Operation: Free Xander
Dec. 30th, 2011 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misseDisclaimer: Don't own or claim rights to Buffy
Notes: For Skargasm, since she liked my Riley fic.
Making Plans
Riley reached down and shoved Graham's legs out of the way before he dropped down on the bed. “You know how I used to say Buffy was odd? She's not. Anya? Now Anya's odd.”
Graham tilted his head. “And Anya is…” he prompted.
“Oh,” Riley shook him out of his daze, “she's Buffy's … um… She's… You know, I want to say friend, but she's really not. She's kind of Xander's girlfriend, I think, but none of them are really great friends with her. And she's so odd!”
Graham grinned. “So does Buffy need to worry,” he teased.
“God, no!” Riley huffed. “Poor Xander,” he frowned.
Graham shook his head. “'Poor Xander' why? And who is Xander anyway?”
Riley turned to look at his friend. “You don't know Xander? He's one of Buffy's friends from high school. He didn't get into college, so he's trying to get a job, but they still see each other. Actually, he kind of looks like Parker Abrams, poor guy.”
Graham raised an eyebrow. “Parker Abrams, who Buffy had a fling with before she got together with you, looks a lot like her school friend? How much alike?”
“It's not like that,” Riley scowled. “Buffy and Xander were never together.” He shrugged. “But they do look a lot alike. You've probably seen him – he comes in to meet Buffy and Willow for lunch. He and Willow have been best friends since, I don't know, birth?”
“Ow,” Graham muttered. “That's got to hurt.” When Riley shot him a questioning glance, he went on. “Best friends that long, and suddenly she's at college, and he's a townie?”
“Getting fired from all the best, and worst, take-aways in town,” Riley nodded with a grimace. “Oh, he was the guy who grabbed Buffy at that party at we had, when I was trying to get her attention.”
Graham thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I see the resemblance. And I've seen him around, too. So he's got a girlfriend?”
Riley frowned. “I guess. Well, they're having sex, and Xander's trying to help her fit in with the group. She's very…”
“Peculiar?” Graham teased.
“Open, I was going to say,” Riley retorted, kicking at Graham's legs. “She's very open. Pathologically. About everything. If I wanted, I could get a report on where, when, and how often she and Xander had had sex in a given period of time, average number of orgasms per session, average time to orgasm, and gross sales at her shop. In public. With Xander sitting right there, cringing, and begging her not to do so.”
Graham blinked, and slowly shook his head. “Wow. Poor guy.”
“Oh, but she's very complimentary,” Riley hastened to assure him. “She's very satisfied with him.” He shrugged. “Sexually, anyway. Those dead-end jobs don't pay him anywhere near enough, though, and I'm beginning to wonder if that's going to become more of a factor in their relationship.”
“It is a leading cause of divorce,” Graham offered. “Maybe he could have a sudden attack of the gay,” he suggested.
“Huh?” was Riley's intelligent contribution.
“All of a sudden, he's gay. Can't give her orgasms any more.”
“That's dishonest,” Riley shook his head. “And possibly wouldn't work anyway. After all, you don't need a dick to give a woman orgasms.” He smiled. “But a brand new boyfriend might do it.” He grinned at Graham. “Better yet, a returning boyfriend. Someone he met on his road trip.”
Graham frowned. “Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?”
~~~~~
Buffy watched as her boyfriend all but dragged his friend towards her. The hissed conversation was interesting, also.
“You can't do this to me,” Graham objected furiously.
“You started it,” Riley grinned.
“I made a suggestion. I did not tell you to… Oh, hi, Buffy,” Graham greeted awkwardly.
“Graham,” Buffy nodded, grinning, “Riley, is there something I should know?”
“How attached are you to Anya?” Riley blurted out.
“Riley!” Graham hissed.
“Uh, well, she's useful, I guess,” Buffy considered. “And Xander seems to like her. I think.”
Riley nodded. “And how attached do you think Xander is to his heterosexuality?”
“Riley!” Graham whined.
Buffy blinked. “Uh, I honestly don't know. I know he notices guys, but I don't think he's ever thought about going out with one. And he is kind of taken,” she added, apologetically, to Graham.
“So how do you think he'd think about pretending that Graham here was his boyfriend from his road trip?” Riley grinned.
Buffy's eyes went wide. “Oh! So he can break up with Anya? I'm really not sure,” she added, chewing her lip. “And then there's the problem of getting him away from Anya,” she shrugged. “He's working construction, now, and I think he's doing well, so his days are full. And Anya's definitely got the nights.”
“I could grab him for a boys' night out,” Riley grinned. “All that time around so many girls – he needs a guy friend or two.”
“Riley,” Graham moaned.
Buffy looked at the two men shrewdly, then shook her head. “I honestly don't know if he'd go for it. I don't even know if he wants to get out of the relationship, such as it is. And I really don't know how he'd go pretending to be Graham's boyfriend.”
“But worth asking him about?” Riley asked hopefully.
Buffy shrugged. “Go ahead. Friday's probably good, but you should mention it at the Bronze tonight.”
“Will do,” Riley beamed.
Graham simply sagged, and stared despondently at the ground.
~~~~~
Friday night saw the three men seated at a booth at a sports bar. Xander sipped his coke, then cleared his throat. “So,” he began cautiously. “What's the what?”
Riley smiled. “How's things going with Anya?” he asked suddenly.
Xander glanced at the blond warily. “Good,” he nodded firmly. “Great.”
“So which is it?” Riley pressed. “Good or great?”
“Great,” Xander avowed a little firmly. “Things are great.”
“Because I happened to mention her to Graham, and he thinks it's not a healthy relationship,” Riley explained.
“What?” Graham demanded. Then, looking at Xander, he went on, “Yes. Well, actually, yeah, it isn't the healthiest relationship I could think of.”
“Well,” Xander shrugged helplessly, “I don't know. She definitely thinks we're in a relationship. We went to the Prom, 'cause it was that, or go stag, and I couldn't really go with Cordelia, which might have been okay, and then when I get back from my road trip, she just walks in and starts going on about wanting to get me out of her head, and that we had interlocking parts, so we should interlock, and dropped her dress!”
The other two men sat stunned at the explanation. “That's it?” Riley asked finally. “'I want to stop thinking about you, our parts interlock, let's do it?'”
“Yeah. I don't think I did too good a job, though, 'cause she hasn't stopped thinking about me,” Xander mused with a half-smile.
Riley glanced at Graham, then looked back at Xander. “So. How attached do you feel to your heterosexuality?”
“My what now?” Xander gulped.
Riley looked at Graham, who leaned back in his seat and began banging his head against the back of the booth. “What I suggested was that you pretend to suddenly be gay. What Riley is suggesting is that I pretend to be your boyfriend from your road trip. I suddenly turn up and chase her off.”
Xander appeared to be dazed, so Graham reached over and nudged his glass. Reflexively, he took a sip, and then a larger drink. “You want me to pretend to be not just,” he waved a hand, “theoretically gay, but to be your boyfriend?”
“I suggested theoretically gay,” Graham emphasised, “Riley's the one who match-made us.”
“But …” Xander blushed, “what would you even see in me?”
Graham blinked. “We tell you that you should pretend to be my boyfriend to get rid of your real girlfriend, and all you can come up with is 'what would you see in me?'”
“Well, yeah,” Xander frowned. “I mean, I never really got what Cordy ever saw in me, except for the snarking thing, 'cause we were both so good at it, and you're like the guy version of Cordy, except not the cheerleading thing, but you're both hot. Way hot!” Xander nodded earnestly. “What would someone like you be doing with someone like me?”
“Uh…” Graham glanced at Riley beseechingly. “You have a great sense of humour?” he tried.
