It was a midsummer's evening. The sun hadn't set yet and wouldn't for another couple of hours. Vampire activity was virtually non-existent these days. The Bronze was closed for renovations. The Slayer and her Slayerettes were bored.

They gathered in the Library for lack of anything better to do. The teens sat around the table looking rather glum.

Giles came out of his office and stared at them for a moment.

"You know you could do something constructive with your time," he told them.

"Like what?" Buffy asked disinterestedly. That suggestion was met with general lip curling except Buffy happened to glance up and see the frown on Giles' face. He was in a pissy mood tonight.

"I know," Willow perked up, "How about a game of boxers or briefs?"

"Will, you virtual tramp you," Buffy smiled at her. "I didn't think you thought of stuff like that."

"Hey! I don't spend all of my time on-line researching demons and evil and stuff. Sometimes I visit certain..." she glanced around to see if Giles was listening and it appeared he was out of earshot up in the stacks, "certain websites."

"And getting all sorts of ideas from them I can tell," Xander protested.

"Boxers or briefs sounds like fun to me," Cordelia said earning an annoyed look from Xander.

"Not to me it doesn't!"

"Three to one. you're outvoted," Willow said.

"Okay," Buffy thought hard. "John Cusack."

"Briefs." The three girls agreed on that one.

"That new kid who just transferred -- Kyle," Everyone knew Cordelia picked him just to further irritate Xander.

"Briefs." Buffy said.

"Principal Snyder."

"Ewww!" They all looked at Willow.

"Who cares?" Cordelia asked.

"Xander."

"Hey! Leave me out of this."

"Briefs." Cordy said. Then added, "I'm just guessing."

"And I'm not telling!"

"Giles," Willow said trying to make up for her faux pas about Snyder.

Buffy and Cordelia stopped to think about that one and didn't seem to find it too icky.

"Boxers," Buffy stated firmly.

"Boxers," Cordelia agreed.

"Yup." Willow nodded.

Impishly, Buffy called up to her Watcher.

"Hey, Giles."

"Yes, what?" he sounded distracted.

"Boxers or briefs?"

There was a pause and then he appeared at the top of the stairs to the upper level.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Do you wear boxers or briefs?"

"I beg your pardon!"

"Come on, Giles," Xander prompted, bored with the game. "Tell them so we can get on to something else -- something I can play, I might add."

"Play?" The Watcher stood there with a book forgotten in his hands.

"It's a game girls play. Try to guess if a guy wears boxers or briefs."

"I see." Giles voice held an odd note.

"Well?" Buffy prodded.

"I don't see that it's any of your business." He sniffed and turned and disappeared into the stacks again.

Exasperated, Buffy got up and went to the second level.

"If we upset you I apologize on behalf of all of us. Giles? Where are you?"

"Over here."

She wound around the corner of a shelf. He was busy putting books away. His back was to her.

"I'm sorry, Giles. We were just having a little fun."

"That's quite all right." He sounded like he wasn't mad at her.

"So you're okay with this? You're not angry?"

He glanced over his shoulder. "No, I'm not angry."

"Good." Buffy approached him and leaned against a nearby shelf. "So you gonna tell me which it is?"

He turned to face her finally. At his look, eyebrows raised, she hastily added, "I won't tell the others if you don't want me to."

"It doesn't matter to me if you do or you don't." He was looking at her a little strangely and his voice still held that odd note.

"O-kay. So which is it?"

"Do you really want to know?" He stepped a bit closer to her.

"Uh huh. I think." There was something just a little weird going on here but she wasn't sure what it was exactly. A moment later Buffy returned to her friends. "Yeah. Well?" Willow repeated. "Boxers or briefs?"

Buffy blushed scarlet. "Neither."

Three sets of eyebrows climbed.

"You mean..." Xander began.

"Uh huh. He doesn't wear underwear. Take my word for it."

~ end ~