InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Calgon, take me away!"

Rupert Giles (watcher_giles) wrote in dust_till_dawn,
@ 2009-06-09 18:26:00

Nerds at the Library!
Who: Giles and Wesley
Where: The Public Library
When: A day or two after the water park thread
What: Giles and Wesley running into each other at the public library and trying to get to know each other again.
Locked to: Wesley
Status: Complete

Giles figured that he'd do something today instead of just sitting in his room, reading. He decided that he'd check out the public library. Of course, he was also searching partly for some sort of part time job here as well. Not so much for the money, since the new Council provided him with a wage, but for appearances. Also, for the fact that he had nothing to do with most of his days, with Buffy working at that awful restaurant with the cow for a hat, and the others also having lives. He didn't just want to be sitting around and doing nothing, after all.

He also wanted to talk to someone from the Council soon about getting Buffy some sort of wage to live off of as well. He hated the thought of her working at that place. A woman of her caliber shouldn't have to work there. He didn't think it would be a huge problem, though. He just needed to talk to someone in money management or whatever that department was called. Full of accountants and such. He wasn't to surprise her with it if he managed to do so, though. Or better yet, didn't want to get her hopes up if he couldn't.

Until then, he would help provide as well. The librarian had liked the fact that he had so much experience, both as the high school librarian in Sunnydale and as the curator at the British Museum way back when. It shouldn't be any problem for him to get hired on here. They seemed to have needed someone with experience to work here at night, anyway. Cleveland was starting to have some of the same problems as Sunnydale once did: many people left or disappeared with putting in their two weeks notice at their jobs.

Right now, though, he was just walking around the library, trying to enjoy the smell of it. He missed being around books all the time. Sure, he had his own sort of library, but to be in a building full of books tended to make him happy in ways that he really couldn't comprehend. Probably part of what made him a little 'nerdy' in the eyes of the rest of the children. Willow tended to appreciate his love of books, though. She seemed to share some of the passion, although hers went toward more of the mystical books, while Giles just loved them all.

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watcher_pryce
2009-06-10 02:16 am UTC (link)

Things... Well, things weren't really going the way Wesley wished they would go. He still hadn't had any contact with Angel since the vampire's soul had returned. Nor had he seen Cordelia, and without seeing her he couldn't ask her why she had ran away from him so fast, without giving him a chance to explain himself. It really seemed most un-Cordelia like, but the girl had been back from the dead.

Which really would have disturbed him far more if his current girlfriend hadn't been doing the same. Returning from the dead that was. And perhaps acting a bit strange had something to do with coming back from the dead because Lilah had been acting a bit strange lately. Very strange, to the point where Wesley had gotten worried.

She demanded he go out in the middle of the night to get her ice-cream or other ridiculous foods. If he told her to get it her bloody self and he wasn't a servant damnit... she'd burst into tears. Then there was the even more worrying throwing up. Mornings, and sometimes evenings. She'd told him she was fine and it was just a case of a stomach bug. Wesley didn't think bugs like those didn't last that long.

Wesley was still in the process of convincing her to see a doctor *not* associated with the bloody firm and was - or so he liked to tell himself - making some. Progress that was. That left him with the other problem, which was of course the old and trusted problem *everyone* had.

Money.

While demon hunting was what he knew and something he *had* to do, since fighting the good fight was born into his blood, it wasn't a well paying job. If it paid at all. More often then not it didn't pay in the way or money. Of course he could let Lilah pay for things but Wesley had some pride left and wouldn't hear of it. So he'd been looking around for some part-time jobs.

He didn't have to go out every night to make sure things were taken care of now that he knew Faith was around. And a number of other Slayers plus a pack of scoobies it seemed. Or so rumour had it. Not that they seemed to know, or care, that he was in town. No doubt to wrapped up in their own web or drama and tragedy.

At any rate, he had found the add from the library looking for some help. It was a night which was more to his liking since his whole routine seemed to be formed of living at night and sleeping during the day. He'd turned into a sort of vampire, Wesley thought ruefully. How quickly he had forgotten the routine of his new life and picked up the one of his destructive old life again.

