A/N: Swot means like a goody-goody who spends all his time studying in Britain. Or at least I think it does. Anyway, I think it refers to kids in school but I stretched its meaning.
****
The soft beat of music drifted through the thick oak of Giles' door. And after a knock on that door with no answer, Riley decided the music was much louder on the other side. After another failed attempt, opening the door without permission was the only solution.
"You guys wait here," Riley commended his squad.
They nodded and retreated off into a nearby patch of bushes.
Slowly, the door opened with a creak. A barrage of music from 'Help!' hit Riley as he stepped into the disarranged house.
'Yup,' Riley thought, 'the music is definitely louder on the inside.'
"Giles?" he called to a seemingly empty house.
There was no answer. Beer bottles were scattered throughout the room. But besides that and the loud music, there was no sign of the watcher.
"Giles?" Riley called again, louder than before.
"Who's that?" A familiar voice asked from a room on the second floor.
"It's Riley," he replied and then added softly to himself, "not that that means anything to you."
A figure emerged suddenly from a door and stumbled down the stairs.
"And who exactly is Riley?" A clearly drunk Giles asked and took a swig from a unlabeled bottle in his hand.
"No one to you. Well, not anymore. You use to know me before..." Riley could see that he wasn't getting through to the drunk Englishman. At this point, he could say just about anything and Giles would just go along with it.
"Hey buddy," Riley said as if they were old pals. "How are- are those leather pants?"
Giles looked down at himself and let out a short laugh.
"Yes, thank everything holy. It's the weirdest thing, a little while ago I woke up here and you'll never guess what I was wearing."
"Tweed?"
Giles blinked at the boy and asked, "how'd you know?"
"Lucky guess," Riley replied as he settled himself in a chair that Giles motioned to like a good host. Giles also offered the soldier a drink which he had politely turned down.
"Anyway, I went upstairs to find a change of clothes and I entered a forest of tweed. It was like some bloody nightmare. This shirt and these pants were some of the few salvageable things," Giles explained as he sat down on the couch.
Buffy didn't tell Riley very much about Giles' past and he was beginning to see why.
"Of course, you might not know what I mean by 'salvageable'" Giles commented as he eyed the boy's camouflaged clothing.
Shifting uncomfortably under the Watcher's gaze, Riley decided to speed up the process.
"So you have no idea where you are?" Riley asked abruptly.
"No bloody clue. Some old swot's house I guess. Not sure why though."
As a trained soldier, Riley was very skilled at fabricating simple and plausible explanations for complex situations.
"Don't you remember?" Riley asked with a friendly laugh. "You're, uh, watching this house while the owner is on vacation. And, apparently, draining his liquor cabinet."
It looked like Giles accepted this explanation or at least that's what he wanted. He may not remember anything from the past twenty years, but he was human. Humans like to accept answers they're given just to make it easier, Riley had observed.
"But," Giles began carefully, "why was I wearing the guy's clothes?"
"Well, uh, you know how you get when you're drunk," Riley joked nervously.
Giles' features brightened and he laughed. "Like that one time with the bowling ball and the twins when I-"
"Yeah, yeah, those were good times," Riley said quickly, deciding he'd had his fill of disturbing images for the day.
An awkward silence fell between the two men. The only noise was generated by the record player which filled the room with the Beatle's song 'Yesterday' which set a somber tone for the room.
"I should get going," Riley said. "You stay here and look after... things."
"Wait, who were those other people that were here earlier?" Giles called after the departing soldier.
"Just some of our other friends," Riley informed him as he opened the door.
"That one chick, the one I was drinking with, are we, you know, shagging?"
"Oh, yuck, Giles, that's disgusting!" Riley cried, unable to control himself.
"What? That was a valid question! I just didn't want any angry phone calls from her if we are and I didn't know. And wait, Giles?" The Watcher asked in confusion.
"I'll see you later," Riley mumbled and quickly shut the door.
****
Chilly air surrounded Anya and Xander as soon as they stepped out of the tomb. Anya clasped her arms around herself out of instinct. Xander remembered that she left her coat at Giles' house and hadn't noticed the cold in her rage. He almost offered his coat to the shivering ex-demon but decided against it since he didn't know how she'd react.