“I have a crap sense of humour,” Xander scowled. “I make crap jokes at bad times so people can groan at me instead of falling down screaming.”
“You're smart?” Graham tried again.
“I barely graduated high school,” Xander rebutted.
“You do that research thing,” Graham retaliated. “With Buffy, and Giles, and all them.”
“I'm the doughnut boy and the coffee fetcher,” Xander shook his head.
Riley frowned and shook his head. “I've seen you research. How many languages do you read?”
Xander shook his head in return. “That doesn't count. And how would Graham know about that, anyway. It's not like I ever told anyone.”
Graham shrugged. “You are, um, cute. I guess.”
Xander gave the other man a look. “Sweetheart, you say the nicest things,” he drawled.
Graham pouted. “I'm not used to hitting on guys, okay? I'm military, we don't do that.”
“Speaking of,” Xander turned to Riley. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“No,” Riley grinned. “The way we're set up, we're not under DADT rules. We're supposed to fit in, and that includes the possibility of homosexual liaisons.”
“Huh,” Xander tilted his head in thought. “Okay. That's cool, I guess. So… If we decided to do this, and if we were actually believable, then there's 'no harm, no foul' for Graham?”
“A bit of teasing,” Riley grinned, “but everyone gets teased about their lovers. And we'll spread around that it's to get you off the hook, but no one's to say anything to Anya if she comes around.”
“Okay, well, that's good. But the thing is that Anya will demand proof. I should be able to get away with not having sex in front of her -”
“No way in hell,” Graham growled. “I am not an exhibitionist.”
“See,” Xander grinned, “that's good. You do that, and you'll be believable. And I'll dither around, and blush, and that will be believable, too, 'cause I'll obviously be embarrassed about being sprung. It's just the kissing and stuff that she'll demand to see. That's going to be a problem.”
Riley smirked. “So you two will just have to practice!”
~~~~~
Discussing where to go to 'practice' – Riley sniggered any time either of them used the word – took some time. Xander refused to go park somewhere: he said he only played vamp bait when Buffy was there to rescue him. Graham couldn't take him back to Lowell House, because he wasn't ready for anyone to see them. Not that there was really a 'them' to see, but nevertheless. Neither would agree to going to the only gay bar in town, and LA was too far to travel in one night. Eventually, Riley took them to Buffy's place, opened the basement door, and stared at them.
“This is probably not such a good idea,” Xander mused as he looked around the basement.
“You worried about Anya coming around and seeing us?” Graham asked.
“No,” Xander dismissed. “She doesn't have much to do with Mrs Summers. It's just that this is where Cordy and I first kissed. Plus, Anya jumped me in the basement at home, 'cause that's where I live now. So I'm thinking that basements and me are not mixy things.”
“Maybe it will bring us good luck?” Graham tried.
Xander considered that, then nodded. “I can go with that. So how do we do this?”
Graham came over, and frowned at the other man, before raising a hand and cupping his face. “It's odd to think about kissing someone my own height,” he murmured.
Xander put his hands on Graham's upper arms. “You're bigger than I am, though.”
Graham grinned. “I probably work out more than you do. For longer, too.” He rubbed his thumb over Xander's cheek, then moved closer. “We need to do this,” he whispered, then brushed his lips over the other man's.
Xander's eyes fluttered closed as his mouth dropped open a little, and he closed the distance to kiss Graham. It was odd to kiss someone without craning his neck. Graham had to be just about exactly his own height, and all he had to do was tilt his head to the side to make sure their noses didn't bump. It wasn't bad, though. Different, but not bad. He shifted his hands to curl around Graham's back, then let them drift down to his waist. Graham had run his hand into Xander's hair, while the other dropped down to sit on Xander's hip, pulling him a little closer.
After a few minutes, they parted, and Graham licked his lips absently. “That was … not disgusting,” he murmured.
“No,” Xander agreed, a little dazed. “It wasn't too bad.” It had definitely been different. No soft breasts pushing him back, no looking down to see Graham, even as close as they were still standing. It wasn't like kissing Cordy, fire and fury from their fight spicing it up, nor was it like Anya, with a hint of something clinical to her explorations. It was … nice. He wanted to see if it could be something … more. He glanced at Graham's lips, still so close to his own. “I'm just going to…” he began before pulling Graham's hips closer, and kissing him again. Except that when he'd pulled Graham closer, he'd pulled them close enough, and at the right angle that their cocks touched.
Graham groaned into the kiss, and clenched his hand in Xander's hair, taking charge of the kiss. He rocked his hips against Xander's, swallowing the younger man's moans as he explored the wet cavern of his mouth. Xander tightened his arms around Graham's waist, and matched his movements to Graham's. Graham left Xander's lips, and began nipping a trail along his chin, and down his neck.
“God, Gray,” Xander moaned, head dropped back, eyes closed. Graham responded by licking his way back up the trail, then deviating to lick, suck and nibble on Xander's ear. Xander shuddered, and reached further around to cup Graham's butt in his hand. Then he growled softly, and began kissing Graham's neck in return, continuing to grind desperately against the other man.
Graham shuddered at the sensation of calloused hands running over his back. Xander had obviously left his rear and untucked his shirt. Not that he was complaining. “Xan,” he whispered, “scratch.”
Xander ran his palms as far up Graham's back as he could before scratching his nails back down, hard enough to leave red marks, but not enough to make him bleed. Graham dropped his head back, pushed hard against Xander, and cried out wordlessly. Shocked, Xander shuddered, then sagged against the other man.
The two men stood there, panting. Finally, Graham straightened and drew his hand around to cup Xander's face again. Looking into brown eyes, he once again rubbed his cheek with his thumb, before smiling and smoothing Xander's hair.
Xander smiled, and dropped his eyes, before looking up again through his hair. “So…” he began. “I guess this means we'll be able to pull it off?”
That surprised a belly-laugh from Graham like he hadn't had in years. “Yeah, Xan,” he answered eventually, “I guess it does.”
Showtime
Graham had decided not to tell Xander when he was going to turn up at Giles. He knew from Riley when the meetings occurred, and he was also pretty sure Xander was anticipating a few more 'practice sessions' before they did this. A small part of him was still chafing at the impropriety of their plan: they were intentionally deceiving the woman so that she would break up with Xander. Granted, the relationship wasn't healthy, and no one was sure she would let Xander out of it any other way, but still…
He knocked, and waited for the door to be answered. He wondered idly who would open the door, and what everyone's reactions would be. He was so lost in his thoughts that he was actually facing away from the door when it was opened by an older man. He found himself suddenly categorising the man as attractive, and realised it was Xander's influence. Getting to know the dark-haired man had shown him that he could find other men attractive, and now this was the result. He smiled. “Mr Giles?” he asked politely. “Xander told me about you. I was hoping to see him?”
Giles frowned at the polite young stranger. More Riley's age than Xander's, and he'd had no warning of anyone else coming to the meeting. Flustered, he blinked, and stepped back away from the door. “Oh, yes. That is, Xander is here. So do you work for the same construction firm?”
“Huh?” Graham blinked. “Oh, no. We met in Oxnard.” Which they had, only a few days ago, when he and Xander had managed to grab a few private hours to flesh out their story and 'practice'. “Anyway,” he continued, “he said not to go to his place, you know, with his parents the way they are, and that he spends time here, so…” 'Oh, God, Graham, get a grip!' he chided himself.
“Of course,” Giles murmured, stepping back from the door. He turned, and walked out of the short hallway, expecting Graham to follow. “Xander,” he called, “your friend from Oxnard is here.”
