Interlude: When Not In Rome
Anyway, this is a bit of an interlude for Monica and sisterspuffy, who wrote nice reviews and requested more Giles and Andrew. See, flattery gets you everywhere! :-) BTW, if anyone WANTS to beta that would be nice, but I don't know what exactly that would entail. Also, sorry my chapters are so short!
9 Romelss (get it? romeless-homeless? har har. you will when you read the chapter, it still won't be funny, though :-) !)
"We live out of a suitcase, with no place to call home, no one to miss us when we're gone. Traveling city to city, town to town. Always a stranger." Andrew said dramatically, removing a Green Lantern shaped toothbrush from his knapsack.
Giles sighed and rolled his eyes. Over the summer they had done a lot of traveling together, finding slayers, helping them out. Then he decided he better set up a home base. After all, they couldn't find everyone, and sometimes someone might need to find them. So, what the Scoobies called the Bootleg Counsel was created. Andrew was the street team, looking for those in need. Giles was the home base, waiting for them.
To be honest, Giles was a little jealous of Andrew. It was the Ripper in him, he supposed. Of course, he wasn't honest. To admit you were jealous of Andrew would be akin to admitting you didn't dig the Beatles. Giles scoffed, who could not like the Beatles?!? Right, he remembered, who *could* be jealous of Andrew?... *ANDREW* of all people!
"But where would the world be without us?" Andrew questioned threw a pasty mouth. "We're the silent heroes, shadows in the night." Some toothpaste dripped from his mouth.
"For God sakes, wait until your done brushing to talk." Giles snapped.
Andrew spit out the bubbles and rinsed the brush. "Why do you always have to be so British?" He asked in a whiny voice.
Yes, that was the manÐ boyÐ he was jealous of. Because Andrew really *was* a silent hero. He took risks, he made sacrifices, and Giles just answered the phone. Not only that, but Andrew was enjoying himself. He took pleasure in the mission, it was a childhood fantasy come to life. Giles never allowed himself that anymore. There was a time when finding out what demon they were dealing with this week and how to kill it was exciting to him, but he'd seen all to well the damage any given demon could do. It seemed wrong to enjoy it. But Andrew was there too, at the final battle, where so many people died. Of course he hadn't been there when it happened to Buffy. That's when it all changed, he guessed, looking back. He hadn't ever really been the same since then. He lost joy in the mission, because the mission had no qualms about taking someone as brave and heroic as Buffy away. Now Buffy was back, but the feeling couldn't go away. Oh, he didn't have so little faith in it he couldn't fight for it... not anymore. But it still seemed like a mean thing, larger than any of them, and he still wondered: why did the cause of good demand so much sacrifice from them?
"What are you thinking, Obi Wan?" Andrew asked, raising his pointer finger to his chin in a ponderous manner.
"Nothing." Giles answered.
"Is that nothing as in 'something really important I'm too British to share' or nothing as in 'nothing of consequence, young Jedi knight'?" Andrew asked.
"The second one." Giles answered, turning on the TV.
"I think it's the first one." Andrew said, moving to stand in front of the TV.
"Well you never were very bright." Giles grumpily told him.
"Hey, my therapist told me about you guys. I know it's a defense mechanism, I just don't know what your defending." Andrew shot back, but Giles just looked up to the heavens and sighed "The other Scoobies have been working through it, though. They've faced their fears, but you? Your too much of a coward." Andrew said, then stormed out of the hotel room.
Or more like, Tried to storm out of the hotel room. He opened the door, but the security chain prevented it from opening more than an inch. He turned back to Giles, gave a nervous giggle, closed the door, removed the security chain, and opened the door. Once it was open he resumed where he left off, fiercely mad. "GOOD BYE!" He shouted, slamming the door. The chubby maid in the hallway gave him a dirty look. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Giles heard Andrew apologizing through the door.
Why did he do that? Giles wondered. Why did Giles always treat people like he thought he was better, smarter, wiser, when really he felt like a git. Maybe that was it, his disease was three-fold. He lost faith in himself, so he wanted others to have it for him. And in the same vein, he couldn't have faith in anyone else, especially if they had faith in him. And what did the faith of faithless people mean, anyway? And the mission, little faith in that, and jealousy for those who had what he didn't. So what did that leave him with? A jumble of problems and no one to help him through them.