"We should go back to the house we were at before. That's were your coat is," Xander said softly. He didn't know why his voice went to low and intimate. The cold air seemed to want it that way.
"I have a coat?" Anya asked.
"Of course!" Xander laughed then stopped when he saw Anya's broken look. She really didn't remember anything.
"That sounds like a valid plan to me. But immediately afterwards it's imperative that we begin searching for the Sirenial Sisters," Anya said.
"Yes sir," Xander mocked.
The joke was apparently lot on the annoyed ex-demon because she just blinked at the boy and started walking.
"So in my mortal life I..."
For once in her thousand years of existence, Anya wasn't sure how to say something. And Xander didn't seem to want to help her with it.
"In my mortal life, I have feelings for you?" she asked finally.
"Or a whole lot of hormones as you once fondly put it. That's the tricky part about being human, you have all these 'feelings' to deal with."
Silently, Anya pondered this. Then she asked, "does this mean I have sex with you?"
"Gee, that shock in your voice is so comforting," Xander responded sarcastically.
"No, actually, I can imagine that," she comforted him. "A thousand years of virtually no sex does that to a girl."
"Again, not very comforting."
"I'm trying!"
An angry silence fell between the two. Anya wished she was a demon even more than before.
"Look, will it comfort your masculine pride if I tell you that you're one of the better males I've ever met?"
"Yes, actually, it would."
Thinking this meant she was on good terms with her companion, Anya let silence come again. But after a moment, she realized that she'd lost Xander. Looking around, she found him standing a few steps behind her, arms crossed and one foot tapping.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well what? Is this some stupid male game?"
"There you go again insulting my gender! Especially when you're supposed to be comforting me!" Xander had a fake pout on his face.
"What? Oh." What Xander meant finally dawned on Anya. She walked back to him and took his hands in hers. "You're one of the better males I've ever met."
There was a fleeting moment where Anya's features softened and she leaned in a little without meaning to. When she realized that Xander was doing the same, she straightened herself and added bitterly, "that's only because I haven't spent enough time with you."
She yanked her hands free from Xander's grasp and walked off happily.
Xander rolled his eyes and mumbled and exasperated "women" before following after her.
****
The soft beat of music drifted through the thick oak of Giles' door. And after a knock on that door with no answer, Riley decided the music was much louder on the other side. After another failed attempt, opening the door without permission was the only solution.
"You guys wait here," Riley commended his squad.
They nodded and retreated off into a nearby patch of bushes.
Slowly, the door opened with a creak. A barrage of music from 'Help!' hit Riley as he stepped into the disarranged house.
'Yup,' Riley thought, 'the music is definitely louder on the inside.'
"Giles?" he called to a seemingly empty house.
There was no answer. Beer bottles were scattered throughout the room. But besides that and the loud music, there was no sign of the watcher.
"Giles?" Riley called again, louder than before.
"Who's that?" A familiar voice asked from a room on the second floor.
"It's Riley," he replied and then added softly to himself, "not that that means anything to you."
A figure emerged suddenly from a door and stumbled down the stairs.
"And who exactly is Riley?" A clearly drunk Giles asked and took a swig from a unlabeled bottle in his hand.
"No one to you. Well, not anymore. You use to know me before..." Riley could see that he wasn't getting through to the drunk Englishman. At this point, he could say just about anything and Giles would just go along with it.
"Hey buddy," Riley said as if they were old pals. "How are- are those leather pants?"
Giles looked down at himself and let out a short laugh.
"Yes, thank everything holy. It's the weirdest thing, a little while ago I woke up here and you'll never guess what I was wearing."
"Tweed?"
Giles blinked at the boy and asked, "how'd you know?"
"Lucky guess," Riley replied as he settled himself in a chair that Giles motioned to like a good host. Giles also offered the soldier a drink which he had politely turned down.
"Anyway, I went upstairs to find a change of clothes and I entered a forest of tweed. It was like some bloody nightmare. This shirt and these pants were some of the few salvageable things," Giles explained as he sat down on the couch.
Buffy didn't tell Riley very much about Giles' past and he was beginning to see why.
"Of course, you might not know what I mean by 'salvageable'" Giles commented as he eyed the boy's camouflaged clothing.
