Aug. 21 - One-Night-Stands: Charlie Eppes
Title: One-Night-Stands: Charlie Eppes
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS/Numb3rs
Rating: Het. (Buffy/Charlie). Um, mature? Just to be on the safe side.
Word Count: 1,457.
Timeline: Post-Chosen / N3: Anytime after Charlie begins working with Don and he realizes he has a real chance with Amita.
Disclaimer: Both BtVS and N3 belongs to someone who definitely isn't yours truly.
Summary: Buffy attends a fancy event and follows a certain professor home...
Author's Note: I don't think Charlie is one for one night stands, but let's pretend. This is a one-shot and doesn't fit in anywhere, but is a part of the ' One-Night-Stands'.
A/N 2: By writing this I have officially reached my 2018 GYWO Pledge! :D
Buffy was attending some kind of official shindig where her purpose seemed to simply be 'smile and look pretty' as far as most of the men there were concerned. She was supposed to network and generally see if there were anyone worth recruiting for the Sineya Defender's Coalition. So far she had only met people who cared about themselves and how to make themselves richer and/or climb the ranks of whatever organization they were a part of.
The whole evening forcefully reminded her of her life pre-Slayage and how attending this kind of event as simply eye-candy on someone's arm had been the kind of life she had been aiming for back in her early teens. It was painfully obvious to Buffy what kind of difference a decade did to someone's mentality and career decisions. Her 14-15-year-old self had believed that her goal in life was to get a rich husband, shop to her heart's content, and attending fancy parties and events. Her current self would never have settled for something like that, even if shopping was still on her list of favorite things to do.
Still, the food was good and the wine they were being served was clearly expensive so it wasn't all bad, even if she took it easy on the alcohol. So, she mingled and smiled pretty just to see if there were anyone there who was willing to see beyond her blonde hair and attractive appearance. Nearly two hours into the party and she felt most of the men there treated her like an attentive dog, and the only thing missing was them patting her on the head. It was insulting, even if they pretended otherwise.
Giles was keeping court on the other side of the large room as he had no problems getting anyone to listen to him. His fancy manners and British accent made sure people paid close attention to anything he said. It was unfair, but at least he was getting somewhere. Gaining contacts, even if they were never told of the real reason behind the Coalition/Council, was important. You never knew when knowing someone could come in useful.
Willow was chatting with a group of wives/girlfriends over by the drinks, where they seemed to congregate. It kind of explained her mother's drinking problem back in the day and why she had managed to stop cold turkey when they moved to Sunnydale. They were talking but it remained to be seen if it was something useful or just the latest gossip. It was a possible in if they could get the right wife/wives to speak to their significant other and get the ball rolling.
She used to be so good at this, but today nothing seemed to go right. So instead, she just watched the crowd. Who was talking to who and in what manner. Who was avoiding who, and so on. It would help give them a map of these particular people and how to approach them at other events if necessary.
"You look as bored and out of place at this thing as I am." Buffy turned toward a dark-haired man with a lot of adorable curls. He was attractive in a geeky sort of way, he was also on the shorter side. The lack of height meant she didn't need to look up very far, just 2-3 inches.
She smiled, "I don't think anyone truly feels at home at these things."
He returned her smile and held out his hand, which she accepted. "Charlie Eppes. I'm here representing CalTech's Math Department."
She shook his hand and replied, "Buffy Summers. I'm one of the representatives for the Watcher's Council." There was no recognition in his eyes at her name or the WC, which meant he was a blank slate. She recognized his name though, as Willow had gone on ad nauseam about one of his papers on some math thing that went way over her head a few months prior.
"I'm afraid I've never heard of the Watcher's Council. What do you do?"
Buffy's reply was the truth, or rather a part of the truth. A truth all Slayers had to familiarize themselves with and even participate in on a regular basis so as to keep up the facade and ensure they had profit and not just expenses. "Unless you're interested in antiques, buying, selling, or allowing your treasures to be on load to us or others, then you wouldn't be. We're a very specialized group."
Ironically, Buffy already had a basis for their partial cover story as her mother had owned an art gallery in Sunnydale, and had worked part-time for a larger one when they lived in LA. It meant she could talk about it with an ease very few of the others were capable of, something that made Giles happy.
Charlie shook his head with a small, sheepish smile, "Sorry. I could tell you how to mathematically tell a fake from the real deal, but other than that no. I'm not artistic and I'm not too specific about what goes on the walls." He took a glass of wine from one of the servers passing by. "I don't suppose you're a mathematician?"
