Ficlet: Don Jose Redux
Title Don Jose Redux
Author Rebcake
Rating G
Word Count 350
Character Riley Finn
A/N: Written for the still_grrr prompt for musicals or opera. I used Bizet’s Carmen.
Riley Finn knew his duty. The objective was to protect citizens from the depredations of monsters they never knew existed. He was also supposed to follow orders, but history had shown that wasn’t necessarily the best way to carry out the objective. Who was he to argue with history? He was always open to effective new techniques, for the good of the mission, and Buffy clearly had an incredibly effective approach. If she was one of the most fascinating girls he’d ever met, well, that was secondary. Probably.
However, he’d been entangled in the details. His superior officer, his mentor, had created the most horrible monster yet, and it had killed her. Then, he met another monster through Buffy, Oz, who was a great guy, the kind of guy you could barbecue with and talk to, well, not about sports, but other stuff. Seeing Oz classified as an experimental subject made him wonder who were the monsters and who were the citizens. Those questions were not about Buffy, not exactly.
But, now that he was AWOL - part of an escape plan involving not only a werewolf, but a witch, Hostile 17, and a supernatural Slayer - he realized Buffy had changed his world view. Not many of his peers would see him as doing his duty anymore. He was straying farther and farther from everything he’d thought was right, and he wasn’t sure he could ever go back. He hoped that Buffy wasn’t just a peculiar blonde temptress, a siren leading him to his doom. He felt wrong-footed, though his heart told him he was doing the right thing.
The thing was, he wasn’t sure if his heart was entirely under his own control anymore. He sat in the burned-out school, and while she stayed away, he felt as empty as the library shelves surrounding him. He would wait and wait, if only she would come to let him know he hadn’t thrown away his career for nothing.
When Xander showed up instead, bearing tales of Buffy’s old demon lover, Riley knew he’d been had.
Author Rebcake
Rating G
Word Count 350
Character Riley Finn
A/N: Written for the still_grrr prompt for musicals or opera. I used Bizet’s Carmen.
Riley Finn knew his duty. The objective was to protect citizens from the depredations of monsters they never knew existed. He was also supposed to follow orders, but history had shown that wasn’t necessarily the best way to carry out the objective. Who was he to argue with history? He was always open to effective new techniques, for the good of the mission, and Buffy clearly had an incredibly effective approach. If she was one of the most fascinating girls he’d ever met, well, that was secondary. Probably.
However, he’d been entangled in the details. His superior officer, his mentor, had created the most horrible monster yet, and it had killed her. Then, he met another monster through Buffy, Oz, who was a great guy, the kind of guy you could barbecue with and talk to, well, not about sports, but other stuff. Seeing Oz classified as an experimental subject made him wonder who were the monsters and who were the citizens. Those questions were not about Buffy, not exactly.
But, now that he was AWOL - part of an escape plan involving not only a werewolf, but a witch, Hostile 17, and a supernatural Slayer - he realized Buffy had changed his world view. Not many of his peers would see him as doing his duty anymore. He was straying farther and farther from everything he’d thought was right, and he wasn’t sure he could ever go back. He hoped that Buffy wasn’t just a peculiar blonde temptress, a siren leading him to his doom. He felt wrong-footed, though his heart told him he was doing the right thing.
The thing was, he wasn’t sure if his heart was entirely under his own control anymore. He sat in the burned-out school, and while she stayed away, he felt as empty as the library shelves surrounding him. He would wait and wait, if only she would come to let him know he hadn’t thrown away his career for nothing.
When Xander showed up instead, bearing tales of Buffy’s old demon lover, Riley knew he’d been had.