Work Text:
“Xander, I just want to see one entry in your Watcher’s Diary. Something Faith said rang a bell and I want to know what you saw last week. It’s not a big deal, surely?”
Xander squirmed. “My Diary... it’s not like yours.”
Giles frowned. “Well, no, I rather assumed that.”
“’Cause my spelling isn’t of the good and I can’t make it all... literary and librarian-like and Watcher-y.”
“It’s Watcher-y – if that’s a word – inasmuch as it’s written by you and you’re a Watcher. Come on, you’ve seen Watcher’s Diaries before. Some of them are well written and some aren’t and often the ones that aren’t have more useful information than the ones that are. You don’t have to write like Shakespeare, you just have to tell me things I don’t know already.”
“Yeah but...”
“It’s a means of recording information and your impressions, Xander, it’s not a written exam. You’ve been keeping the thing for a year. I’m not going to give it back with a note in red ink folded inside saying ‘3/10, see me’.”
There was a moment’s silence, and Giles’ eyes narrowed.
“Unless, of course,” he said in silky tones, “you want me to?”