In his defense, he was polite about it and didn't expect to get a positive answer, so when she gave a rueful smile and replied in the negative he wasn't offended and he didn't look down on her for it. Which she appreciated a lot after having been dismissed by just about everyone that night for being brainless.
They ended up speaking for over an hour and then she went home with him when it was finally polite to leave the snoozefest. A taxi brought them to his home, which turned out to be a cozy wooden house that looked loved and well lived in. Aside from the part where they ended up at his real home, there were family pictures to prove it and it smelled like him and at least two other men, it would've been smarter to take her to a hotel or motel. She wasn't complaining, but...
Much later, she was very much nude and highly satisfied with how the evening had ended. She also turned out to be alone in the large bed when she woke up after her post-coital nap. When she put her hand on the other half of the bed, under the covers, it was cold. She frowned. Where had he gone? It wasn't like he would run out on her when she was in sleeping in his bed, right?
Buffy held the covers up over her chest and got out of bed where she put it more fully around herself while she searched for her discarded clothes. It took a little while but she found everything and redressed. Once she's had a quick wash that is. Once she was presentable again she went in search of her missing lover, because she just couldn't leave without knowing if he was okay.
The rest of the upstairs turned out to be more bedrooms, plus the aforementioned bathroom, so she walked back down. Living room, smaller rooms, and once she got closer to what could only be the kitchen she heard the sound of chalk on a blackboard. A slightly confused look came over her face as she entered the room and found it empty, but she quickly located the door on the other side of the room.
The door leading out to what she was reasonably certain had once been a garage turned out to be full of blackboards in all sizes and mounted on all of the walls. There were even a few hanging from the ceiling. Charlie was standing in front of one of them, rapidly scribbling an equation she had no hope of understanding.
She walked over and said in a low, soft voice, "Charlie." He jumped despite her attempt to avoid it and put a hand over his heart while trying to get his breathing back under control again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just wondered where you went."
"It's okay," he gave her a bright smile. "I finally figured out how to solve this and I needed to write it down before I lost my train of thought and..."
Buffy gave him a comforting smile, "It's okay. Go back to your math, I need to get home." Well, back to her temporary home. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay and to tell you I'm leaving."
Charlie got a little awkward but some easy small talk calmed him down and Buffy left. A quick phone call on the way out and a taxi would pick her up a few streets over.
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS/Numb3rs
Rating: Het. (Buffy/Charlie). Um, mature? Just to be on the safe side.
Word Count: 1,457.
Timeline: Post-Chosen / N3: Anytime after Charlie begins working with Don and he realizes he has a real chance with Amita.
Disclaimer: Both BtVS and N3 belongs to someone who definitely isn't yours truly.
Summary: Buffy attends a fancy event and follows a certain professor home...
Author's Note: I don't think Charlie is one for one night stands, but let's pretend. This is a one-shot and doesn't fit in anywhere, but is a part of the ' One-Night-Stands'.
A/N 2: By writing this I have officially reached my 2018 GYWO Pledge! :D
Buffy was attending some kind of official shindig where her purpose seemed to simply be 'smile and look pretty' as far as most of the men there were concerned. She was supposed to network and generally see if there were anyone worth recruiting for the Sineya Defender's Coalition. So far she had only met people who cared about themselves and how to make themselves richer and/or climb the ranks of whatever organization they were a part of.
The whole evening forcefully reminded her of her life pre-Slayage and how attending this kind of event as simply eye-candy on someone's arm had been the kind of life she had been aiming for back in her early teens. It was painfully obvious to Buffy what kind of difference a decade did to someone's mentality and career decisions. Her 14-15-year-old self had believed that her goal in life was to get a rich husband, shop to her heart's content, and attending fancy parties and events. Her current self would never have settled for something like that, even if shopping was still on her list of favorite things to do.
Still, the food was good and the wine they were being served was clearly expensive so it wasn't all bad, even if she took it easy on the alcohol. So, she mingled and smiled pretty just to see if there were anyone there who was willing to see beyond her blonde hair and attractive appearance. Nearly two hours into the party and she felt most of the men there treated her like an attentive dog, and the only thing missing was them patting her on the head. It was insulting, even if they pretended otherwise.
Giles was keeping court on the other side of the large room as he had no problems getting anyone to listen to him. His fancy manners and British accent made sure people paid close attention to anything he said. It was unfair, but at least he was getting somewhere. Gaining contacts, even if they were never told of the real reason behind the Coalition/Council, was important. You never knew when knowing someone could come in useful.
