Title: The Ick Factor
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted 
Characters: Buffy, Giles.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 400
Setting: Somewhere early in Season 2.
Summary: Buffy and Giles encounter a demon about which little is known.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 375: Amnesty 62, using Challenge 270: Shower.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.




“Ugh!” Buffy picked a bit of demon out of her hair and scowled at Giles. “It would’ve been nice to know it was gonna do that in advance. I’d have brought my umbrella.”

“Sorry. I… uh… Caliphors are rather rare, there’s not a lot known about them. No one’s ever been able to study a dead one.” Giles polished his glasses, for once out of necessity rather than habit. He was as spattered with bits of demon as Buffy was.

“Color me surprised.”

“Yes, well, there appears to be a good reason for that oversight.”

“You think? All I did was throw a knife at it. Why couldn’t it just die like other demons?” Buffy picked up her knife, wiping in clean on the grass.

“On the bright side, there’s no body to bury.”

“No, just a lot of yucky little demon bits. Vampires are so much tidier; when they explode, they turn to dust. These Calipers are badly designed.”

“Caliphors.”

“Whatever.” Buffy looked down at herself. “I need a shower in the worst way. If mom sees me like this her head’ll explode. Not literally,” she added quickly. “Good thing she’s working late at the gallery. With any luck I can clean up before she gets home. What should we do about the bits?”

“What?” Giles blinked at Buffy.

“Demon bits? Do we just leave them and hope for the best, or what?”

Before Giles could answer, there was a rumble of thunder, a flash of lightning, and then the heavens opened. Within seconds, both Slayer and Watcher were soaked to the skin.

“When I said I needed a shower, this wasn’t what I had in mind!” Buffy shouted over another rumble of thunder.

A few moments later, the rain stopped as suddenly as it had started, leaving them bedraggled and steaming slightly in the humid night air.

“Well, that was…” Giles trailed off. “I don’t think we need to do anything about the remains of the Caliphos demon, they appear to be dissolving.”

“Soluble ick, great, now it’s soaked into my clothes.” Buffy pushed wet hair off her face. “I’m going home and shower properly, with hot water and lots of soap. I may never feel clean again.”

Giles obviously wasn’t listening. “This is all rather fascinating, isn’t it? I must let the Watchers’ Council know. This information could be invaluable!”

“At least one of us is happy.”


The End