Aug 24 - Oz/Taylor
Aug 24 - Oz/Taylor
Author: mmooch
Chapter Summary: **Part of the 2016 LiveJournal’s Twisted Shorts FaD** challenge. Oz has to fight city hall, aka Taylor Doose.
Crossover: Gilmore Girls
Rating: FR-13.
Word count: 1070
Challenge: for the livejournal 2016 August Fic-a-Day Challenge.
Timeline: season 4 BtVS; season 1 GG, during episode 13 (the Bangles concert one)
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Gilmore Girls belong to the WB, et al. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
Miss Patty’s Studio
“Now we will open the floor to new business,” Taylor said, not realizing the irony of his declaration. He gestured to Oz, who walked up the podium with a binder.
He would have looked pretty professional except for his cargo pants, t-shirt and unbuttoned, button-down shirt. “Thanks. I’ll be brief,” he started.
“When aren’t you?” Lorelai called out loudly, causing the crowd to chuckle in amused agreement.
Oz just nodded at her, then said, “I’d like to turn the building next to Luke’s into a cybercafe. Here’s a handout that outlines my plan and prices.” He took a stack of pamphlets from the binder and gave them to the people in the first row to hand back to the rest of the crowd.
Before Oz could get back to the podium, Taylor stood up to object, “I don’t think we should allow an outsider to change the ambiance of our historical downtown area.”
“I wouldn’t mind a place to look at stuff online,” Miss Patty defended Oz. “Besides, shouldn’t we be happy that we’re bringing a new business into the town? Especially one that doesn’t have any competition?”
“Yeah, Taylor, you got something against people who weren’t born in town?” Babette piped up.
Jumping on the bandwagon, Lorelai put on a pouty face and said, “I feel hurt, Taylor. Does this mean you don’t like me, either?”
The murmurs went on and Oz just stood there listening, somewhat bemused.
“That’s not what I meant at all,” Taylor denied. “I just think that there’s a better use for that space. I, myself, was considering the possibility of putting in an old-fashioned soda shoppe there,” he added, hoping to entice some people to his way of thinking.
“Taylor next door to me?” Luke ground out. “I think we need to let Oz have the space unless you want to go to Taylor’s funeral and visit me in prison, because I’m willing to bet that if we’re that close, he’ll push me too far one day and I’ll end up killing him.”
Only slightly taken aback by Luke’s harsh words - he had heard similar things over the years, after all - Taylor held up his copy of Oz’s pamphlet and shouted, “But he’s going to be in direct competition with you!”
“Excuse me?” Luke asked in confusion.
“It says here that he plans to sell coffee, tea, other drinks and pastries. That means he’ll take business away from you and Weston Bakery,” Taylor said, feeling he had a winning argument now.
“First of all, he’s buying the coffee from me, so I won’t be losing that business; same goes for the pastries and Weston Bakery. Second of all, he’ll actually be helping me,” Luke retorted.
“How do you figure that?” Taylor demanded.
“Because he’d be selling to people who just want to sit for hours and read the paper. If they do that in my diner, that’s a table that can’t be used by anyone else until they leave. If they do that in his store, I get to use table more often for different customers,” Luke explained like he was talking to an idiot, which he thought Taylor was on most days.
“It’d be a cool place for the kids to hang out after school,” Andrew added helpfully.
The discussion continued for several minutes with basically everyone siding with Oz and his cybercafe idea. The man in question just stood next to the wall and let it go on without him. Lorelai moved to his side and whispered, “Why aren’t you standing up for yourself?”
Oz shrugged. “Don’t need to. They’re doing it for me,” he pointed out, gesturing to the crowd.
“Taylor moved to the podium and slammed the gavel several times to quiet the room. “I think we’re overlooking one important issue. How old are you, young man?”
“Now you got a problem with his age, Taylor?” Luke yelled before Oz could say anything.