Xander sprang to his feet, startled and blushing. “Gray! Uh, hi. You're here. And that's nice. But why are you here? I thought -”
Graham moved forward, holding his arms out. “I know I said I was moving to Sunnydale straight away, but I kind of got hung up on something. But I'm here now,” he finished, smiling.
Xander walked over to him, and put his hand on Graham's arm, unconsciously stepping his loose embrace. “Gray,” he whispered, “what are you doing here? I didn't expect -”
“It's you!” Anya accused shrilly. “You're the reason I haven't been getting my orgasms!”
Xander turned back, worried and embarrassed. “Uh, Ahn, I don't know what you're talking about,” he tried.
“Oh, don't give me that,” Anya sneered. “You haven't had proper sex with me for nearly two weeks. The only orgasms you have give me was some cunnilingus, and that hasn't been for four days. It's not good enough,” she declared, then snorted. “I knew there was something wrong with you. I should have known you'd be gay. Hanging around girls all that time, it's just not natural.”
“I was tired, Anya,” Xander retorted, blushing heavily. “You know I work full-time in construction now, and that's hard work.”
“Yes,” Anya rolled her eyes. “Too tired,” she mocked. “Too tired to give me proper orgasms at night, and then you're just in too much of a rush in the morning because you've got to get to work. And,” she went on, eyes narrowing, “I now know who you're talking about in your sleep.”
Graham pulled Xander around to face him. “Xan?” he growled. “Is there something we need to talk about?”
Xander looked at his 'boyfriend' desparately. “Um, I… I, uh… You see …”
“Oh, Goddess, Xander,” Willow muttered crossly. “Anya walked in, told Xander she needed to have sex with him so she could stop thinking about him, and stripped. You were nowhere in sight – what was he supposed to do?” she demanded.
Graham blinked, then turned to Xander, struggling to contain a grin. “She wanted sex to stop thinking about you?” he asked.
Xander sighed. “Yes, Gray, she did.”
Graham snickered. “Well, that's stupid. Okay. I'm pretty sure this was my fault. I knew you had a weakness with bossy women, and I let you come back here all by yourself. I just didn't know there was going to be another bossy woman in the mix.”
Xander hung his head, and looked at Graham through his eyelashes. “You're not mad?” he asked quietly.
“I should be mad,” Graham frowned. “You cheated on me. But I don't think you had a whole lot of fun doing it, did you?”
Xander shrugged, still hanging his head miserably.
Anya, on the other hand, appeared incensed. “Hey!” she protested. “I'll have you know I give good orgasms.”
Graham pulled Xander tight into his arms, and frowned at the woman. “You know, it probably would be easier to accept if you didn't talk so … blatantly about things most people would prefer to keep private. It's one thing to admit to having a sex life,” he added. “It's another thing to complain about lack of orgasms, especially in a relatively public setting. I'm sure Xander's friends don't want to hear about it. I know I don't.”
Anya looked around to see the rest of the group in apparent agreement with her … ex-boyfriend's … boyfriend. She pouted, then examined the group again, eyes resting on Giles. “Well,” she began, straightening her shoulders and flipping her hair. “I guess that means I free to find a new orgasm partner. Giles -”
“Oh, no!” Giles retorted, backing away. “I, uh, I, I'm very busy, yes, with, with the, uh, shop. With the shop. And ordering. And research, of course, and, and…”
“And older men don't have the same stamina,” Willow added in a stage whisper, nodding wisely.
“Yes,” Giles agreed, scowling at the redhead. “Thank you for that, Willow.”
Willow opened wide, innocent eyes at her mentor. “You're welcome.” She then turned her wide eyes to the recently-single young woman. “Younger men, that's what you need,” she nodded. College-age men, so they can buy you things, and still have the energy to satisfy you. Parker Abrams has plenty of energy,” she nodded. “Maybe you should go talk to him.”
Anya considered the red-haired witch with thoughtful eyes, then nodded decisively. “Yes. I'm surprised he hasn't come to someone's attention yet.” She grinned. “He should have plenty of energy to give me orgasms, and I can make him my personal project. Actually,” she went on looking Xander up and down, “it's probably better that you're gay. It wouldn't have worked, since I did end up here because you cheated. And this will let me get back into the swing of things, even if I can't do it properly because I'm human now. Oh, well,” she sighed briefly. Then she perked up, patted her hair, and waved. “Well, I'm off, now.”
Graham blinked, and stared at the door. “So that was it?” he asked.
Buffy shrugged. “She has a new target now, thank you, Willow, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer man,” she added, grinning.
“He is a bit of a prick,” Graham snorted.
Willow nodded sagely, then jerked her head around, eyes narrowed. “How do you know Parker Abrams?” she asked sharply. She watched with hidden glee as both men winced, Graham even going so far as to dodge a little behind Xander. Then she noticed Buffy and Riley's uncomfortable expressions as they attempted to fade into the background. “Alexander Lavelle Harris,” she pronounced in an awful voice, “did you just lie to Anya to get her to break up with you?”
“Um, well… Actually, I'm not quite sure,” Xander puzzled.
The various members of the group looked thoughtful as the went over the conversation. “Actually,” Riley bit his lip, “I'm not sure you did. I think you were too busy stammering and blushing, and letting everyone else talk. I think, at best, you lied by omission. You didn't correct anything anyone said, but you didn't actually utter any lies.”
Xander nodded, a little dazed. “Oh. Okay. Uh, thanks, then. And I mean it, Ri. Thanks for everything,” he added, smiling.
“Oh, hey, it's nothing,” Riley dismissed with a wave. “So I guess you'll be heading back, now, Gray?”
Graham frowned, and tightened an arm around Xander's waist. To his relief, Xander not only allowed this, but turned into the embrace, and slid his arm around Graham, also. “No, Riley, I don't think I will.”
Riley nodded, smiling. “That's good. You too look good together, you know? But you'll probably want to keep this quiet. I know how things are at the moment, but you don't want anything mentioned in a Fit-Rep, do you?”
Graham grimaced, and shook his head.
Giles looked around the group, and nodded to himself. “Right, then,” he said briskly. “If there's nothing further, we have work to do. Xander, show Graham where to start looking. Any further discussions,” he added, glaring at Willow and Buffy, “may be held a later date, and well away from my presence. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” Buffy and Willow chorused.
~~~~~
“So that was it?” Graham asked as they wandered back to Xander's house.
“Uh, yeah,” Xander frowned. “I guess. Well, Buffy couldn't really say anything since she obviously approved of the plan which led to this, and Willow would be too pot-and-kettle-ish if she said anything, and I've always wondered about Giles and Ethan. My parents, though,” he shuddered. “They're not going to be fun.”
“You should move out,” Graham decided.
Xander twisted to look at his boyfriend. “Where?” he asked, startled. “More importantly, how?”
“Well, you're already paying rent, aren't you? How much?” When Xander replied, Graham winced, but continued without comment. “And you've got savings, haven't you?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, Ahn was expensive, but I still managed to save some.”
“So we get a list of rentals, check them out, and move you out ASAP. It gets you out of that house, where I know you're not happy, and, uh…” Graham trailed off, reddening slightly.
“And…” Xander prompted, grinning.
“Well, I can't really have you stay overnight at Lowell House. That would be pushing it a bit much,” Graham shrugged nervously.
“And my place is not fit for man or beast,” Xander smiled, bumping his shoulder against Graham's. “Let alone boyfriends.”
Graham stopped and turned Xander to face him. “You're okay with this?” he asked softly.
Xander took time to think about it before he answered. “Well, I don't think I like Professor Walsh, let alone trust her. I'm not sure I really approve of what the Initiative is doing – I have problems with the studying part of what your scientists are doing. Ethan said you were getting us into a war with the demons, and, while he's a prick, and has really jerked us around, I'm pretty sure he was telling the truth.” He looked into solemn blue eyes, and smiled. “But you? Us? This thing?” He grinned. “Yeah. I'm okay with it.”