TBC
Anyway, this is a bit of an interlude for Monica and sisterspuffy, who wrote nice reviews and requested more Giles and Andrew. See, flattery gets you everywhere! :-) BTW, if anyone WANTS to beta that would be nice, but I don't know what exactly that would entail. Also, sorry my chapters are so short!
9 Romelss (get it? romeless-homeless? har har. you will when you read the chapter, it still won't be funny, though :-) !)
"We live out of a suitcase, with no place to call home, no one to miss us when we're gone. Traveling city to city, town to town. Always a stranger." Andrew said dramatically, removing a Green Lantern shaped toothbrush from his knapsack.
Giles sighed and rolled his eyes. Over the summer they had done a lot of traveling together, finding slayers, helping them out. Then he decided he better set up a home base. After all, they couldn't find everyone, and sometimes someone might need to find them. So, what the Scoobies called the Bootleg Counsel was created. Andrew was the street team, looking for those in need. Giles was the home base, waiting for them.
To be honest, Giles was a little jealous of Andrew. It was the Ripper in him, he supposed. Of course, he wasn't honest. To admit you were jealous of Andrew would be akin to admitting you didn't dig the Beatles. Giles scoffed, who could not like the Beatles?!? Right, he remembered, who *could* be jealous of Andrew?... *ANDREW* of all people!
"But where would the world be without us?" Andrew questioned threw a pasty mouth. "We're the silent heroes, shadows in the night." Some toothpaste dripped from his mouth.
"For God sakes, wait until your done brushing to talk." Giles snapped.
Andrew spit out the bubbles and rinsed the brush. "Why do you always have to be so British?" He asked in a whiny voice.
Yes, that was the manÐ boyÐ he was jealous of. Because Andrew really *was* a silent hero. He took risks, he made sacrifices, and Giles just answered the phone. Not only that, but Andrew was enjoying himself. He took pleasure in the mission, it was a childhood fantasy come to life. Giles never allowed himself that anymore. There was a time when finding out what demon they were dealing with this week and how to kill it was exciting to him, but he'd seen all to well the damage any given demon could do. It seemed wrong to enjoy it. But Andrew was there too, at the final battle, where so many people died. Of course he hadn't been there when it happened to Buffy. That's when it all changed, he guessed, looking back. He hadn't ever really been the same since then. He lost joy in the mission, because the mission had no qualms about taking someone as brave and heroic as Buffy away. Now Buffy was back, but the feeling couldn't go away. Oh, he didn't have so little faith in it he couldn't fight for it... not anymore. But it still seemed like a mean thing, larger than any of them, and he still wondered: why did the cause of good demand so much sacrifice from them?
"What are you thinking, Obi Wan?" Andrew asked, raising his pointer finger to his chin in a ponderous manner.
"Nothing." Giles answered.
"Is that nothing as in 'something really important I'm too British to share' or nothing as in 'nothing of consequence, young Jedi knight'?" Andrew asked.
"The second one." Giles answered, turning on the TV.
"I think it's the first one." Andrew said, moving to stand in front of the TV.
"Well you never were very bright." Giles grumpily told him.
"Hey, my therapist told me about you guys. I know it's a defense mechanism, I just don't know what your defending." Andrew shot back, but Giles just looked up to the heavens and sighed "The other Scoobies have been working through it, though. They've faced their fears, but you? Your too much of a coward." Andrew said, then stormed out of the hotel room.
Or more like, Tried to storm out of the hotel room. He opened the door, but the security chain prevented it from opening more than an inch. He turned back to Giles, gave a nervous giggle, closed the door, removed the security chain, and opened the door. Once it was open he resumed where he left off, fiercely mad. "GOOD BYE!" He shouted, slamming the door. The chubby maid in the hallway gave him a dirty look. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Giles heard Andrew apologizing through the door.
Why did he do that? Giles wondered. Why did Giles always treat people like he thought he was better, smarter, wiser, when really he felt like a git. Maybe that was it, his disease was three-fold. He lost faith in himself, so he wanted others to have it for him. And in the same vein, he couldn't have faith in anyone else, especially if they had faith in him. And what did the faith of faithless people mean, anyway? And the mission, little faith in that, and jealousy for those who had what he didn't. So what did that leave him with? A jumble of problems and no one to help him through them.
TBC