“He’s talking about starting a business in a prime real estate area. How can we be sure that the business won’t fail within six months because he doesn’t have enough funds?” Taylor asked semi-reasonably. “The young tend to be foolhardy and jump into things without thinking through the consequences. He can’t make that much as a cook.”
“I just turned 21. Celebrated with a beer,” Oz answered. “I’m able to put 75% down on the building and could have bought it outright, but wanted to use the rest for equipment, furniture and supplies.”
“How can you afford that? Didn’t you have to take a job with Luke to pay for your van repairs?” Taylor asked in surprise.
“I didn’t have my royalty checks then,” Oz said.
“Are you a writer?” Andrew asked excitedly.
“No.”
“A musician?” Miss Patty wanted to know. He looked like a musician to her.
“No. Well, I am, but I got the checks for some software programs I sold. One of them will be used in the cybercafe. It’s why I wrote the program,” he explained, sharing one of his more closely-held secrets. That surprised him because he wasn’t a sharing kind of person most of the time.
“Then how can we trust that it will protect our children from inappropriate material?” Taylor complained.
“It’s the main selling point the company is using in promoting the software,” Oz replied easily.
“I still think an old-fashioned soda shoppe would be a better idea, but we’ll put it to a vote,” Taylor announced dejectedly.
Oz was still shocked that his business had to be voted on before it could be started. They didn’t do this for other businesses around the town. After his café was approved, he walked out with Luke.
“I thought you were working on that button thing,” Luke said in confusion.
“That’s one of my new projects. The cybercafe system was my old one; I did most of the work for that while I was in high school.”
“When do you have time to sleep?” Luke asked incredulously.
Oz just smirked at him. “I do some good programming while cooking,” he answered honestly.
Luke laughed in agreement. There was something about cooking that allowed your mind to wander occasionally. “Well, now that I know Taylor was looking at that space, I’ll say thanks for thinking of your idea first. Guess that means you plan on sticking around for a while?”
All Oz could say was, “It feels like home.”
A/N: Since I made Oz a computer guy, I decided to really make him a computer guy.
Author: mmooch
Chapter Summary: **Part of the 2016 LiveJournal’s Twisted Shorts FaD** challenge. Oz has to fight city hall, aka Taylor Doose.
Crossover: Gilmore Girls
Rating: FR-13.
Word count: 1070
Challenge: for the livejournal 2016 August Fic-a-Day Challenge.
Timeline: season 4 BtVS; season 1 GG, during episode 13 (the Bangles concert one)
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Gilmore Girls belong to the WB, et al. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
Miss Patty’s Studio
“Now we will open the floor to new business,” Taylor said, not realizing the irony of his declaration. He gestured to Oz, who walked up the podium with a binder.
He would have looked pretty professional except for his cargo pants, t-shirt and unbuttoned, button-down shirt. “Thanks. I’ll be brief,” he started.
“When aren’t you?” Lorelai called out loudly, causing the crowd to chuckle in amused agreement.
Oz just nodded at her, then said, “I’d like to turn the building next to Luke’s into a cybercafe. Here’s a handout that outlines my plan and prices.” He took a stack of pamphlets from the binder and gave them to the people in the first row to hand back to the rest of the crowd.
Before Oz could get back to the podium, Taylor stood up to object, “I don’t think we should allow an outsider to change the ambiance of our historical downtown area.”
“I wouldn’t mind a place to look at stuff online,” Miss Patty defended Oz. “Besides, shouldn’t we be happy that we’re bringing a new business into the town? Especially one that doesn’t have any competition?”
“Yeah, Taylor, you got something against people who weren’t born in town?” Babette piped up.
Jumping on the bandwagon, Lorelai put on a pouty face and said, “I feel hurt, Taylor. Does this mean you don’t like me, either?”
The murmurs went on and Oz just stood there listening, somewhat bemused.
“That’s not what I meant at all,” Taylor denied. “I just think that there’s a better use for that space. I, myself, was considering the possibility of putting in an old-fashioned soda shoppe there,” he added, hoping to entice some people to his way of thinking.