Graham wrapped his arms around the dark-haired man. “You're really worried about it, aren't you?”
“Yeah, I really am,” Xander agreed softly.
“So we get you a new place, and keep us quiet. It will protect both of us,” Graham added, then grinned. “And give us a place to make out. And, um, more. If we get there.”
The began walking again, and Xander threaded his fingers through Graham's. “You've never done this before, have you, Gray?” he asked.
“Nope,” Graham agreed. “Never even looked at a man like that before you.”
Xander smirked, pleased. “So I've thoroughly corrupted you.”
“Not thoroughly,” Graham shook his head. “Not yet, anyway.”
Xander swung around in front of the older man, humming thoughtfully. “Sounds like I've got some work ahead of me,” he pondered.
Graham grinned. “Lots of work. Lots and lots of work.”
“Well, I do pride myself on my work ethic,” Xander nodded seriously.
“Hard work is no man's enemy,” Graham offered.
Xander chuckled, and slid his hand around Graham's neck, scratching the short hair softly. “I don't think I could ever consider you hard work, Gray,” he murmured, pulling him closer. “Hard, yeah,” he added, thrusting his hips forward, “but not work.”
“Xan,” Graham moaned softly. “Don't tease.”
“Okay,” Xander whispered, then took control of the other man's mouth, first sucking on his bottom lip, then licking the lip, before exploring the inner space. Graham wound strong arms around Xander, and ground back against the younger man. Suddenly, Xander pushed back from Graham. “God, Gray. We need to get home. I am not doing this on the street.”
“No,” Graham agreed, dazed. “Four walls and a roof are good.”
“Four walls, a roof, and a door that locks out interfering parents,” Xander clarified. “And tomorrow we're getting those rental listings. 'Cause I am not going all the way with the 'rents only one floor above.”
“No. That's good. Well, not good, because no sex, but -”
“But near enough is good for now, but to do that, we have to get home,” Xander declared, tugging his boyfriend. The remained of the journey was accomplished quickly and quietly. Xander let them in through the basement door, and quickly checked that both doors were locked before turning back to his nearly-lover. He shrugged. “Well, it's not much, but it's … well, it's the place I live at the moment.”
Graham grinned. “You're here. That's all that matters.” He blinked. “That sounded pretty soppy, didn't it?”
Xander laughed. “Maybe. But it also sounded perfect.” He stepped forward, and pulled Graham's shirt out of his pants, and slid his hand up the smooth, muscled back, allowing the other man to feel his callouses. “I know something else that would be perfect,” he murmured huskily.
“Yeah?” Graham prompted. “What?”
“Getting rid of some clothes and finding out the load capacity of my fold-out bed,” Xander offered.
Graham eyed the contraption dubiously, then shrugged. “Well, if we kill it, I'll buy a proper bed. Since I'll be sharing it from time to time,” he whispered into Xander's ear.
Xander shuddered, his eyes darkening. “Yeah. Okay. Clothes off now,” he added, tugging at Graham's shirt.
Within moments, both men were down to their boxers and admiring one another. Graham reached up to trace a line of muscle. “You're pretty hot yourself, Xan,” he murmured.
“You think?” Xander asked, ducking his head.
Graham cupped his hand around Xander's chin, and pushed his head up. “Yes. I think. In fact, it is a matter of empirical fact that you are hot.” He moved his hand up to stroke Xander's face. “You have amazing eyes, and a hot mouth that makes me hard to just look at it.” He ran his hand down to Xander's shoulders, and continued. “You have a very nice body, all tanned muscle from working outside recently, and I'm getting a bit anxious to see your dick,” he added with a smirk. “All this making out, lately, and we haven't even gotten there.”
Xander's breath hitched. “Gray,” he moaned. “Now who's teasing?”
Graham ran his finger down and slid it under Xander's waistband. “I'm not saying we're going all the way today. You've already said you don't want to while we're here, and I agree, it would be awkward. But we can still play.” With that, he slid Xander's boxers down, and pulled him forward to step out of them. “Okay?”
“Yeah,” Xander nodded. “Except now you're wearing too much.” He ran his hands up Graham's arms, around his shoulders, and down his back, pressing in slightly with his nails. He smiled when Graham shuddered, and tucked his thumbs under the waistband of his boxers before pushing them down. He then stepped back, pulling Graham with him, and out of his boxers. They stood together, naked bodies brushing together, shoulder to knee, with every breath. Xander caught Graham's lips with his, and sighed into the kiss as Graham's arms tightened around him. He rocked against the other man, and swallowed the deep moan he caused. He pulled away. “Bed,” he grinned. “Before we collapse.”
Graham nodded, and pulled Xander over before pushing him down onto the fold-out bed, quickly following him. Once they were both relatively horizontal, he began attacking the other man, nibbling a line along his chin to his ear, which he nibbled and sucked. When Xander shifted and spread his legs, he settled between them, and rocked his hips to rub his cock against Xander's. Xander moaned and writhed, and hooked one leg around Graham's.
Graham chuckled. “Not going anywhere, Xan,” he growled.
“You better damn believe it,” Xander muttered. He ran his hands over Graham's back, alternately scratching and smoothing the skin with even strokes as he thrust back up against his lover's weight. He wondered, briefly, if Anya had ever felt like this. It was the first time he'd ever had a lover heavier than him. He found he liked the firm weight pressing him down, though a better bed underneath would be preferable. Graham took the moment to nibble a little harder on his neck, and Xander groaned. He wrapped both legs around Graham, hitching them over his hips, and rocked up harder, faster.
“God, Xan, you feel so good,” Graham growled. “Never thought a guy could feel so good. Can't wait to be in you. To have you in me. God, that will be so good,” he rambled between nibbles and kisses.
“Gray,” Xander moaned, hands moving restlessly over the acres of hard muscle. “So close. Please, Gray.”
Graham shifted to create a little space between them, and slid his hand between to grab their cocks. That seemed to be the very thing Xander had needed, as he cried out and thrashed his head back, thrusting up harder. Graham worked quickly, stripping their cocks together, and came almost as soon as Xander, pressing his hoarse cry into Xander's shoulder. Sated, he slumped against Xander, breathless.
“I'll shift,” Graham promised. “Just give me a moment to, uh, something.”
“Guh,” Xander replied, waving a hand vaguely.
Graham snorted, then began to chuckle. “God, we're hopeless.”
“But happy,” Xander grinned, tightening his arms around his lover again.
Graham hummed his satisfaction. “Very.”
Xander opened one eye. “Sure?”
Graham pushed himself up on his elbows, which caused his cock to rub once more agains Xander. He smirked at the sensation. “Very sure.”
“Cool,” Xander smiled.
“Uh, Xan?” Graham tried.
“Yeah,” Xander responded sleepily.
“You need to let me go. I need to get something to clean us up.”
Xander pouted. “Sure?”
Graham chuckled. “Very sure. But I'll come right back,” he promised.
“Sure?” Xander frowned.
“Very sure,” Graham agreed, dropping a quick kiss on his new favourite pair of lips.
Xander pouted and sighed, but released his hold on the other man. “Fine. But hurry.”
Graham was a good as his word, and soon returned to Xander's side.
“How long can you stay?” Xander asked sleepily.
“Not all night,” Graham sighed.
“I'm up at five,” Xander offered. “Do you have to leave before that?”
Graham grinned. “No. That's good for me.”
“Cool,” Xander murmured. “Okay. Night, Gray.”
“Night, Xan,” Graham whispered, dropping a final kiss on Xander's temple.