Sighing, he trudged into the library. Add in hand, he brought it up to his face and pushed his glasses back on his nose. For the occasion he'd even shaved himself, preparing mentally for some mocking from Lilah upon returning, put on some more fancy clothes - which Lilah had gotten him - and took a deep breath. He could do this. He could bloody well do this.

Or perhaps, he thought as he quickly turned a corner instead of marching right up to the front desk, he should look around a bit at first. Yes, he'd do that. He'd look around a bit first, get acquainted with the place before asking about the job. Something rather. Bloody hell, the place smelled wonderful. Oh how he had missed books. A lot.

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watcher_giles
2009-06-10 08:43 pm UTC (link)

Giles was glad that he had one of the several open positions secured at this library. It seemed that they were lacking completely for a night staff. A city as large as Cleveland needed more than just one or two people to man their library at night, it seemed. So, Giles, once he did get properly hired, would have more than a few people training along with him, although, other than learning their filing system, he wasn't sure just how much training he would really need.

He was mostly just relieved that he wouldn't be just sitting around the hotel room day in and day out anymore. Even though he actually hadn't been here all that long, it seemed like he was wasting much of his usefulness away just sitting in there all of the time. He was really just happy that now he would be able to contribute in some way for his lodgings. He hoped that he could convince the Council to give Buffy and the other Slayers something of a living wage as well. They deserved that much, at the very least.

Giles was walking around, mostly in his own thoughts as he enjoyed the atmosphere of the library. It had been a while since he had been in a proper one. He didn't use the one at the Council's new headquarters all that much. He had been too busy with paperwork to do so. It almost felt like a part of him was now back in his true element. While he wasn't quite the bumbler that he put on in high school, some things had been true, like the love of books.

It was because he was wrapped up in the joy of books that he hadn't been watching quite where he was going. It was why he pretty much collided with another man who seemed to just be walking around as well. "I'm so sorry," he said, helping the other man off the ground. "I wasn't watching where I was going." He looked up to see who it was. "Wesley?"

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watcher_pryce
2009-06-11 04:21 am UTC (link)

After walking around and trying to gather the courage to go at least *ask* for the job, Wesley cursed himself. He was a bloody demon hunter for godsake! And here he was scraping together the nerve to go up to a desk and ask a normal person about a normal job! How messed up was he? That he'd much rather deal with monsters he could slay in the night - and during some of the day - then with actual, real, normal people?

Of course he had a reason for choosing a job at the library, aside from the whole book factor. There had been a reason he'd been *especially* thrilled to see the place was looking for people for the night shift. Wesley hated crowds with a passion that made Cordelia sigh and mutter something about being the only social one back when-- when they had still been a family. One he missed dearly.

The reason he had chosen this particular job were several. For one, he wouldn't be bothered by crowds. It wasn't as if many people would think of visiting a library at the early hours in the morning so to speak. Unless they were quite possibly demonic, in which case Wesley was perfect for the jobs. Not that he could tell management that. Another was that this library was so large that he could quite probably easily sneak out for a few hours - emergency demon hunting - and not be missed.

Once again Wesley checked his credentials. He was more then qualified for the job. His friends had often forgotten that while he was a demonologist and linguist first and foremost, Wesley did have several other university degrees. Oxford had it's own special branch when it came to the Watcher academy, and getting the necessary diploma's for cover jobs was easy.

He might actually be a bit over qualified for the job, Wesley realized as he frowned at the papers. Perhaps he should take out a few of the diplomas, papers, and so on and so--- The next thing he knew said papers flew out of his hands while his arse ended up on the floor. Like snow the papers slowly fell down and landed around him while Wesley, automatically, was already reaching for his gun.

Lead the life Wesley had been and some things are simply put on autopilot. When he noticed just *who* had knocked him out Wesley actually had to blink once or twice. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and tried to get his mind to work. Funny, his mind was always working, but it seemed that when people of authority - and Giles was still that after all these years bizarrely enough and one he still wanted to impress even now - Wesley all but reverted back to the bumbling fool he'd once been.

"M-Mister Giles," he muttered, bending down to pick up his files and neatly sorting them back into his folder. "Entirely my fault. I ah-- wasn't watching where I was going either," Wesley muttered, shoving the first thought that popped into his mind away while he kept fussing with the papers, looking anywhere but at Giles. You were partly responsible for killing Fred. You refused to help us, help her, you could have helped her and she might not have died...