“Taylor next door to me?” Luke ground out. “I think we need to let Oz have the space unless you want to go to Taylor’s funeral and visit me in prison, because I’m willing to bet that if we’re that close, he’ll push me too far one day and I’ll end up killing him.”
Only slightly taken aback by Luke’s harsh words - he had heard similar things over the years, after all - Taylor held up his copy of Oz’s pamphlet and shouted, “But he’s going to be in direct competition with you!”
“Excuse me?” Luke asked in confusion.
“It says here that he plans to sell coffee, tea, other drinks and pastries. That means he’ll take business away from you and Weston Bakery,” Taylor said, feeling he had a winning argument now.
“First of all, he’s buying the coffee from me, so I won’t be losing that business; same goes for the pastries and Weston Bakery. Second of all, he’ll actually be helping me,” Luke retorted.
“How do you figure that?” Taylor demanded.
“Because he’d be selling to people who just want to sit for hours and read the paper. If they do that in my diner, that’s a table that can’t be used by anyone else until they leave. If they do that in his store, I get to use table more often for different customers,” Luke explained like he was talking to an idiot, which he thought Taylor was on most days.
“It’d be a cool place for the kids to hang out after school,” Andrew added helpfully.
The discussion continued for several minutes with basically everyone siding with Oz and his cybercafe idea. The man in question just stood next to the wall and let it go on without him. Lorelai moved to his side and whispered, “Why aren’t you standing up for yourself?”
Oz shrugged. “Don’t need to. They’re doing it for me,” he pointed out, gesturing to the crowd.
“Taylor moved to the podium and slammed the gavel several times to quiet the room. “I think we’re overlooking one important issue. How old are you, young man?”
“Now you got a problem with his age, Taylor?” Luke yelled before Oz could say anything.
“He’s talking about starting a business in a prime real estate area. How can we be sure that the business won’t fail within six months because he doesn’t have enough funds?” Taylor asked semi-reasonably. “The young tend to be foolhardy and jump into things without thinking through the consequences. He can’t make that much as a cook.”
“I just turned 21. Celebrated with a beer,” Oz answered. “I’m able to put 75% down on the building and could have bought it outright, but wanted to use the rest for equipment, furniture and supplies.”
“How can you afford that? Didn’t you have to take a job with Luke to pay for your van repairs?” Taylor asked in surprise.
“I didn’t have my royalty checks then,” Oz said.
“Are you a writer?” Andrew asked excitedly.
“No.”
“A musician?” Miss Patty wanted to know. He looked like a musician to her.
“No. Well, I am, but I got the checks for some software programs I sold. One of them will be used in the cybercafe. It’s why I wrote the program,” he explained, sharing one of his more closely-held secrets. That surprised him because he wasn’t a sharing kind of person most of the time.
“Then how can we trust that it will protect our children from inappropriate material?” Taylor complained.
“It’s the main selling point the company is using in promoting the software,” Oz replied easily.
“I still think an old-fashioned soda shoppe would be a better idea, but we’ll put it to a vote,” Taylor announced dejectedly.
Oz was still shocked that his business had to be voted on before it could be started. They didn’t do this for other businesses around the town. After his café was approved, he walked out with Luke.
“I thought you were working on that button thing,” Luke said in confusion.
“That’s one of my new projects. The cybercafe system was my old one; I did most of the work for that while I was in high school.”
“When do you have time to sleep?” Luke asked incredulously.
Oz just smirked at him. “I do some good programming while cooking,” he answered honestly.
Luke laughed in agreement. There was something about cooking that allowed your mind to wander occasionally. “Well, now that I know Taylor was looking at that space, I’ll say thanks for thinking of your idea first. Guess that means you plan on sticking around for a while?”
All Oz could say was, “It feels like home.”
A/N: Since I made Oz a computer guy, I decided to really make him a computer guy.