Notes: For Skargasm, since she liked my Riley fic.
Riley reached down and shoved Graham's legs out of the way before he dropped down on the bed. “You know how I used to say Buffy was odd? She's not. Anya? Now Anya's odd.”
Graham tilted his head. “And Anya is…” he prompted.
“Oh,” Riley shook him out of his daze, “she's Buffy's … um… She's… You know, I want to say friend, but she's really not. She's kind of Xander's girlfriend, I think, but none of them are really great friends with her. And she's so odd!”
Graham grinned. “So does Buffy need to worry,” he teased.
“God, no!” Riley huffed. “Poor Xander,” he frowned.
Graham shook his head. “'Poor Xander' why? And who is Xander anyway?”
Riley turned to look at his friend. “You don't know Xander? He's one of Buffy's friends from high school. He didn't get into college, so he's trying to get a job, but they still see each other. Actually, he kind of looks like Parker Abrams, poor guy.”
Graham raised an eyebrow. “Parker Abrams, who Buffy had a fling with before she got together with you, looks a lot like her school friend? How much alike?”
“It's not like that,” Riley scowled. “Buffy and Xander were never together.” He shrugged. “But they do look a lot alike. You've probably seen him – he comes in to meet Buffy and Willow for lunch. He and Willow have been best friends since, I don't know, birth?”
“Ow,” Graham muttered. “That's got to hurt.” When Riley shot him a questioning glance, he went on. “Best friends that long, and suddenly she's at college, and he's a townie?”
“Getting fired from all the best, and worst, take-aways in town,” Riley nodded with a grimace. “Oh, he was the guy who grabbed Buffy at that party at we had, when I was trying to get her attention.”
Graham thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I see the resemblance. And I've seen him around, too. So he's got a girlfriend?”
Riley frowned. “I guess. Well, they're having sex, and Xander's trying to help her fit in with the group. She's very…”
“Peculiar?” Graham teased.
“Open, I was going to say,” Riley retorted, kicking at Graham's legs. “She's very open. Pathologically. About everything. If I wanted, I could get a report on where, when, and how often she and Xander had had sex in a given period of time, average number of orgasms per session, average time to orgasm, and gross sales at her shop. In public. With Xander sitting right there, cringing, and begging her not to do so.”
Graham blinked, and slowly shook his head. “Wow. Poor guy.”
“Oh, but she's very complimentary,” Riley hastened to assure him. “She's very satisfied with him.” He shrugged. “Sexually, anyway. Those dead-end jobs don't pay him anywhere near enough, though, and I'm beginning to wonder if that's going to become more of a factor in their relationship.”
“It is a leading cause of divorce,” Graham offered. “Maybe he could have a sudden attack of the gay,” he suggested.
“Huh?” was Riley's intelligent contribution.
“All of a sudden, he's gay. Can't give her orgasms any more.”
“That's dishonest,” Riley shook his head. “And possibly wouldn't work anyway. After all, you don't need a dick to give a woman orgasms.” He smiled. “But a brand new boyfriend might do it.” He grinned at Graham. “Better yet, a returning boyfriend. Someone he met on his road trip.”
Graham frowned. “Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?”
Buffy watched as her boyfriend all but dragged his friend towards her. The hissed conversation was interesting, also.
“You can't do this to me,” Graham objected furiously.
“You started it,” Riley grinned.
“I made a suggestion. I did not tell you to… Oh, hi, Buffy,” Graham greeted awkwardly.
“Graham,” Buffy nodded, grinning, “Riley, is there something I should know?”
“How attached are you to Anya?” Riley blurted out.
“Riley!” Graham hissed.
“Uh, well, she's useful, I guess,” Buffy considered. “And Xander seems to like her. I think.”
Riley nodded. “And how attached do you think Xander is to his heterosexuality?”
“Riley!” Graham whined.
Buffy blinked. “Uh, I honestly don't know. I know he notices guys, but I don't think he's ever thought about going out with one. And he is kind of taken,” she added, apologetically, to Graham.
“So how do you think he'd think about pretending that Graham here was his boyfriend from his road trip?” Riley grinned.
Buffy's eyes went wide. “Oh! So he can break up with Anya? I'm really not sure,” she added, chewing her lip. “And then there's the problem of getting him away from Anya,” she shrugged. “He's working construction, now, and I think he's doing well, so his days are full. And Anya's definitely got the nights.”
“I could grab him for a boys' night out,” Riley grinned. “All that time around so many girls – he needs a guy friend or two.”
“Riley,” Graham moaned.
Buffy looked at the two men shrewdly, then shook her head. “I honestly don't know if he'd go for it. I don't even know if he wants to get out of the relationship, such as it is. And I really don't know how he'd go pretending to be Graham's boyfriend.”
“But worth asking him about?” Riley asked hopefully.
Buffy shrugged. “Go ahead. Friday's probably good, but you should mention it at the Bronze tonight.”
“Will do,” Riley beamed.
Graham simply sagged, and stared despondently at the ground.
Friday night saw the three men seated at a booth at a sports bar. Xander sipped his coke, then cleared his throat. “So,” he began cautiously. “What's the what?”
Riley smiled. “How's things going with Anya?” he asked suddenly.
Xander glanced at the blond warily. “Good,” he nodded firmly. “Great.”
“So which is it?” Riley pressed. “Good or great?”
“Great,” Xander avowed a little firmly. “Things are great.”
“Because I happened to mention her to Graham, and he thinks it's not a healthy relationship,” Riley explained.
“What?” Graham demanded. Then, looking at Xander, he went on, “Yes. Well, actually, yeah, it isn't the healthiest relationship I could think of.”
“Well,” Xander shrugged helplessly, “I don't know. She definitely thinks we're in a relationship. We went to the Prom, 'cause it was that, or go stag, and I couldn't really go with Cordelia, which might have been okay, and then when I get back from my road trip, she just walks in and starts going on about wanting to get me out of her head, and that we had interlocking parts, so we should interlock, and dropped her dress!”
The other two men sat stunned at the explanation. “That's it?” Riley asked finally. “'I want to stop thinking about you, our parts interlock, let's do it?'”
“Yeah. I don't think I did too good a job, though, 'cause she hasn't stopped thinking about me,” Xander mused with a half-smile.
Riley glanced at Graham, then looked back at Xander. “So. How attached do you feel to your heterosexuality?”
“My what now?” Xander gulped.
Riley looked at Graham, who leaned back in his seat and began banging his head against the back of the booth. “What I suggested was that you pretend to suddenly be gay. What Riley is suggesting is that I pretend to be your boyfriend from your road trip. I suddenly turn up and chase her off.”
Xander appeared to be dazed, so Graham reached over and nudged his glass. Reflexively, he took a sip, and then a larger drink. “You want me to pretend to be not just,” he waved a hand, “theoretically gay, but to be your boyfriend?”
“I suggested theoretically gay,” Graham emphasised, “Riley's the one who match-made us.”
“But …” Xander blushed, “what would you even see in me?”
Graham blinked. “We tell you that you should pretend to be my boyfriend to get rid of your real girlfriend, and all you can come up with is 'what would you see in me?'”
“Well, yeah,” Xander frowned. “I mean, I never really got what Cordy ever saw in me, except for the snarking thing, 'cause we were both so good at it, and you're like the guy version of Cordy, except not the cheerleading thing, but you're both hot. Way hot!” Xander nodded earnestly. “What would someone like you be doing with someone like me?”
“Uh…” Graham glanced at Riley beseechingly. “You have a great sense of humour?” he tried.
“I have a crap sense of humour,” Xander scowled. “I make crap jokes at bad times so people can groan at me instead of falling down screaming.”
“You're smart?” Graham tried again.