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watcher_giles
2009-06-12 11:15 pm UTC (link)

"No, it's partially my fault, too." Wesley, well, the Wesley he remembered, if anything, had always been unfailingly polite. Of course, his father had drilled it into him since the day of his birth, along with any other Watcher lesson he could fit in the poor boy's head. He had known the elder Wyndam-Pryce, and had never exactly been fond of him. Might have tinged his reaction to Wesley a bit back in Sunnydale as well.

"I...I didn't even realize that you were in Cleveland as well," he admitted. Buffy nor Willow had said nothing to him of that affect, and, well, if Buffy or Willow didn't tell him, he'd never find out anything in this bloody city.

The first thing he wanted to ask was if he was still with Angel. Well, with as in working with, not anything else, if that was even possible. Or probable. Whatever. Anyways, he stopped himself from doing so when he remembered that Angel had lost his soul recently. It might either be a touchy subject, or he may not have known because he had not been in touch with the vampire. Nothing would shock him at this point.

"So, are you here to do some sort of research, or are you here to apply for one of the positions available as well?" Giles asked him after he helped him up. He couldn't think of why else he would be wandering around a rather mundane library other than to look for a job or maybe research something about the city. Of course, according to Willow, anyway, there was nothing you could find in a library that you couldn't find on the internet. Hmmph, he'd stick with the library full of nice books thank you.

Giles was still slightly marveling at the fact that Wesley was even here when he caught the look that very briefly danced across his face. A look of anger, or even hatred. There was one good reason for Wesley to hate Giles, and that was about his friend, Fred, that he had called about what felt like so long ago.

Everyone had thought that all of them working for Wolfram & Hart had meant that they were evil. Buffy hadn't even wanted to talk about Angel at all during all of that. Of course, this had later been proven to be wrong. They had even tried to take the place down, or at least hurt them. Seemed to have lost most of their friends in the process as well, from what little he knew about the incident. He wished he could take back what he had done. He just hoped that he could atone for that himself one day.

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watcher_pryce
2009-06-13 05:04 am UTC (link)

"Yes well," Wesley muttered, brushing off the dust that *wasn't* actually covering his pants, "it would seem only a few people seemed to have noticed." The story of his life, to go un-noticed for the better part of it. Which really suited him fine when he was a mere child growing up in the Wyndam-Pryce household with Roger Wyndam-Pryce at the head of it.

Not being noticed back then meant there was less chance of his father pointing out what a failure he was, how much he was disappointed in the boy on ever available and none available chance he'd get. Not being noticed back then meant that there was less of a chance to be punished when his father thought he hadn't done his tasks well enough, which was more often then not.

Pity it hadn't worked so well then as it seemed to work now.

He'd tried to get in contact with Angel - now that Angelus was locked up again - and Cordelia, the only two whom he cared about to be honest. Aside from Lilah of course. But it was almost as if they were avoiding him for reasons he couldn't understand. Well, he could understand *Angel's* reasons, but not Cordelia's. It still smart quite a bit that she had ran out on him without giving him a chance to-- actually talk.

As for the rest of the fighters of good, only Faith knew. But he doubted she had told anyone of such, considering that she too had ran away from him fast. Perhaps he had done something while sleepwalking which was so despicably horrible that people ran away from him fast?

At least Giles didn't seem to run away from him.

"Ah..." Well, as if either Watcher would come to such a small library for research. They probably had ten times more books *combined* then this library. "No, no I was ah-- looking for a job. Demon--" He cleared his throat and shuffled closer while he lowered his voice. Demons weren't a topic one could openly talk about and not get strange looks.

"--demon hunting doesn't exactly pay the bills," he murmured. Of course he had Lilah who would pay for him, he could be a kept man. Lilah would probably love that and would never let him forget it. No thank you. Of course Lilah's current strange behaviour had something to do with Wesley errm... speeding up his efforts to get out of the apartment.

The woman *was* acting bizarrely. She'd either get angry over nothing, or burst into tears. He had left the toilet seat up the other day and she'd burst into tears when noticing. She'd rant at him for not cleaning the apartment after she'd specifically told him there was no need since she had two maids. Which was something else entirely they were going to have to talk about but... Very strange behaviour indeed.

