is quite a remarkable girl, more upset at being responsible for scanning a demon into the internet than about being abducted. She’s also ashamed and guilty over skipping classes and not doing homework, and Giles finds it impossible to imagine either Buffy or any of her other friends ever suffering a moment’s guilt over such behaviour. Willow takes her education very seriously, an attitude that meets with Giles’ full approval.

Pouring the tea into two cups, he adds a dash of milk to each, hesitates briefly, the adds sugar to Willow’s cup, stirring it thoroughly and placing the spoon back in the saucer. Sweet tea is best for shock, although Giles prefers his own unadulterated.

“Here.” He passes Willow her cup. “Drink this, it will help.”

“Thank you.” Willow picks the cup up, leaving Giles holding the saucer, so he sets it on the table, picking up his own cup and saucer, and sitting in the chair opposite. Willow’s looking into her cup as if she’s never seen tea before, but after staring at it a bit longer, she takes a sip. “Ow. Hot!”

“Would you like more milk?” Giles is determined to be a good host. After all, it’s not every day a tearful teenager shows up on his doorstep babbling about being a bad student, an evil person for letting a demon loose, potentially dooming the world, and as if that wasn’t enough to be ashamed of, a bad friend. Giles still isn’t sure he understands that last part, but in all honesty, the tears and the sniffling made it difficult to make out most of what Willow was saying earlier. All Giles was able to do was offer tissues and reassurance that she’s not evil, she simply made a mistake, and since Moloch is once again safely contained, no real harm has been done.

He adds a drop more milk to Willow’s cup, and she obediently sips again, and keeps sipping until the cup is empty.

Giles watches, smiling in satisfaction, as he drinks his own tea. There is simply nothing in existence more beneficial in any kind of crisis than a proper cup of tea, and he refills Willows cup without her having to ask. He might not be an expert at knowing what to say to distraught teenagers, but one thing he does know is how to make tea, and in the end, that’s one of the most valuable skills anyone can have.


The End

Re: Fill: Universal Remedy [BtVS: Giles, Willow: PG]

[cornerofmadness]

This is so very sweet. I love it. Thank you. And yes I put in three spoonfuls of leaves too.

Re: Fill: Universal Remedy [BtVS: Giles, Willow: PG]

[badly_knitted]

That's how tea in the pot should always be made *grins*

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

Re: Fill: Universal Remedy [BtVS: Giles, Willow: PG]

[cornerofmadness]

agreed