“I barely graduated high school,” Xander rebutted.
“You do that research thing,” Graham retaliated. “With Buffy, and Giles, and all them.”
“I'm the doughnut boy and the coffee fetcher,” Xander shook his head.
Riley frowned and shook his head. “I've seen you research. How many languages do you read?”
Xander shook his head in return. “That doesn't count. And how would Graham know about that, anyway. It's not like I ever told anyone.”
Graham shrugged. “You are, um, cute. I guess.”
Xander gave the other man a look. “Sweetheart, you say the nicest things,” he drawled.
Graham pouted. “I'm not used to hitting on guys, okay? I'm military, we don't do that.”
“Speaking of,” Xander turned to Riley. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“No,” Riley grinned. “The way we're set up, we're not under DADT rules. We're supposed to fit in, and that includes the possibility of homosexual liaisons.”
“Huh,” Xander tilted his head in thought. “Okay. That's cool, I guess. So… If we decided to do this, and if we were actually believable, then there's 'no harm, no foul' for Graham?”
“A bit of teasing,” Riley grinned, “but everyone gets teased about their lovers. And we'll spread around that it's to get you off the hook, but no one's to say anything to Anya if she comes around.”
“Okay, well, that's good. But the thing is that Anya will demand proof. I should be able to get away with not having sex in front of her -”
“No way in hell,” Graham growled. “I am not an exhibitionist.”
“See,” Xander grinned, “that's good. You do that, and you'll be believable. And I'll dither around, and blush, and that will be believable, too, 'cause I'll obviously be embarrassed about being sprung. It's just the kissing and stuff that she'll demand to see. That's going to be a problem.”
Riley smirked. “So you two will just have to practice!”
Discussing where to go to 'practice' – Riley sniggered any time either of them used the word – took some time. Xander refused to go park somewhere: he said he only played vamp bait when Buffy was there to rescue him. Graham couldn't take him back to Lowell House, because he wasn't ready for anyone to see them. Not that there was really a 'them' to see, but nevertheless. Neither would agree to going to the only gay bar in town, and LA was too far to travel in one night. Eventually, Riley took them to Buffy's place, opened the basement door, and stared at them.
“This is probably not such a good idea,” Xander mused as he looked around the basement.
“You worried about Anya coming around and seeing us?” Graham asked.
“No,” Xander dismissed. “She doesn't have much to do with Mrs Summers. It's just that this is where Cordy and I first kissed. Plus, Anya jumped me in the basement at home, 'cause that's where I live now. So I'm thinking that basements and me are not mixy things.”
“Maybe it will bring us good luck?” Graham tried.
Xander considered that, then nodded. “I can go with that. So how do we do this?”
Graham came over, and frowned at the other man, before raising a hand and cupping his face. “It's odd to think about kissing someone my own height,” he murmured.
Xander put his hands on Graham's upper arms. “You're bigger than I am, though.”
Graham grinned. “I probably work out more than you do. For longer, too.” He rubbed his thumb over Xander's cheek, then moved closer. “We need to do this,” he whispered, then brushed his lips over the other man's.
Xander's eyes fluttered closed as his mouth dropped open a little, and he closed the distance to kiss Graham. It was odd to kiss someone without craning his neck. Graham had to be just about exactly his own height, and all he had to do was tilt his head to the side to make sure their noses didn't bump. It wasn't bad, though. Different, but not bad. He shifted his hands to curl around Graham's back, then let them drift down to his waist. Graham had run his hand into Xander's hair, while the other dropped down to sit on Xander's hip, pulling him a little closer.
After a few minutes, they parted, and Graham licked his lips absently. “That was … not disgusting,” he murmured.
“No,” Xander agreed, a little dazed. “It wasn't too bad.” It had definitely been different. No soft breasts pushing him back, no looking down to see Graham, even as close as they were still standing. It wasn't like kissing Cordy, fire and fury from their fight spicing it up, nor was it like Anya, with a hint of something clinical to her explorations. It was … nice. He wanted to see if it could be something … more. He glanced at Graham's lips, still so close to his own. “I'm just going to…” he began before pulling Graham's hips closer, and kissing him again. Except that when he'd pulled Graham closer, he'd pulled them close enough, and at the right angle that their cocks touched.
Graham groaned into the kiss, and clenched his hand in Xander's hair, taking charge of the kiss. He rocked his hips against Xander's, swallowing the younger man's moans as he explored the wet cavern of his mouth. Xander tightened his arms around Graham's waist, and matched his movements to Graham's. Graham left Xander's lips, and began nipping a trail along his chin, and down his neck.
“God, Gray,” Xander moaned, head dropped back, eyes closed. Graham responded by licking his way back up the trail, then deviating to lick, suck and nibble on Xander's ear. Xander shuddered, and reached further around to cup Graham's butt in his hand. Then he growled softly, and began kissing Graham's neck in return, continuing to grind desperately against the other man.
Graham shuddered at the sensation of calloused hands running over his back. Xander had obviously left his rear and untucked his shirt. Not that he was complaining. “Xan,” he whispered, “scratch.”
Xander ran his palms as far up Graham's back as he could before scratching his nails back down, hard enough to leave red marks, but not enough to make him bleed. Graham dropped his head back, pushed hard against Xander, and cried out wordlessly. Shocked, Xander shuddered, then sagged against the other man.
The two men stood there, panting. Finally, Graham straightened and drew his hand around to cup Xander's face again. Looking into brown eyes, he once again rubbed his cheek with his thumb, before smiling and smoothing Xander's hair.
Xander smiled, and dropped his eyes, before looking up again through his hair. “So…” he began. “I guess this means we'll be able to pull it off?”
That surprised a belly-laugh from Graham like he hadn't had in years. “Yeah, Xan,” he answered eventually, “I guess it does.”
Graham had decided not to tell Xander when he was going to turn up at Giles. He knew from Riley when the meetings occurred, and he was also pretty sure Xander was anticipating a few more 'practice sessions' before they did this. A small part of him was still chafing at the impropriety of their plan: they were intentionally deceiving the woman so that she would break up with Xander. Granted, the relationship wasn't healthy, and no one was sure she would let Xander out of it any other way, but still…
He knocked, and waited for the door to be answered. He wondered idly who would open the door, and what everyone's reactions would be. He was so lost in his thoughts that he was actually facing away from the door when it was opened by an older man. He found himself suddenly categorising the man as attractive, and realised it was Xander's influence. Getting to know the dark-haired man had shown him that he could find other men attractive, and now this was the result. He smiled. “Mr Giles?” he asked politely. “Xander told me about you. I was hoping to see him?”
Giles frowned at the polite young stranger. More Riley's age than Xander's, and he'd had no warning of anyone else coming to the meeting. Flustered, he blinked, and stepped back away from the door. “Oh, yes. That is, Xander is here. So do you work for the same construction firm?”
“Huh?” Graham blinked. “Oh, no. We met in Oxnard.” Which they had, only a few days ago, when he and Xander had managed to grab a few private hours to flesh out their story and 'practice'. “Anyway,” he continued, “he said not to go to his place, you know, with his parents the way they are, and that he spends time here, so…” 'Oh, God, Graham, get a grip!' he chided himself.
“Of course,” Giles murmured, stepping back from the door. He turned, and walked out of the short hallway, expecting Graham to follow. “Xander,” he called, “your friend from Oxnard is here.”
Xander sprang to his feet, startled and blushing. “Gray! Uh, hi. You're here. And that's nice. But why are you here? I thought -”
Graham moved forward, holding his arms out. “I know I said I was moving to Sunnydale straight away, but I kind of got hung up on something. But I'm here now,” he finished, smiling.