"And what brings you here?" Wesley finally asked, trying to shove all emotions and feelings concerning Lilah, his friends and-- Fred to the back of his mind. It would never leave his mind, he wished they would if only for a second.

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watcher_giles
2009-06-18 07:43 pm UTC (link)

Giles didn't run away from Wesley. He actually wouldn't have a reason. If anything, Wesley would have a good reason to turn his back on Giles right now more than anything. It had been a while ago, sure, but some things were never forgotten, either the incident with Fred or just his general shabby treatment in Sunnydale way back when. Too much to make up for, really.

"No, demon hunting really doesn't pay any sorts of bills," Giles said to him softly. Buffy was once again finding that out the hard way. He just hoped that things would work out for the better soon enough. No one with her intelligence should have to work at a fast food restaurant. Especially one that made people wear a hat with a cow on their heads.

"Actually, I was coming here to look for a job as well," Giles admitted to him. "It seems that they are completely lacking on a night staff right now." People were starting to move out of Cleveland, or, well, just disappearing or dying. That tended to leave a lot of job openings for people to fill. Luckily, some were even in Giles's field of qualifications. And Wesley's as well, it seemed.

If they both were hired, it would be kind of strange for them to be working together again. Not that it had worked out so well last time, but Giles himself had been a bit pig-headed when it came to that. He would have been rude to anyone that the Council sent. The fact that they sent a very young man who had no real field experience but acted like he knew everything seemed to just make it worse.

Of course, times have changed since then.

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watcher_pryce
2009-06-19 07:52 am UTC (link)

"No, no it rather doesn't," Wesley nodded. God, he was horrible when it came to small talk. It was a good thing - or maybe not so much - that Giles didn't seem to be any better at it. Perhaps it was their shared past, or maybe the fact that they were British which made them lack the art of small talk.

Cordelia had always been rather good at it, so was Lilah, and Fred could babble about nothing at all for-- well hours. And if he recalled correctly, so could Miss Rosenberg.

"You were?" Wesley looked somewhat startled by the news that Giles, too, was looking for a job. At the very same place as Wesley had been applying. What were the odds? Though, if there *were* jobs on a night shift - which was one of the reasons for Wesley to apply - in a library, they would be the perfect candidate. Of course not knowing Giles was even in the same town as he, made it less likely to come to mind.

Wesley frowned at the news, thinking about Giles' last job. On and off job now that he thought about it. But with most of the council blown, quite literally, to smithereens, shouldn't the man be rebuilding it? If anyone had the experience and the capacity to do so it was Rupert Giles in Wesley's opinion. Despite personal and emotional feeling, Wesley still thought very highly of the man professional.

"Errr..." The frown deepened as Wesley thought this over, "if you don't mind me asking," he said politely, painfully so almost, "what about the ah-- Council? Is it not being rebuild? What with all these new Slayers running around?" And wasn't *that* a concept he was still trying to rhyme up in his mind. The fact that 'One girl in every generation' was no longer applicable.

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watcher_giles
2009-06-19 10:16 pm UTC (link)

Giles had never been one for small talk. It just wasn't some gene that he was born with, it seemed. It always made him feel a little silly when trying to talk to someone when he really didn't know them very well. As much as he knew about Wesley, he didn't actually know him very well. Buffy and Willow were much better at small talk than he was. Even Xander could keep you entertained much better than Giles typically could.

It did seem a bit odd that both him and Wesley were both applying for jobs at the same place. At least there was more than one job to be had. So, there would be no competition between them. Well, less competition, anyway. Between the two of them, though, no one else in this city could have quite as nice credentials. So, both were probably shoe ins for the job.

"The Council?" He spent a lot of time on the phone still with that, even if he was across the pond, so to speak. You would think that no one knew how to run a international organization that controlled the well being of hundreds of girls around the world. "It is still in the constant process of being rebuilt. I'm still keeping a constant tabs on it, even in Cleveland here."

He was sure that Wesley would want to know why he wasn't there in person while things were going on there. He knew that there were others there competent to oversee the instructions that he had left. "I felt that being here was more important. Buffy needed me, whether she was going to admit to it or not."

