![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
electricalgwenThese 1300 words of Xander/Riley, rated PG, were due on Sunday for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
maleslashminis but have been delayed due to aforementioned computer problems. Written for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
obsessedmuch who requested a future setting, happy couple, and a puppy. This is set rather vaguely in a future where evil is still being fought by our heroes; Riley heads up a demon-hunting/Slayer-supporting military-type unit under the control of the Council rather than the government.
Many thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
madame_meretrix, without whom this would make a lot less sense. Residual mistakes are entirely my own. Feedback always appreciated. Standard disclaimers apply. This side up. Oh, and my titling skills are taking a vacation.
What's That, Boy? (You Say Timmy's Down the Well?)
The voice on the phone was frantic. “He’s going to kill me!”
Willow yawned, sat up, fell over again, and groaned. “Oww. What? I had a really late night. We did a major group spell and it kind of flattened me. Start again – quietly?”
“Roman’s gone, Will. I can’t find him anywhere, and Riley’s due home in an hour!”
She sat up more gingerly this time, cocooned in the duvet, still clutching the phone. “Well, when did you last see him? He couldn’t have gotten out by himself.” Swinging her feet out, she gripped the covers with her free hand and stood up.
“You don’t know Roman,” Xander said darkly.
“He’s just a puppy, Xand. He’s probably hiding under the sofa or something.” She started shuffling towards the kitchen. “I am so hungry. Want to go for pancakes with me when Riley gets back? I think I’m out of milk.”
“I can’t go for pancakes! I’ve got a dog to find!”
“No, you don’t,” said Willow, staring into the cleared space in the center of her living room, “because I’ve found him.”
The mongrel puppy, sprawling in the remains of the scuffed circle and melted wax from the night before, grinned up at her and scratched his ear.
*
“Buffy. You’ve got to help me.”
“Okay. Let me just grab the axe... What is it? More demons than your intelligence suggested?”
“What? Oh, uh – no. Put the axe down.” Riley sounded sheepish. “We got the demons, no trouble. We haven’t found the amulet yet, but the guys are on it. I’ve got a bigger problem.”
“Hit me.”
“I had to bring Roman with me because Xander’s at work, and I left him in the truck, and now he’s gone! I’ve got to find him before Xander finds out I lost him!”
“You had to bring him?”
“He kept whining.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He was sad! He doesn’t like being left alone.”
“O-kay. You know you don’t deserve any sympathy, right? I’ll be down as soon as I – ”
Riley sucked in a breath. “Wait.”
“What now?”
She heard a yip.
“Okay. How the heck did you get in there?” Riley sounded baffled.
“What’s going on?”
“Roman just came out of the lair. I swear, I locked the truck! How he gets…” Riley broke off. “Whoa.”
“What now?”
“We’ve got the amulet. Hope it’s immune to dog slobber.”
*
Buffy frowned. “So how did you figure out he was using a glamour?”
“Actually, I didn’t,” Xander admitted. “It was Roman. He’d been jumping up on the guy since he walked in. I kept apologizing, and the guy kept pushing him away, but you know how persistent Roman can be… anyway, finally he managed to stick his nose in the guy’s coat pocket and he came out with this talisman thingy. The guy yelled, Roman took off for the other side of the store, and all of a sudden the guy was all...”
“Oozy,” Riley interjected.
“Yeah,” said Xander. “Have I mentioned yet this week how much I hate the slimy kind of demon?”
“No, I think so far you’ve only complained about the horny variety,” Willow said with a straight face.
Riley raised his eyebrows. “Should I be jealous?”
“Hey, I didn’t let him stick those horns anywhere near me.”
“Can we get back to the demon bit? You did kill him, didn’t you?”
“Chill, Buff. Yeah, Riley got him.” Xander grinned. “Then he had to shower, and…”
“…and that’s not relevant and I’m not listening... Hey, Will! Time for a coffee run?” Buffy snapped her fingers. “Hello? Earth to Willow?”
Willow had her Puzzled Look on.
“Does it seem at all weird that Roman knew the talisman was there?”
Buffy frowned. “Huh. Like the way he found the amulet?”
Xander looked blank. “What amulet?”
“A completely harmless amulet not guarded by demons of any kind,” Buffy said hurriedly. Riley glared at her. Xander looked suspiciously at Riley.