Xander walked over to him, and put his hand on Graham's arm, unconsciously stepping his loose embrace. “Gray,” he whispered, “what are you doing here? I didn't expect -”
“It's you!” Anya accused shrilly. “You're the reason I haven't been getting my orgasms!”
Xander turned back, worried and embarrassed. “Uh, Ahn, I don't know what you're talking about,” he tried.
“Oh, don't give me that,” Anya sneered. “You haven't had proper sex with me for nearly two weeks. The only orgasms you have give me was some cunnilingus, and that hasn't been for four days. It's not good enough,” she declared, then snorted. “I knew there was something wrong with you. I should have known you'd be gay. Hanging around girls all that time, it's just not natural.”
“I was tired, Anya,” Xander retorted, blushing heavily. “You know I work full-time in construction now, and that's hard work.”
“Yes,” Anya rolled her eyes. “Too tired,” she mocked. “Too tired to give me proper orgasms at night, and then you're just in too much of a rush in the morning because you've got to get to work. And,” she went on, eyes narrowing, “I now know who you're talking about in your sleep.”
Graham pulled Xander around to face him. “Xan?” he growled. “Is there something we need to talk about?”
Xander looked at his 'boyfriend' desparately. “Um, I… I, uh… You see …”
“Oh, Goddess, Xander,” Willow muttered crossly. “Anya walked in, told Xander she needed to have sex with him so she could stop thinking about him, and stripped. You were nowhere in sight – what was he supposed to do?” she demanded.
Graham blinked, then turned to Xander, struggling to contain a grin. “She wanted sex to stop thinking about you?” he asked.
Xander sighed. “Yes, Gray, she did.”
Graham snickered. “Well, that's stupid. Okay. I'm pretty sure this was my fault. I knew you had a weakness with bossy women, and I let you come back here all by yourself. I just didn't know there was going to be another bossy woman in the mix.”
Xander hung his head, and looked at Graham through his eyelashes. “You're not mad?” he asked quietly.
“I should be mad,” Graham frowned. “You cheated on me. But I don't think you had a whole lot of fun doing it, did you?”
Xander shrugged, still hanging his head miserably.
Anya, on the other hand, appeared incensed. “Hey!” she protested. “I'll have you know I give good orgasms.”
Graham pulled Xander tight into his arms, and frowned at the woman. “You know, it probably would be easier to accept if you didn't talk so … blatantly about things most people would prefer to keep private. It's one thing to admit to having a sex life,” he added. “It's another thing to complain about lack of orgasms, especially in a relatively public setting. I'm sure Xander's friends don't want to hear about it. I know I don't.”
Anya looked around to see the rest of the group in apparent agreement with her … ex-boyfriend's … boyfriend. She pouted, then examined the group again, eyes resting on Giles. “Well,” she began, straightening her shoulders and flipping her hair. “I guess that means I free to find a new orgasm partner. Giles -”
“Oh, no!” Giles retorted, backing away. “I, uh, I, I'm very busy, yes, with, with the, uh, shop. With the shop. And ordering. And research, of course, and, and…”
“And older men don't have the same stamina,” Willow added in a stage whisper, nodding wisely.
“Yes,” Giles agreed, scowling at the redhead. “Thank you for that, Willow.”
Willow opened wide, innocent eyes at her mentor. “You're welcome.” She then turned her wide eyes to the recently-single young woman. “Younger men, that's what you need,” she nodded. College-age men, so they can buy you things, and still have the energy to satisfy you. Parker Abrams has plenty of energy,” she nodded. “Maybe you should go talk to him.”
Anya considered the red-haired witch with thoughtful eyes, then nodded decisively. “Yes. I'm surprised he hasn't come to someone's attention yet.” She grinned. “He should have plenty of energy to give me orgasms, and I can make him my personal project. Actually,” she went on looking Xander up and down, “it's probably better that you're gay. It wouldn't have worked, since I did end up here because you cheated. And this will let me get back into the swing of things, even if I can't do it properly because I'm human now. Oh, well,” she sighed briefly. Then she perked up, patted her hair, and waved. “Well, I'm off, now.”
Graham blinked, and stared at the door. “So that was it?” he asked.
Buffy shrugged. “She has a new target now, thank you, Willow, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer man,” she added, grinning.
“He is a bit of a prick,” Graham snorted.
Willow nodded sagely, then jerked her head around, eyes narrowed. “How do you know Parker Abrams?” she asked sharply. She watched with hidden glee as both men winced, Graham even going so far as to dodge a little behind Xander. Then she noticed Buffy and Riley's uncomfortable expressions as they attempted to fade into the background. “Alexander Lavelle Harris,” she pronounced in an awful voice, “did you just lie to Anya to get her to break up with you?”
“Um, well… Actually, I'm not quite sure,” Xander puzzled.
The various members of the group looked thoughtful as the went over the conversation. “Actually,” Riley bit his lip, “I'm not sure you did. I think you were too busy stammering and blushing, and letting everyone else talk. I think, at best, you lied by omission. You didn't correct anything anyone said, but you didn't actually utter any lies.”
Xander nodded, a little dazed. “Oh. Okay. Uh, thanks, then. And I mean it, Ri. Thanks for everything,” he added, smiling.
“Oh, hey, it's nothing,” Riley dismissed with a wave. “So I guess you'll be heading back, now, Gray?”
Graham frowned, and tightened an arm around Xander's waist. To his relief, Xander not only allowed this, but turned into the embrace, and slid his arm around Graham, also. “No, Riley, I don't think I will.”
Riley nodded, smiling. “That's good. You too look good together, you know? But you'll probably want to keep this quiet. I know how things are at the moment, but you don't want anything mentioned in a Fit-Rep, do you?”
Graham grimaced, and shook his head.
Giles looked around the group, and nodded to himself. “Right, then,” he said briskly. “If there's nothing further, we have work to do. Xander, show Graham where to start looking. Any further discussions,” he added, glaring at Willow and Buffy, “may be held a later date, and well away from my presence. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” Buffy and Willow chorused.
“So that was it?” Graham asked as they wandered back to Xander's house.
“Uh, yeah,” Xander frowned. “I guess. Well, Buffy couldn't really say anything since she obviously approved of the plan which led to this, and Willow would be too pot-and-kettle-ish if she said anything, and I've always wondered about Giles and Ethan. My parents, though,” he shuddered. “They're not going to be fun.”
“You should move out,” Graham decided.
Xander twisted to look at his boyfriend. “Where?” he asked, startled. “More importantly, how?”
“Well, you're already paying rent, aren't you? How much?” When Xander replied, Graham winced, but continued without comment. “And you've got savings, haven't you?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, Ahn was expensive, but I still managed to save some.”
“So we get a list of rentals, check them out, and move you out ASAP. It gets you out of that house, where I know you're not happy, and, uh…” Graham trailed off, reddening slightly.
“And…” Xander prompted, grinning.
“Well, I can't really have you stay overnight at Lowell House. That would be pushing it a bit much,” Graham shrugged nervously.
“And my place is not fit for man or beast,” Xander smiled, bumping his shoulder against Graham's. “Let alone boyfriends.”
Graham stopped and turned Xander to face him. “You're okay with this?” he asked softly.
Xander took time to think about it before he answered. “Well, I don't think I like Professor Walsh, let alone trust her. I'm not sure I really approve of what the Initiative is doing – I have problems with the studying part of what your scientists are doing. Ethan said you were getting us into a war with the demons, and, while he's a prick, and has really jerked us around, I'm pretty sure he was telling the truth.” He looked into solemn blue eyes, and smiled. “But you? Us? This thing?” He grinned. “Yeah. I'm okay with it.”
Graham wrapped his arms around the dark-haired man. “You're really worried about it, aren't you?”