Shifting uncomfortably under the Watcher's gaze, Riley decided to speed up the process.
"So you have no idea where you are?" Riley asked abruptly.
"No bloody clue. Some old swot's house I guess. Not sure why though."
As a trained soldier, Riley was very skilled at fabricating simple and plausible explanations for complex situations.
"Don't you remember?" Riley asked with a friendly laugh. "You're, uh, watching this house while the owner is on vacation. And, apparently, draining his liquor cabinet."
It looked like Giles accepted this explanation or at least that's what he wanted. He may not remember anything from the past twenty years, but he was human. Humans like to accept answers they're given just to make it easier, Riley had observed.
"But," Giles began carefully, "why was I wearing the guy's clothes?"
"Well, uh, you know how you get when you're drunk," Riley joked nervously.
Giles' features brightened and he laughed. "Like that one time with the bowling ball and the twins when I-"
"Yeah, yeah, those were good times," Riley said quickly, deciding he'd had his fill of disturbing images for the day.
An awkward silence fell between the two men. The only noise was generated by the record player which filled the room with the Beatle's song 'Yesterday' which set a somber tone for the room.
"I should get going," Riley said. "You stay here and look after... things."
"Wait, who were those other people that were here earlier?" Giles called after the departing soldier.
"Just some of our other friends," Riley informed him as he opened the door.
"That one chick, the one I was drinking with, are we, you know, shagging?"
"Oh, yuck, Giles, that's disgusting!" Riley cried, unable to control himself.
"What? That was a valid question! I just didn't want any angry phone calls from her if we are and I didn't know. And wait, Giles?" The Watcher asked in confusion.
"I'll see you later," Riley mumbled and quickly shut the door.
****
Chilly air surrounded Anya and Xander as soon as they stepped out of the tomb. Anya clasped her arms around herself out of instinct. Xander remembered that she left her coat at Giles' house and hadn't noticed the cold in her rage. He almost offered his coat to the shivering ex-demon but decided against it since he didn't know how she'd react.
"We should go back to the house we were at before. That's were your coat is," Xander said softly. He didn't know why his voice went to low and intimate. The cold air seemed to want it that way.
"I have a coat?" Anya asked.
"Of course!" Xander laughed then stopped when he saw Anya's broken look. She really didn't remember anything.
"That sounds like a valid plan to me. But immediately afterwards it's imperative that we begin searching for the Sirenial Sisters," Anya said.
"Yes sir," Xander mocked.
The joke was apparently lot on the annoyed ex-demon because she just blinked at the boy and started walking.
"So in my mortal life I..."
For once in her thousand years of existence, Anya wasn't sure how to say something. And Xander didn't seem to want to help her with it.
"In my mortal life, I have feelings for you?" she asked finally.
"Or a whole lot of hormones as you once fondly put it. That's the tricky part about being human, you have all these 'feelings' to deal with."
Silently, Anya pondered this. Then she asked, "does this mean I have sex with you?"
"Gee, that shock in your voice is so comforting," Xander responded sarcastically.
"No, actually, I can imagine that," she comforted him. "A thousand years of virtually no sex does that to a girl."
"Again, not very comforting."
"I'm trying!"
An angry silence fell between the two. Anya wished she was a demon even more than before.
"Look, will it comfort your masculine pride if I tell you that you're one of the better males I've ever met?"
"Yes, actually, it would."
Thinking this meant she was on good terms with her companion, Anya let silence come again. But after a moment, she realized that she'd lost Xander. Looking around, she found him standing a few steps behind her, arms crossed and one foot tapping.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well what? Is this some stupid male game?"
"There you go again insulting my gender! Especially when you're supposed to be comforting me!" Xander had a fake pout on his face.
"What? Oh." What Xander meant finally dawned on Anya. She walked back to him and took his hands in hers. "You're one of the better males I've ever met."
There was a fleeting moment where Anya's features softened and she leaned in a little without meaning to. When she realized that Xander was doing the same, she straightened herself and added bitterly, "that's only because I haven't spent enough time with you."
She yanked her hands free from Xander's grasp and walked off happily.
Xander rolled his eyes and mumbled and exasperated "women" before following after her.