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watcher_pryce
2009-06-21 12:58 am UTC (link)

Well, Wesley couldn't help but think bitterly, wasn't it nice to know with great certainty that you were actually needed. The younger man felt a pang in his chest when he thought how Angel had shown up at his doorstep, claiming how he needed Wesley, then continued to drag him over to this blasted town and then never showed his face again. Long before the vampire turned into Angelus.

Cordelia hadn't been any different. Had come to look him up, seemingly annoyed that Wesley was shocked to find that his oldest and dearest friend was alive. Then when Wesley didn't react the way the Queen demanded, she too had ran out on him. He'd not seen her since, which hurt far more then Wesley was willing to admit to anyone.

Even himself.

If it weren't for Lilah he'd have gone back to his small town, back to the job he'd created for himself and he might not have looked back this time. He'd never felt so alone in his-- no that was a lie. He had felt so alone in his life. But the last time his friends actually had a reason to cast him aside. Wesley couldn't think of a single one for them to do so now. Especially with the difficult time of Angel return he would have thought they'd need him, Wesley, in their lives.

But he was only fooling himself. No one really *needed* him. If he was to be brutally honest, not even Lilah needed him. She'd be fine without him, he was certain of that. But starting a whole new life and breaking with the past once had been hard enough. Wesley didn't think he had the energy to try that again.

"I was under the impression you left her some time ago because she was coping remarkably well on her own." he asked, having heard that news from Cordelia who had it via Willow. It was like a soap sometimes, their lives. Recent events, not that he knew about 'recent events' must've changed the Slayers ability to cope. Angelus might have something to do with that, Wesley thought ruefully.

"Wont it be hard to re-build The Council from a long distance?" he then asked, his tone of voice pure curiosity and nothing else. It wasn't as though Wesley thought he could do a better job. In fact when it came to the Council, he found he could care less. The world hadn't been much of a better place *with* them. These old men sitting high up in their ivory tower, watching the world from afar.

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watcher_giles
2009-06-24 03:09 pm UTC (link)

"I left because I thought she would be better off," Giles admitted. It was a sore spot for him, because that year that he first left seemed to have been the hardest in all of their lives. He himself had even thought about hopping on a plane and coming back at least a thousand times, but had stopped himself from doing so in hopes of Buffy learning some self reliance. Maybe if he had come back sooner, Willow's own decent into darkness could have been prevented. Of course, he could just be kidding himself over that.

"More recent events made me decide to come to Cleveland," he said. "I hadn't heard from anyone in almost two months when I flew in. Honestly, I was worried." He had no intention of going back, though. He wanted to stay here with *his* Slayer. He still saw her as his, anyway. Sure, they had had plenty of disagreements, some of which he was entirely at fault for. He still saw himself as her Watcher, though. He still felt the need to protect her.

"It won't be easy to rebuild from a distance," Giles admitted. "There's not much that can be done about that. Besides, Buffy isn't the only Slayer here, after all." There were some younger Slayers here as well. Someone needed to watch over their training as well, and, while Buffy was probably one of the greatest Slayers the world had ever seen, she still wasn't going to be able to train all of these girls properly.

"I can't sit by in England while people here are going through so much," he finally said to Wesley. He felt bloody useless in England. All of the bureaucracy and red tape was starting to drive him mad. Maybe he came here to get away from all of it as well. It wasn't like he enjoyed doing all of it in the first place.

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watcher_pryce
2009-06-25 12:16 pm UTC (link)

"Ah..." That-- didn't actually make any sense to Wesley. Of course Wesley had never really understood the world around him, having grown up the way he had, so that on it's own wasn't really surprising. And though he thought that the Council of Wankers back then was full of bollox, he would have thought 'never leave your Slayer' alone would have been a golden rule for a pair such as Buffy and Giles.

He most certainly had never been able to get anywhere near them. That had been the main reason he had failed in Sunnydale as a Watcher, he had realized much, much later. It hadn't only been his fault as he had first made himself believe. But it had been the bond Buffy and Giles had, that unbreakable bond that went beyond a Watcher and a Slayer that would have never given Wesley any sort of chance. Or anyone for that matter.