“Yeah, I really am,” Xander agreed softly.
“So we get you a new place, and keep us quiet. It will protect both of us,” Graham added, then grinned. “And give us a place to make out. And, um, more. If we get there.”
The began walking again, and Xander threaded his fingers through Graham's. “You've never done this before, have you, Gray?” he asked.
“Nope,” Graham agreed. “Never even looked at a man like that before you.”
Xander smirked, pleased. “So I've thoroughly corrupted you.”
“Not thoroughly,” Graham shook his head. “Not yet, anyway.”
Xander swung around in front of the older man, humming thoughtfully. “Sounds like I've got some work ahead of me,” he pondered.
Graham grinned. “Lots of work. Lots and lots of work.”
“Well, I do pride myself on my work ethic,” Xander nodded seriously.
“Hard work is no man's enemy,” Graham offered.
Xander chuckled, and slid his hand around Graham's neck, scratching the short hair softly. “I don't think I could ever consider you hard work, Gray,” he murmured, pulling him closer. “Hard, yeah,” he added, thrusting his hips forward, “but not work.”
“Xan,” Graham moaned softly. “Don't tease.”
“Okay,” Xander whispered, then took control of the other man's mouth, first sucking on his bottom lip, then licking the lip, before exploring the inner space. Graham wound strong arms around Xander, and ground back against the younger man. Suddenly, Xander pushed back from Graham. “God, Gray. We need to get home. I am not doing this on the street.”
“No,” Graham agreed, dazed. “Four walls and a roof are good.”
“Four walls, a roof, and a door that locks out interfering parents,” Xander clarified. “And tomorrow we're getting those rental listings. 'Cause I am not going all the way with the 'rents only one floor above.”
“No. That's good. Well, not good, because no sex, but -”
“But near enough is good for now, but to do that, we have to get home,” Xander declared, tugging his boyfriend. The remained of the journey was accomplished quickly and quietly. Xander let them in through the basement door, and quickly checked that both doors were locked before turning back to his nearly-lover. He shrugged. “Well, it's not much, but it's … well, it's the place I live at the moment.”
Graham grinned. “You're here. That's all that matters.” He blinked. “That sounded pretty soppy, didn't it?”
Xander laughed. “Maybe. But it also sounded perfect.” He stepped forward, and pulled Graham's shirt out of his pants, and slid his hand up the smooth, muscled back, allowing the other man to feel his callouses. “I know something else that would be perfect,” he murmured huskily.
“Yeah?” Graham prompted. “What?”
“Getting rid of some clothes and finding out the load capacity of my fold-out bed,” Xander offered.
Graham eyed the contraption dubiously, then shrugged. “Well, if we kill it, I'll buy a proper bed. Since I'll be sharing it from time to time,” he whispered into Xander's ear.
Xander shuddered, his eyes darkening. “Yeah. Okay. Clothes off now,” he added, tugging at Graham's shirt.
Within moments, both men were down to their boxers and admiring one another. Graham reached up to trace a line of muscle. “You're pretty hot yourself, Xan,” he murmured.
“You think?” Xander asked, ducking his head.
Graham cupped his hand around Xander's chin, and pushed his head up. “Yes. I think. In fact, it is a matter of empirical fact that you are hot.” He moved his hand up to stroke Xander's face. “You have amazing eyes, and a hot mouth that makes me hard to just look at it.” He ran his hand down to Xander's shoulders, and continued. “You have a very nice body, all tanned muscle from working outside recently, and I'm getting a bit anxious to see your dick,” he added with a smirk. “All this making out, lately, and we haven't even gotten there.”
Xander's breath hitched. “Gray,” he moaned. “Now who's teasing?”
Graham ran his finger down and slid it under Xander's waistband. “I'm not saying we're going all the way today. You've already said you don't want to while we're here, and I agree, it would be awkward. But we can still play.” With that, he slid Xander's boxers down, and pulled him forward to step out of them. “Okay?”
“Yeah,” Xander nodded. “Except now you're wearing too much.” He ran his hands up Graham's arms, around his shoulders, and down his back, pressing in slightly with his nails. He smiled when Graham shuddered, and tucked his thumbs under the waistband of his boxers before pushing them down. He then stepped back, pulling Graham with him, and out of his boxers. They stood together, naked bodies brushing together, shoulder to knee, with every breath. Xander caught Graham's lips with his, and sighed into the kiss as Graham's arms tightened around him. He rocked against the other man, and swallowed the deep moan he caused. He pulled away. “Bed,” he grinned. “Before we collapse.”
Graham nodded, and pulled Xander over before pushing him down onto the fold-out bed, quickly following him. Once they were both relatively horizontal, he began attacking the other man, nibbling a line along his chin to his ear, which he nibbled and sucked. When Xander shifted and spread his legs, he settled between them, and rocked his hips to rub his cock against Xander's. Xander moaned and writhed, and hooked one leg around Graham's.
Graham chuckled. “Not going anywhere, Xan,” he growled.
“You better damn believe it,” Xander muttered. He ran his hands over Graham's back, alternately scratching and smoothing the skin with even strokes as he thrust back up against his lover's weight. He wondered, briefly, if Anya had ever felt like this. It was the first time he'd ever had a lover heavier than him. He found he liked the firm weight pressing him down, though a better bed underneath would be preferable. Graham took the moment to nibble a little harder on his neck, and Xander groaned. He wrapped both legs around Graham, hitching them over his hips, and rocked up harder, faster.
“God, Xan, you feel so good,” Graham growled. “Never thought a guy could feel so good. Can't wait to be in you. To have you in me. God, that will be so good,” he rambled between nibbles and kisses.
“Gray,” Xander moaned, hands moving restlessly over the acres of hard muscle. “So close. Please, Gray.”
Graham shifted to create a little space between them, and slid his hand between to grab their cocks. That seemed to be the very thing Xander had needed, as he cried out and thrashed his head back, thrusting up harder. Graham worked quickly, stripping their cocks together, and came almost as soon as Xander, pressing his hoarse cry into Xander's shoulder. Sated, he slumped against Xander, breathless.
“I'll shift,” Graham promised. “Just give me a moment to, uh, something.”
“Guh,” Xander replied, waving a hand vaguely.
Graham snorted, then began to chuckle. “God, we're hopeless.”
“But happy,” Xander grinned, tightening his arms around his lover again.
Graham hummed his satisfaction. “Very.”
Xander opened one eye. “Sure?”
Graham pushed himself up on his elbows, which caused his cock to rub once more agains Xander. He smirked at the sensation. “Very sure.”
“Cool,” Xander smiled.
“Uh, Xan?” Graham tried.
“Yeah,” Xander responded sleepily.
“You need to let me go. I need to get something to clean us up.”
Xander pouted. “Sure?”
Graham chuckled. “Very sure. But I'll come right back,” he promised.
“Sure?” Xander frowned.
“Very sure,” Graham agreed, dropping a quick kiss on his new favourite pair of lips.
Xander pouted and sighed, but released his hold on the other man. “Fine. But hurry.”
Graham was a good as his word, and soon returned to Xander's side.
“How long can you stay?” Xander asked sleepily.
“Not all night,” Graham sighed.
“I'm up at five,” Xander offered. “Do you have to leave before that?”
Graham grinned. “No. That's good for me.”
“Cool,” Xander murmured. “Okay. Night, Gray.”
“Night, Xan,” Graham whispered, dropping a final kiss on Xander's temple.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-02 08:40 am (UTC)One small thing...you copied and pasted the sequence at the Magic Box into the story twice; you might consider fixing that as it was a tad confusing, especially after the hotness.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-02 09:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-02 11:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-02 11:45 am (UTC)