“Yeah... And then there was that time he escaped and showed up in our magic circle…” Willow trailed off. Xander coughed. Riley looked askance at Xander.
“So what, you think he can sense magic?”
“It does seem like it,” said Willow. She looked thoughtful. “Where did you get him, anyway? Are you sure he’s a hundred percent dog?”
“My dog is not demonic!” Xander said hotly.
Riley raised his eyebrows. “You sure? Might explain why he likes you so much.”
“Nope. Uh-uh. No way. He’s just… gifted.”
“Congratulations,” Buffy said. “You’re the parents of a prodigy.”
“We’ve got to check this out!” Riley looked thrilled. “Just think how useful he could be! Wait till the guys hear.” His eyes lit up. “Hey, he can join the unit!”
“I could set up a few tests,” Willow offered. “We can check him on different kinds of spells, objects – oh hey, maybe some of the demon bits and ingredients? Ooh, and then I could – ”
“Maybe later,” Xander interrupted. “We’ve got to get home.”
“We do?” Riley blinked.
“We do,” Xander said firmly. “It’s past his bedtime. Prodigy or not.”
*
“What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think something’s wrong?” Xander punched his pillow into shape. “Nothing’s wrong. Just get the light. I’m tired.”
Riley rolled over and turned out the bedside light. “I’m not up for playing games. Something’s wrong. Just tell me.”
Roman whined agreement from the foot of the bed.
There was a long silence.
“You can’t avoid the question by falling asleep, you know. Besides, you’re not. You breathe funny when you’re pretending.”
Xander sighed. “I don’t want you to tell the guys about Roman.”
“What? How come?”
“I don’t want you to make him into some sort of K-9. I don’t want him being used in operations or taken into demon lairs. I want him to lead a happy puppy life and grow up a happy, regular dog! ”
“He likes being with us. He’ll probably be happier coming along! Besides, how are we going to stop him when he can escape right from under your nose?”
“Willow promised she wouldn’t mention that,” Xander grumbled.
“Yeah, well, Buffy wasn’t supposed to mention the time he got out of the truck either. The point is, he did. Does. He keeps getting into stuff like this and I don’t think we’re going to cure it with a rolled-up newspaper.”
“So we, what? Give him an official title and collar and chuck him at the nearest demon?”
“Xander, it’s not – ”
“Everyone I love is out there putting their lives on the line. I just…” Xander let out a defeated sigh. “I just wanted one person – creature – whatever…one thing I loved to be safe. I don’t want to have to worry about him the way…”
Riley waited.
“The way I worry about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I do. Every night I do. You know that.”
“Yeah. But you know what else I know?”
“What?”
“Buffy’s got our backs.”
“True,” Xander conceded.
“And we’d probably be a whole lot safer if we had a magic-sniffing dog on our side.”
“That is a blatant attempt at manipulating me into saying yes.”
“Is it going to work?”
“No.”
“What about this?”
“That’s – oh! – even more blatant.”
“So I should stop?”
“I didn’t say that! Manipulate away!”
Riley set about being as persuasive as possible. There was a thud as Roman was dislodged from the foot of the bed, but neither of the men noticed.
Roman trotted out of the room, sat down and had a good scratch. Then he raised his nose and sniffed. Something smelled… interesting… over there somewhere…
He cocked an ear back towards the bedroom, and decided to head out. His parents were obviously going to be busy for a while.
maleslashminis but have been delayed due to aforementioned computer problems. Written for obsessedmuch who requested a future setting, happy couple, and a puppy. This is set rather vaguely in a future where evil is still being fought by our heroes; Riley heads up a demon-hunting/Slayer-supporting military-type unit under the control of the Council rather than the government.Many thanks to
madame_meretrix, without whom this would make a lot less sense. Residual mistakes are entirely my own. Feedback always appreciated. Standard disclaimers apply. This side up. Oh, and my titling skills are taking a vacation.What's That, Boy? (You Say Timmy's Down the Well?)
The voice on the phone was frantic. “He’s going to kill me!”
Willow yawned, sat up, fell over again, and groaned. “Oww. What? I had a really late night. We did a major group spell and it kind of flattened me. Start again – quietly?”
“Roman’s gone, Will. I can’t find him anywhere, and Riley’s due home in an hour!”