Willow was chatting with a group of wives/girlfriends over by the drinks, where they seemed to congregate. It kind of explained her mother's drinking problem back in the day and why she had managed to stop cold turkey when they moved to Sunnydale. They were talking but it remained to be seen if it was something useful or just the latest gossip. It was a possible in if they could get the right wife/wives to speak to their significant other and get the ball rolling.
She used to be so good at this, but today nothing seemed to go right. So instead, she just watched the crowd. Who was talking to who and in what manner. Who was avoiding who, and so on. It would help give them a map of these particular people and how to approach them at other events if necessary.
"You look as bored and out of place at this thing as I am." Buffy turned toward a dark-haired man with a lot of adorable curls. He was attractive in a geeky sort of way, he was also on the shorter side. The lack of height meant she didn't need to look up very far, just 2-3 inches.
She smiled, "I don't think anyone truly feels at home at these things."
He returned her smile and held out his hand, which she accepted. "Charlie Eppes. I'm here representing CalTech's Math Department."
She shook his hand and replied, "Buffy Summers. I'm one of the representatives for the Watcher's Council." There was no recognition in his eyes at her name or the WC, which meant he was a blank slate. She recognized his name though, as Willow had gone on ad nauseam about one of his papers on some math thing that went way over her head a few months prior.
"I'm afraid I've never heard of the Watcher's Council. What do you do?"
Buffy's reply was the truth, or rather a part of the truth. A truth all Slayers had to familiarize themselves with and even participate in on a regular basis so as to keep up the facade and ensure they had profit and not just expenses. "Unless you're interested in antiques, buying, selling, or allowing your treasures to be on load to us or others, then you wouldn't be. We're a very specialized group."
Ironically, Buffy already had a basis for their partial cover story as her mother had owned an art gallery in Sunnydale, and had worked part-time for a larger one when they lived in LA. It meant she could talk about it with an ease very few of the others were capable of, something that made Giles happy.
Charlie shook his head with a small, sheepish smile, "Sorry. I could tell you how to mathematically tell a fake from the real deal, but other than that no. I'm not artistic and I'm not too specific about what goes on the walls." He took a glass of wine from one of the servers passing by. "I don't suppose you're a mathematician?"
In his defense, he was polite about it and didn't expect to get a positive answer, so when she gave a rueful smile and replied in the negative he wasn't offended and he didn't look down on her for it. Which she appreciated a lot after having been dismissed by just about everyone that night for being brainless.
They ended up speaking for over an hour and then she went home with him when it was finally polite to leave the snoozefest. A taxi brought them to his home, which turned out to be a cozy wooden house that looked loved and well lived in. Aside from the part where they ended up at his real home, there were family pictures to prove it and it smelled like him and at least two other men, it would've been smarter to take her to a hotel or motel. She wasn't complaining, but...
Much later, she was very much nude and highly satisfied with how the evening had ended. She also turned out to be alone in the large bed when she woke up after her post-coital nap. When she put her hand on the other half of the bed, under the covers, it was cold. She frowned. Where had he gone? It wasn't like he would run out on her when she was in sleeping in his bed, right?
Buffy held the covers up over her chest and got out of bed where she put it more fully around herself while she searched for her discarded clothes. It took a little while but she found everything and redressed. Once she's had a quick wash that is. Once she was presentable again she went in search of her missing lover, because she just couldn't leave without knowing if he was okay.
The rest of the upstairs turned out to be more bedrooms, plus the aforementioned bathroom, so she walked back down. Living room, smaller rooms, and once she got closer to what could only be the kitchen she heard the sound of chalk on a blackboard. A slightly confused look came over her face as she entered the room and found it empty, but she quickly located the door on the other side of the room.
The door leading out to what she was reasonably certain had once been a garage turned out to be full of blackboards in all sizes and mounted on all of the walls. There were even a few hanging from the ceiling. Charlie was standing in front of one of them, rapidly scribbling an equation she had no hope of understanding.
She walked over and said in a low, soft voice, "Charlie." He jumped despite her attempt to avoid it and put a hand over his heart while trying to get his breathing back under control again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just wondered where you went."
"It's okay," he gave her a bright smile. "I finally figured out how to solve this and I needed to write it down before I lost my train of thought and..."
Buffy gave him a comforting smile, "It's okay. Go back to your math, I need to get home." Well, back to her temporary home. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay and to tell you I'm leaving."
Charlie got a little awkward but some easy small talk calmed him down and Buffy left. A quick phone call on the way out and a taxi would pick her up a few streets over.