So there was probably something more to the matter, but Wesley didn't think it was his place to pry or dig deeper. The Council, past of present, weren't his concern any longer, and neither were any Slayers.

He kept nodding, politely, when Giles told him why he was here. Recent events, no doubt, being the return of Angelus. It had surprised Wesley that Giles hadn't shown up earlier, but now he realized that no one had told him. Huh. Looks like he wasn't the only one being, what felt like deliberate to him, kept out of the loop. Or forgotten, whichever way you wanted to look at it.

Perhaps he and Giles could start a club. The Forgotten Watchers Club, two members and counting. The thought brought a wry smile to his face while Giles droned on about the Council's rebuilding. "Hmmm," Wesley hummed, "so you do not fear that leaving the re-building at this early stage may give those who are left behind to re-build it to make the same mistakes our ancestors of the Council have made?" he asked.

If the people re-building the damn thing were anything like young Wesley had been, one could count on that. Hell, even *Giles* had been a stickler for the rules before Buffy had re-trained him. "Or are you considering moving the headquarters operations to Cleveland? Since this is where the ah-- how do the Americans put it-- oh yes, 'action' is?" Wouldn't that be the ultimate rebellious act. The precious Council, not in London, but America of all places.

"Mister Wyndam-Pryce?" A female voice called out, startling Wesley just a little, since he had forgotten where he was for a moment during his talk with Giles. How strange.

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watcher_giles
2009-06-26 05:59 pm UTC (link)

"Well, it's different people building it up again instead of the ones last time." It was a lot of younger people, for one. Sons and daughters of Watchers before, and more than one older Watcher who had left over disagreements about policies, including treatment of Slayers. "I'm still keeping a close eye on it."

"Building at least some sort of base here as well wouldn't be a bad idea," he said. It was something that had crossed his mind. Of course, the old guard would spin in their graves, but there really weren't any of them left now. Most of what was left was either too young to care where the Council was located, or rebellious enough to be first in line with a location change. "It's certainly a thought to keep in mind. We need to have more than one outpost now, anyway, since we have more than just two Slayers."

A part of him wanted to ask Wesley to join in the rebuilding. He of all people would know what had been done wrong. He was sort of the product of all of the wrong teachings, or at least he had been. Still, Giles knew that Wesley would turn down that offer flat. He was sure that Wesley didn't exactly look back on his experiences as a Watcher with fondness.

Giles looked toward the woman who had walked up to them. She was the same one who had interviewed Giles. "I'm sure I need to let you get to your interview now," he said. "Good luck with it. I'm sure that you'll get hired."

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watcher_pryce
2009-06-29 01:53 am UTC (link)

Wesley resisted the urge to shrug when told it were different people re-building the Council now. There had been different people for hundreds of years or however long the Council existed - no one was actually certain - and no changed had ever been made. Not really. So it was hard for Wesley, who had grown up with the most stubborn of old fashioned Council men, to believe in any sort of change where the Council was concerned.

Instead of shrugged he hummed when the thought it appropriate and nodded at Giles words. Keeping an eye on it. From this far? They both knew how hard that was going to be. Those watchers in their ivory tower looking down their nose at those who were in the field, at the front line. Though Wesley was surprised - and he was certain it showed on his face - when Giles agreed that several bases of operation, especially here, was not a bad idea.

"You think so?" Wesley blurted out, slapping himself mentally when he realised how eager he sounded. Still so much in need for that pat on the back he never really got. Pathetic really. He was past his thirties, you'd think he was past *that* habit as well by now. Luckily his embarrassment was cut short at the arrival of the woman who came to fetch him.

Trying not to stand up to quickly and letting out a relieved breath, Wesley ignored the flush of shame that had creped up the back of his neck and was spreading over his face. He frowned at Giles' words, though no doubt meant as polite came over rather condescending. Wesley was almost expecting Giles to give him an indulgent smile and a pat on the head.

"Yes, well," he muttered, "Mister Giles. I'm certain we'll see each other again." Wesley nodded politely to the man and then followed the woman to his job-interview. He had no doubt he'd see Giles again. And quite probably sooner if he and Wesley were *both* hired here. Wouldn't that be the irony of it all.

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