She sat up more gingerly this time, cocooned in the duvet, still clutching the phone. “Well, when did you last see him? He couldn’t have gotten out by himself.” Swinging her feet out, she gripped the covers with her free hand and stood up.
“You don’t know Roman,” Xander said darkly.
“He’s just a puppy, Xand. He’s probably hiding under the sofa or something.” She started shuffling towards the kitchen. “I am so hungry. Want to go for pancakes with me when Riley gets back? I think I’m out of milk.”
“I can’t go for pancakes! I’ve got a dog to find!”
“No, you don’t,” said Willow, staring into the cleared space in the center of her living room, “because I’ve found him.”
The mongrel puppy, sprawling in the remains of the scuffed circle and melted wax from the night before, grinned up at her and scratched his ear.
*
“Buffy. You’ve got to help me.”
“Okay. Let me just grab the axe... What is it? More demons than your intelligence suggested?”
“What? Oh, uh – no. Put the axe down.” Riley sounded sheepish. “We got the demons, no trouble. We haven’t found the amulet yet, but the guys are on it. I’ve got a bigger problem.”
“Hit me.”
“I had to bring Roman with me because Xander’s at work, and I left him in the truck, and now he’s gone! I’ve got to find him before Xander finds out I lost him!”
“You had to bring him?”
“He kept whining.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He was sad! He doesn’t like being left alone.”
“O-kay. You know you don’t deserve any sympathy, right? I’ll be down as soon as I – ”
Riley sucked in a breath. “Wait.”
“What now?”
She heard a yip.
“Okay. How the heck did you get in there?” Riley sounded baffled.
“What’s going on?”
“Roman just came out of the lair. I swear, I locked the truck! How he gets…” Riley broke off. “Whoa.”
“What now?”
“We’ve got the amulet. Hope it’s immune to dog slobber.”
*
Buffy frowned. “So how did you figure out he was using a glamour?”
“Actually, I didn’t,” Xander admitted. “It was Roman. He’d been jumping up on the guy since he walked in. I kept apologizing, and the guy kept pushing him away, but you know how persistent Roman can be… anyway, finally he managed to stick his nose in the guy’s coat pocket and he came out with this talisman thingy. The guy yelled, Roman took off for the other side of the store, and all of a sudden the guy was all...”
“Oozy,” Riley interjected.
“Yeah,” said Xander. “Have I mentioned yet this week how much I hate the slimy kind of demon?”
“No, I think so far you’ve only complained about the horny variety,” Willow said with a straight face.
Riley raised his eyebrows. “Should I be jealous?”
“Hey, I didn’t let him stick those horns anywhere near me.”
“Can we get back to the demon bit? You did kill him, didn’t you?”
“Chill, Buff. Yeah, Riley got him.” Xander grinned. “Then he had to shower, and…”
“…and that’s not relevant and I’m not listening... Hey, Will! Time for a coffee run?” Buffy snapped her fingers. “Hello? Earth to Willow?”
Willow had her Puzzled Look on.
“Does it seem at all weird that Roman knew the talisman was there?”
Buffy frowned. “Huh. Like the way he found the amulet?”
Xander looked blank. “What amulet?”
“A completely harmless amulet not guarded by demons of any kind,” Buffy said hurriedly. Riley glared at her. Xander looked suspiciously at Riley.
“Yeah... And then there was that time he escaped and showed up in our magic circle…” Willow trailed off. Xander coughed. Riley looked askance at Xander.
“So what, you think he can sense magic?”
“It does seem like it,” said Willow. She looked thoughtful. “Where did you get him, anyway? Are you sure he’s a hundred percent dog?”
“My dog is not demonic!” Xander said hotly.
Riley raised his eyebrows. “You sure? Might explain why he likes you so much.”
“Nope. Uh-uh. No way. He’s just… gifted.”
“Congratulations,” Buffy said. “You’re the parents of a prodigy.”
“We’ve got to check this out!” Riley looked thrilled. “Just think how useful he could be! Wait till the guys hear.” His eyes lit up. “Hey, he can join the unit!”
“I could set up a few tests,” Willow offered. “We can check him on different kinds of spells, objects – oh hey, maybe some of the demon bits and ingredients? Ooh, and then I could – ”
“Maybe later,” Xander interrupted. “We’ve got to get home.”
“We do?” Riley blinked.
“We do,” Xander said firmly. “It’s past his bedtime. Prodigy or not.”
*
“What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think something’s wrong?” Xander punched his pillow into shape. “Nothing’s wrong. Just get the light. I’m tired.”
Riley rolled over and turned out the bedside light. “I’m not up for playing games. Something’s wrong. Just tell me.”
Roman whined agreement from the foot of the bed.
There was a long silence.
“You can’t avoid the question by falling asleep, you know. Besides, you’re not. You breathe funny when you’re pretending.”
Xander sighed. “I don’t want you to tell the guys about Roman.”
“What? How come?”
“I don’t want you to make him into some sort of K-9. I don’t want him being used in operations or taken into demon lairs. I want him to lead a happy puppy life and grow up a happy, regular dog! ”
“He likes being with us. He’ll probably be happier coming along! Besides, how are we going to stop him when he can escape right from under your nose?”
“Willow promised she wouldn’t mention that,” Xander grumbled.
“Yeah, well, Buffy wasn’t supposed to mention the time he got out of the truck either. The point is, he did. Does. He keeps getting into stuff like this and I don’t think we’re going to cure it with a rolled-up newspaper.”
“So we, what? Give him an official title and collar and chuck him at the nearest demon?”
“Xander, it’s not – ”
“Everyone I love is out there putting their lives on the line. I just…” Xander let out a defeated sigh. “I just wanted one person – creature – whatever…one thing I loved to be safe. I don’t want to have to worry about him the way…”
Riley waited.
“The way I worry about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I do. Every night I do. You know that.”
“Yeah. But you know what else I know?”
“What?”
“Buffy’s got our backs.”
“True,” Xander conceded.
“And we’d probably be a whole lot safer if we had a magic-sniffing dog on our side.”
“That is a blatant attempt at manipulating me into saying yes.”
“Is it going to work?”
“No.”
“What about this?”
“That’s – oh! – even more blatant.”
“So I should stop?”
“I didn’t say that! Manipulate away!”
Riley set about being as persuasive as possible. There was a thud as Roman was dislodged from the foot of the bed, but neither of the men noticed.
Roman trotted out of the room, sat down and had a good scratch. Then he raised his nose and sniffed. Something smelled… interesting… over there somewhere…
He cocked an ear back towards the bedroom, and decided to head out. His parents were obviously going to be busy for a while.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-26 10:04 pm (UTC)THANK YOU!!! You rock.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-27 09:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2007-09-27 09:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-27 05:03 am (UTC)Aww, I love this Willow moment:
Willow yawned, sat up, fell over again, and groaned. “Oww. What? I had a really late night. We did a major group spell and it kind of flattened me. Start again – quietly?”
heee, this is such an awesome Buffy & Riley exchange:
“You had to bring him?”
“He kept whining.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He was sad! He doesn’t like being left alone.”
I totally can see Riley being a softie about his dog.
This is super funny:
“A completely harmless amulet not guarded by demons of any kind,” Buffy said hurriedly. Riley glared at her. Xander looked suspiciously at Riley.
“Yeah... And then there was that time he escaped and showed up in our magic circle…” Willow trailed off. Xander coughed. Riley looked askance at Xander.
The conversation between Xander and Riley is really lovely. And yay to the manipulation! heee to Roman wandering off. Awesome awesome fic!! :D
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-27 09:04 am (UTC)I imagine both Xander and Riley are complete softies about their dog. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-27 05:42 am (UTC)thanks for letting me beta read this. it was a serious treat. and i'm sorry about the mix-up. again. *facepalm*
i love that the last part is in Roman's perspective. that just makes it all the more warm and fuzzy.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-27 09:06 am (UTC)I wasn't really sure where it was going in terms of an ending, so when it sort of fell into Roman's perspective it was kind of a relief!
Yay puppy! Always good for the sweet and schmoopy.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-27 03:44 pm (UTC)I heart all domestic Riley/Xander, so I was really glad that you took a turn writing them in that vein. Very cute!
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Date: 2007-09-28 04:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2007-10-01 09:20 am (UTC)Thanks for checking it out! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yay puppy! :)
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Date: 2007-10-01 08:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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